Wednesday, April 27, 2016

April 26, 2016 Tue

April 26, 2016 Tue 615PM-745PM-bass and pike fishing by myself
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7, Lake Onalaska
Weather: (1853) E12, overcast, 49°
H2O: 6.03↓, 45 kcfs, 58 °, clear
Caught: 1 pike 24”, 3 LMB 14-18”

Observations: The redbud tree in the back yard is blooming and the lilac bushes in the front are close to it. The flowering crabs around the area are in full bloom. The water is so low in the back yard that my goat boat was no longer floating; it was resting on the mud!

It was a cold and breezy fishing night. I cannot complain though even with the bad conditions the fishing was pretty good. I tried multiple spots in a very short time, but I only had success at Ashley Point.



April 24, 2016 Sun

April 24, 2016 Sun 930AM-730PM-bass and pike fishing with Scott
Where: Mississippi R. pool 4, Nelson, WI
Weather: (1255) E10 G21, light rain, 55°
H2O: 7.6 →, 30 kcfs, 62 °, murky to clear
Caught (aprox.): Me: 15 pike 18-22”, 2 LMB 12-14”
Scott: 40 Pike 18-31’, 3 LMB 12-18”, 1 dogfish 24”

Observations: The water is extremely low up here and there is very little aquatic vegetation.
Today was an extremely frustrating day for me. I had contemplated bringing the goat boat, and I wish I had. The shallow draft and the lightness of that boat would have made navigating much easier. Maneuvering my big boat was very difficult on account of the shallow water. I was even forced to get out of the boat twice to push it off shallow areas.
The pike bite was pretty good, however the size of the pike were small. Scott had a good time catching the fish but it just added to my frustration!



Saturday, April 23, 2016

April 23, 2016 Sat

April 23, 2016 Sat 545-745PM-bass and pike fishing by myself
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7 upper stump area
Weather: (1853) S14, clear, 69°, 29.96
H2O: 5.89↓, 43 kcfs, 62 °, murky
Caught: 2 pike 18-22”, 1 LMB 12”

Observations: Some of the early trees are really starting to leaf out. The rhubarb leaves are about the size of saucers. My red bud tree is also close to blooming. The cattails have started to send up their shoots.

Fishing was pretty slow tonight. I am not sure if it was because of the low water or the reduced visibility in the water on account of all the wind. Anyway, I really had to work for the fish I did catch. I never caught anything on the spinner bait, but the swim bait did catch a couple.


April 22, 2016 Fri

April 22, 2016 Fri 7PM- 1AM Walleye fishing with Scott and Steve Scauf
Where: Mississippi R. pool 8 Dresbach Dam area
Weather: (2153) NW5, clear, 49°, 30.13
H2O: 6.02↓, 45 kcfs, 61 °, clear
Caught (approx.) me: 2 white bass 14-17.5”, 2 sauger 10-13”, 4 walleyes 13-16”
Scott: 2 white bass 14”, 4 walleyes, 2 LMB
Steve: 4 walleyes 14-17”, 3 white bass 14-16”, 6 LMB 12-15”, 4 SMB 14-16”, 1 pike 23”, 1 dog fish 22”
Observations: The red bud trees along with the pear trees are blooming in the city, and it looks as if the apple trees are very close to blooming. It was a beautiful full moon tonight!

It was a much later night than I had expected, but that’s what you get when you go fishing with Scott and it is his boat. The walleye bite has definitely dwindled.
Tonight I experienced something I have never seen before; the bass were biting after dark. Steve was throwing a rattletrap off of the willow point by the dam and he was schooling Scott and myself. He was consistently catching both large mouth bass and small mouth bass.





Wednesday, April 20, 2016

April 20, 2016 Wed

615-8PM-bass and pike fishing by myself
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7 mid pool backwaters
Weather: (1853) SE8, light rain, 60°, 29.88
H2O: 5.98↓, 45 kcfs, 62 °, clear to turbid
Caught: 1 SMB 19”, 1 pike 22”, 1 LMB 14”

Observations: The plum trees are blooming and some flowering crab apple trees are close to blooming. The water is very low for this time of year and navigation is already a challenge. The sedimentation on this pool is very bad and worsens each year. The submergent vegetation (kelp) is profusely growing and is at the surface in most of the back bays.

Fishing was not particularly exciting tonight. The only dramatic thing that did happen was that I got stuck and had to get out and push it off the sand. However, I did catch one super sized smallmouth, which was quite the thrill. In fact I was very surprised I caught it where I did. It was caught out of an old decayed rice bed that was in about one foot of water. I never did have any consistency tonight; I just caught a fish here and there. I never did catch two fish in the same area, however I do think I lost another jumbo small mouth where I caught the nineteen incher.




Tuesday, April 19, 2016

April 18, 2016 Mon.

April 18, 2016 Mon. 6-830PM-bass and pike fishing by myself
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7 stump fields and mid lake areas
Weather: (1653) S8, mostly cloudy, 80°, 30.16
H2O: 6.46↓, 51 kcfs, 67 °, clear
Caught: 15 LMB 12-17”, 2 pike 20-25”, 1-20” dogfish

Observations: The tree buds are starting to pop and the bulb plants are profusely blooming. In certain areas there is lots of submergent plant growth. That same type of weed is littered all over the surface in some areas. I don’t know if it is because boat props had cut it or if it had just broken off from the main plant and floated to the surface. Also, I observed a pod of carp out on the lake spawning!
The fishing was not quite as hot as it was last night, but it was still good. I caught some of the bass where I caught them last night, but they were not there in the numbers as last night. As far as the pike fishing goes, it has not been good as of yet. I either have not been able to locate them or they just aren’t very active yet.






April 17, 2016 Sun.

April 17, 2016 Sun. 5-8PM-bass and pike fishing by myself
Where: Mississippi R. pool 7 stump fields
Weather: (1853) S6, overcast, 78°, 30.25
H2O: 6.7↓, 53 kcfs, 67 °, clear
Caught: 15 LMB 12-17”, 5 pike 20-24”, 3 dogfish 22-31”

Observations: Spring is finally here and with that said the mosquitoes cannot be too far off. The lily pads have not yet made it to the surface, but they are definitely developing on the river floor. The Rhubarb is beginning to leaf out and the lilacs are forming flower blossoms.

It was a very good evening of fishing! Things started out slow, but for the last hour I had the fish dialed in. It appears the fish are staging to make their move into the far back bays of the lake. Oh, and the dogfish were extremely active; fun fish to catch but not very fun to deal with after they are boat side. I have never had so much action from this prehistoric fish. I bet for the three I caught I probably missed ten. These fish are one mean critter with very powerful jaws, but I think I learned how to handle them tonight. Most of the fish were caught in extremely shallow water that averaged one to one and one half feet in depth.