2019 Outing Reports
January 5, 2019 - Nielsen’s Channels
This outing was canceled because there wasn’t safe ice yet.
January 26, 2019 - Fox Chain
Three brave souls did not let the bitter cold stop them—Gregg Stockey, Jason Cashmore, and Jeff Haug found safe ice and fished the south end of Channel Lake despite a temp of around -10F at the outing start. Fishing was very spotty, but with a bunch of hole hopping they each caught fish. Jason ended the outing with 8 points from 7 crappie and 1 bluegill. Jeff caught a few fish but just 1 bluegill large enough for 1 point. Gregg caught a few fish, but did not score any points.
February 9, 2019 - Wooster Lake
Four members and two guests fished on a cold but pleasant day. The big fish species for this outing was longest panfish, and Gregg Stockey won with an 8.5” bluegill. In total, club members caught 3 bluegills and two bass (16.5" and 14.5") for points while the guests also caught two bass. The bass were caught on tip-ups in about 2-3 fow!
February 23, 2019 - Lake Elizabeth
Six hardy members fished this outing on a miserable, cold, rainy morning with only a few fish caught to reward them. Jason Cashmore landed a 15.5” walleye on a tip-up and Gregg Stockey caught two bluegills for points. Northern pike was the big fish species for this outing, but none were caught. Most guys pulled off at 9:30 and went to breakfast at KC's Cabin. After they left, 2 guys in a shanty put tip-ups into their holes and caught two northern pike and a bass. That’s fishing for you! Die-hards Jason and Jeff Haug stayed till the official outing end at noon, but didn’t catch any fish to reward their tenacity. Jeff returned after lunch, however, and the fish turned on in the afternoon. He had 12 flags, catching 5 perch, 2 snake northern, 1 24" northern, and a 14" bass.
March 23-24 or 30-31, 2019 - Fox River, DePere, WI
This outing was originally scheduled for the 23rd and 24th. However, due to late ice on the Fox River there was concern it would be unfishable that weekend. It was therefore decided that members could opt to fish the following weekend.
Despite the concerns, the river and boat ramps were ice free when seven members showed up for pre-fishing on Friday the 22nd. Other fishermen were as anxious as us to get on the water and there were literally hundreds of boats out there! The weather was excellent—no rain and not very windy (at least through Saturday). However, the bite was slow for DePere. It was probably too early in the run as most fish caught were males. Lou DiNicola caught a fat 5 lb, 26” female pre-fishing Friday, but she was solid and nowhere near spawning. Lou also caught a 30 lb carp that hit a roadrunner/minnow combo while pre-fishing. During the official outing times on Saturday and Sunday 27 scoreable walleyes were caught totalling 135 points. Jeff Haug caught the big fish—a 20 5/8" walleye. Deep water produced best for us. Gold or crawfish colored blade baits, jig/minnow combos, and jig/plastic combos produced fish. We tried all over and no one part of the river seemed to be better than another.
Seven additional members fished the following weekend with no scoreable fish caught. The weather was cold and the fishing was very poor. For next year we may need to rethink the timing on this outing again.
April 27, 2019 - Fox Chain
This outing was canceled due to a forecast snowstorm.
May 4, 2019 - Lake Michigan
Nine members fished this outing—3 from shore and 6 in boats. One boat launched from Waukegan and one from Diversey. A total of 12 scoreable coho salmon were caught, with Al Silcroft winning big fish with a 22.5-incher. A total of 60 points were scored. All the fish were caught from the boats—the shore fishermen were skunked.
May 18, 2019 - Forest Lake
Twelve members fished this private lake in excellent weather—little wind and no rain. We caught the following fish which were large enough to meet the club's scoring system:
7 largemouth bass, the biggest being Al Silcroft's 15.5-incher
5 walleyes, with Gregg Stockey's skinny 20-incher beating out Jason Cashmore's fat 19.5-incher for the big fish prize
22 bluegills
11 crappies
10 yellow bass
The fish were active. Most were caught on jigs tipped with minnows or nightdrawler pieces. Al had a 25 lb carp hit his setup only to lose the wrestling match after a long fight. In addition, many short walleyes and panfish were caught. Mike Tarnow got a 16" northern.
June 1-2, 2019 - Green Lake - Jay Hall Memorial Outing
Seventeen members and 4 guests fished the annual Green Lake outing in memory of club founder, friend, and father Jay Hall. The members caught the following fish that were big enough to score per our minimum size requirements:
15 largemouth bass, including 4 that were 18" or bigger, topped by Art Krohnert's 20.5" beauty
74 smallmouth bass, including 16 that were 17" or bigger; smallmouth was the big fish contest species, and the winner was guest Todd Hendricks with a 20-incher.
20 walleyes of 14" or bigger
4 northern pike, topped by Jeff Sannes' 29-incher
10 rock bass
2 crappie
5 white bass, topped by Lou's 16 incher.
Green Lake is always our highest-scoring outing, and we got 690 total points. That beats the 2017 total of 568 points by a wide margin, but fell short of the 2018 total of 737. In 2018 the giant white bass were everywhere and they made for a lot of action. This year, the fish were very scattered. Pre-fishing on Friday was very difficult due to high winds and floating moss, but a few fish were caught.
At the official outing start at 6 am on Saturday the weather was ominous, but the intrepid fishermen headed out and caught a few fish. By 9 am a black cloud that looked like it could spawn a tornado swept in, chasing everyone off the lake with gale force winds and driving rain. After a couple of hours we got back out and the bite was on. Several of the guys figured out the best pattern, which was brown or chartreuse 3"-4" tube jigs in 5-10 fow. The guys shared their tubes in those colors and we all caught fish. The bite slowed down throughout the afternoon, but a few determined fishermen toughed it out. Art never stops fishing for lunch or anything, and he was rewarded with 104 points, which took top honors for the trip. He can pedal that kayak around all day, it seems.
Sunday was a bluebird day with calm water and much easier fishing conditions, but the fish weren’t biting. Trolling was very tough all weekend due to floating moss, but Al Silcroft got a fat 18-1/2" smallmouth trolling a blue jointed shad rap.
Mike Hall and Mike Stanek grilled burgers and brats with all the trimmings for lunch Saturday, and Lou provided the elk and venison teriyaki appetizers. As always, our host Stacy joined us for lunch and we want to extend the club's thanks for her great hospitality. Greenway Log Cottages is the place to go if you plan to visit Green Lake.
June 15, 2019 - Private Bass Lake
Ten members fished this private lake loaded with largemouth bass in favorable weather. We caught a combined 36 largemouth, 1 warmouth, 1 crappie and 1 perch that were large enough to score. The big fish contest was a tie: Ken Haney and Jeff Haug caught 16.5" bass. The fish were active early in the morning, but slowed down later. Wacky worms and nail worms were the best bait. The lake is very weed choked at this time of year, making fishing a challenge. However, they were there if you could get your lure to them in the weeds.
June 29, 2019 - Lake Delavan
Eleven members and 1 guest fished Lake Delavan for this outing. The weather was very warm with overcast skies early and sun later. The fish were active early but the bite died off considerably once the sun came out. The usual nail worms and wacky worms were effective, and members also caught fish on minnows, crawlers, and leeches.
A total of 143 points were scored for the outing on these fish:
3 smallmouth bass
22 largemouth bass
1 northern pike
10 bluegills
3 crappie
The big fish contest was any black bass and we had a 4-way tie between Lou DiNicola, Jason Cashmore, Jeff Sannes, and Gregg Stockey who all caught 17.5-inchers (Jeff’s was a smallmouth and the other three were largemouth). We flipped coins for it at lunch and Jason went home with the money. Dave Busscher caught a 31.5" northern which took over as big fish of the year. We had lunch at Herner's Hideaway in Genoa City and a great time was had by all.
July 13-14, 2019 - Sturgeon Bay
The forecast was showing rough weather so only seven members made the drive north for this outing. One boat even decided to skip pre-fishing when they got to the launch on Friday and saw the waves. Trolling was very tough due to floating weeds, so most fish were caught on tube jigs and Ned rigs. The smallmouth bass were very scattered in 10-15 FOW and the bite was sporadic, though Gregg Stockey and Jeff Sannes had a spurt of action which yielded 10 smallmouth in about 3 hours on Saturday. In total, 11 smallmouth, including two 10 pointers, were caught for 85 points. Northern pike was the big fish species, but none were caught. Smallmouth was the backup species and Al Silcroft took big fish honors with a beautiful 18.5-incher.
July 27, 2019 - Lake Geneva
Ten members and 1 guest fished Lake Geneva for this outing. The weather was overcast and pretty windy, which made boat control difficult. Nail worms and wacky rigs took bass, while live bait took panfish. The key was depth—you had to stay in 10-14 fow for the best action. The big fish species was smallmouth bass, and Jason Cashmore caught a 15-incher to win it. We totaled 101 points on the following fish:
1 smallmouth bass
13 largemouth bass
14 bluegills
15 rock bass
2 perch
Many smaller panfish were caught also, as well as several short northern pike. Lake Geneva is becoming known for its muskies. Jeff Sannes and his guest threw musky baits all morning all over the lake, but didn't raise a fish. A number of other boats were observed chucking giant baits for muskies as well. We have had more productive outings at Geneva, but this is dog days of summer fishing.
August 10, 2019 - Pleasant Lake
Nine members fished Pleasant Lake in excellent weather for this outing, but the results weren’t what we were hoping for. Although we caught over 100 largemouth bass, they were mostly around 12” and skinny. Only 16 largemouth reached the minimum size of 13” necessary for points, and the big fish contest was a tie with Ward Aldritch and Dave Busscher catching 14-inchers. If you want lots of action from stunted, skinny fish this is the lake to go. If you want bass of decent size, then skip Pleasant Lake. Nail worms, wacky rigs, and jigs tipped with various plastics fished VERY slow in about 20 fow caught the most fish. We also caught 2 walleye and 1 crappie for a total of 91 points.
August 24, 2019 - Silver Lake
Eleven members fished Silver Lake for our 15th outing of 2019. It was a calm, quiet morning and started with another beautiful sunrise. Although it started out calm, the wind had picked up considerably by mid morning, making boat control difficult. The bite was on immediately, and most boats caught lots of fish, but very few were big enough to score points. Both plastics and live minnows caught bass. Gregg Stockey and Yo Ying Chen both caught 16.5-inchers, but Carl Dillberg caught a 20" beauty.
Big fish was muskie/northern, and many of us spent time targeting them. Although several people recounted stories at lunch of big pike that followed their bait to the boat or bit them off, no one caught one big enough for points. Several small ones were caught. Bass was backup for big fish, so Carl’s 20-incher took the prize.
In terms of scoreable fish, 12 largemouth, 2 bluegill, and 1 rock bass were caught for a total of 68 points. Congrats to Carl for big fish and to Yo Ying who led the day with 16 points!
September 14 or 21, 2019 - Lake Delavan
This outing was originally scheduled for the 14th. However, many club members were unavailable that day, so it was decided we could fish either the 14th or the 21st. Ten members fished the outing—five each day.
On the 14th water was very high due to flooding conditions from recent storms and there was a no wake rule in effect for the lake. Weather conditions were perfect, but the fish were hard to come by. Three fisherman didn’t catch anything. Jason Cashmore caught a 12.5” largemouth bass on a live sucker, but that isn’t big enough for points. Dave Busscher figured them out, though, and caught 9 largemouth for 30 points! He caught them all in 13-15 fow with a brown nail worm fished VERY slowly on bottom. His biggest was a 10-point, 19-incher.
The fish were picky again on the 21st, with only two members catching fish for points. Al Silcroft picked up 5 points catching a 30” northern pike on a crankbait. In another boat, Jeff Sannes was fishing with live suckers and earned 25 points with a 13.5” largemouth, a 22” walleye, and a 19.5” largemouth. The big fish species for this outing was black bass, so Jeff’s 19.5-incher barely beat out Dave’s 19-incher to win the pot.
October 5, 2019 - Lake Geneva
Nine members and three guests fished Lake Geneva for this outing. The weather was cool and windy, and reports were good, but the cold front may have turned the fish off. The big fish contest species for this outing was muskie, and a lot of effort went into targeting them. We tried the baits and locations recommended by guide Jon Winsor at our last meeting, but no one even got a follow from a muskie. Backup species for the big fish contest was northern pike, and two of those were caught. Jeff Haug caught a 20” pike on a live sucker, and Lou DiNicola caught a 28.5-incher on a jig and jerk minnow. In total, 5 largemouth bass, 1 northern pike, 3 pumpkinseeds, 1 rock bass, and 1 perch were caught for 3 points. That makes this our lowest-scoring outing since last winter.
November 2-3, 2019 - Lake Wisconsin
Nine members fished Lake Wisconsin for this outing. The weather was cold—the water temp was in the mid 30s, there was skim ice on the water, and we had a snow squall pass through Saturday afternoon. But, the fish were biting. Although the best fishing happened on Saturday, plenty of scoreable fish were caught during the official outing times on Saturday and Sunday: 1 smallmouth bass, 15 walleye, 31 sauger, 1 northern pike, and 7 white bass. One 24” and two 25.5” walleye were caught Friday, but the big wish winner was Jeff Haug’s 20.5-incher caught after dark Saturday night. Blade baits, jigs tipped with minnows, and live minnows on crappie rigs caught most of the fish.
December 7, 2019 - Lake Michigan
Six members fished Lake Michigan for this outing. Jason Cashmore and Gregg Stockey targeted harbor pike with small suckers and each caught two. The biggest was a 30-incher caught by Gregg, but they were all fat and healthy fish. Jeff Sannes and Ward Aldritch went after trout and salmon in Jeff’s boat. Jeff landed a 32” lake trout and lost another nice fish at the boat.
