What a month for mid-winter. Typically, by the end of January, we would see 30-34” of ice and at least a foot or more of snow. This year, as January winds down to its end, we are looking at 7-12” of ice (as little as 4-5” on Trout) and no real snow, just slush (1-4”). Fishing, though typically tougher in mid-winter, seems to be holding its own. Sure we’re seeing a drop-off in action, as is the norm, but the lack of snow cover and lack of ice thickness, allowing more light for remaining aquatic plants to produce oxygen, is helping some with activity.
Northern Pike: Fair-Good – Pike action picked up as the week went on. Nothing special here, big shiners and suckers attracting the biggest fish.
Crappie: Fair-Good – May be due to the lack of ice, but there seems to continue to be a two “story” fishery. Anglers fishing green, tall narrow leaf cabbage in 10-12’ slow dropping Lethal Cecils, Shrimpos and rockers tipped with waxies. At the same time, a large portion of the Crappie population suspending over deeper basins in 22-30’ of water. Clam Pinheads, Tikka Flash as well as #4 glow tungsten jigs tipped with waxies. In both areas, tip-downs with small rosies or regular Crappie minnows doing well.
Yellow Perch: Fair-Good – Perch seem to be concentrating together in deeper water. Gold or glow Kastmasters, Pimples and Halis tipped with wigglers (when available) best over mud of 20-30’. Shallower flats (12-18) seem to have smaller fish in most cases. Anglers finding some Perch in broad leaf cabbage flats of 7-10’ using Bluegill shaped jigs tipped with waxies.
Largemouth Bass: Fair-Good – Liking the warm weather, LMB showing up on tip-ups and jigging spoons in and along weed flats.
Bluegill: Fair-Good – Gill catches vary. Several days last week, Gills (and other species) were “present” but not biting except for small windows of time, usually just an hour before dusk. Things improving as we seem to be moving away from full moon phase.
Walleye: Poor-Good – With green weeds still present in depths of 8-12’ – good places to set up tip-ups with medium shiners just before dusk. Humps sporting sandgrass or rock bringing fish in the evenings as well.
Overall fishing picking up from the lows of the previous week. Not first ice good, but probably better than most end of January.
Forecast have 14 straight days of temps above freezing (34-45 degrees) with all but two nights with temps below (23-27 degrees). We won’t make ice during this time, but shouldn’t lose either. The tops of most lakes have slush ranging from1-4”. On some lakes the water has drained off. Either way, water proof (rubber) boots, cleats, picks and floatation gear should be part of your “attire”. With some luck and a little cold we can have a full February of ice fishing in the Northwoods.
Only five weekends remain of the inland gamefish season, so make the most of it!
Upcoming Tournaments
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
Feb 17th – Lake Tomahawk Family Fisheree – Lake Tomahawk
Feb 24th – 3rd Annual Newbold Fire Dept Ice Fishing Tournament – Muskellunge Lake
Mar 2nd – KISS Annual High School Ice Fishing Tournament – Lake Minocqua
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Ya fishing is average at best. Weather is phenomenal though. Crappie came home with us but the eyes went back. We caught em deep and early in the day on minnows. Ice was decent I would say a foot but didn’t measure. Saw three trucks on the water today …. Would not recommend that!
Thursday 1/25/24
I've been in the northwoods for 30-some years now and I've never seen a winter like this one. No snowmobiling, great ice comes and then goes away, a brown Christmas and now another blast of warm weather. The ice is solid. All nice and clear with very little gray stuff. There's a little slush on it right now but hopefully the warm weather will get rid of that. The arctic blast we got a little while ago didn't seem to add much to the ice total. But what we have is great. I've seen all sorts of vehicle on the ice including a truck for two. But I'm not advocating it at all, ever. And you know why.
The fishing is average at best. The guys who have their spots dialed in are catching fish in small windows while the guys who are still searching are having mixed results. The biggest pieces I can give you are find green weeds and fish just outside of them or find the holes in those weedbeds and fish right inside of them. And finally fish in low light conditions, early and late in the day.
Most fish species are all spread out and feeding in different areas depending on the body of water. Don't spend too much time in one place. Use those daylight hours to search the area you are fishing for the spots you want to be on when the light goes low. Remember, just because you find fish in 50 FOW at noon doesn't mean that's where they're going to be when they start biting. Find what they are feeding on and set up there when the lights get low. Time consuming I know but that's January fishing. Find those spots, GPS them and hit them hard.
Still, as far as jigs and lures go, seems the best ones now are the ones with diamond sequences on the front (Jake's diamond jigs, Clam Epoxy Drop) or ones that have a small spoon attached (lethal cecil, gill-getters, tikka flash, pinhead minnows).
Enjoy the conditions while you can. One thing about warm weather is it makes for nice conditions to fish in. Don't worry about the ice melting, it's gonna be there a long time. Get your spikes back out cuz it's gonna be slippery again. You know the northwoods. It can change in a hurry.
------------
We are in the February end of season sale to NOW. Come on in the store to check it out. We are adding new items every day to the specials list. They are also on the website. While you're on the site make sure to sign up for our newsletters so you will be the first to know when we add more items.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, White, Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Pink & Multi-colored Spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Rosie Reds, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium and Large River Shiners and Golden Shiners, Wigglers and Mousees. We do have wigglers by the pint if you are interested.
Our hours are:
Monday thru Thursday - 6am to 6pm
Friday - 6am to 7pm
Saturday & Sunday - 6am to 5pm
We have to continue to squelch a few rumors. The shop is still for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. WE ARE NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! If you have an interest in owning and operating the largest non-franchised bait shop in Wisconsin, call Jeff at 715-892-2751.
Jeff Bolander, owner of Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guide Post
715-892-2751 cell
www.deweycatchemandhow.com
I've been in the northwoods for 30-some years now and I've never seen a winter like this one. No snowmobiling, great ice comes and then goes away, a brown Christmas and now another blast of warm weather. The ice is solid. All nice and clear with very little gray stuff. There's a little slush on it right now but hopefully the warm weather will get rid of that. The arctic blast we got a little while ago didn't seem to add much to the ice total. But what we have is great. I've seen all sorts of vehicle on the ice including a truck for two. But I'm not advocating it at all, ever. And you know why.
The fishing is average at best. The guys who have their spots dialed in are catching fish in small windows while the guys who are still searching are having mixed results. The biggest pieces I can give you are find green weeds and fish just outside of them or find the holes in those weedbeds and fish right inside of them. And finally fish in low light conditions, early and late in the day.
Most fish species are all spread out and feeding in different areas depending on the body of water. Don't spend too much time in one place. Use those daylight hours to search the area you are fishing for the spots you want to be on when the light goes low. Remember, just because you find fish in 50 FOW at noon doesn't mean that's where they're going to be when they start biting. Find what they are feeding on and set up there when the lights get low. Time consuming I know but that's January fishing. Find those spots, GPS them and hit them hard.
Still, as far as jigs and lures go, seems the best ones now are the ones with diamond sequences on the front (Jake's diamond jigs, Clam Epoxy Drop) or ones that have a small spoon attached (lethal cecil, gill-getters, tikka flash, pinhead minnows).
Enjoy the conditions while you can. One thing about warm weather is it makes for nice conditions to fish in. Don't worry about the ice melting, it's gonna be there a long time. Get your spikes back out cuz it's gonna be slippery again. You know the northwoods. It can change in a hurry.
------------
We are in the February end of season sale to NOW. Come on in the store to check it out. We are adding new items every day to the specials list. They are also on the website. While you're on the site make sure to sign up for our newsletters so you will be the first to know when we add more items.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, White, Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Pink & Multi-colored Spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Rosie Reds, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium and Large River Shiners and Golden Shiners, Wigglers and Mousees. We do have wigglers by the pint if you are interested.
Our hours are:
Monday thru Thursday - 6am to 6pm
Friday - 6am to 7pm
Saturday & Sunday - 6am to 5pm
We have to continue to squelch a few rumors. The shop is still for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. WE ARE NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! If you have an interest in owning and operating the largest non-franchised bait shop in Wisconsin, call Jeff at 715-892-2751.
Jeff Bolander, owner of Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guide Post
715-892-2751 cell
www.deweycatchemandhow.com
With the number of sub-zero nights we had last week, several in negative teens, we disappointedly did not get all the ice I thought for sure we would have by now. Seems what snow we did get from the previous “storm” (3-4”) was enough to insulate the lakes and slow ice production.
I conservatively predicted 10-12” by last Fri/Sat. Unfortunately, most reports were of 7-10” (I found 9” on two separate lakes) with a few well-trodden lakes supporting up to 12-12 ½”. There were even reports of open water last week on Trout, Tomahawk, Fence, Big Crawling Stone and an open rift from Rock Island to North Bay on the Willow Flowage. Some of these areas froze over during last Thursday’s cold, windless morning (1/18), but should still be traveled with extreme caution.
Northern Pike: Poor-Good – A few nice fish reported over the weekend following days of very few anglers out due to cold. Tip-ups with large shiners or suckers, no real secrets here, work weed beds of 6-12’ with green weeds.
Crappie: Fair-Good – Very small windows of activity. Best over basins of 22-30’ of water. Small Kastmasters, Pinhead jigs, Tikka Flash and T-Rips tipped with waxies. Fish spotted suspended 4-8’ off bottom, selective bite. If not interested in above spoons, drop small (#3) tungsten jigs w/hair and single spike to coax bites. With warm up on the way, tip-downs with small minnows should do better.
Bluegill: Poor-Fair – Lots of “lookers”. Barometer must have fish “spooky” as lots of reports of fish on the screen, but not biting. Tiny jigs (#2.5 Fiskas, #12 Rockers) in dull finishes tipped with single red or colored spike teased some bites. As the week moves on and temps warm, expect better action in weeds of 6-10’ but also look for suspended Gill over sandgrass or mud in 18-26’.
Yellow Perch: Poor-Fair – Like Gills, two places to find. Weed fish in 6-10’ taking Northland Forage Minnows and Z-Vibes loaded with waxies. Also, the mud flat bite is slowly, but surely, picking up as a few anglers are reporting some action over mud basins of 20-30’ using Halis tipped with wigglers or red spikes. Bang the mud to create a disturbance and watch closely on your flasher for Perch to move in.
Largemouth Bass: Poor-Fair – A few reports over the weekend as temps got into mid-teens. Watch as this species will get active as weather warms. Medium shiners on tip-ups, Jiggin Raps and Rippin Raps in the cabbage of 6-10’.
Walleye: Poor-Fair – Bite fell off during week, started to slowly pick up by weekend. Most bites at dusk over sandgrass or along deep weed edges as Walleyes move up for the night. Walleye suckers, medium river shiners on tip-ups. A few reports of Walleye taking #3 Jiggin Raps fished over sandgrass of 16-18’ on 1/21, two hours before dusk.
Super cold, super high pressure, super low pressure and the dreaded east-southeast wind all seemed to put a damper on this past week’s bite. Things looking up as the forecast shows milder temps and more westerly winds. No major cold to help with what has to be the least amount of ice we’ve seen in the Northwoods this late in the season.
As stated, expect to find 7-10” averages (some as little as 4” others to 12”) with 1-2” of slush between the ice and 3” of snow. Snowmobiles and ATV use has been fine so far, some UTV where ice 8”+, but definitely no trucks, don’t risk your life or anyone else’s! Wise to keep a float suit or life preserver on if venturing out to unknown or big water.
Upcoming Tournaments
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
I conservatively predicted 10-12” by last Fri/Sat. Unfortunately, most reports were of 7-10” (I found 9” on two separate lakes) with a few well-trodden lakes supporting up to 12-12 ½”. There were even reports of open water last week on Trout, Tomahawk, Fence, Big Crawling Stone and an open rift from Rock Island to North Bay on the Willow Flowage. Some of these areas froze over during last Thursday’s cold, windless morning (1/18), but should still be traveled with extreme caution.
Northern Pike: Poor-Good – A few nice fish reported over the weekend following days of very few anglers out due to cold. Tip-ups with large shiners or suckers, no real secrets here, work weed beds of 6-12’ with green weeds.
Crappie: Fair-Good – Very small windows of activity. Best over basins of 22-30’ of water. Small Kastmasters, Pinhead jigs, Tikka Flash and T-Rips tipped with waxies. Fish spotted suspended 4-8’ off bottom, selective bite. If not interested in above spoons, drop small (#3) tungsten jigs w/hair and single spike to coax bites. With warm up on the way, tip-downs with small minnows should do better.
Bluegill: Poor-Fair – Lots of “lookers”. Barometer must have fish “spooky” as lots of reports of fish on the screen, but not biting. Tiny jigs (#2.5 Fiskas, #12 Rockers) in dull finishes tipped with single red or colored spike teased some bites. As the week moves on and temps warm, expect better action in weeds of 6-10’ but also look for suspended Gill over sandgrass or mud in 18-26’.
Yellow Perch: Poor-Fair – Like Gills, two places to find. Weed fish in 6-10’ taking Northland Forage Minnows and Z-Vibes loaded with waxies. Also, the mud flat bite is slowly, but surely, picking up as a few anglers are reporting some action over mud basins of 20-30’ using Halis tipped with wigglers or red spikes. Bang the mud to create a disturbance and watch closely on your flasher for Perch to move in.
Largemouth Bass: Poor-Fair – A few reports over the weekend as temps got into mid-teens. Watch as this species will get active as weather warms. Medium shiners on tip-ups, Jiggin Raps and Rippin Raps in the cabbage of 6-10’.
Walleye: Poor-Fair – Bite fell off during week, started to slowly pick up by weekend. Most bites at dusk over sandgrass or along deep weed edges as Walleyes move up for the night. Walleye suckers, medium river shiners on tip-ups. A few reports of Walleye taking #3 Jiggin Raps fished over sandgrass of 16-18’ on 1/21, two hours before dusk.
Super cold, super high pressure, super low pressure and the dreaded east-southeast wind all seemed to put a damper on this past week’s bite. Things looking up as the forecast shows milder temps and more westerly winds. No major cold to help with what has to be the least amount of ice we’ve seen in the Northwoods this late in the season.
As stated, expect to find 7-10” averages (some as little as 4” others to 12”) with 1-2” of slush between the ice and 3” of snow. Snowmobiles and ATV use has been fine so far, some UTV where ice 8”+, but definitely no trucks, don’t risk your life or anyone else’s! Wise to keep a float suit or life preserver on if venturing out to unknown or big water.
Upcoming Tournaments
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
Don’t look now, but winter is here! Halfway through January and the cold and snow has finally arrived. Here, up North, the snow wasn’t too much, 3-4” of light stuff. The cold and windchill on the other hand is substantial. Temps in the double digits below zero at night and wind chills of 20-30 below kept a lot of anglers off the ice by Saturday (1/13). Prior to that, fishing was very good, especially Friday before the front hit. Ice conditions are improving fairly rapidly with the sub-zero temps. As much as this weekend hurt, it will only make things better for the remainder of January into February.
Crappie: Very Good-Poor – Reports on Thurs/Fri (1/11-12) were hot! Anglers could do no wrong working basin Crappies in 22-30’ of water 3-5’ off the bottom. Small flashy spoons (Kastmasters, Flash Champs, Bull Spoons) as well as #3 Ultralight Rippin Raps, T-Rips and Tikka Flash lures, even not “scented up” with bait were being inhaled. Once the storm hit, that bite, along with angler participation shut down. There is still a portion of the Crappie population holding in 9-14’ weeds that are taking slow dropped plastics or grubs.
Northern Pike: Very Good-Poor – As with the other fish, Pike had been active. Weeds in 5-10’ were holding Pike, but even this bite shut down with the front. As always, big shiners and suckers on tip-ups.
Walleye: Very Good-Poor – Bite here started to slip mid-week, only to get a bump Friday morn (1/12) before really closing down. Expect more fish to move out deeper as ice thickens and rely on typical off shore humps and even some down in mud basins to feed. Suckers usually do better in these instances as well as jigging Raps.
Yellow Perch: Good-Poor – Starting to show up more in catches as more anglers moving out over mud in 15-25’. Wigglers on pimples, Kastmasters, Hallis and bull spoons. Still some nice weed fish in 5-12’ taking tiny Bluegill shaped lures, K-Rips, T-Rips and Tikka Flash. The bite also died, but should pick up this coming weekend.
Bluegill: Good-Poor – Just like everything else on report, was good, then slammed shut. Weed fish in 5-12’ on tear drop style jigs baited with waxies and mousses. Some nice Gills being found over mud basins of 15-25’ on heavier tungsten jigs tipped with spikes or mousses.
Largemouth Bass: Good-Poor – Once temps get much below 20 degrees LMB seem to bite less. Very few anglers target anyways, but they are a fun mix to anyone jigging and tip-up fishing weeds.
Getting reports of anglers finding 8-9” of ice as of early yesterday morning (1/15). Not only that, but the bite was surprisingly good (Wife filled the bird feeders twice!) So even though I doubted the mental capacity of those going out in that cold and wind, I don’t doubt that the fish bit as the barometer rose. With more lows in single below zero temps and not cracking teens for high until Saturday, we should see plenty of 10-13” of ice (to be on the conservative side) by the weekend.
Upcoming Tournaments
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
Crappie: Very Good-Poor – Reports on Thurs/Fri (1/11-12) were hot! Anglers could do no wrong working basin Crappies in 22-30’ of water 3-5’ off the bottom. Small flashy spoons (Kastmasters, Flash Champs, Bull Spoons) as well as #3 Ultralight Rippin Raps, T-Rips and Tikka Flash lures, even not “scented up” with bait were being inhaled. Once the storm hit, that bite, along with angler participation shut down. There is still a portion of the Crappie population holding in 9-14’ weeds that are taking slow dropped plastics or grubs.
Northern Pike: Very Good-Poor – As with the other fish, Pike had been active. Weeds in 5-10’ were holding Pike, but even this bite shut down with the front. As always, big shiners and suckers on tip-ups.
Walleye: Very Good-Poor – Bite here started to slip mid-week, only to get a bump Friday morn (1/12) before really closing down. Expect more fish to move out deeper as ice thickens and rely on typical off shore humps and even some down in mud basins to feed. Suckers usually do better in these instances as well as jigging Raps.
Yellow Perch: Good-Poor – Starting to show up more in catches as more anglers moving out over mud in 15-25’. Wigglers on pimples, Kastmasters, Hallis and bull spoons. Still some nice weed fish in 5-12’ taking tiny Bluegill shaped lures, K-Rips, T-Rips and Tikka Flash. The bite also died, but should pick up this coming weekend.
Bluegill: Good-Poor – Just like everything else on report, was good, then slammed shut. Weed fish in 5-12’ on tear drop style jigs baited with waxies and mousses. Some nice Gills being found over mud basins of 15-25’ on heavier tungsten jigs tipped with spikes or mousses.
Largemouth Bass: Good-Poor – Once temps get much below 20 degrees LMB seem to bite less. Very few anglers target anyways, but they are a fun mix to anyone jigging and tip-up fishing weeds.
Getting reports of anglers finding 8-9” of ice as of early yesterday morning (1/15). Not only that, but the bite was surprisingly good (Wife filled the bird feeders twice!) So even though I doubted the mental capacity of those going out in that cold and wind, I don’t doubt that the fish bit as the barometer rose. With more lows in single below zero temps and not cracking teens for high until Saturday, we should see plenty of 10-13” of ice (to be on the conservative side) by the weekend.
Upcoming Tournaments
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
I checked a few central Oneida County lakes this weekend (200 acres and under). Contrary to the guide reports, ice was 3 to 4” at best with a lot of slush forming with the recent snow. No where near safe for ATV travel where I was, and difficult walking. The timing for this new snow was very poor, adding slush to the thin base. Be safe and check for yourself before you venture out anywhere.
Thursday 1/11/24
What a difference a couple of weeks can make. We got a lot of ice her here folks and it's good clear ice. Inches wise it could be anywhere from 5 to 10" reported. Last week they were hitting golf balls out on the Willow Flowage from shore. You can get some good distance under those conditions. I was invited out but when they told me it was one hit per ball I told them I get enough of that in the summertime, so no... But now the ice is good and the fish are coming from all over the place and under many conditions depending on the day and time of day. We even have a little snow now to make the ice a little less greasy on top. A few lakes have ATVs and Snowmobile travel right now and I'm sure there is a truck or two out there somewhere, also. This vehicle travel will increase every day now. The forecast shows ice making temps for as far out as we can see.
Let's just talk about the flowages today so we can get a little more detailed. Appiy this info to any dark colored body of water.
All species are pretty active but not all day. Same story as always, low light early and late are your best times but some can still be had during the middle of the cloudy days. Flashy baits are still king. Flashy, meaning a little spoon is on the bait that flutters and flashes as the bait moves. Flashy just sound better than fluttery. Hammered jigs and spoons have the same effect.
Crappies are suspended about 4-6' off the bottom chasing jigged minnows and flashy jigs tipped with spikes or waxies. Tip downs and Jaw-Jackers with crappie minnows or rosie reds are also working well.
Gills are prevalent in 12 to 14' of water mostly hanging near wood on the bottom. Again, flashy jigs or spoons tipped with bugs including mousees, work well. Tip downs, rod-bouncers, Automatic Fisherman and Jaw-Jackers with minnow heads, bugs and beavertails or chena bait on a small jig or bare hook are also working well.
Walleyes are still in the 4 to 8' depths with the bigger ones during the day in the 12-16' depths. Spread out with Jaw-Jackers, Automatic Fisherman and tip-ups to increase your chance of landing one. Tip your (small) treble hook with shiners, chubs or suckers on rig with a flashy spoon for the best chance.
Northern are all of the above! Most seem to be hanging of points 4 to 6' off the bottom. The flashy stuff is crazy not to use here all year round.
Perch of course love the wigglers. But as all of you know wigglers can get expensive as they don't last very long on the hook and it's rare to get more than one fish off a wiggler. But all the bug setups for panfish listed above will work also. Find the mud. Small minnow on a bottom bouncing spoon work great, too.
Speaking of perch, if you have a tip-up or two frequently going off but not much line being taken out and no fish, it's probably a perch. I always have a medium jigging pole with a spoon type bait tipped with a minnow head ready to jig down that hole right after I clear the line out. This is a very successful tactic.
Again, as far as jigs and lures go, seems the best ones now are the ones with diamond sequences on the front (Jake's diamond jigs, Clam Epoxy Drop) or ones that have a small spoon attached (lethal cecil, gill-getters, tikka flash, pinhead minnows).
Enjoy the conditions while you can. You know the northwoods. It can change in a hurry.
------------
We have a few musky suckers left right now for $1 each.
We are bumping up the February end of season sale to NOW. Come on in the store to check it out. We are adding new items every day to the specials list. They are also on the website. While you're on the site make sure to sign up for our newsletters so you will be the first to know when we add more items.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, White, Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Pink & Multi-colored Spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Rosie Reds, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium and Large River Shiners and Golden Shiners, Wigglers and Mousees.
Our hours are:
Monday thru Thursday - 6am to 6pm
Friday - 6am to 7pm
Saturday & Sunday - 6am to 5pm
We have to continue to squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. WE ARE NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! If you have an interest in owning and operating the largest non-franchised bait shop in Wisconsin, call our Realtor, Eric Johnson, at 715-892-1234 or call Jeff at 715-892-2751.
Jeff Bolander, owner of Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guide Post
715-892-2751 cell
www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.com
What a difference a couple of weeks can make. We got a lot of ice her here folks and it's good clear ice. Inches wise it could be anywhere from 5 to 10" reported. Last week they were hitting golf balls out on the Willow Flowage from shore. You can get some good distance under those conditions. I was invited out but when they told me it was one hit per ball I told them I get enough of that in the summertime, so no... But now the ice is good and the fish are coming from all over the place and under many conditions depending on the day and time of day. We even have a little snow now to make the ice a little less greasy on top. A few lakes have ATVs and Snowmobile travel right now and I'm sure there is a truck or two out there somewhere, also. This vehicle travel will increase every day now. The forecast shows ice making temps for as far out as we can see.
Let's just talk about the flowages today so we can get a little more detailed. Appiy this info to any dark colored body of water.
All species are pretty active but not all day. Same story as always, low light early and late are your best times but some can still be had during the middle of the cloudy days. Flashy baits are still king. Flashy, meaning a little spoon is on the bait that flutters and flashes as the bait moves. Flashy just sound better than fluttery. Hammered jigs and spoons have the same effect.
Crappies are suspended about 4-6' off the bottom chasing jigged minnows and flashy jigs tipped with spikes or waxies. Tip downs and Jaw-Jackers with crappie minnows or rosie reds are also working well.
Gills are prevalent in 12 to 14' of water mostly hanging near wood on the bottom. Again, flashy jigs or spoons tipped with bugs including mousees, work well. Tip downs, rod-bouncers, Automatic Fisherman and Jaw-Jackers with minnow heads, bugs and beavertails or chena bait on a small jig or bare hook are also working well.
Walleyes are still in the 4 to 8' depths with the bigger ones during the day in the 12-16' depths. Spread out with Jaw-Jackers, Automatic Fisherman and tip-ups to increase your chance of landing one. Tip your (small) treble hook with shiners, chubs or suckers on rig with a flashy spoon for the best chance.
Northern are all of the above! Most seem to be hanging of points 4 to 6' off the bottom. The flashy stuff is crazy not to use here all year round.
Perch of course love the wigglers. But as all of you know wigglers can get expensive as they don't last very long on the hook and it's rare to get more than one fish off a wiggler. But all the bug setups for panfish listed above will work also. Find the mud. Small minnow on a bottom bouncing spoon work great, too.
Speaking of perch, if you have a tip-up or two frequently going off but not much line being taken out and no fish, it's probably a perch. I always have a medium jigging pole with a spoon type bait tipped with a minnow head ready to jig down that hole right after I clear the line out. This is a very successful tactic.
Again, as far as jigs and lures go, seems the best ones now are the ones with diamond sequences on the front (Jake's diamond jigs, Clam Epoxy Drop) or ones that have a small spoon attached (lethal cecil, gill-getters, tikka flash, pinhead minnows).
Enjoy the conditions while you can. You know the northwoods. It can change in a hurry.
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We have a few musky suckers left right now for $1 each.
We are bumping up the February end of season sale to NOW. Come on in the store to check it out. We are adding new items every day to the specials list. They are also on the website. While you're on the site make sure to sign up for our newsletters so you will be the first to know when we add more items.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, White, Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Pink & Multi-colored Spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Rosie Reds, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium and Large River Shiners and Golden Shiners, Wigglers and Mousees.
Our hours are:
Monday thru Thursday - 6am to 6pm
Friday - 6am to 7pm
Saturday & Sunday - 6am to 5pm
We have to continue to squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. WE ARE NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! If you have an interest in owning and operating the largest non-franchised bait shop in Wisconsin, call our Realtor, Eric Johnson, at 715-892-1234 or call Jeff at 715-892-2751.
Jeff Bolander, owner of Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guide Post
715-892-2751 cell
www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.com
Ice continues to build here in the Northwoods. We have been fortunate to be just north of the heavy snow falling on the lower ¾’s of the state, this will keep the insulation off the lakes up here and allow more ice to build.
Walleye: Very Good-Good – Low light level times best using shiners amongst cabbage flats of 8-12’ in the mornings. Switch to outside weed edges (12-16’), off-shore humps of gravel/rock using suckers on tip-ups or jigging Raps, Rippin Raps, Z-Darters or Tikka Minnows towards and right after dusk.
Crappie: Very Good-Good – Better reports from anglers fishing basins of 22-27’ using tip-downs baited with rosies or crappie minnows or jigging Kenders T-Rips, Kastmaster spoons or Clam Tikka Flash tipped with waxies. For Crappies still holding in weeds (10-14’ Narrow leaf cabbage), Little Cecil spoons, Euro Tackle Z-Vibers, Kenders K-Rips and tip-down/minnow set ups all working well.
Northern Pike: Very Good-Good – Lots of good action and some nice Pike in the 8-12’ of weeds. Big shiners and suckers as per usual with fish to 34” reported this weekend. A pair of anglers jigging Raps and Chubby Darters on thin wire leaders reported fun action working baits at weed tops in 8-10’.
Bluegill: Good – While most reports were of good numbers, but lots of sorting for size, a few anglers did better by leaving the crowds behind. Most action in 8-12’ weeds using #3 and #4 tungsten jigs tipped with waxies, spikes and the rare moussee. Others finding BIG Gills (10-11”) over mud basins in 20-25’ of water using small tungsten jigs with hair, tipped with moussees. Anglers targeting these big Gills using select harvest (and sneaky approaches) to maintain these populations of such special fish.
Yellow Perch: Good – While not the numbers (or the effort), nice Perch (9-11”) in shallow weed flats of 6-9’ on jigs shaped like small Gills (Z-Vibes, K-Rips, T-Rips) tipped with waxies. Also a few reports of Perch starting to show over mud (14-18’) on wigglers presented on Hali style spoons.
Largemouth Bass: Good – Temps above 20 degrees seem to be best for Largemouth. Some very nice fish to 20” caught this past week, mostly by anglers targeting Pike or panfish in 6-12’ weeds.
Smallmouth Bass: Good – Rarely seen in the winter, but providing some added fun for anglers, especially those jigging for Walleyes over gravel/rock humps. Fun on a jig rod.
With light snow and cold temps ice thickness is coming along nicely. Most anglers reporting 6-8”+. We are seeing more ATV, UTV and snowmobile use on the lakes. Still use caution on the big lakes (Fence, Trout, Big Crawling Stone, Tomahawk) as these were still open just two weeks ago and are just now getting 2-4”’s of ice reports.
While snow is still a concern at this stage, forecast show temperature lows below zero and highs in the single digits for Sunday (1/14) thru Wed (1/12) that should put some nice finishing touches on our lakes and get us into the 12” plus range by the following weekend.
Upcoming Tournaments
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
Walleye: Very Good-Good – Low light level times best using shiners amongst cabbage flats of 8-12’ in the mornings. Switch to outside weed edges (12-16’), off-shore humps of gravel/rock using suckers on tip-ups or jigging Raps, Rippin Raps, Z-Darters or Tikka Minnows towards and right after dusk.
Crappie: Very Good-Good – Better reports from anglers fishing basins of 22-27’ using tip-downs baited with rosies or crappie minnows or jigging Kenders T-Rips, Kastmaster spoons or Clam Tikka Flash tipped with waxies. For Crappies still holding in weeds (10-14’ Narrow leaf cabbage), Little Cecil spoons, Euro Tackle Z-Vibers, Kenders K-Rips and tip-down/minnow set ups all working well.
Northern Pike: Very Good-Good – Lots of good action and some nice Pike in the 8-12’ of weeds. Big shiners and suckers as per usual with fish to 34” reported this weekend. A pair of anglers jigging Raps and Chubby Darters on thin wire leaders reported fun action working baits at weed tops in 8-10’.
Bluegill: Good – While most reports were of good numbers, but lots of sorting for size, a few anglers did better by leaving the crowds behind. Most action in 8-12’ weeds using #3 and #4 tungsten jigs tipped with waxies, spikes and the rare moussee. Others finding BIG Gills (10-11”) over mud basins in 20-25’ of water using small tungsten jigs with hair, tipped with moussees. Anglers targeting these big Gills using select harvest (and sneaky approaches) to maintain these populations of such special fish.
Yellow Perch: Good – While not the numbers (or the effort), nice Perch (9-11”) in shallow weed flats of 6-9’ on jigs shaped like small Gills (Z-Vibes, K-Rips, T-Rips) tipped with waxies. Also a few reports of Perch starting to show over mud (14-18’) on wigglers presented on Hali style spoons.
Largemouth Bass: Good – Temps above 20 degrees seem to be best for Largemouth. Some very nice fish to 20” caught this past week, mostly by anglers targeting Pike or panfish in 6-12’ weeds.
Smallmouth Bass: Good – Rarely seen in the winter, but providing some added fun for anglers, especially those jigging for Walleyes over gravel/rock humps. Fun on a jig rod.
With light snow and cold temps ice thickness is coming along nicely. Most anglers reporting 6-8”+. We are seeing more ATV, UTV and snowmobile use on the lakes. Still use caution on the big lakes (Fence, Trout, Big Crawling Stone, Tomahawk) as these were still open just two weeks ago and are just now getting 2-4”’s of ice reports.
While snow is still a concern at this stage, forecast show temperature lows below zero and highs in the single digits for Sunday (1/14) thru Wed (1/12) that should put some nice finishing touches on our lakes and get us into the 12” plus range by the following weekend.
Upcoming Tournaments
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
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