6/21 Fishing Report

[Gene Dellinger]

With water temps. on the Chain in the low to mid 70's, the Bluegill spawn is in full swing! On Lake Mendota look for Bluegill activity in 4-10' of water in areas like Warner Bay, Northshore Bay, & Bishops Bay near Fox Bluff. Smallmouth are active in 12-20' of water on the bars. Use plastics like tube jigs or Chompers, or use live bait like leeches or night crawlers. Some good areas to try are Dunns Bar, Brearly St. bars, down by the Edgewater motel, or Picnic or Second Point. Whitebass have been active trolling Crankbaits like Shad Raps, Rattle Traps, or using blade baits like Zips or Big Dudes. Lake Monona Bluegills have been spawning in 2-5' of water in areas like Hudson Park, Schleuter Beach, Wyldehaven, and Turville or Squaw Bay. There are also many Bluegills staging outside of the weedlines in 9-12' of water in many of these same areas. Musky action on Monona has been spotty, with many fish following baits to the boat, but not committing. Lake Waubesa Bluegills continue to spawn in shallow water in many of the traditional locations like Hog Island, north of Green Lantern, Rockford Heights & both north & south of Christies, and also along the south shore. Walleyes have been active on the weedlines and the mud flats, with fish being reported up to 25" in length. Lake Kegonsa reports continue to be spotty, with some success on big Bluegills. Crystal lake boat landing is still closed due to high water. We've been hearing reports of good Walleye action on Lake WI.

[Bobberdown]

I managed to get out for a couple hours for bluegills and had good luck midday on the southern triangle. It seemed to me that the bigger ones could only be had if you set the hook on the first indication of a strike. Any resistance and they dropped it. Smaller ones were more likely to slam the bait. Caught a few that were very blue but they all tasted great. I used spikes and/or leaf worms on a small hook under a small bobber on 3lb test.

[E-Man]

At Gene's suggestion, I scouted Warner Bay for bluegills on Monday. I slowly cruised the shallows. Water clarity was good, but I could not see any obvious bluegill beds. I tried leafworms under small bobbers anywhere near cover/weeds, and in depths ranging from 1' to 10'. Caught one drum. No bluegills. Better luck next time.