Minocqua Fishing Report 2-17-2026

Should have been here last week! 5 days of highs in the 40s. Little wind, (too much sun, but us vitamin D starved Wisconsinites will take it) along with the great fishing opportunities (as long as you got to the right lake).

  Getting (on and off) certain lakes has been a drawback. Melting, piled up, snow has made access tough on some lakes. Once on the lake's, travel has been great as melting snow levels are low, 2-3 inches and slush hardly an issue. The melting snow seems to be seeping into the top layer of ice.

  With two weekends left to the gamefish season, I'd like to start off on gamefish, but the truth is, the panfish reports have been on fire!

  Yellow perch; Excellent

    Schooling over mud flats depending on the type of lake, from 8- twenty feet of water. Deeper fish feeding on wiggler's, which are mayfly larva, anglers using Flash Champs, Pin Heads, Hali's to get either wiggles or red spikes down quickly dominating the bite! Shallower perch are roaming sparse weed beds in the mud, looking and feeding heavily on scuds. Small lead teardrop jigs, tipped with waxies, spikes and even small crappie minnows all the rage!

   Bluegill; Excellent

   Best mornings and evenings in 8- sixteen feet of water. Once again based on lake type. In the deeper waters outside weeds, but over mud flats, fish # four tungsten jigs tipped with waxies, spikes or plastics. Many of these fish are roaming near schools of perch. Where weeds come more into play, plastics on rocker style jigs, picking up gills and crappies.

 Crappies; Very Good

     Still, a 2 story read. Weed related crappies in 9 to 12 feet of water. Taking plastics slow dropped on rockers and Northland Forage Minnows jig. Over basins in 17- 30 ' of water, Rattlin Kastmaster, Tika Flashes, and Nano Raps, tipped with waxies. A great weekend for tip downs since holes stayed open, using croppie minnows or small rosy reds.

  Northern Pike; Very Good - Good

  Mornings and late afternoons till dusk. Likely due to high pressure . Some nice fish over the weekend. Signs of heavy feeding on perch and gills in the 6- 10 foot weeds. Between the high pressure system and the big feed, still enough action from pike looking for dessert!

  Walleye; Very Good- Good

      Definitely a dusk and dark bite, but well worth it. Reports from anglers, finding some gravel/rock fish on suckers in eighteen to thirty feet of water. The best bite is along weed edges of twelve to fourteen feet on shiners. A few reports from anglers picking up night fish in water as little as 3-6 feet of water. Here they find signs of feeding on small perch and bullheads.

   Largemouth Bass; Very Good

   Large mouth reports popping as they love these warm spells. Tip ups with medium or small shiners. Lots of incidentals from angler's targeting gills.

   Wonderful weekend of weather. Such a break from weeks ago with 70° change in temps. Some winter weather with snow and possible rain forecasted for the rest of the week. Temps dropping into the high of mid twenties by the weekend. Overall it seems like we are past the winter hump for temps. Still some lows in the single digits overnight but highs in the mid twenties during the rest of the day for the rest of the month.

  Ice thickness didn't seem to have been affected by the warmth. Most lakes still in that 24- 28" range. The top layer has gotten a bit punky but not slushy from absorbing the snow's melt down. Light penetration should definitely have helped the remaining live weed's, thus providing better dissolved oxygen period. Probably something to do with the resurgence in shallower, mid February fishing than is usually the case.

   Despite only two weeks left of the gamefish season, we should be able to expect a good month of pan fishing in the month of March.

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