November is a great time of year for me. Archery season is in full swing with big bucks chasing does. Gun season only a couple of weeks away. Best of all it means walleye fishing is hot on the Rock River which is loaded with good numbers of walleyes and saugers. Just before all the rain I spent some time fishing at Newville Wisconsin west of Lake Koshkonong in Jefferson County. I knew the walleyes and saugers would be starting to stack up by the bridges at I-90 and the 59 bridge. Vertical jigging worked best for me this day using four pound test flame green fire line with a 3/8oz Zone-R nuckle ball jig with a big fathead or sometimes two whiched boated these nice saugers.
Once in a while I would leave a dead rod out with a spit shot and #6 gold hook with a fathead which also caught some walleyes and this nice 16 1/2 inch white bass. Then when vertical jigging would slow I would anchor in some deep water close to good drops and cast 1/8oz jigs with minnow to catch fish.
The next day I hooked up with a good friend and we decide to fish around the Fort Atkinson WI and try things he has not did before, fishing shallow. The best spots that have been working for me was fishing close to deep water close to the shorline that had lots of overhang wood in the water and hard bottoms. We would fish right in the wood sometimes as shallow as three feet. That’s how we caught this nice 23 incher which was CPR.
The next day I decide to go back to the Newville and fish in the rain. I knew this rain would really turn the walleyes on even more at the bridges. Before the rain the current was slow and water levels were dropping because of the winter draw down they do every year. The rain made things the way the should be, faster current and higher water. I knew this dream would not last long before they open the gates more at the dam to get the water back down so I went fishing in the rain and it paid off by catching lots of nice fish like this one. On this raining day all fish were caught vertical jigging with 3/8oz Zone-R jigs in the glow/green like always. Water depht was 5′ that produce fish then in some areas it was 8′ that put fish in the boat. If you never fished the Rock River now is a great time to get out there and give it a try. Just remember SAFETY FIRST make a great day on the water.
All photos can be clicked on and enlarged for a larger view
Hey Bola! Nice fish. Good report as usual. Keep the awesome photos coming. Nice buck you got by the way, too!
Very nice report Jeff..
question for ya ???
When your fishing shallow what do you throw at them ? Do you use live bait here too ?
Thanks in advance
Yes Dave, live bait and vertical jigging works for me. I vertical jig with my 3/8oz jigs because I work from shallow to deep then back to shallow. Once in awhile I’ll lose a fish in the shallow because I horse them to the surface to fast and then they start jumping all over the place and they get off. My friend in my post didn’t think vertical jigging would work but that’s how he caught that nice 23 incher and when we were done fishing he was a believer in shallow jigging. This weekend I’m going to give the ringworm a shot.