I get interesting emails sometimes....

Like this one:

Hi Chris

I'm a Casting Associate with Top Hooker, which is a new competition show from the producers of Top Shot, Dirty Jobs, and The Ultimate Fighter. We are currently casting for the second season, and are looking for skilled and adventurous fishermen/women to be on the show. I wanted to reach out to you to see if this might interest you, your colleagues, clients, or friends.

And here's some additional information:
NOW CASTING Dynamic Fishermen for Season 2 of Animal Planet’s Highly-Anticipated Fishing Competition Show !!!

The producers of Top Shot, Dirty Jobs and The Ultimate Fighter are seeking America's best and boldest men and women to take on the new season of Animal Planet's extreme fishing competition, Top Hooker.

On this hotly-anticipated new TV show, you and a handful of daring fishing enthusiasts will tackle exciting and intense challenges on America's rivers, lakes, streams and even the open ocean.

We are looking for COMPETITIVE, OUTGOING and SKILLED anglers, spear fishermen, game fishermen, fly fishermen, trawlers and trappers from all walks of life. It doesn't matter if your experience is commercial, sport or recreational. As long as you're skilled, adaptable and confident enough to take on anything we throw at you, you could win A BIG GRAND PRIZE and the title of Animal Planet's next Top Hooker.

This is TV's wildest fishing competition. APPLY TODAY!!! DEADLINE TO APPLY IS TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013!

Send an email to TopHookerCasting@gmail.com with your name, age, phone number, location, a recent photo (without hat and sunglasses please!) and a brief explanation of why you are
America's next Top Hooker.



A link with the rules and such is here: www.pilgrimstudios.com/casting/tophooker

Take a Vet fishing event in Madison on June 9th.

The 2nd annual Take a Vet fishing event is happening on Lake Waubesa on June 9th.

Event website with video and sign-up details is http://takeavetfishing.com/

Information from the website on the event:

 A Day of Giving Back

Sunday, June 9th 2013
Lake Waubesa on the Madison Chain of Lakes

All boats will launch from Babcock Park starting at 6:30am

Babcock Park

2909 US 51
McFarland, WI. 53558

Fishing time is from 7:30am – 11:30am

Veterans Memorial Party will start at 12:00 noon at McDaniel Park

McDaniel Park

4904 McDaniel Lane
McFarland, WI. 53558

Festivities will begin at 12:30pm with a flag ceremony honoring all of our active and retired US Military Veterans

Food will be served starting at 1:00pm. All families of participating military personnel are welcome to join the Veterans Memorial Party starting at 12:00 noon.

A Veteran Recognition Tribute will immediately follow lunch at 2:00pm. EACH VETERAN who participates in the event will be recognized with gifts, give a ways, and raffle prizes – all donated by our sponsors.

Space is limited! All entries will be on a first-come first-served basis!

Please contact Jay Garstecki at (847) 921-0760 or jgarstecki@yahoo.com with any questions

WMT/ Pro-Mac Events This Weekend.

I've gotten a couple of emails about the musky tournaments on Okauchee and Pewaukee this weekend.

I sent an email to the tournament organizers this morning to see if there's still room. I'll post the reply as soon as I get it, but if you wanted to pursue it yourself, the contact information for the WMT trail is available here.

Cheers,
CT

Okauchee 5-13-13

Out today 9:30-2:30 with Paul Smith from the Journal-Sentinel.

Had a couple of quick bursts of action, but was tough bite overall. All bass except for one shorty were 15-18.5 inches. Big fish was a unspawned female. Had one other female that wasn't spawned out, the rest were males.

Fished the usual early season spots, looking for warmer water and baitfish. There were fish in each area we fished, but getting bites was tough. Hooked a decent musky up in Tierney, but it got me wrapped up on a dock post. Tried to feed it line, and it ended up jumping a couple of times before breaking me off. Looked to be low/mid 40's.

Water dropped into the low to mid 50's during the cold snap. Was mid 60's when I was out on Thursday. Weeds are getting green, and have started growing big time. Water is high, and current is flowing through.

Fish were moving up, but there weren't many nests being guarded yet. I expect the warm up will put them on the nests pretty quick, and if you're fishing WABTA this weekend, you can probably plan on fishing for bedded fish.

Should be a busy week with the tournaments and such, but the fishing should also be pretty good as the warmer weather moves back in and stabilizes.

Good Luck,
CT

Fishing Report 5-9-13

Was out today on Okauchee chasing bass. Started with a jig and pig up front and a wacky rig in the back. Had to make an adjustment but dialed in the fish about 90-minutes in, and then knocked them out. Had several over 3 pounds, with a 20 incher in the batch. I would have liked to keep fishing, but the rain chased us.

Water was 60+ everywhere, but I didn't see many bedding bass...which was very surprising. The fish we were catching were shallow, but off the bank....classic pre-spawn feeding pattern for the larger female fish we were dialed into today.

This cold front that's about to hit is going to slow things down  a bit, but I expect the fishing to stay very, very good for the next ten days-two weeks before we hit that slow down in the post spawn.

Here's one picture from the cellphone...apology for the distortion in depth perception.

One of the better ones from today.

Onto business...

It's spring. You should fish spring patterns.

Water is in the low to mid 60's on most lakes, although this cold snap will drop the temps some before next week.

Panfish are moving into the shallows in groups. There's still plenty of fish hanging off the breaks suspended, especially the larger crappies, but you can get onto some decent sized fish in the 4-8 FOW range.  Areas with green weeds will hold the most panfish, but look for them around laydowns and docks that reach deeper water. Lots of nice gills are schooled up around deeper docks right now.  Keep it simple, small bobbers and small bait. Minnows for the crappies, but otherwise plastics tipped with waxies or spikes. Remember the biggest panfish are on the bottom of the school, so get that bait down to them. (Okauchee, Kessus, Ashippun, Lower Nehmabin, Fowler, Nagawicka, Pine, Golden, Middle Genessee and Forest (for shore fishing)

Largemouth bass fishing was on fire this week. I have put some huge fish in the boat since the opener. Each day requires a little adjustment, and this cold snap will push that theory to its limits this weekend, but the fishing should be fantastic for at least the next ten days. A few fish are up on the beds, but most are still chasing bait and craws at the last major structural elements outside of the spawning areas. Jig and pig, wacky, floating worms, soft jerkbaits, grubs, drop shot minnows and lipless crankbaits are all producing depending on the day. Lindy rigs with leeches fished around shallow weed clumps will catch fish, as will split shotting nightcrawlers along shallow rock to weed transitions. Now is the time to catch your biggest bass of the year. (Okauchee, Silver, Golden, Kessus, Moose, Oconomowoc, Pine, North, Nagawicka, School Section or Pretty.)

Pike fishing has been steady, with most fish being caught by musky or bass anglers. Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits or lipless crankbaits fished over/around shallow weeds or in marshy areas can really produce this time of year.

Musky are still shallow and seem to be chasing spinners, gliders and jerkbaits. Consistently hearing about lots of lazy follows on Pewaukee, Okauchee and Oconomowoc, which usually means people are fishing tackle that's too big. Try downsizing and throwing baits in natural patterns, especially if you are fishing the Muskie's Inc tournament on Saturday.

Trout are still being caught in decent numbers from the stocked ponds and lakes. Lower Genessee is still giving up some decent numbers.

Best of luck this week.

Cheers,
CT

New Bass Species Identified

Think of all the tournament rulebooks that will have to be updated!

More information on the discovery is here.

Openings next week....

I have a couple of days open the weeks of the 13th and 20th, and I'd really like to fill them. To that end, I'll knock $50 of the going rate for a half day trip, or $75 off a full day trip. We can do a multispecies trip on an agreed upon local lake.

Email me or call for more information....

New Rig Test/Moose Lake 5-6-13

Got out for a couple of hours today to put the Princecraft through a test run. Its a very stable platform, and even the higher sides didn't bother me much. The tiller will still take some getting used to.

Fished 11:30-1:30 with Kathy from Musky Mikes on Moose Lake. The Okauchee Launch was full, but it ended up working out just fine for a water test for the new boat.

Nothing fancy...Pitching a Jig and Craw around the obvious shallow stuff. Was more interested in getting a feel for the new boat than fishing.

Anyway, the fish are starting to move up, but it is still "early." Water was 61 degrees at the launch when we pulled out.



Caught three keepers including this one:

21"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local Tournaments-Update

Building on my earlier post here, I have information on two more tournaments.

First, there's a weekly Monday night tournament on Nehmabin. I believe it is held out of the Channel Inn by the public boat launch. I've never fished it, but Becky Smith told me about it.

I also have the schedule for Thursday Nights that are sponsored by Dick Smith's.

May 9 Nagawicka (Public Launch)
May 16 Pewaukee (Kim's Lakeside)
May 23rd Nagawicka
May 30th Pewaukee
June 6th Nag
June 13th Pewaukee
June 20th Nag
June 27th Pewaukee
July 4 Nagawicka
July 11th Pewaukee
July18 Nagawicka
July 25th Pewaukee
August 1 Nag
August 8th Pewaukee
August 15th Nagawicka
August 22nd Pewaukee
August 29th Nagawicka
September 5th Pewaukee
September 12 Nagawicka

Saturday :September 15 Classic-On Nagawicka

Mixed reports for the opener....

Heard a wide variety of reports from around the area about the fishing this weekend for the opener. Overall, I heard about some nice size fish being caught, but it seemed that the fishing was fairly inconsistent and on the slow side. Some decent pre-spawn bass, and several nice pike among the reports that filtered in this afternoon/evening.

I took the opener off this year. I was prepping my "new" boat. After a little mishap with my beloved Starcraft two weeks ago, I upgraded a little. I'm now running a tiller Princecraft 169. I wanted a boat that was a little more kid friendly and a had a much bigger livewell for musky tournament fishing. I found a quality used model (actually my dad came across it.) I picked it up this weekend, and spent the day today mounting my electronics and other gear on the boat.

It's a much wider platform and will fish 3 much more comfortably than my older boat. Looking forward to doing some serious precision trolling for walleyes this season on Lac Labelle and Oconomowoc with slow death rigs, and the new boat is perfect for this job.

Looking forward to getting out. My open guiding dates start this week, so if you want to go out and hunt for some trophy bass...shoot me an email.

2013 Opener Preview

Here's what to expect when you hit the water this weekend.

1.) Water temps in the low to mid fifties. Some isolated bays may be approaching 60 degrees, but only if the wind stays down, and the afternoons are sunny.

2.) Limited new growth of weeds. New green growth is just beginning, and any that you are able to find will likley hold fish.

3.)Higher than average water.  Pay attention to the conditions, and don't overlook areas with current. Active fish will use current areas in the spring.

4.) I'd skip the morning run on Saturday, and focus my efforts in the warmer parts of the day. You may need to make some adjustments throughout the weekend as conditions change.


Panfish: Starting to stage on weed flats and in marshy areas. Look for the warmest shallow water in the afternoons. Plastics tipped with waxworms, or small tail hooked minnows are catching fish, but they are running small. Strike zone is small, make sure to make accurate casts if fishing for shallow, visible fish. (Best Local Options: Okauchee, Pine, Kessus, Nag, Lower Nashotah, Fowler, Middle Geneessee, Moose, Garvin and Golden)

Bass: Pre-Pre spawn. Look for small groups of fish to be cruising in the shallow water in the afternoons. Some of the early warming bays and channels may have some early bucks up in the shallow water, but I'd expect to see more schooling activity. Grubs, tubes and wacky are your best bets, but a jigworm might be the key approach. (Okauchee, Silver, Golden, Nag, Oconomowoc, Lac Labelle, Kessus, Pewaukee, Beaver)

Action will come in spurts, but look for warmer water and green weeds. If the sun is out, rocks can pull in fish later in the day as they absorb heat. Large fish can be caught on a jerbait or slow rolled spinnerbait on the deep edges of points near spawning coves. If you're seeing bigger fish in the shallows, jig and pig in a black/blue, black/red or rootbeer pattern will produce. If you find fish out deep, a texas rigged lizard can land you the biggest bass of the season over the next ten days.

Northern: Lots of fish on the flats, live bait, buzzbaits or lipless crankbaits will produce the most fish. Probably your best option for early fishing this weekend if you're looking for steady action. Big fish will be one breakline deeper than where the active, smaller fish are. (Moose, Kessus, Nag, Emily, Okauchee, Pretty, Golden)

Walleye: Lots of fish on the 6-12 foot deep flat areas. Especially around, but out of the current, and in any shallow standing weeds. Lindy rigging and drifting or slow death trolling are good options. (Oconomowoc, Lac Labelle, Pine, Nag and North)

Musky: Live baiting with suckers, small bucktails and jerkbaits are your best options for the opener. Reports of spawning pairs have been circulating on Okauchee, Garvin and Pewaukee for a few days. (Lac Labelle, Pewaukee, Okauchee, Oconomowoc and North)

Good Luck.
CT

Rock River Update

Shoreline fishing and boat launching ban in Fort Atkinson is lifted today-May 1st.

Water is still high, dirty and fast...but if you're looking for a place to get away from the crowds on the inland lakes this weekend, there's sure to be whitebass and catfish to catch.

Tournament Schedule for Local Lakes 2013 Season

Building on the last post...here's a list of the tournaments I have (so far) for our local lakes.

Note....These are just the ones for the lakes I cover. Full Schedules for each of the circuits are available at the website links for each of the associations.

I'll update the list as I get more information, but here's what I have as of today, April 29th.

Weekly:
Tuesday Nights: Musky Mike's Big Bass League on Okauchee

C-N-R...(The Thursday Night) tournaments don't have a schedule up yet.


WABTA (www.wabta.org)
$125 Division
Okauchee May 18
Nagawicka June 23
Pewaukee July 20

$300 Division
Okauchee, June 15
August 3


Anglers Choice Registration Information/Link is Here
May 19, Whitewater
June 1, Nagawicka Lake
June 30 - Pewaukee Lake
August 10 - Pewaukee Lake
September 8 - Whitewater Lake
September 29 - Okauchee Lake
October 5 - Nagawicka Lake

Ironman Musky http://www.ironmanmusky.com/
April 20th Fox Chain North
June 8th Lake Waubesa
June 9th Take a Vet Fishing Lake Waubesa
Oct 19th Pewaukee Lake
Nov 2nd Lake Monona
Nov 3rd Lake Waubesa
Nov 9th Pewaukee Lake

No Professional Musky Trail (PMT) events in 2013 other than a Madison date in September.

World Muskie Tournaments-Musky Country Tournament Circuit (info here)

May 18-Pewaukee
May 19-Okauchee

Pewaukee-Okauchee-Oconomowoc Muskie Tournament May 11th

The Milwaukee Chapter of Muskie's Inc is having an early season fundraising tournament and banquet on Saturday May, 11th.

Information is here.

Just before the 2013 opener.....

Here is my annual pre-opening weekend post. Look for an final update Friday, May 3rd with weather and water conditions from around the area.

Need bait, equipment, or a fishing license? Do yourself a favor and buy from one of the locals.

Musky Mikes (Okauchee)

Dick Smith's (Delafield)

Smokey's  (Pewaukee)
---------
Taking a Kid Fishing this weekend? The DNR Suggests these spots:

Ashippun Lake Park
Location: In Oconomowoc, WI. Take Capitol Drive west to State Highway 16, go west on 16 to County Highway P, then take P north to County Highway K, go west on K to McMahon Road. Watch for "public access" sign.
Notes: Run by Waukesha County Parks. Park has picnic area, restrooms and shorefishing.

Denoon Lake
Location: Located on Crowbar Drive, south of Kelsey Drive. Go west from Highway Y.
Notes: Public park with ballfields, restrooms, picnic area and boat launch. Not much shorefishing, due to marshy area near shore.

Lac La Belle
Location: At the Fowler Lake Dam, on Highway 67, one-quarter mile north of State Highway 16 in the Oconomowoc, WI. Located just northeast of the beach and park on Lac La Belle. The beach and park are on Highway 16, just west of Highway 67.
Notes: Disabled accessible public fishing pier.

Little Muskego Lake
Location: Access from Idle Isle Park in Muskego, WI on the northeast side of Little Muskego Lake. Take Martin Drive to Hardtke Drive to the park.
Note: Idle Isle Park has a beach, picnic area, restrooms, accessible public fishing pier and boat launch.

Lower Phantom Lake
Location: In Phantom Glen Park in Mukwonago, WI. Take County Highway ES (Main Street) to Andrews Street, then go west into the park.
Notes: Public park with picnic area, restrooms, disabled accessible public fishing pier and boat ramp.

McKeaun Springs
Location: Trout pond located on the west side of Highway 67, between Piper Road and Road X. About 3 miles north of Eagle, WI.
Notes: No facilities, but there is a picnic area with restrooms just a short distance to the south. DNR manages as a children's trout fishing pond. Although it is officially category 3 (3 bag and 9 inch length), there is a voluntary regulation for adults to catch and release, and kids are allowed to keep one trout of any size. Designed to encourage adults to take kids out and teach them to trout fish.

Nagawicka Lake
Location: In Nagawaukee County Park. Take County Highway C, three-quarters of a mile north of Interstate 94 in Delafield, WI.
Notes: Public beach, picnic area, restrooms and concessions, camping, shorefishing and boat launch.

Nemahbin Lakes, Upper and Lower
Location: Southeast of Oconomowoc, WI, off of County Highway DR.
Notes: County owned access on frontage road between the two lakes, Highway DR. shorefishing on Upper Nemahbin from the road right-of-way. DNR owned carry-in site on Lower Nemahbin off Sugar Island Road.

Pewaukee Lake
Location: Village park in downtown Pewaukee, WI.
Notes: Public park with beach and public fishing pier. Can also access Pewaukee River just below the dam. On Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Pewaukee. Boat launch and shorefishing from county park and boat ramp at the west end, on Highway E.

---------------------
Local Shore Fishing Locations


Okauchee Lake: Shore fishing is available at the public boat landing. Take HWY 16 to the Sawyer Road exit. Turn left at the T-intersection, and drive through the town of Okauchee. At the clock tower, veer left and then go about a ¼ mile to Road T, which is a right hand turn. Free parking for cars is available.

Moose Lake: Shore and pier fishing is available at the Moose Lake Public Launch area. This launch has a nice park-like area available to shore fisherman. The launch area is just off Highway C, across from Cedar Bay Road.

Lac La Belle: Public Fishing Pier Located in Memorial Park in downtown Oconomowoc.

Nashotah Park: Just off of the corner of HWY C and HWY R in Nashotah there is a park and ride. Across HWY R, there is a low fence that marks access to the Forest Lake area of Nashotah Park. Anglers have to hike down the hill, but the entire shoreline of the small lake is available for shore-fishing.

Fowler Lake: There is space for shore fishing by the Labelle/Fowler Dam, at the boat landing and in the Riverside Park. The lake is just off HWY 16 in Downtown Oconomowoc. The boat landing is behind city hall.

Nagawicka Lake: Two areas allow public shore fishing access. There is some space at the public launch in the County Park off of HWY 83 near Delafield. A second option allows you to access St John's Bay and a section of the Bark River. Take HWY C to where the Military Academy is. There is a small park just south of downtown Delafield on the east side of the road.

Pewaukee Lake: Located in Nagawaukee County Park on the west side of the lake. From I-94, north on State Highway 83 for 1/8 mile, east on County Highway DR 1 1/2 miles, north on County Highway E to park entrance. Park fee is charged. There is also a public fishing pier along the city strip near the beach on the east end.

Ottawa Lake: Located in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. From State Highway 67, west on County Highway ZZ for 1/3 mile to park entrance. State Park sticker required for entry.

Upper Genessee: Carry in boats and shore fishing are available. Parking is in a small gravel lot, just south of I-94, on the east side of HWY 67.

Paradise Springs: Located in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. From downtown Eagle, west 1 mile on State Highway 59 to County Highway N, north on N for about 1/2 mile to site. State Park sticker required for entry. Artificial lures only.

Lower Phantom Lake: Located in Phantom Glen Park. From County Highway ES, west on Andrews Street to park entrance.

Other Useful Links

Local Fishing Reports from Lake-Link.com

Becky Smith's list of local shorefishing locations, boat ramps and boat rentals is online at at www.Dicksmithslivebait.com

The DNR maintains a database of printable lake maps online. Although some are fairly old, they can still be very useful.

There's also a easy to use reference to find boat launches at the DNR Website.

There's a new format, focusing on lakes by species, rather than a regional approach. Check out the DNR's 2013 Spring Fishing Forecast here.

The DNR's online license purchases avoid the wait opening morning.
----Note, this is the best idea ever for opening weekend.
-----------
Fish Stocking

Trout:

Information on Stocked Trout is available from the DNR.

------------------------
Around our Area:

Panfish:

Best Lakes For Panfish: Ashippun, Silver, Kessus Buelah, Golden, the Geneessee lakes, Lake Five, Okauchee (Bay Five, the Channel, Icehouse and Stumpy Bay), Garvin and the Nehmabins. The water is still very cold. Look for panfish in shallow bays, channels or marshy areas with dark bottoms.


Bass:

Lindy or split shot rigs with nightcrawlers or suspending large shiners under slip bobbers are your best live bait options. Texas rigged plastic lizards, wacky worms and jigs with a chunk trailer will be good options if fished very slowly. Slow rolling spinnerbaits or ripping rattletraps around weedy cover could produce some reaction strikes. Smaller fish will be patrolling the shallows, but don't expect to see many fish on beds. Larger fish will be deeper than normal for the opener. Look for them around the ends of points that are near spawning areas. If its warm and sunny, a buzzbait fished over wood cover can produce some violent reaction strikes when the water is still cold.

Best lakes for largemouth: Okauchee, Silver, Nagawicka, Golden, Pine, Moose, Kessus, Pretty and School Section.

Smallmouth will be in deeper water. . Look for them to be suspended in the water column in deep water near points and other rocky structure. Suspending Jerkbaits, swimbaits, slow rolled spinnerbaits or twister tail grubs are good options for chasing suspended smallmouths. If you can find some fish on the rocks in the afernoon, lindy rigging with leeches or nightcrawlers should do the trick.

Best lakes for smallmouth: Nagawicka, Lower Nehmabin, Oconomowoc, Pine, Lac La Belle.


Walleye:

Bottom bouncers with spinner harnesses, lindy rigs and jigs will all catch walleyes. I'd consider using a mix of live bait in the form of nightcrawlers, leeches and small suckers. Look for walleyes to relate the edges of shallow water in areas with plenty of current. I'd run live bait rigs to find fish, then fish an active area hard with crankbaits like a shad rap or floating rapalas. You might even do better this opener fishing jigs on structure adjacent to areas with current.

Best lakes for walleye: Lac La Belle, Pewaukee, Pine and Oconomowoc.

Northern Pike:
This is prime time to chase pike with live bait. Use big bobbers and suspend large shiners and suckers around weed edges or near areas with visible panfish. Casting with lipless crankbaits or spinner baits, especially around shallow weeds on the flat areas can be dynamite.

Best lakes for pike: Forest, Emily, Moose, Golden, Nagawicka, Fowler, Lower Gennessee, Okauchee.


Musky:

 You never lose out by floating a sucker on a quick strike rig while casting. I'd stick to  small bucktails for the opener this year, and concentrate your efforts on any scattered weed clumps you can find. I'd plan on being methodical and be ready to make lots of casts to an area to get neutral fish to bite.

Best lakes for musky: Pewaukee, Lac La Belle, Fowler, Okauchee, Garvin and Oconomowoc.

----
Good Luck out there!
CT

Quickie Report 4-27-13

Hey,

Just a quickie this week:

Panfish are starting to make a move into the traditional shallow water areas on area lakes. Water temps are still very cold in comparison to most years.

Sunny afternoons with a south or southwest wind will provide the best action until main lake areas catch up. Remember: North facing areas will be warmer, and fish tend to congregate in these areas early on. Current, in the form of a creek channel, or river area will help as well.

For now, focus on the green weeds in shallow protected bays with a northern bank. Concentrate your efforts on the patches of weeds, using live bait suspended under a bobber. Keep your bait just above the weeds, and any visible fish that you see. I like to use waxworms or spikes on a small red hook, or small/crappie sized fatheads-hooked in the tail, underneath a pencil bobber with just a split shot or two to keep the bait down. Be ready to start using plastics, especially for active fish, but for now, I'd start with the live bait and move to plastics later in the day.

The Rock River appears to have crested for now, reaching the second highest level ever. As of this morning, Ft Atkinson area boats launches and shore fishing areas remain closed.

I'll have my annual pre-opener post early next week, and a opening weekend preview next week.

Cheers,
CT

Fishing Report 4-19-13

Well, it was spring yesterday. Not sure what season this morning is supposed to be.

Here's some tidbits on what's happening.

1.) There's muskies below the Oconomowoc Dam. Bring some polarized lenses and dream a little dream about the fish you could catch this season.

2.) River fishing is essentially out of the equation. The Rock, Fox, Wisconsin, Root and Milwaukee rivers are all above flood stage. The Rock River boat launches and shore fishing areas are closed between Jefferson and Ft Atkinson.

3.) The ice is off the lakes, but water temperatures are still low. Panfish fishing should get going with a couple days of sunny, stable weather. Look for them along the northern banks of shallow, dark bottom bays of our local lakes.

Presentations should be kept small. My favorite is a wax worm or spike on a size 10 or 12 red hook under a balsa ice fishing bobber with a tiny split shot. Cast it around any green weeds or reeds that you can see. You may see small schools of fish in the shallow water, hang back as these fish can be very fussy. Try to keep the bait just above the fish you can see.

More as conditions allow.

Best,
CT

Dock Fishing Article

I enjoyed this article on fishing docks. Unlike much of what is written about bass fishing, the author is from Minnesota, so he's fishing water more like ours, than say the swamps of Florida or the gigantic lakes down south.

I'd like to add something to his basic point. While I agree with his notion that many people (including myself) fish docks too fast, in my experience, other than during the spawn, it is very unusual to catch more than one fish off a dock or pontoon. In our area there are some special docks that tend to hold a bunch of fish, but they are special.

I find that docks are best fished on days when fish are in a neutral mood. Days where fish are aggressive, there's much better pattens to fish, and one of the easiest is to fish/drift flat areas adjacent to deeper water. There are few better options than a jig worm or grub for doing this in our area. (Crankbaits work, but pike will empty your wallet pretty quick on some lakes.)

The other thing about the article is the idea that you need to flip. While that's not an issue for an experienced fisherman with the necessary skill set, most people I see around our area aren't in that category. And as such, I don't think you can beat skipping. Tubes, grubs and wacky style baits are easy to skip up and under docks and floating pontoons with just a little practice. Flukes are also great options that can be texas rigged for less hangups underneath docks.

It may be hard to believe, but we'll be gamefishing in 15 days.

Fort Atkinson still closed to fishing

An update on conditions from the city is here.

Fishing Report 4-12-13

Well, it is spring. Fishing time.

The major issue right now, is where to go. The Rock River is approaching peak run for walleyes, but the flooding there has implemented a shore fishing and boat launching ban in Ft Atkinson. Jefferson has closed the new launch by the Wastewater plant to you the lot to distribute sand for sandbags. With Blackhawk Island also flooded out, the only launch available below the Jefferson dam is the old one on Riverside Drive. As you know, that's launch is fairly primitive, and there's no dock there, so plan on using a two man team to get out.

Personally, I'd stay closer to home. The ice is off the lakes after this relentless rain the past week, so its time to start fishing for panfish on the local lakes.

Focus your attention on two areas....the warmest water you can find (typically in dark bottom shallow areas with North banks) or areas with green weeds and current. The fish will not yet have moved into the reeds or onto the wood, unless those things are in one of the two areas I describe.

Best to keep your presentations on the finesse side of things for now. Waxworms or spikes on a #10 or #12 hook  can be a fantastic approach for the early part of this season.

I'd stick to the traditional early spots. School Section, the Geneessee,  Forest, the small bays on Okauchee (Garvin, Tierney, Whitigers and Stumpy),  West end of Silver, North End of Golden, the channels on Nag.

Shoreline Fishing Ban in Ft Atkinson

The city is trying to keep people off the banks of the river as it crests this weekend.


Information on the ban is here


Meanwhile: Jefferson has closed the new boat ramp:

Due to street flooding the Tensfeldt Park Boat Launch will be closed effective immediately.   Boaters wishing to launch below the Jefferson Dam may utilize the West Riverview Drive Boat Launch which will be temporarily reopened and those wishing to launch above the dam may continue to utilize the Candise Street Boat Launch. 

Stocked Trout Information

The DNR has released this year's stocking numbers.


Close to home:

Fowler Lake                              RAINBOW TROUT 1607
Lower Genesee Lake                RAINBOW TROUT 1607
Lower Nashotah Lake               RAINBOW TROUT 1607
Ottawa Lake                              RAINBOW TROUT 1071

Full report is here.

Fishing Report 4-7-13 (Annual Rock-River Reporting Time)

At last...a nice day. Time to start putting out the Rock River Information Posts for Spring 2013.

Fishing is picking up on the Rock River from Jefferson to the mouth. Although still early in the run, solid catches of walleyes and saugers are being reported. Most are pre-spawn males, but some of the early females are mixed in. A few white bass and catfish are starting to show up as well. If we get some warm rain this week as the weatherman is suggesting will happen, things will get busy and quick.

Water level is above average, as is flow, but not outrageous as it has been at points over the last couple of years. Plenty of post-winter debris around by most reports, so always good to be extra careful. Water is high enough for slow-no-wake from the Jefferson dam to Blackhawk Island.

Dark colors seem to be working for people this year...but as with all things, if more people are fishing darker colors...darker colors will catch more fish.

The system gets heavy pressure without a doubt, but it is the people who can control their presentations they have the most success year after year.  Directly controlled drifting, or slow slipping is typically key to success. Unlike the Dells or Depere, the slack water on the Rock is not always your best option. I find that current breaks hold more fish that a traditional slack water area (I get there's not much distinction there) but slower moving water adjacent to fast water is where I always do the best, especially if I can find that type of movement/displacement on a turn in the channel. Those small spots, some of which maybe no larger than the size of a kitchen table, can be dynamite.

I tend to focus on three areas that I know better than most. The area just below the dam to the S turn. The rapids to the wingdam below the Kmart Launch and the hole from the 106 bridge to Fort. I like to fish the Blackhawk Island run, but it can be crazy busy with boats, so I try to stay up river if I can.

In those three areas,  I actually like to anchor over turns in the channel or shelves along the dropoff into the main channel, and then fish with a three way rig. I use a short dropper to the weight (typically 4-6 inches) and a short leader (no more than 18 inches, but usually closer to six to eight inches). It's a very unconventional three way rig, but with a heavy weight can be fished like a jig straight up and down. When paired with a sensitive rod, you can quickly detect light strikes.

If fish are biting short, I'll replace my octopus hook with a tiny red treble, when I'm hitting a school, sometimes I'll switch from live bait to a small rapala or ghost minnow on a little bit longer treble.  I only like run the hardbaits when I know I've got a school moving through as the large quantity of carp and buffalo on the Rock tend to snag themselves pretty frequently. (And yes, that's fun too.)

Looking forward to getting out this week. If you want to chat or are interested in checking out what the Rock has to offer...shoot me an email

Good Luck,
CT

Some Items For Your Attention

On this morning's agenda:

1.) DNR issues thin ice warning...from JSONLINE

2.)Your Wisconsin Fishing License Expired last night at midnight...renew it online, before you hit the water.

3.) Reminder about the Lunker's Fishing Garage Sale this Thursday more info here.

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Fishing Report

Local ice conditions vary widely, and extreme caution should be exercised when heading out. The panfish continue to bite, but are starting to move towards traditional pre-spawn/late ice areas. Look for current adjacent to flat areas with green weeds for the best success.

Open water fishing is picking up on the rivers. Hearing a mixed bag of reports from the Dells...everything from fantastic to lousy. Fish are coming into the area of the Depere dam, and although its still early, quite a few larger fish are starting to be reported. Open water is reported at Oshkosh, Winnecone and Fremont as well.

Closer to home, the Rock River is open and people have started heading out. Remember you can check conditions for the Rock at my list of handy links: here.

Stay tuned.

Lunkers Garage Sale: April 4th.

 

I'll be there....you should be too. 

Doing my spring cleaning/sort/inventory right now, and I am purging the stuff I have either: too much of or simply don't use.

 I'll have a table with a couple of boxes stuffed with crankbaits (rapalas, pradco and normans), a huge bag of brand new terminal tackle (including tons of gamagatzu hooks, several rod and reel combos, some assorted tackle boxes/storage trays/bags, some Castaic swimbaits, some other odds and ends for musky, and boxes of plastics...Chompers, Kalins and Zoom.

River Resources: Rock River, Fox River (Depere), Wisconsin Dells

Every spring, I post a set of resources you can use to keep track of the spring runs.

 Here's the early 2013 Version.

Rock River:

Fishing Report Links:

Lake-Link: Jefferson Dam Thread

Lake-Link:Fort Atkinson Thread 

Lake-Link: Watertown Dam Thread

Lake-Link: Blackhawk Island Area Thread

Lake-Link: Indianford and Jefferson Dam Thread 

Water Resources Links:

 

USGS Data For Ft Atkinson

River status at Jefferson

River status at Ft Atkinson 

Rock-Kosh Lake District

Public Boat Launches:

Riverview Drive (At Jefferson Dam)

K-Mart

Water Street 

Depere (Fox River):

USGS Data For Fox River at Depere

Boat Launches for Fishing in Depere

Lake Link Fishing Report for Depere

Dells (Wisconsin River)

Rivers Edge Resport/Baitshop-boatlaunch

River Cam at River's Edge Resort

River Season

I'm sure you are aware, but the reports are starting to trickle in from the early season open water river spots around the area.

The latest I have:

Depere: Open water, and docks are in. Large flows coming down. Water is high.

Dells: Open water. Walleyes in the slot, as well as some keepers starting to turn up. Fish slow and deep, in the slack water adjacent to the current.

Jefferson/Ft Atkinson: Shore fishing by the Jefferson/Indianford dams has been slow, but steady. Still lots of ice in the river..not ready for boats yet.

Oshkosh: Ice getting thin. Ice fisherman at the mouth filmed this video of a school of fish starting to stage for the run. Check it out here.

Full reports will start backup next week. In the meantime, I'll be getting my boat out this weekend.

Cheers,
CT

Sports Show

Just got back from the sports show. Amazing how much it has changed/gotten smaller over the years.

Didn't see much from the other local guides. There was some talk of heading up to the greener pastures of Green Bay, and I wonder how many guys have done that.

Stopped by to see the Viking Outpost booth. Viking is a fly-in outfitter in Red Lake, Ontario. I've been on multiple trips with Viking over the years. I recommend them if you're heading up that way.

Here's my son Shannon with Hugh. Check them out at www.vikingoutpost.com.


Cheers,
CT

Open water!

Reports starting to appear on some of the forums from people fishing below the Dells Dam. Plenty of room to get the boat in there, but be careful, conditions can change very quickly this time of year.

Also hearing trickles of information about fishing at the Jefferson and Indianford Dams on the Rock River. Ice on the main river is still thick, but there's open water for shore fisherman below both dams.

John Gillespie filmed a show in the Milwaukee Harbor this week, imagine it will be a zoo out there this weekend.

Reminder: Gamefish season is closed on inland lakes until the first Saturday in May.

I'll have more for you next week as I hear back from the people who have been heading out.


CT

Gamefish Season Closing/Spring Trout

Just some reminders...

Early season trout fishing starts tomorrow at 5am and runs through April 29th. As with anything trout fishing related there's a variety of different regulations depending on where you are in the state. You also need an inland trout stamp with your fishing license.

Info from the DNR is available here.

Also, if you're still out on the ice...remember that gamefish season closes after this weekend. Time to get into those marshy areas with big dead-bait and go for the biggest pike of the season.

Me...I'm itching for open water. Looking forward to a walleye run this spring. The rivers should be up, and I'm wishing for spring fishing.

Stay Tuned.
CT

Wisconsin DNR and Panfish

The DNR is starting to take panfish management more seriously...something that is overdue.

While many people believe panfish populations are fished out, with smaller overall fish. I believe the art of catching larger panfish has been lost over the last 15 years. In my experience people tend to fish too shallow and with far too big of bait to effectively catch panfish. (Using nightcrawlers to chase bluegills is like swatting a fly with a shotgun.)

Anyway, the DNR is launching an inquiry into panfish management options (which is how administrative agencies operate).

• Info here.
• The Waukesha Meeting was yesterday... but a list of the others is here. 
• If you want to contribute to the discussion...the online survey is available at this link.

Note: There will be a discussion at the Madison Tackle Show this weekend. Given how the Madison area lakes are fished for panfish...there's sure to be some discussion of interest to readers of this blog.


More to come. Stay Tuned.
Cheers,
CT

Record Sturgeon and Big Bass

From the DNR:

•  The 2013 spearing season is underway and already Peter Vander Weilen has added his name to the record books. On Saturday he registered an 80-inch, 179-pound fish, the sixth largest fish harvested on the Lake Winnebago System since the 1930s. 

There's a great link here about some of the largest sturgeon taken by spearers.

And then there's this

• A 20+ pound largemouth bass was reported being taken in Texas. There's some debate about when and where it was caught....but does it really matter?!?

Facebook picture at Anglers Pro Tackle Page


Cheers,
CT

Gone Fishin'

You may have noticed things have gotten a little slow around here, for that I apologize. Decided to take the rest of the ice season off this year for extra time when open water comes back around.

See you soon.

CT

Catching Up-Fishing Report 1-17-13

Well, old man winter is going to pay us a visit this year. He brought his cold temps, but so far has forgotten his pail of snow.

Fishing conditions have stabilized into a mid-winter pattern typical for our area, but there's places where the ice isn't the best so standard disclaimer: Spud your way out, use safety spikes or a PFD, and the buddy system.

Close to shore, and in protected areas, most ice reports have 4-6 or 5-7 inches of good ice. I've heard of some of the early freeze areas having as much as 8inches, but I've heard there's still some open water, especially in the deep open water zones. Just use some common sense.

Fishing has been a little slow, but results have been steady. Panfish and Pike are biting on our local lakes. If you're having trouble connecting with fish, try a little deeper than you would have in previous years...it seems like that was/is/ and will likely continue to be the trick.

Green weeds will hold panfish. Waxies, spikes and plastics will take aggressive biters at a variety of depths, but wigglers can really do the trick on the fish you can see on your camera/or electronics but won't bite. I like to go with three setups for pannies, each set up a little different until I find something that is working. For action: Try Moose, Forest, Garvin, Fowler, Lac Labelle and Kessus For Keepers: Okauchee, North, Pine, Lower Nashotah, Golden or Silver. Hottest tip of the last ten days: Middle Gen.

Walleye have been biting shiners roaches and suckers on tip ups, especially early in the morning. 12-15 FOW seems to be the magic number from the reports I got this week, but all of the people I heard this from were fishing areas with rock-weed transitions at that depth. One report, from a very trusted source, mentioned that his group was out with 12 rigs set up over a small area, and although only two of the holes were productive, the action was consistent for about 3 hours. If you're going to try for walleyes...I'd keep it to the basic spots. Nagawicka, Pine, North and Lac Labelle.

Pike are doing lots of things, and it doesn't seem like one approach has been better than others. I'd gotten reports of pike being taken shallow and deep. Flourocarbon rigs are the hot thing this year, and I never think it hurts to have some flash or a spinner on your setup.  Deadbait is a personal favorite of mine, but large shiners are always a solid bet. Keesus, Moose, Nag, Okauchee and Golden have all reported some decent action recently.

Good luck, and don't forget about the Lunker's fisheree and meat auction (Pewaukee Lake) on the 19th.

Cheers,
CT

Lunkers--Winter Raffle/Fisheree/Meat Raffle-2012

Things are happening (12-29-12)

I'm just getting back to town from a family visit in Michigan. I'm returning to news that some of the smaller protected areas have as much as 4-5 inches of ice.

Stay safe, and take this info with a grain of salt. I haven't verified it personally.

Cheers,
CT

Pretty Quiet

I'm not dead....it is just that I haven't had anything to say.

We're in what Musky Mike used to call the "dead zone" of the year....too early for ice, but very few people still fishing from boats.

I'm finishing up the semester, and if I can get out next week I'll bring you an up to date report. Typically there's some great late season perch and smallmouth fishing to be done if the water is open this late.

I haven't heard anything from any of my sources since deer hunting. I thought some people might try to get out today, but the weather has kept everyone in.

I know the walleye bite in the Dells was going earlier in the week, but I haven't heard of anything else....I'll check back in when I hear anything...in the meantime..stay tuned.

Cheers,
CT

Gone Fishin'

Fishing reports will return on Friday.

Cheers,
CT

Fishing Report 11-2-12

Greetings,

It is that time of the year. The last warm days of fall, the end of the October Full Moon Cycle, post-turnover and the water is below 50 degrees.

Get out your big hardware, buy the biggest suckers you can find and hit the lakes.

Musky fishing has been slower than in past years, but what it lacks in quality it has made up for in stability. There's a good, steady bite going on...and the big fish are primed to get into that full-late season action that keeps me out of my tree-stand this time of year.

Look for active feeders between 8-12 and 12-18 FOW. The fish will hold on the edges of major structural elements, moving in a couple times a day to forage. You can connect with them in both positions.

Around the area:

Pewaukee Lake: Giving up fish consistently, but average size has been on the lower side compared to the last couple years. Major WMT tournament on the water this weekend...and fishing pressure has been heavy.

Okauchee Lake: Slow and steady is the word. Less fish reported than Pewaukee, but better average size. Stumpy Bay has been very hot, especially along the inside turns of the steep breaks. Edges of the North Flat and Road Bed have been productive, as have areas with visible baitfish in Bay Five. Water is low and access to Garvin Lake, always a late season hotspot, is limited.

Oconomowoc Lake: River is down a bit, but still okay for most boats...watch the turns. Fishing has been steady with several low to mid 40 inch class fish reported in the last ten days.

Fowler Lake: No reports.

Lac Labelle: Action at about average pace, maybe a little lower. Musky population in Labelle is lower than some of the other lakes, but as is typical for Labelle reports...the size is much bigger. Two fish in the high 40" class were reported this week.

Other action: Rock River fishing has been slow. Fish are being caught, but they are largely undersized. Legal walleyes have been hard to come by, and whitebass action has not picked up.

Local lakes: Still some pike biting, especially on live bait...but nothing important enough to note. Pretty and Moose have been active, but reports are getting thin. Bass fishing is okay on the warmer sunny days. Flipping jigs to open spots in deep weed edges is still productive, along with buzzbaits fished tight to shallow cover. Sunny afternoons are still pulling some fish up on to the shallow rockbars that are adjacent to deeper water. Regardless...not too many people out chasing bass or pike right now. Panfish are still hanging at the ends of major points...look for the biggest pannies at the bottom of the schools you can find in 12-18 FOW.

Good Luck....
CT

Fishing Report 10-26-12

Well, its fall and the weatherman says you'll know it by the end of the weekend.

River fishing is picking up after the rains. Flows are marginal, and water levels low, but action is getting better on the Rock between the Jefferson Dam and the mouth at Blackhawk, below the Dam on the Wisconsin River in the Dells, and in stretches of the Fox (Oshkosh) and Wolf rivers.

The bite in every case is a multi-species bite, but reports are picking up in the wake of the solid rains.

Closer to home, reports have most of the musky lakes in a post-turnover state. Water temps are in the High 40's to Low 50's. Musky fishing has been slow, but steady but many of the fish coming in have been sub 40 inches (now the legal limit on our lakes).

Pewaukee has been good for numbers, with suckers and gliders catching most of the fish there.

Okauchee has been slow, but a couple of mid-40 inch fish were reported in the last week.

Fowler has been giving up some shorter fish, but the weeds are still making sections of the lake hard to fish.

Lac Labelle has been slow, but I haven't talked to many people who have been on it fishing, and they were chasing late season walleyes.

Oconomowoc has been better than average, with some very nice mid to high 40 inch fish reported over the last 10 days. Suckers have been converting lots of fish, especially the lazy follows Oconomowoc is known for.

Good Luck,

CT

A day on the water with Edwin Evers?!?

I'm not one who pushes the opportunity to fish with somebody else...but in this case I'll make an exception. Neighborhood House of Milwaukee will be auctioning off a day on the water with BASS Pro Evers at their auction on November 1st.

Organization Website is here.

Cheers,
CT

Condition and Fishing Report 10-12-12

Greetings again.

We've moved to a late fall situation on the water. If we get the heavy rain that's forecast for this weekend, things could get interesting.

On the local lakes, water temps are in the High 40's to Low 50's. Weeds are still very thick, but starting to die back. I was amazed how thick they were in places when I was on the water today. Plus, there is still massive quantities of visible baitfish, schooled up and swimming around. Simply unprecedented for this point in the season.

Turnover: Because it is the question on everyone's mind, I didn't see signs of a turnover, (ie lots of floating organics) but the water was very clear today, so maybe its has come and gone. Greg at Musky Mikes pointed out that the wind could have settled things this week, which seems like a reasonable explanation.

In terms of the fishing, I have a couple of things to report.  The consensus opinion is that fishing has been slow, but it seems that it may have as much to do with the fact that, in relative terms, only a few people are fishing right now. Oconomowoc, Okauchee, Lac-Labelle and Fowler have been essentially empty for a couple of weeks. This is close to peak for Musky fishing season, but reports place very few people (again in relative terms) on the water.

Close to home, Bass, Pike and Musky are active, although fishing conditions vary day to day. It's live bait season for trophy fish. Typically the first deep break will hold fish, but I was seeing baitfish along shallow weed edges today, and I missed my hookset a good sized musky in an area with active baitfish running the weed-tops.

As thick as the weeds are, I'm sure you could flip, or jig and pork LM bass out of weed clumps, or use a buzzbait tight to shallow cover, especially on warm afternoons. If you want to chase smallmouth, large or jumbo shiners are a great late season live bait option.  Either way, I'd concentrate on rocky structure with some scattered weeds that gets some direct sunlight, and I'd try and fish during the warm part of sunny days.

Pike are active and using the weed edges. Spinnerbaits, spoons and crankbaits will catch fish, but a smaller sucker on a slip sinker rig can really get the job done on the weed edges in 12-18FOW.

Musky fishing is slow, but I can't imagine that staying the case. I'm wondering if it seems slower because of the low number of people on the water, but I can say that some of my go-to spots for this time of year are so thick with weeds as to be difficult to fish. If you go out, make sure to have at least one sucker out, as many fish that come in on a bait, will grab a nearby sucker this time of year.

River fishing has been slow to non-existent, but if we get a couple inches of rain, there should be some activity on the Rock and Wisconsin Rivers. I haven't gotten any positive reports from the Fox in Oshkosh, or from Jefferson in the last two weeks. A few whitebass were being caught below Ft Atkinson, but stress on the few.

Good Luck and Cheers,
CT

Fishing Report 9-28-12

Fall, it can frustrate you.

The nice weather this week definitely slowed the fishing down some. Plenty of fish biting though. Many lakes still have hug schools of baitfish swimming around. Weeds are browning, but still thick, and water is high 50's to low 60's on most lakes in the area.

Panfish are in a full fall position. Tight to cover, and feeding aggressively in a couple of time periods a day. Bluegills are staged along weedlines at the end of major points or other mainlake structure. Look for bigger gills along the bottom, as deep as 25'. Crappie are suspended over deeper wood or humps, and some bigger crappie are being reported from 18-22' depths.

Bass fishing is baitfish related. Find bait, and you'll find the fish. Most fish are making a couple foraging runs a day, holding just off of transition areas, before moving in to feed during the warmer parts of the day. The water is cooler than the book says, but topwater bass fishing with minnow imitators can by absolutely dynamite this time of year. A deep-diving crankbait (I like Wiggle Warts and Norman D22's in natural color patterns) fished along sharp breaks can also produce some bigger fish. The livebait bite will get good as temperatures cool off again.

Pike fishing has been about average. You can still head out and fish shallow flats with clumps of weeds with a spinner, buzzbait or lipless crankbait and catch smaller pike. The bigger fish haven't made a move in from the deep wedlines yet and can be caught fishing larger plastics (like a reaper) or on slip-sinker live bait rigs. If you want to target pike, I'd hit the smaller lakes like Golden or Pretty and go after them with medium sized suckers or if you can get them, jumbo golden shiners.

Walleye fishing is still spotty. Water temperatures will need to drop some more before the fishing really picks up. The fish are in mid-depth weeds, but haven't turned on the way I would have expected them to just yet. A few walleyes are starting to turn up in the local rivers (Fox, Wisconsin and Rock), but the bite has been slow, and the water levels are lower than in recent memory. Stay tuned.

White bass reports are also starting to trickle in from Oshkosh, Freemont and Jefferson. I'd say its still early, but the water level is going to dictate how the fall river runs go this year.

Musky fishing is slow, but steady. Weed edges in 10-18 FOW have been productive. It is always a solid idea to keep a sucker out when casting, as many of the lazy follows you get will convert on the sucker you have hanging over the side. I personally raised fish on a bucktail, glider and Bulldawg this week, but Suicks are a traditional early fall favorite.

Good Luck,
CT

Fishing Report 9-21-12

Things have been busy for me personally, but by all accounts I've gotten, I haven't been missing much on the water. I expect that assessment to change.

Panfish have moved to the fall patterns. Look for keepers at the ends of long weedy points, or suspended around shallow grass in current areas. Plastics tipped with small live bait are usually solid options this time of year, but don't overlook the use of larger live bait for keepers.

LM Bass fishing has settled into a traditional early fall pattern. Fish will bite periodically through out the day, but usually in short feeding spurts. They'll hang tight to cover early, but get more active around 10am. Be ready to move around to find active fish, but concentrate on areas with rock/weed transitions.

SM Bass fishing...it is time to break out the live bait. Fish will relate to breaklines, moving up to shallow water to feed, but then out to deep water between feeding runs. Deeper breaks off of points or shallow rocky areas are the best place to start. Don't be shy about the live bait, but deep diving crankbaits in white or crawfish patterns can save a day this time of year.

Pike fishing has picked up, with anglers reporting lots of action from smaller pike. In-line spinners, small bucktails and large plastics (especially reapers) are catching most of the fish. Look for them around weed clumps on the flat areas between 4-12 FOW.

Walleye fishing has been dead for the last ten days. I expect the fishing to get better as the weather stabilizes over the next period of time. A few anglers have been heading to the rivers to get a jump on the fall runs. Water levels are reported as very low, especially along the Rock River. Watch those lower units.

Musky fishing has been a little slower than I would have expected. Usually the first cold snap really triggers some significant activity, but based on reports, I'd say its below average. As stated, the weather has been a bit unstable, so that might have something to do with it. It is sure to pick up soon. In the meantime, gliders, dawgs, bucktails and jerkbaits are solid options, but it is sucker season, make sure to keep one out while targeting muskies.

Good Luck,
CT

Fishing Report 9-14-12

Hey,

Sorry about last weeks report, I didn't realize it wasn't posted.

I love September. I wish I had more fishing time, but my professorial duties are more involved in fall than summer....add in the kids, a second job...and wow, its amazing how time flies. Some of the best fishing of the year is between now and the end of the season.

The cooler nights are changing the conditions on local lakes. Water temps have dropped significantly, and are in the mid to high 60's on most lakes. On warmer sunny days, lakes may be as warm as the low to mid 70's. Much depends on what the night proceeding your fishing trip was like. The weeds are still very thick, but the baitfish schools are starting to thin out as fish put on the feedbag. In other words, it is time.

Bass fishing  has been steady for a couple weeks. Fish are relating to the ends of points, and inside weed edges. A couple times a day, small schools of fish will make a foraging run into shallower water. Small crankbaits can be dynamite this time of year, especially for numbers, but skirted grubs and jig/chunks are my go to baits most days, Smallmouth usually go on a tear on our area lakes in the fall, and we're just on the front side of this happening this year. If you're having trouble connecting with active fish, look for the in the deep water, adjacent to the shallow structure. Plastics, cranks and jigs will work, but as the days get shorter, live bait will become a better option for big fish.

Walleye fishing is slowly starting to pick up on the area rivers, although the water is still way down on most of them. On the area lakes, the fish will be anywhere there's baitfish around weeds or rock/weed transition areas in 8-12 or 15-22 feet of water. If you catch one, fish through the area very methodically. I'm still catching a few pulling slow death rigs around the ends of points and along weed edges, but the bite is inconsistent at times.

Pike fishing has been steady and getting better. Pike will remain active in 10-22 feet of water along weed edges, points or sand/gravel transition areas. Spinners are always a solid option for pike, but as the water cools I usually switch back to crankbaits, especially lipless crankbaits in a gold or silver pattern or wide wobbling deep divers in natural or red/white patterns. Jerkbaits are also a great option right now, especially suspenders worked around weed clumps where there are visible baitfish.

Musky fishing is set to get really good. Now is the time to start working for this years trophy. Gliders, bucktails and jerkbaits are all solid options for casting, and remember to keep a sucker out on a quick strike rig for lazy followers. Right now, look for the them to be using weeds in 12-15 feet of water or rocks in 6-12 feet of water. The fish can be really shallow, even in the middle part of a sunny day, so be ready to be mobile.



Good Luck,
CT

Big Ten Fishing Tournament

From the Badger Fishing Team...host of this year's Big Ten. They are searching for volunteers to drive boats for the tournament:

Volunteer Boater Information
Every year for the past 10+ years, the Big Ten schools have held a one-day
tournament in the fall, appropriately labeled the Big Ten Bass Tournament. This
year, the UW was chosen to host it, which we will the weekend of September 29 and
30, 2012, on the Madison Chain.

A few years ago, the organizers of the event thought it would be a good idea to
secure “volunteer boaters” to enable those without a boat to participate in the event,
something that was not done in previous years. Volunteer boaters are community
members who graciously donate their boat and, most importantly, their weekend
time to take one two-man team from a school in need out fishing, allowing them to
compete in the tournament. Speaking from personal experience, the UW would not
have been able to compete in the last three Big Ten tournaments in Michigan if it
weren’t for volunteer boaters, something we greatly appreciated.
 

With that said, we are looking for as many volunteer boaters as possible to
make this year’s event a success! Please read through the information below, and if
you’re interested in helping us out, either as a definite yes or even a maybe, please
email Levi Warner at lwarner@wisc.edu with the requested information no later
than September 15, so we can start formally organizing boats. If you have any
additional questions, feel free to email Levi at the address above, or call him at (920)
740-9085. Also, if you know of anyone who may be interested in helping us out, we
would greatly appreciate it if you passed this information along to them. Thank you!
 

Date and Location: September 29 and 30, 2012, on the Madison Chain.
 

Description of Days: September 29 is the official prefishing day, and September 30 is
the actual tournament day. We would need volunteer boaters for both days (one
volunteer boater would take the same anglers fishing both days), so we would need a
commitment for the entire weekend, barring unavoidable circumstances.
 

Procedure: If you’ve ever helped FLW out by being a volunteer boater for their
college events, the process is very similar. For the most part, the anglers are
responsible for contacting their volunteer boater and coordinating the weekend with
them. Anglers will be given your contact information so they’ll be calling you close to
the time of the event. On Saturday, there is no certain time anglers need to be off
the water at (unless they are attending the banquet; more on this later), and there is
no official landing anglers need to launch from. Again, anglers are responsible for
contacting their boater to agree on time and location. On Sunday, anglers are
required (and boaters are suggested) to be at the pretournament meeting at 6:00 am,
with tournament hours running 6:45 am – 3 pm. During both of these days,
volunteer boaters will operate the outboard motor, taking the anglers wherever they
desire to go, and the anglers will operate the trolling motor once at the spot.
 

Volunteer boaters are not allowed to suggest fishing lures, locations, etc., or operate
the trolling motor, electronics, etc., for the college anglers. Disqualification will
result if any of this takes place. This is to keep the playing field level for those who
bring their own boat to the event. Boat volunteers are allowed, and encouraged, to
fish with the college anglers on Saturday, but not on Sunday.
 

Reimbursement: Because volunteer boaters already donate their boat and time to
the event, we try to make the weekend as cheap as possible for them. A reasonable
reimbursement for boat gas will be decided upon between the anglers and their
volunteer boater. The landing fee for Saturday will be paid by the college anglers.
The landing fee for Sunday will be free, courtesy of the Dane County Conservation.
The UW will not be providing assistance to volunteer boaters for gas expenses to the
event location or lodging, because as much as we’d like to, our budget will not allow
it. However, to show our appreciation, every volunteer boater is invited to attend the
banquet dinner (more on this below) free of charge!
 

Banquet: As mentioned above, a banquet will be held the night of September 29, at 7
pm, at the Bishop O’Connor Center (702 South High Point Road, Madison, WI
53719). Boat volunteers, if they wish, can attend the banquet and enjoy dinner at no
cost to them. The banquet will be a catered buffet dinner, so no one should leave
hungry! In addition to the food, important rules for the event will be highlighted and
boat numbers will be drawn. A raffle will also be held for some great prizes from our
sponsors, such as St. Croix and Rapala, so bring a couple extra bucks for tickets!
 

Requested Information: If you’re still interested in helping us out after reading
through this (which we hope you are), please send Levi Warner the following
information via email at lwarner@wisc.edu:
 

1) Name:
2) Phone:
3) Email:
4) Address:
5) Your commitment for the event (100% certain you can help, pretty sure you
can help, or just interested at this time)

6) A little background information on your boat (make and model and size of
outboard would be adequate).
 

Thank you for your time, and we look forward to your assistance in helping make
this event a success!

Fall Trips/Fall Deal

I dislike these shameless self promotion posts, but here's one anyway.

I'm starting to get some inquiries about fall fishing, and more specifically, fall musky fishing. Generically my answer is yes, I'm available, but as many of you know, I am also a lecturer at UW-Milwaukee. Complicating things further, my wife is due to have our fourth child at the end of November. So there's a scheduling issue or two to consider. I like to put my cards on the table with people, but that said, don't hesitate to call. I'm sure something can be worked out.

Your best bet if you are interested in fishing with me this fall, is to pick some of your available days, and then email me to sort out the details. I'll craft your trip to meet your needs or skill level.

My schedule is a little varied, but I have openings most weeks on Tuesdays and then Thursday-Sunday, and yes, some dates are already booked. If you've got something in mind...well, contact me now to avoid disappointment later.

Given the success of my August special, I'm also going to run things a little different this year. Normally I raise my rate for fall to cover the cost of live bait, especially the cost of suckers. This year, I'm going charge special rates for September and October ($150 for 4 hours, $200 for a half day (6 Hours) and $350 for a full day (10-12 hours).) The special price will not include live bait, but if you want to have live bait along, (and we can decide that based on conditions) you'll pay the actual cost of the bait. (and have the option of keeping any that we buy that we don't use)

Fall fishing is a great time to chase bigger fish, regardless of what species you are after. Bass, Walleye, Pike and/or Musky options are available.

Cheers,
CT

Labor Day Weekend Preview/Fishing report

Fishing is going about average overall, but day to day there have been challenges. Labor Day weekend is typically a period of unstable weather, which makes patterning fish hard from day to day.

Note: There's some sort of second Okauchee "Tie up" happening this weekend. It sounds like it will be in front of Foolery's Bar, on Lower Okauchee. Just FYI.

Water levels vary from system to system, but weed growth is still very heavy, Water temps are in the low to mid 70's.

Panfish have slowed down over the last two weeks. Crappie and bluegill continue to bite along weedlines or suspended out over deep water, as well as in mid-depth weeds, but keepers have been hard to come by consitently. Plastics tipped with live bait, tail hooked minnows and leafworms fished vertically or with slip bobbers will produce. Evenings have been better, as is typical for this time of year. (School Section, Lower Geneessee, Lower Nashotah, Forest and Golden)

Largemouth continue to run late summer patterns. On the hot sunny days, look for them around docks or slop, or out deep in 12-15 FOW. On the cooler cloudy days, look for active fish in sand/rock or rock/weed transitions in 4-8 feet. Topwater bite will be good, especially early in the morning. (Silver, Moose, Ashippun, Okauchee, Nagawicka, Garvin)

Smallmouth fishing has been spotty. If you can find some active fish, you can do well, but making that connection can be a tough nut to crack. Look for them around the edges of the shallow structure like rock bars or sand/rock transition areas. The fish will be deeper than you think they should be in most cases. Jigworms, grubs, minnowbaits and small white crankbaits can be dynamite.(Oconomowoc, Lac Labelle, Nagawicka, Pine and North)

Pike fishing has been slow, but steady. Lots of undersized fish are being caught in the shallow and mid-depth areas. I'd consider moving out deeper and using live bait on a slip sinker rig, trying to connect with active fish in 18-22 or 22-25 feet of water. (Okauchee, Nagawicka, Moose, Emily School Section, Pretty and Kessus)

Walleye fishing has been entirely inconsistent lately. People still fishing at night are reporting some success off the deeper sand flat areas, but a few decent fish are being caught out of the shallow weeds very early in the morning using rapalas or similar minnow baits.  (North, Nagawicka, Pine and Oconomowoc.)

Musky are getting more active, but anglers are still reporting lots of lazy follows. Gliders, bulldogs and cow-girls have all produced limited action in the past week, but most of the fish are mid-30's to low 40 inch fish. As the water begins to cool, the action will pick up considerably.

Good Luck,
CT

Fishing Report 8-19-12

Sorry for the late post.

Fishing started to make a fall transition the last week. The nights have been very cool, and there has been a distinct drop in water temperature. Area Lakes are in the Low to Mid 70's, and expect that to drop off a bit.

Panfish are still deep, but more of them are moving to the weededges. This is classic early fall behavior. While I was out this week, I marked huge schools in 12-18 FOW right on the edges of the weeds. Slip bobbers with live bait is usually the best way to get at these fish, but tightlining vertically will also produce. Either way, contact with your presentation will be key. Down-size your hook a bit to help keep the weeds off your line.

Bass are making the move. I've still not seen a consistent batch of fish kicking up softshells. It's pretty late in the month for the molt, so I'm starting to wonder if the winter/weather this year was hard on the crayfish, or in some way changed the seasonal pattern. I've been on the water a bunch, so I didn't miss it, but I'm also at a loss to when it is going to occur. Regardless, the bass are moving to mid-depth weeds in packs. Look for schooled up fish on shallow inside turns, or around clumps of weeds on mid-depth (6-10 FOW) flat areas. On a cloudy day, topwater fishing with a floating Rapala or Pop-R can really produce, but wacky, skirted grubs, shaky heads and texas rigs are all producing. Caught some nice fish this week on a jig/chunk and jig/craw combos, and on gold flake jigworms.

Walleye fishing, at least locally, is still very slow. My usual sources for information on the walleye bite have been pretty quiet lately, but I expect that to change as fall encroaches. Stay Tuned.

Northern Pike fishing is picking up. Deep weedlines are still holding lots of fish. A few guys are starting to pick up some nicer pike using large-jumbo shiners, slow trolling along the weedlines. Cranks, spinners are reapers have all been productive as well.

Musky Fishing is set to pick up some as the days get shorter. With the water back in the 70's expect to see more people chucking hardware. For now, bucktails, gliders and jerkbaits are solid bets, especially ones with gold flash or in a perch pattern.

Cheers,
CT

Fishing Report 8-11-12

Not much new to report, if you check into this blog regularly or follow my posts on lake-link.

Water is cooling off, days are getting shorter. It is time to start fishing.

Panfish are still running late summer patterns. You can find quality fish suspended over deeper water, or in middepth weeds. Live bait rigs are you best bet, but plastics tipped with waxies or spikes and fished on slip bobbers can be crazy good at times. Night fishing has been very good for bluegills, as it typically is this time of year.

Bass are starting to patrol the shallow areas for soft shells. As I said earlier this week, the fish are in the shallow water around the rock/sand/weed transition areas. I'm catching a bunch of fish on a rootbeer jig and craw combo right now, but skirted grubs, small cranks and wacky rigs are still catching lots of fish. Out deeper, I'm fishing a jigworm (6" Yum Rib Worm- watermelon red and watermelon with goldflake) with my clients. They have been knocking the smaller fish (12-15") out on the watermelon/gold flake color. (56 On Monday, 60 on Tuesday, and 57 Friday -yes-173 fish-in three half day trips.) Bass will be moving up to the rocks over the next couple of days as the crayfish start to molt, but I haven't seen any softshells get spit up yet.

Northern Pike fishing has picked up substantially with the cooler weather. Deep weedlines are holding lots of fish throughout the day. Cranks, slow rolled spinnerbaits, swimbaits or suspending jerkbaits can really produce right now.

Walleye fishing: I don't have any current reports from the area. Check back next week.

Musky: Lots of people are reporting seeing musky making runs into shallow water. I haven't heard many reports like that this summer, but the cooler weather and shorter photocycle has probably awoken a few fish. Not much to report in the way of catching, but a few anglers are reporting some limited success throwing bucktails or gilders around submergent weed clumps at the end of mainlake points with steep drops into deeper water.

Good Luck out there.

On the water....8-8-12

The special pricing for my open days in August has had me on the water a bunch the last 10 days. There's still time to get in on open dates towards the end of the month...just email me for more details.

I've been on several area lakes, guiding in the mornings, scouting in the afternoons. Silver Lake is at its usual end of summer status, and I'm averaging more than 45 bass during half day trips right now.

Here's Katie with 1 of 60 Bass from Silver Lake on Tuesday.

Okauchee is primed for an early fall/late summer shallow water bite. Fowler is so weed choked as to make it hard to fish, while the water on Lac Labelle is pretty stirred up. The bite on Oconomowoc has been tough to very tough, while fish are biting very good on Moose, Middle Geneesse, Golden and Pretty.

Out for just a few (2.5) hours (9:30-Noon) this morning on Ashippun with my dissertation adviser from Madison. We were meeting for lunch, and decided to take a few hours and go bass fishing before grabbing a bite to eat.

Started out with spinnerbaits, got a real nice fish about 18" on the first drift, missing a second fish just a few yards down.  Second drift yielded nothing except some lazy follows, so we switched it up. He went to fishing a texas rig, I went with a jig and craw, and wow was that the ticket.

Just focused on visible submerged weed edges (both shallow and deep) and started catching fish right away. Ended with 16 LM and a Pike (24"), several shorties (10-13) but had five better than 15"
 
Bass were obviously looking for craws in the shallows. Saw the same thing this week on a couple of the other local lakes. The crayfish molt must be very close, but I still haven't caught a fish that coughed up a softshell.

Stay Tuned.
CT

Hook -n- Look Clip

Here's a clip from the episode of Kim Stricker's Hook-N-Look Television program. In this episode, Kim is skipping baits under pontoon boats. There's some amazing footage here in this short clip.

Pay attention to where the fish are positioned in relationship to the shadows, how they come after the lure, and how Kim is positioning his boat.