Bear tags for the 2017 season came out this past week so if you applied for a kill tag you should be receiving a notice very soon if your name was drawn. If you are looking for an outfitter or guide give us a call at Hooksetters. We have been very successful over the years on putting our customers on outstanding hunts.
 

Now this is the second time this year I am stating this announcement. Ice conditions in Central Wisconsin are unsafe for vehicle travel. We have had an unseasonably warm winter and recent rain combined with record high temperatures have deteriorated the ice conditions and raised water levels on the river system making it very unstable. Use extreme caution if you head out and watch for black ice, soft ice and ice around the shorelines, especially on the flowages. River levels rise on flowages and the ice deteriorates around the edges of these systems faster than normal lakes.
 

Instead of heading out on the ice a lot of people are actually out on the open water targeting walleyes below the dams right now. And yes, they are having some success!
 

With that said the fishing has been very good where we have been able to find good ice. Walleyes, panfish and pike have all been very active and not only are we seeing numbers we are getting some good sized fish as well.
 

With the poor ice conditions most of our fishing has been in the northern part of the region lately. We are not on flowages or river systems but we are fishing inland lakes with no current running through them. For the most part these are clear, deeper lakes, with plenty of vegetation and good numbers of fish.
 

When targeting lakes like this we look for abundant weed beds and/or deep mud flats depending on the species we are targeting that day. In and around the weed beds you will find the pike, panfish, and walleyes and out over the mud flats is where we have been finding our perch.
 

Using our flasher units has been key to us being successful but another great tool is having an App. on our phones called Navionics. It is a simple download that gets you contour maps of lakes that shows your exact position on the lake that you are fishing. What I actually have my Hummingbird 1197 rigged to a Ram arm on the front of my 4-wheeler. Believe me having the big screen and mapping capabilities really makes a lot of difference.
 

With spring outdoor shows in full swing stop on down and the Wausau Musky Show this weekend at the Patriot Center in Cedar Creek Mall in Wausau, Wisconsin. Make sure you swing in and visit the guys at Elk River Rods, they will have a booth set up and some great show specials. I will be down there myself on Friday.
 

Have a great week,
 

Phil Schweik
Hooksetters Guide Service
Phone: 715-693-5843