Anglers to be treated to solid ice fishing in Chequamegon Bay

Ashland, WI, United States (AHN Sports) – With an unusually high number of cancelled ice fishing tournaments this year, Chequamegon Bay in Wisconsin offers a solid destination for ice anglers.

Local residents, in particular, ice fishing enthusiasts, who have up-to-the minute knowledge when it comes to ice safety in the area, assure about 12 inches of ice on part of the bay.

The north part of the bay area, about 30 feet deep with a soft bottom, has been known to yield a variety of the fish species Chequamegon Bay is noted for.

The bay, an inlet of Lake Superior, 12 miles (19 km) NE-SW and 2-6 miles (10 km) wide, in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the extreme northern part of Wisconsin, produces at least 16 fish species, including its famous native fish, the eelpout.

The eelpout, also known as burbot and lawyer, is known for its unique looks and delicious flesh.

It is a bottom-dwelling fish in the cod family that can be caught mostly in February. It is also referred to by many as “freshwater lobster” for its firm, white flesh.

The bay, considered for its unique, relatively fertile ecosystem, has also attracted attention for its robust smallmouth bass harvest in the last couple of decades.

Chequamegon Bay has been rated among the top 10 list of the world’s best smallmouth bass fishing destinations by In-Fisherman Magazine.

Developing and sustaining the high-quality smallmouth fishery has been made possible not only by the bay’s excellent forage and habitat for bass, but also by the protective local regulations pertaining to the said fish.

Other fish species available to anglers on the bay include, the walleye, yellow perch, lake sturgeon, smelt, herring, whitefish, northern pike, coho salmon, chinook salmon, lake trout, splake, brown trout, brook trout and rainbow trout.

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