2023 Brown Trout Update, February 24th
Up until the recent winter storm, the bayside and much of the lakeside looked like we could be getting out on open water chasing brown trout by early March. The satellite image from February 19th (see below) showed the lake and much of the bay ice free. Most of the ice sheets that were still in the bay were unattached to the shore, as several ice anglers discovered. Just before the end of my ice fishing season (due to hip replacement surgery), I was fishing for whitefish in about 15FOW when a nice brown hit my plastic goby jig. The water was crystal clear allowing me to get a real good look at the fish. It was a beautifully spotted fish about two feet in length. I managed to get the fish to the bottom of the hole with my lightweight whitefish rod, but alas the line cut on the edge of the ice, and I lost the fish. It sure got my juices going for the spring brown trout bite.
The storm dumped over a foot of snow on most of Door County, which is great for the snowmobilers, skiers, and snowshoers, but, along with the colder temps, may delay the start of the open water season. I took a ride this morning to check out some of the local launching sites. On the bayside there is still plenty of ice near shore. I saw some shacks off the point near the mouth of Egg Harbor. A few guys were sitting in the marina parking lot keeping their eyes on tip-ups set up shallow. I have heard reports of some nice browns pulled though the ice this winter, even with the poor conditions.
In Baileys Harbor, the marina is currently ice choked, but beyond the marina entrance is pretty much ice free. As soon as boats can be launched, I am sure there are browns out there waiting to be caught. By the time my hip will allow me to clamor into a boat, we should be able to get out there. Take a look at the image below of the BH marina. Those of you familiar with downtown will notice a huge change. You can see the lake!!! No big beige building obstructing that beautiful view. The former Nelson Shopping Center, motel and garage buildings have been razed to make way for a public park to be developed this summer and over the next several years. I personally think this is a wonderful improvement to our downtown.
I will continue to post updates on conditions over the weeks leading up to the tournament. If any of you wish to add to the knowledge base for all anglers, please feel free to post your comments.
Tight Lines, The Harbor Angler (aka Bruce Smith)