by Mark Schram, myfishingpartner.com
Some excellent winter days have greeted area anglers the past few days, as the 2016 ice fishing season is fully underway on Lake Winnebago. Water clarity has been improving, with many areas having 3-8 feet of visibility on the main lake as of Saturday.
Ice depths remain inconsistent on Lake Winnebago, but in general about 11-14 inches of ice is on the west shore and 12-17 inches on the east shore. There remains areas of lesser ice, especially in the northern portion of the lake. On Sunday one hole off of Firelane 8 (Neenah area) only had 3-6” of ice, according to Lake Park Sportsman Club.
The rain on Sunday did leave its mark on the ice, and the ice reports in this report are prior to the rainfall. The expectation of worsening water clarity can be expected short term due to the rain, along with a sloppy surface. The impending snow storm will also change the dynamics of the lake. Heavy snowfall could produce new cracks.
Lake Poygan has roughly about 15” of ice. Side Note: The Bay of Green Bay at Sand Bay has about 10” of ice.
“Party on Poygan” took place this weekend. Overall the bite was mixed, but more anglers struggled than succeeded. Of the 377 fish registered, only five were walleyes. Even more surprising – no northern pike were registered. The top 5 places looked like this: 1 Steve Cottrell 3.583 lb Walleye, 2 Jason Clark 2.178 Walleye, 3 Andy Evenson 2.01 White Bass, 4 Mike Kallas 1.776 White Bass, 5 Brady Rennert 1.729 White Bass. White bass dominated the day. Glow colors were working well, especially with white bellies or accents. This white coloration is consistent with many of the forage bases in Lake Poygan.
Lake Winnebago saw significant action this weekend. The west shore is almost car/truck ready, but many of the clubs have refrained from placing bridges as some areas of the ice remain under the 12” minimum required by club bylaws. ATV travel was common.
The East Shore has seen the majority of the action. By Sunday, many of the landings had taken a beating. Heavy truck and car activity has been seen, and plowed roads and markers are in excellent shape once past the access point. Slush pockets were common off the main road. Remember trees laying on their side means bad ice.
The Brothertown and Quinney areas have seen huge schools of fish, as observed on many of the fish finders/locators. Heavy overhead traffic and fishing pressure have resulted in a soft bite within the crowds. Staying in less pressured areas can produce bigger baskets of fish. For the finicky fish, try downsizing the presentation to a small tungsten jig tipped with either a waxie or minnow head. On days with an aggressive bite, a jigging rap is the perfect choice.
There has been a solid bite for white bass, and these fish are the main target of most anglers. I have received several reports of an excellent walleye bite going on also, but do not have the specifics as to location or method. Average size of these walleyes were in the 13-19+ inch ranges.
The Fisherman’s Road and Pipe areas have a difficult ice surface to navigate, and travel is very difficult even in an ATV. Fishing has been subpar here, however; there seems to be a good population of fish.
On the Bay of Green Bay, the whitefish action is outstanding right now. Sand Bay (Sturgeon Bay Area) is the focal point of anglers. Travel out to the main group is easy on an ATV, as long as you follow the establish trail. Several unbridged cracks must be crossed to reach the key area. These cracks are working, and wind conditions must be observed at all times. We experienced this on Saturday when our path out, did not become our path back home, as the crack opened up and became unpassable.
Gold colored jigging raps or Echotails were the preferred lures, with a slider and waxie. This was fast and furious fishing, and our group pulled a nine man limit (ten guys) in just a couple of hours after locating the schools. The whitefish have been staging on deep breaks, hanging in the 30-40 foot ranges on a 70 foot drop. Heavy water current can be expected, so be sure to bring some heavier weighted lures with you to stay vertical.
We are two weeks out of the start of sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago. This year will likely prove to be challenging with current ice conditions and water clarity. A lot can happen in two weeks, but at least at this point it appears we will have a season.
Be sure to support your local bait shops and fishing clubs. This has been a tough year for revenue for these businesses and clubs. [email protected] is my email should you need to contact me. Stay on top and have a great week!
