Welcome to the Ice Fishing season! The past week has provided the area with up to 18 inches of new snow, bitter cold temperatures and the first signs of lake ice. There has been very little activity on the lake as of Friday, due to unsafe ice conditions.
Since there are no fishing reports to speak of as of yet, here is a recap of ice conditions as of Friday December 11th.
The south end of the lake has ice formed as far as visible from shore. The ice in this area is pretty poor, with a lot of sharp build ups on the ice surface. The east side also has a bad ice surface. The Southeastern portion of the lake near Sunset Supper club has much smoother ice, and looks to be in excellent shape, as is the Big Hole (Harbor) in Fond du Lac.
Reports indicate that the western shore has good forming ice, without much surface obstruction.
Asylum bay has been fished with limited success for pan fish. Ice thickness was about 2-3 inches in the bay. Skipper Buds, a traditional early ice hot spot, is affected by the road construction of the Buttes des Mortes Bridge project. It is too early to tell what the effect of the construction will be on fishing this winter. I suspect it will be subpar this season due to the changed environment.
Critter’s Sports (Winneconne) is holding their “Big Freeze Ice Fishing show” this Saturday. Be sure to stop in and talk some fishing. I hope to be at the show for a few hours in the afternoon. Feel free to stop in and say hello. We also have added a fan page on face book this past week. Be sure to check it out. Some of the world’s best walleye anglers are already ”fans” (Mark Martin, Pat Neu, Gary Parsons, Brian Brosdahl, Doc Sampson, Marty Glorvigen and many others). Feel free to use the forums or main page to pick their brains. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fond-Du-Lac-WI/My-Fishing-Partner/222624783318
I expect some decent fishing reports over the weekend, when many people will hit the frozen water for the first time. Be smart on the ice, and remember no ice is ever safe ice. Please send me your reports when done. I purchased another batch of My Fishing Partner hats, so you never know when I might reward someone who has provided some good fishing information! [email protected]
