Fishing Reports

Good action for walleye and northern, with crappies hitting strong, and beaver trapping excellent, in and amidst the lakes and the Wisconsin River of Wisconsin's Marathon and Lincoln Counties (near Mosinee and Wausau).

No mid-winter fishing slump in Central Wisconsin!

Walleye anglers in the Central Wisconsin area are taking advantage of an abundant crop of 15 to 18 inch fish in local waters...

Follow up:

Jigging spoons like the Buckshot Rattle Spoon and the Forage Minnow, along with darter style baits like the Puppet Minnow and Jigging Rapala tipped with minnow heads are catching the majority of the fish. Look for walleyes to be hanging out in 16 to 20 feet of water and at times as deep as 25 feet. The walleyes will hold tight to structure such as downed trees, stumps and boulders. Work your baits in and around the structure to find active fish. The best times for these deep water walleyes have been from 2 pm to around 4 pm. After that the walleyes will move up onto shallower shelves and feed in 2 to 4 feet of water. Target these walleye with traditional tip downs baited with small shiners or sucker minnows.

The northerns in the Central Wisconsin area are being caught in both deep water, and shallow backwater areas. The one thing in common is the strategy in targeting them. It's relatively simple. For the shallow water fish, look for 2 to 4 feet of water with wood or weeds, and set up a tip up baited with a golden shiner or sucker minnow, right under the ice. For the deep water northerns, run the same setup but vary the depths that you run your baits. If you are in 10 feet of water, run your bait 5 feet down. If you are in 20 feet of water, run your bait 9 to 10 feet down; and if you're in 30 feet of water, run your bait down 15 to 17 feet. Northerns are nomadic cruisers and will hang out at different levels up and down the water column, but our experience shows us that the majority of the active feeders and much larger fish will hold higher in the water column.

The crappie bite in the Central Wisconsin area has been fantastic. Crappie anglers are taking advantage of a very abundant population of slab sized fish. Look for the crappies to be hanging out in 12 to 14 feet of water, early in the day, and then sliding off to and suspending in 20 plus feet during the midday hours. Flasher units will tell you what depth the fish are at. Crappie minnows on tip downs set at various levels, and/or small jigging spoons baited with waxies or spikes, worked at the appropriate depth will pick up fish after fish. If you keep your bait down at the bottom, or in close proximity to the bottom, you may even pick up a straggler perch or nice bluegill, as they are also hanging out in the deeper water, but will stay closer to the bottom, unlike the crappies, that will be suspended.

Fur trappers are having an excellent year targeting beaver in the Central Wisconsin area. Access has been very good in local backwater areas, and ice thickness has not been an issue as it has in past years. Trappers targeting beaver should be concentrating on underwater sets such as the neck down areas in their natural runs; and bait style sets, along deep water shorelines in rivers and streams where the beaver is forced to travel the deeper side of the stream. The use of a conibear style trap is the best way to go, but some die hard trappers still prefer to run leg hold traps, set right on the bottom in bait style sets.

(This report based on interview with licensed guide and trapper Phil Schweik of Hooksetters Fishing & Hunting Guide Service, Mosinee. Wisconsin).

For more information about fishing and hunting in the Wausau/Central Wisconsin area:
* Phil Schweik, Hooksetters Fishing & Hunting Guide Services: phone: 715-693-5843; e-mail: info@hooksetters.biz; web: www.hooksetters.biz