Quote:
Troy,
Obviously you haven’t been fishing or walleyeson Castle Rock lately. 5 years ago, Iused to be able to fish from shore after work for an hour-2 hours and catch 30-50 walleyes and usually my limit of keepers. in the last 3 years, I haven;t caught 30 walleyes total! let alone keepers. I am not the only one. many locals are expeirencing the same thing. The only thing onthe incline is the boat traffic and fishing pressure. walleye population, along with smallmouth, crappies and largemouth are declining terribly.
AS for the carp. they are bad…about the same as they have been for 20 years in my opinion. no more, no less.
horrah for more fish cribs. too bad they will be in 15 ft of water or more, since DNR won’t allow any shallow due to “boating hazards”.
Please comment on the winter drawdown if you would…
Patterning walleye movements has been my life on Castle Rock Lake. My favorite hotspots have changed over thirty years that I have been fishing this lake weekly and sometimes daily. That is the wonderful thing. Unfortunaltely Humans are creatures of HABIT. We want fish to bite the same place every year at the same time.
Over thirty 33 years i have found that Castle Rock Flowage(Lake) is like the Sahara desert always changing depths and structure. The only difference is that the water moves the sand instead of the wind.
I have been fortunate enough to fish with some of the original men who built the lake. They have showed me over the years how to adjust my fishing to the changes of the depths and structure of the lake.
I know for a fact that the holdiing structure you are talking about catching 30-50 walleyes a day is no longer there. Castle Rock is a river, Please remeber that. Always changing everyday. There used to be an island about 100 yds long by 100 feet wide on the southwest side of Buckhorn State Park. I used to catch 10 lb plus female walleye every spring and early summer in 5 to 10 foot of water right next to that island. Now it has all eroded and the fish have moved to one of my other favorite spots. It took time to find but I did find it.
See the days of experiencing fishing seem to be over.
Most everyone I talk to want McDonalds type results. They want it their way and they want it now. My grandpa can tell you that Niles Lake which is part of the original lake structure holds still sixty years later most all the big fish in the lake. WHY???? Becase just like geese or ducks the fish return to their homeland.
I have spent my life figuring this all out. This lake has taught me to never rly on a hot spot. It has taught me to follow the fish. Which most people spend thousands of dollars to figure out.
For me it just took alot of time.
Winter draw down answer::: Focus on the river from the tressel north especially at night. Focus on the tressel area itself plus the area north around Roche Cri. My biggest female walleye was taken in three foot of water near here at 10:30 p.m. some time ago. Biggest walleye I have personally seen out of this lake which is mount today is 14 lbs. Taken by my childhood friends Genava Ferguson who was 90 years old. Her husband John caught a 51 inch pike on a 1947 purple fleck bomber waterdog. Fish on this lake school heavy at this time untill early MAY. Whatever you catch will alaways be in NUMBERS!!!!
You want fishing to be easy goto a local pond. Stock it yourself. You want a challenge fish Castle Rock.
You say there is alot of fishing pressure HOGWASH!!!!!
Last year I took three smallies over 6 lbs in one day.
Fooieeeee!!!!! I get fed up with all the people who make opinions about fisheries without actual knowledge of the lake itself.
Please spend some quality time out there and change your approach. Just for your info I still catch 30- 50 Walleyes a day. Chase after them. Plus I use natural bait for those big pigs(walleyes) Plus I fish most of the spring at night.
Walleyes are extremely aggessive at night on Castle Rock.
Just bundle up a little and get the lanterns out. Baitfish and plankton love light at night. Walleyes follow and eat them up. I have watched every late winter early spring for 30 years as the walleye congregate you can literally see them with your flashlight.
Smallmouth spawn just like bluegill on this lake also. Find their beds and you can guarantee a 4 lb plus fish around Mother’s day weekend. Largemouth are the same. I follow the crappie during spawning time. Second week in April to 2 week in May. Of course the carp are peaking too.
Someone mentined the weedkill as a result of the winter drawdown. not true.
What has killed the weeds in something you failed to mention. Bacteria from the paper mills plus high phosphorus from the mills also.
I posted a link with the scientific info earlier please read this whole article. The reason why the flowage turns green in the summer is due to the high bacteria count in the water from the pulp making process with paper.
I have an actual documentary from 1993 where Weyerhauser Papers dumped raw mercury in the Wisconsin River plus massive volumes of bacteria in the water. Where was the EPA?
Last Spring hundreds of thousands of fish died on the Wisconsin River because the water could not support oxygen levels needed ( due to water pollution). I personally witnessed this after ice out on Castle Rock and Petenwell lakes.
If you want to know where I get my information call UW Steven Point and Ask them for the Fisheries Department. Their students perform regular water tests and seining and shocking surveys on Castle Rock Flowage and Petenwell.
