Fishing Report
August 27th, 2008
This week the featured anglers are Annette and Brian Findlay. Brian caught a and released a 21 inch small mouth bass, and he also caught a 39 inch northern. They had a great stringer of walleyes as well. They caught all these fish on redtail chubs. The water temperature is about 70 degrees and Monday morning we hit record low tempertures. It is supposed to be great weather for this up coming labor day weekend. The new moon is this coming Saturday, so it should be some great fishing as well. In the last week redtails have worked a lot better than crawlers everyday. The fish are not in the fall patterns yet, but I don't think it will be long before that happens.
August 20th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are my very good friends, Rob Polen and his dad, Harry. We had a great three days on the water, with small mouth bass up to 20 inches and northern up to 30 inches, along with walleyes up to 21 inches. It was a mixed bag and all were taken just off the break lines, on jigs with red-tail chubs.The water temperature is still around the 72 degree mark. We used crawlers each day, but they just weren't working like they were 2 weeks ago. That's why it is very important not to be one dimensional. One day crawlers are working and the next day redtails are the preferred bait. If you noticed I haven't talked about leeches as they haven't worked for me, pretty much all year. Keep your options open out there, and you will find that you will be more productive.
August 13th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are Erin Colgan and her dad, Phillip. They had a nice stringer of northerns. These fish were all taken on a jig and redtail chubs. These fish were located just off the weed line. We have had a lot of bright and sunny days but our nights have been cooling down nicely. The water temperature is around the 72 degree mark. With the full moon coming up on the 16 th, for all you night anglers, it should be a great time to get out and try your luck. We are supposed to have steady weather patterns for the next 5 days, so I expect the fishing should be real good. For you anglers that are fishing on the flowages be very carefull out there, as the water has dropped about 2 feet. Take some extra prcautions and keep an eye out for those stumps and rocks.
August 6th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers, are my good friends,Kyler Phillips and his grandfather, John Phillips. As you can see John is handing down his expertise walleye fishing to his grandson Kyler.These fish were caught right up in the weeds. All these fish were caught on a jig and crawlers too. The water temperature is 76 degrees as a result of our recent hot, bright, and sunny days. We also have been catching many undersize walleyes. This is great for the future. It makes it hard to fish,though, as you are pulling weeds in on every cast, but you have to go where the fish are. The muskys have been real active in the last two weeks, as well as the panfish . They can be caught on most any weed edge. Northerns and bass have backed off a little, but still can make some good catches.
July 31st, 2008
This weeks featured anglers,are Bob and Luke Harrison. They had a mixed bag of northerns,walleyes and small mouth bass. Walleye fishing has still been a real challenge,as we are catching walleyes,but most are under size fish.Crawlers,as well as redtail chubs,have been working for the walleyes. Some days they prefer crawlers and the next day redtails Work better. Northerns and bass fishing has been pretty good and pan fish has been great. The water temperature is still around the 72 degree mark. We are supposed to get a big warm up this comming weekend, maybe even hit 90 degrees. It will be the first 90 of the summer if that happens.
July 23rd, 2008
This weeks featured angler is Judy Smernoff. She is pictured holding the days catch. Sorry that I haven't posted any reports but time just gets away from me sometimes. We are finally getting a little more stable weather and that relates to better fishing. The walleye fishing has been fair at best, but is getting better with-out these storms coming in everyday. We are using mainly crawlers for the walleyes now. The water temperature is 72 degrees, depending on the size of the lake, the deeper weed edges have been the best. Musky fishing has been real good. A lot of guys have been reporting some real good action. If you're a pan fisherman, the bluegills and perch are biting everywhere.
July 2nd, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are Grag Garrison and Ethan Garrison and Brian Bonovetz. We fished the first day for walleyes and the next day for muskys. The walleyes were caught on jigs and minnows as well as the northerns. Take a gander at the nice musky pictured below. It was a beauty. We still have had a lot of different weather fronts come in and that makes the fishing tough on some days. This up-coming 4 th of July weekend is supposed to have some very beautiful weather. The new moon, is on the 3 rd,so I expect the fishing to improve a lot. The water temperature is about 72 degrees, and warmer on smaller lakes. There are going to be a lot of folks out there on the water this weekend. So I would get on the water early to have the best luck. Have a happy 4 th of July.
July 2nd, 2008
Greg caught and released this musky on a eight inch "Hawg Wobbler".It was a nice 40 inch tiger .
June 26th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers Are Dave and Brian Hillmer, pictured here with their catch. Brian caught and released a beautiful musky . These fish were caught on jigs and minnows but we have had a lot warmer weather this week and crawlers are starting to work better than minnows. We have had a lot of weather fronts come through almost everyday and the walleye fishing has been pretty tough some days. The water temperature is about 70 degrees now, and on the rise. I'm starting to see a few lake flies on the water so the big lake fly hatch is not far away. The walleyes are starting to move out to a little deeper water to 14 to 16 foot depth. For you bass fisherman they are hot right now. Fish right in the shallow water in new weed growth, and in the lilly pads and you can have a ball.
June 26th, 2008
This is Brian Hillmers musky. It was a beautiful fish.
June 18th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are the Oxford Outlaws. Dick Denman, Don Mularkey, and Gary Lynn are shown here with their nice catch. The walleye fishing has been real good this last week. These fish were all taken with jigs and minnows but the crawlers and leeches are starting to work as well. The water temperature is still 63 to 65 degrees. The northern fishing has started to slow down and panfish are still hot. Muskty fishing has picked up greatly as we boated two this last week. They are starting to take medium size baits and are getting more aggressive. We are supposed to get a little warmer each day for the next 5 days and that should make the fishing just that much better.
June 11th, 2008
This weeks featured angler is Tom Rausch. We did pretty good that day, but since then, we have struggled each day for walleyes. We have been getting rain, a few storms, sunshine, and rain again all in the same day. With these fronts coming through almost everyday, it has made walleye fishing a big challenge. The predicted weather is the same stuff, right Through Monday of next week. The water temperature on most lakes is up to 65 degrees, and I'm still using a jig and minnows, but on some lakes the crawlers are starting to work. There is some good news however, the northern fishing has been good. If you're a pan fisherman , perch, and bluegills are going on most lakes and anglers are still catching crappies.
June 4th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are Judy Smernoff and Rose Rivard. You can see by the picture they had a productive day on the water. We have had some very good days on the water this last week despite the cool temperatures. The water temperature is still only 59 degrees and the weather people are predicting a little warmer for the next five days and nights. The new moon was on the 3 rd of June and the fishing is just getting better each day. The bait of choice is still minnows. Crawlers and leeches Have not been working well yet.Small mouth bass have been real hot and should remain that way for another week or so. The crappie fishing is still very good but it is getting close to the end of the spawn. Musky fishing has still been real slow. With the water temperatures not in the 60's yet, those big guys just haven't turned on yet.
May 28th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are Brian Findlay and his dad Dave.I am looking forwared to fishing with Brian and his wife Annette later in the summer. Congratulations go out to them, as they are expecting their first child late this year. The walleye fishing has been really challenging this last week. We had near freezing temperatures every night. The water temperature hasn't come up any. It is still about 55 degrees. We are about a month behind as far as weed growth is concerned. We are still fishing with a jig tipped with flathead minnows. I have fished with leeches and crawlers but without much luck. The northern fishing has been real good and the bass are starting to move in to start their spawn. The musky opener was not the best, as most of the anglers I talked to, just had some follows. We are supposed to get some rain on Friday but Saturday and Sunday are predicted to be in the low 70's.
May 21st, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are Nancy and Matt Draus. The are proudly holding their nice catch. Nothing much has changed in the last week as our water temperature is 49 to 54 degrees. We have had a lot of wind everyday and the wind has been blowing mostly from the north. We have had 3 frosts this week and very cool temperatures have not made it very pleasant out there. There still isn't very much vegetation growth . There is some good news as we are supposed to get a little warmer each day and be in the 70's by Saturday and Sunday. This should make this a very good Memorial weekend to get out there and try your luck. I expect the fishing to just get better and better as we warm up. A jig tipped with a flathead minnow is still the prefetted bait. I have tried using leeches, but flatheads are still working the best.
May 14th, 2008
This weeks featured anglers are Mike Heppe, and Dave Bartelt, holding their catch. The water has warmed up a little . Most of the lakes are 49 to 53 degrees. We were fishing with jigs tipped with flathead minnows. The small male walleyes are still milken and we haven't caught a female yet. They are catching some crappies, but they are in that 10 foot range, as we haven't been warm enough yet to bring them in.We need mother nature to give us some warmer nights but none of that is in the forcast. If your a morthern angler that has started to pick up a little, however none of the fish have been real aggressive. The bite has been very suttle.
May 7th, 2008
It sure was a beautiful opening day for fishing, wasn't it? There was snow, sleet, rain, 25 mile an hour winds and a high temperature of 43 degrees. Mother nature wasn't very kind to us, but we still had a lot of fun. Pictured here, left to right is my son-in-law Greg Garrison,myself, my brother-in-law, John Kurth, my brother, Harlon, my step-dad, Al Johnson and my son Nick. Peeping out there in the middle is my grandson, Ethan Garrison. The walleye spawn is over but the small males are still milken. We didn't catch any females . They were all males.The water temperature on the bigger lakes was 40 degrees and the smaller lakes were 45 degrees. We were using nothing but jigs tipped with flathead minnows. With our late spring there is very little to no weed growth. So if you can find some new weed growth out there, that is a very good area to concentrate on.
May 1st, 2008
I know all you anglers are wondering if the ice is going to be out by this weekend. Well, I was out scouting Wednesday morning and pretty much all of our smaller lakes are open.Big Arbor Vitae lake has ice on it yet, but little Arbor Vitae lake is open and Minocqua Lake is about 25% open. So with the predicted weather we have coming, they might be open by Saturday. I think our bigger deeper lakes will still have ice on them and our smaller to mid size lakes will be open. It sounds like mother nature, however is not going to be so kind. Right now they are predicting 45 degrees and rain. I did have the boat in the water Wednesday and The water Temperature was 40 to 42 degrees. Last year on opening day we had water temperatures of 56 degrees. It sure felt good to be back on the water again, so even if the weather is not so good this weekend I know we will have fun getting after the walleyes again. So good luck.
April 24th, 2008
Hey Anglers...I know your're just as excited about the opener of fishing as I am. The first big question is: "Will the ice be gone?". I was out today looking at different lakes and on the north shore lines there is about 20 feet of open water. We are supposed to get rain for the next 6 days, so I feel, that most lakes will be open if not all of them, by next Saturday. Your next question is: "What about spearing and its effect this season?". It looks as if the spearing numbers are increasing this year, which will result in reductions on the daily bag limit for walleyes on 324 different lakes. You can check this out on the webb at: www.dnr.wi.gov (click on: Walleye bag limits for ceded territory lakes)for a list by county, for the lakes you like to fish on.I'm sure another question you are wondering is: "What are the new rules in regards to minnows and VHS?" These rules have been revised from the rules we have been under since last fall. You can check out the rules at:www.dnr.wi.gov( On the right of screen, click "VHS & You",then click "VHS prevention". Read the information under "Boaters and Anglers"It will clarify it for you to be in compliance. I will check lakes out next Wednesday and post what is happening.
October 22nd, 2007
I thought that I would share with you, how we did out in Colorado elk hunting. I hunt with my step-father, Al Johnson, and my brother-in-law, John Kurth, and my friend Tom Raatz. We had a great hunt and my step father, Al, was real lucky as he shot a huge 6 by 6. It is a real trophy animal. We had about 18 inches of snow on the ground in the high country and it was just beautiful out there. The eleven days we spent on the mountain was fantastic. For Al to be able to bag that magnificent animal, was surely a big bonus. Thanks for your support and I hope to see you next year.
October 3rd, 2007
This weeks featured anglers, are my good friend John Phillips, and Steve Schwartz of Illinois holding their stringer of walleyes. Our fishing pattern has remained the same for the last two weeks. We are using a jig and flathead minnows and still fishing in 25 to 35 feet of water off the rock humps. The water temperature hasn't changed. It still in the low 60's. This up coming week-end is supposed to be in the low 70's with rain. The trees are about 80 % color now and it is just georgous out on the lakes and along the roads.This will be my last fishing report for this year. I would like to give a special thank you to all of my friends and clients. I am looking forward to seeing you next year. I am getting ready the leave for Colorado to go elk hunting.
September 26th, 2007
This weeks featured anglers are Ron (The Rock) Schmeichel and Kirk Poser of Waukesha, with their stringer of walleyes. The water temperature is still in the low 60's and we were fishing in twenty to thirty feet of water. We were fishing with a jig and flathead minnows. You know when your fishing on the rocks, you get snagged up every so often, but it's not very often you actually land a rock like Ron did.He thought he had the big one on for a while. We have had fairly stable weather and it is supposed to be in the middle 60's for the high and the 40's for the low for this up coming weekend. Colorama is this weekend in Minoqua, and the trees are about 60% colored. It is just beautiful our there on the water.
September 19th, 2007
This weeks featured anglers, are John and Jo Kurth from Neenah, Wisconsin, with their stringer of walleyes. The water temperature is in the low 60's, and we were fishing in twenty to thirty feet of water. This past week we have had weather of all kinds, from frost, with a low of 27 degrees on Saturday morning, to winds of twenty-five to thirty miles per hour. The weather is supposed to level off in 70's from now through Monday. The water is cooling down and the trees are starting to change. It should be a great upcoming weekend to get out there and enjoy mother nature.
September 12th, 2007
This weeks featured angler is Tom Hilgendorf from Portage Wisconsin, with his stringer of walleyes. A jig and a crawler is still working the best for us. The fishing this last week has been kinda tough at times. We have had cold fronts come in almost everyday. We are starting into our fall pattern of fishing and soon, minnows will be working better than crawlers. The water temperature now is in the low 60's and we had a frost advisory for last night. The fish have been on the rock humps, and not on the top, but on the deeper edges. With the new moon on the 11 th and a more stable weather pattern for this weekend, I expect the fishing to improve greatly in the next week.
September 5th, 2007
This weeks featured anglers, are Dave Bartelt with his grandson, Dave. They are holding their stringer of walleyes and a bass, all caught on a jig and a crawler. The water temperature is 69 degrees. We have had cooler nights this last week and the fish have moved out to deeper water. All of these fish were caught in 22 to 28 feet of water although we have been doing real well , the bite has been very light. So, if you think you have a bite, give the fish a little time to get the jig in their mouth. This will increase your chances of getting the hook into them. __________________________________
August 29th, 2007
This weeks featured anglers are Bob Stout,and his son Ben. They caught a nice stringer of walleyes and a northern. We were using nothing but a jig and a crawler, as this still remains to be the bait of choice. The 28th of August was the full moon, so for all you night-time anglers this Labor day week-end should be a good time to get out there and try your luck . The water temperature has remained around 70 degrees. We still remain very dry up here, but we did get a little rain on Monday and Tuesday. This should be a great Labor Day weekend, as we are supposed to be in the 70's with sunshine all weekend.
August 22nd, 2007
This weeks featured picture, shows Nancy and Matt Draus from Chesterton, Indiana with their limit of walleyes. All of these fish were caught on a jig and a crawler. The walleye fishing has remained very good. In this last week we have had cooler days and much cooler nights. The water temperature has dropped about 5 degrees on the deeper lakes and even more on the shallower ones. With the water temperature at 70 degrees, the walleyes have moved out to deeper water, in the 18 to 25 foot range. Southern Wisconsin has been receiving quite a bit of rain but we have only gotten a few sprinkles. We are still very dry and our water levels are still a great concern. Even some of the old timers can't remember when the lake levels have been this low.
August 15th, 2007
I had a great day on the water along with my good friends, Dorothy and John Phillips. They caught their limit of walleyes, all on a jig, and crawlers. The walleyes have been just off the weed edges, next to deeper water. The water temperature is 76 degrees on most lakes right now. On August 12 th was the new moon , so I expect the fishing to remain real good. The bass and pike fishing has slowed down in the last week, and our water levels on quite a few lakes remain a big concern. The flowages, Manitowish chain, as well as a lot of our lakes, are down considerably. Take precautions out there, as there are many hidden hazards on the lakes, that are now a boating concern.
August 8th, 2007
Here's a picture of the James family. Micah and Patsey with their son Colton were out fishing with me this week. We had a couple of great days on the water. The walleye fishing has been pretty darn good, and the bass fishing has been great. We were using a jig and a crawler and that worked the best for both bass and walleye.The large mouth bass have been right up in the heavy weeds. The small mouth bass have been on the outside of the weed edges as well as the rock humps. Our water temperature is in the higher 70's for most lakes, and due to the lack of rain, all of our lakes are down. We are starting to have a little trouble getting on and off the lakes that have shallow boat landings. So be extra careful when your power loading your boat.
August 1st, 2007
I had the pleasure of fishing with two seasoned fishermen. As you can see by the picture we had and enjoyable day on the water. Mike Heppe and Dave Bartelt are this weeks picture. The weather has stayed the same for the last three weeks and the temperature has been in the mid 80s to low 90s. We are supposed to get a little break starting Friday, with a high of 80 for this weekend. We have had a full moon this last week and the fishing has been pretty good ,when there has been a little wind. The water temperature is in the high 70's, so for walleyes, fish on the deeper weed edges, where there is a drop off just outside the weed edge. For you bass fishermen the action has been hot!!!! Whether you're fishing for small mouth, or large mouth bass , they are hitting like crazy. Use a jig and crawler up in the weeds almost anyplace and the large mouth are there. Try to get on the rock humps and you will find the small mouths there.There will be no problem catching them . You will have a blast.
July 27th, 2007
I had the great pleasure of fishing with the Shugart family,George, Sherri and their daughter Kali. We had a couple of real good days on the water. Kali and Sherri caught all of the keeper walleyes as George and I just watched and netted their fish. It was surely a fun day. We were using redtail chubs with a 1/16 th ounce jig. The days were very hot and sunny but we did have a nice chop on the water. We have been hot and sunny everyday and the days we have wind, we do pretty good. The days we have no wind, the fishing has been real tough. The water temperature has been rising everyday. We are supposed to get to the mid 80's today and by Monday be back in the 90 degree temperatures for the beginning of the week. I haven't been musky fishing, but 3 times in this last week, we had a walleye on and a musky hit the walleye. We've been fishing the weed edges, but back in the weeds, the muskys have been rolling and one jumped completely out of the water.
July 20th, 2007
Pictured on the right this week is Kyler Phillips. He was up this week fishing with his grandfather, John Phillips. We caught some walleyes and a nice mess of perch. The walleye fishing this week has been pretty tough. We worked for all of them. Some of the reason might have been the bright sunny days with absolutely no wind. The best action that we had was early in the morning. The window of opportunity for them was small. We have been on the water everyday by 5:00 a.m. and by 6:00 a.m. it quieted and we struggled the rest of the day. We went perch fishing late in the afternoon, and had no trouble catching perch, one right after the other. So I guess the best tip I can give for this week is, walleye in the early a.m. ,and panfish in the late afternoon. Good luck!
July 20th, 2007
July 6th, 2007
Pictured on the right is Larry Obremski and Deb with their catch of the day.We found that jigs with larger redtail chubs are still working the best for us. Fishing the deeper weed edges is turning out to be the key to success.If you are a small mouth bass angler, the bass are hitting like crazy. If you stay on the rock humps with crawlers or minnows you will have a whole lot of fun catching these hard fighters. If you're a perch angler, the perch seem to be biting pretty good right now too.The water temperature is staying in the 70's._____________________________ .
June 27th, 2007
This last week I had the pleasure of fishing with Aaron Frank and his dad, Franz. They had caught a mixed bag of northerns and walleyes. We are still using the larger redtail chubs. Crawlers are working also but I find that the redtails are my bait of choice. We have been still hot and sunny most days in the 80's. These fish were all in the deeper weed edges. These sunny days are pushing the fish out to the deeper water. The full moon is coming up on the 30 th. For all of you nighttime anglers it should be a great time to get out there and try your luck._______________________________.
June 21st, 2007
This past week I had the pleasure of fishing with the legendary "Oxford Outlaws". Their bands' leader Don Mularky ( center) and his cohorts, Gary Lynn(right) , and Dick Denman(left) made their assault on our area lakes and had great fun. The fishing has been great in the last two weeks, in spite of the high 80's and plentiful sunshine. The fish they caught were caught on redtail chubs but crawlers are starting to work also. In fact, on some lakes, crawlers are working as good as minnows so it won't be long before crawlers will be the bait of choice.The water temperature on most lakes is 75-76 degrees. This is more like mid-July temperatures, instead of mid June.
June 13th, 2007
One of the days this week I fished with Annette and Brian Findlay. I have fished with Brian and his Dad before, but this was the first time with his Annette. She was a real trooper and did very well. We caught a nice stringer of walleyes and a few northerns.We were using a jig and redtail chubs. It has been hot and bright and sunny for days. These fish were located in heavier weed cover. They were sitting real tight and it seemed that we had to get our bait right in front of their noses,to get them to hit it. We are supposed to be bright and sunny with a high of 85 degrees each day right thru Fathers Day. There will be a new moon on the 14 th and I think that will help on the daytime bite. This weekend is the Fathers Day Walleye Open on Lake Minocqua. I expect there will be a lot of folks out there trying their luck.
June 8th, 2007
This week I was out fishing with two avid fisherwomen from Illinois,Judy Smernoff, and Rose Rivard. We caught walleyes and northerns. Nothing has really changed in this last week, as we did catch a couple of under sized walleyes on a crawler, but everything else was caught on minnows. We are under a tornado watch right now, and are supposed to get to 84 degrees today, with several thunderstorms this afternoon and tonight . The high temperature for tommrrow is 62 degrees and this week-end is supposed to be in the 70's with no rain. If you can believe these weather guys it looks like it will be a beautiful week-end. For you musky fisherman, Rose caught a nice 40 inch musky, and Judy caught a 37 inch musky, on a jig and minnow. We released both of them.
May 29th, 2007
This week I was fishing with my good buddy Rob Polen and his dad Harry. We were targeting northerns and found them in 6 to 12 feet of water. We were using larger blacktail chubs which seemed to work the best. The water temperature is in the low 60'degree range, and with the full moon coming on the first of June. It should be a great time to get out there on the water. The walleyes are still prefering minnows over crawlers or leeches but if we get some warmer nights, that could change. The crappies are about done spawning and the gills are starting in to spawn. We have had high winds everyday which makes it hard to feel the bite. If we get more stable weather this next week, it should be a good one to get out there and try your luck.
May 24th, 2007
This week I had the pleasure of fishing with Dave Findlay and his son Brian. We were fishing the weed edges with a jig and jumbo flatheads. We found most of them in the new weed growth . The water temperature is about 60 degrees We have had a lot of wind every day this past week and the daytime temperature has sure flutuated a lot. For this up coming Memorial weekend it is supposed to level off the high 60's for each day and middle 40's for the night time temperature. With musky season opening this Saturday, I'm sure there will be a lot of pressure on most lakes. For you musky anglers, I would suggest the smaller to medium size baits. The smaller 6" swim baits, could be just the ticket. Good luck and have a great Memorial weekend.
May 17th, 2007
One day this week I fished with my old friends, Jim and Joyce Martin. Joyce pretty much kicked our butts out there, even catching the biggest walleye of 22". We were fishing in 8-10 feet of water , using a jig and a minnow. The walleye bite has been real light ,even the northerns are biting the same way. If you are a crappie fisherman, they haven't spawned out yet on most lakes. Our weather has been all over the board this week. It was 52 on Saturday and 87 on Monday to 47 on Tuesday. We are supposed to get a little warmer this weekend, up to 70 with a chance of rain.
May 8th, 2007
Anglers, I hope your opening weekend of fishing was as much fun as ours was. Pictured here, right to left is my son, Nick & my brother, Harlon, my brother-in-law, John Kurth and my step-dad Al Johnson. We had a nice stringer of walleyes and we also caught some northerns, which we cleaned and had a shore lunch with. It doesn't get much better than that. We were using a jig, tipped with flathead minnows. The biggest obstacle was the wind. It was really blowing out there. We had a cooling trend, from Saturday to Monday. The water temperature actually dropped about 4 degrees. We are supposed to be in the 70's this week and another cooling trend is coming for the weekend. The crappies are going as well as the gills so it should be a great week to get out there and try your luck.
April 19th, 2007
Hello folks. It is a beautiful day in April and I just wanted to let you know that I am anticipating a great fishing opener and looking forward to getting back on the soft water.As soon as I have some new pictures for 2007 I will get back to posting them.
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