Last weeks snowstorm dropped up to a foot of snow in parts of southern and central Wisconsin, creating some of the best winter recreation conditions of the year, but by midweek, snow conditions (Exit DNR) in much of southern Wisconsin had begun to deteriorate with warmer temperatures.
While most counties were able to open snowmobile trails last weekend, by this week, many southern counties had already closed trails because of heavy use and deteriorating snow. Snowmobile trails in many central Wisconsin counties remain open and were in fair to good condition. Trails in northern Wisconsin generally remain in good to excellent condition.
Cross-country ski trails in the southern part of the state have also begun to deteriorate some, with some parks reporting grass starting to poke through. But other trails, including those in the Kettle Moraine State Forest were still being reported in fair to good condition. Ski trails in central and northern Wisconsin are in good to excellent condition. American Birkebeiner officials report their trail is in very good condition for this weekends 33rd American Birkebeiner Ski Race, which is North Americas largest cross-country ski race expected to attract about 8,000 skiers and 15,000 spectators to the Hayward and Cable area.
Cold weather improved ice conditions across the state in the last week, but lakes in southern Wisconsin still had some open water or very thing ice conditions. In the north, the cold weather froze the slush on inland lakes. There were a few remaining slush spots scattered around and these are mostly in undisturbed areas of the lakes. Ice depths range from 14 to 18 inches on most waters, with about 5 to 6 inches of snow on top of that. A few panfish were being caught on inland lakes, but a lot of areas were having slow fishing. With slightly warmer temperatures on Sunday, some crappie were being caught along with a few perch. Northern pike also provided some action, with anglers reporting a few decent fish caught during the early morning and mid-day hours. Walleye success continues to be extremely slow on area lakes and very few reports of catches have come in. Moderating temperatures during the week should improve fishing. The ice on Chequamegon Bay hardened up, allowing anglers better access, but bitter cold and high winds hampered fishing on the Bay. There is still open water conditions north of Washburn.
In the south the blast of cold weather firmed-up ice on lakes from Waukesha County north, with lots of ice fishing action this past weekend as anglers cured winter cabin fever and got out for their last fling at hard water fishing. Fishing was generally good, with bluegills biting on waxworms and jigs in 14 to 20 feet of water. Anglers were also catching yellow perch and some nice crappies.
Along Green Bay, a few anglers were fishing for northern pike out near the Peshtigo harbor but very few flags. A few anglers were fishing for perch at Duck Creek in Brown County, and small yellow perch were being caught at Potawatomi State Park. Small northern pike were caught at the Sturgeon Bay.
The Mississippi River water stage slowly began to fall last week to about 8.2 feet at Prairie du Chien. The Main Channel of the Mississippi River froze over again, and Pool 9 was frozen for the most part. Backwater areas remained difficult and dangerous to access because of thin ice conditions. Anglers were not able to launch boats any longer as boat landings and the main channel froze over.
Observations and sightings of deer show many bucks are still carrying antlers. Shedding of antlers may occur as early as December and go until sometime in March. Common redpolls, irregular winter visitor songbirds, have been observed recently. These Canadian visitors resemble American goldfinches in size, shape, and behavior. Flocks, which may number upwards of 1,000 birds, are constantly on the move from one food source to another. And a sign that despite the recent snowfall spring is approaching, bald eagles have begun returning to northern Wisconsin to reclaim nesting territories.
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