Lake Wisconsin walleye & sauger fishing has been quite good this fall. Especially if your looking to put a few fillets in the frying pan. We’re not seeing a lot of big fish but plenty of string stretchers and keepers in the 15-18″ size range.
We’ve been averaging around 30 fish per outing and approximately 1 out of every 3 fish caught ends up being a keeper.
The best thing about Lake Wisconsin so far this fall is how consistent its been in giving up good numbers of keeper size fish. Lots of clients have either gone home with a limit or nearly a limit.
Judging by how fat these fish are and by how many shad they’ve puked up in my live well, there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of bait fish this fall. Despite all the shad in the system at this time, the fish generally continue to bite fairly well.
As for techniques, a plain old jig & minnow seems to work just fine on most days. More fish can be enticed into the boat by refining your jig color and jigging technique but even a novice can catch at least a few fish by doing nothing more than staying as close to the bottom as possible.
Adding plastic to that jig can indeed enhance you’re catch considerably. So far this fall, two plastics have really stood out for anglers in my boat. The first is a 3″ orange core moxi and the other is the 3.25″ chartreuse pepper paddle tail.
There has not been a single trip this fall where these two baits have not accounted for close to half the fish boated on any particular day.
The last bait that has really stood out this fall would be the blade bait and I’ve really grown found of one particular color pattern.
That would be silver with a splash of color.
On any given day that splash of color may be orange, blue, black or just plain silver. I can’t say for sure it has anything at all to do with the improved water clarity due to all the zeebs, but that color pattern has been producing extremely well this fall. It could very well be something completely different next year but I’m finding that a bit hard to believe. This particular color pattern is something I’ve slowly been migrating to more and more over the past 2 or 3 years and there’s a very good reason for that. Simply put, they catch fish!
We’re reaching that point and time of the year where outdoorsmen are thinking more & more about deer hunting and ice fishing and I totally understand that. But this year more than ever, I’m going to be very, very disappointed when I can no longer pull the boat over to Lake Wisconsin or the Wisconsin river because cold weather and ice have put an end to the 2013 open water fishing season.
I for one am hoping it extends well into December and possibly even early January.
A few more from the past couple weekend trips.
Great report, I have been out there on weekends for that past month and have been doing decent(red Alumacraft here). Mostly using jig/minnow but a few have came on plastics as well. Spending 3 days there later this week
Thanks for the update, rifle deer hunting is only a couple weeks away, which means chase deer in the morning and eyes in the afternoon. Has the bite been better morning or evening? I might send you a PM when the time gets closer to see if anything has changed. Thanks
Michael
Friday the bite was better in the morning than the afternoon.
Saturday & Sunday was just the opposite.
:waytogo Thanks for the report on the colors and what they’re biting on.
“I for one am hoping it extends well into December and possibly even early January.”
Me too! I have been spending my time chasing deer lately and am having fishing withdrawals.
Nice job Joel. Like Gary, I get to distracted by hunting in the fall and am hoping for a couple of good December trips as well. Keep up the good work. Looks like a lot of fun!
Thanks for the report. Yes, lots of bites on a variety of presentations taking a good number of legal sized fish. Enough bites so you are able to help your clients get the hang of what ever they are using and gain some confidence. Can’t wait for this cold snap to back off so I can get out there again.
Grey Beard, Looks like you may get your wish this weekend!
Weather is looking pretty good for Thursday & Friday. Rain on Saturday. Sure hope my clients are dressed properly on Saturday.
More chances of rain on Sunday. Snow, rain, wind….none of that will slow down my boat mate on Sunday. He’s a proven hard core fishing addict.
Gary & Jeff – hope you guys hit pay dirt out in the woods!
Nice report Joel and pics. We did pretty good on sunday morning but the afternoon slowed down till just before dark. Saw you at the landing but was busy with clients and by time they left so were you. Nice job!
From Jeff
Thanks for the report. Yes, lots of bites on a variety of presentations taking a good number of legal sized fish. Enough bites so you are able to help your clients get the hang of what ever they are using and gain some confidence. Can’t wait for this cold snap to back off so I can get out there again.
Grey Beard, Looks like you may get your wish this weekend!
Weather is looking pretty good for Thursday & Friday. Rain on Saturday. Sure hope my clients are dressed properly on Saturday.
More chances of rain on Sunday. Snow, rain, wind….none of that will slow down my boat mate on Sunday. He’s a proven hard core fishing addict.
Gary & Jeff – hope you guys hit pay dirt out in the woods!
Nice report Joel and pics. We did pretty good on sunday morning but the afternoon slowed down till just before dark. Saw you at the landing but was busy with clients and by time they left so were you. Nice job!
From Jeff
I don’t think I have had a trip with Joel yet, that wasn’t windy, cold wet or a combination of all three!
See you Sunday!
I was hoping to make the drive up this weekend, and usually, a little weather isn’t stopping me. 20+ winds from the SW are tough, 80% chance of rain, and or thunderstorms. Temps are good… but dane I may have had my last fling last weekend.
Those are some nice saugers, guys. I do love me some nice saugers.
And today, the streak continues!
Wind, rain, not to cold but that lightning was a new element that I don’t think we’ve seen before. Hopefully, we won’t see it again either.
Despite the weather, it was yet another fun day on the water with Fisher Creek. Nothing big but plenty of nice, eater size saugers.
Always fun fishing with die hards who love walleye & sauger fishing as much as Art does.
Hope to post a report tonight.
Nice fish Joel! That looks like fun and I’m not even in open-water mode!
What’s the winter bite like for these fish?
Joel
Well for sure, I’m no expert when it comes to ice fishing for walleyes and I don’t own a snowmobile or an ATV, which makes it very hard to be mobile enough for me to fish effectively on a lake the size of Lake Wisconsin.
We do fish the bays but that’s pretty much strictly for pan fish.
What I hear from the guys who do chase walleyes thru the ice, its pretty tough most years with an occasional good bite on some years.
Having said that, they do quite well on reservoirs further north of here. Petenwell for instance is also part of the Wisconsin River system and they do pretty well up there.
It may very well be a matter of someone who has the equipment needed for mobility and is good enough at ice fishing, to break this lake down and unlock its hidden treasures.
John Schultz would be the most likely suspect in my opinion.
If he does figure it out, I hope he calls me for some winter ice fishing fun!
I agree with you, it may just need someone to spend some time out there to find them. I have tried it a few times over the years without any success. Maybe this will be the year, finally bough an ATV so that will give me some mobility out there.