Price County Fishing Report
The Flambeau River should have the highest chance for open water boat angling on May 5th. Because of its moving water, most of the free-flowing and impounded sections are largely ice free already, at least in the channel. There may be lingering ice cover along shore and in the sheltered bays, including the Smith Lake portion of Pixley Flowage where one of the public boat landings is located in Smith Lake County Park. The North Fork Flambeau River in Price County has a series of four impoundments near Park Falls and Fifield: Upper Park Falls Flowage, Lower Park Falls Flowage, Pixley Flowage, and Crowley Flowage. Shorefishing should be early season options for fishing in rivers and streams almost anywhere, but as the snow melts, high flow from runoff will present different challenges for fishing and safety, especially on our medium- and large-size streams like the North and South Fork Jump rivers and the North Fork and South Fork Flambeau Rivers. Our local brown-stained lakes often melt and warm sooner than clear-water lakes, and warm rain and winds can hasten the thaw. Only time will tell.
The Phillips Lake Chain, Musser Lake and Soo Lake the smaller flowages around Park Falls, mentioned above, are the only waters that really have a chance on opening up by May. If they do, the Walleye should be shallow or staging off of the shallow areas in a pre-spawn pattern. Jig & minnows or plastics would most likely be good bets for lures. Perch and Northern Pike usually spawn right as the ice goes out so they may be active in the very shallow water. I really hope we get some Wind, Warm, and Rain!