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Wisconsin fishing guide fishing all of the lakes and
rivers of Southern and southeast WI including Green Bay
and The Port of Milwaukee. |
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Spring
Starting March 1st I am running charters from
my boat for trophy lake trout. Unlike your typical Lake
Michigan fishing, we pursue these fish with light
spinning tackle instead of trolling. If done correctly,
this type of fishing is considerably more productive
than trolling. From March 1st-the second week
in April, it is not uncommon to hook into 20-40 lake
trout with an average size of 8-10lbs. 20+lb fish are
not uncommon and fish in the mid-high teens are caught
almost daily. Typically the last 2 weeks of April there
is a much better trolling bite.
The Southern WI game fish season opens the first
Saturday in May and that’s when I turn my attention
towards the inland lakes for big musky, pike and bass.
All the fish are generally shallow and this can be one
of the best times to catch numbers of big fish that are
stacked up in small areas. I generally focus on casting
and live bait fishing at this time, but trolling is also
an option. I have developed proven seasonal patterns
that consistently put big fish in my boat year in and
year out, and spring has always been an especially good
time for us. It is not uncommon to boat 10-20 pike/bass
or 5-10 muskies in a full day trip. As the spring
progresses and the fish spread out, trolling is
generally the best option for contacting the most fish.
However, casting and live bait fishing is still an
option at this time. Pewaukee, Okauchee, Delavan, Pine
and Oconomowoc are a few of the lakes I focus on in the
spring.
In the first 9 days of the 2009 season my clients boated
over 40 muskies and we ended the season with 258. I
spend a majority of my time on Pewaukee, Okauchee and
Oconomowoc, but I also fish the Madison Chain and Green
Bay for muskies as well. Spring is a great time to be
fishing for muskies and I have some very particular
techniques and baits that I guarantee will make you a
more successful angler year round. |



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Summer
Summer bite generally starts around
mid June and that’s when Ill typically switch to
trolling for muskies, or fishing live bait for pike and
bass along the deep weed lines. In addition to trolling
I will also be running night trips for trophy musky.
This is the best time to pursue the biggest fish that
swim in any lake. Summer is when the fish are feeding
the heaviest and it is not uncommon to catch 10-30+ pike
or bass in a full day trip. The techniques I use for
bass and pike at this time are very easy for just about
anyone to replicate. This is a great time to bring the
kids out fishing.
The musky fishing is also very good at this time and
5-10 fish days are not uncommon. Due to heavy
recreational traffic on the weekends around southern WI
I will also typically fish a few select lakes in central
WI that get far less boating and fishing pressure. |
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Fall
Fall bite typically starts in mid
Sept when the jig fishing for big King Salmon heats up
on Lake Michigan. Most of the King fishing I do is with
jigs and light spinning gear. This type of fishing is an
absolute blast and just about as much fun as you can
have in a boat. Big kings put up a fight like no other
fish that swims in the great lakes. These fish are also
excellent to eat at this time.
This is also my favorite time to be on the water chasing
big muskies. In the fall I generally switch back to
casting in addition to pulling big suckers rigged on
quick strike rigs behind the boat. This is the best time
of the year to catch that trophy of a lifetime. I will
also be running trips at this time for trophy musky on
The Bay Green Bay. This is by far the place you have
your best chances of landing a 50”+ musky. The best
technique for contacting these fish is by trolling, but
there can also be a good casting bite at this time as
well. With the extended musky season south of Hwy 10, I
will typically be running trips for musky until ice-up
around mid-late December on Pewaukee, Okauchee and
Oconomowoc. This can also be one of the best times of
the year to catch big pike. Lake Mendota has a great
late season trolling bite and the live bait bite on the
Waukesha area lakes can also be very good. This is the
time when the biggest pike in the lake follow schools of
migrating ciscos into the shallows. At this time the
pike become very accessible and we will also catch a
handful of 6-12lb walleyes each fall while fishing for
pike. |

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Winter
As soon as the lakes and marinas are safe enough to walk
on I will start running trips through the ice for trophy
brown and rainbow trout on Lake Michigan in addition to
inland fishing for pike, walleye and pan fish.
The port of Milwaukee is blessed with the best brown
trout fishery in the world and the action doesn’t stop
when the marinas ice up. This is when I will pull out
the automatic fisherman (automaticfisherman.com) and
chase these monster trout through the ice. Every fish we
hook up is fought on a 33” rod and reel so you can only
imagine how hard a 20lb brown trout fights on this
set-up. At this time we will also catch steelhead and
rainbow trout mixed in with the browns. These fish fight
just as hard under the ice as they do in open water.
I do most of my inland fishing on the lakes around
Waukesha County for pike, walleye and pan fish. I have
lakes that we can pursue trophy pike and I have
different lakes where it’s not uncommon to get 15-30
flags in a full day trip, with the fish running smaller.
Early ice walleye fishing can be some of the best ice
fishing of the year. I mainly target these fish at night
and it’s not uncommon to get your limit of fish during
early ice. |
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