ICE REPORT:
2/4/2021
Treeline goes out to 4 miles out from Stockbridge with an ATV bridge on the main crack. Brothertown's Treeline goes out 5 miles with a bridge on the main crack. Quinney's Treeline goes out 5 miles. Majority of the ice is 13 to 16 inches thick. Perch some walleyes and more and more whitebass are being caught. Eelpout are spawning. Sturgeon spearing opens next Saturday. Bitter cold temps are forecasted with highs in the single digits for the next 9 days and with temps in the negative below zero's at night. Excellent ice making weather!
1/28/2021
More sturgeon hoodies will be shipped to us this Saturday and should arrive in store, in about a week.. We have sturgeon gaffs, decals, ice skimmers, lots of decoys and other sturgeon spearing items. More spears will be arriving late next week..
1/ 27/2021
Bite seems to be picking up, especially whitebass and Perch. Brothertown and Brickyard are talking about putting tree lines out this Saturday, Pipe on maybe Monday,
if the ice conditions measure 12 inches minimum at all the ice checking spots that they check. There is an ATV Bridge out of Quinney. More and more trucks are driving around. Sturgeon Spearing opens February 13th.
1/24/2021
Trucks are driving out of Brothertown and Quinney. There is an ATV Bridge out of Quinney. There is a main
working crack that runs north and south from Pipe to almost Quinney.
Water clarity is at about 9 feet.
Sturgeon Spearing opens February 13th.
1/20/2021
Perch, Walleyes and Whitebass are
being FINICKY to say the least. People seem to be throwing everything at them. Jigging Raps, size #3 Rippin Raps, Kastmaster Spoons, K-Rips and many other baits are being used to try an trigger bites. There is a main working crack that runs north and south from Pipe to almost Quinney. Water clarity is at about 9 feet.
Sturgeon Spearing opens February 13th.
1/13/2021
Fishing is good.. Perch, walleyes, whitebass are
being caught. Jigging Raps in fluoro colors, Swedish pimples
(hammered gold, orange, fluoro red) have been good with minnow heads on the treble
hook There are a few working cracks on
the lake to be cautious of also. There is a main working crack that runs north and south from Pipe to almost Quinney.. Water clarity is at about 10 feet.
Sturgeon Spearing opens February 13th.
1/8/2021
Fishing continues to be good. Perch, walleyes and a few whitebass are being caught. Jigging Raps in chrome based colors, Swedish pimples (gold, copper fluoro red) have been good with minnow heads on the treble hook Perch have been really niced size this year and behind them are the next year class of 6 to 7 inchers. There are a few working cracks on the lake to be cautious of also. Water clarity is at about 9 feet. Sturgeon Spearing opens February 13th.
1/6/2021
People are venturing out to 2 miles off of Gladwater. Finding ice thickness in the 5 to 6 inch range out that far. Starting to get perch and a few walleyes. Guys are also walking out of Pipe, Brothertown and Quinney...
1/4/2021
East side Gladwater (Calumetville) has been the most solid spot so far. People are starting to venture out of Pipe as well. 4 wheelers are out at both spots. 6 to 7 inches of ice. weather has been good for making ice. People are starting to walk off of Brothertown, Stockbridge and the High Cliff Marina. Pound bottom with swedish pimples and size 2 or 3 jigging Rapala's. Tipping the Raps with red or white spikes. Dead sticking a rosy red minnow very tight to bottom is good for perch.
1/1/2021
Ice is building on the east side. Fishing in the Fond du lac marina (Big Hole) area, Panfish are being caught. Gladwater area up to a half mile out. 5 to 6 inches of ice.. A few 4 wheelers and snowmobiles are venturing out. Ice is kinda rough past 1/2 mile out.
12/24/2020 Ice fishing is underway! Asylum Bay has been good. lot of smaller sized bluegills and perch. Hearing the ice is 4 inches thick there. Walk out with a spud bar.
6/01/2019 Trolling crankbaits in the mud has been good. Crawler harnesses are starting to produce fish as well..
5/11/2019 jigs and leeches are good on the reefs. trolling flicker shads and salmo hornets in 8 to 12 feet of water has also been good
6/25/2018 crawler harnesses are good. orange/gold and also blue/ purple have been good color combos
5/25/2018 walleyes are being caught on crankbaits trolled by the river mouth. Flicker Shads and size 5 flicker minnows have been the best. Jigging the reefs with a leech has also been good!
-13-2016 Ok guys, after tons of phone calls the last week and a half about ice conditions on Lake Winnebago, Here is the ice report. First off, please use your head when venturing out on the ice. We are not responsible for your actions and I certainly would not venture any where near the middle of the lake yet. Yes we will have sturgeon spearing as everyone was worried about it. Many old timers have seen ice conditions like this before and have always had sturgeon spearing. With more sub zero temperatures coming Sunday, the ice will only get better. We are fully stocked and are ready to rock the this ice season!
The south, south east and east side is locked up. With ice thickness up 8 to 10 inches on the south and south east end and anywhere from 4 inches to 6 inches on the east side, I am sure this weekend tons of guys will be out in force walking and riding sleds and 4 wheelers. I would for the most part STAY AWAY from creek mouths and the fox river mouths for sure.
Water is dirty, but over time, it will clear up. Think about using louder baits and more glow baits to allow the fish to see and hear them better when jigging. If using tip-ups, put 2 small, brightly colored spinner blades ahead of the hooks to give it more flash. One hot chartreuse and one hot orange works really good. When the water clears up, try using a gold and a purple blade on the rig.
If you have never been on the Bay for Whitefish, we have an amazing deal going for you guys right now. See the attached flyer for the detailed info. $100 gets you the bus ride, guided trip, raffle prizes, breakfast and lunch, heated shacks and a whole lot more!
Best of luck and we'll see you soon!
1-7-2016 Snowing right now and frigid temps coming tomorrow with highs in the low teens and sub zero at night for the next 4 -5 days. Exactly what we need to lock this lake up!
1-7-2016 RAIN! Not good having rain this time of year in January.
1-3-2016.
Making ice Finally! Asylum Bay, Fond Du Lac Harbor, and Stockbridge harbor are all frozen over. Guys are starting to fish them. We need more cold weather.....
Fishing Report for May 28th, 2015:
Owning a bait and tackle store, you do not really get to go fishing as quite often as you'd like to. I try to give up to date, correct-worthy information for the guys that want to listen, use it and maybe catch some fish. Well, yesterday I made it a point to get out on the lake with my good friend Eric and try out a few baits and new customs and see what program we could put together to put fish in the boat. I know there are a ton of tournaments the next month to month and a half, 3 of them this weekend that I know of, so my gps points will be kept in my head, but this information can be fine tuned to be used wherever you fish on the lake.
When trolling, your boat may be in 13 feet of water on your locator graph, but keep in mind that your boards may be in 10 feet on the shorline side and 14-16 feet on the deeper lake side based on how far out you run your boards. Keep that in mind when targeting your fish or when guys say, "I got em in 10 feet". Does that mean the fish were in 10 feet of water? or that the boat was in 10 feet of water and they actually caught them in 6 feet? It makes a BIG difference. Pay close attention to details as it will make you a better fisherman.
Sometimes I run my boards waaaay far out and other times I run them extremely tight together and closer to the boat. Yesterday we played around a little bit to see what the fish wanted and it didn't take but a few minutes to figure it all out. They wanted the boards TIGHT together, far out on the shoreline side, and tight together, and tight to the boat on the deeper lake side.
We trolled the east shoreline anywhere from 6 feet to 16 feet. We found schools of walleyes, whitebass and sheepshead. The best action came from the 13 foot depth for us (boat depth). We started trolling at 1.3 mph which was too slow for this time. 1.9 mph was the right speed for the bigger fish.
Best 3 custom colors were "Krazy Kidd", "Boneyard" and "Erie Eyes" in either #7 Flicker Shad or the #7 Flicker Minnow. Both baits worked equally well and roughly caught the same amounts of fish. The factory color flicker shad "Gold/Black" also produced a few fish. The best running depth was 70 feet back on both bait models. Flicker Minnows were run on the inside boards and the flicker shads were on the outside boards, because the #7 flicker minnow does run a little bit deeper than the #7 flicker shad.
Caught and released some nice white bass, a 19 inch sauger which was released, kept a bunch of walleyes for the pan and also released a bunch more walleyes.
Great to be back on the water again.
Keep on Rippn-Lips!......
Fishing Report for 4/26/15
Finally some decent weather patterns are flowing in on our state. Looks
like fishing opener this weekend is going to be a great!
Walleyes are being caught on the east shoreline trolling small
crankbaits like flicker shad #5's, and salmo hornets. Metallic clown,
purple and pinks are working good. Along with trolling, the slip
bobber/leech bite is heating up! Slip bobbers paired with a small jig in
green or orange tipped with a leech has been working good in the
evening hours especially. Crappies are again starting in the harbors. Been seeing some nice ones
coming out. It should get better as this water continues to warm up..
Big smallmouth bass are really popping on the rock piles! Seen a few in
the 18 inch range and numerous smaller fish in the 12 to 15 inch range.
They are feeding heavy on crayfish as the fish I am seeing are throwing
them up...
We will be open at 5am this saturday and sunday and are fully stocked
with livebait selections and also a few new customs should be here by
then too..
Stockbridge Harbor Crappie Time! 4/15/2015
Crappies are in! Guys are starting to pull crappies in the Stockbridge
harbor and calumet county harbor. Actually all of the harbors will hold crappies at this time of the year as they search for warmer water and get ready for the spawn, Traditional gold hooks, split shots and a
small bobber (float) is a good way to catch some. Sometimes if you want
bigger fish, use soft plastics and cast them. When using soft plastics,
the ones in the picture are some of my favorite customs that I use.
Everything except the bottom left two wedgies are custom poured for us.
Put them on a small dart head jig, a plain old ball jig head or rig them
in tandem on a 3 way swivel and you are in business! Work shallow in the water column at first, as the fish may be at the top in the warmer water. Set your bobber at about 1-1/2 feet and try that first. If nothing takes the bait, continue to go deeper until the active crappies are found.
Crappies spawning Info: In early spring, crappies migrate to the
shorelines to stage, congregate and lay their eggs. When the temperature
hits about 44 degrees, they congregate in certain areas and search out
that warmer water and start getting more active as the water temperature
increases. The first "wave" of fish come in the shallows for the spawn,
eagerly searching for areas to make their nests and stake out their
claim for the spawn. The females actually spawn when the water hits 57
to 59 degrees. The females are fragile at this time, because they can be
picked off pretty easily, so CPR the females if possible.
If we get a warm/cold, then warm cold again type of spring, the spawn
might not happen until the water warms back up again and stabilizes.
Sometimes a female will not lay the eggs if the temperature warms and
cools too much. She will absorb the eggs and miss the spawn. Male
crappies will make the nest for the females and will guard the nest and
babies until they are ready to swim off on their own. Male crappies are
very aggressive during the spawn when anything comes near the nest they
will attack it and fight it off. This is where the males are vulnerable
to fishermen, as they are very easy to catch at this time. See the map
picture as this is a general guideline of when the spawn actually occurs
when the water temps hit that magic mark of around 57/59 degrees. 
   
Good Luck Guys!!
Bill
Ice Fishing Report 1/22/2015
Stockbridge the tree line is out 6 miles and ice is safe to travel out that far. People are getting walleyes, whitebass and occasional perch
Ice Report 1/7/2015
Making solid ice now with temperatures hovering at zero degrees and -10 to -17 below zero at night for the last 3 days or so. Good ice on the east side is at Gladwater, Artesia Point and just north of there. There is still a little open water near Brothertown that the ducks are keeping open. Fishermen that are fishing near Gladwater are catching crappies, small walleyes and an occasional pike. Jigging spoons, Jigging rapala's and other jigging methods are working well.
Ice Report 12/22/2014:
Finally making some ice on the east side. Local guys are venturing out. you can walk out to the first ice heave but don't go beyond it. Anywhere from 8 to 10 inches of ice up to that first heave. Some perch and a couple small walleyes have been caught. With that warm up we had and that rain, the Stockbridge harbor on the far northeast corner, opened up from the creek water runoff. So I would still stay away from that particular area for now. There is STILL open water on the lake. If you do not know what you are doing, or it is your first time out, use your head and put safety first. Go with someone that knows what they are doing and have some experience on the lake. I have been seeing a ice shantys being pulled by vehicles so I know guys are getting ready to get em out on the ice. Few of my prostaffers hit the ice and did pretty good with a mix of big perch and crappies.
  Asylum Bay: up to 10 inches of ice. Guys are fishing the 10 foot hole and getting perch (alot of dinks) and a few gills. They are being caught on the ol' basic standby methods of small ice jigs and spikes or waxies. I have been hearing glow colors are best. Black Wolf 7-9 inches of ice. fish are spotty, but when you find em, they are good sized. Clam Bomb Jigs are good, slender spoons and also a dull orange and or gold plated tungsten jig has also been good. Pound the mud with your jigs, spoons and whatever it is you have tied on. slowly start jigging it up from the bottom and watch your electronics closely as the fish will follow it up and up, It is at this point of the "chasing game" of the fish that determines if you will catch that fish or it swims off un interested. Alot of these fish are following it up 8 feet and then either hitting it or just simply swimming away. Always have a second rod rigged up with an identical presentation, but just a different color, so that you can get it right back down there if that fish that just followed it up & up & up and didn't hit. Pound the mud and get them to bite. I typically start with a #2 swedish pimple in the hammered copper color or copper ice, but know from experience to have my second rod rigged up with a hot chartreuse color or the white ice pimple. The best is yet to come!! Keep on Rippn-Lips!
Fishing Report for the east shore of Lake Winnebago 7/27/2014.
Perch: The perch have been active and aggressive. As the month of August comes in, the perch fishing will continue to get better and better. Currently the fish are in the rock/rubble/gravel areas in 10-12 feet of water. Dead sticking willow leaf jigging spoons, lead head jigs or a basic gold hook/split shot rig will put fish in your boat. Hellgrammites & Butter worms seem to be taking the bigger sized fish, and a small piece of night crawler or red worm also have been working. Make sure your bait is as close to the bottom as possible.
Willow Leaf Spoons
Walleye: The walleye fishing has been great at times and tough at times as well. Trolling Berkley Flicker Shads, Storm Smash Shads or Hot N' Tots have been the ticket. The rocky shorelines from Stockbridge south towards Brothertown have been decent. Fish in the 5-9 foot areas and trolll in the 1.7 to 2.3 mph range. Flicker Shads in "Shad, Black Gold Sunset, Rainbow Trout and the new Pro Flash Flickers in Flashy Red, Flashy Purple Candy and Flashy Sunset have been really good. Storm Smash Shads in the Blue/Pink Fire UV, Blueberry Glitter and Chrome/Yellow Perch colors also have been good. Some guys are starting to dead stick basic half a crawler rigs just off the bottom with larger sized hooks in the size 2 and 1 hook sizes.
  
Catfish: The catfish have been very active on the east shore of the lake. Using nightcrawlers and or leeches in the evenings have been very productive for the cats. slip bobber rigs cast from shore, or a simple slip sinker rig both have been producing well. Cut bait in the Fox river has also been fair when used on a bottom rig.
Bass: Bass have been active for quite some time now. Casting topwater baits close to shore in the early mornings and later in the evenings has been really good. During the early to mid day hours using a senko wacky rig, or burning a large gold spinnerbait has been the ticket. One customer nailed 14 bass in one morning with the biggest being 19 inches!
Stop in and see us in Stockbridge and we will help you put more fish in your hands!
Rippn-Lips Tackle Co.
|
