10/6/25. Hi from the shores of "KENNEDY BAY" on Lake Minocqua.. Once again it's been a very busy few weeks with no time to spare for posting a report. 5:00 AM Saturday, the 20th, my son Jeff and I left for Souix Narrows Ont. I only had 4 days including travel time. The plan was for me to fish with my son Jeff in his boat. He is an expert with forward facing sonar and using artificial bait instead of live bait. The goal was for me to see how the forward facing sonar works and how to combine it with artifical baits to catch Walleyes and Lake Trout. Day 1 was spent fishing for Walleyes, most of the time I watched Jeff's sonar screen having him point out suspended Walleyes and casting to them with atrificals. I was amazed at how effective we were. Day 2, we fished for Lake Trout working bottom contours in the 60 to 80 foot depth range. Jeff had set up a forward facing sonar unit in the back of the boat for me to use. I was learning to locate active Trout then try to get my jig to attack the Trout. After many attempts and failures I caught a nice 22" Lake Trout. That was the fish of the day and made my trip a success. From my very limited experience, in the hands of a highly skilled user like my son the technology is a game changer. We are already seeing some Musky Tournaments not allowing it's use and some states changing regulations to try to protect fish populations.
On Wednesday the 24th, the day I got back from Canada, I had the pleasure of fishing with George Knoedler & Ben Knoedler. The goal was to catch Pike. When I had talked to them on the phone I told them I would have all the equipment we would need but suggested that because they spent a lot of time fishing pike that they might want to bring some of their favorite baits along with them. It turned out to be an interesting morning, I had my usual weedless jig and minnow combination and Chatterbaits , starting them out with Chatterbaits while I started out with a jig & minnow. It wasn't more than 15 minutes before the first of the brothers took the Chatterbait off and replaced it with a spoon. That was fine with me and I was pleasantly surprised with how well he got it through the weeds and how quickly he got his first fish. The guys switched baits regularly and caught fish on just about every one. That wasn't a surprise but getting the treble hooks through the weeds did surprise me. The biggest surprise was that the Pike were not interested in the jig minnow combination at all. By the end of the morning we caught and relieased between 15 and 20 Pike all on artificals, Chatterbaits, spoons, and one crank bait. This was the beginning of a strecth with almost no action on live bait. I am looking forward to this coming Friday when I am going to be fishing with Mike Heroux for Pike on the same lake, Mike is one of the best jig and minnow fisherman that I fish with. It will be an interesting test.
The next two days I fished with Mark Matuska, his sons and father. The boys were 6 and 10 years old. We fished one of my favorite fall Walleye lakes. The guys had two good mornings catching eater size Walleyes.
The next day I fished with Rollin Krafft, we headed back out after Walleyes. We were greeted with my nightmare bright blue sky and flat water. These fish are always light biters, this almost turned them off completely. At the end of the morning we had enough Walleyes in the box so Rollin and his wife could have a fish fry but not nearly as many as I had hoped.
After being off the water to attend a funeral on Monday I got back on the Walleye Lake with Bob Garbutt, The Walleyes were not only in a light bite they had totally turned off. After 2 hours covering a half dozen of my best rock humps with nothing, I pulled the boat and went back to Lake Minocqua where we managed to get a little action before we called lt a day with my tail between my legs. The next day we
headed back to the Pike lake I had fished the week before. With my past experience I only bought half my usual number of minnows and it was a good choice, Chatter baits were the over all best way to go. We did have 2 good days catching and releasing Pike.
It was an interesting couple weeks between my trip to Canada learning about the new electronics, the total Pike turn off to jig minnows and the beginning of the fall Walleye action.
That's it for now folks good luck fishin' and remember
KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD. DAVE LANG
9/17/25. Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. I had some free time that I used to do some scouting on one of my favorite fall Walleye lakes. There were Walleyes scattered on a few of the humps, but I had to work to put Walleyes in the box. As the weather got back to somewhere near normal temperatures the action improved. My faith in this fall pattern was rewarded one day when I caught Walleyes on just about every hump that I fished. I could have kept my 3 Walleye limit in an hour If I wanted to. As I always say these are eater Walleyes, not wall hangers.
Last Friday, I had the pleasure of fishing with Elaine Hagan and Doug Alf. It took a while for us to put our first Walleye in the box, We had missed a few bites and a couple of fish that we had halfway to the boat before they got off. The fish were biting extremely light. When we quit a half hour early in our morning they were just 1Walleye short of their 6 Walleye limit. They had lost that fish just inches from the net when it got off the jig. A good morning.
Sunday I fished with Chris Sands and his 10 year old son, Micheal. They decided that they would rather go out to one of my favorite Pike and Bass lakes hoping to get Micheal his first Pike. I brought out 2 dozen Blacktail Chubs to fish on weedless jigs along with some rods set up with ChatterBaits. Chris and his son opted out to cast ChatterBaits, I used a weedless jig and minnow combination. Once again the fish were hitting extremely light even on the ChatterBaits meaning 3 of their first 4 bites were lost. I stuck with the jig and minnow through our second drift across the weedbed. We were fishing until I got my first good bite that I did manage to get the hook set and brought it half way to the boat before it got off, without me ever seeing if it was a Pike or Walleye. Shortly after that I also switched to a ChatterBait. By the end of their morning they caught and released 6 nice Pike and 1 Largemouth Bass. A good morning.
Tuesday the 16th I had the pleasure of fishing with Don Renguette & Dan Fiore. Whom ever Quilled the phrase,
" The best laid plans of man are off times set asunder" must have known about how our day was going to go. Initially we were scheduled to fish on Thursday but the weather looked iffy so we changed to Wednesday because it was supposed to be perfect..... no rain in sight. When we met, the guys said their forecast now called for a couple hours of rain . By the time we got west of Minocqua the sky looked like rain, When I pulled into the landing the first few rain drops hit the windshield. It looked like we would fish in raingear. I got the boat launched, parked the truck, walked to the boat just as we heard the first thunder. After 1/2 an hour I put the boat back on the trailer and drove to a place where we could get phone reception for radar. It looked serious and we ended up spending an hour & a half in the truck before we could launch the boat and finally start fishing. It took an hour and 2 spots before Don got a bite that bit the minnow off his jig but missed the hook. It was the poorest action I had had on that lake in a couple of weeks, It was over 2 hours before Don put the first Walleye in the box. At the end of our 4+ hours fishing almost a dozen of my favorite rock humps we still only had only 1 Walleye in the box. It was the worst day I have had this season and with 2 guys who never fished with me before. We had done everything we could including changing days and sitting out 2 hours of rain , " It is a guides life."
That's it for now folks, good luck fishin' and remember "KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD"
DAVE LANG
9/3//25. Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. 2025 continues to be an unusual season between the weather, the fish action and bookings. I fished 27 days in August which was great as it caught me right back up to normal. I have been fishing 6 different lakes during that time. Action on the Willow slowed down considerably, Pike and Bass action out west was good. During that time, Steve Roginske and I teamed up to take a group of 7 guys out together ending up with a nice mixed bag of Pike, Largemouth and Smallmouth a good morning. Because of the number of clients I had that were staying on Lake Minocqua, I fished Lake Minocqua more than usual. Another factor that played into the amount of time spent on Minocqua was that one of my favorite summer lakes had it's boat landing closed for a couple of weeks so it could be replaced. Oh the life of a fishing guide. The plus side was the action with Bass, Pike, and an occasional Walleye was decent. All in all August turned out to be a good month.
September usually marks the beginning of fall water patterns for Walleyes. My favorite time of the year. That being said we are currently experiencing what I would call a nuclear cold front, some 20 degrees below normal combined with 10 to 15 mph winds. That was enough to convince tomorrows husband and wife anglers to call and tell me they just couldn't handle it. We had fished together last week and I told them not to worry about it, I thought they had made the right decision. No one wants to be miserable fishing. That's not what you're out there for. The weather doesn't show any big changes in the near future. Hopefully this isn't a hint of the weather to come.
With any kind of break in the forecast, I will sneak out to the lake that was my choice for tomorrow to do a little scouting to see if it should be my choice for Saturday. That's it for now folk's good luck fishin' and remember
KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD. DAVE LANG
8/7/25 Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. The first week of August has been just what you would expect of summer...HOT. I started the month fishing with Bob Stanko and Ed Duquette We had a good morning with a nice mixed bag of Pike and Bass.
Saturday the 2nd was fishing with Rob Schweigert and his 2 sons Robbie, & Brennan. We have been fishing together for years when they are up here celebrating the King Family Reunion at The Beacons. The guys are good fishermen and put together a nice mixed bag including Largemouth, Smallmouth, Pike, and Walleyes. The highlight of the morning was Rob Sr. catching a number of Bass and Pike on a white Whopper Plopper. A great morning.
Sunday, I fished with Ed Duquette and Bob Stanko. We headed down to the Willow. Fishing was slow forcing us to cover a lot of water and only catching fish in 3 small spots but they still managed a nice mixed bag. Another good morning.
Monday, it was 3 generations of the Jamie Daull crew. I headed back out to the reservation. The 2 boys, Grant age 10 and Clark age 7, each of them caught fish and we ended the morning with 6 Pike and 1 Bass in the box. Another good mornng.
Tuesday, it was Charlie Langhoff, Mike McKersie, and Phil Arts. They were my second crew from the King Family reunion. Conditions were not ideal with flat water but the Canadian smoke keeping the sun from being too bright. Using Chatter Baits and Jig & Minnow combinations by the end of the morning the guys put together a nice mixed bag of 2 Largemouth, 1 Smallmouth, and 5 Pike. The guys worked hard and we covered a lot of water but it was worth it.
Wednesday was the beginning of the slow down. When I checked The Musky Metrics app, that predicts fish activity, I could see why activity had slowed. The app's prediction was right at the bottom in the sluggish range. When faced with conditions like this all you can do is cover your best water with a number of presentations you have faith in and adjust your expectations downward. Fishing with Thomas Amundson, his wife and parents, we did manage to box 6 Pike and 1 Bass, under the conditions a good morning.
As to be expected Thursday didn't improve and being the second day in a row of those conditions it only gets tougher. I had fished with Allen Jarosz a few times before. This year, he brought 2 of his buddies along with him. It didn't take long to know that we had our work cut out for us. The first couple of fish we caught were Pike that were too small for even me to think I could get fillets off of. Our first and only fish caught on a Jig and minnow combination was a dandy 12" Perch that Al caught. To add insult to injury, the fish that were hitting Chatter Baits were hitting so lightly that they missed entirely or got off the hook before they were in the net. At the end of our morning the guys had 1 Perch and 2 nice Pike in the box. Enough for their fish fry but just barely. We enjoyed the morning and planned a follow up trip.
It was a good week overall. The most interesting lesson was that when the app predicted sluggish fish activity, I expected that most of our action would be on the slow Jig and minnow presentation, but just the opposite was true to the point where on Thursday the only bait being used were Chatter Baits. Thats it for now folks! Good luck fishin" and remember, KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD
DAVE LANG
7/30/25. Hi from the shores of "Kennedy Bay" on Lake Minocqua. Last Friday I had the pleasure of guiding with Jason Heidle . He had a job set up with 4 families and their children to fish on Lake Minocqua. He had it set up for each of us to fish with 1 set of parents and their 2 children for 2-1/2 hours then return to their dock to drop off our first group and pick up our second group for the second 2-1/2 hour trip. My first group's morning was slow fishing to say the least. We missed a few fish, only finishing with 1 nice Bass. Group 2 got off to a much better start when their daughter caught a Pike at the first spot. They finished their trip with that Pike, 1 Perch, and 2 Bass. It was a good time for everyone and I look forward to doing it again.
Saturday I fished with Curtis Heit. We headed out to the Reservation looking for Bass, Pike, and Walleye. Conditions were a little on the bright side with little wind. That being said, the guys did well. By the end of the morning they had 1 Walleye that was just short of the 18" minimum, 1 nice Largemouth , 1 Largemouth that was just short of the 14" limit, and 7 nice Pike. A good morning.
Sunday I fished with Kyle Nelson and his wife, Sam. It was a good morning with plenty of action. Part way through the morning Sam caught a nice Walleye that was just short of the 18" minimum. By the end of their trip they had 1 Perch, 1 Largemouth, and 9 Pike, a SUPER MORNING.
Monday I fished with Greg Rypel , his daughter Rachel and her son. We had a good morning and at the end they had a nice catch including 4 nice Pike and an 18-1/2" Walleye.
Tuesday I fished with Alli and Colleen Weiss and Andrea Lindaghl, we have fished together numerous times in the last few years. At the end of their morning they had a dandy bag including 1 Walleye, 2 Largemouth, and 4 Pike. Great morning.
Today I fished with Al & Charyl Konitski for the first time. We headed out to the same lake that I had been having such good action the last week. Our day started off with Al getting a bite but the fish got off. The action was slow all morning after fishing my favorite 3 spots we only had 1 Bass and 3 small Pike. It was my worst nightmare taking new clients to a lake that I knew had been producing and having it stink up the morning. We agreed we enjoyed meeting each other and plan to fish together again next year when they are in Minocqua.
That's it for now folks good luck fishin' and remember.
KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT AND A BEND IN YOUR ROD. DAVE LANG
7/23/25 Hi from the shores of "KENNEDY BAY" on Lake Minocqua. After my last fishing report was so long in coming I have to write this just 5 days later because of what made the last 2 days on the water so special. I know that I will be really busy for the rest of the month and won't have time to write a report.
Monday's trip started over a month ago when Gary Schmieden called me about a fishing trip in July. Gary had rented a cottage and planned on doing some fishing. Gary hadn't been fishing much for quite a while and wanted to renew his skills. I told him I was familiar with the lake he had rented on and would enjoy showing him the lake and giving him suggestions on how I would go about fishing it using weedless jig and minnow combinations. I don't fish it much but it has a decent fishery. It had been a few years since I fished it. The last time I fished it with a client and his grandson we managed a decent catch of Bass, Pike, and 1 Walleye. I went to one of the spots I expected to find good fish weeds and I found the weeds had really over grown the areas and they were next to impossible to fish. I managed a couple small Bass but was really disappointed. The water was low and the last straw was when I got back to the landing and found that it was in need of some repair and I needed to use FWD just to get the boat out. After some real soul searching I did something I had never done before and gave Gary a call. I got his voice mail so I left him a message about my poor experience that morning. I told him I would try to find a guide that thought he could give him his moneys worth if he wanted. I asked him to at least return my call and we could talk. When he called me back he said he understood and appreciated my honesty and said he was more interested in learning techniques than the lake so our plans were to go to a lake of my choice. We went out to the reservation to the lake I had been having good action on. I spent 4 hours showing Gary how I picked weeds that held fish and the 2 methods, Jig & Minnow combinations and Chatter Baits to successfully catch fish. At the end of the morning we had 4 nice Pike and Gary felt pretty confident that he knew the basics that would help him catch fish. It was a successful morning.
Tuesday I had the pleasure of fishing with Brett & Tammy Cayer and their 2 sons Jake & Jesse. The trip was for the boys who were the real anglers in the family. The boys started off casting Chatter Baits and produced Pike right off the bat. Brett and Tammy used Jig and Minnow combinations that also produced fish. What turned out to be the highlite of the trip started when Tammy landed a dandy 18 1/2 inch Walleye, her biggest ever. We continued having good action all morning, at the end of the morning they had 8 nice Pike & 1 Walleye in the box. Tammy continued to be the hero of the morning, She set the hook on a really nice fish that gave her quite a battle including a couple of jumps. When she finally got it to the net she had a beautiful 20 1/2 inch Smallmouth Bass. Our action slowed so we moved to another spot. One of the boys caught a Pike on our first drift. We just started our second drift when Tammy had another big fish on, it turned out to be another dandy, this time it was a 20 1/2 inch Largemouth Bass. Tammy released both of these trophy Bass after taking pictures. The guys continued catching Pike but no one could match those trophies. Later Tammy caught a little Perch and there was some laughing that all she needed to catch now was a Musky. It wasn't much longer when she caught what everyone thought was the smallest Pike of the day when I pointed out that it was a small Musky, only about 13 inches long. What a day Tammy had.
I had trips this year when I caught more fish or bigger fish but when viewed over all this was the "BEST TRIP"