Wi. fisherman/tips and info.

[can it be luck?]

Any fisherman in central,northern, or any where in the state of Wi. that would care to share some advise, locations, reports, or tips? I know this is a Mn. site, but I'm sure there's some guys who fish both states. To me Mn. is top notch compared to Wi., but Wi. does have much to offer also. Please join in, your help would be much appreciated! I myself would like to talk, share, and even meet others close by to Wausau. Thanks to all, Mark/can it be luck?

[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 08-19-2003).]

[dan in webster]

I'm not sure sure mn is "top notch" compared to wi. i've seen comparisons on the number of trout streams, and i think mn has something like 55, and wisconsin had over 2,200. and lets not forget about the freshwater fishing hall of fame in hayward, and the fact that a few of the world record muskies have come out of the hayward area.

[Jim W]

Not sure on the total in Wisconsin, but SE MN alone has more than 55.

I love fising in Wisconsin as much as in MN.

Jim W

[can it be luck?]

Wisconsin is great, dont get me wrong. I just wish there were more lakes like Winni,Cass,Vermillion,Leech,Mille Lacs,Bemidji, etc. I own most of the Wi. Sportsman Connection map books as well as N. Mn. ones. Researching lakes I've found most in Mn. surpass Wi. in the areas of creel counts, DNR nettings samples, and size. I think depth and a forage base of ciscoe and smelt in some waters may be the reason. Ciscoe and smelt are almost unheard of in most Wi. lakes. A 1000 acre lake is considered big in Wi., lakes I fish in Mn are soooo much larger. Personaly the largest northern,perch,bluegill,inland lake trout,walleye(inland, not great lake) all came from Mn. I love Wi, it's a beautiful,friendly, and diverse state. But quite honestly, in my experiences in my Mn fishing time is a mere fraction of the time I fish Wi., yet Mn. holds most all my large fish records. As far as trout goes, I couldn't comment on this species since most of my trout/salmon are caught off Lake Michigan. Yes, Wi. has some outstanding trout fishing!! Especially spring/fall run fish on the rivers and streams that lead into the great lakes. GO PACKERS !!!!...Vikes too.

[dan in webster]

jim w,
thats right. s.e. has most of the trout streams. there's another dozen along the north shore, and few in the north central part of the state, but that's still 2,000 less than wisconny

[Havin' Fun]

Wisconsin is missing the "traditional" big water lakes, but it does have Winnebago which from what I've heard and read is truly an awesome fishery! I recently read that there is an estimated 1.5 million legal walleyes swimming around in there. With the shear size of the lake, there must be some monster fish in there.

[can it be luck?]

Yes, Winnebago is outstanding, as well as many other lakes in WI. Honestly, I've never caught a walleye over 25" in Wi. inland waters. I've caught a couple hundred 28"+ in other states though, Mn. included. On the average, if you were to pick a lake in Wi. the creel/netting samples for numbers and size do not stack up against lakes in Mn., Once again..ON THE AVERAGE. My creel samples reflect thiers also. Lakes in Wi. on average do not contain 25"+ walleye as well as large perch and bluegill to name a few others. The biggest bluegill I've ever seen was this year, caught by my Mother in Blackduck Lake, Mn.... Largest perch?....Mn.... Largest northern?...Mn...eelpout?...Mn. Muskies?... Wi. is great for this species. Although I dont fish musky, I seem to catch them "accidentlly" while fishing other species....I dont complain. Wi. has some great fishing, no doubt about that, but in my experiences...throw a dart randomly at northern Mn. lakes as well as N Wi. lakes, and the Mn. lake is gonna produce bigger fish. I dont mean to offend Wi., I love it here, but research and experience makes me say what I say....GO PACKERS!!!

[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 08-27-2003).]

[Havin' Fun]

Interesting thoughts.

I don't doubt the information. It is interesting though. I wonder if they do the survey's differently? Does weather play a key? Lake size? Population density? Or perhaps is it the DNR differences between the two states. Liberal vs Nonliberal. Either way, it's something interesting to think about being a Minnesotan on the verge of being a Wisconsin'er. Too bad about the Packers!!

Can it be,
Look forward to hearing more about fishing in the future.

[Bodyman]

I'm lucky enough to live on the Ole Miss and have plenty of good fishing and vast areas to cover. Within a half hours drive I can fish 3 pools with I don't know how many thousand acres. Largest walleye 9# northern 18# Gill 10 1/2" flathead 20+#. I'm still looking for that 10# walleye which I would consider a true trophy on the Miss. I know their out there, have seen them C&R many times below the dams in the spring.
Within that same half hour drive the other direction I can fish a dozen different trout streams.Some world class. All with good populations of brown and brook trout. Regulations differ from stream to stream insuring both trophy hunters and catch and take fisherman have a great fishing experience. Watershed ponds hold trout northern, bass and panfish. One pond I fish hold gills in the 11+" range. I personaly have caught them 11 1/2 and looking for a 12" for the wall.
We don't have the huge lakes of northern Mn.Or the milesf nearly untouched shorelines the northern lakes have. Those 1000 acre lakes mentioned have 100 houses around them. Development is the BIGGEST cause to poor fishing on many lakes in northern Wi.
This is something from the Wi. regulation booklet.
Point of interest.
A U.W.Madison study of 14 lakes near Boulder Junction found that bluegill in lakes surrounded by cottages grew at 1/3 the rate of bluegill in lakes with no cottages. The study also found that bluegill populations of undeveloped lakes were more than twice as productive as those on lakes surrounded by cottages.
Such findings and booming developement along Wisconsin waters is stirring concerns among fisheries and other enviromental officials about the effect on Wisconsin's fishing, water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
"If we destroy the natural shoreline habitat then fishing will get worse and we cannot fix that situation simply by stocking or changing the fishing regulations" says Mike Staggs, DNR director of fisheries management and habitat protection. "If you want great fishing, then you have to protect the habitat"
Mn has alot more undeveloped lakes in the north hence bigger fish, better fishing. But that can and will change as the lakes are changed by building. I fish Mn in the winter for panfish when the big lakes are calm and even a river fisherman can find fish. Winnie and Little winnie, Bowstring, Ballclub Blackduck and Upper red. Winter walleye on the Miss is exellent, but I have caught a few nice ones on winnie and red.
The recent sale of Judds resort to developers has me wondering how long the north of Mn will be untouched. I hope my sons and their Fam's will have it to experience.

Fishing is Life

[can it be luck?]

I never really thought too much about the impact of people and homes on the lakes. Now that you mention it, it sure makes sense to me! Thinking now, I dont know of many lakes that dont have a lot of people living on them in Wi. Some lakes I avoid altogether because of traffic and noise. I also think that even a lot of smaller Mn. lakes have more depth and forage to them, mainly ciscoe. LDF Bill posted the other day, he lives on Fence lake in Lac Du Flambeau one of the deepest lakes with immense structure. The only lake I know of in the area with smelt in it. I net smelt in Fence in the spring. I'd almost bet there's a record musky or walleye in this hard to fish lake. Very interesting info about the research on the impact man has on the fish, makes me wonder when I stop to think about it. How much do we really effect things?

------------------
http://groups.msn.com/canitbeluck

[IrishZit]

Does WI publish creel survey data?

I'm moving to Eau Claire and need to get some data.

Thanks,

Sully

------------------
Not the Swedish Pimple, but rather the....

[Cooter]

Zit - I live in Eau Claire, let me know if ya want to fish sometime.

[Catfish John]

Sully,

Stocking data:

www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/fish/pages/stocking.shtml

Not exactly creel data, but the Wisconsin Lakes Directory lists the relative abundance of major sport fish in Wisconsin lakes and type of lake access:

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/fish/faq/lakesdir.htm

[muskybuck]

Can it be Luck.
Don't apologize for sitting next to some of the best fishing in the states. Joe Bucher seems to have done alright for himself just a few miles North of you.

[D. Stadler]

mark- winnebago is still providing good walleyes.

[IrishZit]

Cooter, we will have to meet up. I just signed a lease for a house on Lake Wissota. Never lived on a lake before so I'm pumped.

[GETTIN'ANY]

HAD SOME FREINDS UP FOR A FISHING TRIP THURS. THRU SUNDAY. THURS PM WASN'T BAD THE REST WAS ALITTLE SLOW UNTIL SUNDAY AFTERNOON. BETWEEN 1:00 AND 6:00 WE C&R BETWEEN 30 & 40 LMB. LESS THEN 1/2 WOULD HAVE MADE LEAGEL BUT IT WAS GREAT. WHITE SPINNERS WERE THE ONLY CONSISTANTLY PRODUCTIVE THING WE COULD FIND.

[IrishZit]

Cooter, I see my contact information got zapped. I will try this. I can be contacted at jpsullivan24 at hotmail dot com.

I would like to go fishing sometime.

[cabin]

I totally agree with you.The fishing is much better in Minnesota. I live in Barnes Wisconsin ( 25 miles north of Hayward). Lots of small overfished, over-speared lakes up here. The Walleye fishing is poor,compared to Minnesota. Most Walleyes are small ,and many lakes have a 2 fish limit.Nelson used to be good for Walleyes,but is now very poor. Same goes for the Bluegill and Crappie fishing.We go to Minnesota every chance we get. I grew up in South eastern Minnesota, and the trout streams are much better down there. Only good trout fishing we have up here that I have found is the Brule River. It is a beautiful River,but is very tough to fish. The other trout waters are very marginal in Northwestern Wisconsin. I think the Musky fishing is pretty good here,but that is about it.

[toenail]

I'm Tony from Duluth. I could not comment of the walleye

fishn MN vs. WI but if you want to talk steelheads I would

have to vote Wiscinsin. The Brule, Root, Sheboygan, Peshtigo, Menominee. All Minnesota has to offer is not

really true rivers. I mean they are like water run off

regulates the flow. The sharp drop from 3 miles upstream

to the big lake is drastic which makes for a lot of

beauty and holes but not much actual river miles to fish.

and todays the big day, Vikes vs. the Pack, I see the

local fish wrap have the pack by 4. I take a 6 pack on

that bet in a heartbeat. GO VIKINGS !!

[SPIN DRY]

Say, Toe make sure that 6 pack is nice and cold.

[toenail]

Wah Wah Wah.