Two Days With One of Wisconsins Most Obsessed Muskie Guides
It's a late afternoon in June, and I'm casting blindly to muskellunge just outside Hayward, Wis.—the Muskie Capital of the World and home to the all-tackle world record. Three. I don't know the name of the lake, and my guide, Scott Kieper, has told me not to ask. It's a small lake—small enough for Kieper to refer to it only as the Pond. With the exception of one kid who is trolling on his own, we're the only one’s fishing. Kieper hopes to keep it that way.
Fishing Bass During the Transition From Summer to Fall
There is one thing you must keep in mind concerning "Season Change". It doesn't always mean that there will be a hungry bass next to every log, under every boathouse, hiding in every weed bed, or suspended off every creek channel point.
The Reasons You’re Not Catching Big Striped Bass in the Surf
Of all the qualities that make the striped bass one of the country’s premier game fish—including its tremendous strength, its regal purple sheen and stately black stripes, and its ability to grow to large sizes—perhaps the best is the striper’s tendency to feed close to shore.
Finding Walleyes
If there’s one thing you learn in over 30 years of walleye fishing, it’s that good spots are good spots, sometimes even independent of the season. Along the location trail, it’s common to uncover spots that look appealing on a lake map, but don’t attract walleyes because they lack baitfish, vegetation, or other critical habitat; or sometimes it’s as simple as the structure is in the wrong part of the lake; or it’s not exposed to the right current or wind.
Late Season Means Bigger Fish in Smaller Water
Last year featured our first extended fly fishing seasons in Wisconsin. Early trout fly fishing season here opens on the first Saturday of January, and you can now fish through to the 15th of October. For many years, our season typically ended September 30th, but state fisheries biologists determined that our spawning trout would not be adversely effected by adding 15 days to season.
Get Ready for Falls Best Trout and Salmon Fishing
Fly Fishing the Yellow Conehead Woolly Bugger whistles by my ear and plunks in the river on the far side of a white plume. At the end of the swing, it glides into the slack water around my feet. A crimson blur flashes toward it—a brook trout trying to chase an intruder from the eddy.