Tech &Tackle Blog

Madison Area Guide Service

2011-11-06T11:51:00.000-06:00

2010 Muskies Inc International Release Champion
with 208 Musky caught and released from 30"- 53.5"

CLICK HERE

Wisconsin and Minnesota fishing guide Lee Tauchen
offers muskie guide trips on the waters of Mille Lacs
and Lake Vermilion in Minnesota, Green Bay and
Madison in Wisconsin.

The Madison Wisconsin Chain of Lakes offers a variety of fishing opportunities. From a boat load of panfish to a battle with the mighty musky, D&S will outfit you with the guiding experience of your choice!

Bobby Orr's Guide Service

Orr's Outdoors, Lodging and Guide Service
1-608-438-9565

Bobby Orr guides in the Mercer WI and Turtle Flambeau Flowage area.
In 2009 Bobby caught a 47 3/4 inch Musky in
The World Championship Musky Classic (1st place fish)
Mr. Orr is highly recommended by the TnT Fishing Team.

Angler's Advantage Guide Service
Guiding everything from panfish to muskie in south-central Wisconsin.
Dan Steele
608-577-9537
steele@uwalumni.com

Take the Kids Pond Fishing before Boat Fishing!

2011-09-05T05:51:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we learn the hard way! 5 kids in a boat an you got a MESS. Kids fishing poles (like the Snoopy) just have problems all the time. Buy a good 5 foot ultra-light. Practice casting with them in the back yard. Find a good pond that’s less crowded to start. A piece of worm with a bobber almost always catches fish and keeps the kids interested. Talk safety with them about watching the bait as it goes behind them when casting. Yes that may be the hardest part. After a few trips to the pond and you feel they are ready, lets get the boat out. To keep them hooked on fish’in, start in the shallow areas of the lake where you know they can catch fish. Limit the number of kids in the boat to 2 or 3 for safety reasons and preventing a mess. Make sure your boat is ready to take the kids out fish’in with a good Navionics hotmaps card in your GPS Fishfinder.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Networking Fishfinders for Convenience!

2011-09-03T17:52:00.000-05:00

More casts more chances of catching the lunker! Anything to save time when fishing, right? Most of us have GPS fishfinder units on the console and up front with the trolling motor. Networking the two can add time saving features which are recorded on both units. Waypoints are the big one. If you get a lunker or a follow-up just hit the way-point button on the closes fishfinder and its saved on both. You can also use your trolling motor to move your boat around to any waypoints in the system without missing a cast or leaving the front of the boat. When motor trolling one member of the fishing party can update waypoints on the front unit with symbols, dates, names, etc. while the boat driver watches the console unit for depth, speed, contour and so on. A fishfinder new boat package with a Lowrance hds-5 is recommended for freshwater fishing.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Muskie Trolling a Top Gunner!

2011-09-03T17:45:00.001-05:00

Muskie Hunters know that most guides on Green Bay, St. Clair and other parts of the Great Lakes troll for muskie. The edge of the shipping channel is one area they focus on. A tail gunner as you know – is the bait way back which represent a fish trying to catch up with the other fish (baits). This tail gunner works great and has caught many fish. BUT! Outside Top Gunners can also be very productive. In the picture above, the two (green) crank baits are setup to troll for suspended fish over deep water. Try using the same bait or a similar bait on these two lines. The outside line is the Top Gunner and should get most of the hits. Just repeat these steps for the shallow running side using shallow running crank baits. The deep divers should be baits that reach the 18 to 24 foot depth (near bottom). A good GPS fishfinder with StructureScan can be a great asset trolling shipping channels

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Are Huge St. Lawrence River Muskies Back?

2011-09-03T17:39:00.001-05:00

As many of us know, 16 of the heaviest Muskies ever caught came from the St Lawrence river. Yes the Hartman’s and Lawton’s did it way back in the 1940′s, 1950′s and 1960′s. But there is good news from Muskie scientist Dr. John Casselman. He says the VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia) that killed off a lot of the river Muskie from 2005 to 2008 is helping the growth rate. The VHS had killed off mostly old and slow growing muskies. The remaining fish are growing at a rate of 50 inches in just 12 years. WoW! According to Dr. Casselman the minimum estimate of ultimate size for St. Lawrence river female muskies has increased to 57 inches. That is the highest in Ontario, Canada surpassing Lac Seul, Lake of the Woods and Eagle/Wabigoon. Does the St. Lawrence hold the next world record? Lowrance fishfinders have all the options to help locate those big Muskies.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Catch and Release means Bigger Muskies!

2011-08-28T11:20:00.000-05:00

Every year the number of 48″ muskies caught is larger. This is do to a higher size limit and increased voluntary release of legal size fish. Yearly in Wisconsin 96% of all muskies caught are released. Muskies very seldom reach adult size. Nearly 600,000 muskie are stocked for every muskie that survives to 18 months at a cost of about $800 per fish, according to a 1986 study. The cost drops to $70 per survivor if stocked as fall fingerlings, or $27 per survivor when stocked as spring yearlings. Muskie populations are low, even in the best waters, because muskies are the top predators and have a low reproduction rate. Good muskie lakes average 1 adult fish per 3 surface acres, compared to approximately 20 adults per 3 acres in walleye lakes. Lowrance color depth finders work great for finding the bait fish those big muskies are feed on.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Hartman’s St. Lawrence River Muskies!

2011-08-28T11:16:00.000-05:00

Len and Betty Hartman new the St. Lawrence river muskies traveled in schools up and down the river. The Hartman’s tagged muskies that were re-caught up to 45 miles from their tag point. When a river Muskie is caught, that area is then taken over by a new Muskie. The Hartman’s secret Muskie Hole produced 21 Muskies over 40 pounds as well as Len’s 67# 15oz record.

The Hartman’s would figure out the travel pattern of a school of muskies then by trolling catch up to 7 from the school. The bigger schools were fish around 20 pounds then often followed by larger Muskie in smaller schools. Len Hartman said when asked what water is the best for catching muskie: “Trolling around a reef or making big circles around one in the middle of a lake will produce Muskie sooner or later.” The Lowrance hds-7 fishfinder bundle can help you find your secret fishing hole.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

12 Year Old Kids and Big Muskies!

2011-08-21T11:53:00.000-05:00

On September 10th, Jacob Severt (12 years old) went to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Marathon County WI Fish Outing. Most men fish a life time and don’t catch a 50″ Muskie. Not Jacob he landed a 51″ Muskie while attending the Outing on Lake Wausau.

On April 14, 2011 Kenneth Files (12 years old) and his father were fishing on the Potomac River. Kenneth landed a 45″ Muskie using a large white plastic grub lure. The fish had a large 24″ girth and it appeared that the fish could be a Maryland State record. The Files iced the fish then got it’s weight on a State-certified scale and yes the 31.75 pound Muskie is a state record. Make sure your fishfinders are up to date before taking the kids in search of the big ones.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Deep Lake Walleyes on Deep Humps

2011-08-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

July is a great month for Big Walleyes on deep water humps in many Midwest lakes. Deep water with humps that come up to 25 to 35 feet are prime areas. A jig with leech or minnow works best. Leeches are a great July bait for both Walleye and Smallmouth Bass. Big Smallies will come up on shallower bars (15-20 feet) then walleye during July and August. Some of our biggest fish were caught when the weather was hot and the sun was high in the sky. A Navionics hotmaps card in your fishfinder combo or chartplotter will help you find these deep humps.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

A Word on Big Walleye’s in Deep Lakes

2011-08-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

Three years ago my son and I were talking to a gentlemen (at the boat ramp) from northern Wisconsin about walleye fishing. This man was telling us how he locates big fish on the bottom in 60 plus feet of water (on his sonar) then jigs for them. He then said he had caught two 15 plus pounder’s over the years using this method. When he told us his name, I remembered reading about him and one of his fish in the Lakeland newspaper.

More things to think about!!

Back in the mid 1980′s I purchased a book called Guides of the Wisconsin Northwoods by Tom Hollatz. On page 92 is an article about Al Linder who started his guiding in northern Wisconsin before moving to Minnesota. Here is a few lines from that article: “I like those rocky sunken islands about 20 feet deep down surrounded by 50 feet of water. Excellent walleye magnet.” And an eye opener: “My average walleye fishing is 40 feet and many times deeper. I wouldn’t hesitate to drop down to 65 feet.” The recommended sonar for fishing in deep water is the Lowrance hds 10.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Screen Resolution and Pixels on Fishfinders!

2011-08-21T11:36:00.000-05:00

Many of the newer fishfinders have 480 vertical pixel screens. So you ask: What is the differences between 100, 240 and 480 vertical pixels? The number of vertical pixels that the screen is capable of showing is called Screen Resolution. The more vertical pixels on a sonar’s screen, the easier it will be for it to show fish arches.

This plays an important role in a sonar unit’s capability to show fish arches. If a sonar has 100 pixels vertically, with a range of 0 – 100 feet, each pixel is equal to a depth of 12 inches. A fish would have to be pretty large to show up as an arch at this range. Check the vertical pixels on your fishfinders to get the best view of the fish near the bottom.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Fishing Hall of Fame and Len Hartman

2011-08-21T11:21:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Len Hartman has 5 world records Power Trolling for Muskie! His 10 lb. line record fish was 67 pounds 15 ounces in 1961. In 1964 Mr. Hartman caught a 61 pounder on 12 lb. line…. Okay if that’s not enough he also holds the 8 lb. world record with a 59 pound 13 ounce fish in 1960. Walleye too….Yes he did that in 1962 with a 13 pound 3 ouncer on 4lb. test line.

The National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame is the place to go for tackle and line class world records on all 125 species of fresh water fish. Information you may want to know just in case that big one hits your bait some day. Maybe Mr. Hartman had something with light test line and trolling deep? Get the boat and fishfinders ready, check the record books an lets hit the water!

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Muskie Fishing and a good old Jerk!

2011-08-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

Are you a Jerk–er? Let’s talk Jerking? If you use a BullDawg you know jerking it is the way to get results. Early in the fishing season Muskies spend a lot of time in shallow water. With cool water and tiered from spanning, muskies like an easy meal like the Bobbie bait (jerkbait) which can be the top producer. Later in the season on clear northern lakes the Tyrant Jerkbait is hard to beat. Fish it deep in 30 plus feet of water letting it sink to the bottom then jerk 3 to 5 times and let it sink again – repeat action. The key is to let it sink to the bottom. To see the bottom in deep clear lakes check out the Lowrance HDS 10 Fishfinder with StructureScan.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Boat Safety when Muskie Fishing

2011-08-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

Muskie Fishing can be the most dangerous freshwater type of fishing. Big baits, sharp hooks and sharp toothed predators can cause problems. Other then the normal safety items like a first aid kit, life jacket (PFD), and so on – here is a few other things to consider:

1. Always follow your big sharp hooked muskie baits behind you so as to not hook something or someone when casting. Carry a big nail cutter in the boat for any hook emergency’s.

2. Don’t leave baits out and laying around. Dogs love to bite hairy bucktails and those hooks are hard to get out of shoes and toes.

3. Read the local/state Boating Regulations yearly as a refresher and for any new law changes.

4. Check the weather report before your fishing trip for high winds and sever thunderstorms. Remember fishing rods make a good lighting rod!! Not a good thing.

5. Respect the other boaters. With long casting baits, give the other boaters the room you expect them to give you.

6. Everything is big when your a muskie fishermen. Like the tackle box, the all day lunch box, the heavy duty rain gear and Uncle Buck who invited himself at the last minute. Check your USCG Capacity Plate for the maximum weight of persons and the maximum carrying weight of your boat in pounds.

Please remember a good Navionics hotmaps in your Gps Fishfinder or Chartplotter can help you find the safest places to fish.

Remember: Safety always comes first!

Free Fishing – Let’s go Kids!

2011-08-21T11:04:00.000-05:00

Okay Dad let’s go Fish’in!

This weekend Fish Free or that is without a license. In Wisconsin and many other states you can Fish Free. For a complete list of each states Free Fishing dates please Click Here.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Relax with the Kids – Go Fishing!

2011-08-21T11:01:00.000-05:00

So the Wife says you got the kids on Saturday! What to do that’s fun? Try fishing. Most kids love to fish and love it when dad spends time with them. If you have never fished before, most state DNR (Department of Natural Resources) websites have all the information you’ll need. Some even have coloring books, My First Fish certificates and much more. These files are in pdf format so you can download and print. Even more… states like Wisconsin have a free fishing weekend so dad can take the kids fishing without a fishing license. If you got the boat but its not fishing ready, check out a good gps fishfinder by Lowrance. Remember: Time with the Kids is Priceless.

See you on the water! Musky Tim

Best 50 inch Muskie Lakes.

2011-08-20T14:13:00.002-05:00

What lakes give Muskie anglers the best hope for a 50 plus inch fish? That is a good question, but lets look at some facts. According to our friends at Muskie Inc, from 1970 to 2009 Lake of the Woods (843) gave up the most to its members. Followed by Vermilion MN (420), Lake St Clair ON/MI (343), Mille Lacs MN (286) and Big Detroit MN (170). Okay lets fast forward to 2010 where 396 50 inchers got boated by MI members. The lake with the most 50 plus-ers was Lake St Clair with 80 then Vermilion (38), Big Detroit (37), Lake of the Woods (34) and Mille Lacs (17). In 2010 the most 50 plus-ers were caught on Cowgirls (42) and Bull Dawg Jerks (25).

Two of the more talked about new areas that give up 50 inch muskies is Green Bay and the Madison Chain in Wisconsin. Most of these lakes are very large and hard to learn so hiring a guide for a day or two can make your trip one to remember. A good GPS fishfinder is a must have for finding your way around these North-woods lakes.