4-30-2013 Tues. 6:15 PM – 7:45 PM
Weather:
(1853) NW15, overcast, 73 ˚, 29.73 rising
H2O:
9.43 steady, 84.9 kcfs, 64 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7
Caught:
16 LMB 12 – 19”, 1 pike 19”
Partners:
None
Comments:
I had all the intentions of doing some yard work tonight, but when I got home and got out of the car I had second thoughts. Then when I walked in the door Karen said “I bet you are going fishing tonight”. That did it; she talked me right into it.
Once again the same shallow water pattern held true tonight. I did start out with a spinner bait, and did catch fish with it, but then I threw a swim jig for a while and also caught fish on that. But the best bait of the night was a swim bait. For some reason the bass just ate them tonight. It may have had something to do with the approaching storm front. Which, I waited till the last minute to seek the safety of land. I must say I did have it timed perfectly though; when I put my last bit of gear away in the garage the rain started.
Observations:
I am seeing a few more signs of spring; some of the bulb plants are blooming and the maples are starting to bud. I have noticed the majority of the migratory ducks have left the area.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
4-29-13 Mon
4-29-2013 Mon. 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM Weather:
(1853) SE7, overcast, 72 ˚, 29.66 falling
H2O:
9.46 steady, 82.5 kcfs, 63 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7
Caught:
Myself: 6 LMB 14 – 19”, 1 Pike 32”//Scott 10 LMB 14 – 17”, 3 Pike 18 – 28”
Partners:
Scott
Comments:
It was a local after work outing with Scott. We were targeting areas close to home. The fishing was pretty good again today, the pike numbers were again low, but the bass were aggressive. It was pretty much an all spinner bait bite again.
The fish were extremely shallow and relating to dead vegetation or wood.
Observations:
I noticed the start of some lily pads pushing their way to the surface; they look somewhat like small heads of cabbage on the floor of the river. The water is very clear, but it is high and there is quite a bit of current even in the back waters.
4-28-13 Sun.
4-28-2013 Sun. 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM Weather:
(1253) SE10, clear, 69 ˚, 29.84 falling
H2O:
10.49 rising, 70.7 kcfs, 51 - 61 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 4, Nelson
Caught:
Myself: 16 LMB 13 – 20”, 5 Pike 25 – 35”//Jake T. 10 LMB 12 – 15”, 3 Pike 25 – 35”///Mark T. 3 LMB 12 – 16”, 1 pike 24”
Partners:
Jake and Mark Tupper
Comments:
It was an all-day outing north of my home waters with Jake and Mark T. The fishing was not fantastic, but we did put a pretty good quantity in the boat. The fish were not overly aggressive and the pike were lacking in numbers compared to what we usually see up in this area.
Most of the fish came on spinner baits, but lipless cranks and swim baits also produced. The majority of the fish were extremely shallow and relating to submerged wood. We definitely had to work for the fish and did not find them everywhere. If the water was too deep or had too much current there were no fish.
There was a bass tournament out of Alma and we did see a good number of bass boats in the areas we were fishing.
Observations:
The water was a little cool this morning as well as the fish, but as the water warmed up during the day the fish became more active. I have yet to see any new signs of aquatic vegetation erupting from the rivers bed.
4-27-13 Sat
4-27-2013 Sat. 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Weather:
(1853) S15, overcast clear, 66 ˚, 30.00 falling
H2O:
9.5 falling, 85.7 kcfs, 58 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7 stump fields
Caught:
8 LMB – 2-12”, 1-14”, 3-15”, 2-17”//2 Pike both 26”
Partners:
None
Comments:
I had worked on getting my small john boat ready all day and this evening I tried it out. To be quite honest I was still a little depressed on the late spring we had and it was hard to motivate myself to go fishing. I figured it was too early for the bass and pike bite anyhow, but I was wrong.
Surprisingly the water was quite warm and the fish were aggressive. The majority of the fish came on spinner baits in very shallow water.
Observations:
Still lots of fishermen in the little bay by the landing and they are still catching gills. I have started to see slight signs of spring: the grass is starting to green and I have seen some of the bulb plants pushing up through the soil. I can foresee us jumping into summer very quickly.
Weather:
(1853) S15, overcast clear, 66 ˚, 30.00 falling
H2O:
9.5 falling, 85.7 kcfs, 58 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7 stump fields
Caught:
8 LMB – 2-12”, 1-14”, 3-15”, 2-17”//2 Pike both 26”
Partners:
None
Comments:
I had worked on getting my small john boat ready all day and this evening I tried it out. To be quite honest I was still a little depressed on the late spring we had and it was hard to motivate myself to go fishing. I figured it was too early for the bass and pike bite anyhow, but I was wrong.
Surprisingly the water was quite warm and the fish were aggressive. The majority of the fish came on spinner baits in very shallow water.
Observations:
Still lots of fishermen in the little bay by the landing and they are still catching gills. I have started to see slight signs of spring: the grass is starting to green and I have seen some of the bulb plants pushing up through the soil. I can foresee us jumping into summer very quickly.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
4-22-2013 Mon
4-22-2013 Mon. 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Weather:
(1853) S9, overcast, 48 ˚, 30.11 rising
H2O:
9.4 rising, 84.6 kcfs? ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7, Black Deer’s boat landing bay
Caught:
Six bluegills 6 – 8”, 1 crappie 6”
Partners:
None
Comments:
Tonight I was doing a little car maintenance on Autumn’s car and after about an hour of that I decided I needed a little break. The easiest and best thing I could do for myself was walk through the back yard, over the bank and go fishing.
This little bay has been the hotbed of fishing frenzy. The place has been lit up with anglers hauling buckets full of bluegills home. Fortunately for me tonight, they had all left and I had the place to myself. The fish bit real good when I first started fishing, but as the sun drifted behind the western hills of Minnesota the bite drifted with the sun.
Observations:
The little bay is starting to get a little trashed up with duckweed and moss.
Weather:
(1853) S9, overcast, 48 ˚, 30.11 rising
H2O:
9.4 rising, 84.6 kcfs? ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7, Black Deer’s boat landing bay
Caught:
Six bluegills 6 – 8”, 1 crappie 6”
Partners:
None
Comments:
Tonight I was doing a little car maintenance on Autumn’s car and after about an hour of that I decided I needed a little break. The easiest and best thing I could do for myself was walk through the back yard, over the bank and go fishing.
This little bay has been the hotbed of fishing frenzy. The place has been lit up with anglers hauling buckets full of bluegills home. Fortunately for me tonight, they had all left and I had the place to myself. The fish bit real good when I first started fishing, but as the sun drifted behind the western hills of Minnesota the bite drifted with the sun.
Observations:
The little bay is starting to get a little trashed up with duckweed and moss.
4-21-2013 Sun
4-21-2013 Sun. 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Weather:
(1853) SE15 G25, 53 ˚
H2O:
9.18 rising, 82kcfs, 40 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7, Black Deer’s and Lower Channel behind house
Caught:
Nothing
Partners:
None
Comments:
It was my birthday and I had seen Autumn off at the bus stop, so I gave myself a little peace and tranquility with an evening fishing trip. I was targeting bass for the first time this season and I was staying close to home. I figured I would be lucky to catch a fish and just as I figured I was not lucky.
The water temperature was very cold for bass fishing; right around forty degrees. I thought the upper channel would be much warmer than the lower channel, but that was not the case. Usually the still, calm waters of the upper channel are warmer, but the Black River just upstream of here is flooded and thus Black Deer’s is not dead water. In fact there is a pretty decent flow of water coming through and it is cold water.
I never caught a fish nor did I have a bite tonight. That was okay though; it did give me a chance to try some new rod and reel combinations and test my small fishing boat. I did have a slight problem launching the boat though. I use a rope that is about twenty feet that I tie to the boat and then I hook the other end to my trailer. When I back the boat into the water by myself it is simply a matter of the boat floating off, then I get out, grab the rope and pull it into the dock or shore. Tonight that did not work out so well. I got out, grabbed the rope and it broke about four inches away from the knot on the boat. There I was watching the boat float downstream and myself feeling pretty hopeless. There were no other boats around so I had to think of an idea that MacGyver might come up with. I contemplated jumping in, boat the water was cold and the air was cold and knew I would not be fishing anymore that evening if I did. I came up with a plan to lasso the pedestal seat in the boat. That idea failed, but in the process I did manage to get the rope wedged between the battery box and the deck. It held just enough for me to pull the boat to the dock.
Observations:
The weather is still cold and crumby and almost everyone is complaining about it. I have seen very little plant life starting to emerge from the earth. The bay at the boat landing is the hot spot lately for fishermen. Every night there is between six and ten anglers catching bluegills just about as fast as they can cast out.
Weather:
(1853) SE15 G25, 53 ˚
H2O:
9.18 rising, 82kcfs, 40 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 7, Black Deer’s and Lower Channel behind house
Caught:
Nothing
Partners:
None
Comments:
It was my birthday and I had seen Autumn off at the bus stop, so I gave myself a little peace and tranquility with an evening fishing trip. I was targeting bass for the first time this season and I was staying close to home. I figured I would be lucky to catch a fish and just as I figured I was not lucky.
The water temperature was very cold for bass fishing; right around forty degrees. I thought the upper channel would be much warmer than the lower channel, but that was not the case. Usually the still, calm waters of the upper channel are warmer, but the Black River just upstream of here is flooded and thus Black Deer’s is not dead water. In fact there is a pretty decent flow of water coming through and it is cold water.
I never caught a fish nor did I have a bite tonight. That was okay though; it did give me a chance to try some new rod and reel combinations and test my small fishing boat. I did have a slight problem launching the boat though. I use a rope that is about twenty feet that I tie to the boat and then I hook the other end to my trailer. When I back the boat into the water by myself it is simply a matter of the boat floating off, then I get out, grab the rope and pull it into the dock or shore. Tonight that did not work out so well. I got out, grabbed the rope and it broke about four inches away from the knot on the boat. There I was watching the boat float downstream and myself feeling pretty hopeless. There were no other boats around so I had to think of an idea that MacGyver might come up with. I contemplated jumping in, boat the water was cold and the air was cold and knew I would not be fishing anymore that evening if I did. I came up with a plan to lasso the pedestal seat in the boat. That idea failed, but in the process I did manage to get the rope wedged between the battery box and the deck. It held just enough for me to pull the boat to the dock.
Observations:
The weather is still cold and crumby and almost everyone is complaining about it. I have seen very little plant life starting to emerge from the earth. The bay at the boat landing is the hot spot lately for fishermen. Every night there is between six and ten anglers catching bluegills just about as fast as they can cast out.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
4-16-13 Tue.
4-16-2013 Tue 6:00 AM – 12:00 PM / 4:30PM – 8:30PM
Weather:
(0753) W9, overcast, 37 ˚ / (1753) NW9, clear, 48 ˚, 30.23 rising
H2O:
9.48 falling, 85.5 kcfs, 38 ˚, dirty
Location:
Beaver Creek and north of Beaver Creek / Mississippi R. – Dresbach Dam
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately five birds
Caught:
Four fish – three small walleyes and one 13” sauger
Partners:
Tom W. AM / Scott PM
Comments:
I was turkey hunting with Tom today in the morning. We hunted two places: I hunted the Beaver Creek public area and he hunted Ron Kind’s property, then we hunted another farm just south of Taylor, Wisconsin.
Our first location near Ron’s produced nothing for me. I heard lots of birds on the other side of the road and I did spook several off the roost and a couple out in the fields, but I had no active gobblers where I was hunting. Tom’s luck was slightly better than mine. Although he did not bag a bird or even see a bird, he did have three toms gobbling and responding very close, but he never did see them.
The next farm we hunted was about five miles to the north and it was loaded with turkeys. Almost as soon as we left our vehicles we heard toms gobbling. We quickly set up and began calling. Tom did all the calling as I just watched and waited. He had several hens and a few toms answering, but neither sex wanted anything to do with his vocal pleas.
After about forty five minutes Tom stayed put and I went up the valley and set up. We had agreed to hunt about another forty minutes then I would come back and meet him at our original set up spot. About thirty five minutes into it, I had a couple jakes walk past at about seventy yards making a bee line towards tom’s waiting ambush. Five minutes went by and I heard shots. It was not too hard to figure out that the birds went straight to Tom. He connected on a nice jake.
I did not go hunting in the afternoon, but opted for the boat and a couple of poles instead. Instead of long beards I was going to chase white tips (walleyes). I had not been out lately and the water was reported to be very high and dirty. I did not have high expectations, but I was hopeful. I fished for about four hours and caught four fish; Scott fished for about three hours with me and caught none. The water was just too high, muddy and cold. All four of my fish came on a hair jig tipped with Berkley Gulp. The other plastics I used were totally ignored.
Observations:
The woods in the Beaver Creek area and to the north that are sheltered from the sun still have quite a bit of snow on the hillsides. The river is quite high, dirty and cold, but the gates were not open. The east end of Lake Onalaska still has some remnant ice, but it is fading fast and I expect it to be gone by this weekend.
Weather:
(0753) W9, overcast, 37 ˚ / (1753) NW9, clear, 48 ˚, 30.23 rising
H2O:
9.48 falling, 85.5 kcfs, 38 ˚, dirty
Location:
Beaver Creek and north of Beaver Creek / Mississippi R. – Dresbach Dam
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately five birds
Caught:
Four fish – three small walleyes and one 13” sauger
Partners:
Tom W. AM / Scott PM
Comments:
I was turkey hunting with Tom today in the morning. We hunted two places: I hunted the Beaver Creek public area and he hunted Ron Kind’s property, then we hunted another farm just south of Taylor, Wisconsin.
Our first location near Ron’s produced nothing for me. I heard lots of birds on the other side of the road and I did spook several off the roost and a couple out in the fields, but I had no active gobblers where I was hunting. Tom’s luck was slightly better than mine. Although he did not bag a bird or even see a bird, he did have three toms gobbling and responding very close, but he never did see them.
The next farm we hunted was about five miles to the north and it was loaded with turkeys. Almost as soon as we left our vehicles we heard toms gobbling. We quickly set up and began calling. Tom did all the calling as I just watched and waited. He had several hens and a few toms answering, but neither sex wanted anything to do with his vocal pleas.
After about forty five minutes Tom stayed put and I went up the valley and set up. We had agreed to hunt about another forty minutes then I would come back and meet him at our original set up spot. About thirty five minutes into it, I had a couple jakes walk past at about seventy yards making a bee line towards tom’s waiting ambush. Five minutes went by and I heard shots. It was not too hard to figure out that the birds went straight to Tom. He connected on a nice jake.
I did not go hunting in the afternoon, but opted for the boat and a couple of poles instead. Instead of long beards I was going to chase white tips (walleyes). I had not been out lately and the water was reported to be very high and dirty. I did not have high expectations, but I was hopeful. I fished for about four hours and caught four fish; Scott fished for about three hours with me and caught none. The water was just too high, muddy and cold. All four of my fish came on a hair jig tipped with Berkley Gulp. The other plastics I used were totally ignored.
Observations:
The woods in the Beaver Creek area and to the north that are sheltered from the sun still have quite a bit of snow on the hillsides. The river is quite high, dirty and cold, but the gates were not open. The east end of Lake Onalaska still has some remnant ice, but it is fading fast and I expect it to be gone by this weekend.
4-15-13 Mon
4-15-2013 Mon 6:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Weather:
(0753) SE7, mostly cloudy, 38 ˚
Location:
La Crosse Experimental Forest
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately ten birds
Partners:
none
Comments:
I was back to the experimental forest this morning with a new plan that I thought might get me a turkey dinner. I was hunting the same area, but today I was going to stay by my vehicle until the turkeys started gobbling, and their vocalizations would dictate where I would start hunting.
Of course for a third day in a row they were gobbling from a different area and on the other side of the road. I tried to get in closer to the birds as they were sounding off from the roost, but almost as soon as they started gobbling they fell silent.
I did climb to the top of the hill hoping to hear a bird on either side of the valley, and I did hear some birds several hundred yards out on a ridge from where I was. I snuck to the edge of the woods and out in the field was two distinct groups of turkey; one held jakes and hens and the other held toms and hens.
I set up and began trying to call the hens in with my pleading hen calls, for I knew if I could get the hens in the toms were sure to follow. My plan did work, but instead of calling the group of hens in with the gobblers I called in the hens and jakes. I did have about four jakes within about 35 yards, but I passed on pulling the trigger. I was tempted, and was ready to push the safety off several times, but I talked myself out of it.
Observations:
The weather was not too bad today, but I only hunted a little bit in the morning. There were still a few remnant patches of snow on top of the ridge that were left over from yesterday’s snowfall.
Weather:
(0753) SE7, mostly cloudy, 38 ˚
Location:
La Crosse Experimental Forest
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately ten birds
Partners:
none
Comments:
I was back to the experimental forest this morning with a new plan that I thought might get me a turkey dinner. I was hunting the same area, but today I was going to stay by my vehicle until the turkeys started gobbling, and their vocalizations would dictate where I would start hunting.
Of course for a third day in a row they were gobbling from a different area and on the other side of the road. I tried to get in closer to the birds as they were sounding off from the roost, but almost as soon as they started gobbling they fell silent.
I did climb to the top of the hill hoping to hear a bird on either side of the valley, and I did hear some birds several hundred yards out on a ridge from where I was. I snuck to the edge of the woods and out in the field was two distinct groups of turkey; one held jakes and hens and the other held toms and hens.
I set up and began trying to call the hens in with my pleading hen calls, for I knew if I could get the hens in the toms were sure to follow. My plan did work, but instead of calling the group of hens in with the gobblers I called in the hens and jakes. I did have about four jakes within about 35 yards, but I passed on pulling the trigger. I was tempted, and was ready to push the safety off several times, but I talked myself out of it.
Observations:
The weather was not too bad today, but I only hunted a little bit in the morning. There were still a few remnant patches of snow on top of the ridge that were left over from yesterday’s snowfall.
Monday, April 15, 2013
4-14-13 Sun
4-14-2013 Sun. 6:00 AM – 8:00 AM / 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Weather:
(0753) E9 light rain, 34 ˚ / (1653) E9, light rain, 37 ˚
Location:
La Crosse Experimental Forest / Hoeth Forest
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately six birds
Partners:
none
Comments:
I was back to the experimental forest this morning with a plan that I thought I knew for sure where the birds would be coming from. I got to the spot where I had first set up yesterday, set up and was ready for the toms to start gobbling from the area where they were at yesterday morning. The plan seemed good, but it was lacking the cooperation of the turkeys. They were now on the other side of the road opposite of where I was set up and waiting.
I called a little bit from this location, but all the birds were on the other side of the road, so I moved over to the other side. About as soon as I got over there they stopped gobbling and it started to rain. I called it an early morning.
In the afternoon I went to a location where I had hunted one other time and I had shot a gobbler there in the evening. I thought I knew this area and the lay of the land fairly well, but by some miracle before I left my vehicle I marked its location on my phone. I got out to a large open field where I had taken a tom a couple of years ago, called a little bit, nothing happened so I then went into the exploring mode.
I was not really sure where I was heading or where I was, but I was hunting. I almost always have my GPS with me when I hunt any woods that are fairly big and remote, but I have not been able to find it, so I was going to rely on my IPhone. I followed a set of turkey tracks for a ways, startled a fisher which scampered up a tree and gave me a very close up look at its sheer size and beauty; that creature had to have been very close in size to my beagles.
Very soon after I saw the fisher I came across one of the ski trails that had a sign on it that said parking area 1.9 miles. I was rather surprised that I was that far from my vehicle, but at least I could follow the trail back to my vehicle. Shortly after that sign I came across lots of fresh turkey sign and about eight sets of tracks that I decided to follow. The tracks were very easy to follow in the fresh four inches of snow that we had gotten between mid-morning and early afternoon.
I followed the tracks for about fifteen minutes then came upon a group of turkeys searching for acorns under the fresh blanket of snow. I set up, watched and called, but it was futile. They did not want anything to do with me. It was now getting fairly close to dark, and I had no idea where I was at. Luckily I had marked my parking location on my IPhone, so I had something to go off of. Unfortunately I learned in a hurry an IPhone is no substitute for a GPS. I had one hell of a time getting back to the parking area. I got back, but it seemed liked I walked forever and I made it to the vehicle just at dark.
Observations:
Today was another one of those horrible weather days. I hunted in rain in the morning and snow in the afternoon, and I again donned the snow camouflage.
Weather:
(0753) E9 light rain, 34 ˚ / (1653) E9, light rain, 37 ˚
Location:
La Crosse Experimental Forest / Hoeth Forest
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately six birds
Partners:
none
Comments:
I was back to the experimental forest this morning with a plan that I thought I knew for sure where the birds would be coming from. I got to the spot where I had first set up yesterday, set up and was ready for the toms to start gobbling from the area where they were at yesterday morning. The plan seemed good, but it was lacking the cooperation of the turkeys. They were now on the other side of the road opposite of where I was set up and waiting.
I called a little bit from this location, but all the birds were on the other side of the road, so I moved over to the other side. About as soon as I got over there they stopped gobbling and it started to rain. I called it an early morning.
In the afternoon I went to a location where I had hunted one other time and I had shot a gobbler there in the evening. I thought I knew this area and the lay of the land fairly well, but by some miracle before I left my vehicle I marked its location on my phone. I got out to a large open field where I had taken a tom a couple of years ago, called a little bit, nothing happened so I then went into the exploring mode.
I was not really sure where I was heading or where I was, but I was hunting. I almost always have my GPS with me when I hunt any woods that are fairly big and remote, but I have not been able to find it, so I was going to rely on my IPhone. I followed a set of turkey tracks for a ways, startled a fisher which scampered up a tree and gave me a very close up look at its sheer size and beauty; that creature had to have been very close in size to my beagles.
Very soon after I saw the fisher I came across one of the ski trails that had a sign on it that said parking area 1.9 miles. I was rather surprised that I was that far from my vehicle, but at least I could follow the trail back to my vehicle. Shortly after that sign I came across lots of fresh turkey sign and about eight sets of tracks that I decided to follow. The tracks were very easy to follow in the fresh four inches of snow that we had gotten between mid-morning and early afternoon.
I followed the tracks for about fifteen minutes then came upon a group of turkeys searching for acorns under the fresh blanket of snow. I set up, watched and called, but it was futile. They did not want anything to do with me. It was now getting fairly close to dark, and I had no idea where I was at. Luckily I had marked my parking location on my IPhone, so I had something to go off of. Unfortunately I learned in a hurry an IPhone is no substitute for a GPS. I had one hell of a time getting back to the parking area. I got back, but it seemed liked I walked forever and I made it to the vehicle just at dark.
Observations:
Today was another one of those horrible weather days. I hunted in rain in the morning and snow in the afternoon, and I again donned the snow camouflage.
4-13-2013 Sat
4-13-2013 Sat. 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Weather:
(0753) W8, overcast, 32 ˚,
Location:
La Crosse Experimental Forest
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately six birds
Partners:
none
Comments:
I was scheduled to be off on vacation Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for turkey hunting, but since the weather was forecasted to be so crummy I cancelled my vacation and put in for Monday and Tuesday instead. I had not done any pre scouting and I had no idea where the turkeys were going to be where I planned to hunt, but I knew they would be someplace in the vicinity.
I got to the area I planned to hunt a little late and as soon as I got out of my car I could hear gobbling going on towards the top of the hill. I now had a destination in mind. Since the valleys had no snow, but the hills had about one inch of new fallen snow, I donned my snow camouflage and headed up the hill and into the snow.
I trekked half way up the hill, found a good sized tree to lean against and was ready to call in and ambush a big old tom. The turkeys were fairly vocal this morning, every time a crow or owl would give voice the turkeys would respond. I called in a tom fairly quickly this morning but the problem was he came in silent and he came from the opposite directions than where I had expected him to come from.
It is a rather weird experience when they come in silent and you do not see them, but you can sense or feel them when they are strutting. It is almost a tingling sensation that you can feel at a rather long distance. I watched and tried to coax him in for about twenty minutes, but he got bored of me and wandered off.
With the freshly fallen snow I found his tracks and followed him into another ravine. I was able to spot other birds and get some hens and toms to respond to my calling but I could not get any turkeys to come me.
Observations:
The weather for this first season has been just horrible, it is a very late spring and the first three days of the season have been cold, windy and rainy. Surprisingly the toms were rather vocal this morning, but none wanted to be called in.
Weather:
(0753) W8, overcast, 32 ˚,
Location:
La Crosse Experimental Forest
Bagged:
Nothing, I saw approximately six birds
Partners:
none
Comments:
I was scheduled to be off on vacation Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for turkey hunting, but since the weather was forecasted to be so crummy I cancelled my vacation and put in for Monday and Tuesday instead. I had not done any pre scouting and I had no idea where the turkeys were going to be where I planned to hunt, but I knew they would be someplace in the vicinity.
I got to the area I planned to hunt a little late and as soon as I got out of my car I could hear gobbling going on towards the top of the hill. I now had a destination in mind. Since the valleys had no snow, but the hills had about one inch of new fallen snow, I donned my snow camouflage and headed up the hill and into the snow.
I trekked half way up the hill, found a good sized tree to lean against and was ready to call in and ambush a big old tom. The turkeys were fairly vocal this morning, every time a crow or owl would give voice the turkeys would respond. I called in a tom fairly quickly this morning but the problem was he came in silent and he came from the opposite directions than where I had expected him to come from.
It is a rather weird experience when they come in silent and you do not see them, but you can sense or feel them when they are strutting. It is almost a tingling sensation that you can feel at a rather long distance. I watched and tried to coax him in for about twenty minutes, but he got bored of me and wandered off.
With the freshly fallen snow I found his tracks and followed him into another ravine. I was able to spot other birds and get some hens and toms to respond to my calling but I could not get any turkeys to come me.
Observations:
The weather for this first season has been just horrible, it is a very late spring and the first three days of the season have been cold, windy and rainy. Surprisingly the toms were rather vocal this morning, but none wanted to be called in.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
4-10-13 Wed.
4-10-2013 Wed. 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Weather:
NE12 light rain, 36 ˚, 29.98 falling
H2O:
8.54 rising, 76.6 kcfs, ? ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 7, behind house
Caught:
3 perch, 1 crappie – all fish released
Partners:
none
Comments:
Today was a cold, damp, miserable day, but I was excited to see how the fish would react to the change in temperature. I was fishing the same spot behind the house as I had done yesterday, but I change my tactics somewhat.
I was armed with two poles so I could present two different baits at the same time. Today I used waxies and I substituted crappie minnows for night crawler pieces. I noticed right away that the bluegill bite was not there; they had either moved out or became dormant with the cold weather.
The bait that got the most action was the crappie minnow; in fact I had very few bites on waxies. The weather did not seem to affect the perch at all.
Observations:
We were about twenty degrees below our normal high for this date, and the water has risen another foot overnight. Diver ducks are everywhere, with lots of mergansers, golden eyes and a few scaup. It is just so cool to watch and see all the waterfowl as I fish. I also saw a large snapping turtle tonight and I watched a mole borrow into the ground and tunnel away; that was a first for me.
Weather:
NE12 light rain, 36 ˚, 29.98 falling
H2O:
8.54 rising, 76.6 kcfs, ? ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 7, behind house
Caught:
3 perch, 1 crappie – all fish released
Partners:
none
Comments:
Today was a cold, damp, miserable day, but I was excited to see how the fish would react to the change in temperature. I was fishing the same spot behind the house as I had done yesterday, but I change my tactics somewhat.
I was armed with two poles so I could present two different baits at the same time. Today I used waxies and I substituted crappie minnows for night crawler pieces. I noticed right away that the bluegill bite was not there; they had either moved out or became dormant with the cold weather.
The bait that got the most action was the crappie minnow; in fact I had very few bites on waxies. The weather did not seem to affect the perch at all.
Observations:
We were about twenty degrees below our normal high for this date, and the water has risen another foot overnight. Diver ducks are everywhere, with lots of mergansers, golden eyes and a few scaup. It is just so cool to watch and see all the waterfowl as I fish. I also saw a large snapping turtle tonight and I watched a mole borrow into the ground and tunnel away; that was a first for me.
4-9-13 Tue.
4-9-2013 Tue. 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Weather:
N8, mist/fog, 42 ˚, 30.01 rising
H2O:
7.48 rising, 71.1 kcfs? ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 7, behind house
Caught:
3 perch, 3 bluegills and 1 crappie – all fish released
Partners:
none
Comments:
It was the first time this spring I had fished the little fishing hole behind the house. If you hit it right in the spring time it can be very good. Even if it is not great, a fish of some type or another is sure to bite.
Tonight the fishing was not great, but all the fish I did catch were of a respectable size. I used both crawler pieces and waxies and the waxies brought the majority of the fish to my hands. The bite was rather light, and I missed way more fish than I actually caught. Most of the fish were caught with the slip float adjusted to around twenty inches.
One other fisherman was fishing from shore and his fishing success was on par with what I was catching.
Observations:
The water is still rising but the clarity is still quite good. The Lake below highway 35 is still locked in with ice.
Weather:
N8, mist/fog, 42 ˚, 30.01 rising
H2O:
7.48 rising, 71.1 kcfs? ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 7, behind house
Caught:
3 perch, 3 bluegills and 1 crappie – all fish released
Partners:
none
Comments:
It was the first time this spring I had fished the little fishing hole behind the house. If you hit it right in the spring time it can be very good. Even if it is not great, a fish of some type or another is sure to bite.
Tonight the fishing was not great, but all the fish I did catch were of a respectable size. I used both crawler pieces and waxies and the waxies brought the majority of the fish to my hands. The bite was rather light, and I missed way more fish than I actually caught. Most of the fish were caught with the slip float adjusted to around twenty inches.
One other fisherman was fishing from shore and his fishing success was on par with what I was catching.
Observations:
The water is still rising but the clarity is still quite good. The Lake below highway 35 is still locked in with ice.
4-7-13 Sun.
4-7-2013 Sun. 3:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Weather:
(1453) N7overcast, 46 ˚29.94 falling
H2O:
7.43 rising, 67kcfs, 48 ˚, clear with lots of floating algae
Location:
Mississippi River pool 7, Black Deer’s
Caught:
Numerous bluegills and perch, 2 crappies, ample little largemouth bass, Scott kept about five perch and five bluegills.
Partners:
Scott
Comments:
I like to fish Black Deer’s Channel as soon as the ice goes out of the mouth, which makes it possible to access it. This year I am afraid I missed it by several days. We started fishing the way upper end, but the fish were not holding in their normal area for this time of year. Most of the fish came very close to the area where the walk in access is.
We caught fish on waxies, minnows and pieces of night crawlers with the night crawlers bringing the most fish to the boat. Most of the fish came from about four feet of water with very few fish in two feet of water or less. We never did catch a very large amount of fish in one spot, but had to continuously move to stay on active fish. The surface of the water was jammed with floating algae, which made fishing very difficult.
Observations:
The water temperature was quite a bit warmer than I had anticipated and the algae balls made fishing rather difficult. The shoreline areas are still locked in winter grips, with an ample amount of ice on the western shoreline. The main lake is open, but the lake below highway 35 is still locked in ice.
Weather:
(1453) N7overcast, 46 ˚29.94 falling
H2O:
7.43 rising, 67kcfs, 48 ˚, clear with lots of floating algae
Location:
Mississippi River pool 7, Black Deer’s
Caught:
Numerous bluegills and perch, 2 crappies, ample little largemouth bass, Scott kept about five perch and five bluegills.
Partners:
Scott
Comments:
I like to fish Black Deer’s Channel as soon as the ice goes out of the mouth, which makes it possible to access it. This year I am afraid I missed it by several days. We started fishing the way upper end, but the fish were not holding in their normal area for this time of year. Most of the fish came very close to the area where the walk in access is.
We caught fish on waxies, minnows and pieces of night crawlers with the night crawlers bringing the most fish to the boat. Most of the fish came from about four feet of water with very few fish in two feet of water or less. We never did catch a very large amount of fish in one spot, but had to continuously move to stay on active fish. The surface of the water was jammed with floating algae, which made fishing very difficult.
Observations:
The water temperature was quite a bit warmer than I had anticipated and the algae balls made fishing rather difficult. The shoreline areas are still locked in winter grips, with an ample amount of ice on the western shoreline. The main lake is open, but the lake below highway 35 is still locked in ice.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
4-2-2013 Tue
4-2-2013 Tue. 3:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Weather:
(1653) NW12 G21, clear, 38 ˚, 30.28 rising
H2O:
7.69 rising, 69.9kcfs, 32-35 ˚, dirty
Location:
Mississippi River pool 8, Dresbach Dam
Caught:
Two walleyes 11”
Partners:
none
Comments:
Today I was after the golden goodness of the Mississippi River: perch. When I was out below the dam at Dresbach on Friday they were being caught just about everywhere and I thought I would cash in and catch about ten for a decent meal.
Well the great Miss had other ideas for me. The water had risen several feet since Friday and the water went from very clear to very dirty. I tried areas out of the current, in the current and other areas in between and I never did catch a perch. I ended up catching a couple small eyes along the ice shelf in the Dresbach Bay, but I never did bring a perch boat side.
I also tried for eyes and had not luck, except for the two little guys.
Observations:
The water has gone up dramatically and the clarity has plummeted. There is still ice around and someone was ice fishing the East Channel.
Weather:
(1653) NW12 G21, clear, 38 ˚, 30.28 rising
H2O:
7.69 rising, 69.9kcfs, 32-35 ˚, dirty
Location:
Mississippi River pool 8, Dresbach Dam
Caught:
Two walleyes 11”
Partners:
none
Comments:
Today I was after the golden goodness of the Mississippi River: perch. When I was out below the dam at Dresbach on Friday they were being caught just about everywhere and I thought I would cash in and catch about ten for a decent meal.
Well the great Miss had other ideas for me. The water had risen several feet since Friday and the water went from very clear to very dirty. I tried areas out of the current, in the current and other areas in between and I never did catch a perch. I ended up catching a couple small eyes along the ice shelf in the Dresbach Bay, but I never did bring a perch boat side.
I also tried for eyes and had not luck, except for the two little guys.
Observations:
The water has gone up dramatically and the clarity has plummeted. There is still ice around and someone was ice fishing the East Channel.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
3-30-13 Sat
3-30-2013 Sat 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Weather:
(1155) Nasty, rain, 35 ˚, S14, 29.88 falling, 20” snow cover
Location:
Gilman, WI
Bagged:
nothing
Partners:
Tom, Vern and friend, Dan Frei and sons Andrew and Ethan
Comments:
I had organized a late season snow shoe hare hunting trip up to the Gilman area last week when I was at the Ragged Rock Beagle Club trial. We had plenty of dogs and people, but the main ingredient we were lacking was good weather. In fact, the weather was horrible.
We had rain, hard at times and plenty of wind, and to make it even more miserable we had way too much snow. Unfortunately it was the type of snow that was not hard or dense enough to support the weight of a beagle.
We found some hares, but the little hounds were unable to continuously trail the light footed white bunnies. Unfortunately for the dogs they were literarily swimming in the white stuff. Tracking was really an unreasonable feat to expect from the dogs. They would get on a track, but while trying to trail they were literally pushing the snow ahead of themselves with their noses and chests. And of course they hunted single file on account of the deep snow which pretty much wiped out the advantage of having a pack of dogs.
Observations:
All the conditions were terrible today: It was rainy and windy, and the snow was too deep and would not support the dogs. We attempted to hunt just a couple of hours, but that was quite enough for all of us. Both masters and dogs were soaked and cold and were not very excited to be in the woods.
Weather:
(1155) Nasty, rain, 35 ˚, S14, 29.88 falling, 20” snow cover
Location:
Gilman, WI
Bagged:
nothing
Partners:
Tom, Vern and friend, Dan Frei and sons Andrew and Ethan
Comments:
I had organized a late season snow shoe hare hunting trip up to the Gilman area last week when I was at the Ragged Rock Beagle Club trial. We had plenty of dogs and people, but the main ingredient we were lacking was good weather. In fact, the weather was horrible.
We had rain, hard at times and plenty of wind, and to make it even more miserable we had way too much snow. Unfortunately it was the type of snow that was not hard or dense enough to support the weight of a beagle.
We found some hares, but the little hounds were unable to continuously trail the light footed white bunnies. Unfortunately for the dogs they were literarily swimming in the white stuff. Tracking was really an unreasonable feat to expect from the dogs. They would get on a track, but while trying to trail they were literally pushing the snow ahead of themselves with their noses and chests. And of course they hunted single file on account of the deep snow which pretty much wiped out the advantage of having a pack of dogs.
Observations:
All the conditions were terrible today: It was rainy and windy, and the snow was too deep and would not support the dogs. We attempted to hunt just a couple of hours, but that was quite enough for all of us. Both masters and dogs were soaked and cold and were not very excited to be in the woods.
3-29-13 Fri
3-29-2013 Fri. 12:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Weather:
(1553) S6, overcast, 48 ˚, 30.23 falling
H2O:
4.97 rising, 18.7kcfs, 35 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 8, Dresbach Dam
Caught:
Lots of small sauger and walleyes, a couple perch, Kept: two sauger and two perch
Partners:
Scott
Comments:
It was Good Friday and it was a day to go fishing. There is still a good amount of ice around and the upper Dresbach Landing was still partial frozen. We had to put the boat in downstream on the Minnesota side at a landing called Sportsmen’s.
The first area we targeted was the middle tail water areas with depths anywhere from twenty to fifty feet. We caught fish in these depth ranges but all were small. We covered a lot of ground and tried different depths, but the fish were not cooperating very well.
The area where we had the best sized fish was along the upper wall on the Minnesota side. The water depth here varied from about eight feet down to about thirty. Once darkness fell I got to try a new technique that Scott coached me through. We basically trolled both upstream and downstream along the wall in eight to fifteen feet of water. We used Moxies on a 3/8 oz. jig head with lots of line out. We trolled both upstream and downstream at a pretty decent clip. We fished this technique for only about a half hour. Scott did not look overly pleased that I called it such an early night, but I had a hare hunting engagement very early in the morning and I had to get to bed.
Observations:
It was a long day of fishing, with not a whole lot of excitement. The conditions are still very good for walleye fishing: clear water and low flows. Ice still blankets most back water areas.
Weather:
(1553) S6, overcast, 48 ˚, 30.23 falling
H2O:
4.97 rising, 18.7kcfs, 35 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 8, Dresbach Dam
Caught:
Lots of small sauger and walleyes, a couple perch, Kept: two sauger and two perch
Partners:
Scott
Comments:
It was Good Friday and it was a day to go fishing. There is still a good amount of ice around and the upper Dresbach Landing was still partial frozen. We had to put the boat in downstream on the Minnesota side at a landing called Sportsmen’s.
The first area we targeted was the middle tail water areas with depths anywhere from twenty to fifty feet. We caught fish in these depth ranges but all were small. We covered a lot of ground and tried different depths, but the fish were not cooperating very well.
The area where we had the best sized fish was along the upper wall on the Minnesota side. The water depth here varied from about eight feet down to about thirty. Once darkness fell I got to try a new technique that Scott coached me through. We basically trolled both upstream and downstream along the wall in eight to fifteen feet of water. We used Moxies on a 3/8 oz. jig head with lots of line out. We trolled both upstream and downstream at a pretty decent clip. We fished this technique for only about a half hour. Scott did not look overly pleased that I called it such an early night, but I had a hare hunting engagement very early in the morning and I had to get to bed.
Observations:
It was a long day of fishing, with not a whole lot of excitement. The conditions are still very good for walleye fishing: clear water and low flows. Ice still blankets most back water areas.
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