Gary Engberg

Ice anglers are hoping that the ice fishing season is not far away. The way that the weather has been the last few years, it's hard to predict when good ice will arrive. I realize that many of you have been anxiously waiting for the first hard ice, but the most important thing to remember is to practice safety early in the season.

Die-hard ice anglers have been chomping at the bit this fall while they hope for cold weather. The one bright spot in some very inconsistent weather the last few years has been the increased opportunity to fish open water.

Wisconsin's muskie season is now open to December 31 allowing anglers the chance to fish until the year's end if there is open water. But, since the season was extended, the lakes have frozen over each year and prevented any late season muskie fishing. Maybe this will be the year that anglers are fishing open water for muskies in December!

The closing of the season is still the end of November in the northern part of the state and rarely do anglers get to fish that late in the year, according to Minocqua's Hall of Fame muskie guide, Russ Smith.

The problem that now exists is that fishermen get so fired up to go fishing that they sometimes forget the basic rules of safety when venturing on the ice. There's always an ego or macho thing about being the first person out on the ice. There's no doubt that the first ice of the year brings with it some of the best fishing of the year. The last location where you caught fish before freeze-up is usually the best place to start fishing when the ice is safe. But, use your common sense and don't take any chances, because no fish is worth going out on thin and dangerous ice.

Here are some of my tips and suggestions for first ice.

Make sure that there are at least 3- to 4-inches of ice where you plan to fish.

Stay away from spring holes, feeder creeks, and warm water discharges. These are always dangerous spots because the ice doesn't freeze solid in these places.

Bring a pair of ice picks with you in case you go through the ice. The picks can help you pull yourself out of the water if the worst should happen.

Wearing a life jacket is not a bad idea if you're unsure of the thickness of the ice. If you're unsure of the ice, don't go out on it.

The first few weeks of the season, you'll find most species of fish in water under ten feet deep and sometimes even shallower. During stable weather, you'll find many fish and particularly walleyes that will go extremely shallow to feed and this usually happens in low light conditions and during the warmest part of the day. Perch are an exception to this shallow water bite. Perch are in deeper water and I'll try to write about fishing deep water for perch as soon as the ice season progresses.

Don't go fishing alone this time of year. Always go fishing with a buddy.

Bring a cell phone.

This is also is not the time of the year to bring children or dogs on the ice. Wait a few weeks for good and solid ice before you bring the family out.

Remember to use common sense and don't let the enthusiasm of the moment make one do something stupid.

Stay away from the crowds and concentration of fishermen. Too many people in a close proximity can be dangerous on thin ice. Staying away from the crowds can also improve your fishing success because unnecessary noise can drive fish away from you. Later on in the season, noise is not as much a factor when fishing deeper water. But, when fishing shallow water be as stealth and quiet as possible. If there is a path or trail where others have walked try to stay on the trail which others have already blazed for you.

Here are some early ice 'hot spots' in southern Wisconsin which are worth fishing at the beginning of the hard water season.

In the Madison area, the triangle area around Brittingham Park and Monona Bay are good for both crappies and bluegills. Early ice seems to give up some of the larger fish, so this would be a good place to start your panfishing.

Lake Wingra, the smallest and shallowest of the Madison's Chain, is an early lake that produces plenty of bluegills, but the size is small and you have to sort through these fish for some keepers for eating.

Lake Waubesa is a good early producer with the north end particularly good for early season tip-up fishing for pike.

Lake Kegonsa is full of springs, so I'd wait a few more weeks to venture out and start fishing it.

Lake Mendota will be the last lake to freeze over this winter, so keep those perch rods and four-wheelers on the dry ground for awhile. There are some small bays and lagoons on Lake Mendota that freeze-over early and are good for early panfish. At the west-end of Mendota, Marshall Park on the Middleton side of the lake is well worth early ice fishing for bluegills and crappies. Warner Bay and Warner Park are also good this time of the year.

North of Lake Mendota, is the Cherokee Marsh which has good fishing for the variety of fish species. You can jig for panfish and set out a couple of tip-ups for pike or walleyes.

Remember in Wisconsin, you are allowed three rods or any combination of rods and tip-ups that equal three.

If you head out of Madison and go northwest on Highway 12, Indian Lake off Highway 19 will soon be frozen over due to its shallow water. Bluegills are plentiful here, but on the small size much like Lake Wingra. This is a great place to take the kids because the fish will usually cooperate and make for an enjoyable day after the ice is safe.

A few miles past Indian Lake is Highway Y (turn right) which will take you to Fish and Crystal Lakes, just outside of Sauk City. Crystal and Fish Lakes are full of largemouth bass which can be caught regularly on tip-ups with fathead minnows, suckers, and shiners as bait. Both lakes have good numbers of bluegills and Crystal Lake has a good crappie and perch population too.

The sloughs along the Lower Wisconsin River between Sauk City and Spring Green freeze early, but they have moving water, so you have to be extra careful. Helena, Jones, Rainbow, and Badger Sloughs are all frozen early in the season and all worth trying for both panfish and pike.

The other lakes that I'd suggest you try early in the season are White Mound Lake near Plain, Devil's Lake close to Baraboo, and Gallus Slough just north of Lake Wisconsin. The fishery in these lakes is of good quality and quite varied. Devils Lake has brown trout which are stocked and some nice size northern pike. Gallus Slough is a bluegill factory with 'gills biting most of the season.

Try some of these early ice fishing locations and you'll be well on your way to days of good action and some great meals. But, most importantly, be safe early in the season!

Gary Engberg is a professional tournament angler, fishing guide, and writer. He began fishing tournaments in the early 1990's and has fished the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (PWT), North American Walleye Association (NAWA), Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC), World Walleye Association (WWA), FLW, and Mercury Nationals in the years since. Gary has hosted the Outdoor Horizons radio show weekly for 14 years in Madison on WTDY 1670 AM and WTDY 106.7 FM Saturdays at 8:05 am. and is also a correspondent for the Wisconsin State Journal for the last 12 years.