June 1^st – Lodi Mammoth Fun Run and Hike.

5k and 10k run or a 5k hike on Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Register 8 – 8:40am at Doctor’s Park, 218 S. Main St.  www.iceagetrail.org/calendar or 608-592-7817

June 2^nd – Baraboo Pizza in the Park Annual Zoo Fundraiser. 11am – 3pm, all you can eat, Ochsner Park, 903 Park St., Children’s games, rides, live music, face painting, silent auction and arts and crafts fair.   www.baraboo.com

June 7^th – Lodi Friday Arts Walk.  5 – 9pm every Friday through Oct. 4^th. Meet the Artists and view art at various shops in downtown Lodi.

June 7 – 9^th, Lodi Harmony Grove Garage Sales

Map published in the Lodi Enterprise newspaper the week prior to event.

608-592-3261

June 8^th & 9^th – Wisconsin Dells Taste of the Dells Arts and Crafts Show. Saturday 9 – 4pm. Sunday 9 – 3pm. Free admission. Event benefits the Historical Bowman House. Bowman Park, 714 Broadway 608-981-2321

June 11^th – Lodi Public Library. Free family program with musician Duke Otherwise, 2pm at Habermann Park, Fair St.

June 15^th – Lodi Ninth Annual Great Wiggly Worm Race. Bring your own worm or use one of the library’s highly trained specimens. 9:30am at Lodi Public Library, 130 Lodi St.  608-592-4130

June 15^th – Wisconsin Dells Block the Sun Run. Help fight melanoma 5k timed run or 3k fun walk on scenic route in Wisconsin Dells. Music,

Food, beverages, silent auction and raffles. Registration 7am, race begins at 8:30am at Spring Brook Golf Resort, 242 Lake Shore Dr.

www.blockthesunrun.com

June 22^nd – Baraboo Evening with the Cranes Fundraiser. Live Music, Wine Sampling, Appetizers, and Cranes. 5 – 8pm at the International Crane Foundation, E11376 Shady Lane Rd. 608-356-9462  www.savingscranes.org

June 22 – 23^rd, Baraboo Annual Native American Artifact and Antique Show. Antique stone, copper artifacts, beadwork, potter, fossils, Civil War Antique Guns, and much more. Saturday 9am – 5pm, Sunday 8am – 2pm,  Free Admission. Sauk County Fairgrounds, 700 Washington Ave. 920-923-3842

June 23^rd – Witwen Camp Meeting, 1:30pm – 4pm. Music by Four Wives Men and Cheddar Chicks at Witwen Park and Campground, 7 miles west of Sauk City, S9855 Hwy E

www.witwenpc.com

June 23^rd – Baraboo’s Circus of Chefs Gala, featuring the area’s most talented chefs, vintners and brew masters. Sample appetizer, entress, desserts and beverages. Silent and live auction, live music, circus performance and more. 5-9pm at Deppe Wagon Pavilion at Circus World Museum, 550 Water St.   www.circusworldmuseum.com

June 27^th – 30^th, Dane Fireman’s Festival week end in Bert Dean’s Park. Men’s softball tourney, music, and food. Saturday 5k fun run starting at the park. Sunday parade at noon.

www.danefire.com

June 29^th – Portage Concert in the Park.

Parade 4pm in downtown Portage. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra will perform a salute to veterans at 6:30pm in Pauquette Park, Hwy 33 and Pierce St. Fireworks over the Wisconsin River at dusk approximately 9:30pm  608-742-6242

So far the story for spring 2013 has been the seemingly never ending high volume of water coming down from the Dells.   In plain English, that means really fast current in the Wisconsin River making many traditional spring locations such as below the Prairie du Sac Dam, virtually unfishable for much of the spring.

The cold also hung around longer than usual and we had a “late spring”. The walleyes did not wait for the traditional 40-45 degree water temps and were actively spawning in 38 degree water. This is yet another confirmation that day length and not water temp, is the primary factor in determining when walleyes spawn.

May started off slow with cold fronts and high winds but the sun came out, the weather got hot and so did the fishing.  The recent (temporary) drop in the river level and subsequent slowing of the current brought another big wave of fish down out of the river where they’ve been greeted by many happy anglers. Numerous limits of legal size walleyes have been achieved this week already and lots of slot fish too big to keep have been released to live and spawn again next year.

The slot limit works like this:  The daily bag limit is 5 walleyes and saugers (any combination). Walleyes and saugers between 15” to just under 20” are legal to keep and eat.  Walleyes and saugers from 20” to 28” must be released as they are the prime spawners that allow this fishery to thrive. One fish over 28” may be kept as a “trophy” but counts towards the daily bag limit of 5.

As far as presentations go, pretty much everything has been working lately. Fish are scattered and walleyes are being caught in depths from 2’ to 18’. I believe that the high percentage play is to focus on the shallow bite. Most folks are simply drifting 1/8oz – 1/4oz jigs tipped with night crawlers downstream with the current in depths anywhere from 3’-11’. Many anglers are scoring in these same areas trolling shad raps (long lining) slowly upstream and back down. I personally have been having success dragging jigs & plastic such as B-Fish-N Tackle’s 3” Moxi Ringle downstream slightly faster than the current and pulling stick baits on bottom bouncers. Both crank baits and jig & plastics have the tendency to produce a better average size fish, so keep this in mind if you’re struggling to catch legal size fish on a plain jig & minnow or jig and crawler combo. If you are on fish shallow and they stop biting, move out a few feet deeper, slow down and Lindy-Rig them with a minnow or crawler. Many of these Lake Wisconsin walleyes will stay shallow for a while longer before transitioning into their summer patterns where they will move into the main lake channel and spread out on the flats (stump fields) where they will remain for the summer gorging themselves on mayfly larvae and shad.

If crappie fishing is your preference, fishing for them has been very good as well. Look for wood in calm, shallow bays and crappies are likely to be nearby. Usually finding water where the surface temp is just a couple of degrees warmer can help you narrow down likely locations. Simple presentations such as a slip bobber and minnow or small tube jigs are effective right now. I’ve heard that the average size being caught seems to be improving over the previous few years.

Gary Sanders

Lake Wisconsin Walleyes, LLC

www.lakewisconsinwalleyes.com

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

The fall colors around Lake Wisconsin are spectacular right now and the fishing for Lake Wisconsin’s walleyes is getting pretty good also. Some of the same patterns that were effective in late September, are not only still working, they are improving. The declining water temps to the high 40’s, as well as the increased current from the recent heavy rains, have caused some fish to move up the lake into more predictable locations. This is a natural progression that occurs annually and is triggered by a number of factors to include day length, water temperatures, flow or current and sometimes forage. The best is yet to come, however, when the water temperature gets down to 40° – 45º and stabilizes, fish will concentrate even more in deeper water and provide the classic “fall bite” everyone desires.

A wide variety of presentations are effective right now and that is the easiest variable to control. Location is much more critical – if you find them, chances are you can get some to eat what you’re offering. Numerous color combinations are effective and while I’ll concede that on some days color can be critical, I believe you should choose colors that you have confidence in, whatever they may be. Confidence in what you’re doing keeps your head in the game, you’ll be more focused, and put more fish in the boat.

Locations:

Fish have been scattered along the channel edges from the 13′ – 15′ flats to 20′ as well as scattered along the bottom in 18′ – 23′. If you’re marking fish deeper, well, then fish deeper of course. Fish the more complex break lines near deep water, keying on “tongue” areas or the bends and irregularities along the break lines that resemble small points. It’s not just walleyes and saugers occupying these areas either, expect to run into the occasional crappie, pike, catfish and plenty of white bass as well.

Presentations:

• Northland Tackle Fireball jig and (jumbo fathead) minnow in 1/4 oz – 3/8 oz sizes vertically jigged with a subtle motion near the bottom. Use big minnows now if you can get them.

Colors: Firetiger, Parrot, Parakeet & gold are favorites of mine but others work equally well.

• Blade baits – A variety of them get bites, but the 1/4 oz B-Fish-N B3 blade gets my vote for the one that consistently hooks fish the best as the hooks are both sharp and appropriately sized. These are fished vertically with a snap-jigging motion and most hits come on the drop, so it is critical to maintain contact or feel with the bait as it is dropped down. In other words, don’t let the blade fall on slack line after you snap it up. Additionally you’ll want to choose a medium-heavy rod that has a fast action for good hook sets. Baitcasting rod/reel combos work great for this.

Colors: – Glow green tiger, orange glow tiger and gold plate all work, but feel free to customize yours with your own favorite color or combinations – a couple cans of spray paint in contrasting colors are cheap and fish are not too critical of art skills. Simply mask off the area you don’t want painted and spray.

• Hair jigs – A variety of materials work but plain old bucktail jigs are my favorite. Tip with either a minnow or gulp alive if desired as it can help on some days but is not always necessary.

Colors: Contrasting combinations light and dark colors such as chartreuse, orange, blue, white, green, black, purple and yellow work well and if you tie your own, try adding some strands of mylar tinsel for added flash.

• Jig & plastic – The old standby twister tails work, but new designs that have more of a shad-like profile such as the 4” Authentix Moxi Ringle from B-Fish-N on a 3/16 oz, 1/4 oz. or 3/8 oz B-Fish-N Precision jig head can be pure magic. It’s a bigger offering but hungry walleyes are looking for a meal this time of year. If the bite is slow try adding some scent or tip with a minnow.

Colors: (jigs) Green tiger, orange/chartreuse, orange tiger, sour apple, pyro-keet, black and ford blue and (Moxi’s)chartreuse/orange core, chartreuse/green core, chartreuse pepper, goldcracker/chartreuse & firecracker/chartreuse have all put Lake Wisconsin walleyes in the boat recently.

• Lindy Rig – The old stand-by Lindy Rig can be an excellent choice either with a jumbo fathead hooked through the lips or tail or tie on a Northland Tackle Gum-Drop Floater in your favorite color. (Try hooking the minnow through the head upside down to make it struggle more)

• Dubuque Rig – This is a big sauger killer! This variation of the Wolf River rig, substitutes the pencil sinker drop weight with a big, heavy 5/8 oz, ¾ oz, or 1 oz jig dressed with either hair, plastic, live bait, Gulp Alive – really whatever you want. Simply tie your main line to a three way swivel, add a 6” – 8” drop line from the three-way swivel to the jig and an 18” – 36” leader from the remaining eye on the three-way swivel to a floating Rapala or a Gum-Drop Floater/minnow combination. You’re fishing two presentations at once and big saugers love the big thump of a big jig! Drop the rig to the bottom and slowly work your way along the break line with the electric motor while lifting and dropping back.

Gary Sanders
Lake Wisconsin Walleyes, LLC
www.lakewisconsinwalleyes.com