July 2016 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

July 2016

Episode 28
When the Fish Don't Bite...
Show Dare: July 9th & 10th, 2016
Location: Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Guest: Matt Bichanich [unclejosh.com]

One of the main questions that get asked when I talk to fans is this: "So, what do you do if the fish aren't biting?" This weeks show will show you what we do when the fish aren't cooperating.

Our trip starts out on the Menominee River ( in the Iron Mountain, MI area ), with our resident bass expert Matt Bichanich. Matt knows all the hiding spaces the bass use, so we were looking forward to an awesome day. The weather was very warm, and the scenery is spectacular. Unfortunately the fish weren’t in the mood to bite, so we had to move on to our day 2 plans early, and without much preparation. On the way north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we checked out the MN DNR web page, and looked for lakes that might work for us. The lake we ended up on had mid-lake structure, according to our Lake Master maps chip, and we found walleyes instantly!

We cruised around the lake checking out other structure and shorelines, and caught fish there too, but the best bite was on that original spot.

We caught a great mess of fish, and really had a blast reeling in fish the times that we found a school.

Episode 29
Big Trout in Big Waves
Show Date: July 16th & 17th, 2016
Location: Lake Michigan, Milwaukee, WI
Guide: Charter Captain Brian Settele [414-559-9238 | fishchaserguideservice.com]

Trout & Salmon fishing on Lake Michigan has been a blast to fish over the years, with this world-class fishery right in our backyard, we’re often spoiled by what people travel from far and wide to fish.

This week we’ve got a challenging environment, as the wave are steadily building as we set up on our jigging spot out of Milwaukee Wisconsin. Charter Captain Brian Settele has been fishing there waters since he was a boy, and he knows that there are monster trout and salmon to be caught.

We’re out fishing with our good friends Kevin Theisen of Yamaha Motorsports, and Ron Johnson - a pro bass angler representing Baitmate.

All the anglers also purchased a Salmon-A-Rama ticket in hopes that if they do get a trophy, it’ll be a prize winner too. Salmon-A-Rama is a huge tournament held each year our of Racine Wisconsin.

Episode 30
Take A Vet Fishing
Show Date: July 23rd & 24th, 2016
Location: Michigan - Baraga Co. & Gladstone

This week we shine the light on a wonderful organization, Take a Vet Fishing.
From their website:
“Our slogan is "A Day of Giving Back" and is the core of our mission. When our brave service men and women return from overseas, as a nation, we have been failing to show these heroes our appreciation. A shockingly high number of service members are returning with injuries and even the soldiers without physical wounds are having a hard time adjusting back into the "real world". These "Heroes" have given so much of themselves for our freedom. Reaching out and offering a "Thank You" with a hand shake, is the very least we can do”

We are honored and humbled to do what we can to help out. We were invited to be on of the “guides” for their Gladstone Michigan event, and we were lucky to spend a half-day on the water with Alex and Jim, 2 retired US Marines.

For more info, and to donate to this great cause: http://takeavetfishing.org/

Before we joined up with TAVF, we hit with water with Pro Bass angler Ron Johnson, who showed us some lakes in Baraga County in Michigan. We caught mostly walleyes, but on a very diverse lure and bait selection. A great day on the water!

Episode 31
Casting & Trolling the Bay
Show Date: July 30th & 31st, 2016
Location: Oconto, WI - Bay of Green Bay, Wisconsin
Guide: Brett Jolly [715-581-5678 | captainjollycharters.com]

Charter captain Brett Jolly has been having very successful trips for walleye on the Bay of Green Bay, so he invited us along to catch some fish. Ryan the photographer invited his Dad as well, so we’ve got our “designated reeler” for when we troll.

We start out the day jigging on a rock reef, and are catching a lot of eating size fish. Brett is a staunch conservationist, so no walleye over 22 inches is kept if you’re in his boat. So if you want to eat fish, you’ll find these fun fighting 15-18 inch fish great table fare.

Trolling is where the trophy walleyes are, and Brett has had some slobs in the boat. We’re using a crawler harness in a slow trolling pattern over mud. Once these fish see the boat, they really put up a fight, which is exciting when the take off right after you see them.