By Mark Schram
Lake Winnebago has made a complete turnaround over the past 10 days in regards to ice conditions. The recent snowstorm, then the quick melt was followed by a cold snap. As a result of the extended cold snap, the ice surface has smoothed out after the melting, and the depth of the ice has thickened. Snow pack is minimal, and drifting is light, especially on the south end of the lake. From Oshkosh north, a deeper snow depth is likely on the ice surface.
Over the past week, the water clarity has improved. The southwest corner of the lake has pockets of clearer water, but most of the lake has visibility somewhere between 5-9 feet currently.
Ice depth in general runs from 13-21 inches this week on Lake Winnebago. Lake Poygan has average ice depths in excess of 20 inches. There are areas which should be avoided, but overall current conditions are about as good as it gets on Lake Winnebago. My ice checks this week showed 21.5”out of Stockbridge, 19 inches out of Pipe, 18” off of Merritt, 19” out of Quinney and 17” out of the BP in Fond du Lac.
This week is the celebration of the sturgeon with the opening weekend of spearing occurring around Valentine’s Day. A total of over 14,000 permits were issued. Water clarity has hindered harvest rates, and the main lake should see a full 16 day season. There has been little traditional ice fishing this week on the system. Daily coverage of the sturgeon season can be found either on our Facebook page or on the main web site. www.facebook.com/myfishingpartner.
There have been some positive fishing reports this week, but overall the bite on Lake Winnebago and Lake Poygan has been hit-n-miss.
There are two key areas of production on Lake Winnebago currently. Three to four miles out of Asylum Bay (directly out from the lighthouse) has had a nice school of white bass and large crappies. Look to naked jigging raps as your first choice of lure, in bright colors to combat water clarity. Perch are large but rare.
Three miles out of Merritt Street (Oshkosh) has another large school of white bass. This school is impacted by overhead noise and the bass tend to move away from the crowd. Be observant, as you will see the shacks migrate with the fish. Downsizing your bait can be a key attractant to these fish if fishing pressure is high. Don’t be afraid to try a tungsten jig in this atmosphere, tipped with some meat. Sunday was extremely slow, but the rest of the week has been solid.
Walleye fishing has been very slow to date on Lake Winnebago. When walleyes are caught they are running on the small size, typically between 10-12 inches. There have been some slightly larger walleyes caught (14-16”) south of the Fox River’s mouth in Oshkosh.
I tried some areas of the lake this week without any real success, and only marked a few fish. I was definitely away from the crowd and never saw another hole-hopper on Saturday.
Eel Pout (a.k.a. Pout, Lawyers, burbot, lota lota, Ling, Cusk, Lush, Loche, fresh water cod, Mudblow and Poor Man’s Lobster) have been moving up onto the shallow reefs. The pout are the first fish on the system to spawn, and that’s exactly what is occurring now. Look for rocky bars with less than 7 feet of water to find these fish.
The weather forecast does not look kind for ice fishermen. Warm temperatures and rain are expected this week. This could be devastating to the current ice conditions on the lake, if the rain is heavy and the temperatures rise above 50 (forecast is 47 degrees).
Next week will remain focused on sturgeon spearing, followed by an intense week leading into Battle on Bago. The lake will remain a very busy place, assuming the ice holds out.
Given the current forecasts, and the El Nino winter, it is not inconceivable that there will be boats out in De Pere, WI (Fox River) by the first week in March. We may have an early spawning run for walleyes in 2016. However, Mother Nature tends to throw curve balls at us in Wisconsin.
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