Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report
This past week has seen some drastic changes. We started the week out with just enough ice to allow for some foot travel and then bam it was gone. Warm temperatures and rain quickly diminished any future hopes of getting out ice fishing. With that happening I decided to pull the boat out of storage and head back out on the river. Wow what a greet decision that turned out to be.
I had previously booked a trip for a group from Texas that had wanted to ice fish last week, but without out any ice what do you do? I took the guys out on the river and fished for walleyes. Water temperatures were 37 degrees and we found the walleyes stacked up in a few deep water pools in the main river channel in 14 to 18 feet of water. Not only were they aggressive we caught a pile of them with the largest one going just a hair over 24 inches. I don’t ever remember being out in the boat in December, well at least not this late in the month but it was a blast.
Most of the walleyes were caught on ¼ ounce jigs tipped with small to medium sucker minnows that were 4 to 5 inches long. We fished very slowly on the bottom, basically dragging our bait in front of the walleyes. One particular location that we found a lot of fish was a small isolated hump. This hump topped out at 13 feet but dropped off to 24 feet on all sides. Most of the fish were holding along the sides and edges of the hump with a few on top. The interesting thing about this hump is that the deeper the water we fished around the hump the smaller the walleyes were, and if we fished on top of the hump we caught our largest walleyes.
But as all good things go, this particular bite came to a screeching halt when we received 3 to 4 inches of rain over a period of 2 days. The river rose and we are now at flood stage eliminating any possibility of even thinking about getting out on the river for quite a while.
Hunters saw some very warm temperatures for the 9 day gun season along with the following Muzzleloader season, which created great conditions to be out in but not favorable conditions for hunting. We are now back into the last period of the archery season and hunters planning on targeting whitetail deer should target food sources late in the day for their best chances at bagging their deer.
With Christmas right around the corner and If you don’t know what to get that special person on your list here are a few ideas:
Gift Certificate from Hooksetters for a guided fishing trip, open water or ice fishing. Gift certificate from Amherst marine for a full boat check-up. Custom rod and reel from Elk River Rods, they are simply the best. Fishing lures from Suick Lures, Musky Innovations, or Rick Jarosh at Baitmaker Tackle. Kwik Trip Gift certificates for gas always go a long way. Warm weather gear from Flambeau Outdoors will keep you warm and dry. Chamber Bucks from the Stevens Point area Chamber of Commerce. Custom Food plotting by Jim Reed of Reed and Hoppe’s. Maybe a new Crestliner boat or gear is in your future! Or if you really want to go all out, reserve a weekend with the Conger Collection in Eagle River for a romantic weekend get-away. And for yourself don’t forget to pick up a copy or two of the best outdoor magazine out there - On Wisconsin Outdoors.
Have a great week,
Wisconsin Licensed Hunting and Fishing Guide
Phil Schweik
Hooksetters Guide Service www.Hooksetters.biz
