Bite Picking Up

The bite finally picked up for me this past Saturday. I was able to put a few on top of the ice and see a few others underneath it. I'm having a blast with the new Vexilar FS800 camera ... watching trout cruise under ice hole. Some of the fish down there are just scary big! Had one come up and suck in a spawn sac but didn't get the hook into her. She could have been my biggest ice trout!

Ice Bite Slow But Steady

We need warmth!

Finally!

Finally found some Steelhead yesterday! Found a few dozen browns too.

Browns Heating Up

Fall Trout Bite Starting

Picked up a few browns last week in Milwaukee. Had a bunch of BIG salmon stretch my string but they have this way of finding docks, poles, chains, etc. Give it another week and the browns and steelhead should be coming in strong.

From a Few Years Back

Lake Erie, 1995 Lake Erie, 1994

A Few from Last Week...

A unique salmon run this year. Took a few really nice fish. Going to start fall bass fishing now.

From the Weekend

Weather didn't cooperate. Neither did the bite.

Slow Start

High water temps have delayed the salmon run for us but there are still a few fish to be had. Here's a couple we picked up on Saturday night.

Salmon Run is Starting ...

The fall salmon run is just beginning and all indications are ... it's going to be a BIG fish year!

A Few More from Last Night

The bite was definitely slower last night, but the quality was worth the effort!

Summer Bite is Great!

The bite on the Madison Chain has been outstanding. Here's a few pics from the past few days...

Mixed Bag

Picked up a nice mixed bag last night ... walleyes, smallies, a 32" pike, and a slew of white bass. Caught them both trolling cranks (Flicker Shad and Minnow Raps) and drop shotting leaches.

Another One of Those Nights

I'll let the pictures tell this story.

Spawn Not Over Yet

Evidently a few Smallies remain on their beds yet... I picked this one up in about 3' of water Saturday while trying to catch a few white bass for a meal.

"Wife Time" on the Water

I was able to spend a few hours fishing with my wife yesterday and, as usual, she out-fished me again. We had a lot of fun, and it seemed like the lake was alive with fish. Smallies were abundant and white bass seemed to be EVERYWHERE! I had a hard time keeping them off my surface baits!

It's Warming Up!

The bass bite is picking up with the warm weather. Largemouth are off their beds in our area and Smallies are either done spawning or finishing up. That means they're starting to recover and putting on the feed bag! Here are a few fish from last week, including my personal best Smallie!

Summer Bass Bite is Slow in Developing

Water temps are just starting to climb into the 60's and as a result the bass bite in southern Wisconsin is starting out a little slower. Weed growth on the Madison chain is minimal to this point. I'm hoping to spend the majority of the Memorial Day weekend on the water.

New Rig!

Big day for me today. I picked up a new fishing rig. Now I get to deck it out with all of the fun stuff!

Done Intentionally Catching Cats

The pre-spawn cat bite is finally slowing down. Most of the fish that are left are smaller males (5-6 lbs.). Last few times out were pretty decent. Got my personal best about a week ago ... 37.5" and 26.5 lb channel with an enormous head!