Lake Winnebago Info
Three Thrown In Lake Winnebago When Sailboat Overturns PDF Print E-mail

Three Thrown In Lake Winnebago When Sailboat Overturns

Three people were thrown into the waters of Lake Winnebago yesterday afternoon when a catamaran sailboat capsized off of the east shore. Sheriff's Sergeant Jeff Bonack says the incident was reported by a witness on shore who saw the boat and someone in the water. The incident happened about 1 ½ miles northwest of Columbia Park. Deputies responded from the Sheriff's Boat Patrol. Bonack says one of three who had been on the sailboat was picked up by a passing fishing boat, one by another sailboat, and the third remained in the water trying to upright the capsized boat, which eventually was up righted. No one was injured. The Captain of the catamaran was Thomas Tomter of Grafton, Wisconsin.

source:  KFIZ.com
 
It's no wake all week for boaters around Oshkosh Avenue bridge PDF Print E-mail

It's no wake all week for boaters around Oshkosh Avenue bridge

By Jeff Bollier • of The Northwestern • August 25, 2010

Councilors unanimously approved extending the no wake zone surrounding the Oshkosh Avenue bridge from a weekend designation to in effect all week.

Residents of River Mill condominiums petitioned the city to extend the no wake zone to all week to combat damage done to shoreline properties and boat docks in the vicinity.

 

“The village of Winneconne has had a no wake zone for their entire stretch of the river because they have condos with docks, homes with docks and businesses with docks,” River Mill resident Tom Moore said. “They came to the same conclusion I hope you do: The amount of damage by boat wakes is significant.”

 

Oshkosh resident Mark Hanson, who said he boats on the Fox River frequently for both work and recreation, opposed the extension of the no-wake designation because of the extra time he said it would add to a trip from Lake Winnebago to upland lakes and rivers and because it would make Oshkosh less boater-friendly.

 

“Boaters want to come through Oshkosh. They want to run around our city,” Hanson said. “If you want to kill boating in our city, then pass this. All you’re going to do is hurt boating in our town.”

 

But Moore and other supporters of extending the no-wake designation said they had timed how much longer it takes going fast through the area and adhering to no-wake rules. The difference was four to five minutes, Moore said.

 

“I think this is a reasonable, small stretch of river,” Moore said. “I hope you’ll support it.”
 
Menominee Park beach closed due to high E. coli levels PDF Print E-mail
Menominee Park beach closed due to high E. coli levels The Northwestern • August 24, 2010 The beach at Menominee Park was closed today after water samples revealed elevated levels of E. coli bacteria in the water. A water sample taken Monday had an E. coli concentration of 1,733 E. coli colony forming units, or CFUs, per 100 ml of water, a concentration well in excess of the 1,000 CFUs per 100 ml at which state and federal regulators say a beach should be closed. Concentrations between 235 and 1000 CFUs require a beach advisory and signs indicating an elevated health risk. The primary concern with E. coli in lake water is it can cause diarrhea and vomiting if it is ingested. The cause of the high level of E. coli has not been determined. The beach will remain closed until samples show conditions have improved.
Last Updated on Thursday, 26 August 2010 01:38
 
Winnebago Sturgeon and Walleye Report 7-27-2010 PDF Print E-mail
Winnebago sturgeon and walleye Report 7-27-2010

Dear Winnebago sturgeon Spearers (and walleye enthusiasts),

Get your Upriver Lakes sturgeon Spearing Lottery Application by August 2
Just a quick note to let you know that the deadline for purchasing your application for getting into the 2011 Upriver Lakes sturgeon Spearing Lottery is coming up fast. Normally you have until August 1 to purchase your $3 lottery application, but since Aug 1 is on a Sunday this year, you have until Monday August 2 to purchase your application. You can get your lottery application at any DNR license center or vendor.

Once all the applications are in our licensing folks will do the drawing and let spearers know no later than October 1 whether they were drawn for a tag. Group lottery applications of up to four persons are accepted for the Upriver Lakes lottery. Group applications must be submitted on-line athttps://www4.wildlifelicense.com/wi/start.php. Spearers that apply for but are not authorized to purchase an 2011 Upriver Lakes license receive a preference point, and can still purchase a license for Lake Winnebago, but must do so by the October 31 license sales deadline (spearers can only buy one tag or the other, not both). Sales for both Lake Winnebago and Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing licenses end October 31. The Upriver Lakes sturgeon lottery fishery will limit participation to 500 tags in 2011.

Three more Winnebago walleye Meetings August 10, 11, and 12
We had our first of four Winnebago walleye Management public meetings on July 13 in Shiocton and a crowd of over 100 walleye enthusiasts made it a very eventful evening. We will be putting a full report together on the information we are providing and the input we receive at all four meetings once we wrap up the last meeting. We will be using the information and input to update our Winnebago walleye Management Plan. I’ve attached a copy of the original flyer we sent out advertizing the meetings.

Hopefully we will see you in Neenah, Quinney, or Fond du Lac. We’ve got tons of very interesting information about our walleye population and fishery to share with you, and will also be asking you to give us your thoughts on the walleye fishery as well.

Other Winnebago Fish News
We’ll be conducting our first round of 2010 assessment trawling on Lake Winnebago next week, but we already know that there is a monstrous hatch of white bass out there from the shakedown cruise we conducted with the trawler last month. No word yet on the 2010 walleye hatch. Also, we saw earlier this week a modest kill of large numbers of young of year gizzard shad on the west end of Lake Poygan (due to the high inflows flushing out low oxygen backwaters into the streams and ultimately into the lake) - so it looks like the shad pulled of a good hatch - at least in the Upriver Lakes. Our trawling on Lake Winnebago will let us know if the good shad hatch is throughout the pool lakes.

Take care,

Ron

Ronald M. Bruch, PhD
Upper Fox-Wolf Fisheries Work Unit Supervisor
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
625 E County Rd Y, Suite 700
Oshkosh, WI 54901
USA

(() phone: (920) 424-3059
(() fax: (920) 424-4404
(+) e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
sturgeon Hot-Line: (920) 303-5444ding »
 
FLW WALLEYE TOUR TO VISIT LAKE WINNEBAGO PDF Print E-mail

 

FLW walleye TOUR TO VISIT LAKE WINNEBAGO

 Kicker Fish Will Be Key to Victory

 OSHKOSH, Wis. (July 7, 2010) – The FLW walleye Tour Eastern Division will visit Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, Wis., July 15-17 for the last of three stops in the Eastern division. Hosted by the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau, the tournament will feature as many as 300 top walleye anglers casting for top awards up to $35,000 in the Pro Division and $7,500 in the Co-angler Division.  

“I studied the results from last year and it was interesting,” said Chris Gilman of Chisago City, Minn., who finished fifth at last year’s Lake Winnebago event. “With Lake Winnebago there’s so many ways to catch walleye — on rocks, in weeds, trolling the mud basin and fishing the river. Winnebago is a neat deal. It has a lot of different spots and a lot to offer. 

“I’ve been fishing there since 1992 and I don’t know of one tournament that’s been won in the same spot twice,” Gilman added. “That lake spreads people out. They can have a tournament with 300 boats and there’s plenty of room for everyone.” 

Gilman said anglers definitely will have to pursue a kicker fish to have any hope of winning the Lake Winnebago event. 

“There’s not a pile of them, but there are some big fish in the system,” Gilman said. “There’s been a lot of 5- and 6-pound fish caught this year. I think you need a kicker fish mixed in to win.“I think a guy’s going to need 17 pounds a day to win,” Gilman added. “Someone’s going to get a couple of big ones. The key is to get your limit. If you get lucky and get a big one, that’s even better.”  

Anglers will take off from Pioneer Resort Marina located at 1000 Pioneer Drive in Oshkosh at 7 each morning. Weigh-ins will also be held at Pioneer Resort Marina beginning at 3 p.m.  In FLW walleye Tour competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2010 FLW walleye Tour Championship held on Leech Lake in Walker, Minn., Sept. 23-25.
 
Saturday Rescue on Lake Winnebago PDF Print E-mail

A Fond du Lac family was rescued early Saturday during a storm on Lake Winnebago.

 

At approximately 1:30 a.m., the Fond du Lac County Communications Center received a 911 call from a boat in distress on Lake Winnebago.

 

The 34-foot-long houseboat was taking on water after a large wave knocked out the bow window, according to a press release from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department.

 

The boat was originally anchored on the lake north of Fond du Lac approximately one mile or so but had broken loose in the high winds and waves.

 

The occupants, Richard Butzen, 45, of 420 Morris St., his wife, Christina, and their two children, were asleep when the storm hit, said Sgt. Chris Dobyns.

 

At the time, the Fond du Lac area was experiencing 30 to 40 mph sustained winds with a peak recorded gust of 54 mph, which accompanied a thunderstorm, Dobyns said.

 

The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol and Rescue responded to the call and located the boat approximately three miles north of Fond du Lac adrift and continuing to take on water.

 

The occupants were safely transported back to the Fond du Lac harbor, and the boat was towed in at the time as well.

Source: Fond du Lac Reporter
Last Updated on Sunday, 27 June 2010 00:36
 
DNR Lake Winnebago Sturgeon and Walleye Update 6-18-2010 PDF Print E-mail
DNR Lake Winnebago sturgeon and walleye Update 6-18-2010

June 18th, 2010

Dear Winnebago sturgeon and walleye Enthusiasts:

Our Upper Fox-Wolf-Winnebago fish crews are in full summer mode at the moment conducting flathead catfish surveys on the Wolf and upper Fox Rivers, monitoring walleye tournaments on Lake Winnebago, and starting our sweep of stream surveys throughout our counties.  The flathead catfish are on the move up the rivers as part of their annual spawning run which provides a great opportunity for us to net and tag fish and collect valuable biological information.

walleye News…….

walleye Tournament Monitoring - Each June we monitor numerous walleye tournaments on Lake Winnebago where we collect tag return data on all fish brought in that allows us to develop our walleye population estimates; and length, weight, sex, maturity, and age data on the unreleasable fish brought in by the tournament anglers. All the big tournaments are catch and release, but walleye are actually fairly sensitive to handling and despite excellent efforts by local clubs such as Lighthouse Anglers and Otter Street Fishing Club we usually see about a 25 to 50% mortality rate - over the past two weekends working the MWC/Cabelas and Mercury National tournaments we handled over 2400 walleye, of which around 1400 were returned alive to the lake; and we were able to collect very valuable data on all the fish that could not be released. Mortality rates are influenced by water temperatures, wind, and the number of fish in live wells. After we collect our data on the unreleasable fish, local angling clubs clean the fish and donate the fillets to local food pantries. Out of the estimated 1-2 million angler hours invested in the fishery on the Winnebago System each year, tournament angling accounts for about 70,000 to 80,000 angler hours.

Winnebago Public walleye Meetings - We have scheduled a series of public meetings around the Winnebago Region on July 13, and August 10, 11 and 12 to review and discuss our walleye assessments and management program on the Winnebago System. Attached is a flyer with details about the meeting objectives and locations. At each meeting we will be providing a summary of the status and trends of the Winnebago walleye population and gathering public input to help us update our Winnebago walleye Management Plan. Put one (or more) of the meeting dates on your calendar. We will have tons of information to present, and hope to gather tons of good input for our walleye management plan update.

sturgeon News………..

Our sturgeon are pretty much into their summer patterns now as well - 85% of the adults feeding heavily on lakefly larvae in Lake Winnebago, 13% in the Upriver Lakes, and 2% that never leave the rivers; juveniles primarily in the Upriver Lakes, although some are spread out throughout the entire system from Shawano to Winnebago, and this year’s hatchlings should be about 3″ long right now, living independently on sand and pea gravel bars 60 to 100 miles up the Wolf River, and 20-40 miles up the upper Fox River.

Our book People of the sturgeon, Wisconsin’s Love Affair with an Ancient Fish is doing quite well having won 6 regional or national awards! The people’s stories are what brought this book to life, so I hope all sturgeon spearers and other Winnebago sturgeon enthusiasts can all feel some pride in how well the book is doing. The book is still available at major book stores, Amazon.com, and your local sturgeon for Tomorrow Chapter.

Finally - an early reminder - if you are planning on applying for an Upriver lakes sturgeon spearing tag to get into the lottery in 2011, make sure you purchase your URL sturgeon lottery application for $3 before August 1. This will get you into the lottery and if you have enough preference points, put you in a good position to get authorized to buy an URL sturgeon spearing license for 2011. The lottery winners are drawn in August and notified that they have been authorized to purchase an URL license. All license sales for Winnebago and URL sturgeon spearing licenses end October 31. Licenses are $20 for residents and $65 for non-residents. All funds from sturgeon spearing license sales stay right here on the Winnebago System for our sturgeon program.

That’s it for now - hope to see you at one of our walleye meetings………..

Ron

Ronald M. Bruch, PhD
Upper Fox-Wolf Fisheries Work Unit Supervisor
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
625 E County Rd Y, Suite 700
Oshkosh, WI 54901
USA

(() phone: (920) 424-3059
(() fax: (920) 424-4404
(+) e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
sturgeon Hot-Line: (920) 303-5444
 
Cabelas National Team Circuit Championship and Masters Walleye Circuit Visits Oshkosh, WI This Weekend PDF Print E-mail

Note:  This article is from Walleyecentral.com written by Julia Davis, aka Juls.  For more information be sure to stop by the site walleyecentral.com.  It provides some insight to the system currently, and the methods and locations working well!

 

 

Cabelas National Team Circuit Championship and Masters walleye Circuit Visits Oshkosh, WI This Weekend

June 2, 2010

It’s been two years since the MWC has been to Lake Winnebago, but they are back along with the National Team Championship qualifiers from the 2009 season to compete for two separate titles.

At the time of this writing, there are 362 teams signed up to fish either, or, or both events this weekend.
Qualifiers of the NTC won their berth through the various walleye tournaments throughout the country by placing in the top of their fields, last year. Since this is two separate events held in conjunction with each other, the teams will also be able to compete simultaneously in the MWC event by simply entering it.  There will be some teams only fishing the NTC, some only fishing the MWC, or both events.

One of those teams who fishes both events this weekend is, Johnnie Candle of Devils Lake, ND and his partner, Dave Noble, of Dixon, IL. They qualified for the NTC through the Western Division of the MWC last year. They are also signed up to compete on the MWC side of this event too.

Juls: When did you get into Oshkosh, Johnnie? When did you start prefishing for this?

Johnnie: We got in town on Saturday and started on Sunday before Memorial Day.

Juls: How’s the prefishing been for you two? What are the conditions like right now?

Johnnie: Well, the first 4 days we were here, was sunny and calm and 90 degrees plus, and felt like August more than the last few days in May. Then, today, the weather switched and we have a high of 65 degrees, clouds and rain, and wind, so you know, it’s the typical tournament situation where you think you’re getting something figured out, it changes!

Juls: What is the water temperature right now?

Johnnie: I’m looking at 76.4 degrees on the graph right now. I’m in the upper river lakes right now too. It’s a little cooler out on the big lake, but the upper lakes are pretty warm.

Juls: The forecast for this week is:
This Afternoon: Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Northeast wind around 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then a chance of showers between 7pm and 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. East northeast wind between 5 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. East northeast wind between 5 and 7 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Northeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm.

Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming southeast between 4 and 7 mph.

Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.

Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74.

What will this forecast do to the fishing? Will it make it tougher, better, or no difference at all? What’s your prediction, Johnnie?

Johnnie:  I actually think it’s going to help things, to be honest with you, Juls.  Right now, with the 90 degree temperatures the last couple of days, and actually a little bit longer than that, before we got here….it fast forwarded things so quickly, that the fish didn’t know what to do. I haven’t seen the fishing change for the better yet today, but it feels like a normal late May or early June day today than it has for the last couple. And, I think the fish are going to appreciate a return to “normal”. We saw water temps the last few days as high as 80 degrees, and that’s unheard of for any Northern lake at this time of year. I think things are going to get better as the water cools back down a little bit and gets closer to normal.

Juls: The last count I heard for combined numbers of entrants of both events is at 362 teams. Have you ever fished a tournament with this many boats before?

Johnnie: Never have! I think the biggest tournament I ever fished, way back when, was on this system. I think the PWT had one year with a 190 plus boats. That was the largest one I ever fished. I just found out this morning while fueling up with gas that there are two more local tournaments fishing their events the same weekend, and both of them have over 100 boats signed up, so there’s an estimate floating around town here that there could be over 700 tournament boats on this system on Saturday morning, when we take off.

Juls: Whew! That’s a lot of boats.

Johnnie: Anything you think you’ve got going, and might have to yourself, you’re kidding yourself. Well, you know Juls you’re from out this way….Right now, just to give you an example, I’m trolling out in front of the Gun Club, which is a pretty popular area, and there’s one other boat here. There’s one other boat here right now. If you put 700 boats on the system, even if no one is catching fish here, there’s going to be 30 or 40 boats here. It’s going to be a zoo! It’s going to change the way you fish, that’s for sure!

Gary and Marge Pelkey are long time MWC competitors and are from the area. I spoke with Marge by phone and asked her a few prefishing questions too.

Juls: Hi Margie, when did you and Gary start prefishing this week?

Marge: We started prefishing last Friday. We had been out various times before that, but we actually started doing the “serious prefishing” last Friday.  It’s been Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday…everyday, all day in the boat. There’s a lot of water to cover. There’s the whole Winnebago system, and that’s a lot of water to cover.

I had to work today, but then it’s back out on the water for the next two days for us.

Juls: What is your take on what the fish should be doing right now with the recent hot weather spell sending water temps soaring? How does this season compare to previous seasons?

Marge: You know, I think this year is probably better than some of the past years we have seen this early, because actually, this tournament is early. Usually the MWC tournaments here follow the “Otter Street” tournament, which is now the end of June. But, this one is now in the beginning of June, so it is a little bit different.
The water temps are up…they were as of Monday…still up in the 70’s…high 70’s, actually, but now we have a cold front going through, so that may kind of cool things off a little bit. We’re hoping that the water temps are going to stay right around 70-72 degrees. That will help things.

I think the fishing this year is better than it has been in the previous years.

Juls: What techniques and presentations can we expect to see at this event?

Marge: I think with the water temps being the way they are, we’re going to see a lot of crawler harnesses. We’ve had real good luck with them and also with cranks, so I think it’s just going to be finding those bigger fish, and just getting the right bait to them. On Monday, they were really fussy. It was an overcast day, the cold front was coming in, and they were really fussy. We had to do some quick changing…but, we’ve had luck on both presentations.

Juls: Ok, so you’re saying it’s basically going to be a trolling bite for most of the field this weekend?

Marge: I would say, by the looks of things, and the amount of boats out there this past weekend….a majority of the field is trolling. I’m without a doubt that there will be guys that are going to find them in the cane, or are going to find a sweet little weed bed, where they’ll find them working…it always happens! It always happens…there’s no two ways about it. There are such good Winnebago fishermen here that know that system inside and out, and they know just where to find some of them. But, as far as us, you’ve known us for how long, Juls? You know we love to troll! (Laughs)

Juls: Two questions this time…number one, “Are you fishing the MWC and the NTC, or just the MWC? And, how much weight do you think it will take per day to win?

Marge: Looking at the weights from last weekends tournament I’m going to say, 20 pounds, or close to that.

Teams will be allowed to have 8 fish in the livewell, and will weigh their best 5 walleye per day. No Sauger will be allowed at the scales and will result in that team losing the weight of the Sauger plus the weight of their largest walleye that day. Wisconsin is a ‘No Cull” state. Once a team has 8 fish in the livewell, they are done for the day.

Weights will be uploaded to walleye Central’s Live Leader Board as they cross the main stage. But, teams that do not wish to weigh their fish on the main stage can weigh them in two other areas called the “back scales”, and those weights will be entered at the end of the weigh in once a printout is published by the MWC.

The blast off will be taking place at Miller’s Bay at Menominee Park in Oshkosh, WI starting at 7am Central Time on June 5th, 2010. We can expect a minimum of 4 flights 20 minutes apart. The same will hold true for the return starting at 3pm.

The weigh in will begin at 3pm Central Time in the same location, where we are planning on having a LIVE Video Stream of event, if our upload tests find it suitable for a good feed. Watch the Tournament Board on walleye Central for any updates regarding the live video feed status beginning tomorrow afternoon.

Watch the Live Leader Board for morning and afternoon photos, and articles by clicking on the AM or PM links associated with the NTC/MWC event found there.

For more information about fishing or attending an MWC Tournament, or how to qualify for the NTC for 2011, please visit their site at www.masterswalleyecircuit.com
 
Winnebago's Busiest Weekend Ever? PDF Print E-mail

The Busiest weekend ever? 

Winnebagoland will be under siege from tournament anglers during the first weekend in June of 2010.  It may be the single largest tournament weekend ever on the lake.  In total, 8 events will take place over the weekend of June 5th and 6th.  If tournament permits become fulfilled a total of 930 boats and 1,860 tournament anglers will all hit the water in the morning of Saturday June 5th.    

The two largest tournaments are the Cabela’s National Team Championship tournament and the Master’s walleye Circuit (MWC).  These tours will allow teams to participate in both tournaments at the same time, but could result in a maximum of about 470 teams (940 anglers), if they have full fields.  The Cabela’s tournament is the crown jewel of the circuit, crowning a National Champion at the event.    MWC is the longest running walleye tour in North America.  Both of these tournaments will continue their events into Sunday.  Many of these anglers will come from throughout the Upper Midwest and Canada. 

In addition, the annual tournaments of the Van Dyne Lion’s Club (125 boats, 250 anglers), and the Stockbridge walleye Tournament (120 boats, 240 anglers) will be happening on Saturday.  Traditionally these tournaments are comprised of local anglers, and draw very well.  Many tournament teams will use these events to prepare for the Mercury National walleye Tournament (June 12 and 13) and Otter Street tournaments (June 19 and 20) in the coming weeks which field 300+ teams each.

Other events on the system include The Mercury Marine Employee event (100 boats, 200 anglers), the Fisherman’s Road Club Tournament (60 boats/120 anglers), the Boom Bay walleye Tourney (60 boats, 120 anglers) and the Wolf River House Open (60 boats/120 anglers). 

Lake Winnebago will see the vast majority of the action, with the Wolf River and Lake Poygan receiving some pressure also.  Traditionally, the trolling bite will just be starting; so many teams will probably be working the mud looking for action.  Other teams will leave their trolling gear at home and will be focusing on walleyes located on reefs or in emerging weed beds. 

One thing is for sure, Lake Winnebago has grabbed the attention of the world’s largest tournaments for being an incredible walleye fishery.  These tournaments will bring millions of dollars of economic impact into the region, which is much needed in these poor economic times.  All these anglers need bait, gas, food, and most will require a place to sleep.   Typically, the larger tours will have the “serious” contestants into the area for up to two full weeks in advance of the tournament to pre fish in preparation of the actual events. 

This weekend is also Wisconsin’s free fishing weekend, where no fishing license is required.  This is sure to attract many novice fishermen to the lake for a try at an elusive walleye, white bass, or perch.  That is, if they can find a place to launch a boat! 

So with the potential 1,900 tournament anglers on the water on Saturday, hundreds of local fishermen, and others fishing from shore, Lake Winnebago will be a busy place.     
 
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