View Entire Blog
Latest 3 Blog Entries
Destination-Oshkosh Wisconsin
Posted On: June 30, 2009 | By: steil
My next and final FLW Tour Qualifier will be on Lake Winnebago out of Oshkosh Wisconsin. I have never fished this lake before which means my prefishing starts very early behind the computer. Ok, it is not actually prefishing but my research starts very early.
Most people do no understand just how much preparation goes into getting ready for a tournament. I start out by getting familiar with the town I will be staying and look for a "boat friendly" place to stay. These tournaments require us to have electricity to plug in our boats each night and of course we need to have a place to get things to eat, bait, etc. That is all taken into account when we book a place to stay and it is not the easiest thing to find. With a large truck and a 20ft boat you need a lot of room.
From there we need to be close to where we will be prefishing on the lake as well as relatively close to the lauch point for the tournament. You want to avoid as much driving as possible so a good central location is always preferred. Thankfully with the internet a lot of this planning can be done on computer. My truck gets better gas mileage than my boat does so I try to find a good location where we are close to several boat launches and the take-off point. That way we have options for prefishing should we get a lot of wind.
Now that we have a place to stay we need to get to the business side of things. I start out by reviewing old fishing reports online from years past looking for a "pattern" from previous years. I look specifically at water temps, time of year and type of structure fished. In addition, I look at the depth of water being fished and what people are using. I then compare that data to current fishing reports, as not all years are the same and with a cool spring or changes in bait fish many things change from year to year. But, nonetheless doing your research is important as fish are fairly predictable when certain variables are held constant.
After doing the research, I like to look at my LakeMaster map on my computer. Using my LakeMaster Computer Software I locate many of the popular fishing spots referenced in the old fishing reports. From there I locate fishing spots that are currently holding fish. Usually by this time I can figure out a pattern and locate other spots that will likely be holding fish. For example, if rock reefs that top out at 16ft are holding fish, I look for other rock reefs on my LakeMaster Software that have 16 foot tops. From here I will print some maps with GPS coordinates and am ready to hit the lake.
This is all work that I will be doing before I ever see Lake Winnebago. However, the preparation will help bring me up to speed very quick on a lake I have never fished. You will be hearing a lot about Lake Winnebago right after I get done celebrating the 4th of July with a nice fish fry with friends a family. Now, back to the computer work!
Leech Lake Update
Posted On: June 23, 2009 | By: steil
After fishing Leech Lake for the FLW walleye tour I have been getting a lot of questions in regards to the fishery and if the fishing is still good. I actually have answers to both of those questions today.
First, the fishing on Leech Lake is still excellent. The water temps are on the rise now after holding between 58-60 degrees for over 2 weeks. This weekend lake temps were around 64 degrees and the walleye bite was in full swing. No matter what size fish you want to catch, you can catch them on Leech Lake and can catch them just about any way you want.
There is still a good jig/minnow bite going on. In addition, there is a great rigging, trolling and spinner bite going on. If casting cranks is your thing, well that works also. Basically, I am saying Leech Lake is hot right now. So, why is Leech Lake so hot? Basically with the continued stocking efforts of the lake there is now competition for food. Walleye are forced to seek out food and thus feed for longer periods throughout the day. In the end anglers benefit as the fish are more than willing to bite. There are bug hatches and plenty of forage that can effect the bite from day to day but for the most part you can find fish that are willing to bite with a little effort.
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to catch one of the longest walleye I have ever caught. The fish pictured here is just under 32 inches, but skinny of course. The fish are all skinny right now but will put on weight fast as the water warms up and the young of the year perch move out to deeper water. The walleye pictured here is my 5th walleye over 30 inches in the last two weeks from Leech Lake. Yes, there are big fish mixed in with those smaller fish. The nice thing about Leech Lake is there are many different year classes of walleye being caught and the 18-26 inch protected slot is working very well.
So, that is my update from Leech Lake. I will be on the Lake one more weekend before I start getting ready for my next tournament on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. Back soon with more!
Key To Success
Posted On: June 23, 2009 | By: steil
Occasionally I will be doing a part called Key To Success, which will focus on using the technology that is available to succeed on the water. Obviously the technological advances in fishing over the years have been amazing but for some they are still hard to grasp. Fishing professionally requires you to be at the top of your game all the time and part of being at the top of your game is utilizing the technology available to your advantage.
Recently while fishing Leech Lake I established a pattern for finding big fish that would bite. The big fish were staging on the deep sand breaks and then feeding on the many inside turns on these deep sand breaks. After figuring out a pattern where the fish were holding I was able to use my LakeMaster Contour Pro PC Mapping Software and look for other spots that looked like the area I was finding fish. Pictured above is a typical deep sand break on Leech with an arrow showing an inside turn that held fish during the tournament. By utilizing the Contour Pro Software on my lap top computer I found 8 spots that were producing big fish prior to the tournament.
The LakeMaster Contour Pro software has over 235 lake maps from many of the popular lakes across Minnesota ( I have the MN version, other states are available). Many of the lakes are mapped with 1ft contours. Because this is a computer program you are able to zoom in and print maps of those spot on the spot areas you want to try complete with the GPS coordinates for that spot.
If you have not looked at Contour Software for your state I suggest you check out www.lakemap.com I could not do what I do without an accurate make and LakeMaster does it best. Utilizing LakeMasters PC Mapping Software is definitely a Key to Success for me and helped me with my top 10 finish on Leech Lake.
.jpg)
