Slow Ice Fishing

The fishing news is not good right now. After calling all of my fishing pals in the area I have to conclude that ice fishing is very slow. Everyone talks about catching a few here and there but no real success. One of the factors is the problem is low levels of oxygen under the ice. Early ice in November followed by heavy snowfalls has resulted in conditions where the plants are mostly dying off under the ice because of low light, and that leads to low oxygen levels.

Fish are sluggish in the winter anyway, and with low oxygen they move around even less. Less movement means less of a chance of a school of fish passing under your ice holes and less of a chance of catching a bunch of fish.

Hopefully March weather will warm up and when we get some runoff into the lakes and rivers, things will improve. Runoff water is more highly oxygenated and a bit warmer and that will make the fish much more agreeable. It will make most of the fishermen a bit more agreeable too. With the amount of ice we have, fishing should be good long into March.

Dan Bomkamp - Author & Host of "How's Fishing"
 
 
 

http://www.southwest-wisconsin-real-estate.com/

Many Outdoor Activities are Available Now

Late season ice fishing should be good for anglers who are still looking for a pail of fresh fish. With longer days and warmer temperatures the ice fishing can be very good until mid-March when the ice gets too treacherous for safe fishing.

The early trout season is opening on March 6. This is a special season that requires the use of artificial lures only and also requires barbless hooks. Most fishermen pinch the barb down on their spinners and flies or file them off. Either way is fine. All trout fishing until the May opener is catch-and-release only.

Many good opportunities will be available in the next few weeks for turkey watching. Huge flocks will congregate in open fields as the snow melts and gives the birds a chance for some long hidden food. It’s a great time to see just how many turkeys there really are in the area.

Dan Bomkamp - Author and host of "How's Fishing"
http://www.danbomkamp.com/


Southwest Wisconsin Hunting Land For Sale

Stinger Hooks for Spring Walleyes

The spring walleye fishing season is coming soon. Walleye and Sauger are notorious for their dainty bite, and the cold water right after ice-out makes it even harder to get your jig hook into these fish. Often you feel a tic on your line and reel up to find your minnow is gone or missing his tail, or that your twister tail has been pulled partly off your jig. 

The solution is a stinger hook, which is nothing more than a small treble hook that is attached to the bend of the jig hook. The stinger hangs at the tail of the minnow or twister and often catches the light-biting fish in the chin. Without them, the fish per strike rate is very low.

Store-bought stingers are expensive, running over $1 for a package of three hooks. You can make your own by buying a box of #8 or #10 treble hooks. Then cut an 8 inch piece of mono and double it, putting the two cut ends together. Tie the doubled line to the treble hook and you end up with a treble with a loop of line on it. Then cinch the loop over the bend on your jig hook and you have a stinger hook that cost you about a dime.

Make up a bunch of them at home and stick them in a piece of Styrofoam and you’ll be ready to fish. I guarantee you’ll get more hook-ups than with a plain jig hook.

Dan Bomkamp - Host of "How's Fishing" and Author of LOST FLIGHT

Southwest Wisconsin Waterfront Properties

Bucks of Crawford County Show - Meet Me There

This Saturday, February 20th, the Prairie Rod & Gun Club is once again hosting the "Bucks of Crawford County" show at the National Guard Armory in Prairie du Chien, WI.  This is a great chance to see some of the record whitetails harvested in Crawford County as well as view lots of other hunting related items.  This is a great time of year to go to these types of shows and let the excitement start to build for the next deer season.  Since hunting land in Crawford County is one of our specialties, we will have a booth again this year.  Hope you can make it, and if you do - stop in and say "Hello".

Jay Frazier - Real Estate Broker
Mossy Oak Properties of Wisconsin, LLC



Other upcoming events where you can visit with us:

      Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show

      March 10th-14th @ Wisconsin Exposition Center: West Allis, WI

      Wisconsin Deer and Turkey Expo

      April 9th-11th @ Alliant Energy Center: Madison, WI

It’s Boat Maintenance Time

Spring walleye fishing is not far off and getting your boat ready for the first day on the water is something that you can do right now. Nothing is worse than seeing smoke come from a wheel bearing on your trailer that first day on your way to the river. Another way to spoil the day is to have an outboard that won’t start because of fouled plugs.


By taking time to look over your boat and trailer now, you can avoid wasting that first day of walleye fishing, by spending the day getting your boat fixed so you can fish. Make sure to look at your trailer lights, check for the boat plug, landing net, anchors, and life jackets too.


One other thing to do is get a good hook file and sharpen all of your jig hooks. Factory hooks are not sharp. A couple of swipes with a good file will make those hooks needle sharp and you’ll get more hook-ups with those dainty biting walleyes than with a hook that is not sharpened. It’s something you can do at home while watching a good fishing show on TV. Be prepared and then you can enjoy that first day of spring walleye fishing.

Dan Bomkamp - Host of "How's Fishing"
Author of "Tag: A Boy, A Dog, A Quest"
 
 
Southwest Wisconsin Waterfront Properties FOR SALE

Fall Turkey Hunt Results

The 2009 fall turkey hunt fell a little short of normal success rates. Most years the fall kill is around 10,000 birds while the past season showed 8,265. Poor spring hatches were to blame for the smaller kill. There were a little over 68,000 permits purchased for the hunt. The success rate works out to be about one in eight hunters taking home a bird. This compares to about one in four having a turkey for the table in the spring hunt.

When you think back to the early 80s’ when there were no turkeys in Wisconsin at all, this is an amazing thing. What started out as an experiment in the southern counties has now grown to the point where there are turkeys in every county in Wisconsin and thousands of hunters who take part in this exciting sport.

The Spring Permits will be arriving in the mail soon and the opening day for the first season in 2010 is two months away on April 14. Southern Wisconsin is prime turkey habitat and a spring turkey hunt is one of the most exciting outdoor sports you’ll ever participate in. If you’ve never heard the early dawn stillness interrupted by the sound of a gobbler calling, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Dan Bomkamp - Host of "How's Fishing"

Author of 8 outdoor adventure novels.

Southwest Wisconsin Hunting Land FOR SALE

Late Ice Means Good Crappie Fishing

From the late part of February to the last ice in March, crappies get very active and the fisherman who sticks to it, can have some great fishing. Crappies are early spawning fish and that coupled with warmer temperatures and longer days gets them in the mood to feed.

When fishing in shallow places like the Wisconsin River bottoms, you’re usually in 5 or 6 feet of water. The crappies will usually be right under the ice in these places. Set your depth to cover the first foot to foot and a half under the ice. In deeper places, start looking for that ‘magic’ depth about half way to the bottom.

Once you find the right depth, get your biggest jigs out. Rembrants in a size 4 or 2 are great. Also try a Swedish Pimple or a large rocker. Crappies like big jigs and you need a bigger hook to catch them. Their mouths are large and very fragile, so keep your ice scoop handy to dip for any that fall off at the hole. One other bait is a small shiner minnow suspended under a bobber. This will often catch a few extra fish by just letting the rig set while you jig your other poles.

Spring crappies can make up for all the fishing time you spent all winter catching very little. There are lots of them in our waters and when you catch one, you’ll most likely catch several more as the school moves through.

Dan Bomkamp - Host of "How's Fishing"

Author of "Tag: A Boy, A Dog, A Quest"


Southwest Wisconsin Vacant Land For Sale

A New Threat To Our Fisheries

Every now and then someone gets a brilliant idea to import an exotic species to fix some problem. The Asian Beetle is one example of this. Anyone who has a houseful of these little stinkers in the fall knows what a mess they are.

Now the Mississippi basin is being attacked by yet another invasive species, the Asian Carp. They were introduced in the south to help keep wastewater ponds clean. Of course there were floods and now they are spreading all over the country. They are poised to enter the Mississippi via the Chicago Ship Canal and once in this system, they will spread out across the entire region.

Why worry about them? Well they eat everything in sight and breed like there is no tomorrow. In a short time they force the native species out and if they aren’t stopped, there will be nothing but Asian Carp in our waters. Not a pleasant thought.

They do have a funny habit of leaping from the water when a boat passes. While it makes funny videos for TV, they have been known to injure boaters when they jump into a moving boat. So, for now, keep your fingers crossed, but it’s doubtful we can stop them. It’s hard to stop Mother Nature.

Dan Bomkamp - Author of "The Adventures of Thunderfoot"
Host of the radio show "How's Fishing"

Southwest Wisconsin Real Estate

Whitetail Report 2010

All of us whitetail hunters like to think that we’re a little better than the “average Joe” when it comes to harvesting trophy deer. As good as we may be I’m sure you’ve noticed as I have that there’s a few hunters that seem to take wall hangers on such a regular basis that it has to be more than “just good luck”. A careful study of these overachievers will reveal that they have at least three things in common. One is that they spend a lot of time in the woods. As the saying goes, “you can’t shoot a buck while watching football”. The second thing they have in common is a quality area to hunt and intimate knowledge if it. The third thing that repeatedly puts their name in the record books is an above average knowledge of their quarry.

While most of us don’t have as much time to hunt as we would like and we all can’t afford hundreds of acres of prime habitat, more knowledge does help us optimize what we have. The QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) is here to help us do just that. They’ve just rolled out the Whitetail Report 2010 which is a wealth of information on harvest statistics, habitat management and knowing which deer to harvest to improve your deer herd. I’ve attached the link below or you can just go to their website at http://www.qdma.com/ to speed your learning curve.

http://www.qdma.com/pdfs/WhitetailReport2010.pdf

I hope you enjoy the report as I have and remember it’s never too early to plan for the 2010 season!

Jay Frazier - REALTOR
Broker with Mossy Oak Properties of Wisconsin

Looking for a Record Walleye?

Spring walleye fishing isn’t far off and most walleye fishermen dream of catching that huge trophy fish for their wall every time they go on the water. While there are trophies out there, they are rare and hard to find. In this part of the world, the winter months keep our fish from growing all year long so real giants are very few and far between.

The Wisconsin record walleye was caught way back in 1933, by Tony Brothers in High Lake in Vilas County. It was a whopping 18 pounds. For years the World Record was held by Maubry Harper with a 25# fish caught in Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee. This record has been erased from the books because photo analysis by the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame showed that the fish couldn’t have weighed any more than 18 pounds. It was never weighed on a certified scale.

The new World Record Walleye is now a 22# 11oz. fish caught in 1982, in Greer’s Ferry Lake, another huge southern impoundment. Three years earlier a 21# 12 oz. fish was caught in the same lake.
 So if you’re looking for a record walleye, you better pack up and head south; but if you’re satisfied with some good eating fish, you can get all you want right here on the Wisconsin or Mississippi rivers.

Dan Bomkamp
Author & Host of "How's Fishing"

Southwest Wisconsin Real Estate