By Mark Schram (Myfishingpartner.com)
Above average temperatures remained the norm over the past week around Lake Winnebago, with a moderate snow fall early in the week. A late week blast of cold wind and a drop in temperature helped area anglers access the lake heading into the weekend.
The 2-4” of slush, which was common on the ice surface last week, has refrozen. The first several inches of the ice is crystallized, and cuts in shards when drilled. Additionally, the snowfall has covered the surface with a depth of about 1-2” with no drifting. Many of the access points have taken a beating, but are still providing entrance onto the ice.
On Saturday, most travel was restricted to ATV travel. On Sunday, Payne’s Point and Otter Street Fishing Clubs reinstalled the car/truck bridges allowing access to larger vehicles. Each angler must decide for themselves if large vehicles are a good idea right now. The ice is never 100% safe, but conditions have improved from the previous week.
Pipe Fishing Club has no bridges out, as there are no cracks there currently. Given the upcoming forecast for cold temps, it is likely most clubs will place bridges in the near future, if they haven’t already. Friendship Fishing Club (North Fond du Lac/Cemetery Road) has indicated they will have bridges placed by next weekend.
I had forgotten how much fun it was to be on the ATV dragging the shanty behind the 4-wheeler. The ability to pick up and run quickly had a huge impact on my catch rates on Saturday. I may spend the rest of the year riding the ATV instead of in the SUV.
Ice depths are fairly consistent on Lake Winnebago, with 14-18” common, less ice as you near rivers, feeder creeks and run-off areas. Be very aware of your surroundings, as there are some open water or thin ice spots especially around the shore lines, where run-off water from the shore has eroded the ice. There are also reports of honeycombed ice, but I have not encounter that type of ice to date.
Fishing Reports: Overall the bite on the main basin has been solid, but not outstanding. White bass continues to be the most active fish on the system, while perch and walleye have been a tougher ticket. Walleyes have been running on the small size, many in the 4-8” range.
Depending on location and day, white bass have been finicky on their diet. The dominate color continues to be clown; However, I believe these fish are honing in on the red rather than the yellow. I found this week that a red tungsten jig tipped with a waxie outperformed everything else I dropped down the hole (about 20 fish in two hours). Additionally, I have received reports of red crawdad working well also.
During my week, it was highly evident that the schools of white bass are roaming. Typically, the school would be in an area for about an hour. Many anglers would move with the pack to stay with the fish. That’s much tougher to do if fishing away from the crowd. Staying outside of the villages will produce better results, as the fish are less skittish away from the noise.
Most anglers were using jigging raps, however I found that downsizing to a small tungsten jig with smaller movements was key with pressured fish. Lindy Walleye Talkers and most spoons were also productive choices. I had little luck with minnow heads, while others reported success. It simply may come down to cadence differences or the school of fish.
As many of you are aware, My Fishing Partner is the exclusive distributor of RS Nets in Wisconsin. Chase and I will be exhibiting/selling the nets at the Madison Fishing Expo Feb. 26 – Feb. 28, 2016 at The Alliant Energy Center in Madison. We will also have a limited assortment of nets at the Sportsman Rummage Sale in Fond du Lac on March 4th at the fairgrounds. If you are a store owner and want the product for your store, please drop me a line at [email protected]. Sizes from yaker to musky!
Party on Poygan was this past weekend. 380 of the 430 participants registered fish. The largest fish was a 2.1 pound walleye outside of a 5.8 pound pike. Most the fish registered were white bass.
The next several weeks should include the start of the burbot spawning activity. Look to shallow flats to find these ugly but tasty fish (poor man’s lobster). Additionally, we are two weeks out of sturgeon spearing (2-11-17). Water clarity remains excellent over most of the lake, and 2017 has the DNA of a potentially good season as it stands today. Battle on Bago is Feb.24-25.
Stay on top! Please feel free to drop me a line with your fishing successes and failures on the Winnebago system.
