April - The Yahara Fishing Club

A p r i l
2014
Editors: Tom Raschke (tomraschke50@gmail.com) or 608-219-9243
Stan Nichols (sanicho1@facstaff.wisc.edu)
Green Bay Smallmouth Fishing
Bill Schultz presented tips for catching smallmouth bass on the Green Bay side of Door
County. I titled this article Green Bay Smallmouth
fishing as the techniques probably work on the
other side of Green Bay, on Big Bay de Noc
that is just the northern end of the bowl that
forms Green Bay and in other lakes and streams.
Bill has a lot of information and talks fast so I
am sure I didn’t get it all down but call Bill or send
him an e-mail and he will send you a copy of his
PowerPoint presentation (home 262-821-2100, work
414-456-4781, e-mail smalliecentral@gmail.com).
While you are at it you might ask him to send
his PowerPoint on stream fishing smallmouth. I
think I can break Bill’s talk into a few major points
Door County has an abundant supply of
smallmouth bass. The fish are in good “condition”,
very heavy for their length so catching a five or sixpound smallmouth is a very good possibility. The
reason they are so healthy is the abundant supply of
gobbies. The gobbies are little finned protein bars.
The gobbies are bottom dwellers on the gravel and
rocks. Many times the smallmouth will have their
noses scrapped from foraging for gobies in the rocks.
The whole Green Bay shoreline of Door County
from Little Sturgeon Bay north to Washington Island
is good smallmouth habitat. There may also be
areas to the south of Little Sturgeon that are
good. Look for areas of gravel, rock, or boulder
bottoms. There are many areas that can be fished
by wading or from a kayak or small boat. In some
areas that is the only way you can get access.
Don’t be intimidated by the big waters of Green
Bay. Usually there is a place you can find to fish.
Bill fishes mainly in the spring or early
summer. Wait for water temperatures to hit
the mid-forty degrees. The fish will often be in
shallow water- one-to-six feet deep. The water
is very clear and you will be fishing close to
shore so polarized glasses are more important
than depth finders, navigation equipment, etc.
Club Web site: http://www.yaharafishingclub.org
By Stan Nichols
Because the water
is so clear, stealth is a
must as are long casts.
Bill suggests a seven to
eight foot, medium lightto-light action spinning
or casting rod, a braided
line with a three-pound
diameter, and 30 to 35
inches of a ten-pound,
fluorocarbon leader.
With this outfit you
will be able to make
the long casts especially if you use a
two-handed cast. Bill
usually fishes into the
shore or fan casts the
shore side of the boat.
There are many lures that will catch smallmouth.
You can experiment all you want but if you go with
Bill’s statistics, go with a Kalin 4-or-5 inch grub. Use
the smoke salt and pepper or clear smoke colors.
Rig the grub on a Gopher 1/16th or 3/32nd ounce
jig head in black or lead color. Make sure the grub
is on straight on the hook. Cast it out long and
retrieve it in straight and very slowly-no jigging action.
I just opened my e-mail and there were some
equipment suggestions from Bill: For Kalin's
Grubs, I'd suggest just ordering from UncleJosh
at UncleJosh.com and click on Kalin's. Also, get
those Gopher jig orders in soon. Derrick Peterson is a
one-man show and that does make getting orders out
a little slow. GopherTackle.com. Also, that St. Croix
Eyecon or Legend Tournament 8'ML most likely
isn't carried in stores so order from St. Croix.
With that information you should be set to catch
Door County, Bay de Noc, or even Lake Mendota
smallies. You may not catch as many as Bill- practice
and effort make perfect. But you should still have fun.
Yahara Fishing Club
April 8th Meeting
Fishing Has No Boundaries.
Jeff Bennett, Walleye Guide, will
discuss early season river fishing and
lake fishing in the Lake Wisconsin
area for walleyes.
This is their 20th year of fishing fun Lake
Mendota July 12 &13. Volunteer: contact Nancy
Loker 608-873-8085 or nloker@Hotmail.com
Fish Spawning Temperatures
Largemouth Bass 68-72
Smallmouth Bass 59-60
White Bass 57-68
Bluegill 70-75
Black Crappie 62-68
Channel Cat 75-80
Walleye 45-50
Sauger 40-45
Muskie 49-59
Pike 40-52
Provided by Duffy
Dane County Wardens address the
March Yahara Fishing Club Meeting
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Yahara Fishing Club
OUTINGS UPDATE April 2014
By Tom Klein
I’ll have a sign up for boaters and non boaters for the dells one day outing.
Because of the Easter weekend, this will be April 16th, a Wednesday. If you cannot
attend the meeting and want to go on this outing, please contact me.
April 27th, a Sunday.
Jumbo Perch out of Waukegan, Ill.
This is an all inclusive
charter(tackle, bait provided). Illinois license (you can buy on board) is $7, limit is 15 Perch.
We would meet our charter Captain, Tim, at 11 am for a 5 hour charter. Depending on
the number of guests, the cost would range from $87 (6 persons) to $170 (3 persons). See
finquest@wi.rr.com for more detail on the boat, etc. I will take a poll at the next meeting.
May 16th through the 19th weekend. Big Bay De Noc, a large bay of Green Bay
off the North end of Green Bay in MI.
For those who cannot make Big Bay De Noc, I will plan a one day outing for
White Bass on the Fox as it enters Lake Winnebago, target date May 16th, a Friday.
Jim Pankratz says there is still time to book your Canada fishing trip to famous Eagle Lake, ON.
Two outings planned. This lake has abundant walleye, muskie, northern, perch, small mouth, and
lake trout. We have a group going the first week of June and another group going July 19-26. There
are two resorts to choose from with many options available. You can camp for super cheap. do a
housekeeping package or American plan. Both resorts are in the peak of the fishing show season
and filling up so don’t wait to get more information and book a trip of a lifetime. You can check out
their web sites at www.birchdalelodge.com and www.cedarpointlodge.com . For more information
on these club outings please contact me any time at 288-9789. Mention my name and our club
if you decide to book on your own but it’s a good idea to hook up with me and others to get a
cheaper rate, coordinate travel and who’s bringing their own boats.
V.F.W. Post 1318
133 Lakeside St.
Madison 53715
608-255-5955
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Yahara Fishing Club
From the YFC forum:
I will post Duffy’s summary in the May Newsletter. Editor.
Duffy,
Thanks for putting this together it is a nice summary for the local waters.
What you refer to as the Lake Wisconsin limits on walleye/sauger apply to most
of the WI river watershed so it’s the same for the Dells, Castle Rock, Petenwell and
most of the WI river. I don’t recall how far north that goes.
The water below the Lake Wisconsin dam is different I gather that is what you
mean by the WI river and its limits for walleye. For folks fishing below the Lake WI
Dam at Sauk make sure you know the regs on catfish and some of the other species.
The info you have provided is great but people need to have to be sure to check
the actual regs for bodies of water they are fishing.
Here is the link the WI regs for 2014 http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/regulations/
Chris
John Quam
Work: 608-873-3366
Fax: 608-873-6663
john@quamsmotorsports.com
1896 Barber Drive • Stoughton, WI 53589
www.quamsmotorsports.com
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Yahara Fishing Club
Hello Tom,
I spoke with Stan Nichols, who is a member of the Yahara Club as well as
WSA.
He suggested I email you with information about our annual fundraiser, being
held April 15th. We donate $500 each year to your two kid’s fishing programs. Here’s the info:
Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance’s 9th annual fundraising auction will take place on April 15th at the
Maple Tree Restaurant in McFarland. Registration begins at 6:30 PM and the auction will start at 7:00.
Come early for dinner. Check our website, wisconsinsmallmouth.com, for a list of auction items. We
have a number of trips and just about everything related to fishing, along with a chainsaw raffle. All
proceeds are used for conservation efforts, smallmouth bass projects, and youth education programs.
If you have room to make mention of this event, we would appreciate it and would
be happy to reciprocate for your events. Call me if you need any further information: 608-334-4448
Thank you!
Mike
Michael Simon
Membership & Treasurer
,
Fundraiser Chairman
Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance, Ltd.
2701 Gust Rd.
Verona, WI 53593
Email: madisonmike@tds.net
www.wisconsinsmallmouth.com/wordpress/
WDNR “Ask the experts” - submitted by John Kanvik. A great idea.
see http://dnr.wi.gov/chat/expert.html
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Yahara Fishing Club
D&S Bait, Tackle & Archery, LLC
Spring 2014 Fishing Seminar Schedule
We’re happy to announce our lineup for the Spring 2014 Fishing Seminar series! With local
experts stopping in to speak on a variety of topics, it’s a can’t miss for every fisherman (and woman).
Come on in on Thursday nights to catch some pointers. The seminars start at 7pm and are always
free to the public. There’s often special sales that run right after for those who want to pick up
new gear or a new hobby. We’ll be starting on the first week of April. The line-up is as follows:
DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC
APRIL
04/03 |
04/10 |
04/17 |
04/24 |
Pat Klingelhoets | Ice Out Panfish
Ron Barefield | WI River Spring Walleyes
Lee Tauchen | Mendota Smallmouth Bass
Austin Ragotzkie | Madison Chain Walleye
MAY
05/01 | Travis Richardson | Opening Weekend
For those of you new to this, we offer these FREE fishing clinics right here at our store, given by local
area fishermen, about our local waters. We are fortunate to have many local fishermen donate their time &
talent to give these seminars & to share their knowledge of our lakes. So stop by & hear what they have to say!
Gard is on vacation
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Yahara Fishing Club
A couple of resources if people haven’t
cooked their whitefish yet:
“Wild Caught and Close to Home: Selecting and Preparing
Great Lakes Whitefish” 2010 Michigan Sea Grant, $17.95
can be ordered at www.seagrant.umn.edu/pulbications(http:/
/www.seagrant.umn.edu/pulbications). or phone 218-726-6191
Cooking Your Catch. www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/
c o o k i n g _ y o u r _ c a t c h ( h t t p : / /
www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/cooking_your_catch)
Free on-line
Winning
Fish
Recipes
www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/fishrecipes(http:/
/www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/fishrecipes) Free on-line
Stan
Please print
Yahara Fishing Club Membership Form
P.O. Box 3271
Madison, WI 53704
Name ____________________________________________________
If family/youth member, additional name(s) ______________________
Street _____________________________________________________
City_____________________________________
State ____ Zip ___________ Phone ______ - ______ - __________
Email ________________________________@_________________________
Annual dues, from January 1 to December 31:
Individual ..................$25
Family.........................$35
Youth Member........... Free with other paid membership
An Organization to Educate, Protect and Propagate the Interests of All Fishermen in the Yahara Basin Area
Including all of Madison’s Lakes
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Yahara Fishing Club
P.O. Box 3271
Madison, WI 53704
Check out our web page at: www.yaharafishingclub.org
The next meeting is on Tuesday, April 8th, at the Lakeside VFW Hall (John Nolen Rr. & Lakeside St.)
The Board Of Directors meet at 6:00 pm, The General Membership meeting starts at 7:00 pm.
Speaker: Jeff Bennett
April Events
Calendar of Upcoming Events
April 8th - Regular Club meeting. Jeff Bennett, Walleye Guide, will discuss early season river fishing and lake
fishing in the Lake Wisconsin area for walleyes.
April 15th - Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance’s 9th annual fundraising auction will take place on at the Maple
Tree Restaurant in McFarland.
May Events
May 13th - Regular Club meeting. Musky Guide, Wendall Webb will discuss Operation Muskie (the
program to take a vet fishing) and muskie fishing in general.
The Yahara Fishing Club’s doors are open to EVERYONE, so invite a friend to the meeting!
President - Gard Strother ......258-8555 Director - Don Gostomski 249-8250 Director - Jim Kloth.........635-0116
Vice Pres. - Phil James ...........212-2506 Director - Paul Zoch ......... 241-5443 Director - Larry Reed ......221-0362
Treas - Colleen Marsden 630-408-9646 Director - Tom Wilke.........834-9554 Director - Jesse Tougas ...873-3151
Secretary- Randy Winkleman 358-4885