Rock River

[Z-man]

Been pretty quiet for me on the fishing front for the past few weeks, but finally got the priorites straight today, and made it out. Was going to go solo on the Big Pond, but the wind forecast last nite changed my mind, so off with the downriggers, and out with the walleye gear for my first outing to a favorite stretch of river, working from the VFW down to the mouth at Kosh. . My tummy was telling me that it was still a little early, and that was the case.:( Water temps were 64, water levels were up 2 feet from just last Sunday, and the fishing was slow. Hit the usual haunts, with only one small eye and a few hits to show for a few hours on the water. Tried leeches, and plastics, shallow and deeper, slack water and current breaks. Finished off jigging shallow way into the wood, and pitching live bait and plastics into the wood, but nada. My fishing log indicates that better days are yet to come......things should pick up nicely in the first two weeks of October, as water temps drop. And plastics have outfished live bait in my boat the past two years. So with this good walleye fishery being about a half hour from home, I'm hoping to become a fixture out here in October and November. And for those so inclined, the catfish bite is pretty good right now. Saw a couple boats pulling in a few, tight against shore in wood, stink bait. Gonna be out of commission for a couple weeks again, but stay tuned for more Rock reports in October.

[Z-man]

Managed to spend a couple hours jigging the river yesterday late afternoon from 5 till 7 . from and things are still slow. Water temps were down to 56. Gonna give it another week or two, but the eyes should start showing up in the river soon. Trollers in Kosh have reportedly been doing pretty good out there.

[Z-man]

Finally able to get back out on the Rock yesterday, from VFW down to mouth. Still pretty slow, but starting to see signs of life. Boated 7 eyes, with 3 legals at 16 inches each, plus a few other hits, but that was it. Couldn't get more than one here or there...no consistency. Plastic took half the hits, and jig/leech the others. Buddy landed two carp in the mix, and no white bass. tried all depths, even into the wood, but all came in 8 to 11 fow. Hopefully, back at it later this week.

[Z-man]

Fished the Rock today in Blackhawk Island stretch, and did OK, but still not the fall bite I've had in previous years and still hoping for. We boated about 20 eyes and sauger, with 4 legals between 16 and 19.5 inches. Two carp added some excitement. Stinger hooks were a must today, and even with them on, we missed a good number of fish. Plastics and jig/minnow were equally effective, with best depth at 9 feet or so. Cleaned a couple that had frogs in the bellies, and saw a bunch of frogs crossing the road on our way home, makeing a bee-line to the river. a guy might try tossing plastics into the shallow right before dark...maybe next time. Only saw two other boats on the water, and finished the day with a great sunset, albeit it was the only sun we saw today.

[Eric Haataja]

Sounds like you did pretty good to me! Nice fishing report thanks!

[Z-man]

Had a chance to get out today for a few hours, and hit the stretch from VFW down to mouth. Only a couple hits, and one eye that unhooked as I was tuna-ing it into the boat. Very slow is an understatement. Great November day on the water, but what's with the lock-jaw??:confused: Oh, well....next time.

[Walleye-man]

Was out today for a few hours from shore below Hustisford. Picked up two short eyeballs and a jumbo perch. Very slow. Hopefully this rain will kick things into high gear in the next few weeks and raise the water levels.

[Eric Haataja]

Should be good these next 2 weeks as long as the river does not get too high, definitly going to push up a bunch of fish.

Eric Haataja

[Z-man]

Walleye fishing on the Rock is starting to heat up. Hit the river for a few hours one and two weeks ago to probe the waters, and keep a pulse on the bite. Not much to report for the previous trips, until this past Saturday. Water temps finally on the drop, and the eyes are starting to bite. Picked up 10 eyes and a sauger , with all but one on plastic, all up from the by-pass. Hit the mouth for a while, and there were lots of boats fishing from the Riverfront bar, down to the lake, with a few fish being caught. too much traffic for this guy, so headed back up-river. Paddletails brought more fish and hits than jig/minnow, including couple sheepies and white bass. The two legals were a 15 inch eye and 17 inch sauger. Should be decent action out there for at least the next 2 to 3 weeks.

[Z-man]

Hit the Rock yesterday solo, as client backed out last minute and it was just too nice of a day to miss. Yesterday's bite was active in the morning, but died off in pm. Seems like that's the way it's been out here lately, with a few hours of decent action, then a lull. Anyway, boated 10 eyes with 2 legals at 17 in the bunch, and at least 15 sheepies, couple white bass and small cats. The eyes preferred plastic on this day, with all but one coming on a paddletail. Sheepies weren't as particular, with half on plastic, and rest on jig/minnow or jig/crawler. Thought the bite would really turn on in pm with incoming storms, but it didn't. fished the stretch from up-river of the by-pass, all the way down to the mouth, hitting most of the holes on way down. Couple of my traditional fall spots haven't produced yet, maybe cuz the waters still at 57....gonna have to keep at it.

[Jeff Patrick]

The rock river is starting to produce some nice walleyes. I'm using nuckle ball jig and plastic in the wood from seven to five foot of water.:D

[Jeff Patrick]

Here's some pic's from the last couple days.

[Jeff Patrick]

The rock is hot, fish the channel high noon then move to the wood by 3. Nuckle ball jigs and paddle tail have been hot. Z-Man it's time;)

[Z-man]

Was out there last Wednseday for a few hours guiding a father/son team, but only boated 2 legals. Plastic was dead, unlike my previous few trips. white bass and sheepies like it though.Hoping to get out there on Thursday afternoon , with my son and his buddy. Keep 'em warmed up for me, would you Jeff. Nice pics.

[Jeff Patrick]

I went out Monday and it seem that plastic was dead also but I stay with the plastic and ended up with three nice fish in the 20 range.:) The key was changing it up with colors and different kinds of plastic.

[seeds]

I did my first trip to the Rock Sunday -the latest in the "spring" relative to ice-out than in past years. I'm usually the first guy I know that's out there - breaking ice at the launch. This year I was the last. - I was busy chasing late-ice crappies.

Hard to decide where to go. One friend had done OK at the hole above the Hwy 26 launch,another had done alright at Blackhawk. VFW, "106-to-the Bark",just downstream from the Fort launch,and the stretch from Jefferson to the rapids - I'd gotten "OK" reports from all of them from the prior 2 days.

I figured that the fish are still pretty scattered and moving throughout the river. I don't want to say exactly where I fished,but I based my decision less on where I thought the fish would be and more on parking,how many people I'd expect to fish in each area,launch conditions (I'd gotten a flat the last time I launched at Kmart),and where - with the river-wide no wake regs - I could fish the most water I knew well with the least amount of travelling on the water.

I spent several hours in the morning pitching to shoreline wood and eddies without luck,so went to vertical fishing. Caught some shorts on plastics ,then switched to one rod with plastic,another with hair. Soon I fished both jigs with hair....Fishing was relatively slow - I caught maybe 20 fish total - but 6 of them were legal. I ended up releasing a fat 20" female and a skinny 15.5" ,headed home with 4 fish in the well.....Well,actually,I headed home to get rid of my fish,change rods and boxes,then went to the harbor for 3 hours and 31 browns.

Fish came mostly in 10-ish+ fow,hardbottom runs. More shorts came from deeper holes. 5 walleyes,one sauger. The only other saugers I caught were tiny....Most fish didn't need the stingers,so scattered but aggressive is my guess.

I've heard 2 reports of females dropping eggs when caught. Also,one of my males was milting when I landed it. One of the 4 fish I kept was a 17.5" female,and the eggs were firm,as was the testes in the other 2 males....Water temp on my guage was 40* to 41* A friend whose transducer sits deeper in the water got 38.5*,down from 41* the day before.... The water is high enough that some boats might not be able to get under the Hwy 26 bridge in Jefferson.

I'm certainly not one of the best fishermen on the river during the spring run. But since the fish are on the move - and there's no real concentration of fish yet - my advice would be to go with your gut feeling and not chase reports. Conditions and fish "concentrations" will be different the next day anyway.

Also,I really think the bigger fish respond quickly to fishing pressure,the little ones less so. And the deepest holes always have more shorts than legals. If there's 20 boats doing a drift,go slightly shallower - away from the crowd - and don't be obvious when you use your net.

One more thing:Learning something new every time on the river is - to me,anyway - more important than putting 5 in the well....Found 2 "new" clambeds this time.

[Z-man]

Thanks for the detailed report, seeds. Sounds like it's time to keep hitting the Rock in search of spring piggies.

[Jeff Patrick]

Seeds well said, anglers just be safe out there. If I can find a parking spot this weekend I might head out in the afternoon.:D

Picture from last Sunday.

[Eric Haataja]

Awesome report seeds!!

Thanks

Eric

[watrfwlnut]

fished Saturday...or I should say played bumper boats...wow was it crowded...I was glad to see that as crowded as it was everyone I fished near or around was very curtious to eachother...only 2 legals for our boat...both on jig n minnow...1 fish came in 8ft of water and the other in 15ft...so no real pattern for us just slow going...a beautiful day on the river either way...did see 2 different boats doing well...both jon boats and you could tell the guys in both of these boats had the program down...great to see..!!! water temp ranged from 41 to 44

[seeds]

The majority of fish in the Rock seemed to spawn sometime toward the end of this week. The river's high,dirty,fast,and water temps have been dropping - but are still in the spawning range.

But I and several others did surprisingly well this week considering the fish were spawning. The predominant year class seems to consist of 20"-ish femals and 17"-ish males,and with the high water they should pull off a great spawn. Most guys were releasing those pregnant females,although I know of one boat that took 30 of those before they could spawn over the course of 3 days. But the high water kept many guys off the water,most fish that were caught vertical jigging were males,and most guys who were on bigger female fish were releasing them.

By next weekend they should all be post spawn.

[seeds]

I've heard some secondhand reports of whites being caught for almost 2 weeks. I've seen a few caught in the Fort area but haven't caught any myself.

I haven't been out since Sunday (6 legals) but from friend's reports the walleye fishing has been tougher this week than during the previous 2 weeks....Most - but not all - fish were spawned out last Sunday.

[driffter]

I fish the Rock every Spring and Fall and was wondering if the Fall migration of walleyes and whitebass have been making their way up the river from Koshkonong around Fort Atkinson and Jefferson. I have had some good Fall fishing trips there and with this warm weather I am uncertain if I should hit the river yet from shore or, consintrate on salmon and trout this coming weekend. Any info would be great. Thank You........

The rock has a strong bite go'in on right now, some days better, trolling on the big "K" has been solid from may on with limits of white bass a norm, mixed with walleye. Northerns are showing a strong come back after a 10 year vacation.

[blitzfish]

I fish the Hustisford area when I fish the rock, I have slammed the walleyes in the past but so far this fall its far and few in between. Rain and colder weather would help.

[blitzfish]

Went out this morning for a little, caught a few eyes but the water level is stilll too low. also caught a few small northern. All fish caught on jigs and mister twisters.

[deadeternity]

Hit the river from shore today and learned alot, and had some success. I learned that today was one of them days the Berkley GULP ALIVE minnows did outfish livebait. Only one crappie on a live minnow, and 4 whitebass and 3 Crappies on Gulp. Love the product, I am sold on it.

Then the rest of the day the only thing the fish would hit are my own handtied streamers. I set my girlfriend and I up with streamers and we nailed crappie after crappie (9"-11"), whitebass after whitebass (9"-12"), carp after carp. My girlfriend caught her first walleye on a standard spinning rod that measured 18 3/4 inches long on one of my handtied streamers. She caught a few 22 inchers on Green Bay trolling this past spring but, she said they weren't great fighters being reeled in with a planer board so now she knows how they feel on a spinning rod. Her and I ended the day taking home 1 walleye and a mixed bag of 20 whitebass, crappies, and 1 rockbass. About 80% caught on streamers, the other 20% on GULP ALIVE!!! It was a fun and windy day.......

[Joe Murphy]

indianford is hot, so is jeffeson, tons of bigs ones being caught. Guy got an 11 pounder on saturday and somebody else got a 7. Mouth of kosh is probably rockin along with blackhawk. get out there

[Joe Murphy]

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/104_2930.jpg

Found this in a walleyes stomach earlier today while i was cleanin a bunch, they're eatin' BIG. I think its a sheepshead

[deadeternity]

Great report Joe. I am heading out this weekend. I think what you may have there in your hand is a large chub perhaps. It looks a little skinny to be a sheepshead but, it is pretty mangled so it's hard to say.....

[Joe Murphy]

it had long clear bones stickin out an inch above and below the fish. too tall of a fish for a chub but again who knows.

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks for the fanatstic reports! Cool!

[deadeternity]

The Sportsmans Warehouse in New Berlin is holding a seminar about ROCK RIVER WALLEYE sometime next week.......

[Joe Murphy]

hit it last night after dark til about 11. It pretty much sucked at the dam. Tons of dinks like usual, lost 2 nice ones, my buddy got a legal about 16. Other guy down the way left with 2 around the same size. Bottom rigs got the legals, the usual got everything else

[Joe Murphy]

Its been getting progressivley worse as its been warming up, still catchin em tho. Lots of little ones like usual. I watched some guy get pinched real bad by the DNR. He had a bucket full of whiteys and saugers. Some guy kept catching 8 to 12 inchers and giving them to the guy with the bucket. Long story short the DNR was called down and he got caught with about 20 short saugers. He claimed that he thought there wasn't a size or bag limit on saugers. He learned the hard way by getting all his gear confiscated and a huge fine. At least the warden let him keep the whitebass hahaahaa. The other guy just got a warning which surprised me. How hard is it to look in the regs book?

[deadeternity]

Hit the river today and the dam was dead around 8:30pm tonight. The gentlemen next to me said he caught 5 dinky walleyes after fishing 5 hours. I fished the river in Fort and only managed 8 walleyes that were most likely last years hatch or stocked, they were that small. I caught one sauger that was about 12 inches long with a 7 inch baby walleye sticking out of it's mouth. So I stoled it's dinner for a photo of him and his big meal :eek:. I will post pictures tomorrow. Also landed 2 carp, 2 crappies, and a sheepshead. Fished from 1:30pm-11:00pm.

Only caught one walleye after dark. It was a 15 incher my girlfriend caught but we threw it back because I wasn't gonna keep one single fish. A total of 15 fish for over 8 hours of work but it was a relaxing day. Had to pick alot of leaves off my hook though because out of all areas the leaves decided to gather right in my favorite fishing spot.

Mr.Twisters on 1/4oz jigheads and, slipsinker rigs with colored hooks and minnows took all the walleyes/saugers. The walleyes wanted the jigs slow but, I reeled the handle at a snails pace and snapped the rod tip upward every 5-8 seconds. They can be very finicky and picky, sometimes it can be quite annoying. They wouldn't touch the plastics when I reeled them straight and steady, slow, fast, dragged, twitched, or hopped. They wanted that one retrieve I just mentioned. The action came in one spurt for 10 minutes and it was dead until my girlfriend caught the 15 incher at night. It was as if a small school moved in, fed, disappeared, and that was it.

My handtied chartreuse/white 1/16oz mini bucktail jigs took the 2 crappies. Last weekend them crappies were all over them jigs and my handtied streamer flys. This weekend they are all gone or being stubborn. WHERE DID THEM DAMN CRAPPIES GO!!!!!!:confused: . Last weekend they were everywhere, this weekend 2 crappies all day. It doesn't make any sense.

The water is also dropping drastically which means the fish are pushed into deeper holes. I can bet if I had a boat it would be killer in some of the holes I know of around the river. The weather will be in the 70's during the beginning of this coming week and then, it will drop to the low 50's to mid 40's on Thursday with rain on Thursday and Friday. Maybe the drop in temps, and the rain will see to it that next weekend makes it uncomfortable for us but, bless us with some good walleye fishing. I am trying again tomorrow anyways, maybe some fish will get chomping because of our recent cooler temps. I have 3 dozen minnows, a tank full of gas, and a nice day ahead. Fishing sounds like a plan........

[Eric Haataja]

Talked to a guy this AM who smacked some really nice eyes down by Blackhawk verticle jigging. 7,6, 5 lbers he said he caught.

Eric

[seeds]

friends who've been torturing me with phone reports have all had one thing in common - they're really smacking the baits. If you're not getting bit it isn't because they're "finicky". They're not there. MOVE.

Two friends limited yesterday,with some other,bigger fish released - along with numerous shorties. Others they talked to also limited,while still others they talked to only caught 1 or 2.

I'll be working on my boat all day:(

[deadeternity]

I casted twisters, ringworms, Rapala Husky Jerks, Mimic Minnows, Gulp, soaked minnows on the bottom with slipsinkers, tried Fuzzy Grubs/minnows, jig/minnows,streamer flys,every size jighead from 1/16-1/4, every color in the rainbow, every retrieve you can think, and only 2 short walleyes in 10 hours.

Lost one big fish on minnows by the dam around 7:00pm but, can't say if they were giant walleyes or what it was.Fought like a big head shaking walleye but somebody's tangled mess of jigs and line got caught up on my line and the fish got stuck and came off. I must have reeled in a dozen jigs on the tangled line. People and there 20 pound test makes me wonder, what are they trying for? Being stuck on shore sucks, so moving around from hole to hole was out of the question.

Everyone else around me got nothing, I seen one guy with a 15 incher walk past but he said that was it for the day. Heard the bite was slow by the dam with maybe a dozen short walleyes, and one 20 incher seen caught. I didn't see it so word of mouth is all I have for that.

I am trying next weekend in my friend's boat. I hope some deeper holes, and eddys will turn up some results. I want a walleye fish fry. I am sick of the normal 1-2 fish coming home with me, if any at all. I know the guys in the boats have luck but, us shore anglers have 50/50 chance at scoring a trophy or fish fry.

Here is a couple pictures from yesterday. One is of a dinky walleye with a big tasty walleye dinner I pulled from it's mouth. And the other is my girlfriend's 15 inch walleye from last night........ NEXT WEEK I HOPE THE COLD TEMPS AND RAIN BRING SUCCESS!!!!!

[Joe Murphy]

thats a sauger you made go hungry holmes

[deadeternity]

I just threw the baby walleye over my lighter and had a snack. The sauger was pist off but, he will do just fine getting a nother one,lol.

I can't understand the logic of fish. They have a baitfish almost the size of them sticking out of their mouth but they still smack your lure.....

[Joe Murphy]

Tried some new things this weekend and got em dialed in.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/104_2944.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/104_2936.jpg
20 inch sauger...my personal best

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/104_2935.jpg

[deadeternity]

NICE JOB JOE!!!!!!! I am heading out tomorrow in the boat, and if that fails I will be hitting a dam near you......

[brewcityfishr]

D.E.- I tried looking for you guys on the river this morning. I was out fishin from 8am til 3pm. got to test out the new trolling motor today and did some jigging. we managed 13 walleyes/saugers. biggest two went 4+ pounds and 6+ pounds both walleyes and lost a couple nice ones. 2 dogfish and only 1 whitebass. jigs and minnows did the damage in the deep holes. brrrrrrrr it was a cold one! good fishin'

[deadeternity]

Hit Fort Atkinson today in the boat for an hour but had engine troubles so we parked the boat back at my friends house and then hit IndianFord. My friend managed one 18 inch walleye in Fort before we stored his boat away.

At IndianFord we threw back to many dinky 10-14 inch walleyes to even count. Slipsinker rigs with floating jig/minnows, and 1/16-1/8 ounce jig/minnows did the damage. At night 3-4 twistertails on 1/8 ounce jigs worked best for walleyes. My girlfriend landed 2 beautiful catfish while sokaing minnows on floating jigheads at night. And she caught her fair share of fish today as well. She landed the biggest fish seen by anyone caught by the dam all day so I guess I TAUGHT HER WELL:D:cool:....

Thanks to Joe Murphy for the great net job skills, and for letting us use his net. Great to finally meet you Joe, it was fun trying to tempt the ellusive walleyes. To bad we each missed a few solid hits tonight.

BREWCITY.....Sorry we did'nt meet, we have to hit the river sometime soon or next spring. You probably know what I look like by now so dont be stranger....

Good luck to everyone and stay warm, safe, and have fun.....

[cheddermelt]

Dead,

It was my net lol but thats alright you can give Joe all the credit haha.

When you gonna hit it down there again?

[deadeternity]

Thank you Casey for your net,lol. You spelt chedder wrong, it is cheddar,:):):).

I am thinking this Saturday or Sunday again. I cant pass up walleyes on my days off. I heard Fort did good a few days back for crappies and walleyes. Some guy reported 30 crappies and 6 legal walleyes. But I will keep my options open. You know where I will be Casey. Right back where we all were in the first place.......

JOE.... My girlfriend and I were just cracking up because in your pictures below you have the same facial expression,lol. Come to think of it,my girl has the same expression in her pics as well....

[trophy taker]

are you fishing by the damn in jefferson? because there is a gas station up the street that sells bait all night.

[deadeternity]

Fished the Dam last night along side Joe Murphy. Caught quite a few walleyes,saugers, and saugeyes but, they were all shorts.The biggest fish I caught was a 14 1/4 inch sauger, my girlfriend lost a legal walleye, and I think Joe caught one legal but, that is pretty terrible when you are using 4-5 inch baits like we use. Four inch twistertails worked tonight in white and chartreuse, pretty standard stuff. I didn't bring the baitbucket full of minnows because plastics seemed to do just fine, and where can you get minnows at 11:00pm at night? The action was short and quick. Maybe a 10 minute window every hour would open and then it would close. The bite would be on,off,on,off, and it sucks we did'nt get enough keepers for a meal. And they were not taking the bait as well as they could've. I will be back out this weekend or Musky fishing with Joe. Good luck to you all.........

TROPHY TAKER: Yeah the Jefferson Dam. But, the fishing was not all that nutty anyways and they hit plastics so it was good. It was just nice to enjoy the weather, the night, and soak a line. I think that gas station is closed at 10:00pm because it is never opened past 9:00pm sometimes, but sometimes open till 10:00pm.

WARNING: I forgot to mention the fact that my girlfriend and I almost slammed a deer with our car last night. That was almost deer #2 for us this year. We were following a semitruck and out of nowhere this deer appears right infront of our car. We seen a lady hit a buck last sunday in broad daylight. And myself as well as Joe Murphy seen a deer splattered across the road on HWY 26, and the truck that hit this deer was totaled, and the deer was mutilated. It looked like a death metal album cover pretty much painted across the highway. So if you plan on coming out at night do know them deer are dangerous as hell. All of I-94 EAST/WEST, and Highway 26 is deer territory and there are many dead deer laying around. BECAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joe Murphy]

I hit it again last night (wednesday) with a cheddar melt, and dead eternity showed up later on, lost a big one, caught a bunch of shorts and got a 16 and 1/2 incher. missed a whole gang of fish. Good night. I got all mine on 5 inch gulp jerk shads on 1/4 oz jigheads. People caught more than i did with the usual jig and fathead combo and bottom rigs but they caught much smaller fish than i did. I've been using real big stuff, keeps the shorts away, i dont get robbed, and i get all the legals. Win Win situation

[Joe Murphy]

Had an Awesome night last night, popping this fish on my very first cast.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/n515854079_1159284_5106.jpg



Then my buddy finally got tied up and got this on his first cast. 30 and 1/2 inches
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/n515854079_1159281_4318.jpg


I couldnt believe we each got some respectable fish on our very first cast.

Then my buddy got this guy
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/n515854079_1159282_4578.jpg


I got this after that, then it went dead, with just shorts biting, missed a few more big ones.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/fishin_joe/n515854079_1159283_4844.jpg

Also an old timer caught a 28 inch walleye last night at the jefferson dam on a purple twister. He threw it in his cooler I guess, this is what i heard from my buddy who was fishing there.

[deadeternity]

JOE!!!!!!

Nice fish man, you weren't kidding when you told me that was a fatty walleye. WOW!!!!! And some nice pike also. WE WILL GET THEM TOMORROW JOE!!!! Hopefully when you,my girlfriend, and I hit that river tomorrow we hit it just right and have a whole bunch of angry,aggressive, hungry walleyes smacking our minnows and plastics:eek:. EXCELLENT PICS!!!!:cool:

[deadeternity]

Hit the river 5:00pm-10:00pm with my girlfriend, Joe Murphy, and a big bucket full of 3-6 minnows and it was a very slow night. The weather must have put the walleyes in shock because every fish that bit hit so light, or so lathargic that it made for a really frustrating night. Even with stinger hooks the fish were'nt able to be hooked. Joe caught a nice sized pike, and I landed a 14 inch sauger. EVERYONE SHOULD LEARN HOW TO FILLET PIKE!!! They taste just as good as walleyes, sometimes better. Dont let a bad reputation over Y-Bones ruin a good thing for you, LEARN TO FILLET THEM!!!! There is a very respectable pike population in the Rock River with some huge pike lurking in there. Must have had 12 bites between Joe and I but, and a couple bite offs but, we could not get a hook in them. Hopefully better luck next time.

Also, a few people I know got some legals out in the boat today between Jefferson and Blackhawk Island. That is all I know besides, the legals were not biting traditional tactics. Livebait was not needed to take the legals. As it keeps getting colder these fish will have to be fished slower and slower.

JOE...THANKS FOR THE NET EXTENTION AND MINNOWS!!!! We'll get them finicky walleyes next time.

[seeds]

Nice see'in you again,Dead...Vertical-jigging the hardbottom sides of holes during the day,casting shallower as it started to get dark. Color of plastic didn't seem to matter much,jighead color did. Stingers were necessary for most fish.

Caught a limit+ of "legals",kept 4. I don't want 15.5's,won't keep 20" and bigger.

Lots of whites in some areas,too many sheepshead in others. Crappies still biting in (and near) brush. Cats are in winter areas and sometimes biting - even plastics - when sunny.

[deadeternity]

Nice seeing you again also seeds, we have get out sometime on the water and pound the walleyes........

[Joe Murphy]

hit it from an hour before to an hour after dark. Popped a really black lookin sauger on my frst cast. Lost a BIG pike im guessin 36-38 at the wall, my buddy was too short to net it. He got a nice 19 nch eye. We got a few shorts, lots of short hits.

[Joe Murphy]

fished for a couple hours wednesday night, fish were real finiky. tons and tons of short hits, missed a ton of fish so i started letting em munch on it for about 10 seconds then gave it to em, they would drop it if they felt any resistance at all so i would just feed em line. Anywho fish were caught on suckers. Didnt catch that many but still had fun, wish i coulda fished longer but the guy i was with was cold or somethin.