Early Pike on the Wisconsin River 3-05

This is the time of year when most Midwestern and Wisconsin anglers start thinking about fishing local rivers for walleye and saugers. The melting snow, the moderating temperatures, the geese heading north, and the arrival of migrating songbirds all add to thoughts of spring’s arrival and open-water fishing. But, there is another strong bite that many anglers don’t know about or if they know of it, they’re not sure of where to go.

What I’m talking about is the early spring pike action. I’m going to concentrate on the pike fishing on the Lower Wisconsin River, but this early action can apply to most Wisconsin rivers since pike are relatively common in the Badger State. The Lower Wisconsin River begins at the dam at Sauk Prairie and flows some 85 miles till it runs into the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien. The Lower Wisconsin River is basically a shallow river in its run to the Mississippi, but depending on the spring rains and the melting snow has many sloughs and backwater areas that attract spawning northern pike. Pike like shallow water locations for spawning particularly if these areas have any weeds and vegetation. These fish like to spawn at a water temperature at or around 39 degrees which is the lowest spawning temperature of any game fish we have in Wisconsin. Pike need to have vegetation for spawning because the eggs are sticky and need something for their eggs to hold on to for a successful spawn.

There are other worthy locations to search and check out when chasing early spring pike. Some of these early spring magnets are; feeder creeks and streams that flow into the main river can have pike moving into and up their waters, backwater cuts and sloughs that have shallow and warmer water that is out of the main current, shallow flooded timber and wood, backwater areas that have weeds and warm shallow water, and back eddies with slow moving or slack water. The pike will search out areas where there is a mud or dark bottom that will warm quicker and attract forage. Another good location for early river pike is the shoreline that gets the most daily sun which will warm the adjoining shallow water and attract the spawning pike. Though, the rivers are flowing and free of ice, some years pike will even spawn under the ice. This happens in many northern states where many lakes are frozen till the month of April.

The best way that I’ve found to catch these gators are by casting jerk baits, shallow running crank baits, and large plastics. Personally, I prefer to use a casting reel, like a Garcia Ambassador, spooled with 15 to 20 pound Berkley XT in green. This line is tough enough to handle big fish and also pull out of most snags. A heavy action or medium-heavy rod in 6 foot to 7 feet long works well. The G. Loomis musky rods are my favorites and some good models for river pike are the; MUR756-JB a 6 foot rod with a fast action and a heavy power rating and the MUR786C-JB which is 6′6″, again with a fast tip and heavy power. These rods can handle the big jerk baits, slugo’s, and crank baits that you want to cast for river pike. Personally, I don’t like to use live bait in the spring because you can kill too many fish this way. I believe in releasing all pike, except for a smaller fish now and then for the frying pan.

One of the most important things to remember when fishing for early pike is to be extremely quiet when fishing shallow water. Noise can spook these shallow fish, so I’d slowly and quietly approach my fishing locations. Try to make long casts and slowly work your baits back to the boat. Pike can be in water as shallow as a couple of feet deep and you often can see the fish. Slowly twitch and jerk your baits back to the boat and don’t forget to let your bait just sit now and then. A slow stop and go retrieve often triggers these fish, so vary your retrieve speed from slow to slower! I’ve had great success with the Rapala #13 crank bait and Mann’s Stretch Minus 1 crank slowly retrieved and twitched in shallow water for big spring pike.

Good locations to try below the Sauk dam are; the mouth of Second River down from the Highway 12 Bridge, the shallow water cuts and backwaters farther down-river from the trestles on the north shore of the river, the main river mouth where Second River flows back into the Wisconsin River, the slack water areas and points down-river from the Highway Y boat landing on the south shore, the mouth of Honey Creek near Ferry Bluff, the backwaters along Highway 14 near Spring Green, and the sloughs and backwaters along Highway 60 on the Wisconsin River’s north shore. These are just a few spots that the Wisconsin River offers for early spring pike.

Information; Wilderness Fish and Game (608) 643-2433 ask for Wally or Wayne. They have quality info and anything that you could need when fishing the river.

Zick’s Bait (608) 643-6240 The best bait in the area and a good place for information.

Guides; Wally Banfi (608) 644-9823

Tony Puccio (608) 845-5410

Gary Engberg (608) 795-4208 I can be called for fresh info.

There are good boat landings in the area; one is just west of the Highway 12 Bridge in Sauk City, farther down-river is a landing on the river’s south side off Highway Y, and the VFW Landing in Prairie du Sac close to the dam. Anything you could want is in the Sauk area from food, supplies, to motels.