my day on madison

[7outof10]

i went out on Madison at about 4:30 today and worked a wind sweped brake with deep water close by and shallows on top of it and i worked it hard tryed shallow and deep on it i was pulling spinners with a bottom bottom bouncer and then all of a sudden boom it got waked and and my rode bent and well..........it was a sheep head lol i was so [PoorWordUsage] i thought it would be a set of eyes so i took it and and keep working it and ended up getting 5 more of and no eyes and i tryed a bunch of places to but no eyes and i also got some slabs up from 16 foot of water f

.....some days are like that you try ever thing you think would work fight the wind and all that and end up with nothing but that is fishing

[Team Otter]

How shallow?

Just one spot?

[7outof10]

i went up to 10 foot .......i should of went and casted crank bats up into the rocks on the dnr shore but i have never been in there where the markes are ....i was going to but my wife wanted to go home and i try to keep her happy so she will come agin i like haveing some one to fish wiht lol

[7outof10]

would that shore been a good spot for the shallow watter eyes wiht the winde blowing right into it like that ?

[7outof10]

no i tryed to differnt drop offs i marked a lot of fish and they where up off the bottom like they where feading but i could not get them to bite

[zepman]

You need to be fishing on, in and on top of ANY emerging vegetation you can find. Windswept shorelines are always great and if you can find both (wind,emerging veggies) you are going to catch fish. Look in that 2-6 ft. depth range and fish slow. Good luck.

[Team Otter]

zepman gives good advice but don't limit yourself to vegetation. Rock, fallen timber and transition areas are all areas to be considered, especially when wind-swept. Focus on 2 - 4' of water in these situations and have patience.

[7outof10]

ok thanks .........its hard to brake your self of the deep water fishing when i find weeds wiht in the 2-4 foot of water do i need to have deep water close by ?

[PDOGG]

Slabs in 16'? Hmmmmmmmmmm!

[justlivin']

I also got on Madison Last evening 6:00 Started pulling and casting south shore with my 10 year old son. After 4 sheepies we made a move and within 2 min. my son caught a nice 12" slab. Guess what my evening of chasing eyes was over. Put away the raps and brought out the ultra lites. kept enough for a fish fry tonight. probably boated 30+ fish in 2 hours all fish between 10"-12" caught in 3'-9' of water. The best part of the evening was when we got home and my 2 older sons that were also invited to come with elected to stay home and play there brand new Wii that they got yesterday were very jealous of there younger brother

[PDOGG]

Your killing me here I finally pry myself away from those slabs to find some eye's and now your telling me there biting just as well (and sounds like the same area's) as they where about a month ago. I hope the kids wanna go fishing soon!

[zepman]

Right now, from my experiences this year, deep water is not necessary to finding those shallow 'eyes. As stated in some of the previous posts there are other factors that they are keying on. Change your tactics a little and fish these 'eyes just like you would target bass at this time of year.

[Team Otter]

2008 - "The year of the wall-bass"

[local laker]

Could get a trophy Sheep-head this year the way they are biting!

[Team Otter]

There are some GIANT sheep head in Madison. You may be right. And you're now officially in the running with Muddog, who is also on his own personal quest to shatter the existing bowfin state record.

Good luck to all potential record breakers!

[riverrat56]

I was just thinking of how to describe to someone shallow water walleye fishing, and all I could come up with was pretend your bass fishing, but only with spinning gear, and only use cranks and jigs....

Theres more to it than that, but as long as your shallow, there are fish to be had this time of year.

[JRFISHBAIT]

There are some GIANT sheep head in Madison. You may be right. And you're now officially in the running with Muddog, who is also on his own personal quest to shatter the existing bowfin state record.

Good luck to all potential record breakers!

Wait for the Madison Lake Paddle Fish days and join in the fun. There is a Sheephead Fishing contest. $5.00 to enter. Trophies for several categories. It's a lot of fun. Sponsored by Reel Fishing Outfitters. I don't have the date handy but will post it later.

Joe