The area has seen consistent temperature changes during the last week and this trend is predicted going into this weekend. One trend was very evident: as the temperature goes up, the bite gets better. As the temperature drops the fish become negative. Lake conditions remain unchanged with ice depths in the upper 20 inch range. There are a lot of guys on the pond and general consensus is that the lake is very hit-n-miss right now.
Fishing was solid off of Merritt Street in Oshkosh for a good chunk of the week, but has started to tail off during the week. Walleyes, Sauger, perch and eelpout are found in this area, especially to the north of the launch. The mouth of the Fox River has some walleyes beginning to stage for the spring run. There are some perch mixed in also. Limits of nice sized eyes are being reported. I do not suggest anyone ever fishing there on the ice due to the water flows from the river and inconsistent ice. Please use extreme caution if you do take the risk.
The North shore has had some perch action. Think pink for Perch. It has been working well all season. Quinney has been having very solid success on white bass. At times the action is fast and furious, but a lot of moving is required to get on top of a school. Walleyes and sauger are in the mix there also. An area just north of the old Chaparral in Fond du Lac was producing some good numbers of perch, but these fish were still running on the small size with an occasional jumbo thrown in the bag.
The walleyes are most active in low light periods like sun rise and sunset. Metallic spoons continue to dominate the presentation style tipped with meat (minnow or waxies). Make sure to stay close to the bottom. There really has been a trend toward small minnows this week for all fish types, especially the walleye.
Not much to report from Lake Poygan, except that the pike are still in the bays and can be taken on big shiners set in the upper quarter of the water column. Crappies are also being reported on small minnows and a gill pill.
The action on the lake is mixed and those walleye are waiting for a warm water signal that spring is coming. If we do get some melting and run off this weekend as predicted, it could make for a great weekend of fishing. It just might be a good idea to have a GPS handy in case of fog and be alert for quickly changing ice conditions.
Send your reports to [email protected]. And don’t forget to enter into the sturgeon weight guess contest in the forums.
