A cold front greeted the New Year providing hope that Lake Winnebago could regain its ice sheet in the near future. About two thirds of Lake Winnebago is ice covered, but large pockets of open water still remain especially along the south shore. On New Year’s Eve, open water could be seen from Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac, out to about the Third Reef. High winds have been preventing the formation of ice.
Needless to say, not much ice fishing is occurring on Lake Winnebago right now. If you do find viable ice in the area, the ice sheet is extremely slick. Every angler should consider some type of boot cleat for safety.
In Fond du Lac, the western channels are frozen in Lakeside Park and a few people have been fishing near the train. The Big Hole (Harbor) has had some activity based on drilled holes, but fishing has been weak at best. On New Year’s Eve, not a single fisherman was fishing in the Big Hole.
Along the western shore, some of the areas were open water just a few hours ago. The ice is not safe for any type of travel on Lake Winnebago.
Asylum Bay and Millers Bay have approximately 7-9” of ice. The pan fish bite has been nonexistent the past ten days. There have not been a lot of fish on the cameras in these areas, and it is safe to reason that many of the fish have moved out to deeper water.
Lake Poygan has been the place to be. There were a few sketchy days on the ice, with the breakdown of the ice sheet last weekend with the warm weather (almost 50 degrees). The ice has solidified in most areas, and ATV travel is occurring frequently. HOWEVER, we observed open water in several locations so be sure you know where you are going on Lake Poygan. We found ice thickness to be anywhere from 6-11” of ice.
Horseshoe Hole has been busy. There is a good mix of crappies, white bass and walleyes moving through the area. There is also a pocket of white bass to the west of the Horseshoe Hole.
We noticed that the white bass have been roaming, and would come through in waves. In some cases we found drilling a few holes actually attracted fish to the area.
Bait size was critical to success. We tried the smallest sized jigging rap, and the fish seemed to be spooked by the size and profile. Small Kastmaster spoons (size 1/24) and buckshot spoons were effective baits. We also saw the smallest size Swedish Pimple working well. Any color was working, as long as it had a gold plated back. Our best success was with the spoons untipped, speaking volumes about the small profile.
There have been walleye reported within walking distance of Noffke’s Launch in Winneconne. These fish were just outside the launch, and were attracted to a little larger profile bait such as a Jigging Rap or Rippin Rap.
A cold weather pattern is in the long range forecast. If the winds will remain light, it is conceivable to think that the ice will form quickly on all area lakes. Area bait shops have been struggling due to inconsistent ice conditions this season. Be sure to stop in and make a small purchase at your local bait dealer, just to keep them going during this rough patch.
Have a great start to the New Year, and stay on top of the ice! [email protected] is my email to submit your fishing reports. Thanks for visiting the site.
