Fox River, Depere

[Eric Haataja]

The flat head bite is just getting going this report is a week old but fishing suckers and blugill near the rail road bridges and power plants at night is the best bet for big flat head, during the day channels are coming on stink bait and cut bait. a few ski's still in the river but most are heading out to the reefs and weed flats chasing bait.

Eric Haataja

[Eric Haataja]

Opps forgot to add the picture.

[Eric Haataja]

Filmed a show with John Gellispie this past week for eyes and catfish, we mainly were going to target big flatheads. Caught a few eyes casting cranks down town all nice fish, then fished current for flatheads and did pretty good. Caught our fish on Doc Chumley's bloody stink bait, live suckers, and cut bait.

Eric Haataja

[MLoppnow]

Don't know where to post about this fishery. Everybody is so up in arms, like no one knows there are Muskies there...SHEESH! Anyway, fished with a friend today from 11a-6p. Caught 2. 42 and 35. The wind was blowing the right direction so the river really wasn't that rough. There is definately a few smaller clouds of bait fish here and there but nothing like last year, at least not yet. We didn't have a problem with it anywhere. I'll post a picture of the 42 when my buddy sends it too me.

[muskie54956]

mloppminnow good job fishing has been tougher lately only got 1 tuesday that was 40 inches it was caught in 6 feet of water following the bouys between bridges long lining a jr depthraider in millar perch near bottom how deep were the ones u hooked into-might be going out tommorow if u dont mind a little bits of info i would deeply appreciate-last time out till my wedding saturday and then its time for a little fishing with the stud they call eric h..........good luck and may a slob grace your nets this late fall.....

[Eric Haataja]

There is a ton of walleyes making there way back up the river and fishing is awesome now for eyes up there in the fox. Casting cranks, or jigging it does not matter lots of 50+ fish days.
Eric

[Eric Haataja]

This has been a fantastic fall for catching both numbers and big eyes up in Deperee. Also has been an awesome bite for trolling for ski's.

I did a show with WI Waters and Woods and Cullen Jenkins from the packers came with and he was a good stick catching his share of nice fish. Cullen was a nice low keyed guy and easy to fish with.

Lots of eyes at the mouth, we caught them casting zips and shad raps up by the warm water discharge.

Eric Haataja

[benfishin]

Entire river is open now, few boats, not many. Havn't been out myself, but would think fishing would be excellent for walleyes. I might be out this week yet, I'll post if I do.

[Rempump]

My buddies were up here for the afternoon bite. Well afternoon fishing. They fished for 4 hours and ended up with 3 fish. 1 24incher and 2 small males. They fished 4-8 of water with jigs and minnows. People were catching more fish in the deeper water jigging. Not a lot but my buddy guessed he saw 25 or so caught. I guess they were stubborn and didn't want to move.

[yatch]

Made a trip up to Depere on Thur., the river is wide open and the fish are bitting. Managed 65 eyes between the two of us all on jigs and tails then small jigs with minnows after the wind change. Never fished deeper than 7 ft. I love the Fox. Fished from 8am until 3pm. Water temp was 33.3 This was my 4th. trip up there this fall and never less than 35 fish. WHAT A PLACE. (Remember these will be the good old days):D

[Steve White]

Yatch,

Great job pounding them eyes!! Let's see.. fish them in the boat, or fish them with tip-ups???? I'm going to have to try to get there next weekend!!! Just can't stand this ice stuff!!!!!

Tight lines,

Steve

[muskie54956]

well i broke down and went to fish depere again because of no ice that is safe enuff because boom bay has melted away and horshoe hole is very risky right now----we put the boat in at 11 am to 3pm--windy but the fish were still there-we managed about forty fish with nothing big mostly in the 18-20 inch range--we were deadsticking 1/16 to 1/8 oz techni glow jigs with med. milwaukees and med fatheads but shiners seemed 2 be the winner---fished just past fow point boat launch in front of the culvert past the brown apartment duplexs anchoring in 7-10 ft. of water--no hogs but it was nice 2 get out fishing-these fish r not hammering the jigs just that little extra weight to know they were there--have fun and will post back when the "big gills and eater fish r biting again on poygan and winnebago or shawano--good luck and have a happy new year!!!!!!!!!

"

[MLoppnow]

Fished with a friend for about 4 hours this afternoon. Managed 12 fish, smallest was 19 biggest was 22. All nice fish with the extra weight they all have on them now. We fished the breaks in front of the park. Very windy today, tough to stay in one spot.

[Eric Haataja]

I've heard the same thing, lots of nice eyes being caught in the 2-5 lb class up there now with 50+ fish days not uncommon now.

Eric Haataja

[yatch]

Lets see Jan 5th. 45 degrees with a lite south west wind, no ice anywhere and very little boat traffic. Catching walleyes from 19 to 22" Big fat healthy eyes weighing 3 - 5#. O yes, and all within a city block or so from the boat launch which has a Diary Queen and a bait store a short walk from the launch. And to top it off I boated three cats up to 28". Tell me where it gets any better than this. Died and went to heaven. Hope your day was as good as mine.

Yatch

[benfishin]

River is walkable now. As everyone knows, the river is full of fish! Enough said!

[BigMusky]

I heard that any spot with snow on it is VERY dangerous...

[benfishin]

My brother was out last night, caught a few walleye and two bonus northern jigging. Fished 3:30 till 5:30 I'm going out in an hr. Will report tomorrow:) 4inches of ice

[benfishin]

Good bite between 3 and 5 yestersday. Caught 20 or so, all jigging. One 4 lber. Lost one bigger in the hole. Ice depth 4 inches.

[benfishin]

You might have heard of the 2 fisherman helped off the ice last night, well that was my brother. He walked out off the fair grounds on the west shore. Fished until 730pm on 6 inches of ice. This is the third night out of four he had fished this spot. On his way back walking in his same footsteps, water started coming through the snow and the ice started sinking. He backed up, hit the ice with the spud. went through on one hit. All the ice around him was 1" to 1 1/2". He panicked and called it in. The rescue crew came, they also went through with their lifeboat trying to get to him. He fishes this river through the ice as much as I do, (which is alot). He knows where the current line is. My point is, this could happen to anybody, respect the ice. It woke me up, (to say the least) hearing my brother talk about what happened. He was really shaken up. Ironically, yesterday I was fishing driving an atv in upper door county. Had 11-12 inches everywhere. Driving along, something didn't look right. Drilled hole, 5 inches. 30 ft of water, no reefs, no current to speek of; I don't understand it. My days of driving my truck on the ice are over! ...... Oh ya, fishing report, he only caught 3 walleyes last night. Slowest night he had so far this year out there.

[Eric Haataja]

Man that's crazy!!!! Thank God he's alright!! The rivers can be very very tricky! Thanks for the update Ryan.

Eric

[BigMusky]

so the lesson is that if fishing is slow, run for your life. :eek:

[yatch]

As we all know this bite is the greatest thing going in spring. Since Erics site has the best most knowledgeable fisherman in the area on it, lets get the jump on the rest of the world with the river opening up. I had a friend that lives up there and drove across the 172 bridge each day going to work. He was my hot line to the river opening up. He moved, now I need help. This is the greatest walleye bite in the world on the day or two after opening. (My experience) Please share this info if anyone out there in computer land has a hot line on this info. I'll hit it the next day and offer a report on the day. Thanks in advance.

Yatch

[BigMusky]

Mr Smiley Yatch,

Shoot me a PM if you need a partner. I am hoping to get up there right after ice out too.

[benfishin]

Don't worry, I drive over the river every day on my way to work and back. I'll let you know. Right now you can fish open water in a boat from the mouth up to the train bridges. A guy could probably have a real good day fishin for pike and walleye at the mouth right now-in a boat. Some big ice chunks floating but very fishable. Another week and you will be able to get a john boat up by the power lines to cast. 70% clear right now.

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks for the report Ryan!!!

[benfishin]

The river is locked up right now with probably an inch or less of skim ice, from the train bridges to almost the mouth. Should break loose and drift out by Saturday or Sunday. I didn't want anyone driving up this weekend on account of my last post before the cold snap. You should find a bunch of eyes schooled at the mouth right now. The discharge at the mouth should have an excellent number of fish by it for the next week until the rest of the river warms and the fish then spread out and move up. Will let you guys know when the ice drifts out again. Fox point area most likely will be ready by boat as early as next weekend for those who have a small boat to push over the ice on shore. -Good luck

[BigMusky]

I need to get the boat out this weekend. I have a new locator I need to mount. Problem is I have a huge mountain of snow that needs to melt first right in front of it!!! :eek:

[benfishin]

River will be open Im thinking in 3 days or so. Don't hold me to this, but you should be able to make the run from the mouth up to the dam this weekend. Fox point won't be open yet. Ice is floating away fast. I'll report a little later in the week. My brother fished the mouth on friday. Casted and jigged for a couple hours without a bite.

[1MORECAST]

Hey guys. DEPERE

Well the rivers open kind of. Set out 5 pm from the mouth it took about 45 min to get to the dam, alot of ice at the bridges. If you go take your time caught 8 fish 22- the biggest at 26 fished till 9 pm. We casted fire tiger husky jerk. One other boat up with us. THE BEST IS YET TO COME.

GOOD LUCK AND STAY SAFE!!

P.S. My brothers on his way as of 7 this morning I update you later today.

[benfishin]

:) River is open enough to drive up from the mouth, also someone apparently opened up fox point enough to launch a boat. River is very high and very dirty. I wouldn't make a long drive yet to fish. Saturday or Sunday would be the first days for good fishing in my opinion. River is really muddy as of this morning. Good luck to all.

[yatch]

Went up to Depere today. Computer weather said 6 -10 mph and 31 degrees by 1pm. It was in the high teens low 20's all morning and at least a 15 to 20 mph straight out of the north. Boated 4 eyes, to 20" and one 15# plus carp. Only used jigs and tails. It will be a few days before the water clears up, very muddy now. I'm sure the fish can't find the bait now. The waves were going south and the current heading north. One spot open at Fox Point for launching.

Next time,

Yatch :D

[1MORECAST]

HEY GUYS

Did anyone here how the menomonee river is ? I'm looking for info on river conditions. Were heading to Depere on monday. I'll let you know how we do. Good luck this weekend & stay safe!!!


ps. my brother was up on tue. they caught around 25 fish biggest was 22".river was high & dirty

[walleyeshark]

Hey 1MORECAST...was/has your brother been crankin' up by the dam? We're planning on going up for a 3 nighter the 24th-26th. We usually go up alittle further along in the "run" and definitely try to miss the weekends but due to having a procedure done on my back, this is my only "window" for this year's run! Good luck on your next trip up and I'll be looking forward to your report!!

[BigMusky]

fished today from about 8am-1pm and caught a bunch of solid depere walleye, but no females. Do you need to push up near the dam to get them or is it a luck of the draw kind of thing? I caught a lot of fish and used some larger rigs to target bigger fish, but have not caught really anything big in two trips now. Do people troll down stream of town park? It seems too crowded to try that up stream from launch. Saw some guys casting but never saw them get anything. I did troll a little in twelve feet of water with electric motor and live bait rigs and had some hits...but most fish came in 15-17ft range vertical jigging.

[Eric Haataja]

Filmed a show with John G's Waters and Woods yesterday and we really put the smack down on a bunch of nice eyes. Biggest was maybe 24 inches or so and we easily caught over a hundred fish. We started at the dam and caught lots fish there, then we went looking for fish down river and worked all the way down river and even out about 1 mile into the Bay. We caught fish as far down as the mouth, walleyes that is but did not find any big pre spawners this trip. It's nice to fish down river where you never see another boat all day!

We caught fish as shallow as 3 feet and as deep as the main river channel, pretty much just about everywhere we fished we did well but it got tougher down river near the mouth. Jigs, munchie tails, and blade baits worked well, we also casted at night for a little while and caught about 20 fish in a hour.

Get up there asap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric

[1MORECAST]

Hey guys

Depere is killing my pocket book been up 4 times now in the last 2 weeks. Last nights bite was very good up until 1 hour after dark then it slowed abit. Gas prices are killing me seeing were located just west of Kenosha, but what are you going to do its an addiction.We pretty much stayed up in the shallows ,jigs and cranks both worked well. Sunday we caught and released 1 that measured 28.5 are first legal of the year. It was my sons first time up he still cant believe I through it back. Of course if he would of caught it we would of kept it ( all the more reason to come back ) Well this weekends going to be crazy lets everyone try and keep it safe.

p.s. THERES NO FISHING IN THE REFUGE !!!

[NOBADDAYS]

Fished right next to Eric and John while filming on Monday. put the smack down sunday mon tues with over 60fish each trip tues being best 80+ between the 2 of us. biggest 24+. thanks for the spots Eric....had to follow ya curiousity got me..... windy as hell by the mouth! be back sat. sunday and then Tuesday. cranks will be good. jig n minnow anchored and on the drift did well all days. FISH ON. sent the cam down and amazing watching the schools of dozens go thru at a time.
NO BAD DAYS
toyman2k

[benfishin]

For all thoughs making the trip up to the fox tonight or tomorrow, save your gas. River went from muddy but fishable yesterday to chocolate milk. My brother went out for an hour and a half and didn't catch or see a fish caught yesterday afternoon! Just drove over down town bridge and saw five boats motoring to the mouth, must be trying to get away from the muddy water. Sunday might be fishable but I highly doubt it. Not trying to discourage anyone from their plans, just trying to help.

[Wolffy]

It was very tough finding fish after the river turned early afternoon on Thursday. We fished with only artificial and struggled to find even a few fish. Did see a different presentation with guys using like a fly line/wet flies and drift fishing. They said they caught about 100. Never saw this before. I guess it is something different. Heading up to Dubay to try for some eaters this weekend.

Wolffy

[walleyeshark]

Boy did Mother Nature give me the "shaft" again! I can only come up and fish today thru Tues. as far as the "run" goes this Spring. Planned on crankin' DePere but lookin' for a plan B, atleast for today and tomorrow. Hey Wolffy, how's the water by the Dubay Dam? I've never fished there before but I have to do something! Maybe Nekoosa? Is there any kind of nite bite at these dams? Thanx and good luck to all this weekend!!

[NOBADDAYS]

Sat night we did the anchor up thing 3fow up by lines tried casting for a while few results then went to jig.minnow and caught about 20 until leaving at midnight. came back Sunday morning after the rain tried anchoring a few spots ZERO results then did the drifting thing from 8ish - noon with over 100fish between the 4 of us lots of 21+ fish biggest like 24ish hot color was red then green with half on stinger and half hammering jig. also caught a nice whitefish. 8-11fow worked best. big females still havent come up yet. mostly males a few milkers. water temp was high 44-46
NOBADDAYS
toyman2k

[Fishin Medic]

Took my dad up to the Fox for the first time on Friday morning. We caught seven females that ranged from 20" to 25 1/4". Six out of the seven were still tight and the other fish spewed eggs all over the boat when lifting her in. Came back Saturday afternoon and caught 35-40 eyes ranging from 17" to
21". We had a great time for our first trip.
:D

[gettinjiggy88]

Sorry about the late report. My buddy and I launched out of Fox Point last weekend and hammered the walleyes. We fished Friday night for about 3 hours and caught 30 walleyes, and we fished all day Saturday and only caught 2 walleyes in the morning but we slayed them from about 3-7:30, we caught about 68 walleyes. In total we caught about 100 eyes. The run is over all of the fish were spawned out. Just a bunch of feeding post spawn feeding fish. Most fish were caught on a 3/8 oz. green, or orange jig head with minnows.

Good Luck and Tight Lines!!!!!!:)

[yatch]

[B]Just wanted to bring this thread to the top. I have been on the Rock a couple of times this last week boating three legals a 19" and two 17" eyes. otherwise just smaller fish and white bass. I will be on the Fox at Depere next week for eyes and some musky trolling. I will share my bite info when I get back. I'm sure someone out there will be up there this week end so a couple of words of wisdom would be appreciated. [:D /B]

[michelle]

Been trolling the Fox for musky without success for a month. Should have been here last year. Ah but, hope springs eternal. I'll see you out there mostly week days.

Michelle's SO Steve

[Eric Haataja]

Chatted with a few friends who fished the tourney out there this past week and did well, trolling was the ticket with 7-9 inch stick baots like Grandma's or Jakes along with depth raiders and swimin joes. The river is dirty now but the bite is diffenitly going decent up there now. Not sure when I will be up there but hopefully soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric

[benfishin]

Fishing remains steady on the fox for muskies. I've had muskies in the boat on 3 of 4 trips this fall. Fished this morning for three hrs before work and boated one fat 47". When and why these fish feed is still making me scratch my head. Finding a go to pattern for certain wind and weather conditions is tough to put together on these fish. Here are the three nicest fish of this week. 441/2",461/2",47":)

[yatch]

Will be on the river on Monday, if anyone has some hot info I would appreciate your comments. Most of the time will be spent eye fishing but I am sure we will spend some time with the cats also. I made 5 trips to Depere last year and everyone was great, I hope this year is as good. I'll offer my info when I get back. (Thank goodness for the hunting season it sure keeps the crowds away.) :D Yatch

[yatch]

Had fun catching Walleye to 23" and Cats to 25" for the last two days.:) Spent tues. afternoon trollling the river with four rods rigged with musky baits. Zilch.:mad: Water still a little to warm for a good fall bite (in my book) 51 - 52 degrees.:rolleyes: This global warming is screwing up my fishing agenda. Mid 60's and high pressure, whats up with that.:confused: Maybe Nov. will be normal??? :D One more thing the river was so low on Monday morning that my trailer fell off the ramp while launching. When we came back in water level was up (but still low) about a 1ft. or so. CRAZY

[MLoppnow]

Haven't really posted anywhere lately...sorry Eric. Just one of those summers. As far as DePere goes, been getting one fish a trip. Samllest 35 biggest 44 so far. Nothing like last year. Did think I FINALLY had my 50 on last week but it ended up a being a 20+ pound carp I had foul-hooked in the belly.

[MLoppnow]

This is the 44

[green knight]

Fished the river and the mouth hard this past weekend. The muskies had Lockjaw. Water was more clear than usual as well.

[yatch]

Went back to Depere on Thur. ( if gas prices don't stop this one may be the last for the year) First we started our day looking for the perch out of Bay Shore. I've had good reports of big fish, the bait well was full of lively fat heads, weather and wind were great, we were pumped for a basket of perch fry. Put on about 10 miles just looking for the criters, ended the morning with two 7" !? (Oh well, been here before)

OK, Lets hit Depere, thats a sure thing this time of year. Got there about noon on Thur. wind just started to pick up out of the NORTH, "O no" not the north, well to make my story short, fished until dark ended up with one eye at 21" and several big white bass. Water temp was 44 degrees and clearing up. You can catch fish if you go into the mine field at the Dam but we didn't and won't. (Back to McKinley and the harbor for those browns):D

[green knight]

Heading up to the Fox/ Bay for eight days. Hopefully they unlock those jaws and we can boat a couple of big girls!!

[Eric Haataja]

I was out with JG and a client filming on Monday and we did pretty good 30-40 fish with some catfish, bass and crappies mixed in. I was sick as a dog but we got it done! The dam was good jigging for us.

Eric

[benfishin]

Fox is locked up with a couple inches in most places. After Thursdays cold snap this weekend should be fish-able. As always I'll let two or three guys go ahead of me this weekend and should have a report for you on monday/ Tuesday. Catch and release here always:)

[benfishin]

Fishing started out slow this year on the fox and has being tapering off from there. I have not heard of a report of more than a couple eyes in the past week. Granted I only fish for a couple hours each time out, but there just isn't that many fish up river right now. Will report if anything changes.

[benfishin]

Fox opened up yesterday but is flowing fast, and is as dirty as it gets. Will be fishable next week by boat, I would think fresh fish will be everywhere, however single digit temps are forcasted for mid next week so don't put the icefishing gear away. Will report if I get out.:)

[1MORECAST]

Hey Does Anyone Know The Conditions Of The River. Would Appretiate Any Information, Starting To Get The Itch For Some Open Water Eyes.

Thanks Tim

[benfishin]

Fox is completely locked up. Ice is thick enough for you to be out there tonight icefishing. Sorry no report from me or anyone I know.

[brewcityfishr]

Anyone know the conditions of the river? I would like to get the boat out there soon! any info would be great!

[JEREMY FUSEK]

Both Fox Point and the fair grounds are still locked up. The launch and parking lot at Fox Point is in bad shape as well. Thick ice and deep snow. We might try to get down there with some spud bars and sand wed. afternoon and clear things out.

[BigMusky]

Eric - Did you take Fanboat to Depere today? There was a sighting up there and I know you said you were thinking of going.

I do not think I am going to fish the run this spring, kid #2 due April 1st and for some reason I need to stay close to home.

[1MORECAST]

It Took A Little Work But We Made It On Down At The Mouth. One Bad Ice Jam At The Rr Bridge.fishing By 8 Am # 10 Fire Tiger And Blue Xrap. Jig Deeper Water From Dam To Fox Point Launch.one Other Boat And One Fan Boat (thats Cheating )40 Plus Fish Day No Legals Biggest 25". County Was Working On Clearing Out Fox Point.
Good Luck To All, Stay Safe

[brewcityfishr]

Jeremy,1morecast, thanks a ton for the river conditions! I really need to get up here to do some jigging this spring.

[Eric Haataja]

Did well with 2 buddies 2 days ago and looks like you can get up to the Dam from the mouth now but be carefull of the ice flows still coming down. We did well jigging, casting flicker shad and fishing 3 inch gulp minnows. The dam was the only place we really fished due to high winds.

Best of luck I will try to post pics but I can not resize them due to PC problems. I posted them on Lake-Link under 2008 pics.

Thanks a bunch for the great reports Fuse and 1more cast!

Eric

[jheling]

Went out of Voyager park before work this morning, ice is finally gone. Only was able to fish for an hour, but ended up catching a few and missed a few in that hour. Used 1/4oz jig with gulp. 3 other guys out also, using what appeared to by wolf river rigs(three ways) and only saw them catch one.

Eric by the way saw you out there the other day, and saw you catch 1 that looked like a pig, but hard to tell from a distance. Sure looked like a lot of fun.

Good luck to all and be safe out there.
Josh Heling

[cmontiho]

Sorry for the late report, but I went out ice fishing last weekend and did ok. There was only a small section of ice left at Voyageur park so we fished right there. We caught three walleyes, a whitefish, crappie, and a bufflehead duck. No kidding. Others around us caught a lot of walleyes near dark and just after. Nothing caught over 28, but darn close.

The duck came on a chartreuse jigging rapala in 19 f/o/w around 3pm. Best fight we had all day!

[yatch]

Depere is back for open water. Docks are in and there is limited shore ice, let the spring mahem begin. 25 eyes to 23" on Monday, fish are moving around had to move to find pods. Water temp a bamy 37 degrees. Great day.

Yatch :D

[jheling]

Was out this morning and yesterday morning off of voyager park for a couple hours before work. A lot more active fish today and bigger ones up to 25". Using a 1/4 oz jig with gulp. Didn't see any other fish caught off the park.
Good luck to all and be safe out there.

Josh

[Eric Haataja]

Here's a few pics from last weeks trip up to Depere.

Eric

[Fishin Medic]

Nice fish Eric! Heading up Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning. Hopefully the weather and fish will cooperate.

[C. Busalacchi]

Fishing was good on Wed. but got tough on Thrus. and the water continued to get dirty. You went from 3' of visibility on Wed. to 3" by mid-day on Thrus. The jig/minnow bite yielded the most fish over the two days, but we caught good numbers of fish on plastics, casting cranks, and trolling. The top jig colors were chartruese, orange, and orange/chartruese. The best crankbait patterns were in blue/silver, tennessee shad, clown, and firetiger. Water temps were ranging between 38 and 40 degrees throughout. We caught fish throughout the entire river so no need to fish with the pac. Also, had a bonus lake trout to show for our efforts; caught on a jig/minnow combo.

Best of luck,

Chris Busalacchi

[benfishin]

Fishing was slow over the weekend starting on friday when the gates were opened. Some buddies of mine said fishing did get better Sunday afternoon, Im guessing the water is getting cleaner by the hour now. GreenBay is about out of snow so river should be premo by wednsday again. Good luck :)

[benfishin]

The river is back to super status as far as fishing goes. The water cleared up and everybody is catching fish. My dad is out there right now and has 40-50 walleyes in about 5 hrs of time put in with two other guys. Tryed five different locations and every one was full of fish.:)

[NOBADDAYS]

well fished monday night with the wind and snow rain sleet cold not alot to show for it. back at it in the morning wound up with around a dozen between 3 guys no 2 guys ....lol...trebles are very sharp do not stick them into your hand unless a pro. water is super clear was clear last week as well. currents change wind changes and temp changes make em bite.
1.4 oz with shiners nothing on gulp

be back sunday

NO BAD DAYS.

[gootchje]

Is anyone heading up this friday night or saturday and has an empty seat? I really would like to get out in a boat this weekend.

Thanks

Mark

[Cbangler]

Talked to my buddy in Depere last night, and he put a good smack on em from shore in the afternoon. He went back later for some evening surveilance, and was absolutely baffled by what he saw shining the old marble eye spot light.......Not only vast #'s of acutal "Spanwing" fish, but an abundance of hefty females, some he figured up to 12lbs, cruising the shallows. He said the water was still a little off, but clearing each day, with significant clearly expected today. Heading up tonight for an extended weekend smackdown. Be kind to your fellow boaters, Im sure there will be a few.
CB

[ranger_boy]

Went out today and 33 or 34 walleyes, 3 whitefish, 2 big carp and a big shad. Biggest walleye was 8.2 pounds. All caught on gulp and minnows with green and chart jigs with red hooks. Tons of boats and windy.

[Eric Haataja]

There's a good trolling post spawn bite going on in the river now, along with some smallies showing up!

[Cook Island]

is ice fishing below the depere dam good stuff.

is there too many fisherman in the spring below the dam to make it worth it.

does the fish refuge hold all the fish, not many outside of it.

do walleye spawn at all out on the main lake.

where do the biggest walleye on the green bay spawn?

give me info on fishing the depere dam, new to area, familiar to walleye fishing, longtime angler of Rainy Lake Canada.

[BigMusky]

below the dam is good fishing and attracts lots of people, but generally still worth it. There are lots of fish outside the refuge and all up and down river. Alot of big fish spawn here in the Fox River, but also all the other rivers up and down lake. I am positive fish spawn on main lake as well, but are not as concentrated and targeted as river fish. The best fishing for Fox River walleye is probably ice out until about mid-april. There are fish all year in the river though.

[Eric Haataja]

If you like to catfish this is one of the best rivers to fish, there no good to eat because of the high polutants but a lot of fun to catch and here's a little hint...do some exploring up above the deperee dam it and it's all underfish!!

Eric

[Eric Haataja]

Well client canceled so myself, Cal and good buddy dave went out to chase catfish last night. We ended up landing 22 catfish with the smallest about 4 lbs and biggest in the upper teens. Stink bait, cut bait did the trick for us! We fished on the breaks in current in 12-18 feet of water. Great time!

[Eric Haataja]

few more pics from last night

[ranger_boy]

not from the fox but a nice chunky cat!
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z206/rangerboy_photos/IMG_1661.jpg

[Eric Haataja]

The start of the bite was a bit slower but things picked up and we had a blast getting good numbers of channels and flatheads last night, on cut bait and live bait. We also picked up some nice eyes and smallies during the day light hours. This is a blast!!!!

Eric

[Eric Haataja]

Finally found where some big cats are hiding out and with the help of my friend Jason Gurke, and good buddy Steve Everetts we managed to boat some giant flatheads this weekend. Fish were caught on both cut bait and live bait. Both Steve and I caught our personal best flatheads Sunday night.

Lots and lots of fun!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eric Haataja]

Few more....

[Eric Haataja]

I tell ya what the big cats are just too much fun! Fished yesterday evening in the cold front and north east winds and we did very well on some bruiser big flatheads! Moved a little bit due to the lack of current but when we found them we put the hurt down on the fish on both live bait and cut bait working.

[Eric Haataja]

A few more... Big cats!

[yatch]

Spent the week end in Sturgeon Bay so on the way up we decided to fish a couple hours on Friday morning in Depere. WE could only get crawlers ( no minnows yet at the gas station) we drifted from the launch to the 172 with a perfect drift because of the south wind. Nothing. We then anchored on the break and fished lindy rigs. Caught lotsa small channel cats nothing else. Did mark a lot of suspended fish and there were a few boats trolling with boards. water very dirty could only see down less than a foot. 65 degree water. I'lll be back in Oct.

[Eric Haataja]

I'm going to go out on a limb here but my prediction is this....if we get the rain they are calling for the fox river will be wide open come Thursday and the following week guys will be up there fishing open water. 2 weeks and the bite should be good up there if it stays warm like they forecast. Wow what a Crazy year!!!!

That's my guess.......

Eric

[THINKFISH]

maybe the down town part of the river. there is still alot of ice from the train bridge south to the damn. the channel might open up a little in front of voyeger but i think the ice will hold out for the next month but i could be wrong i have been before. the bite is starting to pick up. after this rain and the runoff should bring in some fresh fish. most of the fish i have been getting are nice and fat and healthy and some females are really starting to get there fat guts to them. wich is getting me itchy for the run and the sleepless nights and a cramped back. nothing a little advil can't fix. till then i will be pullin eyes through the ice up here for now anyways. good luck to all.:):):)

[Eric Haataja]

My guess is by Friday there will be a bunch of the river open and next week guys will be pushing boats up across the ice and fishing the dam.

[Eric Haataja]

looks like it's going to be a while I thought if they got hit with a good bunch of rain today it would open up the river but looks like it will be at least a couple more weeks unless we get another warm spell and rain...

[THINKFISH]

all the gates were open on tuesday for the day then they closed them up in the evening sometime. water is like chocolate milk right now. was out yesterday and had 13" of ice and a good 10" in the channel. there are some spots that are bad but for the most part the river held out through the heat wave and rain. fishing was good yesterday had about 15 flags half were caught and ended up catching 11 eyes jigging. after the water clears up things should really pick up. biggest fish for the day was 26" and she was nice and chunky close to 8#s. i can't wait till the end of the month when the size limit changes then you know it's getting close to chase some fat eyes around!! until then i'll be pulling eyes through the ice. good luck to all :):):)

[Eric Haataja]

Boats are starting to venture up to the Dam! The launch is open at the mouth but be careful still ice flows...... river still has lots of solid Ice as well, next week it should be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric

[fish4life88]

Fished here for the first time ever. Took us a couple hours to get in the groove. In that time we boated one 20". Fished by 172 bridge and nothing saw a couple caught. Moved to the dam and got into a hole and was catching them a couple every half hour. Ended with 14 with the largest being 23", and most in the 20 to 21" range. In the channel 3/8 oz. jigs worked well, but up by the dam we switched to 1/4 oz and cast and retrieved slowly. A bright yellow jig worked well and with a twister tail seemed to get us the bigger ones. A lot of talk about the fishery getting going hot next week.

[yatch]

Just spent two days on the Fox at Depere. All launches open and the piers are in as of Tues. morning. Water is already 40 degrees. Over a hundred boats there on Monday and Tues. stayed away from the skeg busting rocks at the dam and fished:D down stream on both days. Catfish, carp and about 25 eyes to 24" mostly drifting channel edges with fatheads good south wind both days made a bag necessary to slow the drift. Be nice to each other out there, it is getting more crowded each year. 5 or 6 years ago a max of a dozen boats at this time of year was it during the week. :D

[walleyewackr]

wait a week-week and a half and then see how many there are

[Capt. Justin]

We fished the river this afternoon and caught around 25 walleye. Most were caught drifting and vertical jigging. Some were caught anchored and casting. Pretty windy today which made it difficult to drift. Had luck with both minnows and twistertails.

[fish4life88]

heres a few from the other day

[brewcityfishr]

Hit the river for the first time yesterday from 7am til 3. we managed to boat 36 walleyes up to 25" and my pop's got a bonus 46 inch musky on 6 pound mono jig/minnow! large fatheads with 1/4 knuckle ball in lime chartruese is all we used today. water temp was 38.8. cant wait to get back! good fishin'

[Eric Haataja]

John that is just awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great John did you get some pictures???? Thanks for posting a report!

Eric

[brewcityfishr]

Thanks Eric, I did get some good pic's, but i still have the the old school MSN TV2...lol... and im not sure if I can put pic's on here. if anyone has msn tv and knows how to post pic's, just shoot me a message and let me know what i need to do. thanks.

[deadeternity]

I have never fished DePere before from boat or shore and I was wondering where to fish from shore for consistant action? Also, what kind of baits would go good for the shore fishing? I am unaware of water depth, location, and so on so every river system may have it's jighead sizes, colors, and lure presentations. Some guys say the Rapalas at night do good but, I dont want to lose $5.00-$7.00 a pop losing cranks and jerkbaits to the snags.

Depere has been a dream trip for a longtime so any info would be great if I could be pointed in a good area, and have some good tips to back me up for the trip if I decide to go. Thanks guys.....

[C. Busalacchi]

Spent alot of time on the water the last week and fishing has been fair to good. Caught fish throught the river on many different techniques. Casting crankbaits, jigs tipped with 3" grubs, gulp, and fatheads and trolling all produced fish. Top crankbaits were #12 clown and blue/silver husky jerks, but gold/black, glass clown, firetiger, and glass perch all produced fish. 1/8 oz chartruese or orange jigs probaby produced best while jigging. The biggest challenge was that the bite was inconsistant day to day and could not develop a consistant pattern. You had to run and gun to find pods of active fish. We caught most fish from 2' to 10' of water. Also got a bonus muskie. Dad had a bigger ski break off about 10 seconds before mine. Still some great fishing to come.

Capt. Chris Busalacchi
Salmon Specialist Sportfishing Charters
414.426.2584
salmonspecialist@hotmail.com
www.wisalmonspecialist.com

[C. Busalacchi]

Some more pics

[walleyewackr]

deadeternity, no way to avoid snags in a river, was up there sunday and we had between 60-70 fish on jigs and minnows and jigs and gulp, caught more fish downstream then up by the dam, they didnt have the gates open as of sunday so the fsih are somewhat scattered at this point but once they open them it will suck those fish right in-as for fishing from shore find some riprap and cast stickbaits where there is some current right next to shore, not going to give any spots away but something i look for if fishin from shore or you can go to voyager partk and fish off hte wall with jigs, use to be great from shore there before they closed that little dam in that hotel, im sure you can still get some htere though

[Eric Haataja]

Nice fish and great report Chris! I'm just waiting for the ice to leave so I can get on some of those big girls out in the bay! Things should get rolling out in the Bay in about 15 days.

Eric

[NOBADDAYS]

ok got too launch yest morning 2nd boat 6ish and water temp a mere 38 and water rolling and up bout 2plus feet. went up by dam 2 gates open fished few mins anchoring no bites water clarity almost a foot. tossed the bag out and started driftin and pickin em off 8-14fow with 9f being best did try shallower and deeper and had to match current and pull bag using troll motor then we picked up some more. they opened more gates and wind picked up and now water clarity is a mere 2 inches if that. using both 1/4 while vertical and 3/8th while using bag draggin em. large fatheds and gulp about even today with 13 total ending at noon. took a ride to mouth should have snapped some pics of the iceberg heaves. lime color and pink. BRIGHT as you can get. big fish 25inches like 5#s.

[fmarino]

Does anyone have a report on the walleyes at DePere. I am going Wednesday. Would appreciate any help on locations, depth, etc. Thank you, Frank

[NOBADDAYS]

buddy was just there yesturday and caught a measly 5 between 4 guys?? water clarity getting better. I would start up by Voyager and if you can make some drifts in 8-12fow which is about 100yds from shore and stay vertical you will catch fish. wind is a big killer here cuz its so open for a river kinda like a smaller lake. he is not a good stick on the eyes yet and didnt use live bait. u want bait call this guy REEL THING his name is Dan he supplies all around 920 437 9776. you can only buy it by the pound and one pound = @ 8doz minners or shiners. been using Toughys they are a little bigger. GOOD LUCK!! BRIGHT JIGS 1/4 or 3/8ths

[walleyewackr]

hey nobaddays when the water is dirty like that i usually try and bulk up mypresentations a little bit, dont know if you use gulp or not but i use the lightest jig possible usually 1/4 oz up there and thread a 4 gulp minnow on and then break one in half and thread the tail end on or instead of a second gulp minnow you can use a minnow, with it tougher to get shiners now a days i stopped using live bait all together and you can have some pretty nice days, try this once and let me know how you do should be able to put a few extra fish in the boat, i hurt my back so am unable to fish right now its driving me nuts

[deadeternity]

That technique is called Piggy Backing. WALLEYE INSIDER wrote alot about the presentation. Gary Parsons helped invent that style of jigging and it seems to work great for alot of people.

[Captain Nolan]

Had a 8 hour trip today Started at 5pm with jigging gulp and catching lots of 18-25 inch fish Then at 8 Started Casting cranks and started getting into Bigger fish The Biggest of the Night was 29inches 10.2 lbs and let go to be caught again

Top Gun Guide Service
Capt. Nolan 262-305-3838
Dates Available

[Eric Haataja]

Nice fish thanks for the report!!!!!!!

[wcnsportsman]

has anyone been up to greenbay fishing the river by dupere ? are the eyes still by the dam or have they moved into the bay? any info would be helpful, am planing a trip there this week, thanks.

[ranger_boy]

Fish are still in pretty thick by the dam trolling downriver has been producing some decent fish

[Captain Nolan]

The fishing is great with great numbers of nice fish being caught jiging during the day and good numbers of bigger fish at the dam casting cranks

Top Gun Guide Service
Capt. Nolan 262-305-3838
Dates Available

[brewcityfishr]

fished depere wed-friday and just hammerd the walleyes. managed over 100 nice eye's with 17 in the 24-29 inch range. knuckle ball jigs tipped with minnows did the damage. never got a chance to get up to the dam at night to cast, but guys were getting some hogs up there as well. water temp was 41 when we left friday. great time on the water! good fishin'

[HotHead617]

Was out on sunday and fishing was slow.....not much happening by the dam most were caught around launch area and the bridge...i only took 1 photo nothing exciting.

[Captain Nolan]

Went out the last 2 days for about 5 hours each day with about 30 eyes each day did manage a 28 inch today also had 3 fish that were still hard and all fish caught pitching jigs shallow 6-3 feet of water

Top Gun Guide Service
Capt. Nolan 262-305-3838

[Joe Murphy]

First time to de pere, went with a buddy, ended uphaving one of the best nights of my life. No legals, although i did end up snagging a 29which broke my heart, oh well theres always next year, I managed getting about 30 fish in the mouth and my buddy mark got about 50 in the mouth, no idea how many were snagged but im guessin around 15 or so between the 2 of us. I prolly would have caught more if wasnt too busy losing all my baits in the rocks:(.
Heres a few pics i took even tho i didnt take many because we were slammin. The uploader on here wont let me post em so ill do the photobucket thing, sorry.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0151.jpg
heres my first de pere walleye.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0152.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0153.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0154.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0155.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0156.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0157.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0159.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0160.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/DSCI0161.jpg
I know its nothing to write home about for this place but i was sure excited. I like how i lost all the baits that are in these pics.

[Eric Haataja]

Awesome pics and great report! that brings me back to 15+ years ago when I used to first fish from shore using a float tube etc... You gotta start somewhere and 30-50 fish is awesome dude!

[walleyewackr]

i remember those days joe, hanging husky jerk after husky jerk in the rocks and then all of sudden 12.4 oz eye, was my first over 30" (makes losin a few all right)that was about 10 years a go, use to be a lot better up there from shore, where the hotel is with that dam under it, when that use to be open you use to be able to get big fish in that channel to and i dont know why they shut it down but it definitly impacted shore fishin up there

[RJN]

Pics from the run in April.
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv222/walleye_1971/101_0078.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv222/walleye_1971/depere2.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv222/walleye_1971/depere3.jpg
http://
[IMG][IMG]http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv222/walleye_1971/depere4.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv222/walleye_1971/depere7.jpg

[Eric Haataja]

Had a blast fishing for catfish with shrimp and cutbait this past week, pretty much non stop action and a lot of fun up and down the entire river they are stacked there now!!

[1MORECAST]

looking for conditions of the river anyone have any info

[BigMusky]

hit depere for the maiden voyage of 2010. Docks are in and ticket machine up. Water clarity 7 feet. I had never seen the river that clear before. South wind and air/water temp both about 40. Should have been good fishing....walleyes did not see things the way I did.

I did not SEE a walleye caught until 2pm. I am not sure what was going on. i tried pitching jigs, vertical jigging, slip bobbering...etc from 8 to 29 FOW from dam to 172 bridge... Nothing worked.

but.....

i did land a toad musky at 47 inches and 30 pounds. Fat as a brown trout. Saw another guy catch a mid 30's fish in same spot. So the muskies are biting as well as walleyes today. Maybe that is why the walleyes are all hiding :cool:

I have heard of better days earlier in week, so I guess it was just one of those days.

[lance520]

Same story for me, out from 10:00-4:00 and never caught a Walleye. Did manage a 38" Musky and a couple Perch. Went up by the dam and saw several Walleyes hugging bottom almost wedging themselves between rocks and not moving. Tried jigging right in front of their faces and no reaction whatsoever! We need some color to the water as well as some current to bring some fish in! I would not waste your time coming to the circus until one of the two happens, especially if you are coming from a distance. Wish I would've hit the bay for Perch yesterday!

[BigMusky]

after I uploaded photo...I noticed that my walleye net is laying there... rest assured the big stow master musky net handled this fish and just reminds me why I bought it in first place, love being able to keep it in boat at all times for that unexpected monster.

Lance - were you the guy I offered my net to when you caught yours?

[lance520]

Nope, actually caught mine downriver around Mason Street.

[WIflyboy1]

Fished the Fox in Depere yesterday from the Dam to the 172 bridge. Finally have a little current to work with but not great yet. Action was still pretty slow, didn't see many fish pulled into boats. We fished from 12:00 to 5:00 and caught one really nice 26" female but nothing else. Hoping the rain and some warmer temp will get things rolling soon. Watch out under the 172 bridge still some large chuncks of ice hanging around.

[walleyewackr]

fished yesterday for almost 6 hours, had some success with males. current is almost nothing to what it should be at this time. fished from 172 to the mouth, wanted to find our own fish besides sitting at the dam by everyone else. found some good marks in a deep hole, but couldnt get them to go. prolly one of the only spots that had nice current. went back to them later in the evening and they were gone. 1/4oz jigs and shiners and gulp were the ticket for us today.

[Eric Haataja]

Crazy year up at Depere, if you can get up there get there soon, fishing are spawning every night now up at the dam so the casting bite has been pretty good for big fish, also the night bite has been good trolling down river and out in the bay. Lots of big musky's out in the lower bay being caught as well right now along with eyes.

Eric

[jason miller]

fished the river yesterday from 7:00 to 9:30 boated 21 eyes biggest at 26 1/2 smallest at 22 all nice fish, headed out to the bay picked up 6 lost 3 biggest at 27 3/4 females were tight best days to come!! fish the morning to day 3 to 4 footers in the river managed on fish trollin 26 1/2 good luck guys will be headin up sat. morn

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks for the report Jason glad to here you caught some nice fish!

[walleyewackr]

started the morning out with a 27 1/2,26, and 25 casting cranks in the early am,decent till it got light like normal. once i broke a st croix in half it was time to go jiggin. went way down river jiggin and it was grat the first few passes we hit quite a few and missed several. piggy backin gulp was the ticket jiggin, also got into a few cats as well. ended up with like 20-25eyes in like 5 hours or so.

[walleyewackr]

Here is one of the ones that we got yesterday morning.

[Joe Murphy]

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1707.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1713.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1717.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1719.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1721.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1730.jpg

Friday night... 5 legals... Couldn't even tell you how many fish we got.

[Needtofishmore]

WOW! That is amazing. Congrats!

[jason miller]

Fished the bay in the afternoon, caught 2 fish 25 and 26, alot of boats saw 1 nice musky caught and a few small eyes. Moved into the river jigged the last 45 mins of light with no takers. Ran down to small mud-sand flat I have all to myself, never really see anyone fish it. We did very well, caught 24 fish by 10:30, lots of doubles and triples. Biggest @ 27 1/4. Most fish were 24 to 26 nice year class for years to come!! Prespawn fishin will be coming to and end by the weekend, all fish were loose or spawned out. Anyway worked my buddy's 10 year old pretty hard that night, I'm sure it was the best fishin he's ever had!!! I'll try to get some pics on tomorrow

[jason miller]

Try too lift them girls a little higher!!!:eek:

[jason miller]

:eek: Was up last night fishin was slow at the dam didn't see much going on I'm sure it's the cool weather and the full moon. Took all my fish trollin boated alot of nice fish, had a 27 1/2 male, and lost a 10#+ to a bad net job!! So many fish in the 24 to 26 range stopped counting. Worked the bay in the morning with muskys mostly, thanks for the mojo Eric. Lost a 47+ to another "rookie job" would of liked a pic. All was well after landing a 11# eye:) have some pics of the fish but the "rookie on the net" took them and didn't turn out very well!!

[fishinrich43]

Fished the bay on Monday,6 fish biggest 30 inch but only 8.5 pounds.Fished on tuesday 5 fish bigget 26 inches.Lot's of boats and very windy on Tuesday.Water Temp's about 42.

[jason miller]

:D Few more pics from tuesday :cool:

[Joe Murphy]

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1727.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1729.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1731.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1735.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1739.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/105_1706.jpg

[johnson]

wondering what you guys think the rain (if any falls sat.) will do, if anything, for the river bite this sunday and monday? Do you think it would be wise to stay in the bay even with the rain? thanks Bret

[jason miller]

Still getting alot of fish trolling at night, picked up 2 prespawners, the rest were done with there dutys. Only 3 boats up at dam at 2:00 a.m. and a few others down stream. water temp was at 58 to 59!!:eek::eek::eek: