Wisconsin

Fishing in Wisconsin

Fishing in Wisconsin is a great idea for those who are crazy for cheese, beer and walleye and musky fishing. There are enormous waters in form of lakes and rivers spread throughout the state offering a great scope for walleye and other fishing.

The Eagle River chain of lakes

The best places to fish

The whole state, as such, contains some of the world-class lakes to fish. Northwoods of Wisconsin is the fascination for anglers who are keen for walleye and other fishing. The Eagle River chain of lakes is another fantastic destination. Minocqua, the Hayward Lakes, St. Germain, Door County Lakes, and Bayfield County Lakes too offer great walleye fishing. Other fish, which are the centers of attraction of anglers, are Northern Pike and Bass, and one of the most challenging and thrilling is the Wisconsin Musky. Lake Geneva, Lake Winnebago, Castle Rock Lake, Green Lake and the Great Lake Michigan will give you the pleasure of full-fledged fishing, so also Lake Wisconsin, and Lake Mendota.

Tackle and Fishing Tips

To locate Walleye, back trolling with a slip-sinker is perfect. Start with bait-fish, but keep handy a few night crawlers and leeches. When the fish is under deep cover, use a slip-bobber rig, which will be the most effective when natural bait used in snag-infested area. Special jig heads which can stand at an angle of 45 degree on the bottom, tipped with a large minnow, can give best catch.

For walleye hidden in aquatic flora, a best technique for fishing at night is, long-lining with a minnow shaped floater-diver plug or a night crawler or leech on a harness. Let 120 to 150 feet of line troll with the bait just above the line of the vegetation so that it will touch the plants in between.

The deeper you fish the longer a fishing rod you need for a perfect hook-set. In mid-summer, when walleyes are fussy, use a 7-feet rod for bobber-fishing and deep rigging. In case of long-line trolling, or running boards or lead-core fishing, you will need even longer rod, that is, 8-feet.

Wisconsin Musky

Musky or the muskellunge is the State Fish of Wisconsin and one of the most important trophies. And it is the most difficult, challenging and extremely exciting trophy too. For the musky fishing you will have to explore the waters which are of the type between two extremes, that is, large, deep, clear waters (lakes) or large flowage, with little aquatic flora and good sucker or cisco populations.

Tackle for Musky

Musky can be as large as 70 pounds. Its tackle has rapidly evolved during 90’s, along with the raising popularity. Traditional tackle is of short, stout baitcasting rods, heavy braided line, wire leaders, and baits which have a several types of large bucktail spinners, diving crakbaits, jerkbaits, or live suckers. Nowadays, many anglers prefer lighter-action rods of 6 ½ to 7 feet or even longer. The new high-tech lines are fine, still very strong.

Releasing Musky

It should be seen that the fish survives well after it is released. Some tips for handling the fish, so that it survives after releasing, are:

• Get ready with long-nose pliers or hook remover and a wire cutter to cut the hooks.
• Don’t play with the fish till it is completely exhausted.
• If possible, manage to keep the fish in water. If you want to measure it, you can do it by laying the ruler in the water alongside the fish, so that the fish won’t panic.
• If you want to take a picture with the fish, take it at the earliest holding it horizontally, to avoid injury to the spine and tissue of the head.
• When you are about to release it in the water, hold it upright inside the water and let it regain its strength.

Licenses

Resident and non-resident Wisconsin fishing licenses can be purchased online, as well as you can locate the locations for their purchases online.

By purchasing a license, you help to protect, conserve and enhance the fishing for present as well as for future. This is because license fees support to pay for fishery and hatchery management, habitat development and preservation, fishing and conservation education, endangered species program, lake maps and other literature, and several such valuable programs.