This Chequamegon Bay thing is getting to be a habit… I like it! Darrell Wilkinson (Tulsa, OK), his son Jordan (Madison, WI), and brother Sonny (Shreveport, LA) were back with me on Monday for day #2 of their trip fishing out of The River Rock Inn in Ashland. We arrived at the landing with completely different conditions from the first day of their trip. Winds had moved to the east, and a heavy bank of fog hung over us for the morning. We started out hot though and caught a pile of fish on live bait in the morning that included a triple and a couple of doubles of big smallies up to 21″ as we drifted along weedy breaks in 15′ – 20′ of water. The action was pretty intense for most of the morning, and it seemed like we someone was always hooked up. Darrell even added a nice 30″ pike to the mix. Things slowed late in the morning when winds died down and the sun poked through the fog. We’ve seen that before… After lunch, we explored a few shallow spots casting plastics, top waters, and crank baits. There weren’t many signs of life however with a few misses and short hits. That wasn’t going to cut it, and we went off shore again drifting live bait over rocks in 12′ – 15′. I asked the guys to pray for a little more wind and they delivered. After a couple of unsuccessful drifts the wind kicked up, and so did the bite. Funny how that happens! We finished the day with an awesome flurry of fish, and my crew performed well. Another bunch of big smallmouth hit the net before quitting time, and it couldn’t have been a better ending to the day. Water temperatures ranged from 67 – 74 degrees, and we definitely put on a lot of miles to find active fish. It’s that time of year gang. Don’t get stuck in one spot too long, and keep moving until you get bit. Awesome job Wilkinson’s. Heck of a day!
The Wilkinson’s final day of their trip presented us with some challenging conditions on Chequamegon Bay. After 2 big numbers days, we had to work for every fish we caught on Tuesday. Flat water and high skies were with us throughout the morning. We worked weed edges with live bait in 12′ – 20′ of water. Fish were really spread out and pretty stubborn. We did well to connect on a handfull of smallies up to 19″, but they certainly weren’t jumping in the boat. One here, one there… By late morning we started to run and found another 15′ weedline with fish on it. Same deal though. We missed a couple, and Sonny was able to coonect on a really good fish. Around mid day, a pretty good east wind kicked up. It was just what we needed. Time to find some rocks! We did, and it paid off with another good end of the day flurry. We were able to wrap things up in style putting more smallies in the net along with several bonus pike. A little wind makes a ton of difference this time of year. Water temps ranged from 68 – 72 degrees, and there has been a small mayfly hatch over the past couple of days. It was a great way to wrap up three memorable days with some really good guys. Awesome job fellas! Don’t forget to root for those Badgers, and come back to “Sheboygan Bay” as soon as you can!!!
Two of my favorite brothers Bill Johnson (Hudson, WI) and Mike Johnson (Bloomer, WI) returned for their annual trip, and we were back in the Hayward area. I had a blast up on Lake Superior over the past several days, but it was good to be back on some smaller lakes. One of the awesome things about living up here is that you’ll never get bored with all of the different bodies of water we have to fish. We began our day targeting walleyes and found a pile of them on deep rock structure in 20′ – 25′ of water. They wouldn’t bite though, and we moved shallow into a 6′ weedline and found some fish using jigs and minnows. It was a slow bite though, and we had quite a few short hits and drops in between catching some nice eyeballs up to 17″. Perfect for a fish dinner! Water temps were in the high 70’s with a light NW wind. We switched lakes in the afternoon to see if we could get into a faster bite, but it was more of the same. Interesting how fish can be on the same page in different lakes… We found lots of fish over deep rocks, and they refused to cooperate. I moved us to a 10′ weedline, and we caught a walleye. Talk about scattered… They weren’t jumping in the boat though, so we switched our focus to smallies. We ended our day with a nice rally as the Johnson brothers landed a bunch of good fish that were schooled up on a rocky hump in 10′ – 15′ of water. Those were some hard earned fish, and they deserved it. We worked for every one today fellas. Nice work, and way to hang in there. I believe Mike will be buying that first beverage for Bill tonight. First fish gets a drink. Always a good time!
Jeff Evans
jeffevansfishing.com
