D&S Madison Area Fishing Report - November 6th, 2026

Sorry for the delay, the entire Northside had no internet yesterday so I had to write and record the report this morning. BIG NEWS: LAKE MENDOTA JUST TURNED OVER! Otherwise as far as fishing goes: Of course Bluegills across the Madison Chain can be found in weed pockets and outside weed edges year round but the suspended bite over deep water is pretty done with those fish moving to shallow weeds. I am still hearing about good numbers of Gills on mid-lake humps and a couple reports of Bluegills on the bottom in water as deep as 20-25 FOW so don't be afraid to look deeper if you're not finding them shallow. Your Monona rig or a drop shot setup is probably the most effective way to get at those fish and red worms are still working well. Otherwise, weed edges are starting to die back but are still a great place to find a nice mixed bag of fish this time of year. I haven't heard much about the huge schools of 4" Perch in a while but I'm sure they didn't disappear and are probably hiding in the shallow weeds. Crappies aren't abundant around the chain 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 still 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 and I am hearing about better and better action from shore anglers at night but Walleye are still on mid-lake humps in good numbers. Of course you can try crawlers but most folks I talk to are getting fish using minnows.  As usual, Pike are pretty much everywhere and the Musky action has been a little slow for the folks I'm talking to. Sounds like lots of fish seen but they don't want to commit. Area rivers are up a little bit from the rain earlier this week but are still very fishable. In the fall dams are a great place to find a nice mixed bag of fish but especially Walleyes as things continue to cool down. Over on the east coast, the Salmon run numbers are still WAY down this year but folks are getting some fish but it's very strange to see more people catching more Brown Trout than Salmon this time of year.  As always, thanks for tuning in and good luck out there!