Minocqua Area Fishing Report

A little taste of things to come. Enough ice in places for anglers to get out on ice, but caution still advised no matter where you go.

Walleye: Very Good – Anglers using tip-ups baited with river shiners, Walleye suckers on medium golden in fairly shallow water (5-8’) at dusk, after dark. Early ice aggressive fish hitting jigging lures such as Raps, Hyper Glides and Rotating Power Minnows. Nice catches of eaters with 29 ½” topping the bragging list!

Northern Pike: Very Good – Larger baits (suckers/shiners) on tip-ups. Weedy shallow flats of 3-7’.

Yellow Perch: Very Good – Fish Shallow flats in bays with 3-5” of ice over 3-8’ of water. Medium fatheads, forage jigs loaded with waxies best.

Bluegill: Very Good – Fish shallow. Tipping jigs with bright plastic or spikes/moussies best. Lots of Gills with good #’s of eaters (7”+) reported.

Crappie: Fair – Not a lot of strong reports. Don’t find as many shallow and better haunts over deeper water not supporting decent ice.

Largemouth Bass: Very Good – Few anglers target through ice, but plenty being caught by anglers using medium shiners on tip-ups.

Despite some ice making, cold, lake effect snows covering lakes will slow ice production. Foot traffic recommended at this point. Ice thickness ranging from 2-5”. Wear creepers (snow very powdery), carry rope, floatation and spud your way out to test ice.

Forecast for low’s in single digits with highs in teens to low 20’s will add to ice. Looks much better by weekend.