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St. Germain, Wisconsin
 The name St. Germain comes
from a French soldier, Jean François St. Germain, who came to this
region in the late 1600s. The area holds many great memories for me.
When I was 14, my best friend moved there at the end of the school
year. Over the summer, I went to see him… and it seemed as if
he had moved to the other side of the planet – it took that long to
drive there. But once there, I really didn’t want to leave.
It was sooooooo beautiful. Many years later I returned when
some close friends performed in the 4th of July parade
and I had a chance to see just how hospitable the town of St.
Germain could be… I had a ball! And then in the fall of 2003,
I went back for a Musky fishing tournament, and I fell in love with
St. Germain all over again. Read more
Articles
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On
the Hunt for Muskellunge
It was the 15th
Annual St. Germain, Greater Wisconsin Musky Tournament, and Berghoff
was the Tournament Sponsor for the second straight year. A
contest was held to become the official Berghoff Musky Hunter Team...Read
more |
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Tying
the Palomar Knot
Often mistakenly called
the Palmer Knot, the Palomar Knot is arguably one of the best knots
to know how to tie – especially for the avid fisherman. It is an
extremely easy knot to tie, exceptionally strong, and very popular
with bass fishermen for tying on jigs and worm hooks. It’s also the
only knot that will work with Fire Line®. |
 Fishing Report
January 8, 2008
Here's the latest scoop on our area conditions...
Our warming trend of late has been a double edged sword of sorts.
It's great for ice fishermen, absolutely terrible for sled heads.
The mobility issues of a week ago are no more, although a bit sloppy
out there, actually walking around on the ice is easy now.
The ideal situation would now consist of a hard freeze followed by
an inch or two of snow for a little traction. It's very slick out
there, so be careful and if/when it freezes without snow cover some
"creepers" may be in order.
I'm finding 9-13 inches of that hard, clear ice, an inch or two
layer of water, and a frozen slush crust perhaps 2-3 inches thick.
Some guys will add those numbers up and call that the ice thickness,
I go by the hard ice I find. Some of that top ice is soft, some you
crunch through, once it's frozen solid it offers stability.
The crust will hold some weight which makes mobility MUCH easier. A
buddy was over on Stormy yesterday and found 8-9 inches of good ice.
He mentioned most guys were parking on the ice by the landing and
unloading four-wheelers/snowmobiles then heading out but one guy did
drive out... that's just insane this year, not worth the risk. I in
no way recommend road vehicles on the ice this year, you'll see them
out there, but.....
An important note, as Pete has already mentioned, is our over-all
ice conditions when compared to this time frame in years past. We
have nowhere near the ice cover as usual, know your lake, get
reliable reports, back up those reports with your own
investigations. Our ice varies greatly from lake to lake this year.
The fishing....
Fishing has been really good the last few days, good action, good
numbers, some bigger fish. The warm spell has definately turned some
fish "on". Pike have been very co-operative using shiners in weeds
(smaller fish) and, surprisingly, in deep holes (larger fish).
The wallys are doing their usual "like clockwork" thing. You could
probably set your watch and be within 10 minutes by your first
walleye catch.... 4pm. Either sucker minnows or shiners have been
working. The key is small, get the little 2 1/2 - 3in minnows. Watch
your bait guy, don't let em' load ya up with those 4 - 4 1/2 inch
sucker minnows. You'll end up with a lot of "hit n drops". They'll
work but not nearly as well as the smaller bait.
Panfish have been going strong also, my basic spring bobber rig
coupled with the Vexilar and maggots on a little Rat Finke has been
the ticket. Very basic approach and working well now. I was
beginning to focus on all panfishing but the wally bite has sucked
me back in lately. I'll get back to some gill/perch fishing soon, I
need to come up with a fish fry for some visiting friends.
In a nutshell, the water on top of the ice has created late
spring-like conditions. I've noted lots of water running into holes
which must refresh the system leading to an increase in feeding.
That's my take on it anyway.
Well, that's the happenings from Eagle River...
Many flags n fish frys to all.
Muskie Matt
Regular Fishin' for Regular Guys
www.MuskieMatt.com
www.MuskyMatt.com
info@muskiematt.com
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St Germain,
cont.
The St. Germain Chamber of Commerce website sums it
up pretty well: “St. Germain Wisconsin is in the heart of
Wisconsin's Northwoods, surrounded by 1,300 lakes, the Chequamegon
National Forest, the Nicolet National Forest, the Northern Highland
- American Legion State Forest, the Oneida County and Vilas County
Forests.” Now I ask you – what more could you want?!
With excellent fishing, golfing and biking in the warm months,
fishing, snowmobiling and cross country skiing in the cold months,
and great lodging, shopping and dining all year ‘round… have you got
the best of all possible worlds or what?
Check out St. Germain and make your northern
Wisconsin vacation one to remember! |
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