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

Typically when people talk about salmon fishing on the great lakes it involves big groups on big charter boats paying an astronomical amount of money to just crank in a fish or two per person. Sure it's fun and all, and yes you get to bring home some tasty fish but where's the fun, where's the satisfaction of catching those fish yourself? You don't need a 30 foot boat with a 16 line spread with 3 downriggers, 300 copper, 150 copper, 5 color, 7 color, 10 color leadcore, and di

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

Get Dad fishing gear that is both useful and something he wants! Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there who love fishing!! Fishing Journal Dad can either use the fishing journal for himself to document catches and help find fish patterns or he can use it to create memoirs for his kids to pass down as a keep sake for his young fishing partners! Huk Fishing Shirt Huk fishing shirts are super comfortable and are available in multiple colors and patterns. Even on days w

Overall fishing on the Madison Chain has been outstanding the past few days! Despite the boat traffic and heat there is plenty of solid action from lots of different species. Here's the scoop on what has been working and what it has been working on! Hard to beat a day of chasing big bull gills in the shallows The panfish bite on Lake Monona and Waubesa has been excellent with a mixed bag of everything from bluegills and pumpkinseeds, to crappies and perch. They are hitting ju

Anybody who fishes the Madison Chain knows that spring means giant Channel Catfish on Lake Mendota. They are big, fight like crazy, and typically easy to catch. You can catch them from a boat or from shore, day or night. That said these fish do at times get a little finiky, so here are the go-to's for baits and rigs for targeting these big old kitties. Hungry pre-spawn Madison Cat caught on a piece of Bluegill The vast majority of the time we utilize cut bait presentations in

Trout are an absolute blast to catch through the ice, but they are notoriously picky fish. Using tip-ups for these fish is a great way to have extra lines in the water and increase the chances of hooking up, however, since they are so picky, a subtle presentation is often essential. The leader is one of the most important parts of the setup. Using light mono or flouro will work; try to avoid anything over 12lb test. For the hook, I use a size 6 or 8 octopus hook with a crappi

Any ice fisherman understands the value of being able to see underneath the ice, most often by means of an ice fishing sonar like the popular Vexilar or various Humminbird and Garmin units. While these pieces of equipment can be crucial to finding fish in the winter, the price tag can sometimes be hard to justify. There is, however, another way to get the same results with the gear you may already have. The main object you will need to make your own ice fishing sonar is a sim

One year ago, I entered into the best time of my life, fatherhood. Not only did I enter it, but I dove head first with a set of wonderful twin boys! The first year was everything everyone said it would be, from the zombie state of sleepless nights, all the way up to the smiles and giggles of past few months. No matter how many bottles I washed, diapers I changed, or sleepless nights I endured, one thing never totally went away. My passion for fishing. I love my boys and wi

Do you ever find that your leaders end up getting kinked, twisted, or twirled from storage? Whether they end up in a box, buried in a bucket, or spun around the tip-up spool, leaders usually wind up unorganized and usually kinked or bent up. Here is our simple and inexpensive solution to keeping tip-up leaders straight and ready to rock. What You'll Need The materials are very simple and can be substituted for larger or smaller components as you see fit for your needs. As an