June 2013 — John Gillespie's Waters & Woods

June 2013

Episode 22
Shallow Water Bass Fishing
Show Date: June 1st & 2nd, 2013
Location: Sand Bay Beach Resort - Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Guide: Pro Guide Dale Stroschein [ 920-743-5731 | wackywalleye.com]

The weather remains cool as the spring continues, and thats held off the spawn of the bass. So we’re in Door County Wisconsin with Dale Stroschein on the hunt for big pre-spawn bass. We’re fishing in a bay with crystal-clear water, so it’s a total blast when these fish come in. We’re trying all sorts of methods using Gulp!, spinner-baits, and grubs, all of which coax these fish into biting. Dale tells us that in water that’s this clear, that throwing long casts is a huge key to catching fish. He goes on to say the first third of your cast is when most bites will happen.

Episode 23
Lake Geneva Bass
Show Date: June 8th & 9th, 2013
Location: Geneva Lake, Walworth County, Wisconsin
Guides: [Matt Bichanich – Pro Bass Fisherman, Uncle Josh Pork Baits – unclejosh.com]

We’re fishing a lake this week that is well known for it’s high-priced reality, and pleasure boaters; but not well known for fishing. Geneva Lake sits aside a city of the same name in Walworth County. It’s a very deep lake with a maximum depth of 144 feet, and is very clear. Our guide Matt Bichanich of Uncle Josh Bait Company says that deep clear lakes with a lot of structure can hold big fish.

The day we go out, as with our entire spring, we have uncooperative weather. High winds, push us off the spots that we want to be on, and force us into the shallow bays that are fishable. We are working weed flats, using the wacky-worm, grubs, and other plasics to coax these bass out of hiding.

Episode 24
Multi-Angler, Multi-Species
Show Date: June 15th & 16th, 2013
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin
Guide: Pete Maina [PeteMaina.com]

This week we fill the boat with many anglers for a fun-filled day on the water fishing the Hayward area. Pete Mania pilots the boat to what turns out to be our most species-rich show we’ve ever shot. Filling out the boat is Jeremy Meyer of AMSOIL, Tex Maina, & Tex’s brother Bob Maina.

The season is a bit late, so we show up a bit late - which happens to be just in time! Several of the spots we stop at produce both walleye and bass, and it doesn’t seem to matter what we cast out. We’re tossing live bait, the wacky-worm, spinner baits, and Gulp!.

Episode 25
River Fishing
Show Date: June 22nd & 23rd, 2013
Locations: St. Louis River, Near Duluth, Minnesota; Fox River, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Guides: Pete Maina [PeteMaina.com]; Guide: Pro Guide Larry Smith [920-361-4996 | walleyeguide.com]

This weeks show takes us across two locations, fishing two different rivers. We start out on the St. Louis River to fish with our friend Todd DeFoe of the Black Bear Casino Resort, which is a new sponsor this year. The Black Bear is run by the Fond du Lac Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, which are highly conservation minded. As Todd tells us, they treat the fishery as a food source, so they take care of it, so it’s available to future generations. According to their resource management website: “The Fond du Lac Resource Management Division is committed to the management, conservation, and sustainability of the natural resources of the Fond du Lac Band in order to protect the environment on the Fond du Lac Reservation and within its treaty areas.” We are proud of their conservation efforts, and excited to be working with them.

The second half of the show, we meet up with pro guide Larry Smith to do some evening Catfishing on the Fox River. We launch in Oshkosh, and head straight for a near-by bridge. These catfish relate to the structure of the bridges pylons to trap bait, and also relate to the shade the bridge provides during the day. John starts out with the ZIP Lure, and Larry is using a live night crawler. We’re fishing 22 feet of water, using the Humminbird to look for marks on the bottom. Making bottom contact is crucial for fishing for cats.

Episode 26
Fishing Buddies 2013
Show Date: June 29th & 30th, 2013
Location: Vilas County, Wisconsin

Heading up to northern Wisconsin to enjoy the fresh air with a few buddies is always a good time, especially when your main focus will be to fish! This week we do just that, with Tom Hafeman, and friends - including his brother John, also Tim, ‘“Mr.” Ed, D.J., and Randy.

The wonderful thing about Vilas County, is that there are a myriad of different lakes to choose from, depending on what species you’re after. This week we’re after bass and walleye, and we’ve got a friendly competition with the other LUND’s that are on the trip with us.

We’re still feeling the effects of the slow warm-up that has happened this year, which for us meant that live bait was the key to attract the fish to our hooks. We used nightcrawlers and leaches for just about the whole trip, which included a trip into town to pick up a few dozen more leaches to finish out the trip!

We had a fantastic trip, and look forward to the trip next year!