January 2013 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

January 2013

Episode 1
2012 Mills Fleet Farm Highlights Show
Show Date: January 5th & 6th, 2013

Did you miss a show this year? Don’t worry, some of this year’s biggest catches are featured as part of our Mills Fleet Farm end-of-the-year show.

Every year for the last 10 or so years, we’ve sat down at Mills Fleet Farm to show off some of our and YOUR biggest catches. This year thanks to MILLS FLEET FARM, PURE FISHING, JIFFY, HUMMINBIRD, & FRABILL, we’ve got some great grand prizes to give away to a few lucky winners. We pool all of the biggest catches from our video vault to show you the best fish of the year. We also pool the biggest catches from our Mills Fleet Farm 2012 fishing contest in each category of species, and randomly draw a winner of a fantastic grand prize.

Thanks to all of our viewers for making it a great year!

Thanks to all of our sponsors, without them our show would’t be possible.

We hope 2013 has even better fishing in store for you and us!

Episode 2
Northern Wisconsin Ice Fishing
Show Date: January 12th & 13th, 2013
Location: St. Germain - Vilas County, Wisconsin
Guide: Pro Guide Rob Manthei [715-477-2042 | robmanthei.com]

We love the northern part of the state we call home, every season of the year. This week we are once again back on the ice, fishing with Rob Manthei and some friends. We’re up fishing near St. Germain, which has so many lakes to choose from, it’s hard to make a decision. Luckily we have Rob to guide us, and he has us fishing sandgrass for walleye and perch for afternoon bite the first day. Sandgrass is actually an algae, and doesn’t die during the winter months. Walleye come on tip-ups, and we get to jig for perch.

Day two we’re joined by a great group on a friends, and continue to tip-up fish for walleye. Getting together with friends a great way to ice fish, and anywhere in Vilas County is a great place to be fishing, no matter what species you’re looking for.

Episode 3
Lake Winnebago Ice
Show Date: January 19th & 20th, 2013
Location: Lake Winnebago; Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Guide: Pro Guide Larry Smith [920-361-4996 | walleyeguide.com]

There is finally ice in the southern part of the great state of Wisconsin! Larry Smith is of course our go-to guide, and he’s brought a few friends along for the ride.

Since it’s early ice, we’re close to shore, in shallow weedy bays. We set up in the early morning for perch. It’s crucial to be set up early, because the fish in shallow water spook easily, so all of the moving around with our Yamaha’s and drilling holes tends to scare them away. Where we’re done setting up, we turn everything off and wait. The fish will come back, and thats when it gets exciting above the ice! We’re fishing in around 10 foot of water, set up right above weed-beds, where the perch hide from larger predators. Larry tells us that Lake Winnebago was essentially devoid of perch for about 20 years, it’s only been in the last few years that the population has come on. It’s come on in force thanks to the clearer water thats promoted weed growth. The weeds are the hiding spots that allow the perch to grow, that previously hadn't been there.

Episode 4
Big Trout on Lake Superior
Show Date: January 26th & 27th, 2013
Location: Lake Superior; Ashland, Wisconsin
Guide: Charter Captain Jim Hudson [715-209-6431 | fishchequamegonbay.com]

We’ve got an exciting day ahead of us on Lake Superior. Jim Hudson is our guide, and he’s been eagerly awaiting the formation of ice over his hot spots. As soon as the ice formed Jim let us know the bite was on, and he did not disappoint. We come with a crew too, including Pete Maina, Tex Maina, Rusty Lilyquist, Mike “Stinky” Pitts, and many others.

We’re set up in 60 feet of water, and jigging. Jim tells us that this is relatively shallow compared to some spots he fishes, which can be in the 260 foot range. We are jigging with spoons, and John loves his Vibrato. Jigging 3 feet off of the bottom, and doing a hard ‘rip’ up. Using a locator is absolutely paramount, because most times you need to coax these fish up from the bottom, they rarely hit as a reaction to the bait.