Safety First When Heading Out Onto The Ice
by Phil Schweik, Hooksetters Guide Service
With the recent warm spell ice conditions are not what they usually are at this time of the year here in Central Wisconsin. Even with that said you should always be aware of the safety hazards that come into play when travelling out onto the ice.
When heading out onto the ice you should take into consideration the following:
Shoreline areas. Ice conditions deteriorate quickly around shoreline areas especially later in the year as the sun warms the surrounding area. Avoid areas that are broken up and have open water around them
Neck down areas like bridges and channels between lakes: These areas are high current areas and ice can be very unstable throughout the entire season even in the coldest weather. I wouldn't advise travelling these areas at any time during the winter months.
Weed beds and wood. Emergent and submerged weeds along with timber create another ice hazard as these areas absorb sunlight throughout the year and ice around these areas is always unstable and can vary within a few inches. Use caution when fishing these areas as they can be very good for fishing but dangerous as the sunlight heats up the ice near the weeds and wood.
Rivers and streams: One should be extremely cautious when fishing any type of current area as ice conditions are constantly changing sand a person could have safe ice in one area and within a foot be on less than 2 inches of ice. In most instance you are better off not even travelling out onto the river system.
Large open areas: What I mean here is big bodies of water that have vast open flats . These large areas (especially in the middle) are often the last to freeze over in the winter and just because you have safe ice on 90% of the lake doesn't mean that the entire lake is safe to travel out onto. If you are planning on heading out onto a large open body of water I would suggest that you travel lightly and go ahead with an auger on foot to check the thickness of the ice as you move forward.
Following these simple examples will make your ice fishing season a safe and enjoyable one.
With that said ice fishing this past week has been very good with outstanding catches of panfish walleyes and pike.
The panfish bite has been in shallow water mainly 3 to 5 feet associated with weeds. Tear drop jigs in yellow and white tipped with waxies or spikes have been the best producer. But I have found that when the bite gets tough adding plastics can tempt some of the finicky lookers into biters
The walleye bite has been a low light and night bite with some nice fish being caught. Again shallow water from 3 to 5 feet deep has been our best bet. Run tip ups baited with golden shiners about one foot off the bottom along shallow break lines where the depth transitions..
The northern pike have been very active and areas off the main river channel have been producing some very large pike for us. Last week we saw several fish in the upper 30's to low 40's. Large golden shiners on tip-ups suspended right below the ice in 2 to 5 feet of water is the best way to tempt these fresh water alligators.
Have a great week,
Phil Schweik, Licensed Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Guide
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