D&S Bait,Tackle & Fly Shop

D&S Madison Area Fishing Report - August 28th, 2026
We're still on summer cruise control as far as fishing reports go and not much has changed in the last couple weeks. Don't put your Monona Rigs away yet! Gills are still suspended over deep water on Monona, Waubesa and to a lesser extent, Kegonsa. There aren't many better ways to spend a day than just drifting along with your line over the side of the boat about 10-15 feet down and just wait for a tug!
Otherwise fish are in their summer patterns. If you don't want to drift aimlessly over deep water, Bluegills across the Madison Chain are being found in w**d pockets and outside w**d edges in good numbers...and honestly, w**d edges are all you really need to know to find a nice mixed bag of species in the summertime. I hear about a few Perch here and there, mostly on w**dlines but nothing to write home about. Crappies aren't abundant but are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but lots of fish are coming out of water as deep as 15 FOW. Otherwise, Walleye are hanging out deeper during the day and moving up shallow during low light periods. Walleye are also being found on mid-lake humps in good numbers where they will remain until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere and it sounds like the Musky action is starting to finally pick up. Besides talking to a few customers who've had some success, Noah Humfeld stopped in yesterday and he got a few fish in the boat this week so after a very quiet summer, it's nice to know the Muskies are still around! Area rivers and creeks are still running on the low side, which is typical for this time of year...but the Wisconsin River has been especially low the last several weeks.
If you have any questions or would like us to expand on anything in the report, feel free to call the shop at 608-241-4255 otherwise thanks for tuning in and good luck out there!

D&S Madison Area Fishing Report - August 21st, 2026
Still trying to figure out audio issues but I am making progress!
Otherwise we're still on summer cruise control as far as fishing reports go and not much has changed in the last couple weeks. Don't put your Monona Rigs away yet! Gills are still suspended over deep water on Monona, Waubesa and to a lesser extent, Kegonsa. There aren't many better ways to spend a day than just drifting along with your line over the side of the boat about 10-15 feet down and just wait for a tug!Otherwise fish are in their summer patterns. If you don't want to drift aimlessly over deep water, Bluegills across the Madison Chain are being found on pockets and outside w**d edges in pretty good numbers...and honestly, w**d edges are great places to find a nice mixed bag of species in the summertime. In fact Noah Humfeld stopped in just this morning to report that he and Brian Zubke have been absolutely smoking SMB and Walleye on Mendota working w**d edges with just a jig and a crawler. I haven't heard much about decent Perch like I was a month or so ago but folks are running into a lot of 4" on Mendota so hopefully that's a good sign for the future! Crappies aren't abundant but are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but lots of fish are coming out of water as deep as 15 feet these days. Otherwise, Walleye are hanging out deeper during the day and moving up shallow during low light periods. Walleye are also being found on mid-lake humps in good numbers where they will remain until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere and I've heard about a little better Musky action recently. Area rivers and creeks are still running on the low side, which is typical for this time of year.
Thanks for tuning in and good luck out there!

D&S Madison Area Fishing Report - August 7th AND 14th, 2026
I'm recording this report Thursday night because I will be leaving for a fishing trip to Canada early tomorrow morning and won't be back until the 16th! The shop is still open normal hours. HUGE thanks to Kevin, Jake and Pat W. for holding down the fort while I'm away!

Otherwise, the cooler weather hasn't affected the fishing too much as I continue to hear good reports and honestly, other than the slightly cooler water temps, not much has changed since last week. Gills are suspended over deep water on Monona, Waubesa and to a lesser extent, Kegonsa which can make for some relaxing and productive fishing. You can just drift along at almost any depth, with your Monona rig over the side of the boat about 10-15 feet down and just wait for a tug!
Otherwise fish are in their summer patterns. If you don't want to drift aimlessly over deep water, Bluegills across the Madison Chain are being found on outside w**d edges in good numbers...and honestly, w**d edges are basically all you need to know to find many species of fish in the summertime. I'm even hearing about some decent Perch numbers coming off w**dlines mixed right in with the Gills, so that's some positive news! Crappies are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but with the heat and sun, lots of fish are coming out of water as deep as 15 feet. Otherwise, Walleye are hanging out deeper during the day and moving up shallow during low light periods. Walleye are also being found on mid-lake humps in good numbers where they will remain until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere and even with the cooler temps I'm just not hearing anything in the way of Musky action. The 113 bridge down the road is usually a mixed bag this time of year with action being spotty. Area rivers and creeks are still running on the low side, which is typical for this time of year. Thanks for tuning in and good luck out there!

D&S Madison Area Fishing Report - July 31st, 2026
Well the warmer weather hasn't affected the fishing too much as I continue to hear good reports and honestly, other than the slightly warmer water temps, not much has changed since last week. Gills are suspended over deep water on Monona, Waubesa and to a lesser extent, Kegonsa which can make for some relaxing and productive fishing. You can just drift along at almost any depth, with your Monona rig over the side of the boat about 10-15 feet down and just wait for a tug!
Otherwise most fish are in their summer patterns. If you don't want to drift aimlessly over deep water, Bluegills across the Madison Chain are being found on outside w**d edges in good numbers...and honestly, w**d edges are basically all you need to know to find many species of fish in the summertime. I'm even hearing about some decent Perch numbers coming off w**dlines mixed right in with the Gills, so that's some positive news! Crappies are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but with the heat and sun, lots of fish are coming out of water as deep as 15 feet. Otherwise, Walleye are hanging out deeper during the day and moving up shallow during low light periods. Walleye are also being found on mid-lake humps in good numbers where they will remain until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere but the Musky action has been basically non-existent due to the high water temps. The 113 bridge down the road is usually good for a nice mixed bag of fish. Area rivers and creeks are generally running on the low side, which is typical for this time of year. Who knows what the rain will do but we've been dry for so long I bet a lot of it will get absorbed into the ground and may not affect water levels that much.
Thanks for tuning in and good luck out there!

I don't know why this didn't post this morning. Also sorry if it posted twice, I couldn't see it.

Madison Area Fishing Report - July 24th, 2026

First, I'm still trying to work out the audio issues. I tried a better connection but that didn't help...I think it has something to do with my internal fan turning on. I'll see if an external mic helps.

Anyway, the cooler weather hasn't affected the fishing too much as I continue to hear great reports this week! Otherwise other than some cooler water temps, not much has changed since last week. One change is that I've heard of some Gills suspending over deep water on Monona so that's a little different.
Otherwise most fish are in their summer patterns, Bluegills across the Madison Chain are being found on outside w**d edges in good numbers...and honestly, w**d edges are basically all you need to know to find many species of fish in the summertime. I'm even hearing about some decent Perch numbers coming off w**dlines mixed right in with the Gills, so that's some positive news on that front! Crappies are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but lots of fish are coming out of water as deep at 15 feet.
Walleye are hanging out deeper during the day but moving up shallow during low light periods. Walleye are also being found on mid-lake humps in good numbers where they will remain until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere but the Musky action has been non-existent due to the high water temps. The 113 bridge down the road is always good for a nice mixed bag of fish and area rivers are and creeks are generally running on the low side, which is typical for this time of year.
Thanks for tuning in and good luck out there!

It was probably cool enough to fish Trout yesterday but I’m glad I chased Smallies instead

D&S Madison Area Fishing Report - July 17th, 2026
Other than warmer water temps, heat, and a lot of smoke, not much has changed fishing-wise since last week. Bluegills are done spawning across the Madison Chain and are mostly being found on outside w**d edges...and honestly, w**d edges are basically all you need to know to find many species of fish in the summertime. I haven't heard of any Gills suspending over deep water on Monona yet, but I'm sure we're not far from that. Otherwise most fish are in their summer patterns. Crappies are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but lots of fish are coming out of water as deep at 15 feet. Otherwise, Walleye are hanging out deeper during the day but definitely being found up shallow during low light periods and they're also being found on mid-lake humps in good numbers where they will remain until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere but the Musky action has been non-existent due to the high water temps. The Catfish bite down the road at the 113 bridges has slowed down but I am still hearing about a few being picked up. Area rivers are at very fishable levels as are the Trout streams...but it's been too warm to fish for Trout lately. Good luck out there!

D&S Madison Area Fishing Report - July 10th, 2026
We're definitely getting into what I like to call "Summer Cruise Control" as far as fishing reports go because other than warmer water temps, not much has changed since last week. Generally speaking, outside of some fish still on beds on Mendota, Bluegills are done spawning across the Madison Chain and are being found on outside w**d edges. I haven't heard of any Gills suspending over deep water on Monona yet, but I'm sure we're not far from that. Otherwise most fish are in their summer patterns. Crappies are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but lots of fish are coming out of water as deep at 15 feet. Otherwise, Walleye are hanging out deeper during the day but definitely being found up shallow during low light periods and they're also being found on mid-lake humps in good numbers where they will remain until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere but the Musky action hasn't been great, mostly because of the warm water temps. Area rivers are at very fishable levels as are the Trout streams...but it's too warm to fish for Trout right now.
Thanks for tuning in and good luck out there!

Madison Area Fishing Report - July 3rd, 2026
Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!
We're definitely getting into what I like to call "Summer Cruise Control" as far as fishing reports go because other than warmer water temps, not much has changed since last week. Generally speaking, most fish are done spawning on the Madison Chain but Bluegills are still on beds on Monona and Mendota, although it sounds like things are definitely winding down on Monona. Otherwise many fish are starting to move into their summer patterns. Crappies are being found suspended or on shoreline structure. LMB are pretty much shallow year round. SMB can be found shallow but I'm also hearing reports of them out as deep at 15 FOW. Otherwise, Walleye are moving deeper during the day but definitely being found up shallow during low light periods and I continue to hear more and more reports of good Walleye action on mid-lake humps which will be a thing until late fall. As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere but the Musky action hasn't been great, at least for the folks I'm talking to. The Catfish bite down the road at the 113 bridges has slowed down but I am still hearing about a few being picked up. The rain we got yesterday, has area rivers up a bit but they're still at very fishable levels. I'm sure area streams are dirty today but should clear up nicely if the rain stays away. Good luck out there!

Got out one last time before the heat moves in. Had a great afternoon alternating between the Foam Flying Ant and Foam Beetles we carry.