Monday Fishing Report

Good morning,

There's lots in the works, but just a little happening right now.

The Rock River has peaked out in most places and is beginning to recede a little. That doesn't mean much for the Blackhawk and Newville areas where some substantial flooding occurred over the weekend.

Expect high water with fast current conditions to continue for awhile on the Rock, Crawfish and Bark River systems. Then anglers who are braving the Rock in the Jefferson and Ft Atkinson areas are reporting a mixed bag of walleyes and white bass. Some of the walleyes are spawned out, some are just moving up to spawn. The fish are making good use of areas with gravel and rock that have flooded with the high water conditions. You'll need a drift sock or a strong trolling motor to vertical jig while slipping. I still recommend anchoring and fishing with three way rigs. As warmer temperatures set in this week, expect an incredible white bass run to begin.


Most of the lakes in our area are open, but the water is still very cold. With our weather set to improve this week, you can expect crappies to come into the shallow water areas. Focus your attention on dark bottom areas that still have some scattered weed-growth, wood lay-downs or sparse reeds. Remember that North facing banks warm faster than other areas. The fish will be very spooky, and downsizing to a small hook and a waxworm can get you bit when they won't touch a minnow. Stumpy Bay, Icehouse Bay and Bay Five on Okauchee are always solid bets for early panfish. The weedy/reed areas on Kessus,Lake Five, Nagawicka, Garvin and Middle Geneesee are usually pretty good as temperatures increase.

Remember to enter our biggest crappie contest before you head out. Top prize is a $200 G-Loomis Ultralight rod.

As the fishing picks up, I'll be posting more often. Keep checking in. Shoot me an email if there's information you'd like to see or just to let us know how we're doing.


See you on the water,
CT