Archived Chippewa Flowage Report

Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - With the warm and sunny weather of the past week, ice conditions have deteriorated quite a bit on the lakes across the Northwoods. Ice depths have been in the 16 to 20-inch range, but access areas on the west and north shores have become extremely treacherous with deep ruts and lots of water and slush. Most of the snow has now melted from the top of the ice, and surface conditions have become very sloppy. With overnight temps staying above the freezing mark and the rain that is forecasted in the next few days, look for ice conditions to continue to deteriorate very rapidly. With the end of the game fish ice fishing season this past Sunday, angling pressure has dropped off significantly on most waters across the North. However, there have still been quite a few panfish anglers venturing out and they continue to have some generally good success. Some nice catches of crappie, perch and bluegill have been reported and most are still being found suspended just off the bottom in the deeper water areas. Waxworms, wigglers and crappie minnows have all produced some decent catches.