“Hey Rob”, cracked the 2-way radio, “we just caught another”. As a result of the radio call, we quickly switched over to the color of the callers choice. This was ice fishing with fellow Chitown-Angler members in 2004.

If driving a short distance for quality fish and great lodging amenities sounds like fun, then read on. In January, we made two trips to the Wisconsin Dells Area for ice fishing. Our short drive to the Dells took about three hours from the Chicago Area. Heading west or north from the Chicago area, either take I-88/I-39 or I-290 to Rockford, then head north to the Dells on I-94.

For starters, Chitown-Angler registered members Bob G. and his son Harley, myself, and a friend went to the Wisconsin Dells/Lake Delton area for some ice fishing. SunsetBay Resort provided lodging, which is centrally located right on Lake Delton (www.sunsetbayresort.com). Sunset Bay Resort is within minutes of all Wisconsin Dells activities and restaurants. They have great accommodations, an indoor pool, continental breakfast, and many lodging packages available. After spending long hours on the ice, take time to hit the pool and hot tub at the hotel. There are many lakes in the area, many of which we never managed to fish. Our goal was to hit Lake Delton for pan fish, and Devils Lake for the trout.

In addition to trying a new area, we were testing out the latest Rino 110 and 120, 2-way/GPS communication units from Garmin electronics. Not only were we able to keep in contact about fishing conditions, we were able to see the other groups exact position in relation to the lake. For future use, we marked areas we fished, depth contours, access and other valuable information. These units are new tools that will find their way into your tackle box.

For fish finding/locating, we utilized 2 units, a Lowrance X67C, and an Aqua View XPSC60. For deeper water, the Lowrance unit worked better by pinpointing fish and enticing them to bite. In shallow water, the Aqua view unit worked better to distinguish what type of action was needed to draw the strike. In combination, the use of the 2 units equaled success for the trips.

Lake Delton has a maximum depth of 16 feet, average depth of 8 feet and covers 270 acres. Species available are bass, crappie, walleye and catfish. For pan fish, try small jigs tipped with a wax worm or Gulp bait. There are many access locations on Lake Delton; some have better parking and lighting than others. We opted for access within a block of Sunset Bay Resort; the purpose was to fish a cove and contour break to the maximum depth of the lake. This location gave us the shortest distance to travel to get the maximum depth range for fishing.

Devils Lake located 20 minutes south of the Dells has a maximum depth of 47 feet, average depth of 30 feet, and covers 370 acres. Species available are brown trout, bass, crappie, walleye and catfish. For the trout, try medium to large fatheads and a stiffer rod than used for panfish. Bites were on the aggressive side, if the fish were there, the baits were being banged. Two members of our group experienced 50 strikes in an 8 hour fishing day. During that time, they each managed to fill their 3-fish daily limit of brown trout.

One method for catching the trout was to use a light wire hook, cork bobber and a split shot 12-14-inches above the bait. This rig was deadly for fish in the 8-15 FOW range. For deeper fish, we removed the bobber and jigged depths identified by the Lowrance Unit that possibly held fish. For their trout, Bob G. and his son used glow hooks from Northland tackle, matched with a Thill float. For both groups, tail hooking the baits produced the most fish. For the first trip, fish were found from 8-25 FOW, and on the second trip they were found at 15-20 FOW, and right off the bottom. Frabil tip-ups and wind tip-ups produced the most hits on the second trip. This time the trout were right at the bottom.

Parking passes are required at Devils Lake State Park. A daily pass is $10, and an annual pass is $30. Stop at the visitor center on the north shore to buy a permit. Fines can exceed the permit cost; so take the time to get the permit instead of wasting fishing time. For Wisconsin, don’t forget your inland trout stamp, its needed to fish for the brown trout.

For us, Saturday night of the first trip was our favorite. We spent almost 12 hours on the ice at two different lakes. We prepared lunch for the two days, nothing fancy, sandwiches and chips. But the best was when they called us on the Rino 2-way radio to say, "Dinner was served". That venison steak dinner, cooked by Bob and his son on the ice, capped off the weekend. We had a great time with new friends, and it was decided on the ice to make it an annual winter trip.

For future trips, the lake is electric motor only. That restriction only adds to the serenity of the area. As summer nears, we’ll be planning a return trip for the inland browns. We have the GPS coordinates of where we caught trout from our ice fishing adventure, so all we need is a row boat, snacks and our kids.