May-09 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

May 2009

Episode 18
An Unexpected Day-Bite on the Bay
Show Date: May 2nd & 3rd, 2009
Location: Sturgeon Bay – Door County, Wisconsin
Guide: Charter Captain Dale Stroschein [920-743-5731 | wackywalleye.com]

We never really knew that we could catch giant walleyes on Green Bay at will during the day. We head out with Dale Stroschein during the day at first just to kill time, and wait for the hot night bite to start up. Little did we know that the hot bite was already going on. Dale can always catch walleyes during the day, but it is a rarity to catch monster after monster, like we experienced on this day in mid-April.

Dale is a mastermind when it comes to trolling, the variety of line lengths, bait depths, bait selections, colors, and speed. We are in 8-12 feet, trolling 1.2 mph using crank-baits with boards. Dales attention to detail lands us a great fishing day, and we don’t have to stay up all night to enjoy it.

Episode 19
A Great Bite on the Great Lakes
Show Date: May 9th & 10th, 2009
Location: Lake Erie, Port Clinton Ohio; Lake Michigan, Waukegan, Illinois
Guides: Captain Paul Pacholski [1-800-798-1218 | deacsretreat.com]
Captain Tim Wojnicz [262-652-4459 | finquestfishing.com]

We have a two location show today featuring two great lakes in our area. The first we brave some wind and waves on Lake Erie, fishing out of Port Clinton Ohio with our friend Captain Paul. The second we head out onto Lake Michigan, out of Waukegan Illinois, with Captain Tim Wojnicz. We get two different Great Lakes and two different spices.

The first Day we head out on to a wind-blown Lake Erie, to try and find some delicious walleyes that the lake is known for. The wind has really whipped up and the water has been dirtied up quite a bit. Captain Paul doesn’t give up, and puts us on some nice fish. The problem is staying on the fish, with winds in the 15-20 mph range, we are battling some pretty nasty waves. We are using the tried and true jig with GULP, and jigging in 8-10 ft of water. Captain Paul says always be ready, because these walleyes will usually hit on the drop.

We have a great half-day of fishing, and look forward to our full day tomorrow. Unfortunately, the wind really picks up over night, and there are 5-7 foot waves.

After getting blown off of Lake Erie, a few days later we head out on Lake Michigan to catch some jumbo perch. We are guided by Captain Tim Wojnicz, and he has the perch fishing, dialed in. So much so, that he has an electric motor mounted to the back of his 30-foot charter boat. Captain Tim stresses the importance of positioning what targeting these perch, and once we’re on them, it’s non-stop.

We are fishing out of Waukegan, Illonois, where each angler can keep 15 perch. We travel a few miles from shore, and position in 50-60 feet of water. We are using a very single drop-shot rig with two hooks, one low, and one high. As soon as our sinkers hit the bottom we feel the tug of a perch, it is relaxing fishing at it’s best. Tim tells us that the bite will be great until the end of May.

Episode 20
Dave’s Crappie Bonanza
Show Date: May 16^th & 17^th, 2009
Location: Lake Wisconsin; Colombia County, Wisconsin
Guide: Pro Guide Big Dave Ehardt [414-803-7160]

No matter where we are in the open water season, we can always count on Big Dave to have a great bite going on. This week we join Dave as we launch out of Lake Wisconsin Resort in Columbia County. This 9500 acre lake is home to many popular species of fish including walleye, perch, muskie, and crappies. These species make it a favorite fishing lake among anglers, and during the course of this weeks show, you’ll know why.
This week we are targeting crappies, and we using a very simple method – slip bobbers. Dave has us positioned around piers, and wood structure. Using minnows or GLUP minnows, we cast around the docks or into the wood, and the crappies do the rest. There can be something said about a nice relaxing day on the water using slip bobbers, this is not that day. As soon as we get to our spot, the crappies start biting, and they don’t stop until we do. It’s a great day of fishing, despite getting caught in the rain for a bit.

Episode 21
Willow Flowage
Show Date: May 23^rd & 24^th, 2009
Location: Oneida County, Wisconsin; The Willow Flowage
Guide: Pro Guide Jeff Winters [715-385-9313 | jeffsguideservice.com]

Northern Wisconsin is a beautiful place to be, especially in the spring for fishing. There are miles and miles of pristine shoreline and dozens of species of fish to scratch the itch to fish. What ever your targeting you can be sure that your rod will be bent over.

We are up in Oneida County with Jeff Winters and another guide friend of his, Jim. This week we’re fishing the beautiful Willow flowage. We start off targeting walleyes, looking for new spring weeds, and wood structure along the shorelines. As fishing goes we can’t choose what will bite, and we find crappies, bass, and northern on our lines. As with most anglers, we don’t care about the species, we just love to be in the boat. We are up for two days, day one is a picturesque spring day. Day two proves to be a bit different, and Jeff shows us the versatility of the area by hiding us on a different lake to escape the wind.

We are using a multitude of different tactics to land these beautiful fish. When we are working shorelines we are casting crank baits into the wood. When we are working the weeds we use a jig and GULP minnows, we also use bobbers on or dead sticks. Jeff and Jim know the area very well, and when the wind blows the second day they know where we can go to stay out of the wind. More importantly, they know where we can continue to catch fish. Jeff says that this hot spring bite will last a few more weeks.

Episode 22
Bass Fishin’ with Rob
Show Date: May 30^th, & 31^st, 2009
Location: Vilas County; Northern Wisconsin
Guide: Pro Guide Rob Manthei [715-477-2042 | robmanthei.com]

We are up in a wind-blown Vilas County this week with Rob Manthei. We also welcome a special guest, Dave Cole. Dave donated to the Kettle Moraine YMCA, and he and his guests get to fish with us for a day, and he sure picked a windy day.
With the wind gusting up to 40 MPH, we try a few spots out of the wind, but the good spots are along the windiest shorelines. Knowing where are the fish are, Rob put us right in it, and he doesn’t disappoint. Trying to stay as even as we can working the shoreline, we land some well earned trophy bass. With the heavy wind, we have to have someone running either the Mercury kicker or the OptiMax to prevent us from running into the rocky shoreline.
We are using wacky worms with a #5 red bass hook in the calm areas, and crank-baits and rattle-traps in the windy areas.
Thankfully we are up for two days and the second day is the complete opposite of day one. Day two is a prime example of a great northern Wisconsin fishing trip. Today we get to do what we wanted to do the day before, working the shorelines casting a jig and minnow into the wood. John of course is sticking to his favorite wacky style rig.