Episode 18

Cold-Front Misery

Show Date: May 2nd & 3rd, 2020

Location: Marathon County, Wisconsin

Guide: Brett Jolly [715-581-5678 | captainjollycharters.com]

Every angler has had their fair share of bad days, and just because we’re filming a TV show, doesn't mean we are immune to a few ourselves.  

This week was one of the toughest of my career.  With the coronavirus still keeping us close to home, and a nasty cold-front blowing through, our options were very limited.  We opted for a lake close to home, and one that John knows well, Little Cedar Lake.  John first developed his love of fishing on Little Cedar, getting out on the water whenever he could as a young man.  This week he wanted to treat Blake to a fun day of fishing, and show her some of his hotspots.  Trying everything we could think of, shallow & deep; and just about every lure in the tackle box resulted in next to nothing.  

Hoping to be rescued from a poor day on the water, we called Captain Brett Jolly, and he told us the fish might be small, but we’d catch a bunch of them; so we headed north.  Brett knew where we were fishing like the back of his hand, but all the fish in the system were just not biting.  We did manage to catch a few small stray fish, but in the end, the fish just weren’t on. 

Bad days happen to all of us, but we still enjoyed our time in our new Recon nonetheless.  We always try to make the best of every situation. 

Episode 19

Pete Maina: Professional Walleye Expert

Show Date: May 9th & 10th, 2020

Location: Hayward, Wisconsin

I always look forward to our spring trip to Hayward Wisconsin, to get out fishing with my longtime friends Pete and Tex Maina.  Pete is a well known, and highly regarded muskie expert; but he’s an avid angler of just about any species.  This week we’re out targeting walleye, and Pete’s weapon of choice is a crank bait, the Livingston Jerk Master to be exact.  Using a jerk and pause presentation is the most effective in these cooler water temps.  John is throwing his trusty Kalin’s plastics, both the Jerk Minnow, and his new favorite the Tickle Grub. Pete’s dad Tex joins us for part of our trip, and is using live bait, so we’ve got three different preventions happening all at once. 

Episode 20

Vilas County Fun Fishing

Show Date: May 16th &Thanks 17th, 2020

Location: St. Germain, Vilas County, WI

Guide: Pro Guide Rob Manthei [715-477-2042 | robmanthei.com]

Episode 21

Backwoods Bass Lake

Show Date: May 23rd & 24th, 2020

Location: Hayward, Wisconsin

What started out as an experiment last year, has now turned into a tradition. We’re up in the Hayward Wisconsin area, with Pete and his dad Tex.  We’re checking out a small backwoods lake, so small that our Recon would never get in to, so we truck in a couple of small boats, and see what we find.  There are a ton of small lakes that aren't easily accessible, so you’ll need to work to get to them in some cases, but you will likely have the whole lake to yourself.  You can also go to dnr.wi.gov/lakes to find a lake with a species you’d like to target.  

A good idea on any body of water that you’re not familiar with is to use a “search bait” type of lure, in our case straight retrieving a Kalin’s Tickle Grub or a Livingston JerkMaster are what we’re going to try. 

Episode 22

Spring in Door County

Show Date: May 30th & 31st, 2020

Location: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Guide: Dale Stroschein [Wacky Walleye Guide Service - 920-743-5731 | wackywalleye.com]

Accommodations: Sand Bay Beach Resort [SandBayBeach.com | (920) 743-5731]

We always love traveling to Door County in the spring to fish with our longtime friend, and charter captain Dale Stroschein, but this year was obviously different.  With the worldwide pandemic in full swing during the best fishing, there was nothing we could do, we had to stay close to home.  As the state of Wisconsin opened up, we knew one of the first spots we wanted to visit was Sand Bay Beach resort, and ask Dale if the fish were still biting.  

We missed the best walleye fishing, and we are just a bit early for the good bass bite, so being in between these bites, we tried for both.  Spending a few hours in the afternoon on the day we arrived, we head out for walleyes, and target bass during our next day.

Targeting these trophy walleyes Dale says to always play to your strengths, so if there is a lure, jig, or plastic that you’re confident in - USE IT!  When we move on to bass, we are in a shallow bay, and find most of the activity on the northernmost side of the bay, where the water is warmest.