Guides and outdoormen Wally Banfi, Tony Puccio, and Gary Engberg talk local fishing opportunities in southern Wisconsin on the Wisconsin River, Lake Wisconsin, and the Madison Chain of Lakes for walleyes, sauger, northern pike, and muskies.
Hunting for deer, pheasants, and other game is discussed with the approaching deer season. The interview is with DNR Fish Technician, Scott Harpold during last week’s stocking of Leech Lake strain muskies on the Lake Monona where Gary caught up with him. Plus more outdoor tips and info. Tune into Outdoor Horizons Saturdays at 8:00 AM on WTDY 1670 AM in Madison, Wisconsin. Or go to wtdy.com where the shows are archived or this website
Fishing and hunting tips and reports from pro anglers and guides Wally Banfi, Tony Puccio, and Gary Engberg. Tune in here, on line, or live Saturdays at 8:00 AM on WTDY 1670 AM.
Hey, I go pheasant hunting for two days and suddenly the fish start biting! I guess I should go away more often…Walleye and sauger bit pretty well yesterday, many limits left the barge for the first time all fall. It has been a long fall for the fishing. Some nice walleye and sauger coming in on hair jigs tipped with a minnow. Still some Northern around and some perch as well. Weather has been great, but the fish still want to bite early. A few getting picked up later as well. Don’t forget the time change coming up tonight and we do close at 5 due to darkness this time of year.We still have openings this fall for the cabin. Give us a call.
Mark Clements
www.clementsfishing.com
Fishing is finally picking up. More fish have been caught in the last couple of days then all fall I think. The water temperature is getting a lot colder, around 52 degrees and should continue to fall with the colder weather. Walleye and sauger are hitting on hair jigs, blade baits and floating jigs. Most people are using minnows with their jigs, the fish seem to want the live bait right now. Still a lot of small fish, one fisherman said he caught 60 small sauger and walleye. Northern are still around too and even some crappie have been coming in. Looks like we are having a late fall run this year. Weather looks good too, nice and brisk with some cloudy days. Perfect walleye fishing weather.
Fishing is finally picking up. More fish have been caught in the last couple of days then all fall I think. The water temperature is getting a lot colder, around 52 degrees and should continue to fall with the colder weather. Walleye and sauger are hitting on hair jigs, blade baits and floating jigs. Most people are using minnows with their jigs, the fish seem to want the live bait right now. Still a lot of small fish, one fisherman said he caught 60 small sauger and walleye. Northern are still around too and even some crappie have been coming in. Looks like we are having a late fall run this year. Weather looks good too, nice and brisk with some cloudy days. Perfect walleye fishing weather. Mark Clements www.clementsfishing.com
Karen’s Birthday today…she turned 32(ha)….fishing was pretty good for a lot of fish, but not for the keepers. Meaning, lots of smaller sauger and walleye being caught, but until today no real keepers. Today we started to see the old stringers going home with some fish on them. Walleye are hitting on hair jigs dressed with a minnow. Blue, chartreuse, purple were the basic colors being used but some people were using just river rigs with a minnow too. Many, many northern still around biting off peoples lures and several being caught. It has been a long time since we have seen this many northern hanging around this long. Has to be the warm water and low water conditions. The water has finally started to come up a little and if we ever get some cold weather that will help a lot. We should see some good fishing by this weekend. Some crappie coming in on small minnows and on jigs, that too is nice to see them coming in. Check out Genoa’s new website for information on the Genoa area at www.genoawis.com Mark Clements www.clementsfishing.com
Last week, the temperature soared to over 80 degrees in southern Wisconsin. Since the official beginning of fall over a week ago, our temperatures have been anywhere from 10 to 15 degrees above normal. We experienced a little “Indian Summer” weather which had many people out on the area lakes and rivers enjoying one of the last “warm” weekends of the year. Lake Wisconsin and the Lower Wisconsin River were both busy with anglers out looking for anything that bites and others out enjoying one of the years last weekends in their pleasure boats. The boat landings were crowded on Saturday with fishermen and boaters out for a last fling on the water before putting their boats away for the season. The Lower Wisconsin River also had a good number of people out canoeing, kayaking, and fishing despite the low water level.
Fishing has been inconsistent the last few weeks with the warm temperatures and summer-like conditions. But, fishing will change for the better as the water and weather cools as we get into fall. All fish species now know that winter is coming by the shorter days and diminishing amount of daylight that we are experiencing as we get into the months of October and November. Fish realize that they must go on a feeding binge to bulk up their bodies for the cold of winter when their metabolism and feeding activity drastically slows down. This is why October and November are such good months to fish because all fish are following their instincts and feeding heavily. The fall is also a great time to fish for trophy fish because they are active, aggressive, and often in predictable locations.
The largest muskies, bass, and walleyes of the year are usually caught in the fall before the ice-up on our lakes. If you are a serious fisherman or women, then this is your time of the year. Don’t put your boat away yet because there are many weeks of good fishing left before freeze-up. The one important thing to remember once temperatures cool below freezing at night is to make sure that you drain your boats lower unit every time you pull your boat out of the water. I also suggest that you add an additive, like Stabil Marine, to your boat’s gasoline tank. This prevents your fuel from breaking down and causing problems now or in the spring after a winter of storage. Continue Reading »
Fishing was pretty good today, they caught walleye, sauger, northern pike, bluegills and yes a few sheephead. Catfish have been fairly plentiful as well. Most of the walleye and sauger were caught on hair jigs, purple or blue chartreuse. Most were tipped with minnows. Some were caught on blade baits too. Water temp has dropped two degrees in one night! This will certainly help bring in more walleye and sauger. A lot of bait fish near the dam already and around the barge. Continue Reading »
Last week, I wrote about the many different hunting and fishing seasons that are opening in September. The Early September Canada Goose season and the dove season both open with promising outlooks on September 1st. The hook and line lake sturgeon season opens on September 6th on the Wisconsin River from below the dam at Wisconsin Dells to and below the dam at Prairie du Sac. This includes all of Lake Wisconsin and all of the river’s waters downstream from the Dells Dam This year, due to over-harvesting below both dams, has resulted in a shorter season that closes September 30thwith a minimum size of 60 inches for these prehistoric fish. The limit is 1 lake sturgeon per season. Check last week’s column for more sturgeon fishing suggestions, dove tactics, and tips for the Early Canada Goose season. Continue Reading »
