A new shot of snow helped brighten things up this week in northern Wisconsin which is good news for the snowmobile/skiing crowd, and colder temperatures have continued to build ice on the Hayward area lakes and Chequamegon Bay. Aron and Josh continue to stay on a consistent bite with another productive week in the books. After the Super Bowl, you’re out of excuses for not getting on the ice!
Aron Kastern and his gang have a new addition to their fleet on Chequamegon Bay. This new sleeper shack is now for rent, and you can contact us for rates and availability. The shack will give you access to some of the great fishing that’s been happening on the bay this winter, and Aron’s report is consistent with the previous week. Smelt, whitefish, perch, and trout are being caught around the lighthouse in 12′ – 30′ of water. Aron says to focus in on remaining weeds and use small spoons tipped with minnow heads or waxies for this mixed bag bite. Automatic Fishermen rigged with smelt or shiners also do the trick. Walleyes and perch continue to bite on the weed flats around second landing as well. Aron suggests targeting 7′ – 25′ of water, but he stresses that you have to stay mobile as these fish are constantly on the move. Perch have been running up to 13″, and walleyes up to 25″. The same presentations work with flashy spoons and rattle spoons catching most fish. The ice from Washburn to Long Island is stable with a good trout bite happening in 30′ – 80′ of water. Flashy spoons tipped with plastics or minnows are catching nice browns, splake, and lakers. Again, staying mobile until you land on active fish is the best approach. Those are a couple of dandy browns Brad Joanis is holding up. Good to see you back in the report Brad! Snowmobile and ATV travel are both smooth. Just be careful of pressure cracks and scout them out good before crossing. Aron does not recommend any travel on the ice between the Sioux River and Bayfield with variable and unsafe conditions at this time. Stay on top of those fish, and keep the great reports coming Aron!
The mixed bag trend has continued on our inland waters, and Josh Teigen’s customers had some big catches this week. Pike have been active in 5′ – 15′ of water around weeds. One of Josh’s trips produced 21 fish up to 27″ during the first half of the day along with a few walleyes toward evening in 12′ – 15′ of water. Tip-ups and shiners did the trick. Josh had another crew that put perch, crappies, bass, pike, and walleyes on the ice by the end of their trip. Now that’s a full day! Panfish were snapping on jigs with plastics in 12′ – 20′ of water, and tip-ups with shiners caught all of the fish with teeth. Big numbers days like this don’t come easy though. Tip-ups must be constantly monitored and moved along with continuous searching to stay on top of active panfish schools. It’s like anything… You’ll get out what you put in. Unfortunately for the fish, Josh gets after it! Inland ice conditions are great with over a foot of ice and just a few inches of snow on most.
Great stuff from the guys once again. Enjoy the lakes, enjoy the fish, and enjoy the game. Have a great weekend!
Jeff Evans
jeffevansfishing.com
