Looking ahead – Spring 2011 Wisconsin River

The past four seasons I’ve primarily fished the Madison chain of lakes. Mostly for panfish but did target walleye once in a while. To be honest, I’m tired of the recreational boaters and want to get away from the crowds. In addition, I want to focus more on walleye/sauger in the future. With the exception of one outing on the Rock river this fall, I have no experience river fishing. I thought I would spend next spring focusing on the Wisconsin River. (Please correct me if my assumption that the Wisconsin River means less boat traffic and more walleye.) The Wisconsin River covers a lot of territory, so to narrow it down I’ve decided to concentrate on learning the lower part of the river, i.e. that part of the river from the Mississippi up to the Sauk dam. Again, please correct me if I’m wrong, but my assumption is that because there are no dams on that stretch of the river down to the Mississippi that I might have an easier time finding fish. Assuming I’m not way off base for choosing that stretch of the river, would any one out there who has experience fishing there be willing to suggest a smaller stretch to focus on? For example, is it better closer to the Sauk dam or possibly near Arena or Spring Green? Any areas to just not even bother with?

I’ve got a 17″ Stratos Fish & Ski that can get by in a tad less than two feet of water if that’s something I need to consider. I’m not looking for anyone’s fishing spot, but in my case a little advice would mean a lot.

Thanks!

BoatFever

Welcome Boat fever. I grew up in Boscobel which is on that lower stretch of water. There are lots of walleyes on that stretch but there are shallow spots and sandbars everywhere and the new possesion limits are a drag. Your boat is a little on the large side for that water. You are better served with a tunnel hull jon boat to fish that stretch. It also challenging due to heavy and fast current sometimes faster than 3MPH. If I were you, I would learn Lake Wisconsin and perhaps hire local guides Joel Ballweg or John Schultz come to mind to show you around. That water is only 30 minutes north and we do pretty well there. Your boat is perfect for that area. I fish the Madison Chain often and go nocturnal in the summer. It is a challenging place to fish for walleyes but they are there. Don’t give up on the chain.

BoatFever,

I would be pretty leary about putting a boat that size in the river beteween Sauk and Spring Green. Lots of skinny water through there. I used to run my 14 footer between arena and sauk and tore up a lot of props and pushed off lots of sand bars. You could fish the area directly below the sauk dam down to eagle island without a problem, but even that area has its share of hazards if you don’t know where you are going. You certainly won’t get away from the crowd there either. Below the sauk dam, you have a 3 fish, 18″ minimum on walleye. Above the dam, its 5 fish. You can keep fish from 15 to 20 inches, nothing from 20 to 28, and one fish over 28. Lake Wisconsin can be a fantastic walleye fishery. The river below the dells dam is good at certain times of the year, but you will not get away from the crowds there. Not really an issue with pleasure boaters, just lots of fisherman. In the summer, you deal with the duck tours and the jet boat tours so I don’t fish there in the summer.

Lake Wisconsin gets a fair amount of pleasure boat traffic in summer, especially when you get above the lake in the river. Every sand bar has a tuna boat or 10 loaded with beer drinking non-fisherman on the weekends. There are lots of areas on the lake you can get away from them though due to all the stumps.

Good luck in your quest for the unpressured walleye fishery close to Madison. Let me know when you find it as I sure haven’t found it. Lake Wisconsin is my number one choice for walleye fishing close to Madison though.

Boat fever, Whiskerkev is right on. I guide and live on the Lower Wisconsin out of Muscoda. It is a challenge getting around in that section of the river unless you have a flatbottom or tunnel, but if one spends a good bit of time on the water, you learn how to read the breaks and channels. Your rig sounds a little large for that area. More towards Sauk might be better for you, but I really don’t have any first hand knowlege of that section. As far as being a nice river to fish, you won’t find one any more peaceful. In our area it is unusual seeing more than one or two boats a day. canoe’s, yes! The fishing is very good, but yes, the walleyes have to be 18 inches and sauger, 15 inches. That’s usually the problem, although there are many good fish in the system.(3 fish limit) Smallmouth, northern and catfish fishing is excellent. Hope this helps.

I suspected that it was pretty shallow over there just from looking at the satellite images on Google maps. I think I will study up on areas closer to the Sauk area based on the feedback so far. It looks like there’s a launch off of Hwy Y North of Mazomanie.

Overall, I don’t mind other fishermen as long as they use a little common sense and courtesy. What I’ve had enough of is the constant stream of cabin cruisers on the Madison lakes that drive by right next to my anchored boat leaving me dealing with a four foot wake. I know Lake Wisconsin gets very busy on the weekends in summer, which is when I have time to go fishing, so the river seems like the best option. I realize I’m not going to find TFF-level solitude anywhere near Madison, but a tolerable level of recreational boaters would be nice. I’m not giving up on the Madison lakes especially on the after work fishing trips, but I think I will avoid them on the weekends. Waubesa is a great bluegill lake, so I’ll still be hitting it once in a while.

Welcome aboard BF. You may know me as big shane. I think you’ll like this site much better.

Welcome aboard BF.

Not much I can add to what has already been said.
Glad to see you over here on IDO where the people are much friendlier and the info is much, much more reliable.

Welcome to the freindly site and be carefull down by sauk in the river.

From Jeff

Anyone familiar with the Lone Rock area? I was talking with my neighbor and he knows someone who launches his boat from there and goes up and down river from there. Too risky for a 20″ draft?

PS – Thanks Joel Ballweg for leading me to this site. It’s nice.

Your very welcome!

Yes I am familiar with that stretch. You could certainly put in there. If you are good at reading the water you can stay in the channel but there are places it is really hard to not get beached. You can go from 5 feet of water to stuck a hundred feet on a sand bar in 2 seconds. If you look at the satelite photos it may help you know where the channel is. I recommend canoeing the stretch prior to taking a boat that size there. I run a 16 foot duck boat that runs in a foot of water and I get stuck and hit things everytime I go there. good luck and keep your cell phone in plastic bag.

Hey BF, just wanted you to know that there is a Wisconsin River thread on this site. It’s not a big deal as to where you decide to post but you may want to know about this thread just in case others decide to post there.

Hit “Forums” then scroll down to bottom of page where you will see “Wisconsin Lakes & Rivers”, follow that down the page until you see “Wisconsin River”.

The “Lake Wisconsin” thread is also under the “Wisconsin Lakes & Rivers” page.

Boog