July 2014 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

July 2014

Episode 27
A Quick Trip to Delavan Lake
Show Date: July 5th & 6th, 2014
Location: Lake Delavan, Walworth County, WI
Guide: Matt Bichanich – Uncle Josh Pork Baits – unclejosh.com]

We fish Delavan Lake every year, and always have a good day. This trip however, was cut short due to a sever storm that blew in fast, and didn’t give us much time to get to shore. We welcomed a special guest in Jeff Kolodzinski from Humminbird, and are guided by Matt Bichanich of Uncle Josh Port Baits.

We find most of our fish near shore, fishing under docks. Matts favorite style of fishing “Flipin’ & Pitchin’ ” gets the best results, where you get your lure as far under the dock as possible. Matt tells us that on a sunny day, these fish like to find shade, and use the docks as ‘ambush’ spots for bait (or our Wack-O-Worm!) This day the smaller fish, which were very plentiful, are near shore; and the larger hard to catch jumbos are deep over rocks. The weather was looming over us all day, and we told Matt (the former tournament angler) that we needed to get a show. He turned on his competitive switch, and found fish in spots we’d never think to look.

It was a short fishing day, but we caught a great number of fish, and had a great time doing it.

Episode 28
The Ultimate Northern Pike Fishing Experience
Show Date: July 12th & 13th, 2014
Location: Phelps Lake, Northern Saskatchewan
Guide & Lodging: Wolf Bay Lodge [1-866-220-1346 | MonsterPike.ca]

This is the one of the most unique shows and locations we have ever traveled to. We talked with our friend, Pete Maina, about a place we could go to catch 20+ pound pike. Pete told us about a place that he’s been to in the past, Phelps Lake in Northern Saskatchewan.

The following is an excerpt from the website of Wolf Bay Lodge, which is the exclusive lodge on this massive lake:

“Journey to the remote Northern Canadian Phelps Lake in the beautiful “Land of the Living Skies,” and take home a memory that will last a lifetime. Fly via Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to Points North where a float plane will whisk you over the Canadian wilderness to Phelps Lake. Wolf Bay Lodge is the lone occupancy on Phelps Lake with no commercial fishing or added fishing pressures. Phelps Lake has never been commercially fished and just recently opened up to angling in the 1990’s.

Located on the edge of the Canadian Shield this glacier formed 13,500 hectare lake is approximately 30 miles long by 6 miles wide with fantastic structure. Rock outcroppings and sand eskers adorn the lakes awe-inspiring scenery. It is dappled by countless islands and supported by numerous tributaries; Phelps Lake provides superb habitat for the fish residents.

Wolf Bay Lodge also has exclusive day use of some of the surrounding lakes. Many of the bays and channels of these lakes are untouched and have never seen a boat let alone had a lure cast upon the water. MacDonald Lake to the North East of Phelps lake is a 5 mile long lake that has resident Pike and Lake Trout fishing. Nisku Lake to the East of Phelps is a larger body of water. Edwards and Bickerton Lakes are to the South East of Phelps lake and combined stretch an additional 12 miles. Jada lake is in the extreme South part of Phelps lake and has deep moving water with Lake trout.

This is a chance opportunity to explore uncharted waters and to cast a line upon virgin waters. The fish on Phelps Lake and the surrounding lakes are plentiful and vigorous, and are ready to strike at any oncoming lures.”

We couldn’t have said it any better.

Episode 29
The Ultimate Northern Pike Fishing Experience, Continued
Show Date: July 19th & 20th, 2014
Location: Phelps Lake, Northern Saskatchewan
Guide & Lodging: Wolf Bay Lodge [1-866-220-1346 | MonsterPike.ca]

This is part two of our ultimate northern pike fishing experience.

We start off our second show with some of the great trout fishing that Phelps Lake has to offer. We fish in 90-100 feet of water, using blade baits and Kalin’s plastics. They have caught fish up to 40 pounds, so we are very excited to see what we can lure in.

This is the one of the most unique shows and locations we have ever traveled to. We talked with our friend, Pete Maina, about a place we could go to catch 20+ pound pike. Pete told us about a place that he’s been to in the past, Phelps Lake in Northern Saskatchewan.

The following is an excerpt from the website of Wolf Bay Lodge, which is the exclusive lodge on this massive lake:

“Journey to the remote Northern Canadian Phelps Lake in the beautiful “Land of the Living Skies,” and take home a memory that will last a lifetime. Fly via Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to Points North where a float plane will whisk you over the Canadian wilderness to Phelps Lake. Wolf Bay Lodge is the lone occupancy on Phelps Lake with no commercial fishing or added fishing pressures. Phelps Lake has never been commercially fished and just recently opened up to angling in the 1990’s.

Located on the edge of the Canadian Shield this glacier formed 13,500 hectare lake is approximately 30 miles long by 6 miles wide with fantastic structure. Rock outcroppings and sand eskers adorn the lakes awe-inspiring scenery. It is dappled by countless islands and supported by numerous tributaries; Phelps Lake provides superb habitat for the fish residents.

Wolf Bay Lodge also has exclusive day use of some of the surrounding lakes. Many of the bays and channels of these lakes are untouched and have never seen a boat let alone had a lure cast upon the water. MacDonald Lake to the North East of Phelps lake is a 5 mile long lake that has resident Pike and Lake Trout fishing. Nisku Lake to the East of Phelps is a larger body of water. Edwards and Bickerton Lakes are to the South East of Phelps lake and combined stretch an additional 12 miles. Jada lake is in the extreme South part of Phelps lake and has deep moving water with Lake trout.

This is a chance opportunity to explore uncharted waters and to cast a line upon virgin waters. The fish on Phelps Lake and the surrounding lakes are plentiful and vigorous, and are ready to strike at any oncoming lures.”

We couldn’t have said it any better.

Episode 30
Operation Muskie 7
Show Date: July 26th & 27th, 2014
Location: Lake of the Woods, Oak Island, MN; Walsh’s Bay Store Camp [1-800-214-2533 | baystorecamp.com]

We are pleased and honored to once again be invited to Operation Muskie on Lake of the Woods. Operation Muskie is an annual event that is now in it's seventh year, which hosts 20 war veterans that have recently been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. At the end of this years event, Operation Muskie will have welcomed 140 vets to Bay Store Camp for a week of fishing. Ten great Muskie guides donated their time this to take these guys out for a week of fishing. One of those guides is Pete Maina, who we tag along with to capture this great event. Each guide takes two different vets out each day, so each can learn the most from this trip.

Lake of the woods is a massive 1,000,000+ acre body of water occupying parts of two Canadian provinces and the state of Minnesota. Contained within are over 4,552 islands and 65,000 miles of shoreline. With all of that shoreline, this is an esox anglers dream.

Bay Store Camp is our home base, and the launch pad for our hunt for the fish of 10,000 casts. Frank & Laura Walsh are our hosts, and have been since the very first Operation Muskie event. In our boat we try a variety of baits to work over the massive amount of shoreline that we fish, where everywhere looks like a “juicy” spot.

In addition to the fishing, the weeks schedule allows for the group to get together and discuss the days events. Operation Muskie is about the camaraderie among the group as much as it is about the fishing.

Thank You to all the Men and Women of our armed forces.

For more information on Operation Muskie visit: www.OperationMuskie.com
For more information on Walsh’s Bay Store Camp visit: www.baystorecamp.com

Operation Muskie could not happen without the generous support of individual donations, industry gifts-in-kind, and corporate sponsorship. A special thanks to Mills Fleet Farm, Amsoil, and Walsh's Bay Store Camp.

Thank you to all of the people who have helped make year six of this great event possible, many of whom have been volunteering since the events inception. We look forward to working with previous and new supporters to ensure that we can continue to run this amazing event again next year! Please visit Operationmuskie.com for more information on how you can support our Vets and provide them an opportunity to participate in a trip of a lifetime.