Snow blanketed much of northern Wisconsin this week ranging from eight inches along the St. Croix River in Interstate Park to 16 inches in Spooner and 18 inches in Rhinelander. The Leap Year snowfall brought renewed enthusiasm for outdoor enthusiasts, including snowmobilers and skiers. Snowmobile trail groomers were busy on many northern counties, including Burnett, Forest, Iron, Marinette, Oneida and Vilas.
Trails listed on the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s
Snow Conditions Report (exit DNR). range from excellent in many northern counties to poor in most central counties and closed in southern counties.
While snow fell in the north, rain fell across much of the rest of the state, which, combined with warm weather, washed away the little remaining snow and ice from southern lakes and rivers.
Ice remains solid in much of the north, but river systems are opening and snow could cover thin ice, so caution is urged in some areas of the north, along with the south. Some anglers, including Lake Winnebago in Outagamie County, were removing ice fishing houses before Sunday’s deadline.
Late season ice fishing success on northern lakes continued to be limited, with the action for all species erratic. Some fair action has been reported with walleyes, but only during the day and for short periods, usually dawn and dusk. Fishing for northern pike and perch has also been variable. Panfish action continues to be slow, with anglers really having move around and search for the active fish.
Anglers are reminded that the game fish season ends Sunday, but the
early catch and release trout season opens on Saturday, with state fisheries biologists saying
trout populations are very strong across the state and with the mild weather in the south this winter, fish in southern streams should be active and access should be excellent.
Rivers – including the Oconto and Wisconsin – continue to open up, along with bays and harbors. Fox Point in Brown County has open water and fishing boats are out jigging for walleye and anglers continue to report good success for whitefish off Bay Shore.
Migratory birds continue to take advantage of mild weather. Bluebirds and robins are increasingly being spotted, along with trumpeter, tundra swans and sandhill cranes. Bald eagles and other raptors are also are being seen in good numbers. A peregrine falcon was spotted this week in Madison. Snowy owls were headed north to their arctic summer home. Warm temperatures over the next week should bring another large influx of blackbirds, robins, killdeer, woodcock and other early migrants into southern Wisconsin.
A badger was “captured” on a trail camera near Cassville and there was a report of two timber rattlesnakes out basking on a 50 degree day south of Boscobel. Maple sap has started to flow in southern Wisconsin and the unusually warm weather and lack of snow cover in the south resulted in the skunk cabbage popping up last weekend in the Kettle Moraine State Forest.
