Memorial Day

In town for the holiday?

Want to get out for some fishing?

Give me a call, 262-893-2183, and we'll get you on the water and on some fish.

CT

Some Pics

Trophy Smallmouth:

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Uncle Louis and his Daughter

Ironclad Lures-Product Review

Was out Friday, and I had a chance to put some of the Ironclad stick baits (www.ironcladlures.com) in the water for a test run.

Despite being made to last, they do have some end to end action in the water. They are heavier than comparable stickbaits, and cast a mile. They skip reasonably well, and have a slow sink rate.

I would have liked to see them sink a little faster, and was suprised that they didn't. I added a nail weight to one end, but that wasn't quite the answer I was looking for.

Wacky rigged there was no problem with the bait interfering with the hookset, but I did miss a few bites when i used the rigging holes at either end for texas rigging. I can't say that it wasn't my fault, but the worm was still hooked when I brought my line up. I didn't try them on a carolina rig, but I think they would excel there given their bouancy.

Ironclads work great around cover that would normally pull off a soft stickbait, and I made more than 100 casts without a problem, including several around boatlifts, piers and grass and lillypads. They do last.

I'd give them an 8.5 out of 10.

CT

Mid week "action"

Guided for a father and son combo on Okauchee yesterday. The weather was windy and downright horrible, and the corresponding bite was tough. Got one pike and a handful of largemouth bass, before we packed it in.

Hit Oconomowoc just for a look see. Caught one nice smallie on a long line live bait split shot. Appears the bass are still deep for the most part, but there's a batch of walleyes using some of the shallow rocky areas.

Moved over to Silver for the first time this year, water is high and cold (mid 50's). Lots of bass cruising the shallows including some larger than average ones. The wind prevented me from wacky worming or throwing a jig and chunk, but I managed 25 LM bass between 10-16" in about two hours on a smoke colored grubs. The water is extremely clear, even by Silver Lake standards. Most of the piers and lifts are not in, and the fish I caught were all along the drops to deeper water.

I'll be out tommorrow, and I'll post some pictures from the last couple days.

CT

Lakemaster Maps

While I don't have the formal sponsorships that many pro-anglers have, I don't mind telling you when I find a product that I like is available.

The Lakemaster maps are fantastic. I just got copies of the new maps for Okauchee, Lac Labelle and Nagawicka. I helped write the lake reviews for these lakes, and they show alot of structure that some of the other maps have left off.

There's a link to their website in the right hand column.

CT

Tuesday Night League

It would appear, based on the number of males, and low numbers of female bass brought in last night, that the fish have not moved up to spawn yet.

Lots of males are cruising the shallows, but very few have even started to make nests. The larger females have not moved in just yet, although a few are starting to appear around cover near the traditional spawning areas.

This next batch of cool weather will likely set them back a bit, but as soon as the weather stabilizes and we get a couple of days of consistent weather, expect the fishing to get real good.

See you on the water,
CT

Welcome Aboard

Gang,

Ben is going to join us here from time to time for fishing reports. He'll also be posting some pictures.

If you want to contact him directly his email is:

benkueng@yahoo.com

CT

Its not Texas, but it will do....

The first two largemouths from 2008:

More Side Finder Images

Side finder images

Here are some screen shots from Wednesday:

Fishing Today

I'm heading out this morning on Okauchee for bass and this afternoon on Oconomowoc for walleyes.

A full report when I return.

CT

Happy Birthday To Me

Today was my 34th birthday. I actually got to go fishing.

I spent a good chunk of the day getting my gear in order for this weekend and next week, but I took the boat out for a couple hours this afternoon.

Still learning to use my side finder, but I got some great screen shots I'll be posting this weekend.

Fishing was slow but steady. The bigger panfish were hard to come by, I caught about 10 keeping size bluegills out of about 70 total fish.

Water on Okauchee has dropped back into the low fifty's in the shallow bays and high 40's on the main lake. Warmest water was in Whitigers Bay at 56, with Tierney close behind at 54.7. Garvin was 52.

There's lots of bass shallow, but they are running a pre-spawn pattern.

Why Hire a Guide?

Gang,

I was talking with some people I just met this weekend. They were your average Wisconsin/Minnesota outdoorsy type people. Not hardcore fishing and hunting enthusiasts, but the kind of people engage in outdoors activity several times a year.

After the usual discussion about whether Green Bay Packer Aaron Rodgers is going to be worth a damn, the conversation drifted towards the fishing opener this weekend. I mentioned that I was a guide and looking forward to gamefish season.

One of the guys I was with asked why people would hire a guide when they could just go fishing by themselves. I thought about it for a minute, and realized there's no single reason people hire me to take them fishing.

Some don't have the equipment or the knowledge to fish our heavily pressured local lakes. For others its a chance to spend some quality time with a loved one (father+son/ husband+wife/ grandpa and grandson etc.) Some people want to learn a lake or a new technique for fishing. Some just want to catch fish when they go out. Some are in town from somewhere else and its easier to hire a guide than rent an equipped fishing boat.

I certainly subscribe to the last one. When I travel to distant fishing locations the cost and hassle of towing a boat can exceed that of a guide. When I went to texas, i tried to rent a bass boat, but it was actually cheaper to hire a guide. When I contacted him, I told him I more or less wanted to to use his boat, and he was perfectly happy with that. In fact I ended up working from the front of the boat while he relaxed and fished from the back, something as a guide you don't often have the chance to do.

All these things aside, I think they best single reason to hire a guide is so that at the end of the day, you don't have to be this guy:

River Condition Update

The walleyes and whitebass are still running. Here's the latest on the river conditions. This is from Sunday at 3:45pm.


The Flood Warning continues for
the Rock River at Newville.
* Until further notice.
* At 0200 PM Sunday the stage was 11.20 feet.
* Moderate flooding is occurring and major flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 10.0 feet.
* At 11.3 feet... there is Knee-Deep water over Blackhawk Road. Lamp
Road on west side of river also becomes Flooded. Lake Koshkonong
merges with Mud Lake to the east of Lake Koshkonong.

The Flood Warning continues for
the Rock River at Fort Atkinson.
* Until further notice.
* At 0240 PM Sunday the stage was 6.81 feet.
* Minor flooding is occurring and moderate flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 6.0 feet.
* The river will continue rising to near 7.0 feet by tomorrow early
afternoon then begin falling.
* At 7.1 feet... water touches Highway 106 east of Fort Atkinson

The Flood Warning continues for
the Rock River at Jefferson.
* Until further notice.
* At 0200 PM Sunday the stage was 10.69 feet.
* Minor flooding is occurring and moderate flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 10.0 feet.
* The river will continue rising to near 11.0 feet by tomorrow
evening then begin falling.
* At 11.3 feet... floodwaters affect low lying areas of residential
and business property in Jefferson... including the Burger corner
restaurant and Riverview drive in the area of the wastewater plant.
A stage of 11.3 feet is about a 5 year flood

... Flood Warning extended until further notice...

the Flood Warning continues for
the crawfish river at Milford.
* From tonight until further notice.
* At 0200 PM Sunday the stage was 6.95 feet.
* Minor flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 7.0 feet.
* Forecast to rise above flood stage by tonight and continue to rise
to near 7.7 feet by Wednesday early afternoon.
* At 8.1 feet... there is widespread flooding of agricultural land and
lowland. There is widespead flooding in the Riverbend campground...
about 5 miles upstream. This level is considered to be about a 5
year flood.
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Be careful out there.
CT

Cool Weather

Don't let the cold front keep you from fishing this weekend. Just slow down, and consider downsizing your presentation.

CT

This Weekend

Looks to be very productive.

Crappies and bluegills are in a full-on spring pattern. I'd head out early before the boat/fishing pressure builds up like it did last weekend.

I have an opening on Sunday if you're interested in getting out. Just give me a call.

CT

Walleyes.....

Not on the Rock River, but on the Oconomowoc River.

Yesterday while out crappie fishing, I was totally inspired by the numbers and qualities of walleyes, bass, northerns and muskies I saw in the river and on Oconomowoc.

I haven't done so for a few years, but I'll be guiding on Oconomowoc for walleyes this year. It looks like the stocking efforts have really paid off big, and the fish are approaching quality size. We saw several over 20inches yesterday.

The Musky population looks healthy and vibrant as well. Lots of quality fish, with plenty of undersize fish that are nice and thick.

Oconomowoc is a challenging lake to fish, and it can beat you at times, but I guarantee its going to get some extra attention from me this year.

"Major Flooding" Near Newville

If you're considering heading down to the Rock River in the Jefferson/Ft Atkinson area for Walleys and/or white bass, please be aware of the conditions there.

The water is extremely high from the Jefferson Dam on down to the lake. Many of the traditional shorefishing areas are flooded. Blackhawk Island is flooded and water is moving inland making road access difficult, if not impossible. The Flood Warnings at Newville have been upgraded to "major flooding" the highest category.

This batch of heavy rain over the next 24-48 hours is only going to make the situation worse for the locals.

The entire river is slow no wake until further notice. Be careful, there's lots of debris in the water and the current is very strong. If you are fishing and anchor, keep a sharp knife handy in case you have to quickly cut your ropes.

Here's the current report from 9:29pm on 4-17-2008:
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The Flood Warning continues for
the Rock River at Newville.
* Until further notice.
* At 0800 PM Thursday the stage was 11.61 feet.
* Major flooding is occurring and major flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 10.0 feet.
* The river will continue to fall slowly over the next week.

At a stage of 11.3 feet... there is Knee-Deep water over Blackhawk
Road. Lamp Road on west side of river also becomes Flooded. Lake
Koshkonong merges with Mud Lake to the east of Lake Koshkonong.





929 PM CDT Thu Apr 17 2008

... Flood Warning extended until further notice...

the Flood Warning continues for
the Rock River at Fort Atkinson.
* Until further notice.
* At 0825 PM Thursday the stage was 7.14 feet.
* Moderate flooding is occurring and moderate flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 6.0 feet.
* The river will continue to fall slowly over the next week.

At a stage of 7.1 feet... water touches Highway 106 east of Fort
Atkinson.





929 PM CDT Thu Apr 17 2008

... Flood Warning extended until further notice...

the Flood Warning continues for
the Rock River at Jefferson.
* Until further notice.
* At 0800 PM Thursday the stage was 11.07 feet.
* Moderate flooding is occurring and moderate flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 10.0 feet.
* The river will continue to fall slowly over the next week.

At a stage of 11.3 feet... floodwaters affect low lying areas of
residential and business property in Jefferson... including the Burger
corner restaurant and Riverview drive in the area of the wastewater
plant. A stage of 11.3 feet is about a 5 year flood.





929 PM CDT Thu Apr 17 2008

... Flood Warning extended until further notice...

the Flood Warning continues for
the crawfish river at Milford.
* Until further notice.
* At 0800 PM Thursday the stage was 7.83 feet.
* Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 7.0 feet.
* The river will continue to fall slowly over the next week.

At a stage of 8.1 feet... there is widespread flooding of agricultural
land and lowland. There is widespead flooding in the Riverbend
campground... about 5 miles upstream. This level is considered to be
about a 5 year flood.

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There are a couple links to the right that will keep you up to date on conditions on the Rock River.


Stay Safe
CT

Crappies

Was out yesterday on Okauchee for a bit. The Crappies are biting pretty good.

Posted a fishing report on the baitshop blog and on Lake-link, and got a couple questions about the setup I was using.

Nothing fancy about this kind of fishing. Clip-on (spring) pencil style bobber about 24 inches above a gold or red aberdeen hook with two small splitshots crimped on a little below half way between the hook and the bobber. I was tailhooking the fatheads I had.

I used some "large" fatheads rather than "crappie minnows" because I want to win the G-Loomis Ultralight. They bit both size minnows.

CT

Heading out today

I'll be rolling out this afternoon for an equipment test and to do a little scouting. I might even get to fish for a bit.

I'll bring back a report with water temperatures.

CT