Tuesday, May 10, 2016

May 8, 2016 Sun

May 8, 2016 Sun 330PM-8PM-bass and pike fishing with Scott
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7, Lake Onalaska area
Weather: (1753) W5, clear, 70°
H2O: 8.38↓, 73 kcfs, 58 °, clear
Caught: Me: 2 pike 20-24”, 2 LMB 12-15”
Scott: 4 pike 20-30”, 6 LMB 10-16”

Observations: The apple blossoms are fading and the lilac bushes are peaking. There is a distinct offshore milfoil weed edge on the northeast lakeshore, but it starts out about fifty yards offshore. The milfoil and weeds in general on the lake do not seem as abundant as they usually are.

Fishing was not too fantastic this evening. I think we would have done better had we stayed on the lake instead of venturing out by the main channel around the Somners Chute area.




May 7, 2016 Sat

May 7, 2016 Sat 8AM-11AM-bass and pike fishing by myself
430PM-11PM cat-fishing with Troy
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7
Weather: (AM) N9, sunny, 59°
(PM) N7, clear, 57°
H2O: (Mississippi R. Pool 7) 8.23↓, 71 kcfs, 61 °, clear
(Black R.) 4.31↓, 1.36 kcfs, 60, clear
Caught: (AM) 4 pike 20-30”, 2LMB 13-14”
(PM) me: bait-bluegills and perch, 1-5lb. channel cat
Troy: bait-bluegills and perch, 1-5lb. channel cat

Observations: I observed some carp spawning in the backwaters this morning. There is quite a bit of aquatic plant growth starting to appear and the fish seem to be relating to it.

The morning fishing was very peaceful and relaxing. The boat and fishing traffic was light and in general it was fun. I did catch a lot of fish this morning, but I did eliminate a good amount of unproductive water.
The evening fishing outing with Troy was a good time, except for the high school brats that were being brats. No need to go on, it did get rather disgusting with the group of six little shit heads! The cat fishing was fairly good. We did not catch any flat heads but we did have a fair amount of action and we each managed to catch a decent channel catfish.



May 5, 2016 Thr

May 5, 2016 Thr 5PM-8PM-bass and pike fishing with Nate Hoffman
Where: Mississippi R. pool 8, Dresbach Dam area
Weather: (1753) W5, clear, 70°
H2O: 8.38↓, 73 kcfs, 58 °, clear
Caught: Me: 1-12” sauger, 4 pike 22-38”
Nate: 1-12” LMB, 1-24” pike
Observations: The river is starting to recede and is very clear. The apple trees are blooming and the lilacs have started to bloom. The water level in Dresbach Bay is up into the bushes and slightly into the trees.

This evening’s fish hunt with one of my co-workers went pretty good. I originally wanted to target white bass, but they were uncooperative. The best area for us tonight was the bay on the Minnesota side up by the dam. Nate had a comparably sized pike like mine on, but he lost it at the boat. Unfortunately for my large fish it suffered a torn gill and had to be kept.

May 4, 2016 Wed

May 4, 2016 Wed 630PM-730PM-bass and pike fishing by myself
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7
Weather: (Approx.) NW10, sunny, 58°
H2O: 8.49↓, 74 kcfs, 58 °, clear
Caught: 2 LMB 12-16”

It was too nice of a night to ignore the urge to have a quick fix of fishing. It was a beautiful night and the fish somewhat cooperated.

Monday, May 2, 2016

May 1, 2016 Sun

May 1, 2016 Sun 930AM-1PM-bass and pike fishing by myself
Where: Mississippi R. pool 4, Nelson, WI
Weather: (1153) NE7, G17, partly cloudy, 55°
H2O: 10.15↑, 67 kcfs, 52 °, clear
Caught: Approx. 10 pike 22-27”

Observations: I did spot some lily plants that were completely leafed out under the surface of the water.

Everyone left me today, so I was the loner fisherman. I mainly fished the big bay just to the south of Wabasha. Fishing was pretty good on the western shore and the average size of the pike seemed bigger.

April 30, 2016 Sat

April 30, 2016 Sat 930AM-5PM-bass and pike fishing with Andy R.
Where: Mississippi R. pool 4, Nelson, WI
Weather: E14, G25, overcast, 51°
H2O: 9.92↑, 64 kcfs, 52 °, clear
Caught: Approx. Me: 12 pike 20-25”
Andy: 5 pike 20-29”

Observations: The water is extremely clear. The apple trees, dandelions and lilac bushes are all blooming.

Today was a pretty tough fishing day. We were probably fortunate to have been chased off the water by the rain before dark. The best fishing today was in front of the cabin. The best bait for the inactive pike was a Man’s Baby minus one.








April 29, 2016 Fri

3PM-730PM-bass and pike fishing with Andy R.
Where: Mississippi R. pool 4, Nelson, WI
Weather: (1553) N7, overcast, 54°
H2O: 9.6↑, 59 kcfs, 52 °, clear
Caught: Approx. Me: 10 pike 20-33”, 3 LMB 14-18”
Andy: 3 pike 20-24”
Observations: There is not a lot of aquatic vegetation yet springing to life in the backwaters. However, there is quite a bit of mill foil out in front of the resort. The cattail plants are beginning to send shoots skyward.

The weather was cold for the start of our annual pike fishing trip. I started the trip wearing long underwear and they stayed on while fishing the whole weekend.

The water was higher than it was last weekend; thank goodness for that. The fishing was not too bad tonight. The fish did not come easy but the action was fair.