First off lets talk a little history. Muskie stocking on the Madison Chain of Lakes started in the early 1980's and has continued to this day because of a lot of hard work by the local Muskies Inc chapter (Capital City Chapter-CCCMI). At this time the WDNR and CCCMI are jointly working on a program of stocking the Leech Lake MN muskies in the Madison lakes.To read more about the Leech Lake stocking please Click Here. For more info on local Muskie Fishing please visit the Capital City Chapter Muskies Inc Click Here.


» Muskies are common in lakes Monona, Waubesa, Wingra and Upper Mud. Lake Mendota has very few muskies and is  a Panfish, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike lake. We also have a few other lakes with good muskie fishing with-in an hours drive of Madison. Lake Wisconsin and the Wisconsin River below the dam are worth a trip or two a year.
Little Green Lake is a lot like Monona and has produced a 49"er in 2009. If you get up to Little Greenie' stop at The Landing for all the latest fishing news. Twin Valley Lake in Governor Dodge State park is a good early season muskie lake.
Like most lakes these days, water skiing and boat traffic gets unbelievable on weekends and holidays. Please be careful!

» Lake Monona: Muskies are common.  Lake Monona is also a great Largemouth Bass lake and along with Waubesa has many Bass tournaments each year. Smallmouth Bass and Walleye are present. Last year (2010) we caught 4 Smallies over 18" in less then 45 minutes on the rock bar in the middle of the lake (leeches). Weed edge and smaller baits early in the season can be very productive for Muskies. Trolling for Muskie is very popular on Lake Monona. Big fish report: 2009-- 6 muskies over 50". We got one 45" fattie that weight about 42#. (see picture in our Picture sub-Category) 2010-- 3 muskies over 50" that we can verify. Click here to see the Stocking report for Lake Monona.

» Lake Waubesa: Muskies are common. Like Monona, Lake Waubesa is a very good Largemouth Bass lake. Panfish'in is great year after year on Waubesa. The Old Timers told us the Bluegill fishing last year (2010) was the best in 30 years. The Babcock Park boat ramp has the best facilities with lots of parking, restrooms, fish cleaning room, soda machine, camping, and shore fishing. This boat ramp is also in a small bay, great on windy days. Goodland and Lake Farm Parks (east side of lake) both have restrooms and lots of parking. Walleye fishing is good early and late in the day. Last year a 52" Muskie was caught trolling on a Sunday afternoon.... TnT Fishing Team member Karl had a very big muskie ON using a cowgirl in 8 feet of water (east side of lake) just before a storm. Ya he lost it next to the boat!

»Lake Wingra: Muskies are very common, but normally thinner then those caught on other local lakes. Panfish and Bass are present but are a little under-sized. Lake Wingra is a slow-no-wake lake and the rules can change so please check the regulations before your trip. Muskies in the 48 inch range are caught each year. This lake is a very good early season Muskie lake. Click here to see the Stocking report for Lake Wingra.