Friday, May 18th
The overnight temperatures got a bit chillier than normal and the digital thermometer on the my Toyota Tundra read 38 degrees as I made my way to the boat landing. Ed Zyga, Dan Anderson and Ted Cera were following me and all were looking forward to spending a day chasing walleyes & saugers on Lake Wisconsin.
We started out trolling crankbaits along a breakline that went from 6-12′ of water and not much was showing up on the other end of the line. So, after trolling for about and hour, we switched over to working jigs & crawlers on the deeper side of the breakline. Everyone except Ed that is. He chose to work a jig tipped with a purple/chart tail ringworm. This was looking like a great choice when he nailed a very nice 20-1/2" sauger after fishing for no more than about 15 minutes. The other two guys caught a couple of small walleyes and saugers in this same area, but no one caught a legal fish and after another hour or so passed, we decided it was best to move on.
By the time we moved to the next spot, the sun was starting to warm things up fairly good. Sunny, cloudy skies and a strong south wind created small white caps which stayed with for most of the day. We caught a few more short walleyes on the jig/crawler combinations, some sheepshead and one 26" pike which came on a catalpa ringworm.
After a dead period, we went back to trolling crankbaits in 6-10′ of water. The fish seemed to get more active in the early afternoon hours and we were pretty much getting at least one fish per pass for the most part. The only problem was that most of them were a bit on the short side. By the end of the afternoon, we managed only one legal sauger (18") and another walleye that went 20-1/2 inches long. Ed was lucky enough to be the guy who caught both 20-1/2" fish today. Ted was the unluckiest of the three. He had managed to real in a very nice walleye, which would have measured in at 24-25" long, right up to the back of the boat where it came unbuttoned. Perhaps the worst part was that everybody in the boat got a real good look at it. After that, Ted had to endure quite a bit of teasing which he took quite well.
The final tally for the day was 9 walleyes, 5 saugers, 1 northern, 1 crappie, a yellow bass, several white bass and of course several of the ever popular sheepshead.
It was great fishing with the three of you Ed, Dan and Ted!.
Saturday, May 19th
Randy Scott and Brian Ott had a pretty good crappie excursion with me last September.Today they were back to try out there luck on the walleyes and saugers.
The weather was a little warmer this morning but a fairly strong south wind was still blowing up some waves. Thats not really a bad thing though, it just made us keep our coats on a little longer in the morning. The skies were populated with a few more clouds than yesterday also.
We didn’t bother with the jigs and crawlers or ringworms or any other plastics today. We went right to the crankbaits and the fish showed a positive response right from the start.
For most of the day, we trolled and caught fish from fairly shallow water. We went as shallow as four feet and as deep as 12 feet. And we caught at least one fish in every depth in-between.
By the end of the day, Randy and Brian had caught 11 walleyes, 14 saugers, one 15-1/2" largemouth and a bunch of other assorted Lake Wisconsin riff raff.
Brian caught the biggest, a 19-1/2" sauger which was one of four keeper size walleyes and saugers.
Good to see you two again Randy and Brian. Looking forward to chasing crappies again with you two this fall.
Sunday, May 20th
Dave Bishop and Chuck Markham joined me today for there first ever fishing trip on Lake Wisconsin. Walleyes and saugers were still the target and these two were pretty excited and anxious to both catch fish and to learn some things about the methods used to catch them.
A good theory that someone on the pro circuit conveyed to me a few years back was to never leave fish to find fish. So, off we went to the same area we fished the past two days.
Chilly north winds blew pretty strong and cloudy skies with a sprinkle of rain made our trip to the fishing hole a bit of a bumpy ride, but once we got there, it really wasn’t to bad.
The hot trolling bite only got hotter today and we really didn’t change a thing from the past two days. The only thing that was different was the number and size of the fish Dave and Chuck caught.
By the end of the day, they had there limit and caught a total of 30 walleyes and saugers. (21 walleyes and 9 saugers)
For the weekend, we pulled in a total of 69 walleyes and saugers. Not a bad weekend at all. I would love to have a whole bunch more just like that!
Thanks for choosing me to be your fishing guide Dave! Very much appreciated. You guys have a good summer and good luck fishing on Lake Winnebago this year.
Good luck out there guys and gals!
Boog
Chuck Markham & Dave Bishop showing of a limit eaters size walleyes & sauges from Lake Wisconsin.
Some nice looking fish Boog.
Thanks for the great day Joel. We razzed Ted all the way home, poor guy, but he deserved it. It was good to get back on this body of water. Haven’t fished it for years, even though it’s fairly close to home. Going to try to get there more often, as time allows.
Great report and pic’s Joel
Ed looks like you get around. Good to see you fishing.
I got my boat just a few miles from that lake. I’ll have to try to fish it also next time I’m up at Don’s Marine.
Jeff,
Give me a holler if you do get up this way.
I’m certainly willing to share some information that can help make your day more successful.
Boog
Like I mentioned to Joel, used to fish it 2 to 3 times a year, ten years back, and the big crappie is what stands out in the ole memory. It was good to get back on this stretch of the WI River with Joel, who grew up in this neck of the woods. and the frosting on the cake is that the eyes here like the ringworms, too!
Definitely going to try to spend more time out here in coming years…….oh, if only we had more time to fish, we could hit all those great bodies of waters just outside our back yard….
Z-man,
I doubt that you will be disappointed with your decision to fish here a few more times per year.
Walleyes and saugers can slow down a bit during the dog days of summer, but pretty much any other time of the year, fishing can be pretty darn good!
Boog
OK You talked me into it…..heading there tomorrow for a long day….will probably mix it up….chase eyes for most of the day, but spend a little time searching for the monster crappie. Hopefully these winds die down some by then.
Posting a little late, but went out Friday with a buddy. Mixed it up chasing eyes, and crappie. pretty slow on the eyes…boated 8 with one legal sauger, and the rest undersize. Jig/minnow got the fish …none on plastics today. white bass were very active, and caught at least 2 dozen, mostly small ones. Pitched small plastics for crappie in a couple areas, and boated a dozen or so, with 5 that went home for dinner, 12 to 13 inches. Great day on the water, and no wind to speak of…..what a nice change!
Joel, was that you that buzzed us late afternoon? how did you guys do?
Z-man,
If that was you sitting on the bouey line just below the ferry, then yes, we did buzz by on our way down the lake.
We did okay. Lots of small stuff with only a few keepers.
Looks like we have a ton of 2 year old fish in the system right now.
Joel
Looks like another great day on the the water Jason. Great report.