Summer fishing with the fam

I did a lot of fishing this summer, but much of it was in short bursts.  I did not really explore any new waters and I did not really master any new techniques, but I had a great time helping my kids catch fish and catching a few of my own.

Things I learned this summer:

1. The Vision 110 Megabass Jerkbait is absolutely deadly when tied to anyone's rod but my own.
2. A new spot on my favorite lake.
3. The pond in Downtown Delafield has some surprisingly large bass in it.
4. You need to transfer the warranty on a Lund boat right after purchase otherwise the stupid company won't honor it.
5. Carter can name almost all Wisconsin fish and tell you which ones have teeth prohibiting him from lipping them.
6. Rewarding Norah with a gummy worm every time she catches a fish keeps her laser focused.
7. John is notably better at bass fishing than me now.

Pewaukee Lake Fishing Club Outing

In late May 2018 fishing club had its first "bass tournament" where we competed both for the biggest bass and the longest 5 bass. 

The team of Max, Tate, and Nick ended up edging out the team of Riley, Sam and Mark and handily defeated the team of Jackson, Aiden, and Steve.

Despite their last place finish, Aiden did take home big fish honors with an 18" largemouth caught on a red scatterrap shad that...incidentally...I had lent him.

The weather was terrible, but we had a great time.

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.