Kayak on the Rock?

I was thinking of coming up there on Saturday to fish out of my kayak. How swift is the current up there right now? Thinking of putting in between Jefferson and Ft Atkinson. Would it be worth my time? By the way, never fished the Rock before.

I would definitely not advise you to use a kayak in this current. Even with a life vest you could roll and become trapped upside down in a deadfall. I always cringe when I see guys out in small John boats with motors. Let alone somebody in a kayak. With the rain the last several days I suspect well see 1-2 foot rise in river level by weekend. She will be very dangerous.

Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll listen to your advise and stay off the kayak for now.

Anyone have room for 1 in a boat on Saturday? I’ll pay for bait or gas. I’d be coming up from Hoffman Estates area.

I fish from a canoe and i was out on Sunday. The current was perfect for vertical jigging in most spots. You will get a workout going against the current but if you stay on the sides with the slow water and read the river you can navigate fine. I even went up on the flooded banks and pushed off the bottom to avoid up stream current. It’s slow-no-wake so you shouldn’t have to worry about boat wake.

Thanks for the reply. Now I have to rethink this! If I cant get out in someones boat, I might head out there with the yak.
Where are you launching out of? Is there a public area where I could park my truck and launch from?

Sunday I parked along 106 by the fort and carried everything across the road, there’s another wide area down from there with near Patten’s Marina where you can park on the river side. Both spots have low current for starting out. Please help me pick up the trash in the area. I get a bit each time out but some people using the area disgust me and give the rest of us a bad reputation. It’s hard to launch between the trash without feeling guilty completely disregarding it. I have also put in by the tavern at the end of Blackhawk Island but that’s likely flooded now.

Thanks again for the info. How have you been doing out there? Any depths I should be targeting? Like I mentioned, I’ve never fished here before so any info is greatly appreciated.

The first time out you may just want to paddle the river and see what everybody else is doing. You’ll have 200 teachers on a nice weekend. Average jigging depth is 8-10 feet and so far it seems fish are scattered.

Sounds good. Gonna try to get my buddy to take his boat out, I’ll let you know how we do.

Ok, coming up with a boat Friday afternoon to fish Friday night and all day Saturday. We’re planning on launching in down town Ft Atkinson. Is there a preferred launch to use? Next question is what local bait shop is in town?
Last question, fat heads or shinners?

Thanks in advance!