Minocqua, Arbor Vitae, Woodruff, Wisconsin, Fishing Guide Reports & Conditions

FISHING REPORTS:

03-10-10 IC'ING TROPHY WALLEYE. As our game fish season is now closed until May, we wanted to share some, last of the year, (in the dark techniques) with all readers. Ic'ing big Walleye at night is not for everyone, very windy, well below zero temps or just simply no wind and below zero keeps most of the hardiest people at home. Most, is where we separate, this report is going to describe how some people brave the elements and any cost to fulfill there destiny with there dream WALLEYE of a life time. Now to start, as this is not going to take long since it is easy, ice fishing big fish starts with lakes that continuously produce big fish. Creel and Fike netting reports are public information and can be obtained from your local D.N.R. office. Fishing shallow water at spawning locations for Cisco and or White Fish is a very critical concept. Will you catch a trophy Walleye in deeper water? yes, but we focus on shallow water. Also, fishing at Walleye spawning locations is a good location. Large rocky points, long shallow tapering shorelines and of course any cover such as wood or weeds is good. Using good quality products is mandatory for night time ice fishing, everything from batteries to line to hooks to type of bait to the type of clothing and good transportation to good shelter that is warm. The list goes on, but you have the picture. Oh yea, a DIE HARD, DEDICATED ATTITUDE is mandatory. Drilling wholes at specific locations is very critical. Fishing times are from dark till about 6 AM. this works. Waiting, this is the toughest part, for me, waiting, waiting and waiting, then,,,,, the light goes on in the surrounding darkness and you want to rush out or run to the tip up, NO, NO, NO, we wait some more, never rush in, walk in, QUIETLY!!! That tip alone is worth its weight in gold. 2 people to the light, you will be very disappointed when the both of you see a 12 inch Walleye come out of the hole at 1:30 AM, but when you see a Walleye like one these pictured above poke her nose out of the hole you will be very, very glad to have the extra 2 hands to get her out and on the ice. Patience, time, knowledge and some people say, I would rather be lucky than good, well, not me. I can only hope this information helps the next time you have the chance to ice some TROPHY WALLEYE.
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 16:28:04 (PST)

temperature wise it was hard to beat the last 5 days. 40s and even 50s yesterday and bight sunshine made for very warm days on the snow packed ice. it is one of the best reasons to live in the northwoods. but when that sun hit the horizon we found ourselves scrambling to put on the bibs and fire up the heater for the shelter.

we were looking ice some walleyes before the season closed on sunday night. we fished different lakes each day, in different spots using different techniques and baits. one night produced 8 walleyes, one produced a 6 and 8 pounder on consecutive flags, and so on. so action was prevalent at night and the panfish were also very active during the day. so using all this info gathered via cell phones over thursday thru saturday we pooled our resources and gathered together on sunday on the "hot spots".

sure enough, one small 13" walleye was all that was seen in 7 hours of fishing. i guess the fish thought the season closed on saturday!

hey, on to the panfish season, the best part of the ice fishing season for me, anyway. from now until ice-out, the fishing will get hotter as will the weather conditions. the only bad part i fear is because of the crappy ice formation this year the ice will leave us quickly so be careful. (time to get the boat ready)
jeff bolander <jeff@upnorth.info>
- Monday, March 08, 2010 at 09:57:17 (PST)

03-01-10 SPECIAL EDITION INFORMATION, WITH THE IN-FISHERMAN MAGAZINE, ON GIANT PIKE. PLEASE LOOK AND READ THE CURRENT EDITION OF THE IN-FISHERMAN MAGAZINE, FOR, GIANT PIKE, WITH, BILL TENNEY, JOHN ANDREW AND OTHERS. OK, the bite is rolling forward, day time is panfish and pike, sharing this with such positive people and their family is why we help our tourists enjoy there stay in our area. This helps create interest in future recreation from them to our and surrounding counties. A ice shore lunch and the memories this creates, helps bring there dreams, come to life. WOW, the night time bite is big time WALLEYE. The night time fishing is from dark till about 4 AM. Yes, the catch of small Walleye does happen at night, but some are large, very, very large, as will be shown to you. One thing in particular is this, fishing away from the crowd really does work during the day time. Simply look at your maps and fish similar areas than the crowd and you will be successful and have it all to your selves, as my clients will testify to. The wind has really been a large part of our good luck of recent, as the wind made our 34 degree days feel like 10 above zero, the fish were snapping at any and all offerings. Our pike went on a feeding blitz, but, sucker minnows were the bait of choice. Why, simply because they constantly move around and do not get lazy like shiners, pike love the movement of there prey, now, do pike hit dead bait? YES. They still prefer lively bait first. "SPECIAL NOTICE" !!! PLEASE TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THIS ISSUE OF THE.... (IN-FISHERMAN MAGAZINE).... YOU WILL READ A SPECIAL REPORT ON GIANT PIKE, IN THIS REPORT WE DISCUSS DESTINATION LOCATION. MY GOOD FRIEND, BILL TENNEY, WHO IS NOW PASSED ON, SHARE, GIANTS OF THE PAST, HE AND I CAUGHT TOGETHER, SHARING KNOWLEDGE WITH THIS LEGEND IS ONLY PART OF MY TRADITION OF HELPING OTHERS. Although our Pike are smaller here, some the same techniques are past on to you, today, thru ice fishing. I do not use sucker minnows in the spring or fall, but, winter is a magical time for learning. Are you using a under water camera? Well, you should be. Put your camera down the same whole and watch your shiner, then put it down the same whole as a sucker minnow, you will be amazed at the difference in activity between the two. This is only one of the critical concepts to above average success, there are other concepts of equal importance.
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Monday, March 01, 2010 at 15:50:51 (PST)

02-25-10 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE.COM As the wind blew Wednesday the 24th, our tip up flags were pooping up all day long. My clients had a great deal of fun chasing after them, as other people were skiing or enjoying snow boarding or other out door fun. We saw a great pattern develop as the wind increased. Our fish became more and more aggressive in deeper water, around 13 to 18 ft. Placing our baits next to the bottom seemed to be what was working, for us. Our pan fish were biting around the same depth, Blue gills and Perch. As the deeper water continued to produce, at the end of the day our light line was really straining to keep up. Walleye fishing has been extremely productive late at night, as I will show. Some deep fish as well as shallow Walleye. More on this to follow. Hope this info helps on your next outing. TO VERIFY: VINCE DENNING 1-920-428-2253
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 03:24:19 (PST)

THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE .COM 02-21-10 Perch shore lunch, 2. WOW,as the day time temps. are in the mid 30's we are seeing a good bite for our fishing. This is allowing us to have several fantastic Ice Lunch's, as these photo's show. We are continuing to do well on the Cisco Chain on Big Lake, off county "B", as I did not fish my home water at all this weekend, but as these guest photos show, our results were good Big Lake is doing very well in Bills Back Bay, for our Crappie and as these photos show, our Perch. As continuously reported, we move all over until we find them. Staying away from the crowd seems to yield our best results. Stop on out and you will see us there. We simply load up our metal tables, go to our designated lake and cook right on the ice. We will be fishing Presque-isle Lake at night, the next 2 nights and will post the photos and results. With the game fish season fast approaching its end, for the ice season in Vilas county we will be working long and hard for the best results. We will start in the dark and be out for about 8 or 10 hrs.. TO VERIFY. ROB MOLITER 1-262-745-1255 God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 11:53:17 (PST)

02-18-10 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE.COM As the recent warm spell continues the fishing just gets better and better. We are now focusing on Crappie as the Perch are slowing down (for us) not just on my home lake but certain other lakes as well, (note) I will be, from now on, be posting a weekly report, on Presque-isle Lake in northern Vilas county. Why? because it promotes our local township. My home water since (1973), this report will be year round. Now, back to our Crappie shore lunch. Cover, cover, cover, this is paramount to Crappie, yes, some body will drill a few holes and catch a few Crappie, but consistently catching them day after day, is everybodys interest. Cover is brush, shadows, rocks, dark light areas, (main lake basin) weeds, man made structure (not wood) although this works and much more. Keep using light line, clear 2 lb. test, other line works, but 2 lb. test is best. I almost forgot, keep using the underwater camera, it still is the best. More on this in a couple weeks. My guest focus hard in the morning with small Crappie minnows, this seems to work better than anything else (for us) then in the evening. Our pike continue to work where ever we fish. Pick a large weed flat suspend your baits and get ready for the flags to fly. Again, we now, prefer the round frabill tip ups, due to the anti freezing capability and simplicity to use and carry. Simply load them up in a 5 gallon bucket and you are on your way, needles to say how light they are. Do not forget to spray paint your flags a dark color, as they are 5 times easier to see than a red or orange flag during the day time.
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 13:12:50 (PST)

02-13-10 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. As the moderate day time temps. continue, we are seeing good action with our fishing. Fishing with several different family's, from grand parents to grand children and then every body's favorite, shore lunch on the ice. Being a part of these happy peoples lives and sharing the day with them is the best of the best, for out door fun. We continue to fish with the tried and true methods that I have been posting, light line, small hooks, vibration techniques with the line, depth variations and color presentation for pan fish, this works. For pike we continue to fish the weeds, but not just any weed location. We focus on edges of weeds, depth changes of the weed flat, placing tip ups at different weed flats at the same time, depth placement early and depth placement of our baits later in the day, concentrating on sunny days as well as windy days does dictate where I place my flags and how shallow or deep they are placed. Bait, shiners are great, but get lazy, sucker minnows on the other hand work harder and longer on the hook, both have a place and both work well. Using one or the other on certain days and conditions. is a factor, it does make a difference, between a few Pike or a lot of Pike. Now, the biggest tip is this, check every flag by looking at your bait every 25 mins.. This tip alone will increase your amount of flags you get and it really does help to spray paint your flags a dark color, you can see them 5 times easier during the day. And yes, The Anglers Choice Guide Service will be here for years and years. Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. TO VERIFY: ANDREW LAVEY 1-920-668-8302 www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net 1-715-892-3020 johnandrew - Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 15:26:18 (PST)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 15:31:07 (PST)

02-10-10 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. Another fantastic ice fishing day with great customers and there family. The continuing positive relationships created thru hard work, dedication and teaching of ones skills to another, helps to build these fantastic memories, as these photos continue to show. Topping off our day with another fresh fish ice lunch, is just what the Tim Biernat family was looking forward to. Our family purchased our home on the shore of Van Vliet Lake (The Presque-isle Chain) in 1973. I have been actively fishing and then guiding this water system since that first summer, fall and winter. (1973) Years and years and hundreds of hours of learning. Along with 16 more lakes on my guide list, which most of them are listed with Lake Links. Some of our fish came to us the traditional way with Frabill Tip Ups, I have learned to prefer these Tip Ups over any others, why, simply because they keep the wholes from freezing over by using only the Tip Up which keeps the spindle freely turning and not having to spend more money on after market products, or creating new ways to ad to already higher priced Tip Ups. A knew tip for fellow ice marauders is, spray paint your flags a dark color, this really helps you see your flag when it pops up. When fishing at dusk or night, the light on your flag will do the job. Golden shiners and sucker minnows are the continuing bait of choice for pike and Walleye. Wax worms are working for our pan fish, although other baits also produce. Thank you for your positive and suportive e-mail, I will keep up the good work! Lokking forward to meeting all my new clients this summer and in for those who are sending 2011 deposits, many thanks and God Bless everyone. God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 08:39:52 (PST)

02-07-10 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. A great way to spend the weekend, ice fishing with great customers and there family, then preparing a mouth watering fresh fish ice lunch with all the fixings. This is one of the ways that life long positive memories are made, as these photos show. Perch fishing has been good for the last couple of weeks with wax worms, light line and tiny ice jigs. Although most fish caught are small, a few good eaters are saved for the pan. Blue Gills are being caught, but mostly small. Sun Fish also are running average size. As discussed in past postings, the use of your underwater camera is paramount, drilling several wholes then waiting a few minutes for the fish to settle down, then looking thru each whole is the fastest way to success. Most, if not all panfish are suspended at or next to the weed line, now, there are lakes that our perch are deep along the mud line, say 20 or more ft. down along the bottom. Some deep lakes have the panfish all relating to deep water, primarily with brush, such as a bar with brush on the side in say, 35 ft. to 45 ft. deep, this can be very, very good, but difficult to locate. Crappies are Good on several lakes, some deep around the main lake basin, some in brush piles, some in the weeds and then they suspend a majority of the time. I hope this info helps on your next ice fishing outing. God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Sunday, February 07, 2010 at 06:55:14 (PST)

01-04-10 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. We are continuing to see Walleye caught on Presque-isle lake behind the Bay View Resort in front of the mouth of the Presque-isle river. Fishing from 100 ft. to 600 ft. out past the mouth in 3 - 12 ft. of water from 4 PM to 12 midnight. Scattering the tip ups along the left shore,facing away from the mouth of the out let, about 150 ft. out from shore.all the way to the mouth of the bay, is the best. This is located off of county W, in northern Vilas county, the bite is on now!! The east shore line of Presque-isle lake, directly off of the east shore line boat landing, out about 200 yrds, there is a bar called Ikesters Bar, this bar runs parallel to the east shore line, all the way to where the end of the bar is , right where there is a small wood ice house, this is the local hot spot for Walleye. You cant miss it, simply go out in that area by the small wood ice house and set your tip ups in 17 to 25 ft. of water and you are sure to pick up Walleye on a nightly basis from 4:30 PM to 8: PM. Simply set up your portables and get ready to fill up on Walleye. The next best spot is in the opening of the bays, this is the only entrance to to back bays of Presque-isle lake, this is marked by another local, white, wood ice house, simply set up your portables any where near there and fish from 14 to 25 ft. deep and get ready to fill up on Walleye. I hope this helps your future outings. God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Thursday, February 04, 2010 at 16:19:04 (PST)

2/4/10. I rec'd this inquiry and thought others of you may have interest. As always, if you have any questions, please contact me and I will answer honestly. >>> Hello, My name is Matt. A friend of mine (Seth) referred me to you as some one who might be able to help me pattern some bigger walleyes in Northern Wisconsin. I have been fishing Laura for about 10 years now and I have some basic patterns for smaller walleyes(slip-bobbering, Jigging), this year seems to have one of the best year classes I have seen yet(10"-12"). But I haven't been able to locate/catch decent fish. I was wondering if you could shed a little light on the subject. I also would like to start fishing some different lakes in that area. Probably Star, Ballard, Irving, or Razorback. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. Thanks and have a nice day!! Matt.--- Matt, Good to hear from you. Laura Lake has excellent natural spawning. Thus lots of eyes. Chances are that type of lake will have very few fish over 22 inches due to competition for forage. That's why the no size limit, one over 14 inch is on these types of lakes. On the other hand, those lakes that have 18 inch size limits to keep or at least slot limits like Plum and some others are better lakes to fish for bigger fish. To sum it up, if a lake has a no size limit one over 14 inches, in most cases you will expect smaller fish. There are some exceptions like Big or Little Arbor Vitae where it's tough now to catch fish under 14 inches and lots of 20 to 25 inch fish right now. I would pick lakes like North Twin, Trout, Lake Tomahawk, Flambeau Chain lakes, or Little Trout to fish for big fish. Even some little lakes like Wild Cat will have really good fish. Ballard Lake is probably the best of those you mentioned for a chance on a big fish. At one time before the big freeze out on that lake about 15 years ago, that lake produced many 8 to 10 lb fish. Especially through the ice. After the freeze out, the lake was restocked and aerators installed to ensure no more freeze outs by the DNR. It helped a lot. However, you won't catch the numbers you do like in Laura. The size exempt lakes as a rule will not produce the big ones over 20 inches you are looking for. Hope this helps you. Good Fishin'
Tommy Zinda, www.tommysfishingadventures.com <tadpole@g2a.net>
- Thursday, February 04, 2010 at 08:04:16 (PST)

02-01-2010 The Anglers Choice Guide Service.com As temperatures begin to warm up our perch fishing continues to be deeper in mud flats and along deep weed edges. We continue to use 2lb monofilament, tiny ice jigs, wax worms, although pieces of night crawlers work even better. We are seeing activity level best during 8-11am and 2:30-4:30pm. Our pike fishing continues to be productive in the weeds. Weed pike are easily caught with golden shiners or sucker minnows, red treble hooks #6, thin wire leaders attached to heavy black dacron line. Our pike locations are large weed flat, our best locations are the deeper sections of the same weed flats. Drop offs directly connected to the weed flats are the best. Our presentation is suspending our baits one to two feet above the weed line, seldom do we put our bait into the weeds. You will always see pan fish in or suspended along side the weeds with your underwater camera. We mostly see pike using our underwater camera at or above the weed line, and yes we occassionally do see them inside the weeds. Early in the morning from 7-11am we suspend our baits well above the weed line between 11-2pm we put our baits just above the weed line, and 2pm until sunset we again suspend well above the weed line. I hope this information is beneficial for your next outing. To verify: Duncan Bachman 715-686-7156 God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Wednesday, February 03, 2010 at 18:53:40 (PST)

01-30-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. Even with the extreme cold front we are seeing, of 15 below zero,around 6:AM, (which is going to warm up tomorrow) we continue to produce fantastic day time action for Perch,Blue Gill and Pike. As these photos show, we are even enjoying fresh fish ice lunch with all the fixings. We are continuing to use very light mono line, of 2 lb. test, with tiny ice jigs. For our Pike, we are using fine wire leaders with sucker minnows and golden shiners. Now, we are suspending our bait about 2 ft. above the weeds, this works for us. We continue to use wax worms, 1 at a time, for us. With all the portable ice houses out on the lakes today and there are a lot of them, including my home lake, its very obvious, people enjoy the fun of ice fishing. Even though we see 20 times more activity with fisherman in the spring, summer and fall. ENJOY!!! God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 15:37:08 (PST)

1-26-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE.COM As the recent cold front continues to push into northern Wisconsin our ice fishing continues to be productive. We are seeing good Walleye productivity, with fish from 16 to 25 inches being caught on a regular nightly basis on Presque-isle lake, behind the Bay View lodge in front of the mouth of the Presqu-isle river, in shallow water. From 100 to 500 ft. in front of the well frozen outlet.This is located in Vilas County. This bite is on now, for the next few weeks. Also, as these photos show, we are doing well with Perch and Pike during the day. As previously reported, 2 lb. test is the key to our good fishing for pan fish and thin wire leaders for pike. We are also seeing good Walleye on Oxbow lk. and Harris lk. in northern Vilas county. Crab lk. continues to be a tough lk. for ice fisherman, with sketchy ice reports and slush, multiple , very shallow, rock piles, creating thin ice hazards. Be very, very careful. God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 17:10:58 (PST)

01-23-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. Wow,day after day we continue to enjoy the high activity level of our ice fishing. The Pan fish are biting, the Pike are working over time and the Walleye are bitting at the evening hr. and night time. We are doing sucker minnows and golden shiners for our Pike. We continue to work the weeds, more importantly the edges, this really is key. Also it should be noted that we use a very fine wire leader. This is very important and the Pike, as these photos show, do not seem to mind. We are suspending our presentation about 2 feet above the weeds, this really drives the Pike into a frenzy, if you are in a good Pike location. Multiple tip ups seems to really improve the odds. More on this Pike bonanza for your lakes later. Time to get ready for work. God Bless, John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people.
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 09:53:39 (PST)

01-21-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. PERCH GONE WILD ! ! ! ! ! THIS IS A SPECIAL EDITION REPORT (POSTING). Thats right, we have fished several lakes, besides my home lake and we are seeing great catches of perch. Some are large and some small, but lots and lots of them. As these photos show, all age groups of The Anglers Choice Guide Service, are enjoying the thrills of these fantastic eating fish. They are biting all day long, with sunny days being the best, for us. Lite, 2 lb. test with wax worms being the live bait of choice and very small crappie minnows also working, as, very small being magic. It should be noted, that if you can get night crawlers, a small piece works like (Merlin the Magician), this is the best. . No Panfish can resist this. As reported to me by the Wisconsin D.N.R., Perch only live 3-6 years, this seems hard for me to believe, but that is what has been told to me. These fish are always biting, spring, summer, fall and winter, maybe that has something to do with there short lived life. These tasty morsels can be hard to catch, but not now, today, there biting. Now, for the details, we are working long and hard for these tasty morsels. We have found over several years of catching these yellow skinned fish and thats way before some people came up here, (no pun intended please) that morning is the best, so, if you here me starting up my equipment and getting it ready for the days guests, you now know why I am am out early in the morning. I do apologize to my neighbors for any early morning noise, it is only to prepare for my daily routine, for work. I am reporting this information in case there are questions why I am making early morning noise. Pease for give me for any inconvenience this is causing. As I have reported to my readers in the past, small hooks, small bobbers and lite line, I teach my guests that the bobber is only a strike indicator, nothing more, when the tiny bobber twiches, you set the hook. That tip is paramount. We never wait for the bobber to go under the water, we set the hook well before that. This is the biggest factor to increasing your catch, besides the vibration factor, which is also taught to my guests. This is so important that most ice fisherman already know this, or should. The vibration factor, well this is just as it sounds, we vibrate the hook and lift about a foot above the slip bobber and then let the line sit still for about 15 seconds, then repeat the process. (DEADLY TECHNIQUE) Big Muskellunge, Trout Lake, Lake Minocqua, Allequash Lake and Lintel John, this is one mostly small Walleye and many more are going strong. PERCH GONE WILD ! ! ! ! They are biting, go get em. To verify............... Fritz Heiden. 1-608-438-5244 John Maddox. 1-815-955-5951 Harley Klagus. 1-715-543-8246 Jim Walsh. 1-312-961-5905 God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 14:24:29 (PST)

01-19-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. The recent warm spell has improved everybody's ice fishing. On a continuing positive note. On my home lake, Van Vliet Lake, there were 7 ice shacks, not including mine and 15 people besides myself, from this past Thursday the 14th thru Sunday the 17th. and as reported to me they all were catching and showing off there catches of Blue Gill, Perch, Sun fish, Crappie and Northern Pike. As these photos continue to show the happy smiles of people that visit our area and support our local establishments. Many of our lakes are receiving ice fishing pressure, all over the north country and most receive much heaver ice fishing pressure and much larger harvest of fish than my home lake. Bringing people to our north section of Vilas county during the winter continues to promote and support the very reason why our businesses are open. Although it should be noted, our lakes do receive a much, much larger and heaver fishing pressure and harvest of fish, during the spring, summer and fall months. We are continuing to use very light 2lb. test mono wax worms and tiny ice jigs. We have realized that color does make a big difference, as well as time of day, depth, water clarity, weather and location is still the top important factor. Walleye, are still going strong at evening and night time, although we do catch them during the day but this requires an approach I have not gotten into in any great detail, as of yet. The Northern Pike we are catching are weed related, golden shiners and there are some details that need to be addressed. Simply putting down the shiner in the weeds may work, but there are several other issues that could make you a much better Ice Pker, we will go over that coming soon. Time to get ready. To Verify. Dave Struck 1-630-330-4686
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 08:18:43 (PST)

finally hits the lakes last week. nasty weather, terrible ice, and a slow bite have keep me and a lot of other fisherman from perusing our favorite pastime as often as we would like this ice season. but with temps near 40, an all too absent dose of sunshine hitting us, and a new moon, i had to get out.

last wednesday i hit a popular lake in boulder junction for walleye with a guide friend of mine and it stunk. two flags and one little 13" eye. but john and i did see the most brilliant star show we have ever seen in a northwoods sky. you could almost reach out and touch them. john does a real nice job plowing the fishing area with his 4 wheeler which made it real easy to get around. too bad the fish didn't cooperate.

Thursday me and dennis hit big arb by the north landing. ice conditions and no snowmobile or 4 wheeler limited our choices to somewhere that didn't require a long walk. (more on the ice conditions later) we drilled and dropped camera in an area we had never fished before and found some big perch in 20' of water diggin in the mud. i think if we would have had some wigglers we would have put more 11"ers on the ice but no walleyes.

had to work on friday so set my truck headed north to manitowish waters and clear lake for saturday. again limited by mobility, i chose an area where i KNEW i would catch fish, the boat landing near fawn lake channel. picking up bait at townline sports i met a that was asking where to fish in the area so invited them along. we set up tip ups on the sides of the "trough" in 7-10 on weed edges and jigged the middle of the trough for perch. we did ok but still rather weak for that area. caught tons of perch, weeded out to get about a dozen over 10", and as soon as the new moon sliver hit the horizon the flags started popping. the resulting northern and walleye filled the bucket for about 5 lbs of fillets by nights end.

as promised, a word about ice conditions: keep your vehicles off the ice. we have had many trucks hit the bottom this year. just because you see someone else out there, don't do it. on big arb we were only 50' off shore and there was only 6-8 of ice. on big lake there was about the same and on clear the was 8-10" but a lot was snow pack. there ain't no fish worth yours or someone elses life. be safe so you can fish again. also, make sure you have watch the video we have posted on the front page that show you what to do if you should fall in.
jeff bolander <jeff@upnorth.info>
- Monday, January 18, 2010 at 08:59:27 (PST)

01-14-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. As our ice fishing continues to be productive day after day as these photos show, THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE CUSTOMERS are increasingly happy with there results, We haven't been showing our photos in our local news paper recently due to the high volume of guiding we have been experiencing and working nightly to prepare for the following day. This is changing starting on Jan. 15 - 2010 as we will be posting all customers photos in The Lake Land Times News Paper from Minoqcua Wisc, (VILAS COUNTY). Our Perch are deep and on the weeds. Yes some lakes are producing from 20 - 30 ft., a daily pattern, but other lakes just haven't made up there mind yet. Our Blue Gills are the same, weeds then deep. Our Pike are weeds, then weeds, then weeds, well, you get the picture. So, what lake are you fishing? The list is long and getting longer, we are traveling all over and producing. To verify. Mike Talamanco 1-920-378-1126 God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide 1-715-892-3020 (Immediate attention) Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com johnandrew@centurytel.net Fully licensed and insured, John offers his customers the benefits of his 35 years of fishing experience on Northwoods and Canadian waters, a track record that includes three Outstanding Angler Achievement awards and two World records documented at the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame . . . PHONE ♦ (715) 686-2012 ♦ (715) 892-3020 johnandrew@centurytel.net RECOMMENDED LODGING ♦ The Waters of Minocqua ♦ Hiller's Pine Haven ♦ Coachlite Resort ♦ Voss' Birchwood Lodge 1-715-543-8441
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 04:20:38 (PST)

1-10-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. As our ice fishing has been in full swing now for the past 3 weeks, we are developing some very good daily locations and patterns. We have been on different lakes, different locations, several techniques, multiple patterns that we are pushing into 2 or 3 daily events and as always, we continue to realize that location, is still king. Fishing multiple species is good, to keep all customers, very happy. We are fishing early for pike and pan fish and late for the Ice Eye. Now, we prefer to fish our eyes during the day and we do, to some extent, but, we are very, very selective to which lake we go to, as many, many people want the same info. These photos of my guests are current and as you can see, very happy. For pan fish I continue to drill between 30 and 50 wholes per day, sometimes more and use the under water camera, the ice fishermen's best pal. (For panfish). As the cold weather continues, we are seeing the migration of deep panfish up to the weed flats. Yes, it is starting now, our weed bite is picking up. Some people have been catching weed fish from the beginning of ice up, well, some lakes take a different approach. All lakes develop there own migration process, for each specie, from water temp. to oxygen, PH levels, including acidity, to water clarity and several other undescribed step by step factors. Week by week, season by season, specie by specie this process takes place. I recommend, 2 lb. test mono, (no super line, although some people may like this option), for all pan fish with wax worms or small crappie minnows,, or pieces of night crawlers, if you can get them, (THEY WORK). For Northern Pike, I recommend a very thin wire leader split shot and a red treble hook, # 8 or # 10 on the hook size and large sucker minnows or large shiners, (the bigger the better). This works NOW and will continue to work past ice out and into slip bobbers in the early spring. Walleye, my guests are doing the following, day time, very, very precise location, (spot on the spot) mandatory. We are using 8 lb fluorocarbon mono leaders, about 3 feet, red # 6 trebles hooked 1/2 inch behind the head of a shiner and yes, after many, many years of fishing, Beaver Dam Tip Ups are the "only" option, with there silky smooth operation, even at 20 below zero is absolutely mandatory for the elusive ICE EYE. You, need to develop a ice free insulator to cover the whole, or buy an after market product. To verify: Ray Stouck 1-707-326-3802 T verify: Ed Shinton. 1-715-358-2970 Stay positive, think clearly,do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 14:26:26 (PST)

1-05-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. The past days of guiding have been a great success with families enjoying there winter vacations and enjoying the beauty of our great white north, as these photos show. Our perch are still coming from different depths, no one pattern. The pike we are catching are also in the weeds and deeper, still, no one pattern. Now the crappie we catching are suspended in deeper water. As mentioned in the last report, part of our continuing success is 2lb. test and tiny ice jigs. Or Walleye are mostly coming during the evening and night time, although we have had day time activity by being very "precise" on our location. Now, our "deep" Walleye are biting during the day, but, this is "extremely" precise fishing. Deep works on certain lakes only. Dark coffee color water, and very, very deep clear lakes, but, again, this is day time catching and the next up coming reports will show this. The smiles of my guests say it al, being a part of there positive adventure is a good feeling and fuels my passion for guiding. To verify. Vince Santoro 1-630-330-4686 Stay positive, think clearly,do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 07:32:12 (PST)

01-01-2010 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. The ice conditions are much better now with some deep slush still lingering. Our ice fishing is very productive for night time Walleye and day time panfish and pike. We are catching day time Walleye, it seems we have to be extremely precise on our location. The spot on the spot, this is the best way to describe it. On a continuing positive note. "WE DO NOT", KEEP EVERYTHING WE CATCH, WE ARE VERY SELECTIVE TO THE LAKE WE ARE FISHING. Our fishing for panfish remains mixed at different depth locations. We are producing Crappie suspended in deep water. The Blue gills are both in the weeds and on the bottom in deep water, the same is for the Perch. One of our paths to success is, 2 lb. test, clear mono and tiny ice jigs. There is also the other thing, you know, we talked about this at several of my seminars, where you ask , well, there is the Lake Of The Torch's Casino, Rockford, Milwaukee. Now, the under water camera is and always will be, your best ice fishing panfish friend. Simply go to your favorite areas, drill several or just one whole and take a look. Its that simple. It should be noted that you may want to wait a few minuets to look, as your drilling may spook your fish if you are fishing shallow. THIS WORKS. If you do not own a under water camera , go buy one. The reason I am stressing this so much is simply because it works. Remember, be selective, do not go and fill up a bucket full of fish, my guests keep enough for a fish fry and there always happy. To verify. Steve Goetter. 1-608-239-4609 Stay positive, think clearly,do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnanmdrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Friday, January 01, 2010 at 09:52:39 (PST)

12-23-2009 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. "ICE CONDITIONS ARE VERY UNSTABLE THIS YEAR AND YOU NEED TO PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION"!!! Stay away from the shallow swampy bays and there shorelines. Our Walleye fishing is very productive now, although we are forced to wait for the fish to come to us in shallow water, in the evenings and night time. The last few months of deep water presentation has spoiled some of my cliental, as large #s of walleye were being caught. We have not been able to get out to the good deep structures where we want to be for day time activity, due to poor ice conditions. Some of the local die hard fisherman always brave the thin ice, "I do not" recommend that "for any of my readers". Certain lakes do offer day time Walleye activity along deep weed lines or on dark stained waters, (coffee color). In the clear lakes, the the rock bars from 15 to 30 ft. deep are hitting right at or before sunset and continuing to be active on thru the dark hours. The shallow bite of 1 to 10 ft. starts at dark and also continues thru the night, (clear water). Golden shiners are our bait of choice, for Walleye or Pike and wax worms for panfish. Now, if you can still get night crawlers, they will out perform wax worms. We still prefer small crappie minnows for crappie and jumbo perch, although you will catch them on other bait also. The fish are biting now. We are fishing shallow, from 2 - 20 ft. on clear lakes. (NOW) We are fishing from 3 to 10 ft. on slightly stained lakes. (NOW) We will be fishing 20 to 45 ft. deep on dark colored lakes during the day. (STARTING NOW) To verify. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston. 1-256-994-5830 Stay positive, think clearly,do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 09:47:34 (PST)

12-20-2009 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. Sorry for not posting the last few days,I took a few days off due to poor ice conditions and certain boat landings are froze, even though the rivers are open, "certain rivers". Back to guiding tomorrow and the next several weeks in a row. I have been fishing and will show and tell, about that, tomorrow night, as I re post. The Walleye are bitting, as well as pike and panfish, as many of you know. Shallow is the key. Yes, I said shallow, even though I have been preaching deep for the last 3 months. Shallow is now, FOR, THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE CUSTOMERES. Stay positive, think clearly,do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
JOHNANDREWE <JOHNANDREW@CENTURYTEL.NET>
- Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 16:40:12 (PST)

12-03-09 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. All photos are current to this posting date. Full moon, low pressure weather system, late, late fall and slow bait presentation's. This is what is producing Walleye for THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE clients for the last two days, for open water boat fishing in northern Vilas county Wisconsin. Yes, we are still guiding Walleye out of the boat and continuing to be productive. Even on Lake Tomahawk, we are producing Smallmouth Bass in 55 ft. of water, on the bottom and not just 6 or 7 Bass, but large #s of Bass, are being caught and released with the deep water method. Our techniques, are still deep during the day and row trolling during the early night time. Yes, row trolling Walleye, we are using stick baits along the shorelines, channels, large shallow weed bays, long shallow, shoreline connected rock bars and narrow sections of certain lakes. We are producing these fish right up to the ice season, which is now apon us. As these photos show. We are continuing to guide Walleye in the next three weeks on certain small rivers in there deeper sections. This is a very under fished resource, just as fishing Musky, in the summer, is a very under fishedresorce on the small rivers, this past spring I posted several reports on my web site about early spring Walleye tributary fishing. Now, I am telling you about the fall and early winter Walleye fishing that is available to you thru the creeks and small rivers. Do you know of a location similar to what I am describing to you? I"ll bet you do, if you think about it. Some of these spots are so productive that I will not reveal there locations, even paying clients are sworn absolute, secrecy. Why? Because they are very small in size and very easy to access. They also hold some of the largest Walleye we catch thru out the year, including ice fishing. My next posting will describe this method, but most importantly, I will describe the "Critical Concept", for your future success in small tributary Walleye fishing, for the late, late fall and early ice season and yes, it does require more than a "jig and minnow". The bite is on, NOW. These are "Big Walleye", not just 15 to 25 inchers. To verify. Mike Lucas. 1-715-332-5637 Stay positive, think clearly,do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Thursday, December 03, 2009 at 13:08:32 (PST)

-28-09 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVIC. Even over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend the Walleye are on the bite. Thats right, the Walleye are snapping, not just the small ones, but, yes, we all, do keep small Walleye due to the restrictive size limits available to the general public posted at each individual boat landing. Although we do catch bigger Walleye on occasion, but most of us release the big ones in hope of a future successful spawn and yes we all occasionally keep some of the bigger Walleye (bigger being relative to the angler) for each ones own personal reasons. The Anglers Choice Guide Service Customers have enjoyed the pleasure of learning the year round techniques of continuous catching of the elusive Walleye. This is explained from lake to lake, month to month, as all lakes are not the same. Although, you may here that this works here, so it works there. Rarely, (but on ocassion), this is true, specificaly for deep fish,(agian, deep is relative to your water). Normaly, nothing is further from the truth. Regardless what you are told. Regardless who tells you. As we all know, not all resorts are the same. Now please do not be negative on my resort comment, as no resort is the same. On a different note, we have, as a public, been reported to, by the Wisconsin D.N.R. that the deer harvest, on opening day, for rifle season, 2009, that over 100,000 deer have been killed. Thats in "1" day. When I think of the successful harvest of my clients this past year for Walleye, it is lost in comparison. My clients are proud of what they are learning and understanding. Recently, we are still producing limits of Walleye, by the years of learning, trials, and understanding of the migration routes that my clients are being taught from personal experience and learning from younger years. We are working hard for the results, you now see in these photos. Working deep continues to be the top producer, then shallow in the early night time. The cisco pattern has ended in the deeper clear lakes of the north. Even though it never existed in the shallow chains, but the perch casting pattern is working with floating stick baits, even now in the shallow chains. Although, the deeper water in those chains is producing, even though you may catch smaller Walleye.The lake turn over and water temp. alone, dictates, when the Walleye go deep. Can you still catch them shallow? well, the answer is yes especially during early to mid ice up, but you will catch more deeper, NOW. Thats #s only, we catch 10 inchers to 10 lbrs. deep, NOW. The size you catch is and will be relative to your water. To verify. Dave Coons 1-630-327=-4381 Stay positive, think clearly,do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.ney>
- Friday, November 27, 2009 at 20:01:21 (PST)

11 - 22 - 2009. THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com WOW, the Walleye are and the Musky have been hitting with a vengeance this November, as these photos show. Everybody we talk to, the fish are biting. Fantastic action is being reported from Oneida county thru Iron county and Vilas county is doing double time. Even down in the Central counties of Wisconsin the Walleye and Musky are working well this fall. Are you fishing just your favorite lake this November? Well, many lakes are very active, even now with the water temps. down in the low 40's. We are catching Walleye from several different lakes at different times of the day and evening. Almost all these lakes, even in this mild weather have no other fisherman on them. Casting crank baits (mostly floating stick baits) in very shallow water at dark, is working well. Our best technique, which will continue until ice up, is row trolling Walleye with stick baits (in the dark), tight along the shoreline, over shallow rock piles, across long shallow points, in front of channels between lakes, over shallow dying weedy bays. We are not out in the lake over deep water, like summer or early fall row trolling Walleye. THATS RIGHT, row trolling Walleye. Yes, we are casting and catching Walleye just like my past reports explain, then we row troll. This works, give it a try. This year, it's almost to easy, with the mild temps. Row boats, long lines, stick baits, very soft hits, very fast hook sets,location, head lamps, rubber nets to reduce tangles, these are just a few of the many (CRITICAL CONCEPTS), and of course, great clients, good fishing and positive life long memories. When the Musky guys go home, we take over certain areas of the lake and produce, Walleye, row trolling. Now, we do not do this all the time, but when we do, the results speak for themselves. Our small river fishing and deep tributary fishing is on hold due to the mild weather and good lake fishing. Our deep water fishing is going stronger than ever, we continue to catch Walleye all day long and you will to. Working the deep wholes in your water you are fishing is a great way to get started, in the fall. Electronics are a must and understanding them is part of the (CRITICAL CONCEPT) to your success. Good fishing, and as the Fin landers say, SISU. ("never give up","keep trying", "work harder") God Bless. Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. 1-715-892-3020 JOHN ANDREW. To verify. 1-414-778-3046 Chuck Lang 1-715-892-0821 Jeff Goglin John Andrew Anglers Choice Guide Service [ REPORT ABUSE ] [ Edit Post ] [ Print this message ] LAKE-LINK FIELD EDITOR REPORTReport Date: 11/21/09 9:32 AM CST
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 16:21:33 (PST)

11 - 14 - 2009 -THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. New and current client photos, (no old pictures). As the warm weather continues for northern Wisconsin we are going to be seeing a very late ice up, compared to years past. We are to be in the low to high 40's all next week also. This is great for open water fishing, as Musky fishing is going very, very well. Many reports of #s of Musky being caught as well as some very big fish. My clients of the past several days in a row are continuing to catch good Walleye and lots of them. We continue to produce #s of walleye fishing deep as well as fishing with stick and certain crank baits. Our deep Walleye are an all day long event, from 9 AM to 4 PM, our artificial bait casting event is from sunset to about 7 PM. Can you catch them later in the night time, yes. My clients simply do not want to fish later. Now, on the shore line fishing extravaganza, on those Cisco and White fish lakes, well, the results speak for them selves. My clients and many locals in different towns and many other fisherman are catching some of the biggest fish of the year and #s of them. The Cisco and White fish spawn is winding down from my last posting, you still can net a few of these silver gems for bait, if you get out, NOW, in the early night time, remember, use a good light and be quiet when trying to net them. Simply hook the up on a quick strike rig just like a sucker and fish them the same way and hold on. We have never tried this for Walleye fishing simply because we have good results casting from shore with stick baits, or from the boat. Although the Musky will hit these baits 3 to 1 over a sucker, (Cisco and White fish), on quick strike rigs. Our Walleye pattern is really working, as these photos show and we wont change tactics until ice up. My clients want Walleye and we are producing. Simply follow the postings and you will produce also. Deep ledges around the main lake basin or deep wholes in your water. Water, thats relative, the small rivers and deep creeks or tributaries are where we are going next, this is and has been an untapped resource. More on that in the next few days. Good luck and good fishing. To verify. Duncan Bachman. 1-815-263-5688 Mike Lucas. Phillips 1-715-332-5637 Do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 #immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Friday, November 13, 2009 at 19:09:42 (PST)

11-08-2009 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. As our northern Wisconsin warm spell continues, the annual cisco and white fish spawn is on hold for the next couple of days. Although there is some beginning stages of spawning taking place on certain lakes. This event really turns on the Musky and Walleye that are located in those areas, such as, the east side of Crab Lake in Vilas county, the east shoreline in front of the east shoreline boat landing on Presque-isle lake and on (IKESTERS BAR) located 200 yards out from the east shoreline of Presque-isle lake. Now, the best of the best techniques for live baiting for Musky up here is as follows. Go out in the evening or early night time and spot the Cisco up close to shore and net yourself 6 or 7 of these silver spawning Cisco, use a good light to spot them and be quiet and scoop them up in your net, wading is best. Keep them lively and use them with a quick strike rig the next day and fish them just like you are sucker fishing and hold on!! Thats right, Cisco on quick strike rigs, the Musky will hit these 3 to 1 over a sucker in the Cisco spawning areas, or the deepest water next to the spawning area. (THIS WORKS NOW!) Casting from shore in these spawning locations is very effective, evenings are best. Some shoreline casters are catching multiple Musky per evening, but, the spawning location of the Cisco is the (CRITICAL CONCEPT) to being successful. For our Walleye fishing, casting in these spawning areas is also very productive, using floating Rapalas, Lazy Ikes, small Shad Raps and Tube Jigs tipped with live bait. The wind is our friend now for casting for Walleye, we always do better when the white caps are crashing into the location we are casting. Yes, you will have activity when it is not windy. Our Walleye down deep are working during the middle of the day, with minnows being the recommended diet, although we are still catching some on half a crawler and jig. On the not so deep lakes, it seems that working the deepest water you can find is producing for my clients for Walleye. On the deep clear lakes working the edges and ledges of the deepest water is the best process to meet the Walleye in there deep pattern. In the evening or early night time casting along the Cisco spawning areas or the channels between your lakes is working to meet the night shift pattern. In those weedy lakes try long casting with perch colored baits for Walleye in those bays that are shallow with the weeds that are dead and dying, you will be pleasantly surprised with your Walleye results. Also on Trout Lake off of county M. along the east shore line on south Trout, some Lake Trout are still spawning there also. Some people are catching White fish on Swedish pimples and ice jigs with wax worms around 40 ft. down during the day, on South Trout. The Manitowish chain is just starting the annual cisco spawn, primarily in the channel between Spider Lake and Island Lake. Although, Clear lake is now beginning along the east shore line also. My clients continue to do well with Walleye and so will you. To verify. Jamie Oimoen 1-262-443-1961 Do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Sunday, November 08, 2009 at 07:01:14 (PST)

11 - 03 - 2009. THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. The past days of guiding have been better than good, but I will let my current guests of today and the last several weeks in a row, verify that. I only display knew and current pictures of my guests. (No old pictures) The Musky are going hot and heavy as almost all guides and Musky fisherman (and women) will tell you. Not only numbers, but also size. Certain row trollers will verify this info, as well as certain shoreline casters will tell you, (well, maybe).......... We are going to cover the shoreline extravaganza in the next couple of days. On Cisco and White Fish lakes, stick with there fall spawning locations and row troll suckers or cast rubber, or jigs, slow crank bats deep during day and shallow at evening or night. Non Cisco Lakes, work the deeper wholes, carefully, work the drops and edges first, then down the center of the wholes. The key to that description is (wholes), use your topo maps and work each whole in your lake, not just one. Now, "our" Walleye, they are working in several lakes, not just some lakes. The Anglers Choice Guide Service guests are learning how to cast shallow cranks or minnow baits or slowly cranked Lazy Ikes for big Walleye and #'s of smaller Walleye at dark. Thats right, Lazy Ikes, just like our fathers use to use in Canada years ago, and some of us still use today. Although, most of our Walleye are being caught during mid day, since most of my clients do not want to fish at night. The deep Walleye are going hot and heavy, many people are now learning this old but recently discovered technique, for the first time. Minnows are still the recommended diet, although a half a crawler and jig is still productive down deep, once again, deep, is relative to your lake, or chain of lakes, you are fishing and now we are going to be fishing certain small rivers or streams as our Walleye move in, at certain locations, to the deeper wholes, yes, they go deep on the rivers also. But not exclusively, as they can be caught at other locations as well. The Walleye we are working now, are staying with 'there', same pattern, we are simply meeting them on there way during the day and then during the evening. Learning this migration process in your favorite fishing environment this time of year is, yes, (THE CRITICAL CONCEPT), for your fishing success. To verify. Steve, Kieth, Dean Goetter. 1-608-239-4609 Do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Tuesday, November 03, 2009 at 05:47:32 (PST)

OCTOBER - 29TH - 2009 - THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE.... Wow, the Musky have been cooperating very well the last several days, not only in Vilas county but also in Oneida, Iron and several other counties in northern Wisconsin. Multiple reports are showing big numbers of catches. This is the time of year for the Musky to show his teeth and they are doing it now and they will get more aggressive in November, they are cooperating, with suckers, Bulldogs, other jigging plastics like the Castaic and deep cranks worked slowly. The plastics are casted and left to drop down, then worked back to the boat or shoreline, yes, the shoreline, as some Musky guys are working certain lakes from the shore and catching fish. Some of these people have been casting from shore for years, on certain lakes, at certain locations and doing very well with multiple Musky catches per evening, thats right, multiple catches. Now, more on that in the days to follow. The Walleye we are catching are deep, yes deep, you have read this from my reports for the last several weeks. Well, these deep basin fish are going hot and heavy, now. As these photos show. Our electronics are very important, which most everybody knows. Our older depth finders work, just not as well as the knew equipment of today. The weedy lakes are working with small shallow crank baits in the large weed choked bays of summer, where the Big Walleye bruisers are crusing now till (early) ice up, at night time, also with Rapalas, Rattling Rouges, Thundersticks, also with similar baits. We do the best with windy conditions when casting shallow. Like tonight and tomarrow night. (The bigger the wind the better we do). The long points, large flats, and weed, or sand or rock bars of these shallow weedy lakes and islands are best to cast. Do not just drift aimlessly across the lake and expect to catch fish, it doesn't and has never worked that way. We will catch deep basin Walleye during the day and cast cranks and floaters during the early evening and early night on the same lakes. When we cast these stick baits we are shallow, some nights the Walleye we catch are small and some nights they are bigger. The spawning areas of the White fish and Cisco are where you want to be on deep clear lakes when casting at night with artificials, our best luck, is always with the wind. That doesn't mean they wont bite when its calm. Long rods, thin super line, long casts, slow retrieves and setting the hook at the slightest tick or tighting of the line is the (CRITICAL CONCEPT) to this technique. Stay positive, think clearly, do not listen to negative talk and do not listen to negative people. God Bless. John Andrew Expert Guide www.theanglerschoiceguideservice.com 715-686-2012 715-892-3020 (immediate attention)
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 15:38:38 (PDT)

10/28/09 At the end of the 2009 Open Water Season let's take a look at my personal opinion of the success ratio. 2009 was certainly a strange out of the ordinary fishing season. A very cool spring continued throughout the entire season until Sep, when we saw the warmest month of the year. There was a very few days in late June that we hit 90 for 2 days. This raised water temps into the high 79s and fishing was excellent. Then it cooled off and surface water temps never hit 70 throughout July and Aug. Finally, in all months, Sep, water temps rose to 70 to 75 all month long. This whole scenario of cool weather affected spring spawning of all species. All early spawn species had a good year. Perch, walleyes, and northerns had a normal spawn this year. All other species had a much reduced spawn due to water temps remaining below 60s for most of the spawning season. When this happens, many of these warmer water spawners simply do not deposit their eggs and reabsorb them back into their bodies. Eggs were found in species like gills, crappie, and bass as late as Aug, telling us these fish never really spawned. All this was not doom and gloom, though. There always is something good no matter how poor anything looks. Because we had a great perch spawn again for another year, our lakes were chock full of tiny perch of the year for forage for the predators like walleye and crappie. In my opinion, that's why many, many of our best eye lakes never produced like Big and Little Arbor Vitae, Squirrel, Wild Rice, etc. Fish simply were not hungry and willing to hit our minnow offerings. Actually, for me, only the flowages were consistent eye producers this year. On these water, 30 to 50 eyes a day was common and best of all, all year classes were represented from 11 inches to 27 inches in the same areas fished. But again, this entire season was considered slow on eyes. Quite the opposite was seen on crappies. Crappies were very strong all season this year. Big year classes of smaller crappies showed up on lakes like Horsehead, Wild Rice, and many others. Literally hundreds could be caught in a day using simple 1/32 oz jigs and twisters. The bad thing was, most of these crappies ran from 5 to 10 inches. But if you picked through them, good meals were taken by all. On the other hand, some lakes produced big numbers of really big crappies all summer long. Squirrel, Willow Flowage, Pickerel, and many other lakes fell into this category. By far, if you were an action fisherman, large mouth and small mouth bass remained your big target. The past 5 years have seen a remarkable upswing in bass fishing in northern Wisconsin. Virtually all waters including flowages have seen a big surge of trophy fish boated. Years ago, 18 to 24 inch bass were rare. The past 2 or 3 years, they have been common. There are many opinions why this is happening. In my opinion, a big part of this is due to less walleyes in the lakes. Walleyes are a big competitor for food against bass. Less walleye stocking is being seen in most lakes, as well as the huge numbers of small eyes being taken from size exempt lakes the past 10 years or so. A lot of folks think nothing of keeping 10 to 12 inch eyes every day to eat, while screaming in horror if anyone keeps a 14 inch bass for eating. In my opinion, selective harvest is the key to a healthy fishery. Example, in lakes that have great bass numbers like the Flambeau Chain, a lot of folks keep 14 inch bass. This is not a bad thing as average size of these bass have been increasing dramatically over the past few years. Many, many other great bass waters never see harvest due to strict catch and release folks. Now don't get me wrong, I am for catch and release too, but nut exclusively. In my boat, it's fine to keep a few just legal bass for eating, buy any bass over 17 inches must be released unless it's going on your wall. Selective harvest works on most species including pan fish, or you end up with lots of stunted fish. All thoughts and opinions on the health of our fisheries are welcome. Remember though, most of these opinions lack scientific backing and that's what creel censuses and shocking studies by the DNR are all about. No matter what, the shear numbers of lakes in our area is the key to good angling. No matter what yearly conditions are, there is a lake or two among thousands here that will produce. This is what separates the best anglers from the rest. Stubbornly fishing only one lake all season is not the way to go unless the fishing remains very good every year. With natural trends in all lakes over time, this just doesn't happen. A good angler or guide will know a big number of different lakes and move from one to another throughout the season to find a hot one. Another thing that will make successful season of anyone, is be a multi species angler. Those that limit their angling to only one species are severely limiting themselves. To me, action is the name of the game. Fighting a 3 lb bass is just as fun as fighting a 3 lb eye, a 3 lb pike, or a 1+1/2 lb crappie. Have fun catching fish. Simple as that. Well, that's enough drivel out of me for now. Next report I will focus on my progress here on Greers Ferry Lake and will bring you updates all winter long. In the meantime, if you have a specific question I can help you with, let me know. I'll attempt to answer it. See ya next time. Good Fishin'
Tommy Zinda, www.tommysfishingadventures.com <tadpole@g2a.net>
- Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 05:22:59 (PDT)

Conditions: Partly Sunny Air Temp: 36° - 40° F Water Temp: 46° - 50° F enlarge enlarge 10-20-2009 THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE. Today was again a banner day for Walleye, fishing the deep clear lakes of northern Vilas county. From 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM right in the middle of the day we boated (with photos), 3 huge Walleye. As these pictures show. Also, my clients caught 19 other Walleye, for a 1/2 day of fishing, they were and still are over whelmingly happy. These Walleye are being caught with a jig and minnow on the deep main lake basin ledges, it is important to understand we are not fishing in the center or the deepest part of the lake basin but rather the dropping or sloping edges of the lake basin of the different lakes we are focusing on. In some lakes there may be several different wholes, all of which work in the same fashion when it comes to deep fishing. Using your electronics is very critical to understanding the deep Walleye. Using way points for future fishing, marker buoys for immediate visual reference, boat control and precise presentation is all part of the critical concept to my clients deep fishing success. Location of our target area is also part of the deep water puzzle, so is the type of clear water lake we approach, such as what type of forage the Walleye are feeding on at this time of year, in the water we are fishing and working on a developing pattern for the days to follow. This pattern is more than just returning to the same old spot day after day. Color of the lure or bait or hook, the time of day, the weather conditions, the water temp, the sent involved, the depth ,the location of our structure and the list goes on and on. I am explaining what we are doing for the future fishing success of the reader with seasonal progression and working techniques. THE ANGLERS CHOICE GUIDE SERVICE.......1-715-892-3020..........www.johnnandrew.com Good luck, God Bless. For verification. Huyen Pram Chad Curtis 608-780-1772
johnandrew <johnandrew@centurytel.net>
- Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 00:36:01 (PDT)