The Lake Michigan ports near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hold some of the ice-fishing world’s biggest and best-kept secrets. And if you want to get in on the fun, Eric Haataja is your guy.

Haataja, a year-round guide who owns Big Fish Guide Service, excels at putting clients on huge winter brown trout and steelhead — all within view of a major metropolitan area.

“In our harbors on the Great Lakes, we have the world’s best brown trout fishery through the ice,” said Haataja, who’s also a custom-rod maker and IGFA world-record holder. “You can go lots of places to catch lake trout, rainbows, bluegills, walleyes, pike, crappies and bass. There are not a lot of places in the world where can you catch 10- to 25-pound brown trout through the ice — very few places consistently.”

And Haataja has the bite down to a science. Here’s how he sets clients up for this bucket-list ice-fishing experience.

Learning the Game

For decades, state agencies have stocked browns, steelhead and other salmonids in Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes, and the efforts created a thriving open-water fishery and charter-boat industry. Catching those fish through the ice proved trickier, however. Haataja first learned about winter opportunities in the Milwaukee area as a teenager in the early 1990s.

“Very few people were doing it,” he said. “Just a handful of guys really. It was just unique to me because I like catching big fish. You know, our harbors here have some of the biggest browns in the world through the ice, so for me, it was really intriguing to be able to go out and catch 10- to 20-pound brown trout through the ice. And steelhead.”

At first, Haataja followed conventional wisdom, using standard walleye gear, such as jigging Rapalas or tip-ups baited with minnows. He refined those methods as he learned more about the fish and their winter behavior.

“I started incorporating a lot more of the fall and tributary techniques I use, like fishing tube jigs, hair jigs, spawn and scent baits,” he said. “And it just completely changed the game for me, because everyone would be looking at me like, ‘What are you doing, what are we not doing and how are you catching all of those fish?’ When I started figuring out more and more stuff, it just made it more fun.”

A Guide’s Secrets

Haataja said browns and steelhead congregate in harbors during fall and winter but don’t focus on specific forage.

“They’re not in there feeding heavily, so that’s what makes them tricky to catch, because it’s not like they’re keying in on smelt or shad,” he said. “They’re opportunistic feeders, so they will eat just about anything from a minnow to a dead bait to a goby. If there are shad around, they will feed on shad.”

More importantly, Haataja has learned through experience that winter browns and steelhead are finicky biters. He uses his own purpose-built rods and typically has clients jig baits such as spawn, hair jigs or jigging spoons. He focuses on the entire water column and typically finds fish about halfway down or near the bottom — about 8 to 20 feet. However, some fish will stay high in the water column.

Lake Michigan’s water is extremely clear, so Haataja uses light line, such as 6-pound-test fluorocarbon to avoid spooking line-shy trout. One more vital tip is that he always uses a hook-setting device, such as a JawJacker Hook Setter, to take advantage of what are often light or imperceptible bites.

“Most guys use tip-ups and aren’t using a hook-setting device, and they struggle and catch nothing,” he said. “I see guys come down and not catch fish for their whole group. I use my Haat Rods with a JawJacker, which is specifically designed for very finicky biters. Everything has to be balanced right. They’re not pike, and they’re not walleyes. They don’t just bite the minnow and hold onto it. Tip-ups will work with certain applications, but for most applications, they don’t work that well. As soon as fish touch the bait, the JawJacker sets the hook for you. It’s like a nice a mousetrap. You take the rod and fight the fish after that.”

What to Expect

The ice bite for harbor browns and steelhead typically starts in January or February, but might begin some years in November or December, depending on temperatures and ice conditions. Some seasons, the action can last into March.

“We check ice conditions, and as soon as we can, we’re getting out there and getting on them,” Haataja said.

Most years, Haataja ice-fishes harbors almost every day — sometimes 45-plus consecutive days. That requires considerable work, as ice conditions don’t let anglers use vehicles or ATVs to access spots.

“It’s a lot of physical labor because you’re carrying everything out by foot and setting up in the dark, so it’s very physically demanding — way more so than open-water fishing,” he said. “There are not a lot of places that you can take ATVs, and there’s no ATV access in a lot of places. You have to walk it and hump it out.”

To add to the challenge, Haataja and his clients often fish through difficult conditions, as those days typically result in the best action.

“Most of it’s probably weather related, with barometric pressure probably being the big thing,” he said. “Cold and nasty are good conditions. When no one wants to be out there, a lot of times those are the best conditions. When you see those warming trends where it’s beautiful, those are tougher days, historically speaking.”

Haataja stated that the average brown trout his clients catch probably weighs 8 to 15 pounds, and steelhead average about 6 to 12 pounds. However, anglers can catch steelhead heavier than 15 pounds and browns topping 20 pounds. Haataja’s largest brown through the ice weighed almost 28 pounds. And as you might expect, big Lake Michigan trout put up a great fight. The average battle lasts about 10 to 20 minutes.

Lake Michigan’s brown trout and steelhead numbers are slowly declining because of stocking cutbacks, but Haataja’s clients still consistently experience steady action.

“This past year, if we had two guys out, our average catch ratio would be around three to six fish, and if we have a really good day, they might land 10 or 12,” he said. “A horrible day would be one or two.”

Conclusion

Haataja said opportunities for big browns and steelhead aren’t limited to the Milwaukee area. In fact, much of Wisconsin’s eastern shore can provide winter action.

“Probably some of the best ports don’t get fished,” he said. “Even areas up in Door County, like Egg Harbor, Bailey’s Harbor, Manitowoc Harbor, Kewaunee Harbor, Sheboygan Harbor and the Sheboygan River. The rivers are also very good. There are lots of brown trout up on the Menominee River through the ice. Someone who’s looking to go trout fishing and explore just has to do a Google search of where the DNR has stocked brown trout in the last eight to 10 years.”

Of course, Haataja emphasized that anglers venturing onto Lake Michigan in winter should keep safety in mind. Even sheltered harbors don’t see consistent ice thicknesses like inland waters, and the ice can vary quite a bit.

If you’re up for a unique ice adventure featuring big fish this season, contact Haataja. Odds are he’ll be out there, experiencing a world-class bite within sight of the city skyline.