Panfish outing a lesson in simplicity and fun
PEWAUKEE - The sun was still bright in the crystal clear winter sky over Pewaukee Lake.
But at 3:30 p.m. Thursday most of its work was through. And what a job it had done.
El Sol had helped push the mercury to 24 degrees Fahrenheit and the reflected light off the lake's snow and ice could have produced tan lines on exposed skin.
For winter-hardened Wisconsinites, it was the dividend we receive for enduring harsh weather.
More than 100 people were cashing in and recreating on Pewaukee's frozen expanse.
Two women threw a frisbee. A pickup hockey game broke out.
And at least 80 hard-water anglers including Brian Settele and me - were scattered across the lake.
Settele and I arranged to meet in the late afternoon at the boat landing at Smokey's Muskie Shop on Pewaukee's south shore.
By then the sun had started its descent toward the southwestern horizon.
If it was a dog we'd have been looking at its wagging tail.
"This is what I call happy hour," Settele said, nodding at the sun dropping toward the trees.
Yes, not every reference to those 60 minutes has to do with discounted alcohol in taverns. And in the era of COVID-19, it's especially nice to be able to gather with a friend outdoors.
But what Settele, of Menomonee Falls, was speaking most directly about was his preference for fishing around sunset.
We drove down the boat landing onto the ice and headed north toward the center of the lake.
With at least 18 inches of cement-like ice, Pewaukee was in good condition for vehicle travel.
Several dozen pick-ups and cars were visible on the lake, as well as a smattering of hard-sided fishing shanties and pop-up tents.
Settele had been out recently and had good success on panfish as well as some walleyes and northern pike.
"It's been late afternoon, early evening," Settele said. "Even in that bad weather, the fish have been pretty aggressive."
We set up first on a spot Settele fished a couple days before. He remembered it by its relationship to a fish house and a snow drift.
Yes, we would have had to do some searching if it had snowed again.
But it hadn't, and it's part of the fun of fishing with my friend.
Settele likes to keep things simple. The less technology, the better. And if it has a touch of nostalgia, so much the better.
So he didn't use a GPS to mark the spot and we didn't use an underwater camera or flasher unit, either.
We used 3-foot long rods with levelwind reels and 2-pound monofilament to fish tiny jigs tipped with spikes, or maggots.
After we punched a few holes, we clamped 1-ounce "bottom finder" weights to our jigs to measure the water depth.
Pewaukee Lake covers 2,437 acres and and has a maximum depth of 45 feet. But much of it is relatively shallow.
We had set up over about 8 feet of water on a large flat. Our initial drops returned good news - they picked up some green aquatic vegetation.
"That's the key, finding the weeds," said Settele, who owns a tree service and Fish Chasers Guide Service. "That's the place the panfish can both find food and hide from predators."
Settele set up a pop-up fishing shelter in case one of us wanted to use it. It came in very handy during the polar vortex.
But Thursday we fished outside. After the recent bitter cold, the day had a softness to it only Wisconsinites and others scattered around the northern crown of the globe can appreciate. It was a "no gloves" day.
I sat on a bucket and dropped my 1/ 64th-ounce jig tipped with two spikes to the bottom, then raised it a bit.
The rod-and-reel outfits were similar to the ones Settele used when he was a kid learning to fish in the 1970s.
They had a spring bobber attached to the rod tip to help detect bites.
"This is old school, that's right," Settele said. "But it's just as productive as anything."
Settele's second drop was gobbled up and he retrieved a feisty 7 1/2-inch bluegill.
I had a few short bites before I was able to connect with a similarly-sized bluegill.
The action was sporadic over the first 45 minutes, with each of us icing bluegills as well as a few pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow perch.
Looking around, the village on the ice of Pewaukee was pulsing with activity. A man drove his ATV across the lake, followed by a galloping golden retriever.
Kids shoveled a skating area to our east.
Overhead, jets left white contrails across the cobalt sky.
Settele and I did a little hole hopping when things slowed. At our sides we also kept an open-faced spinning rod and reel combo with heavier line and a jigging spoon or glide bait on the business end.
Some of the lulls occur when predator fish such as northern pike and muskellunge move in.
"I like to drop those bigger lures down there if I think a big, toothy fish is hanging around," Settele said.
Sometimes big fish hit tiny jigs, too. Settele caught a 24-inch walleye on his panfish rig on a recent outing.
We did not have any sophisticated electronics to help us.
But the tackle was extremely sensitive - the spring bobbers telegraphed my pulse as I held the rod.
About 4:45 the action ramped up. Every drop was met with a solid bite. The spring wouldn't even quiver. It just doubled over.
For 20 minutes the panfish bite was non-stop. The bluegills ranged from 6 to 9 inches, the pumpkinseeds were all about 8, the perch were about 6.
We released the biggest and smallest fish and kept five each in the 7 to 8 inch range.
Fishing can be tough even in good spots and with proper techniques and tackle.
But this was the kind that restores confidence, affirms you are doing the right things.
And it happened on a gift of a day in mid-February.
Just after sunset, we packed up and drove off the ice.
Happy hour had never been as refreshing.