July 31st, 2008

This is the end of July now and the lake is back to normal. All motor restrictions have been lifted and the lake is a huge play ground. As for the fishing, it's been great. A 7 state Deer/Turkey expo contest that I sponsored a weekend fishing trip for with Kent aka "BIG SHOT" from MYHUNTINGPAGE.COM all came together this past weekend. Paul Olah aka "POGO" won it and made the trip up from Ohio with his son Zach to see what all the hype is about muskie fishing since they don't fish for muskies down there but love to fish. Below is the story of a great weekend

Few things are better than seeing a father and son spending quality time with each other doing something they both enjoy. A weekend fishing trip with Mike's Extreme Guide Service in Southeastern Wisconsin was won by a father and son through the website "myhuntingpage.com". Paul and son Zach from Ohio came up to enjoy a weekend to remember out on the water with the Mike Koepp (aka The Extreme One). They arrived with high hopes of a great muskie fishing expirience and hoped that they could each catch one, a couple each would really make the trip worth it. After meeting at the launch at 9 am and quickly getting down to buisness they came to realize after the first couple hours out on the water that there high hopes had become a reality. Each had already caught a muskie, both in the low 30's. Throughout this sunny, breezy, beautiful day on the water 5 more muskies were caught and realease by the Ohio boys. As we finished up at the end of the day Saturday evening we joked and laughed about the days accomplishments how great it was to catch 7 muskies in one day. We discussed an earlier start for Sunday morning after a good nights sleep and with that we were off at dark to rest up for their second half of the weekend guided grand prize give away out on the water.

At 7 am Sunday morning we met up at Smokey's Muskie Shop and were all eager to get back out on the water since Satudays bite was very productive and already had meet their expectations of a great trip. By 7:30am Paul was fighting his first muskie of that morning and the 8th of thier trip. How sweet it is to have a dream trip come to reality. By 8am Zach was into his first muskie of Sunday morning, a fiesty low thirty's muskie with an attitude. Throughout Sunday Paul and his son enjoyed unbelievable sucess, 10 muskies and one nice 19-inch walleye came into the boat for a quick pictures. All the musky's were released to be recaught again but the walleye ended up being my Sunday night dinner.

I can't be more pleased with how this Grand Prize give away went for Paul(aka POGO), his son Zach and expecially Kent (aka BIG SHOT) owner and operator of one of the newest and hottest websites for outdoor enthusiest today. I can tell you that I was extremely happy to be a part of this with them. Two down to earth good ol boys from Ohio enjoying a great weekend of muskie fishing with Mike's Extreme Guide Service. In summary the 17 muskies they caught ranged from 26-inch to 44.25-inch. The largest one was just over 25lbs and caught by Paul, only fitting since he won the trip, but his son Zach got to catch one more muskie than his dad and the walleye. I can assume both were very pleased with the outcome of this free dream trip from Myhuntingpage.com/Myfishingpage.com. A big thank you from Mike's Extreme Guide Service to Kent for letting me be part of this father/son experiance, this was a weekend I will remember for a long time. I will add some pictures from this weekend trip below for everyone to see. Not all the fish are pictured below but most of them have been added to this page.

July 25th, 2008

It is already getting to the end of July and the "Slow No Wake" is still in effect. Water level is still 6 to 7-inches above normal. I just got a e-mail from the Pewaukee lake Patrol and we are very close to getting that restriction lifted. Soon we can run around from spot to spot but that also means everyone else can too. Jet ski's, wave runners, power boats and pontoons will again take over the lake. Fishing is great now and will be for a while. Boat traffic might slow it some once the restriction is lifted but all you have to do is target the deeper fish for a while. Trolling and casting are still working all over Pewaukee Lake. Once the boat traffic gets going again I would suggest trolling for a while. The trolling bite has been very good for the last three weeks. Multiple fish trips have been enjoyed by lots of happy clients this month. Most of the muskies have been in the thirty inch plus range with some very nice bass and walleyes mixed in. Smallmouth and largemouth bass up to 20-inches have been common while trolling for muskies. Walleyes from 17 to 22-inches are also being caught while targeting muskies trolling crank baits. The casting bite still is on but most people have gone to trolling. I can tell you that a lot of people are missing out on some very good weed line casting. Crank baits down the weed lines are producing 40-inch class fish still. I know of one guy who is still sticking muskies consistently casting cranks early and late in the day. As for trolling I have done great late morning and early evening. The night bite should be just getting going with the higher water temperatures we have just experienced. Water temperatures are in the high 70's and the feed bag is on for all the major predators and pan fish. This is a great time to get out with family and friends to share the excitement and fun with each other. I will do my best to make sure your trip is one that will be remembered by everyone. The pictures will be a permanent reminder and the story's will live on and on. Life is short, have some fun while you can.

With the water tempatures now into the high 70's and soon to be low 80's I have to stress the importance of getting the fish you catch back into the cooler water they came from. You must remember that when these fish feed they will usually come from deeper cooler water and feed closer to the top. Muskies will almost always feed above since they have their eyes on top of their head. This is why you always read or hear "don't fish below the muskies" "Always fish just above them". So now for my yearly "Treat them carefully" speech: Please try to water release the muskie, northern, walleye or bass you catch when you don't need a picture of them. Just reach down with a long nose pliers and remove the hooks. This will make the stress of getting caught less of a factor. Getting pulled from 60 some degree water, fighting for their lives all the way up into the 80 degree water on the surface, then getting held out of the water for pictures and measurements can be deadly to these fish. Even though they swim away the slime layer damage from handling and lactic acid build up from the fight could be a part of "delayed mortality" that happens all to often when the water temps get this high. Make the fight time as short as you can and get the hooks out so the fish can swim back in to cooler water. This is by far the best for the fish but if a picture is needed it only takes a minute to snap a picture or two. This will keep the fish health and growing so the amount and quality of fish your fishing for in the future will only get bigger and better. Everyone should practice quick releases when the water temps are in the 80's, I can't stress that enough. I see dead fish every year and no one wants to kill one because we will all catch more and bigger fish in the future. With that in mind here are a few tips to get your next fish. When the lake is crowded and people are trolling everywhere try to do something different, speed it up just a little faster than everyone else and zig zag your boat. This will give your lures added action and get you that strike the others didn't get. You have to increase your speed because when you zig zag the distance you move is not as far as when you go straight. Your lures will not zig zag as much as your boat, because your line is farther back and does not get the same action. If your running planner boards it will get that action, if your running short lines it will also get that action but long lines will not. Another tip is to watch where the hits come from. If its a planner board on the outside and on a turn your lure was running faster than the rest of you lures or just the opposite on the other side its running slower. Match that speed up so all your lines are running at that speed and catch more fish. Be aware of the little things while trolling that will make the difference like color and bait size. Some days they will like the bright colors and other days they will like the darker natural colors. My best advice to you is to use bright baits on the sunny days and the natural darker colors on the darker cloudy, rainy, windy days. Another weird tip that works for me at night is to use whites, grays, blues or bright colors when fishing deeper water. I have done very well on these colors worked down close to the bottom or break lines in the dark. Don't confuse this with trolling higher in the water column with darker colors, like black, red, orange and dark greens trolled through bait fish or just above the predators your targeting. A dark profile is preferred when fishing above but when you working deeper or making bottom or break line contact I like to switch it up and run brighter colors. I hope you can stick an extra fish in the boat trying the above mentioned tips.

Now for some client story's:My last report was the 5th of July so I will start on Monday the 7th. This was a trip with Scott, he wanted to score a few muskies if possible. We started off trolling since it was hot the whole week before and my patterns were all working. Scott had the fortune of catching a 37-inch muskie in the first hour of trolling, shortly after that he got another low thirty's muskie to add to his excitement. A 18.5 inch Smallmouth also grabbed one of the crank baits as we trolled close to some prime structure just off Rocky Point. Tuesday was a slow day due to high pressure, a high barometer and no wind. I called it the three strikes against us. Steve, his dad and son did get to see a very nice Pewaukee Walleye which they decided to release. I held it for a picture to post on the site before releasing it. Wednesday was Ron's turn to get back out with me. Ron bid on a Muskies Inc donated banquet trip last year and he has been back out with me multiple times since. Ron is no stranger to catching fish in my boat and this trip he had lots of action. Ron caught 5 muskies that half day trip ranging from just under 30-inches to the mid thirty's. Thursday I got stood up by a guy named Jeremy. I was at the launch waiting but he was a no show with no call. This was a first for me so I headed out for a couple of hours and stuck a few fish for myself. I stuck one by Rocky Point just before the rain came, a fat three footer and a low thirty's on the way in. I called it an early night and started packing for my weeks vacation to Mille lac's Lake in MN.

Back from vacation and the guide jobs start on Monday 7/21/08. Brian, his son Brian Jr and John were up from Chicago to get their first muskie. Brian had seen plenty of muskies out of my boat through the years but his son's have not. This Monday afternoon outing was bitter sweet because John got a very nice 38-inch muskie and Brian Jr had two fish on but they both didn't get to the net, one was a very big fish that never showed it's self but fought hard and long to keep in deep water. A giant tooth hole in my crank bait proved to me it was a big fish. The loss of the two fish hurt but getting John his first muskie was well worth the trip up. The next day was with two more regulars and they each got one fish. Wednesday the next day was Clint's turn to catch a muskie. He ended up with a nice 39-inch ski on a tough night. The wind switched from North East to East to South East which makes fishing tuff, major wind switches always slow the action. Last night (Thursday 7/24) I had Dave and his son out for a trolling/lake learning trip. Dave wanted to learn the tactics I use to catch summer muskies, bass, walleyes and pike in the dog days of Summer. Well things started out good for his son when the first rod started to strip off drag before I could get the third rod set up. That rod was in the water maybe two minutes and I was just getting the third rod set up when a three foot muskie slammed my crank bait. The line stripping, jumping, rolling crazy muskie gave us a show that I will not forget. This was the craziest muskie of the year so far but it was soon being held by dad and son for a memorable picture. So here it is Friday and I am working to get this report on line to show a few pictures, tell a few story's and give a few tips for those who check out my site. Sorry I have not updated my site as often as I used to but with a full time job (7am to 3pm) and guide jobs (5pm till 10pm) there is not much time to get this done. Heck I can't even get caught up with sleep or e-mails. Get out and enjoy the great outdoors while you can, take a kid fishing, take your dad fishing, get your wife out and see how nice the evening sunset is from the water. Good luck to every one, I will see you on the water!!!

July 5th, 2008

The fishing went from good to excellent this past week with the "electric only" rule lifted and the "slow no wake" rule now being enforced. June 28th was the start of the motor use on Pewaukee Lake since the flooding. Lots of people used Saturday to get their boats back out and on the lifts or piers but I used this opportunity to target active fish working the weed lines and flats close to deeper water. With the new Humminbird 1197c SI Combo I was able to stay very close to the weeds and work my baits just over the weeds or edges and target lots of fish as I trolled. This payed out in a big way for my clients and my self with 35 muskies and 7 bass being caught this past week.

Now that we have had the chance to get around more and lots more people are fishing I have noticed the fish have slowed a bit. Maybe this is because of the new traffic all around the lake that was once so quiet for weeks or maybe they are just healing soar mouths from all of us who had the pleasure of catching them this past week. Either way the fishing is just getting good and we got the whole next two months to troll up muskies, walleyes, bass and pike. Now lets not forget about the good casting bite that is still going on in a few areas on Pewaukee Lake. I will offer everyone a good tip as to where to look for the best casting bite. Largest weed beds close to deeper water is your best bet. Taylor's Bay all the way to the island had lots of untouched muskies looking to challenge your skills. these fish have not even seen lures or boats. I can't even remember the last boat I saw casting that area and I launch at the Muskie Shop, so I drive by that area on the way out and back in. The other sweet spot is the west end of Pewaukee Lake. This huge weed bed runs from Walks Island all the way around to the Condo's and every bit of it holds fish. Cast over the top of the weeds early and late in the day, work off the edges and the flats later in the mornings and early evenings. I know of a 49, 45, 44, 42 and a few other good fish caught off these areas in the past two weeks. Believe it or not there is a lot of good fish still in the weeds to be had. lots of guys jumping on the trolling pattern this year already because its about that time to troll. Actually the lake is two weeks behind as far a fish migration to deeper water so enjoy the casting while its still going.

Well I guess I could get into some of the action we had this past week. I was off my full time job due to plant shutdown, this is an annual maintenance shutdown I love every year. It always come at a great time with Summerfest and great weather to enjoy the outdoors. I started out My first weekend off with a five fish afternoon. Muskies that showed up on the end of my lures were 38, 34 1/2, 33, 37, and a 30-incher. This was a great mid day bite on Pewaukee Lake. Too bad I didn't get out early or fish late, I had to be off the water before 6pm due to the annual Pewaukee Yacht Club Lobster Boil my family runs. What a great way to end a great day of fishing, venison back strips, lobster and a few cold ones.

Sunday I checked out a few trolling patterns before my 4pm guide job. I ended up sticking a three footer and a low 30's fish trolling weed edges. My clients wanted to cast so we trolled from spot to spot casting. We raised some fish and caught one. Monday, my first day off I kept open so I could check out different spot and patterns since we couldn't get around with the restrictions. This was a delight for me on my first day off work. I had unbelievable action all afternoon long starting at 11am and finishing up my day at 7pm with a nice 17-inch walleye. Ten muskies caught, one lost at the back of the boat, one rip and a nice eater walleye. Now that's what I call a great day off work!!!

Tuesday there was 4 muskies caught trolling and some good fish raised while casting. Wednesday I had a morning trip booked so we hit the water around 8am with a regular and his dad. Since we can't make a wake we decided to troll out to the spots we were going to target casting. After getting nice bass we decided to keep trolling and we caught two muskies by 9am. After catching three fish in an hour they decided to keep up the trolling but mother nature brewed up a good thunderstorm that kicked us off the lake for lunch while it rained. After lunch we got back out for an hour before the next lightning show put an early hault to out outing. Around 3pm I decided to slip back out and test the waters for another pattern. I was soon greeted with a very angry muskie that gave me a aerial show. A mid thirty's was soon unhooked and back to where he came from. Two more muskies and a 20-inch small mouth was my reward that afternoon.

Thursday was another great day on the water from my clients Jonny and John. We started out at 7am from Smokey's Muskies Shop,we eased out to the narrows and set up lines as we trolled out to deeper water. As soon as we got into my sweet spot the first rod went off. Jonny was first up and quickly handled the low thirty's fish into the net. It was not long after we got set back up when the same rod started to strip line. John was glad to step up and take the rod. After a brief battle the low thirty's was at boat side and released after a quick picture for John. Jonny was up next with his second fish at 7:50am, this was another low thirty's muskie that smashed one of our crank baits. Not even an hour and three muskie in the boat was just the way to start their day. By the end of their half day outing they had 6 muskies up to 36-inches and a 18-inch smallmouth. Not a bad morning of fishing on Pewaukee Lake.

Friday I got out for some action myself since I didn't schedule any guide trips on the independence day. I got a couple legal's in the afternoon before I had to get off the lake and ready for some festivities. I hope everyone had a great time on the 4th of July. Please remember what we are celebrating and how lucky we are to have our freedom to do what we love to do. Freedom doesn't come cheap, respect those who fought for our freedom, say a prayer for those who are still in harms way. May GOD BLESS AMERICA and keep our troops safe.

Well thats about all I got for now. I will be going up to Mille Lac's for my yearly vacation from July 12th until July 20th. Please e-mail me or call me asap if your looking to book a trip in August. All of July is booked up already and most of August. I do have some openings in August available for a few more clients. September is also almost full and October is getting very close to full. August is still trolling season, September is trolling and some great casting toward the end of the month. October is great casting and some trolling. Book your trip asap so you can get in on the action. I will be checking my e-mail this week until Saturday the 12th, then I will be out of town and out of touch. Please feel free to e-mail me but hold the calls until I get back. I will answer all e-mails in the order they come to me to make if fair to anyone who requested a date or confirmed one.

Please remember Pewaukee Lake is "Slow NO Wake" for a while. Respect the people who have damaged shorelines and piers. Take advantage of the piece and quiet on the water. Look at it as a positive, not a negative. Good luck to all of you this month of July. Go stick a few fish and enjoy the great outdoors!!!