justnorth posted on February 14, 2007 06:27 :: 1591 Views
The brutally cold weather of the past week has put a damper on outdoor recreation. Northern Wisconsin reported temperatures in the minus 20 degree range at night last weekend and single digit sub-zero temperatures during the day. Snow cover ranges from a low of 2 inches in west central Wisconsin to 18 inches in the far north central part of the state, with most of the state reporting between 4 and 8 inches. Snowmobile trails remain closed in many counties and range from poor to fair in areas with less snow to good in north central Wisconsin. Cross-country ski conditions are good to excellent in most areas of the state, but poor to fair in areas with marginal snow cover. Check the Wisconsin Department of Tourism Snow Conditions Report for more information.
In the north, the sub-zero temperatures and windy conditions kept many anglers off of the ice, with a few of the coldest days seeing virtually no fishing activity on many lakes. Along Lake Superior, thin ice is no longer a problem except in areas farther out in the Apostle Islands. A few hardy anglers were out in search of lake trout and white fish. Most inland Northwoods lakes, have about 16 to 18 inches of ice with about 4 inches of snow on top. Those anglers still active reported some action on crappie, perch and a few walleye.
The bitter cold finally made ice safer in the south, but also kept most anglers home or inside ice shacks. Fishing was generally slow, with some bluegills and crappies biting on waxies and minnows, along with some northern pike reported on tip-ups and shiners.
There was some fishing action taking place on the Fox River in Brown County for walleye. Along Lake Michigan some shacks were out near the Peshtigo Harbor fishing for northern pike. Along Door County, there was some action at Chaudoir's Dock, Rite's Cove and Little Sturgeon Bay. The majority of the catches were of whitefish with limits being met and a few were able to catch some yellow perch but in small numbers. In the southeast, shore anglers fishing the Menomonee River in Milwaukee reported some brown trout action. Ice anglers working the Kenosha harbor have also been reporting fair numbers of browns.
The 2007 Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing season opens this weekend. There will be separate Lake Winnebago and Upriver lakes seasons this year, both opening Feb. 10 at 6:30 a.m. and set to run through Feb. 25 unless spearers reach a pre-set harvest caps. Ice thickness is very variable, ranging up to 18 inches in some areas and 10 inches and lower in other areas. Water clarity in the south ranges between 11 to 12 feet and in the north as far down as 16 feet of water clarity has been reported.
The Mississippi River stayed steady all week and was at 7.1 feet at Prairie du Chien. The cold temperatures and high winds helped freeze all the backwater areas as well as the main channel.
The extreme cold weather caused the cancellation of some candlelight events last weekend, but more moderate – though still cold -- temperatures are in the forecast for this weekend with nearly a dozen more events scheduled around the state. As always, it is best to call ahead to confirm events will be held. A lit of events is on the DNR Web site.
A great-tailed grackle was sighted in the southeast corner of Horicon Marsh recently. This is the first state record for this species in Wisconsin. A snowy owl has been present on the north end of the marsh. Other bird sightings include rough-legged hawks, northern harriers, and short-eared owls, which are present in good numbers this year due to the high rodent population, as well as horned larks, Lapland longspurs and snow buntings.
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