Weekend in Wisconsin

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Jess and I headed up to her parent’s place near Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the weekend. We met up with her mom, Diane and her dad, Steve as well as her Uncle Greg and Aunt Shirley. Greg was able to bring down his boat so as much fishing as he was willing to do, I was going to try and be in the boat as well. We had only one obstacle standing in our way, the weather. There was a chance of rain Saturday and Sunday and we were hoping that it was going to hold off long enough to log some good fishing time.

Saturday came along and we decided to sleep in, so we didn’t starting getting ready until 10 or so. We also were unfamiliar with any of the lakes in the area so we really didn’t know where to start. Steve suggested we head to Lake Puckaway, which is a lake down the road that he thought he heard had some fish in it. We decided to give it a try, so Jess, Greg and I headed off down the road as the skies started to turn darker with every mile that we drove. When we launched the boat and headed to a shallow point that was close to the ramp. Before I put a bait in the water I looked out across the lake and it was black. It was only a matter of time before it started misting, then a light sprinkle, then a straight down pour. I gave my rain gear pants to Jess, and we fished on. The first point turned up nothing, so Greg started moving toward a strip of emergent grass in about 2 feet of water. By now the rain is really coming down. My jeans are soaked, the raingear I gave Jess is now absorbing water, and Greg’s Frogtogs are taking on water. This is really bad! I was really worried this would be the end of our day, but all of sudden Greg sets the hook and immediate says to grab the net. The anticipation was hard to beat as this fish tore through the weeds. This fish was big. After a couple of minutes the fish surfaced and all I saw was a flash of gold. I immediately shouted, “It’s a walleye!” Greg got it to the boat and I netted it. It was a 26 inch walleye. From then on it was every other cast, big walleye after big walleye. We would catch the occasional northern and some really nice bass. Jess even caught a 5 pound catfish. As the skies cleared and as we dried out, the fish kept biting. It was one of the best days I have had on the water. We would have spent more time out there but we had to get to dinner. Eating always seems to get in the way of great fishing, and as a lot of you know I don’t miss a meal. You might also notice the small fish that I am holding in the pictures, it is called a warmouth and it is a cross between a largemouth bass and a sunfish. It looks exactly like a sunfish, except for its bigger than average mouth. They are really aggressive. I caught this one on a 7.5 inch power worm, which is a couple of inches bigger than he is.

I was really excited to find a bunch of fish like that stacked up in a 100 yard area. I have never seen anything like that before. I also learned that a walleye in 2 feet of water fought just as hard as a really big bass. I have a lot more respect for the fish now that I had a chance to catch them like this.

Special thanks goes to Shirley for cleaning all of our fish, I know my mom really appreciated the fish. We wound up with 11 over the course of the weekend. It was a blast; I can’t wait to head back up and do it again. Thanks again to Greg for carting me around Wisconsin fishing this weekend.

Conrad and I also went out and did a little cat fishing. Conrad once again proved he is one of the best cat fishermen I have come across. His technique was flawless and his boat maneuvering was second to none. Up and down the Wapsi we went, Conrad pulling a catfish from every spot and me just setting the hook and missing. I could not catch anything to save my life. I displayed no patients and as much as Conrad coached me I couldn’t get it done. I got skunked. I hope that if Conrad takes me out again I can at least catch one and work my way up from there.

Thanks to everyone that sent in pictures. I tried to post as many as I could. If you all have anymore send them my way and I will post them up. Also I got a suggestion about adding a link or two about how to fish for the different species of fish found in the Midwest. I am going to start to get to work on that and try to have that in the next couple of weeks.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, and enjoy the beginning of summer.

Tight lines,
Pat

Is it Summer Yet?

Well folks another weekend, another cold front. This one brought temperatures just above freezing for most of the morning and a “refreshing” 20 mph wind out of the north. Saturday’s trip was all about the spinner baits in as little water as we could fine. The river is currently flooding, but the water is really clear. You have to remember that clear is relative to what you are used to and when you can see your bait more than 3 inches in the water on the Mississippi the water is clear.

Joe Hannsen joined my dad and me on the trip this week. We really did a lot of moving trying to get out of the current and the wind. We wound up catching 8, but nothing with any size. I did end up catching a 24-25 inch walleye on a spinner bait. It was pretty exciting and to be honest with you it has been the highlight of my fishing year so far. I will also have to credit my dad for netting the fish. He has a history of missing them or knocking them off the hook so it was good to see he got lucky when he needed too. His record hasn’t been real stellar this year.

I would also like to congratulate Ken Conrad of Long Grove for the fish of the week. The carp is beginning to become a highly sought after game fish here in the United States. If you don’t believe me, do some research. Nice job again Ken.

The FLW boys are in town for a tournament this weekend. I think they fish Saturday and Sunday with the weigh-in down at the River Center. It would be worth checking out. They are going to catch some fish, so it will be cool to see how big they can get in the river.

Next week I am heading off to Wisconsin to chase after smallmouth with Jess, her uncle Greg, and her dad Steve. Hopefully we will have some pictures of some fish to share. Either way it will be a great time. Hope everyone enjoys their long weekend.

Tight lines,
Pat

My Gift to Mom

Last weekend was an adventure to say the least as my dad and I went up to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to do a little bass fishing. We took off from Davenport at 8am where it was a comfortable 60 degrees with a slight breeze out of the north. As we headed up north the conditions were what you would consider perfect for this time a year. It was an overcast day with the water temperature around 58 degrees. This is prime water conditions for a great bass bite. What we didn’t notice until we stepped out of the truck to put the boat in the water that things were a little different here as they were in Davenport. We were welcomed with a 20 mph breeze out the north and the air temperature was about 50. I don’t care how tough you are, IT WAS COLD!

We both figured our best bet was to fish the back waters and try and at least get out of the wind since the current was really moving down the river. We checked out the map and found a couple of chutes to run through. As we started fishing the day we both tried to put the puzzle together to find the pattern for the day. I started with a crank bait, while my dad stuck with a bright yellow spinner bait. It wasn’t long before my dad threw his bait up a little creek channel and slowly retrieved it back to the boat. He cranked the bait 5 or 6 times before a bass came out of nowhere and crushed it. He quickly reeled it in and we had our first piece in our puzzle. That fish was in no water at all. We tried to go through the area to get to the next piece of back water and there was literally no water there, it was all mud. We continued on up and down the backwaters looking for similar structure. I kept my crank bait on and my dad kept catching fish. We had figured out that the bass wanted a spinner bait and that was it, so rather than be stubborn about the whole deal I switched to a spinner bait and added a 3 inch mister twister grub as a trailer. I threw my spinner bait into this tree with my second cast and caught a nice 2 pounder. It was the first bass of the season and I was really excited to finally get that monkey off my back. We continued the rest of the day catching fish here and there, just enough to stay interested.

I will spare everyone with the highlights from Sunday, because there weren’t any. It was cold, and we had some issues with finding places to fish that were fitting our pattern from the day before. We started heading home around 11 since it was mother’s day. Everyone might be upset that we went fishing on mother’s day weekend, but trust me my mom deserves a break from everyone to read and do what she wants. We also took a picture of how close the houses were there, you have to really like your neighbor to be a part of that madness.

On a lighter note Conrad is about finished with his boat this weekend. The carpet was installed and the seating is ready to be put in sometime this week. The maiden voyage will be this weekend hopefully. There will be plenty of pictures including anything that we catch. Thanks to Conrad for letting me help out, it was a blast to come up with an idea or two.

Today I went fishing after school down on the river. I caught 2 smallmouth bass, both around a pound and a half on my ultra light rod. They are starting to move a little bit around the shallows and the bite should be on in the next couple of days.

I added a new feature to the blog this week. On the right hand side I have added the “Fish of the Week”. Email me your pictures and I will try to get everyone up there that I deem to have picture worthy fish. The email again is unijudkins@hotmail.com

On a serious note I would like to thank my mom for everything she does for me. She is a very giving and patient person to deal with me. I am pretty sure she might be the only one that reads this but thanks again mom.

Hope everyone gets a chance to head out and enjoy the great weather.

Tight lines,
Pat

Turkeys, Trout, and Power Tools

Well folks, it has been a pretty busy last couple of weeks with a lot of write about so grab a drink and buckle in. I started out the weekend in the middle of the forest turkey hunting with my Dad, Doug and Phillip. We were out in the woods at 5:00, and I found a nice tree to sit against for the next couple of hours. This part of the morning is always the coolest for me. The forest is totally quiet except for the turkeys gobbling over top of you in the trees and the owls hooting back. You’re in camo from head to toe and you feel invisible to the world around you. As the sun rises there are squirrels and birds all around me, oblivious to the fact that I have a 10 gauge ready to go at any second. I sat under my tree and reflected about what was going on around me and wondered if I would ever get a chance at a turkey. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a turkey while we were out there. There is a reason why I hunt for fun, and the turkey survive for a living.

Sunday was a solo trout fishing trip up to Bellevue, Iowa. It has been typical spring like weather here in Iowa, so we don’t have to worry about a drought so far this year. I took off from Davenport around 8 and worked the trout runs on the way up. I started to realize not long into my first stop that fishing might be a little tougher than I had previously thought. Due to all the rain the creeks were a little high and the water was stained the brown of the mud around its banks. The trout that had been stocked earlier in the week were washed downstream, without a trace of them in the public fishing areas. I ended up taking off around noon, but it was still nice to get out and get some sun.

The last couple days have been spent doing things I haven’t done since high school. Come back for a second from your own personal flashback and try imagining me with power tools. That’s right; I am back in the saddle strapped with a box cutter and a pencil while Conrad took the lead on installing floors for his boat. I would like to think I have a bit of creative influence on this project, but the bottom line is Conrad is an engineer for Deere and from what I have observed over the last couple of days a very good one. At the top are a couple of pictures of the progress, it has been a lot of fun helping out with the project.

Next week I am going to update you all on the fishing on the river, here in Davenport and in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. I want to thank my girlfriend Jessica for all the fishing time she puts up with. She is also a really good fisherwoman and is using her new bait casting reel with the best of them. I want to congratulate James and Lora on having their baby today. Jess and I stopped up and saw her today and it was fun to see the new addition. Hope everyone gets out and enjoys the weather this weekend.

Tight lines,
Pat