A Fall Bluegill Standby

Every year for as far back as I can remember, a lot of big bluegills move into Cold Springs, on the Mississippi River in late August or early September. Cold Springs is a little body of water that has been formed by the Railroad tracks enclosing a bend in the riverbank just north of the town of Lynxville. This little “lake” is also fed by a trout stream that empties from the hills into it and for some reason those big bluegills move in there each fall.

I can remember back when I was a kid and my family would head to Cold Springs each Sunday after church for bluegill fishing. My Dad and Mom and my two brothers and I would meet up with my grandparents and I would go in Grandpa’s boat since I was the oldest. We’d spend the day fishing, have a picnic and then clean lots and lots of bluegills.

That good fishing is still happening each year and hundreds of bluegills are caught there every year. I’ve never figured out what drew the fish into Cold Springs but they show up and if you like to catch bluegills it should be on your list of things to do this fall. What could be more fun than hauling in big orange bellied bluegills while enjoying a beautiful fall day?

by: Dan Bomkamp - author and host of "How's Fishing?"

The Tradition is Passed On - Hunter Safety

Every year new hunters come of age and every year groups of older hunters get together and conduct Hunter Safety classes for the new recruits. In the old days kids went out with the older hunters and learned as they went. But some years back the DNR decided that a formal class was a good idea and it has proven to be a big success.

Hunter accidents have dropped greatly since Hunter Safety became mandatory. Back in the old days, it was nothing to have a dozen or more gunshot accidents during the deer season. Now with Hunter Safety that number may be one or two.

There is a new session of Hunter Safety starting Sept. 13 in Avoca. There is a group there who holds two sessions per year, one in the spring and one in the fall, for kids and adults who want to hunt for the first time. Not only do the students learn all they need to know about being safe in the outdoors, they also get a Small Game license for their effort.

If you’d like to sign up, you can call Terry Yanske at 532-6853. There are limited openings so be sure to sign up right away. And when you see these guys, tell them thanks for taking their time to share the outdoors with the new hunters.

by: Dan Bomkamp - author and host of "How's Fishing"

Wisconsin Cougar Country?

by: Dan Bomkamp - author & host of "How's Fishing?"

I’ll never forget the day my UPS man came into my sport shop and told me he’d seen a full grown cougar cross the road near Castle Rock while delivering packages. I knew him well and knew him not to be someone who exaggerated. Then a few months later a Grant County Deputy also saw a cougar in the same area. As luck would have it that deputy came into my store to look at a pistol and he told me he’d been within a few yards of the critter as it walked through his barnyard while he was in the barn.

Since then I’ve heard cougar stories from two more people who I know as sane, steady folks who I believe really did see a cougar. The DNR has looked at tracks and said they look like cougar tracks but “there are no cougars in Wisconsin.” Oh?

Now the DNR has released a report that there have been 4 confirmed cases of cougars in Wisconsin based on DNA samples gathered from people who saw the cats. These confirmed sightings have all been more in the north of the state but the closest one was in Juneau County which isn’t that far from here “as the cougar travels.”

Cougars are very secretive and even in real cougar country like the western parts of the USA, the chances of seeing on in the wild are one in a million. The chances of being attacked are even less but it’s still kind of exciting to think one of these big cats could be crouched behind a bush watching you as you sit waiting for a wild turkey or deer. There are some places in our part of the world that are very remote and seldom seen by humans….perfect places for cougars to live and thrive. So next time you hear a branch snap in the woods, look closely, there could be something other than you who is also hunting.

High Water on the Wisconsin River

by: Dan Bomkamp - author & host of "How's Fishing?"

Normally in August you could roll up your pants legs and walk across the Wisconsin River in almost any place you wanted. Not this year. The river is high and has been high all summer. It’s played havoc with the canoe business since folks who like to canoe the river also like to get out on sandbars and picnic and camp. There are no sandbars this year.

Yesterday I was crossing the new bridge at Spring Green and had to smile. There were about 30 tents clustered together on a tiny sandbar that was inches above the water line just below the bridge. The place looked like a colorful ant hill with people scurrying all over the place between the tightly packed tents. I hope the water didn’t come up during the night or there were going to be a lot of wet people the following morning.

While the high water has made fishing and canoeing on the river a bit difficult it has made the fishing in the backwaters great. Normally at this time of year the backwater sloughs are choked with weeds and nearly impossible to fish. The high water gives fishermen much more open water to fish and makes moving around very easy and pleasant.

There are many fish to be caught in the backwaters from bluegills and perch to northerns and bass. While you’re fishing you can watch sandhill cranes and great blue heron as they fish the shallows and maybe a couple of geese as they swim around and feed. It’s a magical place and well worth a trip in a small boat or canoe. At dusk you’ll be amazed at the number of ducks that return from feeding in the fields to roost on the ponds. It’s really a great place for both fishing and nature.

Wild White Bass Fishing

August is the time of year when huge schools of White Bass begin to swarm up and down rivers looking for schools of minnows and baitfish. White Bass, often called Stripers or Striped Bass are common in the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers. They are very different from Striped Bass which are salt water fish often reaching 6 feet in length and over 100 pounds. Freshwater White Bass grow up to about 16 inches and 4 pounds.

White Bass are not related to either Largemouth or Smallmouth Bass. These fish are actually members of the panfish family while the White Bass are members of the temperate bass group of fish. They are savage fighters and when you find a school of them the action can be amazing. These fish roam in huge packs and usually drive a school of small fish up against a bank or island and then tear into them like a pack of wolves.

When you see the water boiling and small fish jumping that is the time to start throwing a small lure into the fray. Almost anything will work but good choices are a 1/8 oz lead head jig with a white or yellow twister tail, a Ratl Trap, Rebel Pop R, Mepps #1 or #2 silver spinner or a #5 silver Rapala. The action can be amazing and these fish fight like mad. The only time I ever saw teenage boys ask to quit fishing was once after we’d been fighting 4# White Bass for over an hour non-stop.

There are many of these great fighting fish in both of our rivers and they are very active this time of year. When you’re on the river, watch for the water boiling and baitfish jumping and then get in there and you’ll have some of the fastest fishing you’ll ever see. And, they’re not bad eating either.

by: Dan Bomkamp -author and host of "How's Fishing"

Dinosaur Fish

If you fish on the Wisconsin River long enough you’ll be surprised one day when a huge fish jumps out of the water and does a summersault near your boat. I mean a BIG fish most likely 5 feet long or bigger.

What the heck am I talking about? I’m talking about a Paddlefish. The American Paddlefish is common in the Wisconsin and Mississippi and the other rivers that drain into the Mississippi. They are a primitive fish that date back to the time of the dinosaurs and are in the same general category as sturgeon. They have a skeleton made up of cartilage like the sturgeon and even sharks.

These giant fish are filter feeders. They have a huge mouth and a long flat snout that looks like a canoe paddle and swim throughout the river and filter zooplankton from the water. They also will eat snails and clams.

In the spring you will find many of them below the Sauk City dam. Often when jigging for walleyes one of these giants will swim into your line and then the race is on. Unless you can catch up to them and get them to the surface to get your jig out of their hide, they’ll strip off all of your line from your reel.

They commonly attain about 5 feet of length but the record for a fish caught on a rod and reel was a 144# monster. The largest ever recorded was a whopping 206#. There is no open season on them in Wisconsin.

So if you see a huge fish do a flip next to your boat, now you know it’s a paddlefish. Why do they do it? No one knows for sure but I’ve always thought they were just having fun. Who knows?

by: Dan Bomkamp - author and host of the radio show "How's Fishing?"

A Slab Story

Anyone who fishes for crappies knows that a big one is called a “Slab”. Usually a slab crappie is one that weighs a pound or so. This past March 15th, a fisherman from Menomonie caught a real slab. The fish was 19 inches long, with a 16 inch girth and weighed 4# 5oz. Now, THAT’S a Slab!

The fisherman Mike Zimmer went out fishing on that 40 degree morning hoping to get a mess of crappies but was surprised at his catch. Besides the huge 4 pounder, he caught another big fish that weighed 3# 8oz and another that weighed 3# even.

Most crappies that we take home for the frying pan are ¾ of a pound or less. There are many nice crappies in the Wisconsin River bottoms lakes and in many of the area lakes like Blackhawk or Yellowstone. Fish over a pound are not very common but are out there.

Some years ago I was fishing with the real Thunderfoot, Jamie Buroker, in one of the river sloughs for northerns. Jamie was casting a spinnerbait that normally would be considered a bass or northern bait when he had a strike and fought a fish to the boat. It turned out to be a crappie that was almost 15 inches long. We didn’t have a camera and didn’t want to kill the fish, so we put it back. As far as I know it’s still out there.

I guess it goes to show you that you never know when you get that bite on your hook what that next fish might be. That’s the fun of fishing.

by: Dan Bomkamp- author & host of "How's Fishing"