Madison?

[bigmerc]

I haven't fished Madison since I was a little kid, and was thinking of going there tomorrow. Any good starting spots for chasing some walleyes? or crappies?

[harvey lee]

First, Welcome to Fishing Minnesota. I was on Madison a few weeks ago and did ok on the eyes, I worked the are on the east side of the narrows and also from the narrows to the landing on the south side, just east of the narrows. I worked depths from 6-12 fow. Your best best might be to stop in at Reel Fishing & tackle in town on the west end on the highway and ask in the bait shop as they are pretty good at letting you know whaere and what is biting and the bait used.

Oteer may also have been on the lake as of late and have a good idea of where to start along with other members.

Good luck fishing.

[Team Otter]

Bigmerc, welcome aboard. Be careful; it's addicting!

As for the 'eye fishing on Madison, I just got off the phone with a friend who is on the water now. He's sticking some nice 18 - 20" fish on #5 shallow runnin' Shad Raps in 3' of water on some gravel. I'll probably give Madison a look real soon, so keep an eye on my reports.

[fishn4kids]

Hey Otter

Fishing Madison all day sunday. Wife and kids won't be home all day. Hope to be on the water by 6:30. Can you give me an idea of what color lures to start with, might have to buy a couple more. Was told the gizzard shad should be hatching soon if it hasn't happened already. Where would be a good place too start, if you don't mind me asking. If you don't want too post it drop me an email at [email protected]. I forgot something. I'm suppose to ask you hows your golf game from my neighbors girlfriend Carla F. Thanks

Duane

[Team Otter]

Blue and chrome, Baby Bass, and Hot Steel have all been good colors as of late. The southern and eastern halves of the lake are holding quite a few fish right now. I would focus on areas of gravel that have baitfish (i.e. gizzard shad) mixed in.

My golf game? No clue. The fishing pole is priority.

[fishn4kids]

That's what i told her when she said to ask you. Thanks for the info. Hopefully i can find some fish as i have sent my fish to my mother. Thanks again, sorry to be such a pain.

Duane

[Team Otter]

No pain, no gain. Ask all the questions you want. Go stick it to 'em in the morning.

[guppie]

May be a dumb ? but gizzard shad hatch over gravel or just happen to stage there this time of year?

[Team Otter]

Guppie, I don't know about their spawning patterns but areas of gravel seem to hold tighter and larger schools of them out there. More than likely, this time of year, those shad have these types of areas to themselves and it may be more of a "comfort thing" until the 'eyes come in and "ruin" their party.

Great question.

[smnduck]

The fish are reacting to the schooling shad and can be had by running your lure through the school and "busting" them up. After the bust let your lure hang or suspend, it will be the "injured" minnow.

[Team Otter]

I like those tight schools when you can feel your lure banging off the bait as you retrieve. Have to like your odds when they're that thick.

[zepman]

I was out the other night throwing some cranks and actually hooked three of them on one cast. Two on the front treble and one on the rear. Man are they thick this year. I was fishing a northern piece of shoreline and the one school I was working must have been 1/4 mile long and 100 yards wide. Ya know when they're that thick you can actually smell them in the water. Wow! Fishing was also good.

[smnduck]

Rip the crank through the school and watch em fly out of the water. Let your lure hang and be the injured baitfish. Blam, fish on. Walleye?Bass?Northern?Crappie? Thats what makes it so much fun. Anything that eats a minnow is shadowing those schools in certain areas. Find those areas and wooohooo.

[Team Otter]

This hatch must be making up for last year. Yes, it's time.

[wallyhunter66]

Hey T.O. whats the latest report for Madison, I was going to go there on Sunday and was wondering what the walleye bite was like? thanks Todd

[Team Otter]

Find the schools of gizzard shad and hang on!

[wallyhunter66]

Um, Jamison? I'm from up north (no gizzard shad) and i don't wanna sound stupid, BUT, how would a slow northern fisherman "me" go about locating those little baitfish known as gizzard shad? thanks Todd

[zepman]

Believe me---when you find them you'll know. Start on any weedline and just fish the way you normally like to. Keep moving around and you'll see them schooling/surfacing and skipping up out of the water. If you see them surfacing and jumping out of the water get out the cranks and start chucking. A nice pair of polarized shades really helps as well. I've seen them schooling between the 10" and 10' areas but they move around constantly. Good Luck!

[eyepatrol]

If they're not 'jumping' or 'skipping' around and you have whitecaps rolling on the lake with the water all churnned up, are you still able to see them?

I certainly wasn't the day I was there, not until the lake settled at dusk and even then they were just 'swimming' around.

[wallyhunter66]

good question basscatcher, if they arent jumping, how do i find them?

[smnduck]

I have lived on and fished the lake for over 35 years.

When you find them skipping and jumping they are being chased and nervous,that means there are big fish shadowing them.The shad will ball up to look like a big fish,thats the only defense they have.

When they are just milling along things are good for them and not much for worries.

You can find the shad over the entire lake,shallow to over the top of the deep hole.

Certain ares of cover,bottom composistion,structure seem to be the key for finding the "feeding areas".Some are10'x10' areas or smaller.

With a little persistance you can find these areas.

[smnduck]

Use your electric and move slow.slow.slow. the fish seem to sense electric motor when they are used alot. Like T.O. said good sunglasses are key. Just keep casting, you won't find them as easy trolling.

[wallyhunter66]

thank you smnduck. i'll give it a shot this weekend. Todd

[eyepatrol]

Quote:

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Certain ares of cover,bottom composistion,structure seem to be the key for finding the "feeding areas".Some are10'x10' areas or smaller.

---

Therein lies probably the biggest difficulty for those like myself who have not had much time on that lake. Finding where the areas are at, and even more difficult, finding the 10'x10' or even a 100'x100' sized pod of shad. That is an extremely small percentage of the overall area of the lake.

Time on the water is probably key to understanding the locations of the bait fish.

[smnduck]

You are right basscatcher, BUT once you find the areas they are spots that can be good for all seasons when there is bait fish present. Act like your stalking deer. Stealth and constantly scanning for even the slighest difference,weed edge, exposed shore that changes from mud to sand-sand to rock or a 6" hump and continues out to deeper water. Do not be afraid to hit the ares that you find 3-4 times over the course of a couple hours. Keep switching presentations. It may take a couple trips but once you get it the work is well worth it for the payout.

[Team Otter]

They can be found all over the lake but I have found them to be more concentrated over gravel or hard sand that is adjacent to shaded areas and/or less impacted by the sun for extended periods of time. As for a gizzard shad profile, they vary in length from 3 - 6" and are a grayish-silver in color with some darker gray and white "built in". You can't miss 'em.

[Team Otter]

Often times, I'll anchor on an area that I have confidence in and see if the bait comes to me. I'll be more prone to do that if the shad seem to be in a "roaming" or "sweeping" mood. This too, though, you will get the hang of the more time you spend on the water. Once you have the pattern figured out, turn out the lights because the party's over.

[smnduck]

Just an observation, do you notice that some days most of the shad are traveling in the same direction. Other days they are going in all directions. It seems after the wind dies down that they seem to be going in the same direction. Not neccesarily in the direction of the wind that was blowing either. Do you think they are going after some food source that the wind wipped up like a walleye might do? I'm not sure how the undercurrents and thermals move the plankton around but it seems to be tied together.

[Team Otter]

Cool observation. That is something I've never keyed in on.

[Jaspernuts]

Well I finally figured out how to get registered on this site. This is my first post. My grandmother lives on Madison Lake - I keep my boat there so expect a lot of posts from me on this lake. I have fished it all my life and know it pretty well. Was just out last night and there were still many schools of shad up shallow, I just went down to the dock. Lots of bass keying on these schools right now and a few eyes. Sometimes you will see 10 or fifteen fish hitting at the same time!