June 28th, 2004
Let the good times roll, the fishing is getting back to normal. After a long Spring, countless thunderstorms and cooler temperatures on the average, fishing is starting to get more predictable. The water temps have slowly got back to the high 60's and the muskies are still working the established weed beds. Look for the best action in the mornings and late afternoons.
With the full moon coming this weekend and climbing water temps, look for some very good action this week and into this weekend. The afternoon/evening bite will be a good time to get on the water. With the moon rise coming before the sunset you have both of them to help get the muskies sparked. Anytime you can get a moon rise and a sun set or any combination of the two its a must fish situation.
Top water action will be heating up as the month of July gets here. Look for the best action over the weeds that are closest to deep water or have the most pan fish still holding in them. Now is the start of the night bite also, don't think that if it get dark the fish will stop eating. Some of my best night have came after dark. Muskies seem to come up and cruise the weeds after dark. This is when the top water and other high running baits will produce. Don't miss out on the action to come. I know of a 49-inch that came on a top water just last week.
I don't have a lot of Pewaukee reports this week due to a PMTT event in Eagle River Wisconsin. This was my 3rd trail event this year and I was looking forward to fishing some water that I fished before. Dan and I left on Thursday and hit the water around 1pm for a look around. We checked out the spots that we fished last year and looked around for some new spots. Friday we got on the water to pre-fish our patterns to see if they will show us the fish we knew were there. Dan had the first action on a spot we picked out to try, this was a quality fish that slammed a Reef Hawg but came off at the boat. Time to leave this spot alone I said as we slid into the next spot. We worked all of our spot to see what was active, the hard part of pre-fishing is pulling the bait away from an active fish. This way you know that fish will be ready and willing to bite in the morning, at least that's the plan. I did catch a low 30's fish that crunch a Undertaker worked over some nice green weeds.
Saturday morning at 7am we were ready to put our plan into action. Dan and I started off with a large pike that ate a Reef Hawg about 7:15am, what a jump start that fish was. The next spot we fished I had a 35-inch muskie eat a Undertaker, after a quick fight Dan netted my fish and called the judge boat over for a accurate measurement and picture. I had the fish in the net, removed the hooks, dropped the muskie back into our new net for safe keeping until the judge boat got to us. As the camera boat and judge boat approached I checked on the fish and moved the net for better access. Now that the judge and camera man were ready for action I reached into the new net for my fish and it was gone. In amazement I stood up and took a deep breath. Everyone witnessed the fish when I moved the net but no measurement was taken. I lifted the net and checked it for a hole, after a good inspection I found a factory defect. The bag on the bottom was not attached all the way around. Some how it got past the inspectors, the salesman who sold it to Dan, and the both of us. I checked that net when we first put it in the boat. The hole was a small one but big enough for a 35-inch muskie to escape. What an empty feeling that was to have a legal muskie in my hands and then swim free before I got to get it registered.
Dan and I were in 10th place going into this tournament and looking to get into the top 5 with a good showing. This was not the way to start off, we worked extra hard the rest of the tournament but could not come up with a fish. This one is going to hurt for a while and Frabill will get a ear full when I get in touch with them. The net was purchased that way and it could have happen to anyone. One small hole the size of my fist was the only hole in this net and this fish found it. What are the odds?
Well back to the present and looking forward to some good fishing on Pewaukee Lake. I will be off work from the 2nd to the 12th of July. If you are looking to get out for some muskie action call and pick up a week day morning or afternoon soon. I will be on the lake the whole week and ready to get you on the water for some action. If you love casting and trolling, this is the time for you to do both in one outing. How about some night action? Plenty of patterns to choose from this time of year. Pick one you would like to learn and lets get on the water for some action. Full moon fever is on the way, I will let you know what you missed. Good luck to all, let them go so they can grow!!!
June 14th, 2004
Ready or not the fishing is starting to get hot on the Waukesha area lakes. The water temperatures are in the mid 70's and the muskies are working the new weeds and weed lines. Most of the action is still on the glide baits like Undertakers and Reef Hawgs. I have had action on Suicks, crank baits and bucktails this past week also.
The larger muskies have started to show up with more consistency because of the amount of pan fish that are working the shallows. Plenty of reports of muskies eating hooked pan fish or following them to the boat. This is the time of year some real hogs are taken. With the new moon the 17th and the full moon only two weeks away look for a big fish or two to show up this next couple weeks. Every year a 50 plus inch will be caught during this period. The key to getting the best action is to fish where the muskies are feeding. I like to fish the areas that are holding large amounts of pan fish. These areas hold multiple feeding muskies.
The biggest fish to be taken lately was a 49-inch that was harvested by an elderly couple guided mid week early afternoon. A 46-incher was released along with a few low 40-inch class fish this past week. Look for the action to pick up as the water temps go up.
The 12th of June was the Iron Man Tournament Trail event on Pewaukee. One fish was caught and released during tournament hours. This was a good 47-inch Pewaukee muskie that gave the winning team $2180.00 and a first place trophy. This was the first of 4 events to be fished this year, two on Pewaukee and two on Okauchee Lake.
Most of the fish have finished the spawning process and will be hanging around the weeds until the water temps get into the upper 70's, then they will head to cooler, deeper water. The action is fast and consistent for those who are looking for a meal or just out for fun. Get in on the action before it's too late. Bass, Crappie, Blue Gills and even some Walleyes are being caught all in the same areas. It's a smorgasbord of action if you can find the best areas. Look for this action to keep up for a week or two if the weather stays consistent.
No big fish for me or my clients this past week but the numbers are still good. Most of the fish caught have been in the 30's. Some very good-sized fish were seen but not caught. Look for these fish to turn on soon.
I am off to fish the PMTT Eagle River Trail event the 24th to 27th but will be back to enjoy the action Pewaukee Lake has to offer by the end of June. This is by far the best time of year to be on the water for action.
I will be fishing and guiding plenty in the next month. I still have some great dates ready to be booked now that the mid summer tournament break is here. Lets get out on Pewaukee and learn the tactics that will put more fish in your boat. Let me teach you some of the proven patterns that have worked for me. Multiple muskie days is not a dream, it can be done under the correct conditions using the proper techniques. Put my 30 years of Pewaukee Lake experience to work for you.
Check out my web site (photos link) to see some of the fish we boated in the last couple years. I would love to get your photo on the web site. Gift trips are becoming very popular, what a great gift. Don't wait to get in on the action. Book a trip for yourself and a friend today or maybe someone you would like to do something special for. Lets go fishing..........
June 7th, 2004
The weather has been as unstable as can be. It would be nice if it would stop raining for a few days so we can get a good steady pattern going on Pewaukee Lake. The muskies have been starting to get aggressive but then the storms move in and they shut down. This coming week looks like the same pattern, RAIN.
A few good warm days got the fish and the weeds active. The weed growth this year is still behind due to the cool Spring and high water levels. The SLOW NO WAKE is over and the lake is open to all. I for one liked the no wake rule because there was no one out fishing. The lake has had very little fishing pressure so far and plenty of muskie are ready to test your skills. The big fish are starting to show up. I got a call on the radio to come and take some pictures for a friend who caught a 52-incher. This was a good looking Pewaukee muskie and she was released to fight another time, maybe you could have the opportunity to tangle with this old girl.
The muskies have started to work the new weed growth in the deeper end of the lake. This is a good sign of things to come, plenty of great spots that will be holding fish for the next month. Casting is now the best choice for those who are looking for action. I was out this past weekend and raised a few good fish off new weeds on the South shore of Pewaukee. Some of these are were bare of weeds just a couple weeks ago, now they are looking great. The exception is the entire West end of the lake. I was looking around and had a hard time locating good weeds. The North side of the West end looks the best, some of the South side has some weeds starting behind the island.
This past Sunday my PMTT partner Dan Peckels and I held our kids tournament on Pewaukee Lake. We had a great bunch of kids join us and some of the local guides for a 4 hour competition. I took out 4 kids with me and they decided to go for the win rather than go for numbers, that my kind of attitude I told them. We started out trolling Slammers and Baby Shallow Raiders over the weeds along the North Shore by Taylor's Bay. This was one pattern that has been good for be the last two weeks. It didn't take long before a muksie grabbed one of the Slammers and the first fish was caught by Chris, a 27-inch muskie. The second fish came shortly after the rod was set back out, Matt was up next and was very happy to reel in a 30 1/2-inch northern pike, a few pictures and we released the pike. The next fish was a 26-inch muskie caught by my son Mike. This went on for a hour and then the action slowed. A few lure changes and the action started back up, bass after bass and a few more shorty muskies rounded off the 4 hour tournament. Now it was time to see how we did against the other guides and kids.
Back at Smokey's Muskie Shop we made all the kids wait to hear the results like a regular tournament. I was surprised to find out that out of 5 trophy's my kids all took home a trophy. Matt took 1st place with the 30 1/2-inch pike, Chris took 2nd place with the 27-inch muskie, Mike took 4th place with his muskie and Tyler took 5th place with his bass. That's 4 out of 5 trophy's for my crew, what a bunch of happy kids. We fed all the kids and parents and gave out a pile of door prizes for the kids. This is something we like to do to keep the kids hooked on fishing.
Well now you have a idea of the action you can have on Pewaukee. Most of the larger muskies are just getting ready to start the summer feeding. The muskies we were catching were the smaller males and more active junior fish. Its good to see the up coming stock we have in Pewaukee lake. The bass are going nuts, most of the faster action casting has come from twitching minnow baits over the rocks and spawning areas on the East end of the lake. The blue gills and crappie are very active also, the bluegill are in the prespawn mode and the crappie are in the post spawn. For the next two weeks the weed lines will be full of fish. Action will be fast and constant for bass and pan fish.
Walleyes have been caught off and on for the last week by people fishing for bass and crappie. Look for the best action early ad late in the day along weed lines in the deeper water. Rocky Point, Beach Park, Walks Island and the Condos have all produces numbers of walleyes. One other good way to score some good walleyes is to cast large Rapalas over the new weeds at dusk. This is a great way to score some larger walleyes and also catch some other game fish like muskies, northern and bass.
I will be out this Friday afternoon and the weekend to try some of my hot spots. I think the lake is ready to start kicking out some muskie and I for one want to be in on that action. Saturday is the Iron Man tournament on Pewaukee Lake and I plan to fish it. I hope the fishing will take off this weekend, I know the bass will still be going strong. I will report on this weekends activity on the next report. See you on the water !!!