New Wisconsin Ice Is Nice
1-25-2012
Based on conversations this week with Wisconsin guides all over the state, even big water like Big Green and lakes of the Madison Chain are ready for safe ice travel or nearly ready. We’re always talking to our guide friends, mainly trying to mooch a free trip under the guise of offering free publicity. On Wednesday January 25th we talked to the experts in Superior, Mosinee, Madison and on the harbors of the southeast. There is no ice on the latter but they’re killing brown trout on the open water and if you can get there, do it. Even I catch winter browns.
These guides, probably 200 in Wisconsin, actually are my friends a reality from literally producing 1200 field columns over two decades with them. This Blog will often work like this; I will talk to the experts all over Wisconsin on a weekly basis and try to give you a heads up when fishing, or hunting, or knitting, is heating up. Many times we will also be able to link to a column and photos that we produced in the recent past so you can get a feel of what to expect. We’ll include the guides contact numbers so you can call them or plan your own self-guided trip. 
Over the course of a year, you’ll hear plenty in this space about Pete Brzezinski, extraordinary guide located in Superior. He specializes in Big Muskies mainly on the St. Louis River, but my introduction came last year during a phenomenal walleye outing on that river in late May when they opened the fish refuge like they do each year to the angling masses. I couldn’t make it for eel pout (that’s right lawyers, and man are they tasty) through the ice over the last month, but Brzezinski is already on St. Louis river walleyes to 26 inches and that will only get better through February. Contact him at http://www.northlandmuskieadventures.com/ or 715-575-1813 or nbkguideservice@yahoo.com.
Professional Guide Phil Schweik is the man, the legend in the Mosinee area. He’s also the owner of Hooksetters Guide Service. He’s a river rat and has been since he rode his bike each day until he knew the Wisconsin like the back of his hand. Look for his already-posted recent reports under Outdoor Reports on this site. The guy catches fish, all kinds and all species and he knows what’s happening where. I’m also posting one of a 20 stories I did with Schweik over the years, a January crappie hunt on the Little Eau Pleine. Contact Phil Schweik and Hooksetters Guide Service at www.hooksetters.biz. Or 715-581-2620 or pschweik@dwave.net.
The Madison Chain, said Gene Dellinger of D&S Bait and Tackle in Madison is finally completely iced over but still not all ready for safe travel. Contact the bait shop at 608-241-4225 for personal attention or 608-244-3474 for a taped fishing report. I have been out with Dellinger many times on the chain in winter and summer, with one of the most entertaining trips for late January deep water perch on Mendota. We’re linking to that story here, but Dellinger doesn’t expect the next good deep water bite for big perch until 2013. He will tell you what’s biting where though. He can trust him even if he says stay home. Contact www.dsbait.com.
Now for a little open water fishing. You probably have seen guide Brian Settele on John Gillespie’s weekly fishing show. He’s killing browns right now and expects to kill browns into April. You’ll probably be catching trout too until you’re ready to slip right in on the jumbo perch of spring, which we’ll talk about later. Right now, tap into Settele at 414-559-9238 or www.fishchaserguideservice.com. “The brown trout fishing is phenomenal and I expect it to stay that way in both the Milwaukee and Port Washington Harbors,” Settele said.
And don’t forget, that brown could be 30 pound. –Dick Ellis