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Fished Walleyes again on 4/12 into 4/13, and the fishing SUCKED! Just 1 walleye at 19", my brother caught a small Sauger, and his girlfriend landed a Sheepshead. We did have countless bites though, not sure what they were but we had nonstop bites on the bulky curly tail grubs again. Some felt like Walleye bites, some were definitely fish pecking at the lure and trying to pull it off the jig. I am thinking a lot of them couldve been small Walleyes, or Whitebass but couldnt tell because none of them got hooked. We tried Curly Tail Grubs in 3" to 4", and the bulky grubs only got hits. Then we tried shortening the grubs to see if it would help, and the fish wouldnt hit it then. So I tried Ringworms, and finally caught a nice Walleye being the only one of the night. Seen a guy catch 2 jigging Gulp Minnows, but both his fish were small ones. But it was a frustrating night having over 2 dozen hits, and not hooking any of those fish that hit. Some of the hits were hard to, but they would miss the hook and pull on the tail. Oh well, you cant be successful every trip obviously, and one Walleye is better than no Walleyes at all. Funny enough the moon didnt rise until about 1:30am, and thats when the fish started to hit which proves to me that moon rise is a peak feeding period at night! With the New Moon phase coming up soon, and the rain and warmer weather in the forecast, I think the Whitebass, Walleyes, and every fish species in the rivers will start feeding heavily and moving again! Whitebass fishing should start in a major way within the next couple weeks, I predict the end of this coming week! Good luck everyone!
Wisconsin Fishing Reports
Posted 10 April 2012 - 06:46 AM (#2)
Jason 
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- Joined: 28-December 07
Went out again and fell one fish short of a 5 fish limit. LOST 3 NICE ONES! 
You cant win them all though! Just sucks though because one fish was 2 feet from the net and comes off, 2 FEET FROM THE NET! Lucky fish had to be 19" long, so he lived to see another day when he escaped!!! LUCKY FISH! I also missed about a dozen hits as well.
Fish 5:30pm Easter Sunday, and left at 2am Monday morning. Best times vary from day to day, night to night. Good Friday for example, the fish wouldnt hit until 11pm-1am, and then they turned back off and the bite was done. Then Easter they were hitting only for 1 hour of the 7 hours I fished. I literally caught and lost all my fish within a 1 hour time frame of 8:30pm-9:30pm, the rest of the night was a couple bites here and there, and a couple small fish. Sometimes its a day time bite, sometimes night time. But if you can find the time they feed most, its usually within the same time frame on a daily or nightly basis until they change location, or the weather or moon phase changes their mood!
Also, I noticed moon rise can spark fish activity. On Good Friday during the full moon, all our fish hit within the 2 hours the moon first came up. The higher up the moon got, the slower the fishing became. I talk to a lot of fisherman while fishing, and every single one of them stated the fishing sucked, the walleye run is over with, the fish left the river already, its not worth the time and gas. None of them had fish to show for their efforts. They all went home, and I ended up catching fish then! The walleyes do not, and will not leave the river unless they absolutely find they need to. Also, not all walleyes slip back down river at the same time, and some never leave the rivers at all.
All the fish I am catching are post spawn males in the 15" to 20" size range, with bellies caving in because they are just starting to put the feedbag on after spawning. Starving fish basically! To many people think that prespawn is the time to walleye fish, and if I could choose when to fish Id go with postspawn. You have warming water temps which heightens fish activity, and you have fish that just finished spawning and recouping with a new appetite to gain back all that lost energy and weight. So basically a lot of hungry fish that are at their most aggressive stage in life until their Fall feeding binge before winter.
BAIT PRESENTATION: Caught all my fish again using light 1/8 ounce jigs, bulky curly tail grubs, fished extremely slow. I get a lot of fish by barely turning the reel handle slowly, and then pausing every so often. Theyll often hit it as soon as the jig pauses in the current. You would be surprised, even in moderate current in 10 feet of water, I can still maintain bottom contact with a 1/8 ounce jig. Ive had many guys try telling me I am fishing to light when they see my jig, or my softplastic is to large for walleyes. So they say I use to light of a jig yet, I am snagging up and catching fish because I am able to work the bait slow enough to maintain bottom contact. Also they say the plastics I use are to big, yet the fish have them down their throats as soon as they hit the jig! LOL, some people are so paranoid about walleyes they treat them like docile creatures that only hit 1/4 oz. jigs and small plastics. Walleyes dont grow, get fat, or get to be 10+ pounds because they are wimps. They are predators just like a pike, musky, bass, and can be every bit as aggressive.
BAIT PRESENTATION MEANS EVERYTHING!!!! The average walleye fisherman fishes jigs that are overkill, to heavy for the situation. Believe it or not, even the most common size jig of 1/4 ounce can be to heavy more often than people would expect. You fish heavier, your forced to fish faster to keep your jig from dragging bottom and hanging up, which fishing to fast is often not what the walleyes prefer. Lighter jigs force you to fish slower to maintain bottom contact, and can be easier for the fish to suck into their mouth than a heavier jig would be. But the size and color of the jig and plastic is only part of the presentation, its the way you work the jig that makes the biggest difference. Its how you often see a group of guys using the same bait, and only one guy catching fish. The one guy is doing something right that the others are not! Most guys that cast jigs and curly tail grubs use to heavy of a jig, and fish plastics that dont have very good tails that swim properly with the least amount of speed. Also, they fish the jig more like you would a spinner, jerkbait, or crankbait by pointing the rod at the water and reeling steadily. Which is fine at times but you destroy your sensitivity for bites, and your hooksetting angle and power. I like a curly tail grub, swimbait, or ringworm that swims in the current even when you stop reeling. I like when I know the tail is still swimming whether the bait is still or moving. Use a twistertail that is to stiff, and the tail stops moving if you dont keep it moving fast enough. But what I do is cast the jig straight out, hold the rod pointed up at the 10 o'clock position, let the current sweep the jig down river but I follow the jig with the rod tip. I then slowly reel, extremely slow, and I pause the jig every 10 to 15 seconds for just 3 to 10 seconds before continuing my retrieve. That is my favorite way to use a jig/plastic combo for night time walleyes. During the day I experiment more with retrieves by dragging, snap jigging, swimming, or using more aggressive presentations. I also want to pick up some 3/16 ounce jigs because, its just slightly heavier than a 1/8 ounce, but not as heavy as a 1/4 ounce so in situations where the current is a little to swift for a 1/8 ounce, I could still touch bottom with the bare minimum of jig weight. Ive even had situations where I am next to guys casting the usual 1/4 oz. jigs when I was using jigs as light as 1/16 oz. and still getting snags. So it goes to show most guys fishing 1/4 or heavier are to nervous they cant touch bottom with anything lighter.
I had a few walleyes smack the jig so hard my whole arm jerked forward! One fish got the jig and whole curly tail stuck in the red part of his gills, and he bled to death. So dont think for a second a bait 4 or 5 inches long is to big for walleyes. I even catch and release baby walleyes on those big baits! If you scroll down to a previous post, you can see a picture of a walleye Im holding with a orange curly tail grub in his mouth. You can see how bulky the bait is! I honestly swear by bulky plastics at night, or in murky water! This is because Walleyes have a lateral line, a nerve that all fish have that goes down the side of their body and helps them detect movement and vibrations in the water. Its how fish can eat when they cant see. So I use lures that put out a lot of vibration into the water. I notice a drastic difference between my success when I use the average 3" curly tail grub or a bigger one. I feel it makes a big difference in getting bites, or going home skunked. So use the lightest jig you can get away with, and something they can detect easiest at night or in murky water during the day. They can barely see your lure, but they sure as hell can hear and feel it moving by them! Oddly, color makes a huge difference even at night. My confidence colors are white, orange, and chartreuse at night, in that order! I buy Kalins grubs, and Gander Mountain brand curly tail grubs. I wont buy the Mr. Twister brand anymore. The tails are to stiff, most of them are jammed into the packaging so tight the Mr. Twister tails get bent and kinked, and they dont make the sizes I like. I usually buy the 5" size so I can trim it down to 3" or 4" long if I need to, or just fish it normal which can be awesome during Fall! When you trim it back you can use a normal jig head like a Northland Gumball jig just fine with the bulky softplastic grub.
LOCATION: The structure I was fishing was 2 to 12 feet of water, most of my fish came out of slack water areas adjacent to swifter current. But not the slackest part of the eddies and slack water, but the areas where the current just started to pick up again, and the seam where the fast current meets the slack water. The fish would feed in the shallower portions in the 2-5 foot depth range while the deeper holes showed no activity at all. Gravel and rocks were the bottom content they were located in, the muddy areas didnt hold any fish as far as I experienced. Look for objects that break up the current in any way, and create eddies and slack water areas, and you should find walleyes on the rivers. Sometimes they sit in the holes and feed, but 90% of my fish from shore come from shallower water even when a deeper hole is present near by. Predators know their prey hangs out in slack, shallow water so, they obviously feed where their food is hanging out. You will be surprised how many more fish youll catch if you are willing to fish shallower water. Most guys pound the deep holes, and its a proven fact that fish positioned in deep holes are usually inactive fish just resting. Sure they may bite, but the predator fish know their food is shallow, so they go where the food is to do their feeding. I usually always catch my fish on the shallow ends of deep holes in the river. I rarely find success fishing the center of the deep hole.
Sorry for babbling, I am good at that when it comes to fishing or music, lol. But walleye fishing is far from over! The Wolf, Fox, Wisconsin, Menominee, Rock, Milwaukee rivers will all have a steady postspawn walleye bite from now until about early June. So get out on a river and try your luck because Walleye fishing is not over with at all on the rivers! Anyways, I hope my info here can help you out! I hope everyone here is having a great fishing season. Good luck!
You cant win them all though! Just sucks though because one fish was 2 feet from the net and comes off, 2 FEET FROM THE NET! Lucky fish had to be 19" long, so he lived to see another day when he escaped!!! LUCKY FISH! I also missed about a dozen hits as well. Fish 5:30pm Easter Sunday, and left at 2am Monday morning. Best times vary from day to day, night to night. Good Friday for example, the fish wouldnt hit until 11pm-1am, and then they turned back off and the bite was done. Then Easter they were hitting only for 1 hour of the 7 hours I fished. I literally caught and lost all my fish within a 1 hour time frame of 8:30pm-9:30pm, the rest of the night was a couple bites here and there, and a couple small fish. Sometimes its a day time bite, sometimes night time. But if you can find the time they feed most, its usually within the same time frame on a daily or nightly basis until they change location, or the weather or moon phase changes their mood!
Also, I noticed moon rise can spark fish activity. On Good Friday during the full moon, all our fish hit within the 2 hours the moon first came up. The higher up the moon got, the slower the fishing became. I talk to a lot of fisherman while fishing, and every single one of them stated the fishing sucked, the walleye run is over with, the fish left the river already, its not worth the time and gas. None of them had fish to show for their efforts. They all went home, and I ended up catching fish then! The walleyes do not, and will not leave the river unless they absolutely find they need to. Also, not all walleyes slip back down river at the same time, and some never leave the rivers at all.
All the fish I am catching are post spawn males in the 15" to 20" size range, with bellies caving in because they are just starting to put the feedbag on after spawning. Starving fish basically! To many people think that prespawn is the time to walleye fish, and if I could choose when to fish Id go with postspawn. You have warming water temps which heightens fish activity, and you have fish that just finished spawning and recouping with a new appetite to gain back all that lost energy and weight. So basically a lot of hungry fish that are at their most aggressive stage in life until their Fall feeding binge before winter.
BAIT PRESENTATION: Caught all my fish again using light 1/8 ounce jigs, bulky curly tail grubs, fished extremely slow. I get a lot of fish by barely turning the reel handle slowly, and then pausing every so often. Theyll often hit it as soon as the jig pauses in the current. You would be surprised, even in moderate current in 10 feet of water, I can still maintain bottom contact with a 1/8 ounce jig. Ive had many guys try telling me I am fishing to light when they see my jig, or my softplastic is to large for walleyes. So they say I use to light of a jig yet, I am snagging up and catching fish because I am able to work the bait slow enough to maintain bottom contact. Also they say the plastics I use are to big, yet the fish have them down their throats as soon as they hit the jig! LOL, some people are so paranoid about walleyes they treat them like docile creatures that only hit 1/4 oz. jigs and small plastics. Walleyes dont grow, get fat, or get to be 10+ pounds because they are wimps. They are predators just like a pike, musky, bass, and can be every bit as aggressive.
BAIT PRESENTATION MEANS EVERYTHING!!!! The average walleye fisherman fishes jigs that are overkill, to heavy for the situation. Believe it or not, even the most common size jig of 1/4 ounce can be to heavy more often than people would expect. You fish heavier, your forced to fish faster to keep your jig from dragging bottom and hanging up, which fishing to fast is often not what the walleyes prefer. Lighter jigs force you to fish slower to maintain bottom contact, and can be easier for the fish to suck into their mouth than a heavier jig would be. But the size and color of the jig and plastic is only part of the presentation, its the way you work the jig that makes the biggest difference. Its how you often see a group of guys using the same bait, and only one guy catching fish. The one guy is doing something right that the others are not! Most guys that cast jigs and curly tail grubs use to heavy of a jig, and fish plastics that dont have very good tails that swim properly with the least amount of speed. Also, they fish the jig more like you would a spinner, jerkbait, or crankbait by pointing the rod at the water and reeling steadily. Which is fine at times but you destroy your sensitivity for bites, and your hooksetting angle and power. I like a curly tail grub, swimbait, or ringworm that swims in the current even when you stop reeling. I like when I know the tail is still swimming whether the bait is still or moving. Use a twistertail that is to stiff, and the tail stops moving if you dont keep it moving fast enough. But what I do is cast the jig straight out, hold the rod pointed up at the 10 o'clock position, let the current sweep the jig down river but I follow the jig with the rod tip. I then slowly reel, extremely slow, and I pause the jig every 10 to 15 seconds for just 3 to 10 seconds before continuing my retrieve. That is my favorite way to use a jig/plastic combo for night time walleyes. During the day I experiment more with retrieves by dragging, snap jigging, swimming, or using more aggressive presentations. I also want to pick up some 3/16 ounce jigs because, its just slightly heavier than a 1/8 ounce, but not as heavy as a 1/4 ounce so in situations where the current is a little to swift for a 1/8 ounce, I could still touch bottom with the bare minimum of jig weight. Ive even had situations where I am next to guys casting the usual 1/4 oz. jigs when I was using jigs as light as 1/16 oz. and still getting snags. So it goes to show most guys fishing 1/4 or heavier are to nervous they cant touch bottom with anything lighter.
I had a few walleyes smack the jig so hard my whole arm jerked forward! One fish got the jig and whole curly tail stuck in the red part of his gills, and he bled to death. So dont think for a second a bait 4 or 5 inches long is to big for walleyes. I even catch and release baby walleyes on those big baits! If you scroll down to a previous post, you can see a picture of a walleye Im holding with a orange curly tail grub in his mouth. You can see how bulky the bait is! I honestly swear by bulky plastics at night, or in murky water! This is because Walleyes have a lateral line, a nerve that all fish have that goes down the side of their body and helps them detect movement and vibrations in the water. Its how fish can eat when they cant see. So I use lures that put out a lot of vibration into the water. I notice a drastic difference between my success when I use the average 3" curly tail grub or a bigger one. I feel it makes a big difference in getting bites, or going home skunked. So use the lightest jig you can get away with, and something they can detect easiest at night or in murky water during the day. They can barely see your lure, but they sure as hell can hear and feel it moving by them! Oddly, color makes a huge difference even at night. My confidence colors are white, orange, and chartreuse at night, in that order! I buy Kalins grubs, and Gander Mountain brand curly tail grubs. I wont buy the Mr. Twister brand anymore. The tails are to stiff, most of them are jammed into the packaging so tight the Mr. Twister tails get bent and kinked, and they dont make the sizes I like. I usually buy the 5" size so I can trim it down to 3" or 4" long if I need to, or just fish it normal which can be awesome during Fall! When you trim it back you can use a normal jig head like a Northland Gumball jig just fine with the bulky softplastic grub.
LOCATION: The structure I was fishing was 2 to 12 feet of water, most of my fish came out of slack water areas adjacent to swifter current. But not the slackest part of the eddies and slack water, but the areas where the current just started to pick up again, and the seam where the fast current meets the slack water. The fish would feed in the shallower portions in the 2-5 foot depth range while the deeper holes showed no activity at all. Gravel and rocks were the bottom content they were located in, the muddy areas didnt hold any fish as far as I experienced. Look for objects that break up the current in any way, and create eddies and slack water areas, and you should find walleyes on the rivers. Sometimes they sit in the holes and feed, but 90% of my fish from shore come from shallower water even when a deeper hole is present near by. Predators know their prey hangs out in slack, shallow water so, they obviously feed where their food is hanging out. You will be surprised how many more fish youll catch if you are willing to fish shallower water. Most guys pound the deep holes, and its a proven fact that fish positioned in deep holes are usually inactive fish just resting. Sure they may bite, but the predator fish know their food is shallow, so they go where the food is to do their feeding. I usually always catch my fish on the shallow ends of deep holes in the river. I rarely find success fishing the center of the deep hole.
Sorry for babbling, I am good at that when it comes to fishing or music, lol. But walleye fishing is far from over! The Wolf, Fox, Wisconsin, Menominee, Rock, Milwaukee rivers will all have a steady postspawn walleye bite from now until about early June. So get out on a river and try your luck because Walleye fishing is not over with at all on the rivers! Anyways, I hope my info here can help you out! I hope everyone here is having a great fishing season. Good luck!
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Posted 07 April 2012 - 01:55 PM (#3)
Get Hooked
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I caught a carp! Fremont.
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Get your nets wet, big fish dont get landed by hand ya know....cept bass :cool:
Posted 07 April 2012 - 08:01 AM (#4)
Jason
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Post Spawn walleyes, all caught on a 1/8 ounce jig and a bulky 3 1/2" curly tail grub fished extremely slow. A steady retrieve barely turning the reel handle, frequent pauses letting the curly tail flap in the current! I feel everyone fishes to heavy in almost every situation while jigging. Lighter jigs force you to fish slower to feel bottom, are easier for fish to inhale, and are more comfortable to fish with. Every fish whether caught or lost slammed the hell out of jig, swallowing the lure, accept for one fish that hit the bait 4 times on one retrieve before getting hooked. Love it when they dont mess around!
With this full moon phase, the walleyes finally spawned. Had nothing to do with with water temp this year, all moon phase and angle of the sun. They pop when theyre ready, and if the water temp goes from 34 to 66 in March, the fish still have to wait to spawn so their eggs can full mature. All our fish were spawned out males in the 17" to 19" range, some undersized ones as well. Slow fishing but, if you know what youre doing and put your time in, itll pay off! Also landed 2 bonus male Whitebass, surprised to not catch more than just the two but, I know the whitebass run will only get better. Love the post spawn walleye/prespawn whitebass transition period on the rivers!
With this full moon phase, the walleyes finally spawned. Had nothing to do with with water temp this year, all moon phase and angle of the sun. They pop when theyre ready, and if the water temp goes from 34 to 66 in March, the fish still have to wait to spawn so their eggs can full mature. All our fish were spawned out males in the 17" to 19" range, some undersized ones as well. Slow fishing but, if you know what youre doing and put your time in, itll pay off! Also landed 2 bonus male Whitebass, surprised to not catch more than just the two but, I know the whitebass run will only get better. Love the post spawn walleye/prespawn whitebass transition period on the rivers!
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Posted 29 March 2012 - 10:51 PM (#5)
outdoorbradley
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fished at Powers lake this morning at Kenosha country. it is slow bite, but managed to catch some crappies and bluegills. and lost a big northern, guessing around 35". caught about 50 panfish for 6 hours, kept 16 crappies, one perch, and 5 bluegills. all is average size for Powers execpt bluegills. have to sorts lots of bluegills.
Posted 13 March 2012 - 06:42 AM (#7)
Jason
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I am going to fish again tonight. My weekend was a success. First 2 fishing trips for me of 2012! Saturday Steelhead, Sunday Walleye. On Saturday I casted spinners and drifted spawn for some small river Steelhead. I caught 2 beauties, and lost 2 fish. The bigger fish hit 3 separate times, I lost her twice, caught her the 3rd time. Fished for her for an hour because I wasnt seeing a ton of fish around, barely any at all. I used a light action 8 foot rod spooled with 6lb test, a #6 Gamakatzu single hook, and a small split shot 8" from the hook and baited with a small floating spawn sac. I added a few flotation beads to the spawn sacs, tied them from brown trout spawn. The river was shallow and clearing up, so I finessed the fish. I am proud to have caught a 24" Steelhead on a gold spinner I made, and the bigger Steelhead was 33" long. Nice catching fish on lures you created yourself, good feeling! I really need to get some waders though, want to fish the rivers hardcore this fall and next winter/spring for the trout and salmon. I learned the best rig in shallow, clearer water is a light splitshot rig, or no sinker at all to let the spawn drift naturally. No bobber, can spook fish in clear, low conditions. Those trout fight like beasts on light action gear!
Sunday I jigged a couple spots along a river for Walleyes with my girl, bro, and bros girl. We landed about 15 fish, lost and missed just as many probably. We tried livebait, and the fish only wanted plastics on 1/8 ounce jigs. We fished them so slow we barely turned the handle, and let the light weight jig stay down near the bottom and current work the tail of the plastic. White, Orange, and glow Twistertails were best, few fish on 4" jerkshads in the same colors. We landed 9 legals between 15 1/4" to 17". Lost one nice fish that had to be 22", very disappointing but you cant win them all! The rest of our fish were undersized. The water temp was 44 degrees in the afternoon, and the best bite seemed mid day, and night. Two separate windows, but a lot of dead time for hours without a bite. We went 3 hours at one point without a nibble, even when we moved around, tried new things, nothing!If the gas prices werent so high, I may have left but we were patient and were rewarded! My brother caught 4 fish, 2 legals, 2 shorts, and coincidentally my girl did the same but got the biggest at 17". Wanted a pic with my bro holding his 2 first legals, but he was being whiny because the poor guy had to stay up all night fishing late, LOL. He said he was "to tired" for a pic, lol. But he was excited to finally catch fish! Probably the most ideal limit of walleyes I ever caught, every fish perfect eater size!
I am glad to be back at it again with fishing! Love spring, summer, and fall, and daylight savings time! Gonna try more this week! I got 42 pieces of fish off those 9 walleyes, the pieces are comparable in size to Panfish fillets. Shows how much a few fish can give up! The 4 of us will eat like Kings and Queens this week! Been to long since I last had a fish fry! Good luck everyone!
Sunday I jigged a couple spots along a river for Walleyes with my girl, bro, and bros girl. We landed about 15 fish, lost and missed just as many probably. We tried livebait, and the fish only wanted plastics on 1/8 ounce jigs. We fished them so slow we barely turned the handle, and let the light weight jig stay down near the bottom and current work the tail of the plastic. White, Orange, and glow Twistertails were best, few fish on 4" jerkshads in the same colors. We landed 9 legals between 15 1/4" to 17". Lost one nice fish that had to be 22", very disappointing but you cant win them all! The rest of our fish were undersized. The water temp was 44 degrees in the afternoon, and the best bite seemed mid day, and night. Two separate windows, but a lot of dead time for hours without a bite. We went 3 hours at one point without a nibble, even when we moved around, tried new things, nothing!If the gas prices werent so high, I may have left but we were patient and were rewarded! My brother caught 4 fish, 2 legals, 2 shorts, and coincidentally my girl did the same but got the biggest at 17". Wanted a pic with my bro holding his 2 first legals, but he was being whiny because the poor guy had to stay up all night fishing late, LOL. He said he was "to tired" for a pic, lol. But he was excited to finally catch fish! Probably the most ideal limit of walleyes I ever caught, every fish perfect eater size!
I am glad to be back at it again with fishing! Love spring, summer, and fall, and daylight savings time! Gonna try more this week! I got 42 pieces of fish off those 9 walleyes, the pieces are comparable in size to Panfish fillets. Shows how much a few fish can give up! The 4 of us will eat like Kings and Queens this week! Been to long since I last had a fish fry! Good luck everyone!
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Posted 12 March 2012 - 02:04 PM (#8)
Get Hooked
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Jason, Boat will be wet in the Rock on Friday, Wolf on Sunday. Dont know what I'm doing Saturday.... Maybe the Fox? LOL, Dont know if I wanna do that circus on a Saturday tho..... Cohoho, thats funny.
Get your nets wet, big fish dont get landed by hand ya know....cept bass :cool:
Posted 11 March 2012 - 09:28 AM (#10)
cheddermelt
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Ho ho ho fishermen,
Oh wait it isnt Xmas time, but it is Coho time! Unfortunately, my boat will be in storage till summer. Talked to some friends that were getting limits in Chicago casting and powerlining. After hearing that news, i decided to try some early ho fishing instead of steelie fishing. Made it out to a southeastern location and to my suprise, managed a couple 2 year old browns and 2 coho casting 2/3 oz cleos. The Ho's werent big ranging from 15-18'' but man those are perfect eaters. The bigger ones should come in once the water warms a tad bit more. This is only the start of some good spring coho fishing. Get out while you can!
dueces
Oh wait it isnt Xmas time, but it is Coho time! Unfortunately, my boat will be in storage till summer. Talked to some friends that were getting limits in Chicago casting and powerlining. After hearing that news, i decided to try some early ho fishing instead of steelie fishing. Made it out to a southeastern location and to my suprise, managed a couple 2 year old browns and 2 coho casting 2/3 oz cleos. The Ho's werent big ranging from 15-18'' but man those are perfect eaters. The bigger ones should come in once the water warms a tad bit more. This is only the start of some good spring coho fishing. Get out while you can!
dueces
Posted 07 March 2012 - 05:28 PM (#12)
Get Hooked
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I dont see me on the ice anymore this season, Got the boat out and ready for the rivers. With some of this rain coming, might have to get out soon. I here the Rock is low for this time of year.., and already pushing 38 degrees? I better get myself down there in the next week and check things out. I'll give the Wolf a little time yet to get rid of the remaining ice.
Get your nets wet, big fish dont get landed by hand ya know....cept bass :cool:
Posted 01 March 2012 - 07:25 AM (#13)
Get Hooked
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Really sad thing is , this guy lives on the lake and is probably doing it all the time. Saturday will be my last Pike day, Sunday just might be my last Perch and crappie day with all this warm weather coming. Dang it! I guess i should count my blessing that we at least have the ice up here that we do. Time to bring the 2x10 planks with........
Get your nets wet, big fish dont get landed by hand ya know....cept bass :cool:
Posted 29 February 2012 - 09:49 PM (#14)
Jason
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Troy, seems that lake has some bad luck for you and meeting the wrong people. Like the guy you and I had that pointless confrontation with. Good thing there was 2 of us and just 1 of him because that guy was pretty damn big, lol. Sounds like that lake is a magnet for jerks or something.
Just sucks there isnt enough wardens around to make reasonable busts to poachers and law breakers. I actually got a DNR guy to a river I was Walleye fishing at one day to bust these people keeping 2 coolers of fish, one loaded with God knows how many undersized walleyes. Long story short, they pulled the "I speak no English" card on the DNR officer, and GOT AWAY WITH IT!!!! All that happened is their gear was taken, but for whatever reason the fish werent taken. Something tells me the DNR guy liked the St. Croix rods he took from these law breakers more so than the idea of fining them. I told that officer that it was BS he wasnt busting them, and he said they wouldnt pay their fines anyways and they cant understand him. I told the officer they spoke fluent English 5 minutes before he showed up, and stated in plain English when I warned them about breaking the law "what the warden dont know cant hurt us". So what did I learn that day? That its okay to break the law if you dont know English, lmao. I told the DNR officer that for people who dont know how to fish or know the laws, they had some expensive fishing gear and a lot of fish in their coolers, lol. Still burns me to see that situation unfold, and I know damn well if it were you, me, or any of us, we wouldve been fined and penalized to the max.
Just sucks there isnt enough wardens around to make reasonable busts to poachers and law breakers. I actually got a DNR guy to a river I was Walleye fishing at one day to bust these people keeping 2 coolers of fish, one loaded with God knows how many undersized walleyes. Long story short, they pulled the "I speak no English" card on the DNR officer, and GOT AWAY WITH IT!!!! All that happened is their gear was taken, but for whatever reason the fish werent taken. Something tells me the DNR guy liked the St. Croix rods he took from these law breakers more so than the idea of fining them. I told that officer that it was BS he wasnt busting them, and he said they wouldnt pay their fines anyways and they cant understand him. I told the officer they spoke fluent English 5 minutes before he showed up, and stated in plain English when I warned them about breaking the law "what the warden dont know cant hurt us". So what did I learn that day? That its okay to break the law if you dont know English, lmao. I told the DNR officer that for people who dont know how to fish or know the laws, they had some expensive fishing gear and a lot of fish in their coolers, lol. Still burns me to see that situation unfold, and I know damn well if it were you, me, or any of us, we wouldve been fined and penalized to the max.
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Posted 27 February 2012 - 05:29 AM (#15)
Get Hooked
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- LocationNorthern Kettle Moraine area.
So the race was obviously gonna be a wash, so i headed out on a nearby lake in the Northern Kettle Moraine. I go to my usual spot for Pike and this guy is out there with his maybe 9-10 yr. old daughter.......and 20 tip-ups out! As I'm setting my boards up, A 13-14 yr. old boy comes out in SHORTS!, and rubber boots. I made it very obvious that I was counting all his tip-ups. Now simple math tells me whats going on. I have been warned about this guy from 2 other buddies and his antics on the ice. As I was checking my boards, I tell the boy that they sure have alot of tip-ups out. He gives me this answer....."So"......With an attitude. So I tell him I hope they have a few more bodies up in the house to claim that many lines out. He gives me " we do" with yet the attitude. I then made the mistake of saying we will see what the Warden says. 10 minutes later, Dad walks up to me and confronts me about asking his son such questions.... I told him that it looks like to me that you are breaking the law. told him the rules, and said I hope you have more bodies up in the house, cuz what I see is you dont. The conversation got real loud now, inches from each others face, and i finally say, What are you gonna do?, Hit me? C'mon, Hit me!. At that point he lost, cuz either he hit me at that time, or lost, he lost, he new it, and was wise enough to walk away. I'm just glad only his punk boy saw it and not his daughter. I also accused him of showing his kids how to cheat and how awful I thought he was for doing it. I told him how 2 of my fishin buddies have seen him do this very thing in the past, and that 1 of them actually got sick of seeing this guys flag up for over an hour, so he went and pulled in the fish and reset the tip-up., and the guy never noticed. I'm sorry, but sleeping on the couch is NOT fishing! I told him that the wardem was on his way...... 10 minutes later his wife comes out and pulls 5 tip-ups.... and another body with her. Now they are down to 15, so they are now legal with the amount of bodies he has produced. Warden calls me and says he is stuck up at Bago for the last day of Sturgeon fishing and he cant make it out. He says he has a guy in the area, but cant get ahold of him, he sent him a text, but thats where that ended. He told me this is now the second call on this guy. 2 hrs later another guy and his boy come out to join these guys. Great, They are legal, and thats all we want. By now, its gettin later, shade is starting to thicken, and with the wind, it was actually a little cold. I see he keeps his daughter out there, and I wanted to so bad to tell him that they are legal now and if they want, they all can go up to the house and watch from there. Its legal to do that. I wont/dont mess with other peoples stuff. But to say the least, it was already a bit awkward out there, and i thought i will just keep my mouth shut. Finally they go up to the house and just leave the new guy and his kid out there. Fine, I'm packing up my boards anyways now cuz its getting to be crappie time. So I move to my crappie spot and put it all behind me. It was at least entertaining I guess. Funny thing for me was at least I was getting more flags then they were with there 20 tip-ups out. This is now the second time I got into a shouting match with someone on this lake. Maybe I shoulda went Perch fishin instead. lol, But with Pike season coming to an end, I thought I would give it go. I had boards in 6-10 F.O.W. with the bait 2 feet under the ice. 7 flags, with 4 making it to the ice. All over 20", but biggest 24". Not legal for this lake,,,,, Unless maybe you are this other guy...... Crappie werent cooperating with me, So I actually came home with no fish to clean.......(felt kinda wierd) Maybe i will just finish my Pike season out on Long or Kettle Moraine so I can keep those good size picklers. I gotta get them cribs out on Long on my gps before they go down. Thanks LLFC! You guys are awesome! I cant believe I havent joind the club yet. Your efforts are truely appreciated. And since I have typed this much already, it wont hurt to add....... I cant believe how many trucks were out on Long on Saturday..... How thick is the ice? I know it was the Fisheree, but Geez!, Where I was today was only 8 inches, And there were trucks parked next to each other with enclosed trailers and the tents.... It was on the South side, but still. Seems a little risky to me. There, I'm done.
Get your nets wet, big fish dont get landed by hand ya know....cept bass :cool:
Posted 21 February 2012 - 07:43 AM (#17)
Jason
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Get Hooked, on 19 February 2012 - 07:12 PM, said:
Almost a mounter today! It shoulda, coulda been, But at this point, I'm getting cocky and I am gonna wait for a 17! I mean, Who mounts a 16 and maybe 3/4's anyways? lol, Only 2 fish, But I missed the morning bite., So Maybe next time. Also caught a bunch of smaller Perch that show promise for the future. 8" Perch are taking a large Shiner head on a buckshot spoon. 2 fish kept today were both from tip-ups in 5 f.o.w., in weeds, using large Shiners. My buddy gave me a call while I was on the ice, and he said my other Pike/Bass lake is now producing 16" Crappie and 11"Perch.... So that will have to be checked out soon. Probably where I will be the next 2 weekends. 
Didnt get the video I wanted with my Daughter, Hoping for next time I guess. At least She lasted........
Didnt get the video I wanted with my Daughter, Hoping for next time I guess. At least She lasted........
In 3 years your gonna look back and think about those giant perch and how nice they wouldve looked as a schooling mount on a big piece of drift wood. Then youll see just how confident you were and wish you mounted those 16" fish. That is a rare fish on Lake Michigan, but on a inland lake its almost unheard of. I say any perch 15" or bigger start mounting. That pond could see a decline in population or size any year now, and you may regret not getting them mounted. Just saying, you got into a good thing now but good things dont last forever. Winter kill, drought, people finding out and keeping the fish, anything could take down the population.
Cool to see your kid had a blast! Anyways, STOP BEING COCKY AND GET THAT MOUNT! lol
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Posted 19 February 2012 - 08:12 PM (#18)
Get Hooked
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- LocationNorthern Kettle Moraine area.
Almost a mounter today! It shoulda, coulda been, But at this point, I'm getting cocky and I am gonna wait for a 17! I mean, Who mounts a 16 and maybe 3/4's anyways? lol, Only 2 fish, But I missed the morning bite., So Maybe next time. Also caught a bunch of smaller Perch that show promise for the future. 8" Perch are taking a large Shiner head on a buckshot spoon. 2 fish kept today were both from tip-ups in 5 f.o.w., in weeds, using large Shiners. My buddy gave me a call while I was on the ice, and he said my other Pike/Bass lake is now producing 16" Crappie and 11"Perch.... So that will have to be checked out soon. Probably where I will be the next 2 weekends.
Didnt get the video I wanted with my Daughter, Hoping for next time I guess. At least She lasted........
Didnt get the video I wanted with my Daughter, Hoping for next time I guess. At least She lasted........
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Get your nets wet, big fish dont get landed by hand ya know....cept bass :cool:
Posted 17 February 2012 - 06:34 PM (#19)
Get Hooked
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- LocationNorthern Kettle Moraine area.
Northern Kettle Moraine still has 8-10 inches of ice. I checked it out today and was surprised and happy with the way the lakes held up, well, the lakes that matter to me. No driving out for me, but the wife and daughter are coming Perch fishin Sunday. Perch are being found in 2-6 f.o.w... 2 more weeks for Pike fishing, than its on to them crappie. Long Lake has the cribs on the ice if one wants to get some gps fixes on them. My auto's never got used this winter, maybe i will get them out sunday for perch.
Last Sunday we made a wind brake by our fire, it was a bit windy. And I'm just loving how good electric fillet knives work. I'm down to 42 seconds per fish. Deskinned and no bones. So much easier on the back. I will use this knife on fish that probably should've been thrown back and still get a nice piece of meat from it. lol
Last Sunday we made a wind brake by our fire, it was a bit windy. And I'm just loving how good electric fillet knives work. I'm down to 42 seconds per fish. Deskinned and no bones. So much easier on the back. I will use this knife on fish that probably should've been thrown back and still get a nice piece of meat from it. lol
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Get your nets wet, big fish dont get landed by hand ya know....cept bass :cool:
Posted 17 February 2012 - 04:38 PM (#20)
Jason
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Its seems almost every day there is more and more people and shantys crashing through the ice everywhere in the state due to this unseasonably warm weather. I am not chancing it this icefishing season because God knows what lakes are actually safe, or areas of these lakes. Waukesha county has had numerous cases of guys going through lately, and hopefully none of you go through if you venture out. No fish or amount of fish is worth the risk, even the news and police stated to stay off the lakes if you want to be safe. Looks like I am ready for the upcoming Walleye season, and until March arrives, Ill stick to trout if anything. I really wanted to get out there and get some panfish through the ice but, I am not risking my life or the lives of those I care about. Stay safe and this may be something for all of you to think about.
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