Some observations from a morning of fishing

There's always a few things to observe on an early-morning trip to the lake.

Pulling up at Buckmaster Bridge at Madison Lake early Thursday morning, I noticed how calm the water was. The wildlife was the only thing giving off sound, which I found to my liking because this meant I owned that little spot by myself.

At 5:30 in the morning, life can seem very peaceful. I snapped off a few photos of this peace before wetting a line. I meant to take some video to capture the stillness, except for a few birds chirping behind me and a few fish popping bugs off the top of the water, but then again, I was wetting a line.

After an hour and a half at Buckmaster, I moved over to the German-Jefferson Lakes fishing pier on Little Jeff. A few guys were fishing there, making jokes about taking their whopper catches to The Free Press for photos.

I suppose I could have walked over and offered to take their pictures with my cell phone, but again, I was wetting a line, and when the opportunities are too far and few between, pulling up a line to take a photo of a few guys fishing is low on the list of to-dos.

I did, however, give up on the fishing for a bit after they left, only because I noticed a man and a woman, both with wonderful fishing hats, settle into the pier for some panfish/bullhead fishing.

They looked very complete, the two of them fishing on the pier, standing side-by-side, talking quietly. I admired their togetherness and thought of how I could stand all day with my wife, Mollie, fishing, talking, loving life. Of course, with our son Tyler, we'd never be able to stand side-by-side and talk, because like all children, he has plenty of energy for all of us.

I asked the two of them if I could snap a couple of photos, and needless to say, Diane Fetzer and Doyle Schneider, both of New Ulm, were happy to oblige me. Diane joked she didn't know she'd have to be in a picture when they left for their weekly outing to Little Jefferson. They did, however, get their revenge when she took a few photos of me fishing.

Turnabout is fair play, right?

The quality of the photos I took of them aren't all that great, but that's mostly because I am learning how to maximize the quality of pictures taken with my Blackberry. I think, however, you'll get the point.

Anyhow, Doyle said they catch quite a few sunnies and bullheads from the pier — Diane's favorite, he assured me — and they've seen some nice crappies come off minnows there.

"There was a fellow out here who just left that caught a big bass," Fetzer said.

Must have been the fish they were joking about taking to The Free Press. Too bad I was wetting a line.

Countdown to opener: West Jefferson

The fishing pier provided by the German and Jefferson Lakes Sportsmen Club at West (Little) Jefferson is a local hotspot for shore fisherman.

The panfishing next to the pier, primarily sunfish and crappies, is a big draw and a good place for an outing with the family.

Bass and northern pike can also be found along the entire south shoreline, especially to the east of the pier. To the west of the pier, extending to the opening of the culvert-like walkway that goes under Le Sueur County Road 105, the shoreline fishing is tight, with sharp rocks making standing near the water difficult with the exception of a few entry points. But fishing from the elevated position is still manageable, and the tight shoreline provides excellent casting angles to drop your lure into the 12-foot or so hole in front of the pier.

Now, back to that shoreline extending east of the pier. When the water is high, it'll take some walking along the shoreline to find a good entry point to cast. Now, if you're fishing panfish, none of this matters all that much. 

But this stretch of West Jefferson is excellent for northern, and, in the not-so-distant future, bass fishing. And 30-inch pike or 4-pound bass aren't unheard of in this stretch of the lake. So finding a spot down to the water where you can land a fish is a must.

The shoreline stretches a good ways until you come to private property, so I'd highly recommend working your way down as far as you can. There's a red, thorny bush of some sort far down that east shoreline. Work as close to it as possible and you might pull in a nice northern this weekend. 

Two things of note with this stretch of shoreline fishing: Rocks are plentiful on the lake floor, so expect a snag or two if you don't keep your bait up off the floor; plenty of locals will flock to the pier early in the spring with reports of walleyes being taken out of that deep hole in front of the pier.

Is this true, or is this a good piece of fiction? I'm going with a combination of both. Walleye exist in West Jefferson, no doubt about that. I watched Tanner pull one in while we were fishing plastic worms for bass. 

And I know a local who lives just down the road, and he assures me people are catching an occasional walleye off the pier. But if you're after walleyes Saturday or whenever you are out fishing, this hotspot probably isn't the best spot for you.

Good luck!