2009 Articles
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November 2009
Don't Fish Memories by Bob Jensen
Fishing is a great way to create memories. I have very fond memories of sunrises and sunsets on the water, my first musky, my first truly big walleye, my nephew's first overnight fishing trip, and lots of wonderful times spent in the boat fishing wi...
Joe Knows Panfish - Tournament Champ Talks Tactics and Tackle by Ted Pilgrim
The North American Ice Fishing Championship (NAIFC) team of Captains Joe Pikulski and Myron Gilbert are on to something. Last year, the dynamic Michigan duoboth Great Lakes charter boat captains in the off seasontook home their fourth NAIFC Team...
Targeting Fall Crappies by Ted Peck
With so many hunting and fishing options crappies are all but ignored between now and first ice, even though some of the year's best opportunities for a nice sack of slabs occurs over the next 30 days. I would rather fish crappies on a river system ...
Three Simple Keys To More Muskies by Joe Bucher
I relate back to my days as a guide quite often in articles. Still to this day, it is my main foundation of musky memories and knowledge. Admittedly, I still rely on it a lot in my writing since it involved so many experiences over time. This pa...
October 2009
A Wind Friendly Stand - Critical To Bow Hunting Success by Joe Bucher
The task of actually picking a stand site can be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of a hunt. When a stand is "right", you're surely going to get some action. When it is "wrong", you'll likely be staring at a lot of trees, but few if...
Bobby’s Tackle Box by Scott Ehricke
I received an E-mail from a young boy who was interested in going out on a guided trip with me. He told me that he had seen me on TV and had visited my website several times and that he was saving up his money from cutting lawns and helping out aroun...
Fall Bluegills, good enough to eat! by Dave Duwe
After a long season of guiding, running to flag football games and my daughters dance classes; I can now find the time to take my son fishing. When I take my son and friends out fishing I can remember how relaxing and fun fishing is. The fishing I ...
The Fabulous Flatcats of Vernon County by Ted Peck
Every serious angler has a favorite fish which they pursue with some degree of passion. Many chase Wisconsin's state fish: the muskie. DNR surveys indicate the walleye is our most popular gamefish. Some find happiness in a nice stringer of panfish.
...
Top Three Tips For Fall Fishing by Bob Jensen
It's the end of September. Autumn is here. The fall season presents lots of great fishing opportunities for big fish and lots of fish. Wherever you live in the Midwest, there's some sort of fishing close by that will be peaking in the next few wee...
September 2009
A “Power” Program for Walleyes by Ted Pilgrim
With Tony Roach...
Nearly fifty years after the inception of the modern live-bait rig-what's today known simply as the 'Roach Rig'-its sheer effectiveness still raises eyebrows and turns heads. Take a vigorously squirming minnow, nightcrawler or l...
Down Deep, I Truly Like Smallmouth by Dave Duwe
In late summer and early fall, smallmouth bass will school up in the deep reaches of a lake. Most of the time, this phenomenon happens on lakes that have a thermocline. A thermocline is the separation in a lake between the warm surface water and th...
September And Walleyes Go Hand In Hand by Scott Ehricke
September is and will always be one of my favorite months of the year to fish the Winnebago system. The temperatures have a fall feel to them during the day and night, the bugs have typically gone away, there is a lot less boat traffic due to the ple...
Turnover - A Fall Fishing Phenomena by Bob Jensen
The fall season is a great time to go fishing. If you're looking for a true trophy, autumn is a good time to achieve that goal.
If you're interested in catching a few fish for the table, you can do that in the fall period also.
And, if you want ...
Wausau Is Guide's Favorite Getaway by Ted Peck
When I close my eyes for a 15 minute catnap and see my beloved Mississippi it's time to get away for a few days. Old Man River meets almost every fishing need. There are just two exceptions-salmon and muskies. The salmon itch has been well scratched ...
August 2009
Fish For The Biters by Bob Jensen
When anglers go fishing, they want to catch a fish. In fact, they want to catch lots of fish. While you're probably not going to always catch lots of fish, there are some things that anglers can do to increase their odds of getting bit. Finding th...
It's Time For A Change by Scott Ehricke
Well, here we are at the month of August and most of you are probably scratching your heads and wondering why you are not catching as many walleyes as you did in May, June, and July. The fish have not gone away, they have not all been caught, they ar...
Road Trip Smallies: Appleton Area Fox River by Bill Schultz
One of the enjoyable aspects of writing fishing articles and giving seminars has been all the fellow anglers I've met and gotten to know. Troy Stoeger, from Appleton, read one of my articles on Lake-Link and e-mailed me about our shared interest in ...
So You Wanna Be A Fishing Pro? by Ted Peck
An hour long phone conversation with Lake-Link's Darin Novak prompted this month's article. You won't find information on fooling August smallmouth or late summer panfish in the words that follow-although this is really what I want to tell you about....
Summer Perchin' by Steve Ryan
Perch fishing is one of summer's simple pleasures. As a kid, I recall waiting all winter for the first warm days of summer to head down to the 'Lake' for some jumbos. A can of crawlers or a bucket full of minnows was all that you needed to catch a ...
Summer’s Triple Play by Ted Pilgrim
Top guides reveal three tricks for tagging fish at the plate
Every guide worth his salt has one. You know, that sneaky trick up his sleeve that always keeps his clients' rods bent. Cold fronts, breathless firecracker days, July blizzards (it could...
July 2009
Family Fishing Fun by Dave Duwe
"That is a German Brown Trout" I told my son Nathan when he caught a 12 lb carp. I have never seen him more proud. The tourists walking by the dock were very impressed. They asked Nathan what kind of fish it was and he explained it was a German B...
Predicting Summer Patterns On Ol Man River by Ted Peck
One of the biggest mistakes in my college career was taking Greek Philosophy 481. This was an advanced course for philosophy students. Not a good choice for a journalism major who selected the class because the time fit his fishing plans. Besides a ...
Rember When... by Scott Ehricke
I can remember growing up in Appleton,WI and I always looking forward to the upcoming walleye run and whitebass run. You see, my uncle used to drive down from Fremont and pick me up and take me with him. I was only 6 or 7 at the time, but I remember ...
Spinning Your Way to More Walleye by Steve Ryan
Summer offers some of the easiest walleye fishing to be had throughout the year. Forget the talk about dog days of summer. Walleye enjoy a nice summer day as much as anyone in the Midwest.
Over the last decade, crawler harnesses and spinner rigs ...
Work a Weedline by Bob Jensen
As summer progresses, gamefish throughout the Midwest will be found in a variety of areas in a body of water. They are looking for food, and, depending on the lake, food can be found in a variety of areas. In some lakes, walleyes will be feeding on...
June 2009
Sunglasses for Fishermen and Women by Patricia Strutz
Sunglasses are not only an outdoor person's friend, but an integral part of our tool chest. In addition to reducing glare to help locate underwater structure, they also provide much needed protection.
However, in the world of sunglasses, there a...
Swimming Grubs for Door County Smallies by Bill Schultz
During the past 14 plus years, I've had the good fortune and pleasure of spending 125 days chasing smallies in Door County. Throughout, my efforts have been rewarded with having caught and released hundreds of smallies.
Like many of you who have...
Top 10 Failures Of Boating Courtesy by Ted Peck
Nothing puts the pin in a fishing party hog faster than being forced to contend with discourteous boaters. Natural Resource organizations in many states-Wisconsin included-require young boaters to successfully complete a boating safety course before ...
Trolling Tips on Lake Winnebago by Scott Ehricke
Trolling for walleyes on Lake Winnebago can be very difficult at times. I have written this article here with hope that this will help you out in your quest to catch the elusive walleye on Lake Winnebago.
If you are going to troll with crank ...
Try A River This Summer by Bob Jensen
The Midwest is blessed with all sorts of fishing opportunities. Lakes, rivers, ponds, and reservoirs dot our landscape. Wherever you live, you don't need to drive far to wet a line.
Rivers can provide some outstanding fishing action throughout t...
May 2009
A Family Fishing Trip by Jason Boser
We could talk about how to catch the big walleyes, Northerns, slab Crappies, big bull sunfish, or even big jumbo perch But I am going to talk about a nice day on the lake getting our next generation into fishing. Just some tips on getting our younger...
Big Water Humpheads—An Alternative Approach to Panfish by Ted Pilgrim
For trophy panfish sleuths today, it's all about staying two steps ahead of the pack; going where crowds of anglers haven't been for a while. Sometimes, it's a simple matter of circling back to lakes that were hot several seasons back. But from a bro...
Early Season Shallow Water Walleyes by Bob Jensen
It's here or very near! Wherever you live in the Midwest, walleye season is open or very close to opening. The next few weeks will see lots of anglers trying to catch walleyes. Here are some ways to increase your odds for walleye success early in ...
Jiggin The Reefs by Scott Ehricke
Fishing the reefs on Lake Winnebago can be difficult if you do not know the proper method of doing it. I am going to explain to you a method that we use, that seems to do the trick. I hope this helps you put more fish in the live well, and also gives...
Milk Run Catfish by Ted Peck
Not long ago a young man asked me which stretch of Rock River offered the best catfishing. The honest answer is 'that run of river you happen to be fishing at any given time'.
The first couple miles above Lake Koshkonong is a great place to get...
Stick Time by Dave Duwe
Late spring and Early Summer is the best time to try Stick baits for Largemouth Bass. How can something that has no action catch fish? These round plastic baits are tapered like a straight banana. I'm talking about Senkos, Yum Dingers, or All- Ter...
April 2009
Early Season River Walleyes by Bob Jensen
Pretty much wherever you live in the Midwest, there are walleyes just waiting for you to catch them right now. Some states have a closed season on 'eyes, but with just a little driving, you can get to areas that have walleye fishing happening as you...
It's A Small World by Dave Duwe
From the frozen river to a Florida reef, what a difference a week can make. On February 16th, FLW Touring Pro Brad Davis and I hit the Wisconsin River near the Wisconsin Dells. We literally "hit" the river, there were ice flows, a lot of ice flows,...
Making An End Run On The Spring Run by Ted Peck
Recent posts on the Pool 9-Genoa link confirm our human tendencies to make predictions on fish behavior based on limited information. It's human nature to see somebody catch a fish and try to mimic their behavior or to honestly believe walleyes are a...
Road Trip Peacock Bass: Part II by Bill Schultz
Back in early February, I had the pleasure of fishing for butterfly peacock bass southwest of Ft. Lauderdale with Wisconsin friend Steve Starr. During the heart of winter in Wisconsin, it was a wonderful treat, and I had the good fortune to catch an...
March 2009
Crappies After Dark by Dave Duwe
Night time is the right time. As the end of the ice fishing season draws near, some of the best night time crappie action can be had. The warmer spring nights makes early March ice fishing some of the most comfortable of the year.
For late ice ...
Missouri: A Great March Option by Ted Peck
My Dad was a wealth of homilies and old guy sayings which still whisper in my ear, even though he's been gone for almost 20 years now. One which comes to mind almost every day is "the best way to get two rods tangled is to get them within 10 feet of...
Open Water Fishing This Year by Bob Jensen
There's still lots of ice-fishing left in the winter of 2009, but I've been doing some thinking about the upcoming open water season. Those of us who live in the Midwest have lots to look forward to when it comes to fishing.
I say it a lot, and I...
Road Trip Peacock Bass by Bill Schultz
It's winter in Wisconsin. I'm not an ice fisherman, and I haven't fished open water since late October. The wait is getting to me, especially with our "old time" winters of the past two years. Last year, I had a chance to fish smallmouth bass on the ...
February 2009
9 Hot February Panfish Waters by Lawrence Van Veghel
Panfishing is piscatorial pleasure, and this outstanding pastime presents us with great-tasting, low cholesterol fish dinners. Petite February teases anglers with the possibilities of productive panfishing. Here are nine Wisconsin waters rivaling a...
Change Tactics For Panfish On Winter's "Back 9" by Ted Peck
There is no doubt ice fishers are playing the 'back nine' of Winter in Wisconsin. But make no mistake, the hardwater season is far from over. Environmental changes below the ice are changing behavior in panfish, forcing successful anglers to adapt if...
Madison Fishing Expo Runs Feb 27-Mar 1 by Dan Durbin
New Trout Pond Among Events
The Madison Fishing Expo (MFE) will be held February 27-March 1 at the Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center, and along with a new trout pond will feature a star-studded cast of seminar speakers and several kid-f...
Northern Pike Nirvana by Steve Ryan
Most claim that it doesn't exist. Others whisper in low tones about its possible location. Notes are passed. Satellite images studied. GPS coordinants exchanged.
Like chasing the end of a rainbow, the end point keeps shifting. Some prospect the ...
Thoughts On Ice-Fishing by Bob Jensen
We're quite a ways into the ice-fishing season. It's about this time every year, after we've been on the ice a few times, when we realize that we've learned or re-learned some things that can contribute to ice-fishing success. Following are some th...
January 2009
Ice Fishing for Keepers by Dave Duwe
For many years, my father and I were plagued with catching only 5 to 6 inch bluegills while ice fishing in the shallow weed flats. My how things have changed, with Vexilars and other fish locators, 5-6 inch bluegills are a thing of the past. The a...
Jigging Success for Winter Pike by Steve Ryan
Pack away the tip-ups. Grab a jig rod in one hand, a small box of lures in the other and set off on the ice for a full day of pike action. No bait necessary. With a basic understanding of the movement of pike throughout the ice season and a few sim...
Midwinter Strategies by Ted Peck
Thirty-one is a great number if you're talking walleye length. But when the home barometer needle hovers here you can bet the bite will be tough. The active feeding window for fish has been small lately
.roughly the size of a peephole in the armored ...
Mobility On The Ice by Bob Jensen
As we get farther into the ice-fishing season, things change a bit. We still need to put our bait in front of a fish if we want to be successful, but we need to be a little more aggressive in our search for fish.
Early in the season, because of...
Women On The Ice by Barb Carey
I feel like a pioneer. Not because I'm aging and about to turn 50 but because I am one of few women I know that have a passion for ice fishing. As I began to become more involved in the sport I realized it isn't to often that you run into other women...
