A week ago was one when I normally would be fishing the Wisconsin River or nearby Lake Wisconsin -- but the sudden influx of high water coming down the river has made it impossible to fish.

So, I took up the invitation from Department of Natural Resources fishery technician Scott Harpold to join him and his crew on Madison's Lake Kegonsa.

In case you haven't fished Lake Kegonsa, it's the southern-most lake on the Madison Chain of Lakes and encompasses more than 3,200 acres with a maximum depth of more than 30 feet. The lake is a drainage-basin lake fed by the Yahara River which enters the lake on the northwest shore near Fish Camp County Park. The lake is fertile and has good weed growth and an algae bloom during summer's warm months. It's one of those lakes that, despite being only 50 miles from my door and 20 miles south of Madison, doesn't receive the pressure received by others in the chain.

Kurt Welke, the chief DNR fishery biologist and manager for this area of southern Wisconsin, along with Harpold and Dick Brandt have been fyke netting the lake since the ice went out about two weeks ago.

A fyke net is a long hoop-type of net that is tied near shore and then strung out to deeper water where it is again anchored. Fish swim into the hoops and are trapped there until the nets are checked -- which is every day. The DNR had 17 nets scattered around the lake covering most of the water. There is little structure in Lake Kegonsa besides a few points, humps and the weeds. The lake is managed for walleye and northern pike, but it also has both kinds of bass, muskies, white and yellow bass -- and lots of good-sized panfish.

This spring netting is done on most of the state's lakes that are managed for any species of gamefish. The state crews are now checking on the fish populations and the overall health of the state's lakes. The gamefish that are netted are measured and fin-clipped for later identification and all this info and data is recorded for future reference. There are five lakes in the Madison Chain (lakes Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa and Kegonsa) which are monitored and netted once every five years.

Most of the fish were now in shallow water allowing them to be easily netted and measured. During spring after ice-out, fish seek the warmest water that they can find. A degree or two in water temperature is a huge difference to cold-blooded fish. The fish are also in the shallows to feed on the early spawning eggs of walleyes and northern pike. Little, if any natural reproduction happens on the Madison lakes. Most of the game fish are stocked and Kegonsa is managed for walleyes and northern pike.

We met at the Fish Camp County Boat Landing in the morning and Harpold, friend Andy Mosey and I proceeded to check the nets on the north shore. Harpold and Mosey did the work and I took photos and video.

The nets are all marked with a DNR flag and the men would maneuver the boat and then start bringing in the nets. The long and circular nets are pulled into the front of the boat until they came to the end where the fish are congregated. Then, they were scooped into a large net and put into a tank in the boat to be measured and fin-clipped. The data (species and length) was then recorded and the fish immediately returned to the water unharmed. Bluegills, crappies, white bass, yellow bass and rough fish were all returned to the water immediately and not measured.

Earlier in the week, the crew got numerous walleyes and northern pike in their nets. A week ago Saturday we had walleyes of all sizes, northern pike, smallmouth and all species of panfish. Few rough fish were caught when I was there. Some of the fish had been captured previously. Of note was a 42-inch tiger muskie that was in the first net we checked.

The netting on Lake Kegonsa was to move on to electro-shocking at night to record more data and compile more information on this local fishery.

Overall, said Welke, the Madison fishery is in very good shape for a metro lake with such a big population of people living along its shores. Every lake in the chain has something different to add and is managed for different fish species.

Anglers should be overjoyed that such good fishing is available near Madison. Sure, there are weeds and algae in the lakes, but fishing is about as good as you can find for walleyes, pike, smallmouth, largemouth, muskies, catfish and all species of panfish.

The DNR works hard in all kinds of weather and at all times of the day and night to give you, the angler, the best fishing possible. The $20 that residents spend for a fishing license is well worth it.