Fishing Reports and Info

The Fishing Hole has a weekly Fishing Hotline that gets updated twice weekly. The hotline includes all types of fishing. We get our info from various customers/charter captians and of course our own fishing expeirences! Take some time and give it a call or look below for this season's tips and tricks!

Hotline: 414-481-9090

ICE FISHING

This is Wisconsin and we have winter every year. The lakes and rivers do freeze preventing us from launching our boats. May as well go Ice Fishing! It can be a lot of fun and sometimes rewarding. Ice fishing allows some people to fish on lakes that normally they would have limited access to. Plus Ice Fishing allows many fishermen who do not own a boat the chance to fish on most lakes!

Ice Fishing became more high tech starting 10-15 years ago and shows no sign of slowing down. The advancements in clothing, boots, shelters, augers, rods, reels, tip-ups, electronics, even baits and terminal tackle have been amazing. You can now successfully ice fish in comfort all winter long.

The key to successful ice fishing is location, location, location! Where you caught fish this past summer and fall, is where you should be ice fishing. Hand held GPS units are relatively inexpensive, and many people have them on their smartphones already. A number of ice fishing sonar units have GPS so you can literally pinpoint your location before you drill your first hole.

Let’s start with Panfish. All summer and thru the fall we caught Bluegills in 10-20’ of water near the bottom. They really didn’t move much. That is where you should start your search. Drill a number of holes in the area you want to fish. A short time after drilling, check some of the holes with your fish locator to see if fish are present. Once you see some fish on your locator or camera, start fishing. The best way to catch Gills is to jig with a horizontal jig tipped with bait. Sparkledarts, Ice Mooskas, Rat Finkies, and many of the new Tungsten jigs have very short hooks. They are made to be tipped with gulp waxies or with live wax worms or spikes. Horizontal jigs like Hot heads, Prey Fries, Gill Pills, and Diamond Jigs all have longer hooks, Gulp 1” Fish Fry, 1” Minnows, Powerbait 1” Honey worms, Bloodworms, and noodles or Wedgies work best on these jigs that have the longer hook. More and more fishermen are using plastics instead of live baits.

The whole key to catching fish is to be at the right depth and have the right action. There are times the fish are up off the bottom suspending. You can see that on your ice flasher or on your camera. You must be at the same depth the fish are at or slightly above them. Fish will come up for bait. They never seem to want to go down.

Action becomes the second key to catching fish. We already have established that horizontal jigs will out fish any other. They look more natural in the water. Many times you only need to try to hold your jigging rod still- it’s almost impossible. Many of the newer ice rods have sensitive tips- otherwise you must use a spring bobber. Always start above the fish and slowly lower your jig through the fish zone. Many times the fish will bite as the bait is coming down. Without a super light tip or a spring bobber you would never know you are getting a bite! If you are using a bobber on your line- you would never see the bite.

As we said earlier, the Bluegills were 10-20’ of water all throughout the fall. That is where you start. They will come shallower early mornings and evenings, or under low light conditions. Hot Heads, Gill Pills, and some other horizontal jigs work best down to about 12’. After that a Tungsten jig, which is heavier will sink faster to the fish. Once you find the Bluegills you can catch some good numbers. Please limit your catch so you don’t fish them out. Only take what you need for a good fish fry, don’t overdo it!

Crappie fishing can also super through the ice. Let’s look back a little. For most of the year Crappie are suspending 8-15’ down in 15-25’ of water during the day. These same Crappie move right up to the weed lines late afternoon and evening. Some people do fish Crappie after dark through the ice. Once again they are fairly easy to locate and catch. The same horizontal jigs tipped with bait or plastics really work. My personal favorites are #8 Hot Heads and #6 or #8 Prey Fries. I love using 1” Gulp Minnows, 1 1/2 “Jigging Grubs, and Powerbait 1” Honey Worms. This stuff really works. Minnows, Baby Shiners, are especially great Crappie baits. There are a number of very small jigging spoons like Lethal Cecil’s, Johnson Splinters, Swedish Pimples, Slender Spoons, Kastmasters, Northland Macho Minnows, Live Forge Spoons, and other small jigging spoons that really work well for Crappie. Fish them plain or tipped with a very small minnow or a piece of minnow for extra flavoring. Some nice Crappies are also caught on small minnows under tip-ups or with automatic fishermen. Once again don’t overdo it by keeping too many. Crappie are also more vulnerable through the ice. Only keep what you can eat.

Perch fishing through the ice is also very good. While the legendary Perch fishing on Mendota and Menona is well known, other lakes also produce some nice Perch. Perch are usually caught deeper than other Panfish. On most lakes the Perch are usually found in 20-40’ of water. Many times they will be suspending up off the bottom. Once again the ice flasher has become a deadly tool. You can pinpoint each location.

Several of my friends have caught some nice perch from Okauchee, Oconomowoc, Wind, Beulah, Friess, Nagawicka, Pike, Big Cedar, Delavan, and others. Quite a few Perch are taken on small golden shiners fished under tip-ups or on automatic fishermen in that 20-30’ of water. Some guys also use jig poles with a minnow and a couple of split shots to get the bait down. Numbers of Perch are also taken on the aforementioned Crappie jigs, especially the small jigging spoons. On Mendota and Menona most Perch are taken on #10 Rat Finkie jigs tipped with a couple of spikes. Most Perch fishermen use a quick tip ice rod and reel with a Perch hanger rig to get the bait down to the fish. Lots of fish can be taken once they are located. Don’t fish them out. Use selective harvest!

Pan fishing is open all year. As long as there is ice you can fish for them. Game fish is another story. On most inland waters Game fish closes March 1^st. There are lakes with continuous open seasons. You need to check the Fishing Regulations book closely.

Walleye are the number one targeted game fish through the ice. On most inland lakes Walleye fishing is very simple. Find 5-12’ of water up on shallow flats where the Walleye will come in to feed every evening. It’s where you have been fishing all fall. Set your tip-ups so your bait is suspended 6” to 1’ over the tops of the weeds laying on the bottom. Medium and large golden shiners are by far the best bait. Make sure you set up your tip-ups correctly so you can change leaders in seconds and get your bait back in the water almost immediately. You may have a hot hole. Most guys use treble hooks. If the fish is to be released and he is hooked deeper, just cut the line. Trying to remove the hook wastes time and many times is more harmful to the fish.

On lakes like Winnebago, Buttes des Morts, Poygan, Petenwell, Castlerock, and Lake Wisconsin, lots of fishermen fish for Walleye during the day. Usually they set a couple of tip-ups with golden shiners and then jig for Walleye with a jig rod. Jigging for Walleye is a blast. You will have best success fishing right along the edges of a structure like reefs, bars, and along the edges of the old river channels on the flowages. Jigging spoons fished plain or tipped with a minnow or a piece of minnow work well. Jigging Rapalas, Moonshine Shiver Minnows, and Lindy Darters work well. Small blade baits are also great Walleye jigging baits, especially on the bigger flowages where there is current. Jigs and minnows work well. Jigs and Gulp or Powerbait 3” & 4” minnows are starting to be used more by Walleye fishermen. They are catching fish.

You are only limited by your imagination when jigging for Walleye. All of these methods also work on Green Bay, Bay de Noc, Lake Erie, and any other famous Walleye spot. There are lots of great Walleye jigging rods out there now. A few years ago there were very few.

As long as we mention Green Bay, there are now numbers of guys heading to Green Bay for White Fish. Most White Fish are caught on small jigging spoons. Gold seems to be the favorite color. Some guys tip them with wax worms or a small piece of minnow. The numbers of guys who are trying this new type of Ice Fishing is increasing every year. White Fish are starting to show up here in Milwaukee. Interesting.

Ice Fishing for Northern Pike is also very popular. This is very simple. Tip-ups with large and extra-large golden shiners is how it’s done. 15-25’ of water is where the bigger mature fish like to cruise during the day. Suspend the bait 10-20’ down. Many guys are now starting to use circle hooks, no wire leaders necessary!

Ice Fishing at McKinley Marina has really gotten popular in the last several years. The main target is big Brown Trout. Tip-ups or automatic fishermen with large golden shiners or with spawn for bait works very well. Some guys are jigging with spoons, blade baits, and jigs and minnows. Every winter fish up to 30lbs are taken. The average size is from 3-10lbs. A real challenge on a jig rod. Frabil’s 38” medium action jig rod, designed by Eric Hataja is a winner. Lindy’s #6 or #8 Genz worm jig tipped with a spawn sack are great baits. Tinsel jigs tipped with a minnow are excellent. Browns love Lindy Fuzze grubs. Gulp or Powerbait 3” or 4” minnows on Darter head jigs are excellent. It’s close. It’s easy and it can be a lot of fun. McKinley Marina is usually frozen until early March.

Winter fishing- Lake Michigan

The winter season on Lake Michigan can be really hot! Not Temperature wise, but the fishing can be really good. Milwaukee is blessed to have arguably the best Brown Trout Fishing in the world. Brown Trout love cold water. When the water temps drop in to the 30’s the Trout just love it. Milwaukee Harbor has an incredible population of shad. The Browns come in to gorge on all this available bait. Every winter we see or weigh several fish that are over 30lbs. Every week we see several fish that are over 20lbs. Every day that is fishable several of the guides who fish most of the winter report catches of 30, 40, even 50 fish. These guides are fishing in Milwaukee Harbor, right along the break wall, and at the Oak Creek Power Plant in the warm water discharge. They are fishing with bait. Small Medium and Large Golden Shiners. Spawn sacks and Skein also work really well too. Some of the guides are fishing with Slip Sinker Rigs on the bottom. Other guys are using slip bobbers with suspended baits. Some are just fishing over the side of the boat when the fish are coming really fast.

Most are using medium and medium heavy inshore spinning tackle when fishing with bait. 8-14lb Trilene XL or XL Armor Coated line works best in colder weather. Trilene is a little softer than some of the other lines- less prone to tangling. Larger diameter spools on inshore reels also have larger coils when the line comes off the spool, resulting in less line tangles in the colder weather.

400 size Diawa reels are especially good for this type of fishing. Line capacity is 300 yds. of 10lb. Okuma 40, 45, and 55 size reels also work well. Shimano 4000 and even better 5000 size reels are super. Pflueger size 40 Trion’s and The President are good and the Arbor in 40 or 50 size just may be the best of the best. Larger diameter spools make a huge difference. Less line tangles, better drags, more power, more fishing less dicking around.

Shakespeare Ugly Stick inshore rods are super for this winter Brown Trout fishing. The 7’ medium/heavy is our best-selling winter rod. The 8 ½ medium or medium heavy is excellent for slip bobber fishing. Diawa, Shimano, Okuma, and St. Croix make some really nice 7-8’ inshore rods that really work well. Most of the rods are made with Bias Graphite. They are much stronger than a normal rod. They are made to catch big, strong salt water fish. Perfect for the Jumbo Browns.

This same tackle works super for jigging. More and more fishermen are catching fish on jigs, every winter. Berkley Gulp 4” Minnows and 5” Jerk Shads have been producing more fish than ever thought possible. The guides on Lake Michigan have been doing fantastic on these baits. If you are vertical jigging a 3/8 oz. Darter Head jig works super. Fishermen are vertical jigging in the discharge at MMSD, around the break wall, and in the gaps.

Owner and Gamakatsu Darters have been used for several years. Wahoo jigs makes a Salt Water Shad Head that is really good. Great colors to choose from too. Bait rigs has the Slo Poke Darter jig in 3/8 oz. that is fast becoming a favorite. The Odd Ball Fin Spin is brand new and adds a spinner to the belly of the jig for more attraction. They have also just added a Slo Poke Long Shank spinner jig to the equation. We just received the first shipment.

For casting with the Gulp or Powerbait many guys use a different jig- a Saltwater Flats jig head. Available in lighter weights to 1/16 oz. these work best for suspended fish. Wahoo’s flats jig heads have a big strong hook made to catch bigger stronger fish. Perfect for these big bruiser browns. Some fishermen prefer to use a minnow when jigging. Fish Hawk spinner jigs has a live bait jig with a belly button spinner that has proven to be the best producer. Tip this jig with a small to medium golden shiner and hang on tight. The bigger Browns hit so hard they like to rip the rod and reel right outta your hand!

Trolling is also an excellent way to catch winter Browns and as we will cover later, Chinooks and Coho. For the Browns flat lines with 12lb. Trilene Big Game works super. 7 ½ -8 ½ planer board rods work best. Diawa, Shimano, and Okuma all make some great rods. Most are telescopic so they will collapse so they fit in a rod locker. Most are medium to medium heavy action so they can handle a big fish. #15 or #20 size Okuma reels and #17 and #27 size Diawa reels work great. Shimano #100 Tritons are excellent reels. Ambassadeur 6000 size Musky reels, and Shimano and Diawa Musky reels also work well for trolling. These same rods and reels also work great with 2-3 color lead core. 2 color gets down 10’. 3 color gets down 15’. We sell 2 and 3 color lead core combos for $79.99.

The best baits for flat lines are diving crank baits. Bagley’s 3” diving shad lures have probably been the most productive Brown Trout bait of all time. Bagley’s made them special for us a few years ago- we still have some. Guard them like gold, they are not made anymore. Berkley Flicker Shads in sizes 7 and 9 are tremendous baits. Storm Smash Shads, Hot n’ Tots, and Diving Thundersticks are excellent. Matzuo 3” Tournament cranks and 4” Kinchow Minnows are new but very good. Cordell Walleye Divers and Wally Minnow Juniors are good. Bomber Deep Long A’s, Excalibur XT3 Diving Shads, Rapala Shad Raps, and Diving Husky Jerks, Lindy Shadlings are all big producers. Some of the high end baits like Lucky Craft, Yozuri, and Live Target, produce lots of fish. All of these baits resemble the natural forge and Browns just crush them. With the lead core line you can run these same baits they will just get deeper. You can also troll shallow diving minnow baits with great success. Husky Jerks, Rattlin’ Rogues, Bomber Long A’s, Matzuo Minnows and Thundersticks all work with lead core. Small spoons, especially some of the new colors and patterns from Sooperfly of Racine are very deadly on the winter browns. Some of the special colors on the gold blanks are especially good.

You can also troll these spoons with 50’ leads behind small slide divers. Slide divers work best with 20lb. big game line. Braid works best with dipseys. Brown Trout are little more spooky than Salmon. Slide divers work better. The best slide diver combo known to man is a 7’ Ugly Stik Big Water Dipsey rod with an Okuma MA20XD line counter reel. We have these special slide diver combos for $89.99. Works great!!! If so equipped you can also run these small spoons behind downriggers. 50’ leads works best. That’s how to catch Browns in the harbor in winter.

Weather permitting, you can troll for Salmon out on the lake. For a couple of weeks fishermen have been catching limits of 2-3 yr. old silver Chinooks and Coho in 35-75’ of water. Most fish are being taken 20-40’ down. Small and standard size spoons have been the best baits. Sooperfly’s R & R Special, Deep Blue Special, the Amy, the Joanie, the HUD special in both silver and gold, the Midnight Blues Modified, and the Frozen R & R Special are the best. Stinger Spoons in a couple of colors and Dreamweaver Super Slims are also great baits. A few fish are also biting on 8” flasher fly combos 30-50’ down. Most of these fish are Chinooks. These fish will move out deeper once the water temps reach mid 30’s.

Many of us believe that the fish move out to deeper water as the bait moves out. Remember the basin water near the bottom is always 45 degrees. Water is at its densest at 45 degrees. Once that becomes the warmest water on the lake, that’s where the bait and game fish go. If the weather will let you, you can fish out there all winter long.

Usually it is McKinley Marina that freezes first. It has the most protection from winds and waves. South Shore can be kept open with a south or southwest wind. The river launch at National Ave stays open most of the winter.

After the launches are all frozen, there is some very good shore fishing available upstream at the MMSD Research Building. It’s right across from the Post Office and the Harley Museum. A warm water discharge a little farther upstream at the Valley Power Plant usually keeps the water open all winter. Several times I have been down there fishing and the water was steaming when the air temps were colder. Golden Shiners on the bottom with slip sinker rigs works well. Spawn sacks and skein can be good baits. At times bait suspended up off bottom under slip bobbers works very well. When the temps are warmer you can cast with spoons, blade baits, and with jigs and Gulp. You can park right where you will be fishing so you can go warm up if need be. This is a great winter fishing spot. Fishermen catch brown trout, rainbow trout, Northerns, and Walleyes. At times fishermen even catch some nice Crappies at this spot.

Once McKinley freezes, there is some good Ice Fishing for Brown Trout. Guys use tip ups and Automatic Fishermen with Golden Shiners or with spawn. They also jig with Genz Worms #6 or #8 tipped with a spawn sack. Jigging spoons work well too. Blade baits like Vibratos, Lethal Blades, and Wahoo Switchblades catch plenty of fish. Jigs and Minnows also work well. New odd ball fin spins, fish hawk live bait spinner jigs, arkie glo jigs, tinsel tail jigs and Roadrunner pro 20 marabou jigs tipped with a small or medium Golden Shiner can be really deadly. You need a Frabill 38” medium jigging rod, the rod designed by Eric Hataja. A spinning reel with a good drag and 6-8 lb. Trilene XL line completes this McKinley Jigging Combo! Some big Browns are taken through the ice at McKinley Marina every winter. A normal winter will have 6 to 8 weeks of ice fishing at McKinley. Right around the corner from McKinley the harbor could have open water. Use common sense and be careful out there. The ice on Lake Michigan is not as safe as the inland lakes. At times, usually for about a month, you can Ice Fish on the North side of South Shore. The same baits and methods used at McKinley work here as well. A strong Southeast wind can break that up almost at any time. So be really careful out there. If no one else is ice fishing you may want to come back when there are other fishermen or bring a buddy. Don’t want to be out there alone!

Winter Walleye Fishing Lakes and Rivers

Weather permitting, there is still plenty of open water Walleye fishing still available. Green Bay and Bay De Noc usually don’t freeze until late December early January. Many guys will troll and catch some really big fish until the launches freeze and you can’t get your boat in. Every year some of the biggest fish are taken from early to mid-December. Most fish are taken from 12-30’ of water. Some fishermen use diving crank baits on flat lines behind boards. You can control the depth of the lures by allowing only a certain amount of line from the board to the lure. The best baits are deep reef runners, diving husky jerks, deep diving rogues, bomber deep long A’s, Wally minnows, deep wally minnows, deep diving Thundersticks, and Matzuo’s deep diving minnows. These baits will dive from 10-20’. Diving shad lures are also very good walleye producers. Lindy Shadlings, shad raps, Excalibur diving shads, Wally divers, Matzuo tournament cranks, Flicker shads, Smash Shads, and Bagley’s 3” diving shad lures are all excellent.

Lead core line is also a tremendous tool for this walleye fishing. 2, 3, 4, and even 5 color can get any kind of stick bait down to 30’ or more. 2 and 3 color combos start out at $79.99. 5 color combos start out at $89.99. The best baits behind lead core are reef runners, Rapalas, Rattlin’ rogues, Bomber Long A’s and Thundersticks. You can easily reach 30-35’ during the day with 5 color at 1 ½ MPH. We know of some guys trolling with crawlers on spinner rigs behind lead core and they keep catching fish.

Besides Green Bay and Bay De Noc, some guys make trips to Lake Erie and other Walleye destinations in the Midwest. Some of the bigger walleye lakes like Geneva, Big Green, Lake Wisconsin, Castle rock, and Petenwell stay open longer then the small lakes. As long as the launches are open you can go walleye fishing. If you remember from fall walleye school, they are in 30-35’ of water during the day. Late afternoon and evenings have them moving up the drop offs to the shallow flats in 5-12’ of water to feed. You can catch them trolling with lead core and minnow baits in that 30-35’ water. Drifting with lindy Rigs also catches walleyes this time of the year. Lindy makes a 1 hook spinner harness for this type of fishing with a minnow for a bait. A 2 hook harness is used for night crawlers. Both will catch walleyes in 25-30’ of water. If you stay till dark, cast 1/16 or 1/8 oz. flats jigs tipped with Gulp 4” minnows. This is an excellent way to catch a few walleyes and even a big one just before ice fishing begins.

Most of the rivers remain open on a normal year through December. Moving water is harder to freeze. Fishing below the Prairie du sac or the Wisconsin Dells dams can be really good. The launches are a little downstream from the dams and may freeze before the main river. If open and if it’s not too cold, this river fishing is a gas. Most fishermen fish minnows on the bottom in 15-25’ of water. This is where all the little fish are. You should fish right along the drop off from 5-10’.

A good idea is to fish a Lindy rig on one rod and then cast with another rod. For the Lindy rig rod, the best length is 8-8 ½ ft. with a live bait action. Match this up with bait runner reel and 4-6lb. line. By using a ½ to ¾ oz. lindy sinker with this thin line, you can get the line almost vertical in the current. This gives you more room for casting a jig and minnow or jig and plastic with your second rod. There are some really effective special rigs for this live bait fishing. Lindy has floating rigs with different color floats to keep the bait up off the bottom. The Lindy rig Extreme has a bead in front of the hook for extra attraction. Wordon’s has the spin and glo walleye rig and the wobble glo rig that gives extra attraction to your golden shiners. Lindy just added a new bait to its arsenal called the Little Guy. Designed to be used with a night crawler it gives the bait extra wiggle in the current with you having to do nothing. Many long time river fishermen have been using beads and or spinners in front of their baits for years.

Your 2^nd rod should be a jig rod. A jig rod is anywhere from 6-7’ long with an extra fast action. You need a sensitive tip with a stiff butt section to detect light hits and contact with the bottom. Most companies make a good jig rod but you should be really selective. My personal favorite is a 6’ Lews Laser medium light rod matched with a Pflueger model 7435 Arbor spinning reel. The oversized spool on the Arbor makes for less tangles in the line in colder temperatures. 6lb. Trilene XL works super for winter walleye fishing. Your line weight can be tweaked to help control the depth of your jig.

In most cases you should use the lightest weight jig possible. A lighter jig allows for a more finesse presentation. A dressed jig is more buoyant then a plain jig. 1/8 oz. Blakemore road runners are deadly in 3-7’ of water. ¼ oz. works best in 5-10’. 1/8 oz. Arkie glow jigs also work in 3-7’. And ¼ oz. is for 5-10’. Lindy Fuzze grubs combine the extra buoyancy of a plastic body with a marabou tail the ¼ oz. works super in 5-10’. All these dressed jigs can be tipped with a baby or small golden shiner or with a medium fathead for extra flavor. We even have Fish Hawk special live bait belly button spinner jigs that is super with a minnow.

The Biggest advancements in walleye baits has come in plastics and special jig heads made for them. Berkley Gulp has become the super bait. The 3 and 4” minnow and the 5” jerk shad are fabulous. Use a 1/16 oz. flats jig for 3-6 of water, a 1/8 oz. for 5-10’, and a ¼ oz. for 8-15’ of water. The saltwater flats jig works well because it is more snag resistant than a regular round jig and it has a bigger hook. The Berkley Powerbait versions of these same baits are also super. The plastic is just a tad softer than the gulp. 3” gulp and Powerbait jigging grubs have become super baits. Match a 3” Powerbait fire tiger grub with a fish hawk spinner jig in fire tiger. You need to hang on tight. This combo really works. 3” gold meatalflake twister tails on metallic gold heads are super on the Wisconsin River. Chartreuse metal flake is very good. Silver flake and some other flake colors will also work well. Don’t be without standard white, yellow, and chartreuse twister tails, power grubs, and gulp jigging grubs. They always catch fish. On the Mississippi river the walleyes love some of the darker colors like purple, smoke, motor oil, green pumpkin, fire tiger, watermelon, and root beer flake. Make sure you have a good selection.

Many years the rivers are froze solid and unfishable only for 4-6 weeks. You can often start up again in mid-February. We usually keep you informed on our hotline and our website.

A number of years ago, during a warmer than normal winter, Lake Geneva never froze. The Okauchee fishing club scheduled an ice fishing outing for mid-Feb. They used their boats not their ice fishing equipment. Everyone had a great time. Walleye season closes march 1^st on inland lakes and reopens the first Saturday in May. Let’s see what happens this year!!!!!