Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report
Wow the fishing this past week has been fantastic.
Lots of great opportunities for walleyes, perch, crappies, gills and pike. Most of the fish have come by targeting big open flats and channel edges for perch and crappies and shallow weeds for gills and pike.
The best advice for finding fish right now is to use your Humminbird electronics to find suspended schools of panfish. Number "2" keep moving around and use your electronics to locate active feeding fish, don't sit in one spot too long or you may miss out on better opportunities. Once you locate a school of fish or actively feeding fish set up and work the water column directly above.
James Borelli Smallmouth bass
To find out if the fish are active you want to draw fish off the bottom and/or out of the school. Aggressive fish will move up out of the school or off the bottom to chase your presentation when they are ready to eat. My favorite panfish baits at this time of the year are Northland Tingler spoons and tiny Mooska jigs tipped with Northland Impulse plastics.
Stephanie Borelli Walleyes
For the northern pike and walleyes, I like searching out vast shallow weedy or stump filled bays. I set the round Frabill tip-ups at select locations that I have found by searching out the area with my electronics. I have a Humminbird 1199 locator with my Lake-Master maps downloaded onto it and set up on the snowmobile. I use the mapping from that unit and the GPS to determine the areas that I am going to fish. From there I start drilling holes and look for subtle breaks or transition areas that can be seen on my Humminbird Ice-55 locator.
Stephanie Borellie Largemouth bass
Once I have determined where I am going to fish I run my tip-ups baited with large golden shiners or medium sized sucker minnows about 1 to 3 feet off the bottom. In very weedy areas I prefer to run my baits right under the ice or about 1 foot above the weed-line.
As most of you know I have been working with Kwik Trip the past year and I have received a lot of great support from them and wonderful comments from you. I am now adding a new section to the weekly reports for special offers from Kwik Trip. They offer great discounts and specials “usually free stuff” that you will receive on your phone on a regular basis. Please "Text KWIK to 75309 for special offers on your phone" You won’t be disappointed!!!
Have a great week,
Phil Schweik
Hooksetters Guide Service
www.hooksetters.biz