Here's what George Langley of the Eagle River Fishing Guide Association, is reporting about fishing in the Eagle River area:

FISHING WITH THE GUIDES

1/31/10

by George Langley

While the colder weather could be unpleasant to live through, it sure was great for finally building some better ice. We now have much better conditions out there - with thicker ice and less slush to contend with. You will find many more lakes now that guys are driving on. If you drive on the ice, use caution and check thickness if you are going of the ice roads out there. Some more fresh snow wouldn't hurt the snowmobilers either. All in all, we have pretty good mid winter conditions going for us now. Notice that the days are now starting to get appreciably longer? That's always a great feeling, and it gives us more daytime to enjoy being outdoors. On the weekends with nice weather we've noticed a great number of people fishing, snowshoeing, skiing and just wanting to be outside.

Walleye fishing has been that usual mixed bag for this time of year. Some guys have reported great action on tipups - especially in a narrow time frame from 4:30 to 5:30 daily. Some of our small to midsized lakes have shown a pretty good feeding window daily. Just fish the weed edges and dropoffs with medium shiners. We also are getting some reports now of pretty good afternoon jigging in deeper water for walleye on some of the bigger lakes.

Northern action has been limited to small to mid sized fish lately, with the usual pattern of afternoon weed action on tipups  This will improve, with larger fish showing up, when the weather warms a little as it is supposed to do this week. Most of our fertile, mid sized weedy lakes will produce good northern action for the rest of the season.

Panfish action is getting interesting, even with the colder weather. The deeper water fishing for perch has been much more productive in the last several weeks and continues to produce some nice catches of these great tasting fish. There are schools of perch moving over mud flats, rooting out mayfly larvae (wigglers) and feeding on them daily. This is a great patter to fish, and will be quite productive for the rest of the season.

Bluegill action has been OK, but it seems to be confined to small to mid sized fish. Perhaps the coming warmer temps will produce some of the bigger fish.

Crappies have been hitting in deeper water also. The trick with these fish is to locate deep brush piles or real deep weed edges that hold the schools of these fish.

We're certainly looking for some good fishing over this upcoming weekend if it warms as predicted.

Good luck and good fishn'

For more information about fishing the Eagle River area call us or visit our website.:

*George Langley, Eagle River Fishing Guide Association,        715-479-8804;

www.eagleriverfishingguides.com

FEBRUARY 2010

NORTHWOODS REPORT

Mid winter is here and there are many activities to do in the Eagle River area. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing conditions are excellent. These are quiet sports and therefore, offer excellent opportunities for viewing wildlife. The snowmobile activity will peak this month and the trails are in very good to excellent condition. Obviously, additional snow will only improve the trails as they are used. The further you travel from Eagle River, the better the trails become. It is important to check the chamber website for current trail conditions.

Ice fishing in the area remains very good for all specie of fish. As of this writing, the conditions on the lakes are improving. But hopefully, a thaw and then some severe cold temperatures will improve ice depths so vehicle travel is safe. I advise checking with local sport shops for current conditions on specific lakes. Bluegills, crappie and perch are being caught in large numbers and some very nice size fish are being taken. Walleye are also being caught, especially in the early morning and late evenings. Lake humps and weed edges are the best locations to find fish. Northern are responding well and are being caught all day long. A good strategy is to set a couple of tip-ups for northern and fish for panfish in the same area.

The two big events of the month are Pond Hockey, on Dollar Lake February 12th to the 14th and Klondike Days which is held on February 20th and 21st. These two events offer excitement and many interesting things to do during the weekend.

The ice castle is up and it is gorgeous this year. Three thousand, eighty pound ice blocks were cut to build the structure. A DVD is available at the Chamber of Commerce for twelve dollars. It goes into detail as to how the castles from 1933 and on, are built, and it’s a real buy. Profits from the DVD’s go to the Eagle River Fire Department for fire prevention training for children.

Keep a tight line,

Yukon

715-479-3219

www.yukonjackegv.com

*Yukon Jack Outfitters,

1857 Scattering Rice Lake Rd.,

Eagle River, WI  54521,

715-479-3219; website: www.yukonjackegv.com

We can honestly say that there is no place on earth with as much variety of fishing opportunities in freshwater fishing. With literally hundreds of lakes of all sizes, and miles and miles of trout streams, plus the fishing in the Wisconsin River, you could fish every day of the open water season and never hit the same water twice. We have great fishing for trout, musky walleye, smallmouth & largemouth bass, northerns and all types of panfish. You can catch most of these species within the city limits of Eagle River.

Musky fishing is spectacular, with people travelling from all over the world to fish these great gamefish. The action starts on the Memorial Day weekend - and there is good fishing for them right from the start. Our variety of musky waters run from the Wisconsin and Eagle Rivers to lakes running from 50 to 4,000 acres. We also have a great variety of dark and clear water lakes for all weather conditions.When you are thinking musky you may want to fish them in the summer while on a family vacation. At this time of the year surface baits provide heart-stopping action - and you can fish early and late in the day while still boating or otherwise enjoying life with the family. One great thing to remember about musky is that they hit at any time - not just at a particular time of day, Fall musky fishing is the best of the trophy time, with numerous huge musky caught (and usually released) every year. This is the time that our many excellent area guides are very busy with musky clients.

Walleye fishing is also good, especially in the spring and fall. Our game fish season starts on the first weekend in May and the walleye are active from the start. Most opening weekends find some of the best fishing of the year, with the fish still in the shallows from spawning. May is a great time to fish walleye with light tackle along the shorelines. June finds the fish moving deeper, with good action experienced in deeper weeds and on mid-lake structure.
As the summer vacation period happens our guides will still find these great tasting fish daily, and many a vacation has been enhanced with an evening meal of fresh-caught walleye. They are located deeper in the summer, usually around mid-lake bars and reefs.
Fall walleye fishing is great, with days of 10 - 30 walleye not uncommon. This is the time of the year for fishing with jigs and larger minnows for big fish. You can also experience fine artificial bait luck at this time of year with crankbaits.

Northern pike abound in this area also, with a variety of lakes for these fish. We do have some trophy water for these fish, although most of our lakes contain mid-sized fish in good numbers. This is a great gamefish to introduce to you children to fishing for while on vacation, because of their aggressive nature and abundance.

This area has not been previously known as a hotbed for largemouth bass, but it is a real "sleeper" area for these fish. You will experience a huge variety of conditions and types of fishing for them, from 20 acre ponds to 2,000 acre lakes. More and more our guides have learned to take clients to out-of-the-way small bog lakes for these fish. Fish to 6 pounds are not uncommon, but most fish run in the 2-3 pound range.

Smallmouth bass are a different story - we have some of the best smallmouth fishing in the world right here. Catches of 50 fish a day are not uncommon, and many trophies are taken yearly. The smallies hit right from opening day on - and it again is a wonderful way to introduce your friend or children to gamefish fishing with a certainty of success. Another way of enjoying fishing for smallmouth is to flyfish for them. This is becoming a much more popular sport yearly. Many area guides have become adepot at this type of fishing.

Out trout fishing is also varied, with both streams and lakes available. The experience of wilderness fishing for trout along our hundreds of miles of streams is a great way to spend a summer day or evening. Most area streams are small, but loaded with fish. A number of our rivers or streams can be canoed.There is a good number of lakes and ponds for trout fishing also, and these fish are noted for hitting all season long.

One of the great benefits of coming to this area is the variety - there is ALWAYS some type of fish active and hitting. Bring a variety of rods, or just hire one of the many local guides and they will provide equipment for you.

Good luck and good fishing!