Fishing report for 1-23-2011

[walleyemaxx]

Hi everyone,

Not much to report really. In 5 hours of freezing I caught one Walleye. Had another one on and lost him half way up. that was on the jigging pole with a jigging Rap and minnow head. had one flag on the tip ups. After watching the spindle turn forever, I tried to set the hook. All the fish had was minnow. I had sucker minnows on the tip ups.

Temps were cold, but the worst thing was a howling wind. It blew right thru my portable shack and blew all the heat out. I fished the same spot I did the day before when I had pretty good action, Drilled my new holes next to the holes from the day before. Fish were there. I saw them on the vex. But they were real skittish. Would swim up to the bait, but not touch it. No matter what I tried, they would just swim quickly away. I think the unstable weather patterns we are having might be a big part of the reason. the barometer goes up and down like a yoyo and the sky clears up and clouds up continually.

The best news was learning that the Packers are going to the Super Bowl. Sorry Bears fans. if the Bears would have won, I would hope the best for them. I always like to see the black and blue division teams do good. The bears and Packers are proving that the NFL North division is the best in football.

Good luck to anyone heading out. The ice is in good shape. it's now about 16-20" now with about 6" snow on top, Good mobility, but has been very cold so dress for it.

Walleyemaxx

[walleyemaxx]

Hi everyone,

Saw this report posted by Skip Sommerfeldt, the Hayward area's DNR fish biologist on the HLVCB weekly outdoor report.

According to DNR fisheries biologist Skip Sommerfeldt, conditions are good on nearly all lakes. Ice depths are holding at 12-15 inches, with 6-8 inches of light, grainy snow on top. Snowmobiles and four-wheel-drives are accessing most lake areas and slush is not a problem.

"Fishing success is approaching mid-winter lows," Sommerfeldt says. "Some lakes have poor success, others have good action. Check with local bait shops to learn about those hot spots."

The biologist says walleye action is very erratic and on some lakes, fish are extremely finicky.

"For about 20 minutes, about an hour before dark, the fish are on mud/sand flats in 5-8 feet of water hitting large fatheads or small walleye suckers. Meet all those conditions or you will not catch many walleye.

"Northern action is decent during mid-day with shiners or large northern suckers near weed beds. Many shallow, weedy pike lakes show lower oxygen levels near bottom and anglers may need to move their bait closer to the surface.

"Panfish action, particularly for bluegills and perch, is more consistent. Crappies are tougher to find. Bluegills are taking waxies just off bottom in 10-15 feet of water, and perch are hitting small fatheads in 5-10 feet of water."

Hope this helps anyone making plans to vivsit God's country here.

Walleyemaxx

[walleyemaxx]

Hi everyone,

Have plans again to make it up to da U.P. They get a ton of lake affect snow every day, but we made some contacts with some people we know. Difficult to get around and very little fishing pressure-perfect. Going up with Jigboy. Since my snowmobile isn't working, we'll both be on his. Our plan is not to do a lot of moving around. We have some good Walleye spots in deep water and shallow. We'll fish the deep water spots for a long stretch during the day and head toweard the shallow water spots for the evening bite. The deep water spot is a 27 foot rocky hump surrounded by 33 feet of soft bottom. Good big fish spot. I'll be making a report late Sat. night. It'll take a while to get back.

Walleyemaxx