Fishing Report from Phillips, WI
by John Carlson
March Fishing Report from Phillips, Wisconsin
The game fish season has ended in Northern Wisconsin so most of the fishing attention is aimed and catching Crappie. As the ice softens and open water nears Crappie seem to go on a feeding frenzy. Water starts pouring into the lakes from runoff and the O2 levels skyrocket in the lakes making fish very active. This time of year has started with the warm temps and the heavy late snowfall starting to melt in our area.
The lakes are still covered with 20 plus inches of ice. Use of electronics are important right now as the fish can be pretty high in the water column. We have been doing well using tip-downs, a rod balanced on a pvc pipe that allows the fish to pull the rod down with little resistance to alert the fisherman of the strike. I like to bait the tip down with a small minnow and set it so it's a foot or two above where I have been seeing the fish on my electronics. Spoons jigged are also a great way to catch crappie at this time of the year, the heavier spoon has a lot of flash and gets to the fish quickly, most of the time active fish will come up and hit the fluttering spoon as it falls.
So the game is on if your a Crappie fisherman, get out on the lakes for some great late season catches!!!
John Carlson-N.P.A.A. #378,
Ross's Sport Shop, Phillips, WI 54555
715-339-3625 or 715-820-0958 mobile
rossport@pctcnet.net
www.rosssportshop.com
January 12, 2012. Walleye fishing is still slow in the Phillips area. Fishermen are catching some nice pike on tip-ups around the last of the green weeds. Setting a golden shiner a foot or so below the ice has been getting the best action. Reports of 30 to mid 30" pike are coming into Ross's Sport Shop. Bluegill action has been the best bight this week, Cribs in 8 to 15 feet of water have been holding the gills. I have my favorite cribs that I located in the summer with my boat saved in my GPS. I like using a Frabil Bro series Quick tip rod with a 1000 sized reel. I like the bigger reel because it seems to reduce the line twist of the smaller tighter spools. A small jig with a gob of spikes is a hard treat for any gill to refuse!!! The bluegill pictured isn't a big fish but for the size they really can fight!!! --January 8, 2012. It might be early January but with the warmer temps the ice fishing is more like early December. The Walleye bite has been slow in the Phillips Area but the panfish are making up for it. With the thinner ice the fish are more scattered and we are finding them in shallower water then normal.
I have been doing my best catching right on the 10' break where there is a mud bottom. You really need good electronics and hole hop looking for active fish right now. I usually fish one rod with plastics and have 2 dead sticks set out with minnows on. The Crappie here really like plastic and White, Black, and Chartreuse seem to be the top colors. If you find the fish looking but not eating switch the color until you find a combination that the fish want to eat.
The Ice conditions are behind a normal winter and fishermen are just starting to drive out on some of the area lakes with trucks but there is ATV and Snowmobile travel on all area lakes at this time.
John Carlson-N.P.A.A. #378,
Ross's Sport Shop, Phillips, WI 54555
715-339-3625 or 715-820-0958 mobile
rossport@pctcnet.net
www.rosssportshop.com