Anybody been fishing open water yet?

[Jim Hudson]

Just seeing how many of you WI folks have the boats in or fishing from shore around the state... I know in the southern parts, people have been doing well....

Hoping to get out here on Wed, to try to troll up some browns and splake on the big lake... People are fishing (in boats, waders, and off of shore) near the hot pipe in the Ashland where I talked to a couple guys last night who said it was slow... Probably a bit early yet, as most of the bay is locked in with ice...

[witter1631]

No I havnt but im lookin to do some walleye fishing in central wisconsnin in wausau area on the wisconsin.. I am excited

Matt

[prophet]

took the boat out of storage this weekend,fished yellow

river,too early,fish havnt moved back from the lakes yet,

little and big yellow still had slush\ice in the middles

was nice to be burning gas again

[fish-n-geek]

Been out on the Wisconsin a few times out of Mosinee now. Picked up one keeper out of a couple hundred fish released. Also picked up a smallish channel cat this past saturday. Might have to try and find his big brother once the walleyes slow down. Everyone is catching a LOT of the 13" fish, but that's the typical story on this stretch. Occassionally a bass or crappie is showing up in the mix, too.

-rus-

[Jim Hudson]

I hear ya fish-n-geek... I fished the river quite a bit when I was in college at Stevens Point.. Lots of small 'eyes... but still fun catching fish... There were a few nice ones mixed in at times though...

[walleye_guy18]

has anybody been getting panfish close to shore in the eau claire area

thanks

walleye guy

[Lunker]

I go to Point, have hit the river once under dubay. Very crowded. I'm new to the area, any tips?

[Cooter]

Panfish from shore - try some of the bridges on L. Wissota for crappies.

[andy j]

Went down to Iowa last weekend and did great. Check out link for pictures. http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=541820&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

[Jim Hudson]

Looked to be a great trip Andy... Nice fish!!!

Lunker, you can fish the river right in and around Point too, from shore or if you have a boat it will be that much better. I can not recall the names of landings or such anymore, but just ask around the local bait shops down there or fellow students, and they should point you in the right directions. A lot of different fish species to be had...

[Cooter]

Rivers are fishable again in Eau Claire area. Walleyes are biting, but on the small side as usual - have been out last two evenings and have gotten one legal each night plus about a dozen smaller ones.

[lobi]

Lunker, Another Point grad. Here.

If you do not have a boat one a good place to try is a few hundred yards below the spillway on West River road (I think that is the street name). This time of year you will need waders, but wade out and cast a round bobber, split shot and a hook with a minnow upstream, most other things get snagged real easy. Try to get your bait to come close to the rocks and changes in current. Keep a tight line as it comes back to you. Depending on the water level you can wade nearly to the middle of the river, but use common sense.

Lobi

[Lunker]

Lobi, I know exactly where you're talking about, thanks.

I've been out under the dubay dam a couple times now,. caught a pike and some small eyes, but dont stay too long cause I dont like fighting the crowds and livebaiting much. Also picked up a couple of eyes farther downstream on a orange jig and twister tail.

[Lunker]

Good advice Lobi. Despite the rain and cold, I headed down there(no waders) to shore fish. It is a popular area and there were lots of other people that came and went and some guys wading. But I tried the bobber and minnow deal, and found a good little spot that I didnt move from for about 3 hours. Fish were on the small side as usual, but I caught lots of them and it was a fun little spot. Surprised me how shallow the fish were located.

Any body catch any bass on the river yet?

[fish-n-geek]

Caught one nice smallie in the middle of a string of little walleyes. Only one I've seen this year.

-r-

[Lunker]

I caught a nice 3lb or so smallie today. I caught exactly 30 walleyes, and on my last minnow, I caught the smallie. Don't think they're really active yet though.

[packman]

was out last night and we pulled in about 35 bluegills. when do blue gills spawn becaues these ones were about a 1ft deep and right on the edge of the bank. only 18 days left!!!!!

[Lunker]

After the rain we had the other day, the river is really up and moving. Fished a shallow rocky stretch that was so fast is was almost impossible to fish. Everyone who was fishing out into the main river was struggling. I went up and down the bank, fishing the boulders sticking out of the water in less than 3 ft of water. Plunked a jig and minnow behind these rocks, where the current was less or even non existent, caught about 15 walleyes, including some nice slot fish(released) and lost one huge walleye, and caught one bass.