By Mark Schram, Myfishingpartner.com
The last several weeks have resembled a Wisconsin Spring rather than a Wisconsin Winter around the Lake Winnebago Region. Warm temperatures, with day time highs in the low 40’s have typified the last two weeks.
Currently we have the best ice sheet in many years on Lake Winnebago; however, the warm temperatures have played havoc with the near perfect ice. The areas most impacted by the warm temperatures have been the access points and shorelines. Warm water runoff from the melting snow and rain is eating away at the ice sheet. Some of the feeder creeks were pumping warm water into the mouths of the creeks under the ice, creating some dangerous situations.
To my knowledge, every reputable fishing club associated with Lake Winnebago has closed their roads and withdrawn their bridges for larger vehicles over the past weekend. ATV bridges remain in place at most key access points.
The ice surface has 1”- 3” of slush on top of the ice. However, the ice under the slush has remained in good shape. Average ice depths are running in the 14-20” range, with less ice as you approach the mouth of the Fox River in Oshkosh.
So why did the clubs remove the bridges? Simple – to protect and preserve the access points – allowing for car and truck traffic for sturgeon spearing in a few weeks. Additionally, with the heavy traffic (OSFC estimates 5,000 vehicles last weekend) the bridges needed to be moved constantly to avoid ice stress with the soft and shifting ice.
Most clubs will reinstall the bridge networks, and move existing roads once temperatures remain below freezing. The surface ice and access points just needs to firm up.
As we head into the coming weekend, it is yet to be determined if the bridges will be placed. I would be optimistic that several of the clubs would place bridges, so some access might be available come Saturday. However, a slight change in forecast could result in a different result. For now, I would plan on ATV’s to access Lake Winnebago this week/end.
A quick fishing report: Holy Huge Trout Perch Batman! We were off Merritt last week and marked a ton of fish, all of which had lockjaw. After downsizing, Nate produced some massive Trout Perch (bait fish) that were pushing the 6 + inch mark. There are still heavy populations of bait in the system currently.
The central basin of Lake Winnebago continues to see roaming schools of White Bass. Clown colored raps and spoons have been excellent on sunny days along with black and gold colored baits on overcast days. Walleyes are concentrated closer to the Mouth of the Fox River in limited numbers. Crappies and bluegills are found in the bays or suspended over deeper water. Perch are active near the bottom, but overall catch rates are light.
After the Lake Winnebago trawling report was released earlier this week – the future looks bright for crappies and walleyes which had excellent counts in the census. I’d have to argue with the report, as my experience has shown a strong young of the year white bass class, where the assessments showed an average count.
Stay on top. Please be vigilant to changing conditions moving forward. The ever-changing weather can create unpredictability on the lake, as no ice is ever 100% safe. [email protected] is my email for your reports. We plan to get some video shoots done soon, but we have struggled with our set-ups to date (flat tires on the ATV, dead augers, too cold for the drone to fly etc.) Stay tuned!
