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Location: SE Wisconsin | So much for global warming, this spring is the coldest of the last 15 years for us Wisconsinites, how about you? Local farmers have been delayed long enough from their spring plowing in preparation for the planting season and it doesn’t look like it will get better anytime real soon. So what does that mean for those of us, at least here in the southeastern portion of Wisconsin who are waiting on our tippy-toes for May 7th to show up so we can finally cure our restlessness for Musky fishing? I spent a morning overlooking an alfalfa field waiting on a turkey only to review pictures from this time last year versus how the field looked this year and the difference was tremendous. Last year showed plush green alfalfa over my ankles be mid-April, but this year the field looked more like an abused lawn with mud everywhere and only sparse new growth from this year’s crop. So how does that relate to musky fishing? One thing is certain, if the plants aren’t growing and the trees are barely budding above water, green growth below the lakes surface is sure to be trailing slowly behind and I proved this to myself on a recent crappie trip out my backdoor on a small lake here in Waukesha County. What’s more to this late blossoming spring is the cold water we’ve remained steady at since late March. Where the 2010 Gamefish season showed us upper 50’s to low 60’s in the Lake Country area of SE Wisconsin, the current water temps on these same lakes hasn’t breached the 50 degree mark yet – burrrr. Guess I’m expecting a few more of the bigger females caught this opener versus seasons of old as I think the spawn hasn’t so much been delayed as it has been stretched out. It should be interesting out there, to say the least… I think a lot of angry protective males will be chasing. Thoughts? |
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Posts: 1036
| Slow and shallow man, slow and shallow.
Imagine what the musky opener up north is going to look like if this weather pattern holds to Memorial Day...... |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | I hear there's still ice skimming 60% of the lakes up there... Ouch!
Edited by Sam Ubl 4/27/2011 9:21 AM
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Posts: 19
| How is water clarity going to be? Living on the west end of P and as of now clarity is less then half a foot |
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| The phenomenon can not be labeled as global warming, but rather global climate change. The fact that you have noticed such a dramatic climatic difference between two subsequent years (be it hot or cold), and indeed through the past eight to ten years, is testament to this theory. How the local aquatic ecosystems react, well, that's another theory best left to time. Politics. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Most lakes are open in the Rhinelander area today. |
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Posts: 146
Location: where the fish are... | We have just not been fortunate enough to have a sustained warming trend this spring. Here in northern IL we are still seeing low 50 degree water temps but they have been up to 54 and then back to 48 and now they are slowly rising. Oh well I guess it will make for an interesting season. |
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Posts: 200
Location: Minnesota | vegas492 - 4/27/2011 9:10 AM
Slow and shallow man, slow and shallow.
That's NOT what she said . . .
I'm in MN and I have to wait until June 4. It should be plenty warm by then. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | I would rather see it colder than warmer so temps take longer to get to 80,otherwise we will have to stop fishing in s wis by mid july again,colder temps will make for a better sucker bite. |
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| Guest - 4/27/2011 9:29 AM
The phenomenon can not be labeled as global warming, but rather global climate change. The fact that you have noticed such a dramatic climatic difference between two subsequent years (be it hot or cold), and indeed through the past eight to ten years, is testament to this theory. How the local aquatic ecosystems react, well, that's another theory best left to time. Politics.
Really we have global climate change? Brilliant! if there wasn't the entire state would still be covered under 150 feet of ice. Last spring was warmer than normal this one is cooler - hmm the two years = historical averages...this is nothing new...global climate change LOL |
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| Timber, timber, timber nuff said
Global climate change, wow, brilliant. Thats like when davey nelson said during a brewers game. "if he throws another ball on this 2-2 count, the count will be full"
heres your sign |
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Posts: 999
| Last year's northern opener we were greeted with 70 water temps and mid summer patterns! Each year is different, there is no trend leading one way or the other. I dont believe in that climate change stuff. |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | I blame Obama for these unseasonally colder temps. Definitely his fault.
Slow 'n shallow for me, as well. I've been reviewing a map of the lake I'm hitting on opening weekend and I've got some ideas. I didn't say they were good ideas yet... I just said, I've got some ideas. We'll see how they pan out. |
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | DH Buc is up at his cottage to supposedly put his dock and shore station in Crescent Lake in Oneida County. It has open water 20-30' wide along shore. It is like playing Russian Roulette as if he puts the pier in and the wind picks up, very bad things can happen to the pier sections!
The real sad part is that there were a pair of loons swimming in that area. I hope that they brought fish sandwiches to eat!
Edited by Steve Van Lieshout 4/27/2011 5:50 PM
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Posts: 153
| I stopped in at Smokey's yesterday on Pewaukee and looked in the water. It looks milky pea green with visibilty to about one foot. Sure hope it clears up soon. Didn't get a chance to go to the west end boat launch to see if the water was any clearer. Here's hoping! |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | Ice still covers Big V, but is starting to pull back from the shore... Yesterday I saw about 6 deer out on the lake by Spring Bay,... And today we got 4" of wet snow in Virgina and Hibbing........ What a sick joke!
Jerome |
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Posts: 880
Location: New Berlin,Wisconsin,53151 | Can you say suckers.....what are they going for now. Last fall we're paying 7-8 dollars ea. It is going to be a weird start though, I'm probably the least prepared than I've ever been. The pier isn't in and all the lure haven't been gone over. I still have a couple of reels that need work, not to mention the boat. Batteries have to go in and it hasn't even seen the water yet. Weird start for this guy......
Netman |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | Just don't wind up in the emergency room the night before the opener like my good friend, James Formolo, who couldn't stop playing with his lures in anticipation and eventually drove one home past the barb in his hand... lol, that's the best kind of sucks! |
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | The ice went out completely on Crescent Lake.
The dock is in, the shorestation will be in today.
Life is good! |
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| One cold spring in Wisconsin doesn't mean anything. The entire south has been under extreme heat for most of the spring. 2011 is set to be one of the top 10 hottest years ever recorded. Parts of northern Canada have been having an unusually warm spring. It really cracks me up when I hear people say "So much for global warming" and stuff like that after a snow storm or something. It just shows you how shallow they are. Slow and shallow. Yup, you got that right! |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I was up in Northern Wis less than weeks ago to get the boats and gear ready while also putting my ice fishing stuff away...while it was cold and we got 8" of snow the lake was slowly creeping open...and this week, the ice was gone.
I have a feeling this walleye opener in NE Wis will be a mixed bag of ugliness, just like most have been for the last 15 years.
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| ManBearPig? Are you cereal? |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | guest - 4/28/2011 1:57 PM ...2011 is set to be one of the top 10 hottest years ever recorded. Hahahahahahahahahaha. Ladies & Gentlemen, our brand new, idiot-savant, online, board-certified, muskie first meteorologist! And for his next trick, he's going to stop hiding behind that guest moniker and grow a pair of balls! Step right up, folks and watch 'em grow! 
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Posts: 416
Location: Madtown, WI | Yep, it was a cold April in Wisconsin. Therefore we obviously can draw the conclusion that all that global warming talk was baloney. I mean jeez, look at the alfalfa!
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/science/01/22/nasa.warmest.decade.data... |
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Posts: 32
Location: Janesville, Wi | I really don't mid the cooler water temps for the opener as long as we are not looking at a cooling trend. Supposed to start warming up tomorrow. As long as the water temps are are rising we all will be OK. Sam always whack a ton of fish on P he's da man on that lake. I do better O. Hit Illinois up for a few fish this spring already. I has been cool down there too but every time the water temps were rising a degree or two the fish ate. Good luck too all. |
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Posts: 19
| west end of Pewaukee has cleared up a lot the past few days, water temperature...cold. |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | Seth, I'll hold your hand through this one.. The Global Warming comment was a figure of speech and not intended to start a discussion about annual climate trends. No need to form enemies through your buff keyboard  Oh, and not to add more insult to injury, but I'll return the favor of adding a URL hyperlink that YOU should check out: It's all in the title - the actual article is as worthless as your last comments
http://charlestonteaparty.org/climate-geek-moment/
Plain and simple, it's been cold and the water temps are still way down from this time last year and in many years past so how we attack the water is the crucial factor between the two different sides of the fence; success or failure.
I remember a couple years ago when we had a very warm spring in SE WI and the fish were definitely in post spawn mode. The males remained in the shallows for nearly two weeks after opener in great numbers. The panfish had a reason to hug warm shallow bays in quantities I've never before seen on one particular body of water and it just so happened to be full of defensive males still protective of their spawn sites. For the first several days of the season, the amount of belly up panfish in this particular area were so many one would think chemicals from the green lawns on shore were poisoning these fish, but if you were privvy to the reality of the situation, you were well aware that these belly up, half-dead bluegill and crappie were victims of aggression from the musky in the area. If you spent enough time in this area, you would have seen muskies darting around scattering schools of these panfish and now and again another one would come to the surface, only to try swimming disoriented spirals back down and then float back up. None of these panfish had bite marks...
Minor lesson learned was that these protective males weren't hunting these panfish, they were 'nosing' them with their mouths closed - literally ramming into them and disorienting them with what I assume was intended to force these panfish away from their spawn sites like a smallie protects its bed, but it wasn't working. The weather conditions building up to this week hatched some serious zooplankton, and in turn came several layers of the food chain starting at the bottom. To consistently produce in this area for that first week or so of the season you couldn't throw just anything in here, you had to stir the pot. The panfish were getting harrassed just suspending in a non-mobile shool just for being in the area, but to get bit you had to really P-off the musky. We found success in two ways: 1) while they were protective, they also have to eat, so immitating the wounded was key here. Let the twitch bait sit on the surface and dead stick it back. 2) Make your bait a few enemies by ripping up weeds, pulling it through the schools of the very panfish you were immitating and crashing it into the bottom and stirring up silt - watch your bait get literally smoked!
Success for that first half of May depended greatly on being aware of the past weather trends and understanding how, a) the food chain reacts to these conditions, and b) how water temps and weather conditions affected the mood and nature of our favorite quarry. Discussing this years current conditions is the intent of this thread... Not if the world is truly melting or not 
Edited by Sam Ubl 4/29/2011 9:19 AM
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Posts: 200
Location: Minnesota | Guest - 4/28/2011 4:34 PM
ManBearPig? Are you cereal?
Sooper cereal. |
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| Sam,
Can you expand on what you mean by "protective?" Muskies are broadcast spawners and do not exhibit parental care as male centrarchids do (smallmouths, largemouths, bluegills, etc.). |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | Males are the first to the shallows to locate a spawning site and hold down the fort until the female comes in, drops and heads back out to recover. Meanwhile, the males will stick around generally a couple of weeks to protect those spawning sites. This is where spawning scars come from on many of those males you catch early on in the season, aggressiveness in protecting their general area where their holding down the fort, so to speak. My reference to smallies protecting their bedswas a little vague to my point, but was intended to suggest the intensity behind their agression during these times, not so much to refer to protecting a said, "bed".
So while they may not 'herd' a cloud of fry like a male smallie will do after they hatch, they do innately protect the general spawning area. Survival of the fittest - luckily in the particular lake I was referring to, Pike aren't of much competition. For that reason I imagine these muskies in this lake are apt to spawning as shallow as they do there versus spawning depths of water sharing competitive forces of Pike and Musky. I have to believe it IS innate, as I said before, to protect these areas from the likes of carp muddying up the areas and suffocating the eggs, as well as keep other fish away from the area to give the eggs a chance, and so on..
This may also be a light bulb to why the early spring yields so many follows from the "in the 30's" males that rarely convert on the follow in that first week or two. Maybe their following away from their basecamp to make sure your 'lure' is going away - may not be a bad idea to pause and make that follower think your lure is considering turning around to go back into the protected area.... give it a good hard twitch to fishtale the lure out as if it were turning around and see if that doesn't instigate a reactive and aggressive strike.?.?
Edited by Sam Ubl 4/29/2011 11:25 AM
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