Winter has returned in force to the northern third of Wisconsin, with the most northern areas receiving nearly a foot of new snow in the last week. The northern tier of counties were reporting up to 2 feet of snow on the ground with the best snowmobile and cross-country ski conditions (Exit DNR) of the winter so far. The snowbelt ends at about Hudson in the west to just south of Green Bay in the east, with most areas south of that line having bare ground.
Colder weather in the last week has improved ice conditions on lakes, but southern lakes still have areas of open water and wardens are cautioning that the new ice that is forming may be very thin and create treacherous conditions. Anyone venturing out on the ice should check ice thickness regularly. Following the new snow that was received last week across the Northwoods, a rather extensive slush problem has developed on many northern lakes.
In the north, bluegill, crappie and a few perch were biting and northern pike were providing more steady action for anglers. While many smaller fish were being caught, one angler on a northern Oconto County lake reported catching a 42-inch northern pike. Walleye action continued to be spotty, with the best action coming just after dusk.
Many southern lakes are ice free, and the ice is unsafe on the lakes that have some. Anglers finding good ice were catching panfish, with some excellent bluegill action reported on southeastern lakes this past week. Anglers trolling on Geneva Lake were catching some walleyes.
The 2006 Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing season will begin at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb 11. Ice ranges in thickness from open water to 14 inches, with many shoreline and offshore ice cracks making access and travel difficult and potentially dangerous. Pools of open water have been freezing over the past few days resulting in portions of the lake that may have only a few inches of ice. There are also areas of open water (as of 2-6-06; PDF image; 256 kb) that will likely remain open for the entire season. Spearers can probably expect a long sturgeon season due to sketchy ice conditions and marginal water clarity that ranges from 4 to 11 feet.
On Green Bay, a few anglers were catching small yellow perch at Duck Creek with an occasional keeper and anglers were still catching small yellow perch at Sawyer Harbor. On Lake Michigan, anglers were having good luck for brown trout.
The Mississippi River water stage rose slowly this week and was at 8 feet midweek, up half a foot from last week. Ice conditions continue to be very dangerous despite the cold snap this week. The east and main channels of the Mississippi River were full of ice chunks this week. A lot of small saugers were being caught, with some reports of 16- to18-inchers. Panfishing has been fair, but backwater areas remain very difficult and dangerous to access.
Great Horned and barred owls are calling now. They are very territorial and can be readily called in. Ravens should soon be seen doing aerial acrobatics as a part of courtship behavior and establishing territory. Turkeys are becoming very active and are visible in many fields. Flocks of gobblers are breaking up and itÂ’s quite common to see a flock of 30 to 40 hens and juveniles serenaded by displaying gobblers on all four sides. And some large flocks of Canada geese have returned to southern Wisconsin from Southern Illinois and are frequenting open lakes for roosting and snow-free agricultural fields for feeding. This has created situations where flocks of feeding geese can be seen right next to a flock of feeding turkeys.
A three-minute audio version of this report can be heard by calling (608) 266 2277.
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