It has been a hot minute since posting a fishing report (mostly due to technical difficulties) but we are back! This spring has been a roller coaster of weather changes making fishing somewhat interesting. That said, here is what has been going on in our area and on the Green Bay system too! With gamefish closed on the Madison Chain (and other inland waters excluding the larger rivers) we have been on the Wisconsin River getting our walleye fix. With the high water we have ha

For all of you who have been out fishing the past couple of weeks, you already know how awesome the action has been! For the rest of you, here is where the hot bites have been and what they have been biting on! Panfish The bluegill bite has been nothing short of phenomenal on Lake Monona lately with the suspended bite in full swing. Most fish are being caught on the North end of the lake out of Olbrich park with fish in 20 to 40 feet of water, about 10 to 15 feet below the su

Spring is officially here in Madison and with it, spring fishing! Although the bite hasn't been easy in some cases it certainly feels good to be chasing big fish again! Here is what has been going on here on the Madison Chain! Lake Mendota Water temperature is key this time of year. Find the warmest water, find the fish. Lake Mendota has been very dirty as result of an early cold-water algae bloom. Due to the dirty water, temps have been slightly higher on Mendota than the re

With summer finally upon us in the Madison area fishing is in full swing. Here's a quick breakdown of what is going on where, and how to get bit! Walleyes Walleyes have been primarily active towards dusk and after dark on both lakes Mendota and Waubesa (not much going on out on Monona). Trolling shallow running crankbaits over weeds at 2mph in 3 to 11 feet of water has been the best pattern. Stick style baits such as Rapala Husky Jerks (size 10-12) and Storm Thundersticks hav

The panfish bite continues as we move closer to game fish opener here in the next few weeks. Shallow bays are holding the most fish, with the majority of fish being taken in 4 to 6 feet of water. Light spinning tackle rigged with Rocket Bobbers and small jigs tipped with Berkley Gulp Angleworms and 1" Fish Fry are killer, with actual fly fishing flies such as the Prince Nymph and Hair's Ear Nymph fished below a bobber are working great for big Bluegills. An Eagle Claw 1/32oz

Needless to say the warm spring weather is giving almost all of us anglers the itch to fish. The good news is the panfish bite is really starting to pick up all around the Madison area. Shallow bays are producing the most fish (Bluegills and Crappies), with some larger Crappies still being found on secondary deep weed edges. The most productive techniques have been small jigs (1/32oz) tipped with any multitude of offerings under a float. On days when the fish aren't super inc

Let's face it, there are some days that you just seem to miss almost every bite you get. Even the most savage of bites that nearly tear the rod out of your hand, the kind that are almost always an automatic catch just seem to never get hooked. Your hook is sharp, your spring bobber is set perfectly, the moon and stars are aligned...yet you just can't seem to stay hitched up to half the fish that bite. What's going on? You tie on multiple different jigs in hopes that one will

Although the temperatures have been nearly intolerable, the fishing in and around Madison has been pretty decent for those brave enough to venture out into the cold. Despite holes freezing up and horrible wind, the panfish bite has remained consistent with most fish being taken in 8 to 10 feet of water over both sand and weed bottoms. The larger fish (particularly bluegill) have been taken right at dark on black as well as chartreuse tungsten jigs tipped with wax worms and Be

With current water temps in the low 80's the bite across Madison has been, generally speaking, "deep" in most cases. That said, with the water still over the 80 degree mark it is important to remember to lay off the Muskies, at least until the temps drop below 80. Even though the big toothy guys are "off limits" there are still plenty of opportunities to put a lot of fish in the boat all over Madison. Panfish, especially Bluegills, have been caught consistently in deep water