Fishing Report
October 22nd, 2009
These last five postings for this date will be my last postings of the season. I will resume my fishing reports in the spring. Pictured here are Rose Rivard and Judy Smernoff. They are dressed for the fall days on the water. They are pictured with their catch of the day.
October 22nd, 2009
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support and hope to see you next sping.Usually one of my my last postings tells of my elk hunting trip to Colorado. This year our group didn't draw licenses, so they came up here, and we went fishing instead. Pictured here is Tom Raatz, myself, John Kurth and Al Johnson. Right now the water temperature is 46 degrees and going down. The walleyes have been in 35 to 50 feet of water.
October 22nd, 2009
Al Johnson and Tom Raatz are pictured here trying to fish and keep warm on a snowy day in the northwoods. Kinda like being on the mountain in Colorado....huh ..guys?
October 22nd, 2009
My good friend John Phillips and I had this nice bag of walleyes on a snowy October day.
October 22nd, 2009
John Phillips is pictured here as we get ready to go fishing. It was 20 degrees this morning with snow to boot.
October 14th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers a Joel Bornitzke and Kathryn Gilbertson. We had a real good day on the water. The walleyes they caught were on flathead minnows and a jig. The northerns were caught on 6 inch blacktail chubs.Kathryn caught her first legal musky. It was a beautiful musky.It is pictured below. The weather up here has turned very cold. The water temerature on the big lakes has dropped to 48 degrees. The walleyes now can be found in the deeper water. It is supposed to stay cool right through Saturday , so I expect the fishing to be pretty good if you can stand the cold. At the end of the weekend a warm up into the 50's is coming.
October 14th, 2009
The forty-five inch musky that Kathryn caught and released, was caught on a 1/16 th ounce jig and a flathead minnow. She did a great job of playing the fish.
September 30th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are the Swanson family, Katie,Dave, and Matt. We had a great day fishing for northerns. We were using large blacktail chubs. The water temperature then was 68 degrees . The water temperature today, is 60 degrees, so the fall weather finally got here last Sunday. We had 23 degrees for a low for this morning. We are supposed to get to 28 degrees tonight and remain cool right through the weekend. The temperat;ure of the water is going to continue to drop everyday so the fall fishing patterns are going to be the most productive. It might not be the best weather this weekend for us anglers, but I feel it will be good for the fishing.
September 23rd, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Mike Heppe and Dave Bartelt. They are shown here with their stringer of walleyes. The water temperature is at 68 degrees, which is still higher, than most of the last few years at this time. We caught half of these fish on the weed edges and the other half in 25 to 30 feet of water off the rock humps. We are using all minnows now. The fish are not in the fall patterns yet, but are starting to move to the deeper water. As the water temperature starts to go down ,the fish will move into deeper water. Keep this in mind as you are out there, and you will be more successful.
September 16th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are my good friends, Rob and Harry Polen. We were targeting northerns and as you can see we had a great day on the water. We were using large blacktail chubs, fishing in 8-10 feet of water, right in the weed beds. The water temperature has come up to 72 degrees. With all the 80 degree days that we have been getting, the new moon is coming on the 18 th, and we are supposed to get back down to more seasonal type temperatures, for this weekend. So it should be a great weekend coming up. With mother nature beginning showing her colors, it is absolutly beautiful out there.
September 9th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Ryan Burns and Jon VanSchoyck. The walleyes were caught here on crawlers,however Saturday and Sunday while fishing with other clients, the walleyes we caught then were on minnows.We are at that transition time,so I would carry both minnows and crawlers.The water temperature has actually come up a couple of degrees.It is at 68 right now. We have a chance of a little rain tonight and rain everyday right through the weekend. We have had about 9 days in a row of bright and sunny days with no wind. The next five days,the chance of rain and cloudy days should make fishing a whole lot better coming up for this weekend.
September 2nd, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Tom Rausch and his grandson, Nick. Nick caught his first ever northern, a 24 1/2 incher and a couple of walleyes and a small mouth bass. He also caught numerous perch. Some days crawlers work for the walleyes then the next day they prefer minnows. The walleyes and perch were caught on a jig and minnow. The northerns and bass were caught on crankbaits. The water temperature is 66 degrees. We had a high of 52 degrees last Saturday and Monday through Wednesday we were in the high 30's for the lows.
September 2nd, 2009
(continued) For this coming weekend for Labor Day we are to stay in the 70's with lots of sunshine. The full moon is on Friday the 4 th of September. I expect the fishing to be a little on the tough side along with the full moon and bright sunny days. You couldn't ask for any better weather for the holiday weekend so get out there and enjoy the last holiday of the summer. Here is the picture of Nicholas, with the small mouth bass he caught while fishing with his grandpa. He released the bass.
August 26th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Chris and Bill Kuykendall. The walleyes are still preferring crawlers over anything else. The water temperature is 68 degrees. This up coming week-end the temperature for Saturday and Sunday is supposed to be in the 50's. So the water temperature is going to drop 2 0r 3 degrees in the next week. The fish have still been on the weed edges, but as the water temperature starts to fall, you might want to try some of the fall fishing patterns. I know that might sound kinda early, but September is only a week away. Where has the summer gone?
August 19th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are the Phillips family. I had the great pleasure of fishing with 3 generations of Phillips' starting with Kyler, John and Kevin . They sure had a great day, as you can see. All but 2 of these fish were caught on a jig and crawlers. Our water temperature is around the 72 degree mark. We are supposed to have a cool down coming up for the next 5 days, with a high on Friday of 62 degrees. Fishing has been pretty good most days and with the new moon coming on Thursday the 20 th, I expect it to stay good for the next week or so. Northern fishing has been a little on the tough side but musky fishing has been real good. There has been some real nice fish boated in the last week.
August 12th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Gary Lynn, Dick Denman and Art Ford. They are pictured here holding their catch of the day. For the walleyes , crawlers and redtails are both working the same, so take your pick. We have been in the 80's since Monday and we are supposed to be in the high 80's for tomorrow and 80 right through the weekend. The water temperature has come up a couple of degrees to the 70 degree mark. With this warm weather that the weathermen are predicting, I expect the water temperature to rise some more in the next few days. The fishing has been pretty decent, in spite of the bright and sunny days and calm winds.
August 6th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Joe Radomski and Norm Rypel. They are pictured here with their catch of the day. Crawlers still seem to be the bait of choice for the walleyes but when cleaning them I am starting to find quite a few of minnows in them. So that tells me, they could start feeding on minnows again soon. Crank baits are still working for the northerns, with a slower erratic retreave. The water temperature is 67 degrees and the full moon is tonight. We are supposed to get to the high 60's for Friday with some rain , but after that, we"ll be in the mid to high 70 s for the next 5 days.
July 29th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Ben and Bob Stout. The walleyes we caught were on a jig and crawler and the northerns were on husky jerk baits. The walleyes were on the weed edges and the northerns were right in the weeds. We were casting the husky jerk baits in 8 to 12 feet of water where the cabbage weeds were about a foot from the surface. The water temperature is about 66 degrees and we have been real cool for July. This weekend is supposed to be partly cloudy with some rain on Saturday with the temperature of 70 degrees each day.
July 23rd, 2009
This weeks anglers are Larry Obremski and Deb. Everything we caught was on a jig amd crawler. We have been fishing weed edges and weed edges on the center humps. The water temperature is about 65 degrees. Right now, with the new moon phase, fishing had been pretty good. The muskys have been real active, as some real nice fish have been boated in this last week. For you bass anglers, they have been hot. Northerns have been just so-so, but the crankbaits, and just the plain old daredevil, have worked the best for some good size fish.
July 15th, 2009
This weeks anglers ae Judy Smernoff and Rose Rivard with their nice stringer of walleyes. Our water temperature now is around the 68 degree mark. The walleye fishing has been pretty good as we have been putting together some good stringers of fish. Crawlers are the bait of choice right now for walleyes. Fish on the wind swept weed edges for the best results. With the moon in the last quarter right now I expect the fishing to remain pretty good for the next 10 days or so. We are still dry up here but we did get 1/2 inch of rain Tuesday night with almost record low temperatures for Monday and Tuesday mornings. The high for Friday is supposed to be 55 degrees ,so you can see, we are still on a weatherr roller coaster.
July 9th, 2009
Pictured here, are Dave and Brian Findlay with their catch of the day. These fish were caught on redtail chubs and a jig. They also used leeches and crawlers but redtails consistantly worked better. Since then though , crawlers are starting to work for walleyes. These fish were taken in around 8 feet of water in the cabbage weeds. With the full moon right now and these bright and sunny days the best bite time is real early in the morning. We have been on the water at 5:00 a.m. and the first 3 hours seems to be the best time. The water temperature is around the 68 degree mark. Mother nature just doesn't seem to want to give us stable weather, as we set new record low temperatures this week. Northerns have backed off this week and musky fishing has been a real challenge. For you bass fisherman they have been hot. Bluegill are about all done spawning but some good catches can still be had.
July 3rd, 2009
Pictured here are the Oxford Outlaws. On the left is Don Van Swol, then my uncle, Don Mularkey and another firend, Gary Lynn, with their catch of the day. There should be a law against how much fun these guys have when thay go fishing. We were fishing on the 95 degree day with no wind, but we still managed to have a fair day. The walleye were hanging real tight in to the heavier cabbage weeds and the bite was real lite. We were using redtail chubs on a jig. For us, they still seem to be working better than crawlers or leeches. The blue gills are hot and heavy on the beds right now. The water temperature was in the high 70's but two 50 degree days this week has brought the water temperature down to the high 60's. It looks like the weather is going to be perfect for this up coming 4 th of July week-end. So get out there and enjoy mother nature.
June 29th, 2009
In this picture, I am on the left, and my good friend John Phillips, is on the right. The nice stringer of walleyes we are holding, were caught using a jig and redtail chubs. We were fishing on the weed edges in about 8 to 10 feet of water. With the hot temperatures we have had the water temperatures are in the mid to high 70s. We have been trying crawlers for bait, but the redtails seem to be working the best for us. We've been picking up some real nice small mouth bass, as well, and some northerns too. The crappies are for the most part all done but the bluegills are on the beds and going strong. Musky fishing has been still real tough.
June 24th, 2009
This weeks anglers are Phil Colgan and his daughter, Erin. We were targeting northerns and had a real good day. We were casting husky jerk baits with real good success .We were running these over the weed beds, to 10 feet of water. Tuesday we hit record high temperatures up here into the low 90's.It is the first time we have been above 90 in two years. We are supposed to be in the high 80's right through the weekend. The water temperature has warmed up a lot, too.Most lakes are around the 74 degree mark and with this hot weather continuing , they will even get warmer. We did real well on the walleyes last week as well. The new moon was on the 22 nd so I expect the fishing will remain very good.
June 18th, 2009
This weeks angler is my friend of 40 years, Cliff Vohs. It sure was a pleasure fishing with Cliff again. We had to work for everything we got , but fishing has picked up. We were fishing with a jig and minnow. Well, it looks like summer is here as the 80 degree temperatures are coming. The water temperature is 68 degrees. The muskys are getting real active as well as the crappies. The blue gills are on the beds and the walleyes are getting more aggressive. Nothing but good news except for rain Thursday,Friday and then the 80's after that.
June 10th, 2009
This weeks featured anglers are Judy Smernoff and Rose Rivard. We were targeting northerns, and had a great day, as you can see. We were using 5 to 6 inch blacktail chubs. You know how northerns hit a lot harder than walleyes, well, the bite was about the same as a walleye, but very light. We still have been very cold, as we set more record low temperatures . The water temperature is still around the 58 degree mark. We are supposed to get a little warmer each day and maybe hit 70 degrees by Sunday. The night time temperatures are still going to be around 45 degrees. With the passing of the full moon which was on the 7 th of June, we will finally start to warm up a little. The walleye fishing has been tough and the crappies have been hitting one day and the next day, nothing . The musky fishing has been almosty non-exsistant with very few follows. If we do get a little warmer temperatures, the fishing should pick up for all kinds of fish.
June 3rd, 2009
This weeks featured angler is Tom Rausch. We were fishing with a jig and flatnead minnows. We had a very nice memorial weekend but since then we have been very cold. We have had 3 late night frosts and 2 days of record lows, for this time of year. The water temperature is still around 58 to 60 degrees. The walleye fishing has been really tough. Even the crappie have moved out of the spawning areas. We are supposed to be 70 degrees on Thursday but for the weekend back to the low 60's and 40 degrees at night. We need mother nature to give us a little heat. June 7 th is the full moon so I don't expect fishing to pick up much until we get past that.
May 27th, 2009
This weeks featured angler is my good friend, John Phillips. These fish were all taken on a jig and flathead minnows, in about eight feet of water. We had a great Memorial week-end weatherwise, and the fishing was great. Limits of crappies were taken on big, as well as, smaller lakes. The musky anglers however had a hard time. The muskys just weren't going.The water temperature is around the 60 degree mark and we have had cool nights, so the water hasn't warmed up much. The northwoods weathermen are predicting a little more stable weather for this up coming weekend. The fishing should just keep getting better and better.
May 27th, 2009
Take a look at this lunker. My brother, Harlon Breezer caught this 38 inch, 12 pound walleye on Lake Erie. Congratulations Harlon on this monster walleye.
May 21st, 2009
This weeks pictured anglers, are Micah James and Dennis Luikens from South Dakota. We did real well last week until Saturday, then we had high winds and snow in the morning and since then we have struggled everyday. I mean wind that had 40 mph gusts. We were fighting white caps everyday. We are using a jig with flathead minnows. For the walleye, if you can find some new weed growth in 8-12 foot of water, this is your best area to try. For you night anglers, try casting crank baits along the shore lines. The crappies are starting to go, and with the nice steady temperatures predicted for this memorial weekend, you should just kill them. For you musky anglers I would down size your baits. With our water temperatures around 58 degrees on all our lakes, smaller bucktails and crank baits will be your best bet.
May 13th, 2009
Pictured on the right, are Mike Heppe and Dave Bartelt. As you can see, there are no walleyes hanging there. With the cold nights and very windy days that we have been having, along with the cold fronts coming through about every other day, fishing has been tough. We have been catching about 10 walleyes a day but they have been all under size. We have been catching about half a dozen small mouth bass each day so for you bass fisherman, they've been going. The walleyes we have been catching have had a very light bite. The crappies are starting to go on the smaller to medium size lakes. The water temperature is around 52 degrees on our big deep lakes and about 54 on our smaller shallower lakes. As you can see, there is not that much difference because of our cool weather. We were using a jig and flathead minnows on this day.
May 6th, 2009
Well anglers, another fishing opener has come and gone. It sure felt nice to be back on the water again, even with the big winds we had here . The water temperature on the shallower lakes was 50 degrees and our bigger deep lakes had water tempreatures around 43 degrees. Most lakes have spawned out on the walleyes but our bigger cooler lakes are just finishing the spawn. Pictured at right is my brother-in-law John,myself,my step-dad Al and my brother Harlon and next to him is my son Nick.
May 6th, 2009
It was wonderful fishing with my family as everyone caught some fish. We had our traditional shore lunch. Pictured here is my brother, Harlon frying our catch. It just doesn't get any better than that. We have had 3 days of about 70 degrees so the water is warming up some. We are supposed to have a high of 50 degrees for Saturday. We were using just flat head minnows and jigs. The most productive areas were just off the spawn areas. All the walleyes we caught, were males and about half of them were still milken. The full moon is this Saturday so I think the best fishing will be in the evening.
April 30th, 2009
Welcome back anglers for another fishing season. You don't have to worry about any ice on the lakes as the ice went out two weeks ago. The water temperature is 47-50 degrees and that is a lot warmer than last year was. Last spring it was 43 degrees. If you're gong to fish the flowages, the water level is way down, so be real careful out there. We didn't get much snow this winter only about 72 inches. We did get 3 inches of rain in April. The forecast for this weekend is supposed to be 50 to 55 degrees on Saturday with no rain. No matter what the weather is, it is always great to get out and try our luck. So, the best of luck to you, and I will let you know how the opening weekend goes.
October 22nd, 2008
Hi Friends, As most of you know, I go out west to Colorado, elk hunting every October. Well, I was one lucky guy this year, as I bagged a very nice 6 X 6 bull. We had some pretty cold nights while there, with it getting down to 10 degrees. We had very little snow this year. I have shot legal bulls in the past, but I have never had the opportunity to bag such a magnificent animal as the one I shot. I want to thank my hunting partners, Al Johnson, John Kurth and Tom Raatz for their help in back-packing this animal out. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.
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