Wisconsin Forums

[AlumniClub]

Big Muskego and Bass Bay lakes are a “work in progress,” so to speak. Sue Beyler, area DNR fisheries biologist at Eagle, says these two lakes were drawn down in 1995 and chemically treated to get rid of the abundant carp. They’ve since been restocked extensively with Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye and panfish, and the plantings seem to have taken hold. But, except for the panfish, it’ll be a little while before there’s a good population of desirable-size fish here. Beyler says there’ll be “legal” Northern Pike during the winter of 1998-99. But it’ll be the year 2000 before there’s much in the way of good-size Bass, and the wait will be about the same for good-size Walleye. Meanwhile, content yourself with some decent panfish – 8-inch Bluegills and 9-inch Perch. At 2,260 acres, Big Muskego is fair-size water. And it offers special problems for the angler. First, according to Beyler, is the dense Chara beds. The Chara, she says, grow close to the surface and can really wrap themselves around your prop; you can screw up your outboard pretty good if you’re not careful. Then the lake is a maze of cattails and floating islands. It’s really easy to get lost, she says. Erv Wyrowski of the Sport Shack, South 75 West 17374 Janesville Road, Muskego (414) 679-1030, agrees with her assessment. “You almost need an airboat” to cope with the weedbeds, he says. And he recommends GPS for all who plan to venture out onto this big water. Fortunately, navigating Big Muskego is made a bit easier by the channels that have been worn through the weeds by other anglers. “You can follow them pretty well,” says Wyrowski; “they’re like snowmobile trails on water.” Currently, Wyrowski says, the “trails” will lead you straight to the best fishing areas for the Perch and ‘gills. Those “hot spots” are toward the big lake’s southern end, where three artificial islands have been constructed of material dredged out from around them. The resulting 8- to 10-foot holes hold good numbers of panfish now and will be the places to go for Walleyes and Northerns in a year or two. Fish the channel edges in Big Muskego for Bass. In Bass Bay, meanwhile, you’ll find deeper water at 20 feet. Wyrowski says you’ll find some nice weedbeds here to fish for Bass and Northerns. At this writing, there was an 18-inch, 1-bag Bass limit on these two lakes. The minimum length for panfish was 8 inches, with a total bag of 15. You’ll want to check current regs, of course, before fishing.


GB2