October 2011 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

October 2011

Episode 40
Montréal
Show Date: October 1st, & 2nd, 2011
Location: St. Lawrence Seaway, Quebec, Canada
Guide: Pro Guide Marc Thorpe [450-433-4784 | marcthorpeguiding.com]

It’s Johns personal vacation, and we get to be along for the ride! We are in Montréal looking for the massive muskie that swim in the expansive Saint Lawrence Seaway. We have had great luck here in the past, and are looking to repeat this year. Marc Thorpe is our tried-and-true guide, and has never steered us wrong, in fact he is always steering us in the direction of some massive esox. Pete Maina joins us again this year, and Pete has brought along a new hat-based prize system to reward the angler for his catches. Make sure to tune in to see this, which may or may not include a pink hat.

Marc likes to mix things up to make sure that his customers get the great fishing experience that their there for. We start out casting, working what seem to be endless weed-lines; all along we’re thinking, “You never know when Mr. Muskie is going to make your day.” The seaway has hundreds of miles of prime muskie water, water in which Marc has boated over 800 50”+ muskies.

Intertwined with the casting, we troll to take a break, but it’s really no break at all! We land some monsters trolling too!

Episode 41
Muskies Continued...
Show Date: October 8th & 9th, 2011
Locations: Vilas County, Wisconsin; St. Lawrence Seaway, Quebec, Canada
Pro Guide Rob Manthei [715-477-2042 | robmanthei.com] &

Pro Guide Marc Thorpe [450-433-4784 | marcthorpeguiding.com]

Episode 43
Backup Plan
Show Date: October 22nd & 23rd, 2011
Location: Fox River; Green Bay, WI
Guide: Pro Guide Dale Stroschein [ 920-743-5731 | wackywalleye.com]

Not every day that we shoot our show is a picturesque sunny day in the mid 70’s with light and variable winds. No, some days it’s 49 degrees with 30-40 mph winds, and we need to be in a boat to show our viewers “What we’re using, and how we’re using it.”

This weeks show had been scheduled months in advance, so our friends at Johnsonville Brats could join us for a few days of Door County angling. Dale Stroschein was all set up to guide us for Small Mouth Bass in the bays of the famed Wisconsin peninsula, and then the wind started - and didn’t stop for 5 days. With the wind howling, and water temps quickly dropping, we attempt to hide out where we can and still target the bass.

Day one ends up being a bust, but Dale always has a backup plan. Proving the diversity of Wisconsin’s fisheries, we land on the river to jig for walleye. It doesn’t take long for the memory of the previous day to fade, as we are bringing in walleye after walleye - turing our doomed bass trip into an unforgettable walleye bonanza.

Episode 44
Fall in Vilas County
Show Date: October 29th, & 30th, 2011
Location: Vilas County, Wisconsin
Pro Guide Rob Manthei [715-477-2042 | robmanthei.com]

It’s fall, and even though it may be time to head into the woods, there isn’t any reason to put your boat away quite yet. Rob Manthei shows us whats still available if you venture onto the water later in the year. We have two days to fish, so we head out to find the walleyes first, and follow up with some muskie angling the second day.

We find walleye and perch in green weeds using a slow-poke jig with a head-hooked fathead or red-tail. During the day, Rob tells us that we usually need to give the fish more time to eat the minnow before setting the hook. As night falls, the fish will become more aggressive.

Day two is a perfect day for muskie, cooler with an east wind. We start later in the morning, and seem to land right when the window is open. We are dragging suckers, with a bit of casting off the front of the boat as well.