Musky Shop Northwoods Fishing Report: Early December 2024

Hello Everyone,

Fishing in the Northwoods of Wisconsin has been pretty good. Not all of the lakes have safe ice yet. The small lakes will have approximately 3"-5" of ice. The big lakes, such as Tomahawk and Trout, are a no-go for ice fishing. My brother and I were open-water fishing on December 10th. Parts of Tomahawk were frozen, but most of the lake still had open water. Trout Lake was wide open a day ago, but if we get a calm night, it will most likely freeze up. In any case, use caution when venturing out.  We try our best to monitor ice conditions in the Minocqua area, but due to local weather, it is still pretty early in the ice fishing season. 

The guys who have been ice fishing have been doing pretty well. Panfish and Walleye have been caught in the 5'-12' range in weeds or wood. Medium and Large Golden shiners, as well as Walleye Suckers and XL Fatheads, have all been working for live bait. We have a good selection of Live bait, and our Live bait tanks continually circulate cold well water; thus, the bait is fresh and lively. We have a good selection of Ice jigs, Tip Ups, Tip Downs, and Ice fishing supplies. Feel free to stop by or contact us with any questions, as it would be our pleasure to serve you.

For the die-hard open-water fishermen, we will try our best to check the Trout Lake landing to see if the lake remains open for open-water fishing for a bit. Sometimes, the big lakes freeze over, but then we get a warm-up for a few days with some wind, and lakes like Tomahawk and Trout open up again. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like any lake information or fishing information.

As I mentioned, my brother and I were out a few days ago open-water fishing. We had one hit trolling a Martin right on the weed edge. Martins are not currently being made but weighted Suicks and Bobbies are very similar to a Martin. We have also been running cranks out off of the weed edge and in the lake basins. A new bait you will want to consider is the Ivan Lures Switchblade. This bait can get down to 30' plus and has an outstanding wobble and wander.

Another great thing about the Switchblade is that it comes with an adjustable pin on the lip. One can set the pin to run them shallow, mid or deep. The adjustable pin setting can literally be changed with gloves in the boat in mere seconds—it really is that easy. 

Please check out the Ivan Lures, as I believe you will be impressed and possibly catch a monster Musky.

We hope all of you have great fishing the next time you go out. 

We wish each of you a very Merry Christmas.

Good Fishing, and God Bless, Jim Stewart