Fishing Report

We have made it through the latest warmup and it looks like the temps are going to get cold! The main ice sheet is around 10″, however the areas that typically go bad first got pretty thin. I would expect this week for the ice to even out with the cold we have forecasted, and I would guess we will see cars and trucks starting to drive out later this week.

The bite has remained fairly consistent this entire season. There are a lot of fish in the dredge lines east of the landing, but the trick has been figuring out what they want to eat. The guys who are solving that mystery are coming off the ice with a lot of nice fish, however not everyone is able to get the fish to fire. Everyone is reporting that they are having no trouble finding the fish!

The perch in shallower water seem to be following the pattern from last winter. Instead of schooling up in large schools like we are used to seeing in the winter, they are in smaller groups roaming the sand flats. This means that you will catch 1-2 fish at a time and then wait for the next small school to move in. That being said you can still find areas of high concentrations of perch and have more action. The running theory at the Schafers Think Tank is that the shrimp population remains elevated this year and is providing an abundant food source for the fish to feed on. It will be interesting to see if this pattern stays through the season, or if they start schooling up in larger numbers.

The shad seem to have rebounded from last year, and the tip ups have been slower so far this season. I think as the winter goes along we will see an increase in northern and bass being caught.

When you stop in for the latest report or to pickup some bait make sure that you secure the food in your sleds. Rex has gotten really good at sniffing out snacks!

We have just over 3 inches this morning. There have been several guys out a few hundred yards from the shop trying it. I will continue to update as the ice conditions change.

The ice is here! We currently have around 4 inches of clear hard ice. With how fast everything froze this year I think the lake needs to settle down a bit before the fishing can get really good. The water is still stained, and when I was out yesterday the fish were still scattered. That being said I did catch fish! Stop in for the latest report, we are fully stocked on bait and ready to go.

The lake is starting to cooperate, and the fishing is picking up. The perch are about finished spawning but there is a good post spawn bite on the lake that a lot of guys miss out on. The walleyes are spawning right now and the dams have been busy. The water seems to be warm enough for the crappies to be moving into their pre spawn areas and the fishing for them should be good for the next couple weeks. Spring fishing is definitely starting, stop in for the latest report!

We got about 4″ of heavy snow, which is exactly what we didn’t need. There are areas of open water still as well as spots that the snow turned to slush. Once we hit this cold weather be careful going out, I don’t think we are going to have an even thickness ice sheet to start out. The snow forecasted for Friday could also have a negative impact on the ice formation. All that bad news out of the way we will be able to get out once we have this cold spell.

We are making ice (again). There is still open water from Halfway creek past Marge’s island. This season has definitely been frustrating with a lot of people saying they don’t remember ice coming this late. It looks like we will be building fishable ice, its hard to say exactly when but I bet guys will start creeping out this weekend.

If your looking for good news the river is over 6 ft right now in La Crosse with the flow high for winter. This generally means that the fishing is good on the lake as the fish like to avoid higher flow this time of year.

Well it is currently raining so that is not good news. We are holding on to what little ice we had for now, but the forecast still does not look good. It is going to be the new year at the earliest before we can get out any distance from the landing. Stop in and check out the new shop in the meantime!

The water is finally getting back down to normal. This spring so far has not been too friendly to fisherman, but it looks good moving forward. The weather has finally stabilized and now that water levels will be more consistent the fish can start settling into their normal habits.

I am getting reports that the crappies are spawning/spawned out. It looks like they started during the high water, hopefully the eggs hatched before the water dropped. They are definitely still being caught and the bite should remain good in the deeper water for the next few weeks. The bass are on beds and are next up to spawn. The pike are absolutely on fire, you will catch one even if you aren’t fishing for them. Bluegills are still hard to come by. I expect in the next week or so we will see the males moving shallow to start making beds.

The landing is open, and stayed open through most of the high water. I am going to try and get the dock put in tomorrow at the landing. Stop in for the latest report!

ICE UPDATE: I took a ride on my ATV this morning and punched some holes. The ice seemed to hold up really well. Directly across from the shop it is still 12-14″. To the east closer to Halfway Creek it was more in the 10-12″ range. I also checked the corner where the channel comes out behind the skinny island. (A known bad spot) In the two holes I drilled one had 10″ and one was closer to 6″. The extended forecast looks promising with two cold nights tomorrow and Friday. After a brief warmup over the weekend we will have good temps with highs right around freezing and lows in the teens. If the forecast holds it should repair the ice and we should be able to keep fishing for at least the next two weeks. Be careful and stop and use a spud if you aren’t sure.

Thanks,