April 2013

Episode 14
Great Day on the River
Show Date: April 6th & 7th, 2013
Location: Wisconsin River, Wisconsin Dells
Guide:  Pro Guide Big Dave Ehardt [414-803-7160]

It’s finally starting to feel like spring! The rivers are the bodies of water that open up first, and Big Dave Ehardt will be our guide.  Big Dave is feeling pretty good, and will be starting to guide again this year. We’re on the river in the Dells, and we’ve got two special guests, Kurt - Big Dave's nephew, and Rob Manthei - whose local lakes won’t thaw for a few more weeks.   

We are just a bit early, but were very excited to get out in the boat and fish for some Wisconsin Dells river walleyes.  Since the fish are still a bit lethargic, we’re using lures that put out a lot of noise.  Dave is throwing twister-tales, and john is casting his trusty Sebile Vibrato or ZIP Lure. 

Episode 15
Spring Fox River Walleyes
Show Date: April 13th & 14th, 2013
Location: Southern bay of Green Bay, Wisconsin
Guide: Brett Jolly [715-581-5678 | captainjollycharters.com]

If the amount of boats on the Fox River are any indication that the walleyes are biting, the bite is red-hot.  We’re taking a few special guests out with Charter Captain Brett Jolly on the Fox River in Green Bay, to see what all this boat traffic is about.

The walleyes are making their spring run to spawn, and this is a great time of year to catch a trophy.  We’re joined by two good friends from Johnsonville Sausage, Bill Morgan, and Tom Schneider.  They are both enjoying the crisp day that we’re out, which feels more like January than April.  We are setting up drifts, and vertical jigging, using Gulp!, ZIP’s, and other plastics.  The water temps a just a bit too low for this time of year, so the bite during the day is only set to get better.  At night, we throw an anchor out, and cast crank-baits for some bonus slobs. 

Episode 16
Is It Spring Yet!?
Show Date: April 20th & 21st, 2013
Location: Menominee River, Marinette Wisconsin
Guide:  Pro Ice Guide Larry Smith [920-361-4996 | walleyeguide.com]

The extremely cool weather continues, as we experience the most uncomfortable day of shooting we’ve had all winter.  We are open water fishing, but are surrounded big gigantic ice, which makes travel very difficult at times.  The ice is a clue that the water temps haven’t really risen to a temp that is favorable to great walleye fishing. The hot spring bite should be happening very soon as the temps rise.  

The best bait for our arduous river journey is Gulp and a jig. We are drifting downstream, and keeping our lines as vertical as possible.  The fishing is slow most of the day, while we were under heavy cloud-cover.  Near the end of the day, the sun pops out, and the fishing picks up drastically, in both quantity and quality.

Episode 17
Lake Erie
Show Date: April 27th & 28th, 2013
Location: Lake Erie, Toledo, Ohio
Guide:  Captain Paul Pacholski [1-800-798-1218 | eriehopper.com]

Late April and May is a perfect time to head over to Lake Erie and fish with our buddy and Charter Captain, Paul Pacholski.  Spring is vertical jigging season, and Lake Erie is well known for its massive walleye population.  We have a great crew with us, all of whom are fantastic sticks! We’ll need them, because we regularly catch our limit, and Ohio doesn't have a possession limit.  

As stated above, we’re vertical jigging, mostly using hair-jigs or Vibratos.  Captain Paul tells us that the fish aren’t feeding, they’re reacting to a disturbance in their territory.  So making a commotion on the bottom will get these walleyes stirred up, and react to protect their area.  The jigs we use have no bait, which proves that these fish are extremely aggressive.

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