Spring has sprung early this year, which has sparked an earlier than normal spring Steelhead run!  Unfortunately the weather has cooled off recently, but regardless of the temperatures the Steelhead are now abundant in many of the tributaries to Lake Michigan up and down the Wisconsin coast line! With high, cold water conditions, expect the Steelhead to be holding on the edges of the fast current or in the deeper pools as they wait for their eggs to ripen and then they will move onto shallow gravel redds to spawn.  With the cold water temperatures, the fish won't be overly aggres ..read more

Walleye Weekend will be held at Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac June 10-12. The event is centered around the Mercury National Walleye Tournament that features over 200 Mercury powered fishing boats and some of the biggest names in Walleye fishing! Keith Kavajecz, Host of The Next Bite TV show and professional angler, will be emceeing the weigh-in on both Saturday and Sunday. Anglers have 2 days to catch the heaviest overall bag of 10 Walleyes to have their chance at winning over $10,000 in cash! Anglers are allowed to place 7 Walleyes into their live wells but can only weigh 5 per day which ma ..read more

Despite the much warmer than average temperatures we have had so far this "winter",  fishing continues to be productive for those that are willing to keep the long rods out!  Timely rains have kept the tributaries running higher than normal which has helped draw fair numbers of lake run Brown Trout and Steelhead into the harbors and rivers all around Lake Michigan. This past weekend I was able to sneak away for a few hours and get some much needed time on the water in with my good friend Chris.  It's amazing how much I appreciate each minute spent on the water these days as wor ..read more

The mature King Salmon fishing on Lake Michigan and its many tributaries has been noticeably slower than normal over the past few weeks. This either means that there are less fish in the lake to return, or the run is later than usual.  Only time will tell, as anglers continue to spend many hours on the water for a few fish. This was the story for Derek and I over the weekend as we made a trip to Sturgeon Bay in hopes of tangling with a few King Salmon on our Walleye gear!  Our trip started off with a bang, as Derek hooked into a beautiful Steelhead on his very first cast on a Jigg ..read more

Summer is upon us as is the Walleye bite on the Winnebago System! The Mercury National Walleye Tournament was held out of Fond du lac this past weekend and there were plenty of nice Walleyes brought to the scales both days! The winning pattern is still a secret as many of the same anglers will be competing in the Battle on Bago - Summer Edition this coming weekend. Walleyes continue to be caught in the upriver lakes, the river in Oshkosh, and on all parts of Lake Winnebago. Trolling has been the most common method used by anglers, with cranks working better than spinners for most. The reef ..read more

For many years prior to the technology advancements of the current era, anglers used landmarks and a simple depth finder to help them navigate to their honey holes.  Today, Global Positioning System’s (GPS) have given anglers the ability to return to a specific location, within a few feet on a consistent basis!  Despite the majority of anglers having this incredible capability, there remains a tremendous under use of this technology to get the most out of it to be a more productive fisherman! GPS has been available for public use since the year 2000, when the government ended the ..read more

The spring Steelhead run is off to a slow start as cold temperatures and a lack of rain have the fish coming in at a trickle.  Expect the main run to happen soon as forecasted rains will draw more fish into the system in a short period of time!  As of now there are fish around to be caught but the fish are using deeper sections of the rivers rather than typical shallower locations since the water is so clear. I made it out once so far this spring for Steelhead and managed 5 in 6 hours of fishing, not great but still way better than nothing!  We caught our fish drifting both s ..read more

My dad and I took advantage of the warm and sunny weather this past weekend on the ice chasing Lake Michigan Trout in the Manitowoc area!  The morning started off slow, with no action for the first hour. We decided to move 2 of our Automatic Fishermen a little further into the middle of the river.  I no more than set the second Automatic Fisherman, walked 5 feet from it, when I heard it trip!  I turned around to see the rod doubled over with the drag slowly peeling out! After a short battle, we were able to land a nice 5 pound buck Brown Trout that had been feasting on Gobies q ..read more

The 2015 Battle On Bago will go down as the year of  the Walleye!  With a depleted forage base for the Walleyes system wide it really comes as no surprise that over 360 Walleyes over 3lbs were registered (Primarily Females)  It took 4.261 lbs to take 150th place and win a Ford F-150, 2.824 lbs to win the 400th prize of a Lund Boat, 2.257 was just enough to win the Lund 1650 Rebel with a 90hp Mercury, and  the 900th  place prize of a Ford F-150 Supercrew was won with a 1.936lb Walleye.  This marks the first year where every major prize was won with a Walleye!&nbs ..read more

We are less than 24 hours from the 2015 Edition of Battle on Bago, which will most likely go down as the most productive season yet!  Fish have been cooperating system wide this winter, as there is a real lack of forage in the system this winter.  The challenge has been finding the fish; once they are located the fishing has been really good on most days! Tickets can be purchased online until midnight on February 26 on the Battle on Bago Website. Tickets for the fishing portion of the event can also be purchased at these locations: • Fleet Farm – All Wisconsin Locations • Fish Tale ..read more