Fishing, fishing, fishing...

I have been on the water just about every day for the past two weeks catching all kinds of critters...weather has been up and down but it looks like we're pretty much clear now for nice weather for the next while.  That means GOOD FISHING!!!  Here are some photos from the past week.  

My pal Chuck Ferczok with a nice crappie that he caught - Lake of the Woods

Nik Antropov with a beauty lake trout...gotta love the colours!  All of these fish were released by the way.  

Nik and his buddy Basile with a couple of nice walleyes from "Woods".  

Basile with a good smallmouth...check out the bright red eye!  

Nav with a big pike - caught on an X-Rap

Nik's 37.5" pike caught on a 4" Trigger-X pearl grub rigged on a Northland Mimic Minnow Jig (fishing for bass)

Alex Keszler witha nice walleye he caught on a jig/plastic while helping me film a segment for my TV show Fishing with Gussy.  It's a good one!  We catch a bunch of nice walleyes all on artificials...

This was one of the HOT walleye baits this week...I have NOT used minnows at all.  A 3" Northland Impulse Smelt Minnow on an 1/8 ounce Vegas Jig.  Trigger-X Minnows have been really good as well.  

A pretty good sized whitefish I caught while jigging for trout - 3/8 Mimic Minnow Jig tipped with a 4" Smelt Minnow.  

In keeping with the multi-species theme...a nice largemouth!  Also from Lake of the Woods!  

Sturgeon Bay video clips

Thanks to Keri Solis from BearSolis Outdoors for putting these video clips together...enjoy

Sturgeon Bay Open - 9th place

Dave Bennett and I just returned home from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.  We fished the annual Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament (www.sbobt.org) last week on Lake Michigan and came home with a solid 9th place finish.  We brought in 25.74 pounds on day one to sit in 67th place, then followed up with 31.05 pounds on day two.  We had our best week of practice ever in seven years of fishing this event.  All I can say it what a great fishery.  

 

My largest fish on the week - a 6.54 pound giant that I caught on a tube in 2 feet of water.  

Dave with a big one in practice

I had to show off my favourite new fishing rod and reel combo - A Shimano Sustain spinning reel, 6'10" G. Loomis NRX rod and some 8 lb. Power Pro braid.  This is the DREAM combo for fishing with light, finesse baits for smallmouths.  I couldn't put it down!  

John Peterson from Northland Fishing Tackle with a 6 pounder in practice

Not only are the big bass plentiful at Green Bay, there is no shortage of BIG walleyes as well.  We caught a bunch of nice ones over the course of the week, including some 30" fish.  

The LakeMaster card for Lake Michigan was a huge advantage for finding those small "stick-outs" and spines along the shoreline that were holding fish.  We have never had this card before and it definitely helped us find new spots.  The LakeMaster Michigan chip.  

For full results from the event check out the tournament website at www.sbobt.org.  This is a top notch tournament that I would recommend to anybody.  If you have any questions about it, please feel free to fire away.  -Gussy

Bass fishing time!

Now things have warmed up a bit it's time to get out there and catch some bass.  This time of year offers some of the best fishing for numbers of fish, 100 fish days are possible.  

A nice smallmouths from Shoal Lake

Winnipeg Jets forward Nik Antropov with a nice smallmouth from Lake of the Woods

Fishing buddy Duncan McEwen with a big pike from Lake of the Woods, caught on a #10 X-Rap.  

Later today I'm hitting the road for Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to take part in the annual Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament next week on Lake Michigan.  Dave Bennett and I are teaming up for our sixth year down there...you can follow the results next weekend at www.sbobt.org  

Great shed hunting season

I'm definitely into fishing mode now but it was a pretty good shed hunting season.  The last weekend that we went some of my friends from Minnesota came up and we had a few good days, including a haul of 125 sheds between 6 of us.  Another day, 6 of us found 25, including Pat McSharry's whooping 85+ inch giant!   

This is one of the BIGGEST sheds I have ever seen from the Sunset Country Region!

Pat and I with a big load on the big numbers day.  We found a half dozen moose sheds over the weekend as well.  

Pat, with a really cool find in a tree!  It's faded and has been there for a few years too...

The boys with the weekend haul...over 150 sheds!!!