Minocqua Area Fishing Report - 3/20/23

March has been a b..b..b..b..b..bear so far, must have forgot where it was on the calendar.

Cold (as low as 15 below), snow, rain, then more snow and lots of wind kept anglers off the ice this past week (can’t blame them!). A shame since this is such a traditionally great time to be panfishing. But don’t despair, good spring (yes, it’s spring on the calendar) ice fishing is right around the corner.

Bluegill: Fair-Poor – Conditions just kept people off the ice. If able to, anglers had some success in 9-11’ weeds. Tungsten jigs helped to keep baits down against the wind. Live bait seemed better than plastics as fish held on a bit longer allowing anglers to feel bites.

Yellow Perch: Fair-Poor – Mixed in with the Gills along 9-11’ weeds. No reports from mud flat anglers, doesn’t mean fish weren’t there, just anglers not.

Crappie: Poor – As with the other panfish, just overall a tough bite.

As dismal as this report is, better things to come. Ice still 24-26” thick. Snow and slush making ATV use hard, but snowmobile and trucks still useable. Temps at night this coming week will be in teens and low-20’s, but day time highs of mid-30’s to mid-40’s will make for some very comfortable conditions. This is the kind of weather that bodes well for tip-down users targeting Crappies and Perch. We will see two weeks, if not more, of ice fishing if these conditions hold.