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Reports Lake Winnebago, WI

Winnebago Weekly 2-26-11

The last week has not been kind to Lake Winnebago and the surrounding waters.  Initially, unseasonably warm temperatures took its toll on the ice surface, damaging the ice sheet with warm runoff water and direct sunlight.  A substantial snow storm followed, with heavy winds continuing to beat on the ice layer.  Unmarked and abandoned sturgeon holes created problems with vehicles.  By Sunday, most sportsmen had discontinued truck traffic on the lake.

The ice thickness has eroded to about 14-18 inches in most locations.  The old “roads” on the system are dangerous, and several vehicles have fallen through the ice in the last week, killing one Appleton area man.  Overall, the lake is not safe for driving on….and may not be for the rest of the ice season

Fishing reports:  There is nothing to really report currently.  Most fishermen were scrambling to pull their shanties off the lake to avoid them from freezing into the ice surface as temperatures lowered. 

I did hit the water on Saturday for a few hours.  We found a few small perch on pink jigs and waxies, but nothing which was keeper worthy.  The water column was partially stained in Fond du Lac near Schmitty’s Bar and Grill.  4-wheelers have been venturing out of the Oshkosh area in search for staging walleyes.  There have been some excellent sized fish in this area.  Wide spoons worked well this week, with no meat.    The good news is there seemed to be less bait fish.  The shad I watched on the camera were near the end of their life cycle, and struggling for survival. 

The “Battle on ‘Bago event” will still occur this weekend out of Oshkosh.  They have opened the contest to all area lakes, due to the poor conditions on Lake Winnebago.  Personally, my next trip on Lake Winnebago will be in my boat.  Speaking of a boat……the upper Fox River in Depere WI should have open water in the next 10 days, and the annual spring walleye push will begin. 

The next report will be focused on the Depere bite in a week or two. Just a reminder:  Ice Breakers 6 is coming up soon in Fremont WI (March 11-12-13).  Some of the world’s best walleye anglers will be giving seminars over the weekend.  The show is free to the general public.  Please be sure to stop by the My Fishing Partner booth at the show.  I’ll be in the house on Friday night, Saturday all day and briefly on Sunday.  Hope we see you there.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it is how you can reach me.  I welcome your questions and fishing reports. Thanks for visiting the site!

Winnebago Weekly 2-17-11

Wisconsin has had mild weather over the past 5 days, making sportsmen happy for many reasons.  Lake Winnebago’s snow pack has subsided into standing water on the ice.  Many of the landings are showing signs of heavy wear, due to the heavy traffic associated with sturgeon spearing.  Ice depths remained unchanged from previous weeks.  The top layer of ice is wet, but fairly easy to negotiate in a truck.

Water clarity has been a huge topic over the past week.  The southern portion of the lake seems to have the best water clarity overall.  With the warming temperatures, water clarity is expected to deteriorate.  The melting snow will wash debris and dirt into the system resulting in a stained appearance to the water column.

Sturgeon spearing was the main focally point for the last week. 

There are many reports of the shad (bait fish) starting to die off.  This is an annual event.  With the abundance of dead and dying fish easily found, walleye activity is still tough.  This should change in the near future, especially with the warm water runoff being infused into the lake and rivers.  The expectation is that the walleyes will start staging for the spring run soon.  They will be much easier to target due to heavy concentrations especially near the mouths of the rivers.  The food supply could become exhausted quickly in these areas and a solid bite should occur.

Perch, bluegills and crappies are still located in deeper water.  In the next 3-4 weeks, many of these fish will start moving into the shallow bays, in preparation for ice out.  The area outside of Oshkosh is producing the best sized perch on the system currently.  Solid numbers continue to be found off of the BP in Fond du Lac, Subway road, Garlic Island, Asylum Bay and out of Pipe.  In many cases the perch have been associated in the same general areas as the shad schools.  Jigs and dead sticks have been the best methods for attracting the perch and white bass; but tip ups have done equally well, especially on small sized Rosie red minnows.

Be safe on the ice and beware of abandon sturgeon holes.  Many of these marked holes have lost their marking sticks due to melting snow.  Keep the reports coming at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Sign up for the Winnebago Fishing League is currently under way.  The league is limited to 36 people, so do not wait to sign up, otherwise you might miss out on all of the fun.  www.winnebagofishingleague.com. 

The best days are ice fishing is upon us now.  The anticipation of open water fishing is brewing!

Winnebago Fishing Report 1-22-11

Last Updated on Saturday, 22 January 2011 00:05

Harsh winter conditions have fallen over the region, with extreme cold and a fresh layer of snow.  Ice depths have improved to nearly 20” on Lake Winnebago, and are sure to thicken each day as the temperatures remain below zero.  The snow cover on the top of the ice has gone from nearly bare to several feet of snow in some drifted areas.  It is advisable to only venture out on the lake with 4 wheel drive vehicles currently.

As each weather front moved through the region this past week, fishing had some very strong peak periods followed with complete shut downs system wide.  Approaching snow events sparked the bite, with walleyes and perch limits reported frequently. 

Waugoo Street in Oshkosh is the featured area….approximately 2 miles east from the landing.  At this location, about a hundred anglers are pounding the area on the weekend.  The pressure from all the traffic has slowed the bite from past weeks, yet anglers are drawn to the area. Weekdays are better than the weekends due to the amount of overhead traffic.   Walleye, White Bass and perch are common on jigging Rapalas in fire tiger or chrome blue.  Very few people are tipping these lures with minnow heads or spikes.  The bare lure is sufficient enough.  We tried this area the past week with no luck.  We did witness large schools of game fish moving through, all which ignored our baits.

big shadAnother area which we hit in last seven days was out of Fond du Lac, near the BP Gas station on Scott Street.  This area has been giving up some excellent numbers of perch, including some jumbos.  Small jigs, like gill pills and nuclear ants have worked well.  White bass are also in this general area.  We actually caught some shad on these baits. These may be the largest shad I have ever seen on this system.  Rosie Red minnows are an excellent choice here also.

On the east shore the Quinney area continues to have multiple schools of white bass present.  The schools tend to be at 2.5 to 3 miles off shore, but move daily.  Perch are also in the area, along with an occasional walleye. 

Conditions on Lake Poygan have improved for walleyes.  We may be seeing some of the walleyes moving out of the Wolf River and back into the lake.  Norwegian Bay and the mouth of the river are solid right now with some excellent sized fish.  Gold colored Kastmasters and other spoons are the hot ticket.

Looking for tickets to the All Canada Show?  Stop in at the River Haus on Brooke Street in Fond du Lac, and tell Don the Phrase that Pays  “The Bears still Suck” and he will get you complimentary tickets to any of the All Canada shows (first come first served). 

Also the Milwaukee Boat show is occurring this week at State Fair Park.  Stop in and visit the Boat Doc’s (Lomira) display at the event.  Just FYI, The show will be closed during the Packer Game on Sunday, and this is a change to the original schedule. 

The next Winnebago Fishing Report hopefully will be a Super Bowl edition….Go Pack.  You can reach me at   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 Become a fan of MyFishingPartner on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1607772702#!/pages/My-Fishing-Partner/222624783318 and join other fans like Ted Takasaki, Tommy Skarlis, Dave Mercer, and others.

 If you haven’t checked out Mark’s blog, please do at http://blogs.wisconsinoutdoorfun.com/blogs/wof/wofschramblog/ .

See you next week.

Winnebago Weekly 2-7-11

A heavy snow pack is present on all area lakes, making travel by 4x4 truck somewhat difficult.  Many sportsmen have been using chains on their tires to navigate the ice on Lake Winnebago.  Ice depths have improved to about 22-24” as of Saturday. 

Water clarity is being watched closely in preparations for sturgeon spearing which starts on Feb, 12th.  The visibility into the water column is decent.  The early season algae bloom has almost disappeared, and water clarity has improved to about 12-13 feet in deeper water.  The snow pack has reduced light penetration.  There still remain some areas of lower visibility on the lake. 

Much of the activity on the lake this past weekend focused on spearers making preparations for next week, by placing their shanties, plowing/shoveling snow, and some advanced scouting.  There will be heavy action on the lake at week’s end (especially Friday), as the sturgeon holes will start being cut.

Overall, fishing continues to be solid.  Perch are still very active, but finding quality fish remains a challenge. We found a steady jigging action, followed by an inactive pause, producing the most fish.  The perch really wanted to examine the bait before striking.  We witnessed this time and time again via the camera.  An unusual combination of a fish head with a waxie on a small jig has worked well.

Walleyes are sporadic.  The huge number of forage based minnows continues to prohibit a solid bite.  There is just too much food available to hungry fish.  Slender spoons in metallic colors are the best option currently.  Blue is also an excellent choice. 

There are few reports of hot bite locations on the lake currently.  This can be contributed to the early week blizzard and the tough travel conditions over the week.  Key areas are off of Subway Road, Asylum Bay and Gladstone Beach for perch.  The BP on Winnebago Drive (FDL) access area has had some solid reports also.  Lake Poygan and the Wolf River up to Fremont have been producing some solid walleyes.  Northern Pike are being taken regularly in the New London area.

Unfortunately, there have been reports of shanty break-ins recently.  It is not advisable to leave valuables behind in the shanties when they are unattended.  Local authorities recommend leaving a non obstructive view to the interior of the shack if you have nothing inside to prevent break-ins.

Also please note:  West Shore Fishing Club pulled the bridge to the south over east-west crack on 02/03/2011.  The weight of the snow and the width of the crack were the cause.  A road is plowed from Wendt's along the lakeshore south to the wayside.

We will have full coverage of Sturgeon season on myfishingpartner.com.  On Saturday, I will be shooting photos/video at Wendt’s, Stockbridge, Columbia Park, or where ever the hot action is occurring.  Be sure to check the site regularly for all of the breaking news.  If you have photos or information you would like to contribute, please email them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Be safe on the ice and thanks for supporting Myfishingpartner.com. 

Winnebago weekly 1-14-11

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 January 2011 14:09

Winnebago Weekly Fishing Report

All system say go!  Lake Winnebago is in near perfect shape for ice fishing currently.  During the past weekend many of the local clubs placed the bridges at the key locations to allow access past the large cracks and heaves.  Area anglers flocked to the lake over the past seven days.  The area which we fished this past week featured between 11-14.5 inches of ice with visibility to about 3-4 feet in 7 feet of water.

Large schools of shad are being noticed throughout the system.  Plenty of feed is available for hungry fish, if needed.  With the large amount of bait available, this makes each area of the lake extremely fickle from day to day.  The majority of reports coming in have anglers reporting large catches of fish, or nothing at all.  This presents a frustrating scenario to many people.

Waugoo Ave and Merritt Street (Oshkosh) have had a large number of individuals working the general area.  The small cities grow on a daily basis.  The catches have included white bass, walleye, bluegills, crappie and perch.  The size has been solid on all of these fish.  Waxies on a spoon has been a productive method to entice these fish.   Minnow heads have not worked as well as in past years.  It could be related to all of the bait fish available and the predator fish may be looking for an alternative food source.  That is the best explanation I can provide at this point.

Along the East shore, the Brothertown and Quinney areas are featuring strong catches of white bass.  Many of these fish are coming on jigging raps, especially in blue.  Bonus walleyes are also in the mix.

The area from Wendt’s (Van Dyne) down to Subway Road (big group here also) is producing good numbers of small to medium sized perch, bluegills and an occasional crappie.  I found pink to be the key color in this area tipped with several spikes.  Finding old weed beds is critical to finding the pan fish. 

The Fisherman’s Road area has had some inconsistent action on perch, bass and walleye. 

The Boubot (Aka lawyer, eelpout, fresh water cod etc….) have not become very active as of yet.  They should be moving into the shallow water areas in preparation of spawning over the next several weeks.

Up on the Wolf River System, Partridge Lake is pumping out solid numbers of fish currently.

The ice surface continues to have very little snow pack.  Please plan on carrying some ice cleats with you for safety.  Thanks to all the Fishing Clubs and volunteers for your time making, placing and maintaining the bridges and roads on the lake.  Your efforts give us the opportunity to have fun during the winter.  If you can afford to make a monetary donation to one of these clubs, please consider to keep this program healthy.

The Winnebago Fishing League is now accepting applicants for 2011.  You can sign up at www.myfishingpartner.com or read more at www.winnebagofishingleague.com.  Please feel free to drop me a note as to how your last fishing trip went.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  We did not receive a lot of reports this week, so I will ask for your continued help keeping me aware of what is going on system wide.  Thanks for visiting the site!

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