Fishing Report, 1-19-2009

The cold weather last week kept the number of people who were out down to a low number, but those that were out met with continued success. the good news about the cold weather is that the main-lake ice appears to be safe now.

Pike continue to bite aggressively. We are still getting alot of reports of pike 30 inches or better from area lakes. Don't ask me where those fish go in the summertime, (the answer is out deep) but for right now the pattern remains large shiners or small suckers on tip-ups with a spinner harness for a leader. Okauchee (Stumpy, Icehouse, Bay Five and the Crane's Nest,) Golden Lake, Nagawicka, Kessus and Fowler have all been conistent producers. Shallow water to mid-depth water near weeds continues to produce the hottest action.

The panfish bite has dropped off a bit. Its tough to make an accurate assessment of the conditions based on the limited reports we got from last week, but I think the reason is that anglers haven't moved with the fish. The smaller fish will stay in the bays where people have been catching them the last few weeks, but the larger fish tend to suspend over deeper water. This migration is probably occurring right now, and the people on the ice have not made the adjustment yet. With the warmer weather and the ice much more solid over deeper water, expect anglers to start to find schools of fish out deep. Here's my advice: look for them off the ends of the deeper mainlake points. Gills and crappies will both be suspended. Be ready to pickup and move if you don't find some active fish on your camera/flasher pretty quick.

Walleye bite continues on the walleye lakes. 6-10 or 12-18 feet seem to be the hot ranges for water depth. I'd look for them adjacent to current areas or springs. And Fish early and late in the day.

The Inner Harbor by the Milwaukee lakefront continues to produce some quality fish as well.

Good luck.
CT

PS. We've had a lot of requests for a list of fishing jamborees. We'll try to get one up for you this week.