August 30th, 2006
Well here it is the end of August and the fishing is still great. Trolling has produced multiple muskie outings for most of this month. Over 40 muskies have been caught this month out of my boat trolling and it's only getting better as the bigger fish start to move back shallower. The casting bite will start to pick up as the water cools. With water temps at 75 degrees as of tonight it looks like the trolling bite will continue to be very good. The bigger muskies have just started to show up this past week with a few low 40-inch muskies coming into my boat for client pictures. I expect these next few weeks to be very good and only get better as the days get shorter and the nights get cooler.
Tonight I had a opening in my guide schedule and took my daughter Krystina and her boy friend Ryan out for some trolling action. I set out the lines and got the boat speed dialed in and RIP--RIP--RIP the board rod started to sing out the sweet sound of drag only 10 minutes after I set out the lines. Krystina quickly jumped up to grab the rod and enjoyed fighting her 36-inch muskie all the way to the boat. After a quick picture she released the fish to grow up and fight another fight. I quickly reset the lines and went back to that same area we scored her fish. I asked Ryan which side of the boat he wanted and he picked the port side of the boat, not 15 minutes later a fish hit a crank bait on one of my rods on the starboard side of the boat. I grabbed the rod and joked with Ryan that he picked the wrong side of the boat. After a good battle I had a 35.5-inch muskie to the side of the boat. I water released this fish since a picture was not going to be taken. Water release is the best way to keep the fish healthy. By water release I mean removing the hooks at boat side without even touching the fish. Take a side cutters or pliers and remove the hooks. Most of the time the fish will help as you grab the hooks and shake it free. Sometimes when you net a fish the lure gets stuck in the net, the fish rolls in the net and then the hooks rip up the fish. I always try to unhook the fish ASAP when it gets into the net, then I will let the fish catch it's breath as I get the camera and tape ready for use.
Ok lets get back to the action from this past week. Yesterday the action was fast and fun for about an hour or so. I motored out to the flats off Rocky Point and started my trolling run in the middle of a huge school of bluegills. It wasn't too long before a 35-incher was battled to the boat, as I was going to water release this fish I noticed a smaller muskie swimming just under the hooked fish. I reached down, grabbed the back hook of my crank bait, shook off the muskie and made a mental note of the GPS location. I motored back where I started my trolling run and set up the lines again. I positioned a planer board line out far enough to reach that other fish I saw. As I approached the exact spot I watched the board drop back and the drag started to sing. I laughed as that mid thirty's fish was pulled to the boat for another quick release. Two fish in the first 45 minutes and some of my best spots are yet to come. Well, long story short a 43-incher was caught just as the sun was setting to make it another great night on Pewaukee Lake.
Two days earlier we got three on Sunday morning shortly after sun rise. The week before we got 14 muskies in four 1/2 day outing. That's great fishing anywhere you go. The best afternoon outing was with Chuck and Brian. We wet out at 5pm on Wednesday the 23rd for some trolling action. Chuck started out with the first fish, a 35.5-inch muskie, the second fish was Brains and that fish went 33.5, the third fish was the biggest and she went 43.5-inches of mean muskie caught by Chuck, Brian got in to the action shortly after and scored a very thick 38.5-inch muskie. The funny thing that night was all of the fish came in less that 2 hours and then the bite died. It just goes to show you that when they feed, you better be ready for multiple fish. Get them in, release them quickly and get those lines back out.
The 20th a few days earlier was also a day I will not soon forget. This Sunday morning I had Mike Phelps and his father-in-law out for some trolling action. We started out at 5am and got into the muskies by 5:15am, we boated 6 muskies from 5:15 to 7:30am. Now that's how fishing should always be. Well after a morning like that who could blame me for getting out myself for some action that night. I started out where we had all out action and noticed that all the bait moved deeper, no problem; I just made a few line adjustments and worked that same area. Just before dark I was awarded a very nice 39.5-inch muskies for my work.
I could go on, but you can see what's been going on in my boat all this month of August. I can't wait to see what this next few weeks will bring to my boat. I hope some of you are going to be part of this action.
I do have some afternoon 5pm till 10pm dates still available mid week. Please feel free to call me or e-mail me to see what exact dates are left. I strongly recommend that you don't wait, book your trip soon. I only have about 15 to 20 total possible dates left for the rest of this year. The next three weeks will be trolling mostly with some casting action. After that it will be mostly casting with some trolling when the conditions are perfect for it. Big fish can be caught trolling all the way into October. Last year I boated a very nice mid 40's muskie trolling at the end of October.
The walleye bite is still going strong with walleyes being caught almost every time we troll for muskies. I seems like when the muskies are very active the walleyes are harder to catch. I believe that they are sticking closer to the bottom for protection; most of the bigger walleyes have come suspended off the bottom or close to the breaks. Some days it's easy to catch a walleye or two while trolling for muskies. Other days it's hard to catch the walleyes when you try to target them. That's fishing, but I do know that when I see what is going on with the bait fish and toothy critters on the graph I can make the necessary adjustment to get some fish in the boat. This is only one of the many reasons to hire a guide on the lake you fish.
Learning the lake, learning the correct baits, best patterns for that time your on the water, also the how's and whys' to adapt to weather changes. All of these variables will help you be a better more consistent fishermen when you're on the water in the future. I would be glad to help you learn more about Pewaukee Lake and its ever changing patterns. The trolling bite is going strong and will soon give way to the casting bite as the water cools. I am looking forward to sticking some more fish trolling in the next few weeks. The big fish casting bite should be getting into full swing by the third week of September. This is when I get my best action from big fish. Muskies in the mid to upper 40's will be shallow and ready for you to test your skills. Multiple muskie nights are common at this time of the season. Get into the action and enjoy the excitement of fall night time muskie madness. We will start out working the weed beds close to deep water and once the sun goes down the action just gets better. I have plenty of great spots that always produce big fish year after year. After 20 some years of muskie fishing on Pewaukee Lake I have so many spots to fish with not enough time to fish all of them. This is why I don't mind sharing some of these hot spots with others. So many spots, so many fish and so little time. Sounds too good to be true, well that's up to you. I can always promise an enjoyable day or night on the water with plenty of info to learn. Bring a map and I will mark the spots we will fish and explain what lures to use and why.
With the Summer coming to a close and Fall setting in, you don't have much time left. Enjoy the great outdoors while you can. The night is getting longer and the days are getting shorter with each new day. The time is now to get on the water. I know I will be out almost every day enjoying the action Pewaukee Lake has to offer. Get in on the action while it's hot. Take a kid fishing or maybe your dad. I will be glad to help in any way I can.
Check to see if one of your fish is to the left of this print. I will try to put up at least one or two pictures each week of happy clients. See ya on the water!!!
August 12th, 2006
The first thing I want to do is say sorry I have not been keeping up with the fishing reports on my site but with a full time job from 7am till 3pm and guide jobs from 5pm till 10pm it gets hard to find time to get them done with no free time lately. The longer between reports the better the fishing has been.
Fishing this past 3 weeks was nothing short of incredible. Two, three and even four muskies a night have been common. The walleyes, bass, pike and muskies were going nuts. I have had the pleasure to guide first timers, old timers, ladies, kids and hard core muskie fishermen these past few weeks and they all were very happy with the quality, quantity and comfort level they experienced with Mike's Extreme Guide Service. I would like to say that if your thinking about getting out with me this season you need to get a date set very soon. Please feel free to call me and I will be glad to help you set up the best date and time for the kind of trip your looking for. I will always do my best to get you what you're looking for out of a trip. Trolling is red hot now and casting will be starting in a few weeks. If you looking for trolling action for someone who might not have the endurance to cast for hours; now is the time to get on the water and enjoy the action.
Ok, now for some fish reports. The muskie action starting in early August has just been awesome for those who have got into the trolling mode. I made a few minor adjustments trolling since the July report but mostly the pattern has stayed the same. We are still working areas with the most bait fish. Bluegills, crappies and perch are stacked up in areas of deep water. I know where they stack up and how to get the baits where the muskies feed. Deep running crank baits are still your best bet because they will get to where the bait fish are and when trolled through the schools of bait they will get ate.
Monday the 1st of August I got out with a new friend Mike Phelps and his boss Tony for a 1/2 day outing after work. We worked crank baits in deep water off the wind blown side of Pewaukee Lake. It didn't take long before a rod started to sing out drag and Tony was into his first muskie of the trip. A scrappy 35-incher was caught and released 1/2 hour into the trip, a good start I told them as I set the lines back up. In the next hour we caught and released two more smaller muskies in the low thirties. At 9pm we got into a very good muskie that made our outing one they will not soon forget. This was a beautiful 48-inch 30lb muskie that might just get Mike a raise at work by his boss Tony. I will get a picture loaded to the left for you to see and also in the PHOTOS 23 page when I get time to do that. Congrats Tony on a great Pewaukee fish.
This is only one of the many multiple fish afternoons we have enjoyed lately. Here is another one that was just three days later. This was the 4th of August and a 1/2 day 5pm till 10pm outing. Aaron and his friend met me for some muskie action. His friend had never got a muskie before and was looking for his first. He didn't have long to wait because I had a rod start to strip line just 15 minutes into out outing. A mid thirty's muskie was soon in the net and then released. I reset the lines and another fish grabbed on of my crank baits and he was into his second 36-incher minutes after he just released his first. Believe it or not this happened again after we released the second fish. The third fish was a 37-incher and now Aaron's friend is into his third muskie and its only 5:45pm. Remember we started at 5pm. Well Aaron got to get into the action after that with a 36-incher of his own shortly after 6:30pm. Yes, that's 4 muskies in one and a half hours of muskie fishing but that was it for the outing. The next day I had Joe, Tia and Melissa out for some action. Tia got her first muskie and Melissa got a pike. Monday the 7th I got out with Kevin Dunn, we boated a 37 and 36-incher. We also had another fish that got off but that's fishing. Well you can now see the action Pewaukee Lake is putting out in August.
Multiple muskie nights is only part of the action, the walleyes that have been hitting our crank baits are quality also. Most of the nights we boat at least one legal walleye while we troll for muskies. Walleyes in the 17 to 19-inch range are common this past two weeks. Most of these are feeding in the same areas the muskies are. Find the food and the toothy critters looking for an easy meal. How cool is it to troll for muskies, release the muskies and catch a walleye or two to bring home for a meal. I know works for me because I got to eat a few of them lately. Today I got out with my son Mike and we had two legal walleyes in the first 1/2 hour of fishing, they came as a double, one on his side and one on my side. We also got a small mouth bass and lost a good muskie before calling it a morning. This recent East wind cool down has brought the water temps into the 77 degree range. This is a welcome cool down since the water temps were into the low 80's for a while. Look for the fish to start the pre fall migration back to the weeds in a few weeks. For now, enjoy the great action trolling while it's hot. I have some open dates left in August if your looking to get into the action.
I wish I could tell you about all the guide trips I have had this past few weeks but I would run out of time and room. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me or contact me by phone. I would be glad to help you in any way I can. Look for the action to stay hot for the next two week or longer if the weather keeps stable the fishing will continue to be great. Muskie, northern, walleyes and bass all are active and fun to catch.
Let Mike's Extreme Guide Service give you a fishing trip you will remember and share with others for years to come. I can't promise you a trophy fish every time out but I will make it a learning experience and quality time on the water. Trophy muskies only come to those who put their time in on the water. As a client you will be in a boat that is on the water 6 to 7 days a week and working the best water with the most productive patterns. This puts you odds of catching a trophy in your favor. Get in on the action while you can before it's over. I will add a few pictures to the left for you to see what's been showing up lately. Sorry I can't add them all but I will put a few up.
Thank you for stopping by and checking out my web site. I hope I can help you in some way this season on the water. Let Mike's Extreme Guide Service give you the advantage you're looking for or let me show you a great time on the water. See you soon!!!