Is a guide necessary for backwaters? Edited with more questions

[fishinator]

I'm in the process of planning a trip to fish the Mississippi backwaters for the first time this season. Will be coming from Indiana. For those of you that fish the backwaters, do you feel like a guide is necessary?  I have all the necessary safety gear and know how to fish but I'm only going to be able to stay a few days tops. I'd really hate to waste the entire trip  searching for fish.  Right now I'm looking at early to mid February and the Onalaska area. Any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT
First off thanks for all the suggestions. I have booked a cabin in onalaska February 26th through the 29th.
  Any must have baits to stock up on? I have plenty of jigs and plastics. I don't have many spoons or jigging raps. Any preferred colors?
  Last question is do tip ups need to have a blade/beads added?

[Stellahound]

I am pretty new to fishing the backwaters myself. In the past we have taken trips trying to do things solo, only to end up not catching much and leave frustrated. We have found it better to hire a guide on certain bodies of water that we are not comfortable fishing. We went out with Mike McCormick pike fishing last year in Onalaska. He put us on fish and we were able to learn new techniques that we had never tried prior to this trip.

[LENNY]

If you are planning to fish OnAlaska just show up an hour after daylight, follow how people went out and fish near other people. If you are going to drive up and down the river looking for a spot (Stoddard has easy access) you might want to try a guide, some areas have different water flow and channels are hidden.

[matzilla]

You can't go wrong with a guide...but for that area, it is entirely not needed. There are so many community holes around the La Crosse area that all you need to do is drive around and fish where others are fishing. Keep an eye on the fishing tournaments scheduled for the time you're going, it can get busy on the ice in a hurry. Usually by Feb there is plenty of ice

Coming from Indiana you could fish Onalaska and hit Stoddard and Desoto Bay on your way home

[fishinator]

I appreciate all the replies. I'm considering coming up during the week to avoid any tournaments. I'm not absolutely set on the la crosse area, are the other areas you mentioned any better/worse? Easier access at either? I have no machine so I will be on foot.

[matzilla]

There are at least 15 great places to fish around La Crosse - thats why it gets so much traffic. The other options are further south and right off the highway so they'd be convenient if you take that route back to Indiana. Further north would be Trempealeau, Winona, etc up to Wabasha. Onalaska to Desoto Bay has the highest concentration of jumbo perch on the entire river. A lot of people will prefish those tournaments and many more will be fishing before and after work hours on that good ice in Feb. Don't let the crowds steer you away from a location - there are plenty of fish to catch 

[fishinator]

Bump

[Stellahound]

Too add a little to my original response, I went out with a guide (Nathan Alexander) on December 20. He put us on some very nice perch and crappies. We went out the following two days and didn't fare as well doing it alone. I have made a few trips to the backwaters and now have a better understanding of areas to fish. As others have stated there are a ton of spots to fish. There are Facebook groups that share a good amount of info on the subject.

I think if it was my first time it would be worth spending the money on a guide for a day. Have the guide put you on some fish, learn the area and then go explore. It is a huge area and very scenic. There are also some very nice fish to be caught there.

Best of luck let us know how it goes

P.S. I fished the area this past weekend. Bite overall was slow. Gold seemed to be the best color. I am using plastics more so than live bait recently and am coming to like them.

I thought I was told something about needing to use a blade or bead on a tip up as so it constituted a lure? Maybe this had to do with how many lines a guy could have out? I do not know the actual legal statue on that tho.

[fishinator]

Too add a little to my original response, I went out with a guide (Nathan Alexander) on December 20. He put us on some very nice perch and crappies. We went out the following two days and didn't fare as well doing it alone. I have made a few trips to the backwaters and now have a better understanding of areas to fish. As others have stated there are a ton of spots to fish. There are Facebook groups that share a good amount of info on the subject.

I think if it was my first time it would be worth spending the money on a guide for a day. Have the guide put you on some fish, learn the area and then go explore. It is a huge area and very scenic. There are also some very nice fish to be caught there.

Best of luck let us know how it goes

P.S. I fished the area this past weekend. Bite overall was slow. Gold seemed to be the best color. I am using plastics more so than live bait recently and am coming to like them.

I thought I was told something about needing to use a blade or bead on a tip up as so it constituted a lure? Maybe this had to do with how many lines a guy could have out? I do not know the actual legal statue on that tho.

I put serious thought into a guide but the prices are just a little much for me. It's going to cost less to rent a cabin for 4 days than it costs for 1 day of a guided trip.

[matzilla]

No guide - over 100 fish in 3.5 days between 3 of us. Airport Lights on Lake Onalaska. This is two years in a row we have gone 100+ fish in less than 4 days

Rattling Kastmasters tipped with minnow heads and tipdowns will whole minnows - rosey reds work better than fat heads 5:1. When the bite gets tough use tungsten with minnow  head



There are less weeds this year vs last, so its a little harder to eliminate areas that aren't holding fish....they're much more spread out over the flat. I would highly recommend using 2 tip downs and a single jigging rod to track the school movements. Drill lots of holes and keep on them.

[fishinator]

No guide - over 100 fish in 3.5 days between 3 of us. Airport Lights on Lake Onalaska. This is two years in a row we have gone 100+ fish in less than 4 days

Rattling Kastmasters tipped with minnow heads and tipdowns will whole minnows - rosey reds work better than fat heads 5:1. When the bite gets tough use tungsten with minnow  head

(Image removed from quote.)

There are less weeds this year vs last, so its a little harder to eliminate areas that aren't holding fish....they're much more spread out over the flat. I would highly recommend using 2 tip downs and a single jigging rod to track the school movements. Drill lots of holes and keep on them.

Just finished building 2 tip downs and ordered some rattling kastmasters. Thanks for the info.

[matzilla]

No problem!!!!

[Mr.Seaguar]

No guide - over 100 fish in 3.5 days between 3 of us. Airport Lights on Lake Onalaska. This is two years in a row we have gone 100+ fish in less than 4 days

Rattling Kastmasters tipped with minnow heads and tipdowns will whole minnows - rosey reds work better than fat heads 5:1. When the bite gets tough use tungsten with minnow  head

(Image removed from quote.)

There are less weeds this year vs last, so its a little harder to eliminate areas that aren't holding fish....they're much more spread out over the flat. I would highly recommend using 2 tip downs and a single jigging rod to track the school movements. Drill lots of holes and keep on them.

That's 10 fish a day.

[eastchannel]

For Lake Onalaska, Wisconsin panfish bag limit per day is 25, includes bluegills, perch, crappies etc.

[52isntbigenough]

Looks like a Gogebic type of fishery where you aren't getting 25 a day, but the ones you do get make up for it.

[matzilla]

so far this year it hasn't been huge numbers, but larger fish - reason being river was flooded most of the year, still a bit high, and water is up and down weekly. Way less weeds than a normal year so you're looking at basically a 12 square mile mud flat with no holding cover, pinch points, or highways. On a normal year you can find a clearing in the weeds that acts like a perch highway, setup camp and catch one after another most of the day. This year you need to move big and move often to stay on the schools

[52isntbigenough]

This makes me want to go out there.

[matzilla]

We drive 4 hours each way to get there and so far its been worth the trip!

[Mr.Seaguar]

I'd rather go to work than fish all day for 10 panfish.

[52isntbigenough]

We drive 4 hours each way to get there and so far its been worth the trip!

I hit Gogebic at least once a year, you're lucky to get 6-8, but the Perch you get are trophies.

[Ranger619]

I'd rather go to work than fish all day for 10 panfish.

Then go punch the time clock