Carter's First Ice Fishing Trip

Today (1/20) is Carter's second birthday and it just so happened to also be an unseasonably warm day.  We had temperatures in the high 40s so it was a great day to take him out for his first ice fishing trip.  It was also Norah's second ever ice fishing trip. 

Bill and I headed out early to get everything set up, then Carly brought the kids out.  We had a flurry of activity right away, then things slowed down.  At one point we had three flags up at one time with 2 of the fish being in the 30" class.

Norah caught her first fish on a tipup (with some help) and Carter somehow jigged up and reeled in a bluegill all by himself. 

Below are the pictures of one of my favorite ever ice fishing trips.

Fishing Club Ice Outing

January 13th was our first Waukesha West Fishing Club trip out onto the ice.  We headed down to the kettle on Nagawicka for some northern pike action.

I tried to convince the kids that we should move the trip to a different day because when we woke up it was -1 degrees with an -18 wind chill.  They convinced me to go and I am glad we did.  Action wasn't super fast, but it was enough to keep us interested.  We landed somewhere around 8 pike and had a lot of drops.  Strangely, it didn't seem as cold as it was and we had a great time.  I look forward to our next excursion. 

The pike were caught on Beaver Dam tipups with 40lb fluorocarbon leaders and a large shiner.  We were fishing from 3-10 feet of water. 

Fall on Lake Michigan

I intended to have more fall/winter trout fishing pictures, but man did it turn cold for winter break.  The lake's main access points are frozen now and it will take a nice warm snap to open them up.  I am hoping to try down by the Oak Creek power plant for the first time this January/February.

We caught many more fish than are pictured, but included are the highlights.

Some of the fish pictured here were caught on our first Waukesha West Fishing Club outing where we fished from shore using spawn, jerk baits, crank baits, and jigs with plastic.  Other fish were caught by fishing club members who returned on their own, and some were caught by Tim, Bill and me on our own.

It was great sharing Lake Michigan shore spots with the kids, and while I personally didn't catch any monsters this fall it was still a great time each trip.

It appears there is enough ice out on local lakes now so I guess it will be time to start ice fishing...although I am not a huge fan of that.

Here are links to some of our favorite lures...almost all of which can be purchased at Dick Smith's in Delafield.

Firetiger Scatterrap Shad
White Shadow Rap Shad
White Kaitech Swimbaits

SALMON!

It may have taken my three years of trying, but I finally was able to catch some salmon on my own out on Lake Michigan.

Right now, the fish have moved into the marinas and can be caught using skein and bobbers.  I found my fish 23 feet down in 24 feet of water.

What a battle when these things bite!

Use a #4 Gamagatsu Octopus Hook on 14lb test line with the smallest bobber that will hold up a quarter size piece of skein and hold on.  Resist the temptation to set the bobber at 5 feet thinking that you will catch one of the jumping fish...they are not up there to eat.  The active ones were at the bottom.

July and August Fishing

After Canada, fishing slowed down for me.  I caught a few bass, pike, and gills...but didn't have any truly fantastic fishing.

The best fishing this summer by far was for gills.  Swan Lake, Delavan Lake, and Nagawicka Lake all gave up some fantastic bluegills.

I am optimistic about the future of perch on Lake Winnebago as the 7.5" fish are in there thick.  Next year, there should be some excellent keepers.  

The bass seemed to stay much shallower this year than I am used to, and I didn't find any really good schools of fish.  3lbs was about my biggest fish this summer.  

Canada!

Just got back from a week long trip to Canada.  This was a first Canadian trip for John, Tim, and me...and the first in a long time for Dad.  We stayed at Andy Myer's Lodge on Eagle Lake in Northwest Ontario.  I will review that later.  We caught enough nice fish that I finally learned how to use a little HTML and embed a Google Presentation of pictures rather than simply pasting photos all over this blog.

First of all...John and I finally caught MUSKYS...BIG ONES.  Mine was a 48.5" male which was quickly followed by a 52" female that John caught.  We were guided to these fish by Steve (Herbie) Herbeck.  Both fish were caught on the same custom painted bucktail.  These are the sort of fish that people go to Eagle Lake to catch.

We spent much of out time fishing walleyes.  With a guide, Dad and I caught about 50 walleyes each in just about 6 hours of fishing, along with 15 or so jumbo perch.  This was without question the most fish I have ever caught in a short period of time.  It is not a stretch to say it is what people think of when they think of Canada.  On our own, we did not have as much success, but we still often caught 20+ walleyes per person per day, which is nothing to sneeze at.

We also caught some bass and pike, but we were not very good at catching these.  Well, small pike were everywhere, but big ones were difficult to get to.

Usually, bass are something we turn to catching when we can't catch walleyes.  We struggled with the bass.  John and I did end up finding one bay where I caught six smallies in my first ten castes and at one point eight other bass followed the one I was catching to the boat.  We were in crystal clear water surrounded by cliffs and trees and it was like a dream come true.  Unfortunately, two days later when we returned to this spot they were gone.

Overall, I loved Canada.  There was not a pleasure boater to be found, you could go hours without seeing another fisherman, and all the shorelines were filled with nature, not homes and boat lifts.  That said, it took substantial help to catch fish and it was not as easy as I envisioned it would be...mostly due to the vast 60,000+ acre size of Eagle Lake.

If you were thinking about a trip to Canada, I would absolutely recommend staying at Andy Myer's Lodge.  Below is what I loved, what I liked, and what could have been better.

WHAT I LOVED:

1. The lodge had doc hands that met you at the pier each time, cleaned your fish, and gassed your boat.  All we did was fish.  No work at all.  
2. The American Plan food was good and super convenient.  Shore lunches were amazing.  On days you didn't want a shore lunch, a cooler met you in your boat with very good boxed lunches.  Breakfast and dinner was so hearty we didn't even need to snack.
3. If you wanted to eat your catch when you got back, someone would clean it, fry it, and deliver it to your cabin.  Pretty amazing.
4. The guides were all SUPER nice.  I got to know about 6 of them and they were helpful and fun.  I am pretty sure that all of us would like to hang out with Gordy again in the future.
5. We got to know many people at the camp who were there at the same time as us, it was great to get to know them and hear their fishing stories.
6. I was able to find 20"+ walleyes by trolling right in front of the camp.  It was a great way to end each evening.  
7. The landscape was beautiful. 
8. The rental boats were big, stable, fast, and had a reliable 4 stroke engine.  

WHAT I LIKED:

1. The fishing was good but not as easy without a guide as I hoped.
2. The beds were quite comfortable and the cabin was clean.
3. Bait was available right at camp so we never had to leave.
4. Myers bay is situated fairly centrally, so you could fish both "wings" of the lake.
5. The main lodge has WIFI so you are not cut off from home. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE:

1. On a lake as big as Eagle, you find yourself taking very long boat rides to fishing spots.
2. You really do need guides to truly experience what the lake has to offer.
3. I know many people who go to Canada don't want a TV in their cabin.  I am not one of those people.  
4. I am pretty sure it rains every day in Ontario.  
5. Tim caught the biggest walleye, bass, and pike of the trip.  Not me. 
6. We forgot to have some take a stinking group picture of us again.
7. A trip with the accommodations we selected is expensive.  It is not something this fisherman will be able to do on a yearly basis.  

Carter's First Fish, Opening Day, and My New Boat

 During the first days of the fishing season, I was able to take Norah and Carter out for some bass, trout, and bluegills.  Carter LOVES fishing, while Norah mostly likes playing with the worms, minnows, and leeches.

I also was able to take Carly out for some walleyes and whitebass on the Wolf River.

My first boat!