Rice Lake, Barron County (all postings)

May 21, 2013

Considering the late ice out, the lakes are warming at a fast rate. Some of the bigger lakes around here are in the low to mid 50's for water temperature and some of the smaller and dark colored lakes are already in the upper 50's. The lakes are changing fast and as fisherman, we need to do the same and adapt to the water temperature. Its easy to get caught up in knowing when the ice went out and saying the fish should be doing this, but in all reality, the water temperature drives the fish and that will tell us where the fish will be and what they should be doing.

The bass are at the stage of moving into the shallows. Some are sitting in the middle of the water column just outside of the structure waiting to move in. Sitting in deeper water and casting into these areas are a good way to pull some fish. Blade baits and jerk baits seem to be putting some fish in the boat on several area lakes. Find the long underwater points, or the irregular jump out off of the shoreline and hit these areas.

The Walleyes are being very unpredictable right now. With the late ice out and the water warming fast, you can find fish in the shallow water, or out into the deep off a steep drop off. Last week I was catching fish in as shallow as 2-4 feet of water with a jig and minnow combination. Over the weekend, we pulled fish from as deep as 43 feet of water hovering over wood structure as we dropped a jig and minnow on their head and worked over them vertically. Fish were caught in about every water depth between the deep and the shallow as well. Good thing is, the holiday weekend should allow anglers to use their go to tactic to catch fish as they are scattered in various depths around the lake. Jig and minnow combinations are the go to tactic right now, but don't be afraid to hunker down and slip bobber, or throw stick baits in the low light hours. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new into the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

May14, 2013

The lakes around the area are finally free of ice and anglers are finally able to try their luck fishing. Windy conditions over the weekend were brutal, but we have some gorgeous weather on the way and the fish should really put the chew on. I think things will happen rapidly this year, and The fishing should be good. The walleyes are still up in the shallow water. Some fish are done with spawning, while others are still full of eggs. They should be done within days. Stick to the shorelines when targeting walleyes. Throwing 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with a fat head minnow are hard to beat right now. Jig back slow and cover areas with hard bottom. Casting stick baits can be a great way to pull some active fish and they will hammer it. You can also cover more water doing this. Slip bobbers are producing later into the evening in shallow water. The bass are biting on jigs and blade baits. Slower presentations are crucial in this cold water. Keep throwing baits to cover water and the bass will be sure to tug the line. Panfish are in shallow bays and an weeds they can find. They prefer dark bottom bays that warm the water faster. This is a great time to catch fish on a fly rod. Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new into the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

May 7, 2013

Well another fishing opener has come and gone. Sounds like many people found themselves at home this opener rather than in a boat. With very little access to open water, and weather that did not want to cooperate, made for tough fishing all across the board around the area. I myself showed up to Balsam lake at 4:00 a.m. in hopes to fish the small amount of open water that was there to catch a couple of walleyes. I threw the shovel in the back of the truck the night before, with the 17" of snow just two days before, who knows what I was going to run into. I ended up shoveling an entire path to the lake on the boat landing, only to get stuck. I could have dropped the boat in, but with the freezing rain, there was no way to pull the boat out. A good friend Mick Malone, helped pull me out so I could drive to the next lake in hopes to catch some fish. Thanks Mick! Slow reports have been coming from all over, but this nice weather is breaking up the ice and we should have much more open water for this coming weekend. Some walleyes are spawning right now. Best tactics for game fish are throwing suspending or floating cranks into the shallows. Fish can also be taken on a jig and minnow combination. Good luck, and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

4/30/13

A spark of warm weather, added with some rain and a little wind is starting to weaken some ice around the area. However, the fishing opener this weekend will find several lakes still ice covered, or possibly partially ice covered. Lakes with some type of water flow running into them, are the bodies of water opening up. With some lakes being locked up this weekend, anglers will have to be patient with others as everyone wants to get out and fish, and the open lakes surely will be crowded. Fish are going to be shallow and in the warmest water possible. Dark bottom bays and shorelines warm up faster so usually your warmest water is found in those areas depending on the wind. Fish are going to be lethargic due to the cold water. Working areas over thoroughly and working them slow will be the key to catching fish. Minnow imitation baits should be a top hit for fisherman with the cold water. Good luck fishing, enjoy a great Wisconsin tradition, and lets share the small amount of open water we will have for this years opener.

Remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

April 22, 2013 Winter just will not let go! Fresh snow on Monday night into Tuesday morning is delaying open water more and more. It is also making ice conditions tougher to get around for guys still out on the hard water taking advantage of the long, late season ice.

Fisherman are catching all species right now in certain areas. Old weed beds from the past season seem to be attracting fish, and they are biting. People are targeting late season bluegills and crappies but are having fun catching a variety of fish. Stick to jigging tactics with bright colors right now, and do not be afraid to bulk up the size a little bit. Fish are starting to become more aggressive and will take a bigger offering. Jig aggressively to get the fishes attention, and then slow the jig presentation down once the fish moves in to check out your offering.

Good luck and introduce someone new into the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime. -- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

4/8/13

Spring just won't break through for us here in northern Wisconsin. There is still plenty of solid ice to fish on, and with a cold wet forecast, I don't see the ice leaving anytime soon. On the positive side, the crappies are really starting to put that late ice feed bag on, and many that are being found are good sized ones. If your finding small fish, move to a different location to find a better quality size group of fish. It's hard to beat a live minnow combination right now. One thing I like to do is put some length in my rods. What I mean by that is I will take out some real light action summer fishing rods, but also a short ice fishing rod. I will sit on my main hole with my ice rod, then drill holes 5-8 feet away at a 45 degree angle and the long rods go in those holes. I can cover more water and all the rods are right next to me to set the hook. Let the rod tip "load" up and then set the hook. Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors. They will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

Fishing Report 3/26/13

Winter just won't let go here is Wisconsin. Last year you could drop the boat in the local lakes and this year we are staring at frozen lakes covered in snow. Hopefully by the fishing opener we will be able to fish in a boat.

For people still hitting the ice, they are having success catching fish. The cloudy days are providing action late into the morning and starting early in the afternoon. Keep the presentations small, but use aggressive jigging tactics to lure a fish into you. Once the fish are around you, jig a foot above their head and entice them to strike your bait out of reaction. If you lose their attention, drop the bait in their face, then vigorously jig it upwards to trigger a bite.

Remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

3/20/13 What a difference a year makes! Last year on March 19th, the ice was out on Lake Montanis, golf courses were open, and the turkeys were already in strutting mode. This year, we have a few feet of ice, covered by over a foot of snow, we might be playing golf in the snow in June, and the last week of turkey season is looking to be prime right now. Below zero temperatures in the March mornings makes a person wonder when spring will finally get here? The advantage goes to the die hard ice fisherman because it does not look like its going away anytime soon. One thing to watch is driving vehicles on the ice right now. Not only is the snow deep in spots where a vehicle can get stuck, but with the weight on the ice, water tends to come up holes and can make a wet slushy mess. Most fish are still being caught in the lower one third of the water column. Once you have gotten a fishes attention, use an aggressive jigging action to lure the fish up and finish the deal. If you can get those fish to move up two or three feet vertically, you should be able to entice a bite. If you keep your bait in one spot, you may lose the fishes attention. I like to add a small split shot a foot above my bait to add noise and vibration to lure distant fish in. You will be surprised how well it works, I have even had fish come in and strike the weight and not the bait. Aggressive jigging will be needed for the split shot to work effectively. If you are using electronics, and see a fish come in high, bring your bait a foot above them and they will be sure to bite.

Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

3/12/13 Looking out at the lakes this time of year can be bittersweet. Its sad to see the "little towns" of ice shacks that once lined the local lakes, slowly diminish day by day as anglers pull the shacks off the frozen lakes. On the other hand, it is nice to know spring is around the corner and before we know it we will be sitting in the boats on open water. March 15th marks the day the shacks need to be off the lakes. While the game fish season is closed now, bluegill and crappie fishing are still open, and are providing anglers a chance to catch some last ice fishing action.

This fish are changing a lot lately. The days are getting longer, and the sun is slowly melting away the snow. Crappies and bluegill are being found, but have not hit the peak late ice feed bag yet. We need those consistent warm days, and the snow to really melt to hit that hot late season bite. Keep the presentations small for now, and gradually increase the size and bulkiness in the coming weeks. Green has been a very solid color for me and seems to be catching fish. Right now the fish are still in the lower third of the water column but they will start to get higher and higher in the near future. Stay mobile until the active fish are found, and remember, the coming weeks are going to offer some excellent fishing.

Good luck, and remember, introduce someone new the outdoors. They will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

Fishing Report 2/28/13

The days are getting longer and warmer, but the days to catch big game fish are growing shorter. This Sunday marks the end of the big game fishing season for our local lakes here in Wisconsin. The weather is looking great to finish out the big game season, so take advantage of this and enjoy one last time of yelling, "tip up" to all your favorite ice fishing buddies. The Northern Pike are biting on large sucker minnows and the action has been consistent with guys putting the time in to deploy tip ups. Stay 2-3 feet off bottom with your presentation as they will be aggressive and come up for your offering.

The walleyes have been biting in several different depth areas. Walleyes have been taken as shallow as 12 feet along known weed edge structures, all the way out into the deep parts of the lake suspended chasing bait fish. Concentrate on the middle third of the water column when chasing the suspended walleyes roaming out in the open water. This is a great time of year to hop from hole to hole and use a jigging spoon to catch the walleye.

The pan fish bite is still available but should get better and better with the coming weeks of spring. Smaller offerings are doing the trick right now on the bluegills and the crappies. Cloudy days have seemed to be more productive for the fish to be biting. Search deeper water areas to find these feeding fish right now.

Good luck fishing, and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

January 29, 2013

The weather warmed up, and so did the fishing! The crappie bite is going great right now. Several different local lakes are kicking out numbers of fish and some lakes are producing nice sized fish. The crappies are running smaller on certain water bodies, and one needs to pick through fish if they want to find themselves a meal, but whats wrong with catching piles of fish in the meantime. By far the go to tactic this week was a small gum ball jig head. The slip bobber dead sticks produced fish here and there, but the fish could not resist the jigging action with a minnow. My best results were to find a small crappie minnow, but the key thing was, make sure it was not alive. Jigging rapidly to get the fishes attention, and then letting it still motionless until the strike hit. Live minnows seemed to turn the fish the other way and did not produce bites.

The walleye started biting again along weed structures. Some real nice sized fish were caught over the weekend. After finding a good weed bed, drill holes out into deeper water as the fish are holding deeper this time of year. You will be able to tell when the fish are moving in to feed as the deepest tip ups will strike first, then leading into the shallows. The golden hour bite seemed to be slow, but later in the evening the fish have become more active.

The bigger bluegills have slid out into deeper water. They are swimming in good sized schools right now, and one will have success with drilling holes in main lake basins and searching for a school. Sit and catch the fish until they move on, but you should have solid action if you are on the fish. Find a jigging action the fish are triggered by, and stick to that tactic. They are have been a little stubborn at times, but the right action will be sure to put a smile on anyones face.

Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

Jordan

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

1/22/13

The propane companies love weeks like this. Bitter cold and below zero temperatures are pushing fisherman into ice shacks to stay warm. The one positive result is we are building ice, and by the sounds of it, we still need that to happen. Two vehicles went through the ice on Red Cedar Lake in the last week. Please use extreme caution still when venturing out on the lakes in a vehicle.

We are starting to hit that mid winter lull when fishing gets tougher on all fish, but especially the walleyes. Patience is going to be key, as fish are starting to scatter into mid winter areas now in deeper water. If you are setting tip ups, do not be afraid to try out deeper. Sometimes a bigger minnow offering will entice the fish into taking your bait as they have to expend less energy to chase a minnow, but they get a bigger meal. Jigging for walleyes with spoons and minnow baits can prove effective. Tip the bait will a minnow head or half a minnow for added scent.

The crappie and bluegill bite have also slowed a little but still remain to keep people entertained. Fisherman are spreading out more and moving from hole to hole to find the active fish. Decrease the jig size for the gills, and make sure you switch through baits to find the size and color combination they are after. The crappies are very similar, except the size does not seem to bother them that much. Color on the other hand is key! Try a variety of colors, and once you find the color they want, you will know it. Even when finding the magic color, I still like to experiment with other colors on a second rod. In low light conditions, brighten up those offerings with a glow in the dark jig. Sometimes you will find the fish want it bright and charged each time, other times they want just enough to have it glow.

Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

1/15/13

The rain last week knocked out all remaining snow on the local lakes, and with cold temperatures now and forecasted for the next several days, we are really going to make some solid ice. Take caution if you are going to be driving full sized vehicles on the lakes. You never know when you are going to run into a thin spot on the ice, and no fish is worth the risk of putting a vehicle through the ice.

Ice shacks have been lit up like christmas trees every evening, as they should be with the bite the crappies are giving us. The prime time sun down bite is the best, but don't shy away from leaving the hole as soon as the fish stop biting. The crappies swim in schools, and with patience, you will have the next school arriving shortly to give your minnow presentation a look. I like to fish with a live action jig and minnow, and deploy two slip bobber rigs for an added bonus fish. I use one slip bobber about 2 feet off the bottom, and my other slip bobber is 6-8 feet off bottom.

The northern pike have the feed bag on and are offering consistent action. Search the edges of weeds in 8-15 feet of water. Find out the depth the fish are cruising the most and then duplicate your set up in the hot depth once it is found. A large sucker will do the trick, but do not be afraid to throw them a different offering with a shiner minnow. Setting your bait 2-3 feet off bottom will entice the pike to take your offering.

The walleye action is slowing down but some good sized fish are still being caught. Start to slide out into deeper water now and try to set two tip ups, and jig with your third line. Many times you will catch the aggressive feeders on a jigging rod and they will tend to shy away from a minnow on a tip up. Off shore structures are starting to hold fish. They will head to the tops to feed in prime time hours, but they are holding on deeper edges before and after prime time, drill some holes and jig for these fish.

Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime. -- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors

Wheres the best place to access the south end of this lake?

It's always a great sight to be able to drive by local lakes and see the small "villages" taking place on the ice. Several more ice shacks made it out on a variety of lakes over the weekend, but I still would say, keep all full sized vehicles off of the lake and stick with ATV's and Snowmobiles for travel on all ice. One just never knows where the one weak area is on a lake, and it would not be fun to be the one who finds out where that is. This next week we are going to see some above freezing temperatures during the day, but we will still drop below freezing at night to keep adding to the ice we already have.

The panfish bite has been red hot the past week. Many good sized fish are being caught in several different areas, as well as many different lakes. Crappies are being crappies and are becoming active at low light conditions. In order to catch these mid day fish, drop into the deeper water areas. These schools of fish are not moving to far off of their structures. When targeting crappies in low light periods, they are concentrating on drop offs and flats around the lake. After they finish feeding, they will suspended over the adjacent deeper water areas. Drill some holes off of the structures and start searching. This is a great way to catch crappies all day long. The gills are being found in a variety of depths, but are very active when found. Do not sit on an area to long if you are not catching fish. When you find them they will be active.

After the first of the year, the walleyes seem to become less and less prevalent to catch. This year they are still being caught on shoreline drop offs as well as along weed edges. Take advantage of these weed edges while you can, as smaller panfish and perch are still cruising around these weed beds. The walleyes are hitting these areas early morning and right before dark. Find the very edges of these beds and deploy tip ups just off of them, and jig with a rattle spoon in the deeper water to pick off feeding fish before they hit the weeds.

Good luck fishing and remember, introduce someone new to the outdoors, they will appreciate it for a lifetime.

-- Jordan Marsh Marsh Outdoors