This past week we have seen very good ice fishing conditions that have led to some great outings. The panfish bite has been very good with nice catches of bluegills, crappies and perch coming from several different area lakes. Most of the panfish activity has revolved around weeds in 6 to 8 feet of water. We are running tip downs baited up with small crappie sized minnows for the perch and crappies as well as jigging with small ice jigs in orange and yellow for the gills. Most of the time we are tipping our jigs with waxies or spikes but to target the larger fish we are tipping our jigs with plastics.
Walleyes have been active this past week and the bite has primarily been an evening bite. The hour before dark and then again about an hour after dark have produced some very nice fish for us. We have been catching them by jigging with Northland Buckshot spoons tipped with a minnow head and on tip-ups baited with small suckers or golden shiners. We are fishing right near the bottom in 4 to 10 feet of water as long as it is associated with weeds.
The northern pike activity has been outstanding all season long. For anglers looking at having your line peeled off your tip-up at lightning like speed or your rod jarred sharply from your grip this is the prey you are after. We have seen very good action from these toothy critters every time we have targeted them. We are running tip-ups baited with large golden shiners or sucker minnows and we are jigging with large flashy spoons like the Northland Buckshot spoon in fire tiger and perch patterns. Most of our action has been on our tip-ups set above weed lines in 4 to 6 feet of water but we are also getting some of our pike jigging on open flats in 10 to 15 feet of water right on the structure breaks.
Last week I also experienced some of the great fishing to be had on Green Bay as we targeted whitefish on the bay. We were in about 50 feet of water jigging Swedish pimples and jigging Rapalas right on the bottom. The strikes were sharp and the battle from 50 feet down was definitely something to be remembered. We had a great outing and ended up landing a pile of fish. I can’t wait until my next trip!
Have a great week,
Phil Schweik
Licensed Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Guide
Hooksetters Guide Service www.hooksetters.biz
Ruttnut Guide Service www.ruttnut.com
Reed & Hoppe Wildlife Food Plots www.foodplotting.com
