Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report- December 18, 2012
Late archery season is in full swing but we have risky ice conditions that are giving way to a slow start for ice fishing.
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| Andy Teller with a nice musky that he caught through the ice. | Andy Teller and Duane with some great night time walleyes. |
Late season archery hunting can be one of the best times of the year to be out in the woods. There is virtually no hunting pressure and the deer have gone back to their normal feeding patterns. With that said when targeting whitetails you will want to locate any remaining food sources. This is what late season archery hunting is all about. Locate an active food source like a standing corn field or remaining food crop and you will have yourself a prime location for a late season hunt. One especially "HOT" location that we have found is locating areas that loggers are working. Fresh cut poplars are a deer magnet at this time of the year, particularly in the big woods where no real food source (corn, alfalfa, or beans) are near by. Set up a stand location close to or near the food source keeping the wind directing in mind, and you should have a chance at bagging your late season deer.
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| Andy Hoppa with a nice walleye. | Andy Teller with a nice walleye. | Andy Teller with a nice walleye. |
Ice conditions in Central Wisconsin are iffy at best right now. We have anywhere from zero to 3 inches max. Shallow bays have some ice but the larger more open lakes are open in many areas. With that said we have been getting out in a few locations and doing well on nice gills during the day and walleyes in the evening and at night. Most of our activity has been on tip-ups for the walleyes and for the gills we are running tiny Northland Mooska or Fireball jigs tipped with spikes or a wax worm. I did however do pretty good running some plastics (Rat finkies and Shrimpo's) on the larger gills and a few nice crappies this past week as well. I did have a client pull a nice musky through the ice this past week. The fish struck a tip-up baited with a golden shiner at about 7:00 pm in the evening. It was well after dark and it took him 10 minutes to land the low to mid forties inch fish.
One last thing, if you are still looking for a great Christmas gift for that person that has everything why not give them a Hooksetters Gift Certificate for a half or full day guided fishing trip. Certificates are available by emailing me at: pschweik@dwave.net.
Have a great week, be safe and use caution if your heading out.
Phil Schweik
Licensed Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Guide
Hooksetters Guide Service www.hooksetters.biz
Ruttnut Guide Service www.ruttnut.com
Reed & Hoppe Wildlife Food Plots www.foodplotting.com