Local Column 9-24-07

gengberg September 24th, 2007

   I‘ve been writing for the past couple of weeks that the best time of the year for outdoorsmen and women is now upon us and continues through November and into December. Some of you “hard-water” anglers think the best months of the year are December and January when you can ice fish, but whatever your outdoor passion is, it’s coming soon. Lately, I’ve had the chance to be regularly on the water and I’ve been talking to many of you who have been hunting and fishing for your first hand information. So, here’s a breakdown on what’s happening!

The recent warm weather has made angling tough on most local waters. I guided and fished with Don Kestel of Baraboo and some friends that Don had up from Illinois. Don and his crew wanted to fish Lake Wisconsin, since it was a close drive for them and they wanted to know some “hotspots” on the lake for their future fishing.

The water temperature on Lake Wisconsin was still in the mid-70’s and full of algae. Lake Wisconsin is a good fall lake for most species, but particularly walleye, sauger, and muskie. But, most of this good fishing takes place later in the fall and before deer hunting opens when the water temperature is in the 50’s and falling. This is when fish of all species realize that winter is coming and they better start “bulking’ up for the cold winter months when their metabolism slows down and their activity is minimal.

Fishing was tough this weekend and we tried every tactic that I know and had a very slow morning. Some of the techniques that we tried included jigging, rigging, casting spinners and crankbaits, pulling spinner and crawler harnesses, and open water trolling. We caught some fish but they were sheepshead, white bass, small smallmouth, and perch. What saved a slow day were the suspended crappies that we found at the mouth and points of most bays. The crappies were down 9 to 10 feet in water 12 to 14 feet deep. The crappies were of mixed size, but some well over 12 inches. The best bait was Shad Raps in blue/orange, firetiger, and black/silver. The crappies were slamming the lures and inhaling them well into their mouths.

I’d wait a few weeks till the water cools down and then Lake Wisconsin should be hot! Don’t forget about the good muskie population in the lake and be sure to try for some of these big fish before ice up.

The Wisconsin River is going up and down as usual, but smallmouths are very active and biting well. I suggest that you slowly drift the river looking for smallmouth “working” baitfish. Try to fish these active fish and seining your own river shiners for bait works best. River fishing will continue to improve too and things cool down. Crawlers are still good bait, but soon the action will switch to minnows as their favorite food.

Sturgeon action has been slow with the warm weather and 60 inch minimum size limit. The season is open only a few more days with the season being shortened from 6 weeks to 4 weeks. The 60 inch minimum is doing what the DNR wanted in slowing the harvest rate.

The Professional Muskie Tournament Trail had their last regular event of the year before their championship on Madison’s Lakes Monona, Wabesa, and Upper Mud. There were 125 2-man teams that fished both Saturday and Sunday. There were 32 legal muskies caught and released with the big fish of the tournament being 47 inches. Randy Machtan and John Steckel won the $20,000.00 first place check with two fish, one a 45″ and another 39 ½ fish caught on top-water baits and Bulldawgs. The second place team of Scott Salachi and Anthony Smith caught a 43″ and 36 ¾ ” muskies on plastics for second place. Five teams caught two fish in the full field event. Guide Lee Tauchen of Madison caught one muskie 45 inches long and finished 8th with partner Brad Nelson. The warm and dirty water coupled with a storm the night before keep the number of fish down, but the Madison Chain is a great fall spot for all fish.

Angler’s Edge, a marina out of Rockford, Illinois is having a walleye tournament on Lake Wisconsin this weekend, September 30 at Beck’s on the Water. It’s a two-man event with a $50.00 entry fee. Contact them at (815)-877-6062 or www.anglersedge.net.

The bow hunters that I’ve talked to are waiting for the mosquitoes to die off before they start spending their time in the woods. Hunters need the bugs to disappear, the leaves to keep falling, and more crops to get harvested for hunting to take off. Registration at Wilderness Fish and Game has been down with only a couple dozen deer registered this past weekend. Do your scouting because it’s easy to pattern deer from their feeding spots to their bedding locations. This will make your hunting easier and more successful. There’s plenty of deer in our area, so you have a great opportunity if you put in your time and do your scouting.

Duck hunting will open in a couple of weeks and by all reports there should be some ducks for hunters. The rain that we’ve had has filled most sloughs and potholes in the river bottoms, so these areas will be holding ducks. A vast majority of ducks shot in Wisconsin are raised here. The reports from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have good reports from the Dakotas and Canada for migrating ducks.

I haven’t seen that many turkey hunters out for the fall season. I see hens and their poults everywhere, so there must have been a good hatch in the area. The odd thing is that you see young of all sizes, so some hens must have re-nested after losing their first young. Unless we have a tough winter, the spring turkey hunt should be great.

This coming weekend, the Black Earth Creek Longbeards of the N.W.T.F. is having a Jakes Event at the Bill Medding’s property in Cross Plains. This is the Fourth Annual Jakes event held in the area. If you are 17 years old or younger and like to hunt, fish, hike, camp, or being outdoors then this program is for you. Registration is free and includes lunch, use of all equipment, ammunition, program materials, a gift bag, a 1-year subscription to Jakes Magazine, and membership into the National Wild Turkey Federation Jakes.

This is an excellent chance for young outdoorsmen and women to get some knowledge and have fun! They will learn basics in all-terrain vehicles, fishing basics, archery and bow hunting, and rifle and shotgun shooting. Safety will be stressed and club members will be supervising. For information call Bill Meddings at (608)-798-1492 or email at wtm2@chorus.net. This is a great event, so take advantage of it! I can’t think of a better place to take kids this coming weekend.

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