10/25/23. Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. I am in my fall season for the next month, plus. A few trips scheduled and time to fish with my son David and grandson Lawson. It is also when I fish alone to catch some nice eaters that I can give to my daughter-in-law Maren and granddaughter Taylor at Christmas, and some for Dianna and me. I am fishing three lakes. They are all size exempt lakes meaning anglers are allowed 3 Walleyes.There is no minimum size, but only 1 fish can be over 14". On two of these lake the Walleyes are relating to the deepest water in the lake, 40 ft. and 50ft. consecutively. On the 3rd lake, they are relating to rock humps at a depth between 20ft to 25ft. coming out of 30ft.
On Friday I was lucky to fish with my son David, and grandson Lawson. We had a great morning boxing our 9 Walleye limit for that lake. After a short break for lunch, we went to a different lake, Legally we could each catch 2 more Walleyes giving us each our 5 Walleye limit for the day. When we called an end to our day we had a total of 14 Walleyes. A great day.
Saturday the weather took a turn for the worst. I was fishing with Tim Ward and his wife Elizabeth. Shortly after we got on the water the rain started and the wind picked up. I gave them rain coats and we were able to continue in spite of the conditions. They did manage to catch their 6 Walleye limit before they called it a day a little early., In spite of the weather it was a good fishing and everyone agreed to do it again next year.
Sunday the boys and I went out for a few hours before they had to head home. The action slowed but we were able to box 5 Walleyes.
Today the weather was decent and I decided to go out and catch for our dinner. I was fishing in 40 ft. I caught my first small Walleye right away when I caught number two, it was a nice 17 1/2
incher. It was my 1 over 14 inches. It did take me awhile to fill my limit because fish number 3 was over 14 so I had to release it, then fish number 4 was also over 14 inches so it also went back. I did catch a nice 13 1/2" incher that filled my limit. There was another fisherman working close by, but wasn't catching anything. We had talked a little and he had recently moved to Arbor Vitae. Before I picked up my marker I went close to him and suggested that he put a marker next to mine and vertical jig in the area. I picked up my marker, wished him luck and went home. I would love to know how he did.
This is always my favorite time fishing these eater sized Walleyes . That's it for now folks; good luck fishin' and remember, KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD
DAVE LANG
10/19/23. Hi from the shores of "KENNEDY BAY" on Lake Minocqua. The last two weeks have been unusual for me starting with a scheduled trip with Dan Johnson and his son Luca having to be canceled because of the terrible conditions. We were able to get out Saturday and went out after Walleyes. At the end of the morning they put together a nice bag of Walleyes and one 14 inch Crappie that Luca caught. It was a good morning.
I had the next week open so Dianna and I took advantage of the opportunity and spent 2 days at Lambeau Field touring the Hall of Fame on Sunday and took a Stadium tour on Monday. A really nice couple of days. We stayed at The Radisson giving Dianna some casino time. If any of you are at the stadium to eat we highly recommend the restaurant "1919" in the Atrium. "Fantastic"!
This Sunday and Monday I got back on the water with Scott Stromp and his brother Kurt. Fishing Walleyes on Sunday, we ended the morning with one Walleye short of their 6 fish limit. On Monday we went out looking for Pike and Bass. The guys were hoping to get some Smallmouth , but no luck even though that lake has produced 4 Smallmouth over 20" in my boat this season. They ended the morning with 7 Pike and 4 Largemouth. It was another good morning.
Tuesday I had the pleasure of fishing for the 1st time with John Beckley. He was staying at Nitschkes Resort on Lake Minocqua and wanted to learn some spots and techniques to use on Minocqua. We put together a nice mixed bag of Pike and Largemouth . We fished weeds 99% of the time with weedless jigs tipped with minnows.
Yesterday I was back fishing Walleyes on rock humps with George Knoedler and his friend Al Ramirez. They put together a nice 6 Walleye limit.
The Walleye action has been good with most fish coming out of 20 t0 24 feet of water. I am fishing 1/4 oz. jigs tipped with large fathead minnows dropping them straight down to the bottom then just lift and drop. The heavier jig makes it easier for you to feel the bottom. Just as I have said all season, these fish are bitting very lightly. Most of the time you don"t feel a bite just weight on your line. There have been so many days that we lose more fish than we hook. I think it is a combination of the fish just having the tail of the minnow. Never getting close to the hook, but also some of these fish are really small. After going through a couple of days missing so many fish I set up some stinger hooks. I haven't used them enough to pass judgement on their success. Depending on the lake these fish are coming from rock humps or the deepest water in the area. For any of you that enjoy Walleye fish fries these are the best eating fish you can find and the best time of the year to get them. I always say these are eaters not wall hangers. That's it for now folks good luck fishin' and remember KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD. DAVE LANG
10/5/23 Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" 0n Lake Minocqua. Oh what a week & a half it has been. Beginning with a day catching some eater sized Walleyes. Then a couple days off the water to go to the Packer's season opener with my son Jeff to see them win in an incredible ending. Then back on the water for a couple of days. Then packing up the boat with Walleye and Musky tackle and heading up to Lake of The Woods with my two sons and grandson to meet 3 of our fishing buddies for 3 days fishing. What more can a guy ask for.
My first day I was fishing with Bob Haluska and Ed Roberts for eater Walleyes. We produced a good board with 7 nice Walleyes.
The next day I was back on the same lake with George Knoedler and his brother. The three of us only managed 3 Walleyes, even though we hit half a dozen rock humps. It was a tough morning.
Then came the Packer Game.
Then back on the water with Amy Banker and her dad Bob. We fished hard and caught some nice eater Walleye so Amy could prepare a fish fry for her dad that night.
Next I fished with Del Schedewitz and his son Marcus for a couple of days. We have fished together for the last few years. Once again it was a tough day for Walleyes. So the next morning we decided to give up on Walleyes and went out on Lake Minocqua hoping for some action. At the end of our morning we ended up with some nice Bass ending our morning when Marcus and his dad boated a nice double. They also caught and released a few Walleyes with Marcus catching the fish of the day, a dandy 24-1/2" Walleye.
Our first day in Canada was fishing with a guide for Lake Trout. The morning started with us fishing for Walleyes for our shore lunch. With a slow start by Canadian standards, after a couple hours we had lunch and started fishing for Trout. End of the day we never caught a Lake Trout even though our guide really worked hard never giving up. It is always fun for me when I fish with a guide to see his techniuqes and watch how he reacts to people, conditions. and action. After we got back to the dock I told Andrew that I also was a guide in Wisconsin and we compared our stories telling him I felt his pain on a day like we just had, "I've been there". It was good for me after having some tough days earlier in the week.
That's it for now folks good luck fishin and remember, "KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD"
DAVE LANG
9/18/23. Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. Fall has come to the Minocqua area with cool and foggy mornings. The lake temperatures are dropping so fish can be a little fickled, on some days we were lucky to hook 1 out of 5 hits. The Minocqua Chain was home to a couple of Bass Tournaments this last week. The largest had 80 boats registered, the second was smaller but still put a lot of extra boats on the water. When this happens, I always avoid those lakes during the tournaments and a few days after. That being said I spent the next week fishing out on the reservation.
Saturday the 9th I fished with Terry Redding and Adam Zahrt. Conditions weren"t great but acceptable, they ended the day catching a nice bag of Pike. It was a good morning.
The next day I fished with Dean DeBroux and his young sons Ian and Noah. The morning was cool, cloudy, with a slight breeze "good conditions". The boys and their dad put together a good mixed bag including some nice Pike and two Walleyes, one of which was 18-1/2 inches. A good trip with plans for a return trip next year.
Monday started out so foggy I had to slowly follow my GPS out to my starting spot. The fish were fairly active and the guys put together another nice mixed bag including Pike, Bass, and Walleye. A great morning.
Tuesday I fished with Dan Rupert and his wife Beth. It had been years since we fished together. The weatherman predicted a cloudy morning with some sun, but before we even got to the landing I had the windshield wipers on. Luckily they had good rain gear and fished in rain gear all morning. It was a great morning. They ended the morning with another mixed bag including Pike and Smallmouth. Dan made the day when he caught and released a beautiful 20-1/2 inch Smallmouth.
Friday was another day of rain and once again the fish cooperated. I was fishing with Aaron Candy and his dad. The guys were up here for the Fall Harley Ride but took off a morning to fish. It was one of those great mornings when after a good beginning I put my rod down and just landed fish and baited hooks. The guys put together a great mixed bag of Pike, Bass, and Walleye.
Saturday I fished with Doug Stern ,his son Dustin, son-in-law Nic and grandsons Dom and Leo. The weather left a lot to be desired. It was cold and with some rain. Once again it was a morning with a great mixed bag of Pike, Bass and Walleye. We quit a little early because of the weather.
Sunday I fished with Brad and Lisa Berndt and her friend Karen. We hadn't fished together for a few years so it was nice to get back together. We managed to catch some average Pike, then part way through the morning Lisa got into a big fish when she got it close to the boat it got down in the weeds and got off. I love to end a trip catching a nice fish. Yesterday Brad did that in spades when he caught and released a beautiful 35" Pike. It was a great morning.
With the fall weather starting I am looking forward to the fall Walleye bite to start. This is fishing for eaters, not wall hangers but a lot of fun. That's it for now folks good luck fishin' and remember
KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD.
DAVE LANG
9/8/23. Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. As usual the weather continues to be up and down so fish action follows. Thursday I fished with Linda Faricy and Derroll Payne from Texas. We fished Lake Tomahawk under some bright blue skies with a slight breeze so not bad. They managed to catch and release 6 nice Bass. It was a decent morning when Linda set the hook on a big fish. After 3 or 4 drag pulling runs, she got the fish in the net. It was a beautiful 37-1/2 inch Pike. I always tell people that any 30 inch Pike is a trophy up here, Linda's fish was her biggest ever and the biggest Pike in my boat this season. A great day.
The next 3 days I was scheduled to fish with Deb Kravitz and Amy Lalios. We had not fished together for 4 years due to Covid and then their schedules. My plan was that we would start on Tomahawk the first day then go out to LDF on day two. They had not been on either lake, then let them decide where they would like to fish on day three. Day 1 left a lot to be desired as far as conditions went. We only caught 2 Largemouth and 1 Smallmouth. Not a good introduction to Lake Tom, but it did mean they had enough for that nights fish fry. Day 2 was out to LDF. We were on a 1000 acre lake with no development, so they loved the lake before we ever caught a fish. Fishing was good but not exceptional. At the end of the morning the girls had 4 nice Pike and 1 nice Smallmouth in the box along with a couple of short fish that were released. It was an easy choice for the girls and on day 3 we went back out there again. Once again they managed a nice mixed catch of Pike and Bass. Amy made the day when she hooked a beautiful Pike that managed a couple of drag pulling runs before she got it in the net, 30-1/2 inches; her biggest fish ever. Before our day was done, Deb followed up with a dandy 26 inch Pike. That was supposed to be the end of their trip. I had the next day open and afer catching those beautiful fish they extended their trip one more day. Day 4 wasn't as exciding but you can't expect action like that everyday. Everyone agreed it was a great reunion and plans were made to get together again next year.
Tuesday I fished with Tom Kapusta and his wife Peggy. We went back to Lake Tomahawk. It was another bright sunny day. This forced me to hit half dozen spots. We did have some action on most, at least showing Tom and Peggy that there were fish there but once again they were biting so lightly that we missed more than we could hook. We ended our morning with 4 Bass. Enough for them to have a fish fry but not a good day.
Yesterday the fish APP. showed an average day, nothing special. The air temp had dropped 20 degrees and I was prepared for a tough morning. I picked Jeff Dieckhoff and his wife Missy up at the dock at Indian Shores where they were camping. Some days the fishing Gods just shine on fisherman and this was one of them. Thirty minutes after our first cast, I put my rod away and just landed fish and baited hooks. Jeff had spent a lot of time vacationing at one of the American Legion cabins on Little Tomahawk with his parents and grandparents. Talking about a lot of old memories, including fishing on Mud Lake with his dad. We decided to take a little cruse so we could find the cabin and take some pictures. It was time well spent proving it's not just about the fish you catch. We had a little time left and they didn't have their limit yet so we went back and finished out the morning. We were rewarded when Missy caught a nice Pike in the high 20 inch range. She and the fish provided the PICTURE of the month. A great morning.
I will be back on the water tomorrow. There is going to be a tournament on the Minocqua chain this weekend with 70 boats scheduled to take part so no more time on Tomahawk this week. Most days fish continued to be sluggish and hard to hook when they did bite with the exception of yesterday. As always these fish are coming from 5 to 18 feet of water in weeds, so it is weedless jigs and minnows providing the action. With the weather turning to more fall like, I am looking forward to Walleyes moving onto humps and providing some good action for eater fish. That's it for now folks good luck fishin' and remember
KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD. DAVE LANG
/29/23 Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. As you can tell from my absence it has been a very busy couple of weeks. On the 16th I fished with Jim Naumczik, one of the pizza guys, Uncle Jimmy and his neighbor's nephew. We decided to fish on Lake Tomahawk. The guys caught 7 nice Bass, 1 Pike and a couple of Walleyes that have to be released because of the no harvest regulation on The Minocqua Chain. It was a good morning.
The next morning I fished with the Patrick Keller group. We went back to Lake Tomahawk. The no harvest of Walleyes didn't bother the guys because they were strictly catch and release. They put together a nice bunch of Bass and a couple of Walleyes.
Another good morning.
Friday, Mike Heroux and his son Jim were up to Minocqua. Mike loves to fish for Pike so we headed out to LDF. Fish action was ok but we had to work putting together a stringer of 8 nice Pike. More than half were caught on spinnerbaits.
Saturday I fished with Bob Stanko and Ed DuQuette. Bob had never fished Lake Tomahawk so that is where we went. Once again we managed enough fish for a good fish fry along with releasing some nice Walleyes.
The next week was peculiar in that I fished with Steve Smith for two days and then with another group for the next two days. My plan was to fish Lake Tomahawk one day then go out to LDF the second day with each group. Steve and I started out on Tomahawk, he and his wife were traveling so it was all catch and release. At the end of the morning we had caught a great mixed 12 fish bag of Bass, walleye , and Pike. Day 2, we went out to LDF. The weather was a challenge with thunder chasing us off the lake at one time, in spite of that we had another good morning catching Bass and Pike two of which that were close to 30 inches.
Group 2 was Don Kollmann, Payton Kollmann, and Jason Shepard. These guys had a large group staying in the area and wanted enough fish for a big Fish fry, no catch and release this trip. Wednesday was one of the only days that I ever saw that my sons fishing App. showed fish activity high the entire 4 hours. After about an hour, I quit fishing and just netted fish and baited hooks. At the end of the morning the guys had their limit of Bass in the box. also releasing 5 Walleyes, they caught a number of doubles. The next morning we headed out to LDF. Again the App was exceptional and the guys caught 9 nice Pike, the largest 31-1/2 inches. They also released a couple of short fish.
A great 2 mornings.
Friday I fished with Chris Unger and Hally Debuch. Action like that can't continue but it was still decent. They put together 7 Bass and caught and released two Walleyes. Another good morning.
Sunday it was Jeff Johnson and I fishing together. As good as the App. was a few days before it was the opposite that morning. With the temperature dropping 10 degrees, mile high bright sun and flat calm water it was the recipe for disaster and it was. The fish that did bite hit so lightly that we missed more than we hooked. At the end of the morning we had only landed 1 Walleye, 1 Largemouth, 1 nice Smallmouth that Jeff caught and 1 Rockbass. That's a tough morning.
Monday brought my string of 12 days to an end. I fished with Terry Carnes and Steven Heob both are from Shellknob MO. That is Table Rock Lake country. It was fun to hear their stories about that huge lake that has a lot more Walleyes in it than I knew. We had a good morning with the guys catching Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass 1 small Walleye that was lost boatside and 1 Pike. The disappointment came when Terry had two good sized Pike bite only to have them bite through the 25 lb. test leaders that I use before he could get them to the net. It was an enjoyable morning.
It has been an interesting two weeks with the weather going from extremely hot until this weekend when I fished with three layers, flannel lined jeans and gloves on. Yes, that accounts for the big swings in fish activity. The Willow flowage is still 10 feet down which is why I am spending more time on Lake Tomahawk. I am still using Walleye sucker minnows on 1/16 oz. weedless jigs most of the time with spinnerbaits once in a while. That's it for now folks good luck fishin' and remember
KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD. DAVE LANG
8/14/23 Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. Once again, Brian and his crew at Premier Powersports came through for me and got my motor back to me on Monday, Getting me bac
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