First and foremost, no ice is ever safe ice.
The Fox River has good ice coverage but again please continue to navigate only on foot and remember
this is a river with current and thin ice can appear in many areas use a spud and walk cautiously. Anglers
are reporting above average catches of Walleye especially areas of the river down from Fox Point Boat
Launch. Jig/minnow and jigging raps tipped with a minnow continue to outshine other presentations.
But do not overlook other jigging tactics like spoons tipped with minnows and blade baits.
Deadhorse Bay and Suamico have reports of very good ice conditions, but fishing reports have been
slow. Tip downs and box tip ups with minnows do seem to be showing the best catch rates.
Lower Bay areas like Volks, Vincent, and Bay Shore continue to show good catches of Whitefish. Tactics
change from day to day so be prepared to use minnows on slick jigs, Goby mimicking plastics on a jig,
jigging shad raps or sliders tipped with waxies.
Little Sturgeon Bay and Sawyer harbor are both reporting a slow down in perch activity. Most likely due
to the heavy traffic of anglers in that clear water. Tip Downs and box tip ups are still the best tactic to
get on a school of Perch. Some decent action on tip ups for Pike has been reported around the Little
Sturgeon Bay area. Large Golden Shiners have been the bait of choice by most.
The Larsons reef area continues to see ice shifting. Some commercial boat traffic between Sturgeon Bay
and Marinette has allowed the ice to shit with offshore winds. Several cracks that have been open as
wide as 100’ continue to plague getting to deep water in general. Getting on and off the reef is going to
continue be a gamble for a bit yet. The colder weather approaching and hopefully no more boat
movement may make this more secure.
Anglers that were able to get on the reef had very good success with limits or near limits of Whitefish
showing up. Slider Rigs and Jigs and plastics seemed to be the most prominent tactic. Try running a
Slick Jig with a Keitech Plastic tail on the back to mimic a Goby.
Smokeys on the Bay will reopen Monday March 3rd 2025. Yah, se you soon!!!
Capt. Robert Claus
FinFanatic Charters
920-360-2904
finfanaticcahrters@yahoo.com
