November-07 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

November 2007

Episode 45
Fall Crappie-Fest
Show Date: November 4th & 5th, 2007
Location: Wisconsin River, Wisconsin Dells
Guide: Pro Guide Big Dave Ehardt [414-803-7160]

It’s November and Big Dave is nowhere near thinking about putting his boat away for the year. In this show Dave takes to the river to key in on the fall crappie bite, and bite they do! Using small jigs, with a Gulp tail attached, today the crappies seem to like the green one. Near the end of the day they fish for some bonus walleyes.

Episode 46
Larry’s Wolf River Blitz
Show Date; November 11th & 12th, 2007
Location: Wolf River, Fremont, WI
Guide: Pro Ice Guide Larry Smith [920-361-4996 | walleyeguide.com]

River fishing is always great in the state of Wisconsin. Male Walleyes and white bass actually run up the state rivers in October and November.

This week John met Guide Larry Smith in Fremont, WI to fish for walleyes on the Wolf River.
The Winnebago system is loaded with eyes right now after superb hatches in 2003, 2004, and 2005. This is not trophy angling, however the fish do average between 14 and 18 inches and the Winnebago system is well known for the fine eating quality of it's eyes.

The best system for fall walleyes is vertical jigging. Look for the deep holes and gravel flats and concentrate on those areas. Don't spend too much time in a specific area; instead keep moving until you locate the fish. The walleyes and the white bass will use the same areas so you can catch both species in the same spot!

The top baits we used this week were ZIP lures and jigs. The ZIP actually out fished live bait the day we fished the Wolf. Larry prefers shiners over fathead minnows and some days only the shiners will provide the only action. In 7 hours of fishing we actually boated close to 100 fish (combination of walleye & white bass).

The white bass and walleye fishing should remain very good on the Wolf River until the ice locks it up. Mid day from 10:00 am till 3:00 pm will provide the best action.

Episode 47
Eric’s Red Hot Bite
Show Date: November 17th & 18th, 2007
Location: Fox River - Depere, WI
Guide: Charter Captain Eric Haataja [414-546-4627 | wibigfish.com]

River fishing continues to be red hot in Wisconsin. This week we headed up to Depere to fish the Fox River that runs through Green Bay and empties into the Bay. Really nice Walleyes, Catfish, and Muskies move into the river when the water temperatures fall into the 40's. They are after the shad that invade the rivers in fall.

The dam in DePere is one of the best spots however the entire river has excellent structure to try. We mainly used jigs and minnows and worked the breaklines in about 6-8 feet of water. We caught walleye after walleye ranging from 20 to 26 inches. The eating quality of the Fox River fish is marginal at best, however the sport of catching these fish on spinning tackle is wonderful. You can also cast crank baits in the shallows and do quite well too.
Other areas to look for walleyes include the many warm water outakes. These areas attract the shad and the eyes are sure to be there. You can crank bait all day long, however the evening hours are best including after dark.

We also went up river in search of catfish and bass. We fished the bridge embankments and caught fish at will too. Zip lures are great for vertical jiggin these areas.

The good fishing will last until ice up, then you can actually fish certain areas of the Fox through the ice. Give this is a try if you want to see your rod bend all day long..

Episode 48
Petenwell Scouting Trip
Show Date: November 24th & 25th, 2007
Location: Petenwell Flowage, Adams County, WI
Guide: Pro Ice Guide Larry Smith [920-361-4996 | walleyeguide.com]

On this weeks show I joined guide Larry Smith on the Petenwell Flowage in Adams County. We had two goals, number one to film a show catching walleyes and crappies, number two we wanted to scout ice fishing spots using the GPS.

This is a great idea for guys who love to ice fish. We do this each fall on the bigger lakes we want to fish during the winter. What Larry did was take us to various rock bars, underwater points, stump fields and the river channel that runs through Petenwell. If we marked fish or caught fish we entered information in the GPS. Larry will then transfer the information to the GPS he uses on his ATV and we will be able to pinpoint the same spots while ice fishing. This technology has really helped us catch more fish in recent winters. Now is the best tiime to scout your lake with your GPS so you can find those humps, weed beds, etc.

Now to the fishing. Unfortunately the wind started to howl 45 minutes after we got on the lake. We were able to find some spots for ice fishing but we were not able to hold the boat in the 35 mph wind. We were forced to head up the river north of the flowage. There were not alot of walleyes in the river however we were able to catch 30 or 40 fish, mostly small. We used ZIP lures, jigs, and a simple hook and minnow. We ended up boating 7 legals in the wind and 28 degree temperatures. That stretch of the Wisconsin river can be outstanding in the fall, however we need some rain to increase the current which will in turn cause 100's of lake walleyes to run up the river.

All in all a tough day on the water. In November you have to deal with cold and wind. Sometimes the rewards are great, sometimes you have a tough day. It was successful though because we were able to locate some excellent ice fishing spots that we will be hitting in the next several weeks.