A Little Repetition Goes a Long Way

Lift, drop, wiggle, pause……. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause……. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause. Seventy feet below my crampon festooned LaCrosse boots I envision a slug of purplish rubber mirroring the movements of my rod tip emulating the motions of a frantic goby. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause……. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause……. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause.

I was on an ice fishing expedition three miles out onto the ice of Green Bay accompanied by Paul, my good fishing buddy. We were comfortably ensconced in a traditional fishing shack situated over eighteen inches of solid ice and seventy feet of clear water. The shack and amenities were provided by JJ’s Guide Service. JJ had picked us up at 7:00AM at a lot near Idlewild a short drive from the Green Bay shoreline. Paul and I along with two fellow anglers piled into his cozy warm Polaris Ranger ATV for a bumpy ride over the ice. We followed a circuitous route that kept us on safe ice and avoided the larger cracks that may have formed in the ice surface. This was our first guided outing of the season. The ice conditions this winter have been hampered by some warmer temperatures, gusty winds and the movements of the big boats into the ports of Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay. The winter fleet was gathering at the Fincantieri shipyards for annual repairs and refitting. This and the increased traffic into Port of Green Bay had kept the US Coast Guard ice breaking cutters busy and the ice on the bay unstable. Several impatient anglers already had to be “rescued“ from ice flows that had broken off from the mainland.

I have been fishing with JJ for five winters. JJ is a knowledgeable angler. I have learned a lot about catching whitefish from JJ. He runs an excellent guiding operation. However, the most important trait I value in JJ is his judgement about ice conditions. He studies the ice formation each winter pouring over ice reports and satellite images. He even takes frequent airplane flights over the bay to inspect the ice himself. He relies on his lifetime of experience ice fishing on Green Bay for the safety and comfort of his clients. He is often conservative in his judgement of ice conditions. This sometime puts him on the ice later than other outfitters. I like that. If JJ says the ice is safe, I am confident that he has done everything in his power to ensure that it is.

So that is how Paul and I found ourselves targeting whitefish on this mid-February day. Immediately on entering the heated shack, we dropped our lures through the freshly cut holes and began the well-practiced dance. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause…….repeat. This routine may go on for some time before a school of hungry whitefish move in. Again, I am relying on JJ’s judgment to have placed the shack over an area that holds fish. The wait can be tedious when the bite is slow. The routine of moving the bait becomes part of your muscle memory. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause. Then without forewarning you feel something different as you manipulate the lure. Sometimes it is just a subtle heaviness as you lift the rod. Other times you notice the lure doesn’t drop when you give slack. Occasionally you will feel a solid” bump”. Instinctively I pull up sharply with the rod. The rod bends over and the battle is on. Coaxing a heavy whitefish through the seventy-foot water column is a challenge. I think whitefish are underrated as a game fish. Sure, their flesh is delicious, but they are also formidable adversaries at the end of a gossamer thin fluorocarbon leader. A hooked whitefish will frantically dart from side to side against the pull of the line. They struggle to get back to the refuge of the bottom. Even as they approach the surface with the expanding swim bladder driving them upward, they continue to fight against their own buoyancy.  I see the struggling fish through the hole. In the gin-clear water of the bay, you may see them at a depth of thirty feet or more. I try to keep the line from abrading against the sharp edges of the hole. The fish takes one last lunge towards the depths before I coax its head into the hole. One last challenge remains, getting the fish on the ice. A smaller fish can be gently slid out of the hole. With a larger fish you risk having the line break under the weight. Many nice whities have been lost this way. In desperation I reach down and grasp the slippery torpedo and lift it out of the hole. Success. Fish on the ice!

Paul and repeated this process many times this morning and early afternoon. We put over thirty fish on the ice, losing a several more in the fight. The action was steady, if not frantic. We decided to keep twenty nice whitefish (the limit is ten each). All the keepers were over 17-inches, and a few were over two feet long.  Following a lunch of grilled brats and chips served by JJ and his assistant James and Jason, Paul and I decided to call it a great day and head in.

We made a stop at Lindal Fisheries to have our catch cleaned and vacuum packed. Now you may be thinking “Hey, Bruce, don’t be so damn lazy. Clean your own friggin’ fish!” I’ve cleaned many, many fish of various species including whitefish. Of all of them, whitefish are the most tedious. With their small slimy scales, tender flesh and thin, almost invisible, bones they are a real pain in the butt. I don’t mind cleaning one or two (my usual catch), but I will gladly pay a professional to prepare a limit of fish for the freezer. Anyone who has cleaned whitefish will understand. The Lindal processing is so good that these fish will keep well into the summer so I can treat my family to a Door County whitefish feed any time I want.  Of course, I keep a couple fresh filets for dinner and to share with my neighbors. Not much beats broiled whitefish with your favorite seasoning. I love a mildly hot blackening seasoning but simply salt and pepper with dripping butter is delicious as well.

As Paul and I took the short drive home to Baileys Harbor, we were already planning our next outing. With the uncertainty of the ice, you must take advantage of the opportunity to get out there when you can. As long as JJ says the ice is good, I’ll be taking that bumpy ride on the ice soon. Lift, drop, wiggle, pause…………

So long and thanks for all the fish,