Coho, perch and evolution (of winter): Chicago fishing/MFR

Hey Dale, Ice on area lakes is not safe. Shorelines have opened up. Areas that have current have open water as well. There should be open water opportunities later in the week.TTYL— Ken Husker O’Malley Huskeroutdoors Waterworks fishing team

– BANNER MARSH – Will CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING on Oct. 12th with last day to boat fish being Oct. 11th AND BANK FISHING ONLY ALLOWED AFTER 1PM but NO FISHING ALLOWED in EAST POINT ACCESS AREA, which is CLOSED TO ALL FISHING to provide a GOOSE REFUGE AREA during season till Feb. 1st– DOUBLE T STATE FISH and WILDLIFE AREA – . . . remains Closed till Feb. 1st– EMIQUON PRESERVE – No boating, fishing or ice skating access before 12:00 pm during waterfowl season.– EVERGREEN LAKE – the SOUTHERN PART OF LAKE, AROUND DEER ISLAND and ALL OF SIX-MILE CREEK BAY IS CLOSED TO GAS MOTORS from Oct. 15th through JAN. 1st to allow resting areas for migratory waterfowl. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STILL RUN A TROLLING MOTOR IN THESE AREAS ONLY.– SNAKEDEN HOLLOW & McMASTER LAKE – closed– SPRING LAKE (South & North) – WILL BE CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING in Waterfowl Hunting Area ON OCT. 15th with Last Day to Boat Fish being Oct. 14th with BANK FISHING ALLOWED ONLY AFTER 1pm– & AREAS THAT REMAIN OPEN TO BOATS ARE NORTH OF MAPLE ISLAND with ramp at north end at the Sky Ranch Road launch and IN PIKE HOLE with carry in boats – and Shore Fishing is allowed in entire lake after 1pm in Hunting areas or at boat ramps all day.– SANGCHRIS LAKE – THE WEST and EAST ARMS OF LAKE and Small AREA NEAR DAM ARE CLOSED DURING WATERFOWL SEASON to boat traffic effective Oct. 12th (last day to boat fish will be Oct. 11th) through Jan. 31, 2016 (during this time fishing boat traffic is permitted in the center hot arm only).– PRAIRIE LAKE in Jim Edgar/ Panther Creek State F&W Area – Lake is CLOSED from Nov. 1st to Jan. 15th to Fishing until after 12:01 PM on Wednesday & Saturday.– ANDERSON LAKE – THIS AREA Will be CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING in Main Lake from Oct. 15th (with last day to boat fish Oct. 14th) through Dec. 20th during waterfowl season with bank fishing Only allowed.– CLINTON LAKE – an easterly area of Clinton Lake (The Waterfowl Refuge Area) between the DeWitt Bridge East (CH14) and the Rt. 48 Bridge will CLOSE be on October 10th and will re-open on MARCH 31st…

Good morning fellas This is what I have as far as the ice fishing is concerned…. Whitefish fishing continues to provide lots of action for the thousands of angles that visit the county. Better areas continue to be the Little Sturgeon Area, Rileys Bay area, Larson’s Reef along with some of the deeper water to the north of the Old Stone Quarry. Popular jigs to have in the box include…Rapalas, Moonshines, Slick Jigs and Sweedish Pimples. And most fishermen are running some sort of a slider hook above their main jig like a fly, small jig, single hook or treble hook. Tipping your jigs and sliders with spikes, waxworms, gulp or minnow pieces Perch fishing can still be classed as good. Better areas with the most consistent reports have been coming from the Little Sturgeon area along with some fair catches being reported from Riley’s Bay and Sawyer Harbor. An assortment of small jigs tipped with minnows and waxworms have been working along with running shiners or Rosy Reds under tip ups or hand lines. Walleye fishing has been just normal January Walleye fishing. Some days you get your bites and other days…well, you just go through the motions. But, when you are Walleye fishing Door County there is always that chance of a trophy and that’s what keeps folks coming back. Odd Ball jigs, Rapalas and Moonshines are the top 3 baits in our area. Tip your jigs with minnows or minnow heads. The most popular areas continue to be…The Henderson’ point shoreline and to the south, Riley’s Point and the Larson’s Reef area including Sherwood Point. Once again use extreme caution as there are cracks out there and they can, will and have opened pending on the wind Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

The river is still out of it’s banks with zero visibility . Outside of spitting rain, some wind and overcast skies it wasn’t too bad outside . I noticed a lot of road killed possum , thankfully no dead skunks in the middle of the road . Large formations of geese above and on the water . I shore fished, too dangerous to wade at the current flow rates . I was real careful about avoiding sloping, muddy areas to avoid slipping into the river as well . I’d rather miss a few spots and catch fewer fish than take a chance on dying . I was using a jig/pig in shoreline related slack/slow spots with basically a lift/drop/set a spell retrieve . Four smallmouth and one small walleye liked that. For the most part it was soft bottom and flooded grass/brush/tree cover . I also used a slip float with a 1/16 oz jig/2 or 3 inch plastic set from 1 to 1.5 feet deep . I got a fair amount of crappie and a few sunfish in the same areas I was fishing with the jig/pig . Being as how I was on shore I used a 7 ft medium action spin for the jig/pig and a 7 ft light action spin for the bobber/jig . After that I moved downstream a ways to fish a side channel with a singlespin for some pike . It took a bit of walking and casting but I ended up with three decent sized pike . While the weather wasn’t as nice as earlier in the week it was much nicer than the usual January fare . Too good to pass up . PeaceNorm

Temps hovering in the low to mid 30’s and short bouts of rain for the past five days have pushed snow down on the lakes but have made things slushy. Fishing improved for the most part as we got some clouds and a drop in the barometer (a little too low Friday causing the bite to slow). Yellow Perch: Good-Very good – Not a lot of reports on jumbos, but good #’s of eaters in the 8-10 range for anglers plying the mud flats of lakes in 20-25’ of water. Gold , orange and glow pimples, Kastmasters, Flash Champs and Halis tipped with wigglers or red spikes. Perch talkers also have been effective. On flowages tip-downs w/ rosie reds best. What the Flowages lack in #’s they make up for in size – some anglers reporting 11-13 perch. Northern Pike: Good-Very good – Most reports of #’s more than size, though a 39er was reported from Lake Minocqua Sunday morning. Big shiners and suckers on tip-ups the usual fare. Bluegills: Good – With warmer temps and holes staying open, anglers finding gills by hopping from hole to hole in 7-10’ of water. VMC waxy jigs, K&E Moon Glos and tungsten flys tipped with Moussees, waxies or red, chartreuse or green plastics worked well over the weekend. Sorting necessary. Walleyes: Fair-Good – Best at or just after dark – a few early risers picking up fish pre-dawn/dawn. Jigging raps accounted for some very nice fish (27 & 29ers, both caught and released). Tip-up anglers reporting best action on suckers in depths of 14-22’ depending on size of lake. Sandgrass bottoms best. Crappies: Fair – Flowages giving up best reports. Anglers doing well using tip-downs with rosies. Bite windows small, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Lake reports for crappies vary, best over deeper flats of 22-28’ using crappie minnows on tip-downs or glow jigs (pimples, Pug Bugs) tipped with waxies. The rain has made things messy, anglers finding it best to use knee boots to keep feet dry. The plus side is snow melt allowing for better access, ATV use is back. By the weekend, highs in the 20’s should start to firm things up. Forecast is for 1-3 of snow mid-week, but it will be warm and wet. UPCOMING DERBY DATES Jan 28th – Justin Donner Memorial Turtle-Flambeau flowage Feb 4th – United Way Stacks Bay, Lake Minocqua Feb 4th – Willow Haven Willow Flowage Feb 18th – Rob Lemmer Memorial Lake Katherine Feb 28th -Carrol Lake Ice Fishing Tournament Carrol Lake Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop www.kurtsislandsports.com

Fishing Report Northern Pike: We are finding fish on the weed edges and in the deeper weeds. On the edges, the set up should be tip ups set a foot or so off the bottom. When fishing the deep weeds, set your tip ups so that your bait is just above the tops of the weeds. Walleye: These fish are being caught in and around weeds. Setting tip ups on the weed edges, baited with walleye suckers or medium golden shiners in low light conditions, seem to be best. In addition, jigging in the same areas with baits, like the buckshot rattle spoon, are producing fish. The other good option is on the tops of rock humps in the early evening. Panfish: Bluegills are being found in the weeds using small jigs tipped with waxies, spikes or tipped with plastic. Perch are being caught on the deep weed edge where the mud meets.