Minocqua Area Fishing Report - 4/25/22

Prognosticating is tough! Especially with relatively short term “guessing”! (I’d prefer to be like the Aztecs, predict the end of the world centuries in advance, then not be around to answer “Why are we all still here?”).

But here we are!

Everyone wants to know if we will have soft water in the Northwoods for the Walleye Opener. With such a late opener (as late as it can be in Wisconsin) we all thought “sure, why not”? But here we are 13 days away and what do we have?

While I can’t be on every lake to check, I do get reports from customers coming into the shop to update us on “their” lake. We also do drilling reports of our own out on Lake Minocqua. This past Saturday morning (4/23) at approx. 10 am, loyal and gullible employee Cole Will drilled four holes out from Torpy Park, each measuring 17” thick. This ice was porous (punky), but still a lot for the 24th of April. We had as much in 2020 on the same date and actually 24” in 2018. Warm temps over the weekend and strong southwest winds opened shorelines and made the ice we were on just a day prior, unapproachable.

Looking good!

But…the forecast for this week…lows at night in the 20’s, Tuesdays (4/26) high of 32 degrees will keep a

grip on the ice. Luckily the seal around most lakes has broken, shorelines pulling away, so wind, rain and sun can get in and open things up.

Fishing right now? Big Arb’s South end for Crappies, but can’t recommend venturing out anywhere else.

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