Ranger, in all honesty, I don't think you are going to get a lot of assistance as guys are typically tight lipped on backwater fishing. As you know, some of these areas are rather small in size, thus they don't want company. I live in southeast Wisconsin and like you, I am yearning for local / safe ice. Before Christmas, I spent some time on Google maps and viewed potential backwaters of the Wisconsin River by Stevens Point. I focused on sloughs and adjacent roads. I drove up there and there were cars parked along the road and guys on the ice. There should be some snow cover in the area Gillespie was on so you should see tracks to follow to the ice. You could also try calling some of the bait shops in these areas and go that route. Food for thought and be safe.
