Well last week’s warm up and rain sure did a number to several areas around Green Bay. Here is a
general overview of ice conditions around the Bay.
Fox River – No ice fishable and boats are out on the water
Deadhorse Bay and Suamico – Fishable ice but landings are difficult, and you need to use extreme
caution getting on and off right now. Lots of thin spots and exposed shorelines.
Geanos and Oconto – Fishable ice but traitorous landing areas. Use extreme caution
I do not recommend driving trucks on the West shore anywhere and ATV, UTV, Snowmobile is also
difficult at the landings until they firm up.
University Bay, Vincent and volks still decent ice but no trucks should be out. Use caution around
shallow rock areas with this current from the river. Reports are soft ice but that should start to harden
up a bit with the improved colder weather.
Bayshore, Dykesville and Red River all decent ice and landings are not really bad but still avoid vehicle
traffic.
Sturgeon Bay areas – No vehicle traffic recommended, and most landings are still in good shape but
even with ATV, and UTV traffic stay away from shallow rocks and areas of current and use caution.
As we move into late ice conditions use extreme caution at all times and know your travel areas.
Fox River boats are using the landings at Fox Point and the Fair Grounds. Catch rates for Walleye are
high, but size is low. Expect to boat many Walleyes 13-16” right now as the big girls will be a while to
get up the river with the ice out on the bay. Jig and minnow or hair jigs and blade baits would be a good
lure to target some action.
With the bad landings I have no reports form Perch activity on the West Shore.
Whitefish action on the east shore around Volks, Vincent, Bay Shore, Red River and Sugar continue to be
fair at best. Jigs and plastics or Lindy Slick jigs tipped with minnow tails leading the way for tactics.
Perch action up around Little Sturgeon and surrounding areas reported still to be slow but size is
impressive for the fish being caught. Several fish over 15” have been seen the last week or so. Tip
downs and box tip ups with small shiners or rosie reds continue to be the most productive method.
Please consider releasing all those 12” or bigger fish if you can.
Whitefish action around the Sturgeon Bay area has been good to fair. Anglers willing to focus on
technique are being rewarded for the patience with a limit of fresh Whitefish. With the mixed bag of
weather last week the bite has been off a few days also. We should start to see a late season
improvement in action soon. Best presentations have been ¼ ox jigs and plastic like Keitech Easy
Shiners in 3” to 4” size. The Goby color being the best. Grumpy Goby baits have begun to pick up some
momentum his week along with other Goby colored plastics. One tactic that has produced a few fish as
of late is on occasion rip jig the bait off the bottom a couple times then back to a softer cadence and this
has drawn a reactionary bite.
If you are out targeting Whitefish, please consider releasing all fish under 16” to 17”. It takes several
years for a female to reach maturity to be able to effectively reproduce. Keeping fish under that 17”
mark increases the chances you are keeping an immature female before she has a change to give back
to the population at least once. Smokeys on the Bay will be open April 2nd
Remember to take a kid fishing
Brought to you by
Capt. Robert Claus
FinFanatic Charters
920-360-2904
finfanaticcahrters@yahoo.com
