July 2010 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

July 2010

Episode 27
Door County
Show Date: July 3rd & 4th, 2010
Location: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Guide: Pro Guide Dale Stroschein [ 920-743-5731 | wackywalleye.com]

We’re back up in Door County with Dale Stroschein targeting bass and walleye. We have some special guest with us Stan and Nate Kaminski, owners of Specs Appeal, and a friend of theirs, Danny. They donated to a fundraiser for Shoreland Community Church in Brown Deer Wisconsin.

On day one, we are in fairly shallow, and very crystal clear water throwing spinnerbaits. We catch a lot of well built smallies, and they are a blast to catch in this shallow clear water.

On day two we try a few different spots for walleye, until they start hitting right at the end of the day. The wait was well worth it as we reel in one after another for the last hour. We are casting flicker-shads, using some of the exclusive colors that are only available at MillsFleetFarm.com.

We had a great time with our guests, and would like to thank them for the donation to Shoreland Community Church.

For information on Specs Appeal visit: SpecsAppealBayshore.com
For information on Mills Fleet Farm’s exclusive Berkley’s Flicker Shad colors: MillsFleetFarm.com

Episode 28
Summer on Lake Erie
Show Date: July 10th & 11th, 2010
Location: Lake Erie, Toledo, Ohio
Guide: Captain Paul Pacholski [1-800-798-1218 | eriehopper.com]

We are on one of are favorite fishing spots in the Mid-West, Lake Erie. If you get out on the water in the summer on Erie, your gonna have a good time and catch fish. The Weather is beautiful both days that we are out to fish. Our trusty Captain, Paul Pacholski, guides us on this nearly 10,000 square mile lake.

Joining us on our trip is Kevin Theisen of Yamaha Motor Corp., and his buddy Mark. Captain Paul tells us that the fish are relating to the bottom. This bite takes a bit a patients, because we need to let our nightcrawler harness sink for 15 seconds before we can start our slow retrieve. A slow retrieve quickly turns into a a frantic reeling session as there no mistaking when your lure gets crushed by any one of these trophy walleyes.

Episode 29
Top-Water Muskies
Show Date: July 17th &18th, 2010
Location: Duluth, Minnesota
Guide: Dustin Carlson [218-464-2379 | northlandmuskieadventures.com]

Muskie enthusiast Dustin Carlson of Northland Muskie Adventures takes us out in the Duluth area to target some of the areas largest muskies. We’re feeling pretty confident because we are on some great water, and we also have Pete Maina with us.

It’s a hot and humid day, awful for us humans, but Dustin tells us that the muskies love it. “When it’s humid out, the top-water bite is phenomenal.” He tells us. In the back of the boat Dustin and John are casting over weed patches, or ‘cabbage,’ with mostly top-water baits and bucktails. Pete is in the front of the boat casting his array of trusty Sebile lures.

We have an action-packed fishing trip, with a lot of exciting top-water strikes. We boat some really nice fish and have a great time on the water.

Episode 30
Summer Salmon
Show Date: July 24th & 25th, 2010
Location: Lake Michigan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Guide: Charter Captain Brian Settele [414-559-9238 | fishchaserguideservice.com]

We’re on Lake Michigan this week targeting the huge chinook salmon that swim in the waters just off shore this time of year. Guiding us is Charter Captain Brian Settele of Fish Chaser Guide Service. Also joining us is is Tom Hayes and his buddy Doug.

We are casting and vertical jigging today, so looking for pods of bait first is a key part of our day. We move the boat slowly, looking on the Humminbird for globs of bait suspended, and usually marking the salmon right on the bottom.

Watching these beautiful fish come to the surface as we reel in, is really cool to see in the crystal clear water. As the wind picks up mid-day, so does the fishing. Brian tells us that the wavy water really enhances the presentation of our baits as we bounce the bottom.

Episode 31
Canadian Wilderness Fly-In
Show Date: July 31st & August 1st, 2010
Location: Fly-In out of Andy Myers Lodge; Eagle Lake, Ontario, Canada
Guide: Danny Herbeck [1-888-727-5865 | andymyerslodge.com]

This week we fly into a remote Canadian lake in search of trophy walleye and northern. We are flying Wilderness Air out of Andy Myers Lodge, located on Eagle Lake. Guiding us on a lake that nobody has fished in 3 years is Danny Herbeck. Half the adventure of this trip is traveling over the untouched wilderness, and really seeing Canada. Our pilot flies us around the lake a few times, so we can get an idea of where some structure is located, and formulate where the best spots will be to start.

As you would imagine on a lake that nobody has been to in over 1000 days, the fishing is excellent from the first spot to the last. We start out casting GULP for walleyes, and catch our first fish within minutes. It doesn’t matter where we go, the bite is on everywhere. It also doesn't matter what baits we use, these fish hit it, and hit it hard. The bite stays red-hot all day, so much so that we are sore and tired of catching walleyes that average 25 inches.