Lake Monona

Out doing more scanning for three hours this morning. Wanted to hit Waubesa since clarity isn't too bad on the camera right now, but pretty windy at Babcock so I hit the calmer side of Monona instead. Looked a bit closer on all the schools of fish I've been marking, most I checked were in the 35 to 40 FOW range. Some are still suspended, others tight to, or just off the bottom a little. Because I was doing sonar recording didn't want to try to stop and try to identify what they were. Typically though the gills are suspended and the perch are closer to the bottom (out in the muck flats, not taking any structure into the equation). Surface water temps were around that 56 to 57° range. Didn't feel like fighting the wind to get out to the 70' hole so I could get water temps on the bottom there. 

Out doing some more scanning this morning. Tried yesterday but my Ulterra self deploying/stowing trolling locked up (after doing the newly released software update). Took me 4 hours before I could finally get it in position to trailer the boat. Got that working this morning first then hit the water. Water temp at 56.8°F but didn't take any temps in the deep hole, will do so next time out there though. Only people I saw out were people fishing, nice and peaceful out there! Lot of algae/particulates still in water column. Will know more next trip out.

WiRiverRat I totally agree with you on crappie!  They're OK at best in the wintertime, but still softer than bluegills, which are my favorite other than northern pike.

Good looking plate of fried fish. Sure wish I had some but that's a different story.

Did a catch and cook last week.  I've thrown back several limits of gills this year and decided to eat some.  Crappie was the first keeper fish so I kept it.  I won't be keeping any more.  They are so mushy compared to gills.  Gills still biting.  Crappie have a mind of their own.  I always seem to catch at least one every outing. 
Can't wait for the colder weather to chase away the fair weather fisherman, rowers, skiers, bikers, and crotch rockets. Although the bikers are a year round pain in the. Why are all of these E-vehicles considered non motorized?  Scooters, skateboards, and bikes running thirty miles an hour in heavy pedestrian areas.  It's amazing no one has died. They don't give a. They see humans and go as fast as possible. 
That's my rant.  Rat.

Out at 8 and off at 1....when we ran out of worms and minnows.....crazy day once we found them.....had a blast!!! Alot of BIG gills and the smallies were crazy for crappie minnows.....best day of the year and no one around

Pier is out at Tonyawatha.  Seems early?  Chime in if you know that a pier is in/out. No one wants to get to a landing to find out it's not usable.

Thanks for the helpful info RK.  Hope to get out myself again to do a little exploring and casting in that area :).

Low-Tech; ran the area from Hudson Beach to the Yahara River inlet using both AutoChart Live and the sonar recording option when I was on Monona today. Both methods had the same result. The attached contour map of that area (specifically the dredged areas) was done today, with the tall weed growth. So the shallow areas are not accurate obviously for depth. But the depths over around 10' are. Forgot to look at how the new overlay looked superimposed over the LakeMaster map (so you can see this map right over the LakeMaster map at the same time). But historically there's obvious differences. From the few times I've tried "following the contour" using the LakeMaster map the differences become obvious. Even with the zoomed out map you can see the dredged area and the shallow water finger running past it, and then the normal drop off to deeper water.

Out scanning Monona for a while this morning (on the calmer side of the lake!) Few guys out fishing, and the barge was running around pulling piers out. Water temp was 62.9°F. Nothing exciting to report, only found the usual logs and a few things to look closer at with the camera when the water clears up. Did mark suspended fish still, and a school tight to the bottom in 30 FOW out past the Yahara River inlet.

Typically the city/county will leave at least one pier in until mid November, but the navigational buoys/hazards will be pulled sooner than that.

Does anyone know when they pull the piers in Madison? Went to take my boy to Ripley in Cambridge and they were already out. Didn't want to drive all the way to Madison to find the same. 

NIVEK
A 15-25 MPH wind on Lake Monona is going to be tough for fishing and a very large portion of the lake will have whitecaps. However, some of the North and Northwest shorelines get sheltered by the downtown buildings and houses and will probably be some of the calmest water on the lake. That's also a popular area for Muskie fishing. You also may be able to find calmer water in Turville Bay and Brittingham Bay. All in all, fishing in a 15-25 MPH will significantly limit your options but it's not impossible to fish.    

Hello,
For those who are familiar with fishing on Monona, what does a 15-20mph nw wind do to the wave conditions?  I am planning to make a 1.5 hour drive to Monona tomorrow (Monday), but am on the fence because of the predicted 15-20mph nw breeze tomorrow.  We will be musky fishing.
Thank you very much for any input,
Kevin

If you have the Navionics map it has very accurate contours out there.  In our area at least I've found the Navionics maps quite a bit more accurate than Humminbird's maps.  Not sure about Garmin or Lowrance though, but I do have an old hand held GPS Lowrance H20 and it's not nearly as accurate as Navionics on my phone. In my boat I use both the Humminbird and my phone so I can look at the app and my Humminbird to compare.  Once in a while a small contour change might be a key to finding fish out there!