Musky Shop Northwoods Fishing Report: Early March 2024

We hope all of you have had great ice fishing this winter, and where there is open water, we hope you all have had great fishing, too. Winter's grip seems to be easing, as we have had some very nice weather in the past few weeks here in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Ice conditions are still excellent, with most lakes having approximately 28" or more ice. Ice travel is very good, and there is little to no snow on top of the ice.

Fishing remains strong. As I'm sure many of you know, the Game Fishing season has closed, so until the first Saturday in May, one can only fish for bass and panfish. Open-water fishing is legal on the Tomahawk River near Tomahawk, WI. One of our guides, Al “Frosty” Frost, fishes there quite a bit when the game season is closed and catches quite a few walleyes. XL Fatheads are one of Al's preferred baits to catch a bunch of walleye. 

As for Ice fishing, the bass bite is not bad, but the panfish bite is quite good. One of our staff members, Casey, is on the ice daily. Casey has been having outstanding success using Crappie Minnows, Rosy Red Minnows and XL Fathead Minnows, as well as sometimes, by using a bit of a larger minnow, one will catch larger Perch, Crappies and Bluegills.  Wax Worms, Red Spikes, and White Spikes all work well, and even small soft plastics can also put some fish on the ice.

Tip-downs are a very good way to catch many fish. Jigging will work as well, but it seems that tip-downs are always a great method for late-season ice fishing.

For the location, most of the reports we are getting panfish are a bit deeper in the 12–20-foot range, where one can find some weeds. As we move closer to spring, panfish may start moving out to suspend in deep water in the main lake basins, so if you are not finding panfish in the deep weeds, you might consider moving out to the basin to find suspended panfish. 

We have a great selection of fresh live bait that is always in the cold, running well water. 

Please feel free to contact us or stop by if we can be of service to you. It would be our pleasure. Don't forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, July 19th, when we will have our annual Summer Musky Bash. Lots of vendors will be in attendance for this free event. There will be a lot of great sales, a lot to learn about Musky fishing and tons of fun. We hope you all can join us.

Again, please let us know if we can be of service to you, as it would be our pleasure to serve you.

Good Fishing, and God Bless, Jim Stewart