Chippewa Flowage report 12-29-2011

Hi everyone,

Fished the Big Chip thru the ice yesterday. I checked the ice continually and found a minimum 0f 9" everywhere I went. There was about an inch of snow on the ice which hid the fact that it is very slippery underneath. The ice surface is slick. Idid a digger about mid morning. My feet went up and the first thing to hit the ice was my head. OUCH! I laid there for a minute hoping no one saw my ballet.

I drove over in a blinding snow storm that turned into rain. After unloading the ATV, I ventured out test drilling a hole every 20 yards. After a while finding thick ice everywhere, I just went and fished in my mobile mode. I went to the spots marked into my GPS unit, drilled a bunch of holes all around it, Got the vex and two rods, one with a horizontal bait and one wih a verticle bait ,and proceeded to fish all the holes. I didn't bring any tip ups because that is like throwing out an anchor and I wanted to move all day.Just to many places to fish to spend to much time in one spot. In fact I didn't even get my portable shelter out untill evening. I wanted to be able to move quicker.

There were a few places that I think would have been good places to fish longer, but never having a winter season on the Big Chip and wanting to learn which types of cover and stuctures were going to produce the most panfish, I kept moving a lot. The most productive areas yesterday were the sunken bogs in the middepth and deep. I fished some weed flats and found nothing. The deep and middepth sunken bogs always had marks coming and going.I caught a total of 5 Perch,1 Crappie, and 1 Walleye that was quickly released. Most were caught on the horizontal bait with a couple on the spoons, but all tipped with minnow heads. Waxxies just aren't producing anything yet. I think they will eventiually, but not right now.

I did lose two big fish. Both were Walleyes. I had a Walleye that was about 24-25" to the hole when it got tangled in the transducer and was gone. that was on a middepth sunken bog on a small spoon tipped with a minnow head. Later I had another big fish on. I fought it for quite awhile. Had it to the hole and had to back reel. Did this three times. I could see it every time it came up and that was quit a sight. The fourth time she figured it was time to quit playing around. She did a power dive and the 4" test snapped. I couldn't back reel fast enough. can't keep them any way and I wouldn't keep one that big. Oh yea, the second one was bigger. I'm quessing a minnimum of 28". That one was on a horizontal bait tipped with a minnow head on a deeper sunken bog.

I took some pics of the Big Chip covered with ice. she sure looks different. I'll be making plans to get back over again soon. Good luck fishing everyone and be safe.

Walleyemaxx