Musky Shop Northwoods Fishing Report: Late February

Hi everyone and welcome to the Musky Shop fishing report.  Fishing in the Northwoods of Wisconsin has been good on all fronts.  Ice conditions are still pretty good with 10-12 inches on most of the lakes.  The Rainbow Flowage and Willow Flowage have a little less ice in the 8–9-foot range.  On the Willow Flowage anglers are using extreme caution as there are some open water spots.  The Rainbow Flowage is a little easier to move around on, but locals are still using caution as the ice is thinning.  The lakes in Oneida and Vilas are safer for travel.

Walleye fishing in the area has been going well.  Anglers are using medium/large golden shiners and walleye suckers as their preferred bait.  They seem to be hanging in the weeds and weed edges typically in the 9–12-foot depths.  In the lakes with deeper basins, you may find some walleye staging deeper, but across most lakes, the 9–12-foot depths have been the most successful target.

On the Rainbow Flowage, anglers are having luck in the 9–14-foot range and in the river channel.  The walleye have been traveling into the channel regularly, so you should cover a little ground to target them.  Fishing for walleyes has been outstanding on the Rainbow Flowage as well.

Crappie fishing has been great this season.  They are in the same depths as the walleye in the 9–14-foot range on Flowage and a little deeper at the 10–16-foot range on the lakes.  There will be some holding in the basins as well.  There are always crappies holding in the wooded areas with down timber.  Fred Palermo, our staff member, has been chasing both walleye and crappie throughout this ice season and they have been seeing great numbers across the board.  If you have questions you can stop by or call us here for more information.

Pike fishing in the Northwoods has been great this year.  They are mostly in the 7–12-foot weeds.  Pike mix and large golden shiners are the baits of choice.  We’ve had good numbers and size through the ice on Northerns this year. 

If you are thinking about coming up, please stop by the Musky Shop.  We have a full selection of ice fishing equipment as well as a great selection of bait held in cold well water.  Our minnow selections are lively and turn over fast so you won’t be disappointed.  That’s gonna do it for our fishing report.  Hopefully, everyone has a great rest of the winter.  If we can serve you here at the Musky Shop it would be our honor. 

Thanks very much and good fishing,

Jim Stewart

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