6-29-2011 Wed
6:30 PM- 11:45 PM
Weather: S 14, clear, 83 ˚, 29.98 MB, falling
H2O: clear, 72 ˚, 9.49’ falling, 85.8 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Lake Onalaska (upper end)
Caught: Plenty of bluegills and perch for bait and one five pound flat head
Partners: Scot
Comments
Scot and I had no problem catching bait tonight. We went right back out to the slop just out from the cut. This is the spot I had left off at on Monday.
The first spot we set up on was flat head alley. It should be obvious by the name that it is usually a very good spot. However tonight it was not, the flow was just too high and fast to allow us to effectively fish this spot. I think after about a half hour we both came to the same conclusion it was time to move.
Spot number two was just down from a spot that I call popcorn. I had never fished here before, but it looked good and it was fairly sheltered from the current. We caught the one flat head here and also missed several other bites. The bites and the fish we did catch were not bone shattering bites, so I think the fish were quite negative.
Observations
The high water is making fishing difficult. The flat head I did catch had its head rubbed raw. This is a definite sign of nest building and spawning. I am thinking the flathead fishing is going to be very slow for the next couple of weeks.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
6-27-11
6-27-2011 Mon
6:00 PM- 10:15 PM
Weather: W 12, clear, 74 ˚, 29.84 MB, rising
H2O: dirty, 68 ˚, 9.6’ rising, 87.2 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Lake Onalaska (upper end)
Caught: Plenty of bluegills and perch for bait and two fifteen inch largemouth bass
Partners: none
Comments
Tonight I was off flathead fishing by myself. I was quite nervous about being able to catch a sufficient amount of pan fish for bait. The first hour I was quite stressed. I caught about two small bluegills and two perch, but they came with great difficulty. I have not been pan fishing for a while so I was pretty clueless as to where to find them, and the wind and the muddy water was another contributing factor adding to the difficulty. The last half hour of bait catching I stumbled on them. I was fishing just out from the landing cut in the pads.
With the high water and associated current my options for spots was very limited. I picked a small slough off of a main slough that had a somewhat reduced flow of water. After forty-five minutes and no bites I pulled the plug on this spot and the night of fishing.
Observations
The high water is making fishing rather difficult. The night sky on the ride in from fishing is filled with millions of winged insects, I expect a rather large may fly hatch within the next week.
6:00 PM- 10:15 PM
Weather: W 12, clear, 74 ˚, 29.84 MB, rising
H2O: dirty, 68 ˚, 9.6’ rising, 87.2 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Lake Onalaska (upper end)
Caught: Plenty of bluegills and perch for bait and two fifteen inch largemouth bass
Partners: none
Comments
Tonight I was off flathead fishing by myself. I was quite nervous about being able to catch a sufficient amount of pan fish for bait. The first hour I was quite stressed. I caught about two small bluegills and two perch, but they came with great difficulty. I have not been pan fishing for a while so I was pretty clueless as to where to find them, and the wind and the muddy water was another contributing factor adding to the difficulty. The last half hour of bait catching I stumbled on them. I was fishing just out from the landing cut in the pads.
With the high water and associated current my options for spots was very limited. I picked a small slough off of a main slough that had a somewhat reduced flow of water. After forty-five minutes and no bites I pulled the plug on this spot and the night of fishing.
Observations
The high water is making fishing rather difficult. The night sky on the ride in from fishing is filled with millions of winged insects, I expect a rather large may fly hatch within the next week.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
6-25-2011 Sat
6:00 PM- 8:50 PM
Weather: calm, overcast with light rain, 69 ˚, 29.92 MB, steady
H2O: muddy, 68 ˚, 9.19’ rising, 82.4 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Lake Onalaska (upper end)
Caught: eleven largemouth bass between 15 and 17 inchers
Partners: none
Comments
The only consistent spot I caught bass tonight was one very small weed point where they were the other night. It only took me about one half hour of fishless angling to hit this spot. After pulling up to the spot and missing three fish on a swim jig, I thought the fish were done biting. I then pull out a pre-rigged Senko and pitched to the sweet spot. The Senko was immediately engulfed and the first of nine nice bass made it to the boat.
I almost felt guilty catching these fish so easily, and I was definitely afraid I would be discovered. I was constantly looking around to make sure nobody was watching. The real amazing part of it was I was very close to the landing and many fisherman pass this spot each and every day and never give it a thought to fish it!
After I fished that spot out and caught nothing in adjacent areas it was time to do some exploring. I am a firm believer in always, always looking for new spots. I went to the sand flats area of the lake where Sommners Chute dumps into the lake. I did not find a lot of fish, but towards the end of the night I did find two nice bass on a downstream end of two sloughs the came together onto a nice weed flat. Both fish were caught on a swim jig and nothing showed any interest in the Senko.
Observations
The water is still very high and muddy. Fish are biting and I do think it will improve as the water clarity returns regardless of the high water. I talked to the neighbor tonight and he was in a bass tournament on the lake yesterday and he had a weight of 19 pounds with five fish and his son had a weight of 15 pounds!
6:00 PM- 8:50 PM
Weather: calm, overcast with light rain, 69 ˚, 29.92 MB, steady
H2O: muddy, 68 ˚, 9.19’ rising, 82.4 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Lake Onalaska (upper end)
Caught: eleven largemouth bass between 15 and 17 inchers
Partners: none
Comments
The only consistent spot I caught bass tonight was one very small weed point where they were the other night. It only took me about one half hour of fishless angling to hit this spot. After pulling up to the spot and missing three fish on a swim jig, I thought the fish were done biting. I then pull out a pre-rigged Senko and pitched to the sweet spot. The Senko was immediately engulfed and the first of nine nice bass made it to the boat.
I almost felt guilty catching these fish so easily, and I was definitely afraid I would be discovered. I was constantly looking around to make sure nobody was watching. The real amazing part of it was I was very close to the landing and many fisherman pass this spot each and every day and never give it a thought to fish it!
After I fished that spot out and caught nothing in adjacent areas it was time to do some exploring. I am a firm believer in always, always looking for new spots. I went to the sand flats area of the lake where Sommners Chute dumps into the lake. I did not find a lot of fish, but towards the end of the night I did find two nice bass on a downstream end of two sloughs the came together onto a nice weed flat. Both fish were caught on a swim jig and nothing showed any interest in the Senko.
Observations
The water is still very high and muddy. Fish are biting and I do think it will improve as the water clarity returns regardless of the high water. I talked to the neighbor tonight and he was in a bass tournament on the lake yesterday and he had a weight of 19 pounds with five fish and his son had a weight of 15 pounds!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
6-23-11
6-23-2011 Thr
6:30 PM- 8:30 PM
Weather: N 14, overcast with light rain, 59 ˚, 29.71 MB, rising
Moon: Major 1813 – 2013
H2O: muddy, 64 ˚, 8.41’ rising, 75.7 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Lake Onalaska (upper end)
Caught: Six largemouth bass 18, 17, 2-16, 2 -10 inchers, and one 28 inch pike
Partners: none
Comments
What should a person do when the water is muddy, high and its temperature has dropped down to 64 degrees in the middle of June? Well go fishing of course! Actually I was pretty reluctant to go, but that little fishing demon in the back of my mind was pushing pretty hard.
On one hand I was thinking why go fishing, but on the other hand my previous experience with fishing every day for a whole year was telling me that there was a good chance something good would happen. And indeed it was a good evening. I would not say it was fantastic, but it was pretty darn good. For some reason I do pretty good largemouth bass and pike fishing after a cold front. We definitely had one today, the average high is around eighty-three and we struggled to hit sixty. As if the water temperature was not enough, I also had to deal with very muddy water.
I took the advice of the musky guide I recently fished with: his advice is hit the heavy cover after a major cold front moves in. It definitely was the ticket for the bass. The bait of choice was probably a little unconventional for the muddy water. Most fishermen would more than likely use noisy type baits, such as a spinner bait or rattletrap. The cover was too thick for the trap, but I was able to throw large and noisy spinner bait. I never caught a fish on it.
I pulled out one of my favorite baits from two years ago: a swim bait in a june bug color. It was definitely the bait the bass wanted. I caught the six bass and the pike, but I easily lost double the number of bass that I landed on this swim jig. I was having a very hard time with the hook set. The bites were pretty subtle and I think I was just too slow and weak on the hook set!
Observations
It is cold, the water is muddy, but the fish are biting. I am excited! There is quite a good crop of wild rice coming up, but I fear the high muddy water and the cool temperatures will do it in. Last year before the rains and high water came we had a lot of rice, but by the end of summer very little of it had survived.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
6-19-2011
6-19-2011 Sun
6:00 PM- 11:00 PM
Weather: E 6, overcast, 73 ˚, 29.75 MB, steady
H2O: murky, 72 ˚, 7.81’ rising, 71 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught: Approximately six rock bass, one perch and two bluegills for bait, and one five pound flat head
Partners: Myself
Comments
I knew the water would be going up and I wanted to get out before it got ugly (lots of current and very dirty). Surprisingly I did very well catching bait tonight, and the species that made up the majority of the bait were rock bass. These fish are the holy grail of flat head bait if you were to ask most flat head fisherman. They stay alive well, are active on the hook and the flats seems to hammer them.
I tried two spots tonight. The first was a very speculative spot; it was close to the main channel with quite a bit of current. I was not feeling confident in this spot and after an hour of nothing I decided it was a dead spot and my intuition was right.
The next spot was a back slough area with good flow and plenty of wood. This spot produced the one fish even before I had all the baits out.
Observations
The water is starting to rise and is getting muddy; I think we are in for a couple of rough weeks of fishing. I can only hope that this summer does not come close to the nasty fishing summer we had last year with all the high water.
6:00 PM- 11:00 PM
Weather: E 6, overcast, 73 ˚, 29.75 MB, steady
H2O: murky, 72 ˚, 7.81’ rising, 71 kcfs
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught: Approximately six rock bass, one perch and two bluegills for bait, and one five pound flat head
Partners: Myself
Comments
I knew the water would be going up and I wanted to get out before it got ugly (lots of current and very dirty). Surprisingly I did very well catching bait tonight, and the species that made up the majority of the bait were rock bass. These fish are the holy grail of flat head bait if you were to ask most flat head fisherman. They stay alive well, are active on the hook and the flats seems to hammer them.
I tried two spots tonight. The first was a very speculative spot; it was close to the main channel with quite a bit of current. I was not feeling confident in this spot and after an hour of nothing I decided it was a dead spot and my intuition was right.
The next spot was a back slough area with good flow and plenty of wood. This spot produced the one fish even before I had all the baits out.
Observations
The water is starting to rise and is getting muddy; I think we are in for a couple of rough weeks of fishing. I can only hope that this summer does not come close to the nasty fishing summer we had last year with all the high water.
6-18-2011
6-18-2011 Sat
4:00 PM- 8:30 PM
Weather: NE 15, overcast, 72 ˚
H2O: clear, 72 ˚, 36.4’ falling, .812 kcfs
Location: Black River, Black River Falls, WI
Caught: Nothing
Partners: Myself
Comments
I put in at the airport landing and headed upstream as far as I could towards the dam. The water level was probably one foot lower than when I was here last time, this prevented me from making it up to the dam. The water was very clear and it definitely would have made it easy to spot any fish that was following my bait. Unfortunately I did not have any follows. I did have one lack luster hit by a twenty some inch fish, but I never got a hook into it. The fish revealed itself to a Cisco Kid top water bait.
Observations
The fishing was very slow, I only saw one little smallmouth bass chasing my lure. My theory is the muskies are up close to the dam early in the season chasing spawning bass and walleye and then when these fish are done spawning, they along with the muskies head downstream to better habitat. With the water level somewhat low right now the area between the airport landing and the dam does not have much for good looking fish holding water. Most of it is quite shallow and very rocky with very few deep holes!
4:00 PM- 8:30 PM
Weather: NE 15, overcast, 72 ˚
H2O: clear, 72 ˚, 36.4’ falling, .812 kcfs
Location: Black River, Black River Falls, WI
Caught: Nothing
Partners: Myself
Comments
I put in at the airport landing and headed upstream as far as I could towards the dam. The water level was probably one foot lower than when I was here last time, this prevented me from making it up to the dam. The water was very clear and it definitely would have made it easy to spot any fish that was following my bait. Unfortunately I did not have any follows. I did have one lack luster hit by a twenty some inch fish, but I never got a hook into it. The fish revealed itself to a Cisco Kid top water bait.
Observations
The fishing was very slow, I only saw one little smallmouth bass chasing my lure. My theory is the muskies are up close to the dam early in the season chasing spawning bass and walleye and then when these fish are done spawning, they along with the muskies head downstream to better habitat. With the water level somewhat low right now the area between the airport landing and the dam does not have much for good looking fish holding water. Most of it is quite shallow and very rocky with very few deep holes!
6-17-2011
6-17-2011 Fri
6:30 PM- 1:00 AM
Weather: S 10, clear, 72 ˚
H2O: clear, 72 ˚, 7.5’ falling, 68.1 kcfs
Location: Mississippi River pool 7 back sloughs
Caught: Numerous pan fish for bait, two small flat heads, three medium channel cats and one dogfish
Partners: Ryan and Scott
Comments
The bait gathering in the channel behind the house has basically come to an end, so tonight we looked to the man- made islands for our bait. We caught plenty of bait, but it was by no means a slam dunk. One island held fish in on the back side in the slack water and then the far south island held fish on the front side.
Observations
The mosquito population is over loaded. The channel catfish are very dark grey right now, which is an indicator that they are spawning. The flat heads do not yet have the tell-tale abrasions on the head and tail that would indicate that they are spawning.
6:30 PM- 1:00 AM
Weather: S 10, clear, 72 ˚
H2O: clear, 72 ˚, 7.5’ falling, 68.1 kcfs
Location: Mississippi River pool 7 back sloughs
Caught: Numerous pan fish for bait, two small flat heads, three medium channel cats and one dogfish
Partners: Ryan and Scott
Comments
The bait gathering in the channel behind the house has basically come to an end, so tonight we looked to the man- made islands for our bait. We caught plenty of bait, but it was by no means a slam dunk. One island held fish in on the back side in the slack water and then the far south island held fish on the front side.
Observations
The mosquito population is over loaded. The channel catfish are very dark grey right now, which is an indicator that they are spawning. The flat heads do not yet have the tell-tale abrasions on the head and tail that would indicate that they are spawning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
