Lake Wisconsin December Fishing Report

The bulk of Wisconsin’s archery and gun deer seasons are behind us and my freezer is full, but if you either haven’t tagged a deer yet, or would like a crack at more, no worries – there are plenty of opportunities left. In our area, deer hunting continues until Jan 6, 2013. The Lake Wisconsin area offers exceptional hunting opportunities for both waterfowl and deer with plentiful public access in both Columbia and Sauk Counties. Many of those who elected to take advantage of the mild days during the hunting season to fish instead, were rewarded with some nice catches as November 2012 provided some pretty good sauger fishing on Lake Wisconsin.

During the last week of November, Those who braved the cold and at time’s, dense fog and skim ice at the landings to be on the water during the short, yet productive peak feeding windows were often rewarded with limits of fish. Vertical jig & plastics was the best presentation with hair jigs coming in a close second. The keys to success for many were finding baitfish over deep water with electronics and either vertically presenting a jig/plastic or hair jig & minnow combo by holding the bait still 4”-6” above the bottom or slowly dragging the combinations along the bottom.

As it is now December, many of Lake Wisconsin’s walleyes and saugers have already moved up the lake and into the Wisconsin River as they do every fall and winter. This seasonal migration is the precursor to the spring spawn, where the majority of the walleye population in Lake Wisconsin makes the 25 mile swim up the Wisconsin River to spawn below the Kilbourn Dam at the Wisconsin Dells. I just tried out the new public access next to the River’s Edge Resort on December 8, and it worked great. The same is true at the other end of Lake Wisconsin where numerous walleyes and saugers travel more than 85 miles up the lower Wisconsin River from the Mississippi River to spawn below the Prairie du Sac Dam. Both dams offer excellent open water fishing opportunities in the winter and if you already put your boat away, good catches can be had with just a pair of waders below the dam at Prairie du Sac.

Gary Sanders

Lake Wisconsin Walleyes, LLC

www.lakewisconsinwalleyes.com

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