Bass fishing in northwest Wisconsin
This past week I went fishing and had a blast. I am one of those lucky people that can actually say that they earn a living while fishing and hunting.
I figured I needed a refresher course on bass fishing so I called my buddy, Paul Bucher, from Cumberland and asked if he wanted to have some fun. I have never known Paul, who is the publisher of The Cumberland Advocate, to turn down a good time and here’s what we did.
Thursday, May 27
High 72, Low 47
I pulled into Indianhead Sport Shop this afternoon and met up with Paul at what I have to believe is his office away from the office. Hang out at Indianhead for an hour and you will see a lot of outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen come through the door.
Our plan was simple: we had about three hours to fish today, a full day of fishing Friday and then a half a day on the water Saturday. Paul has a passion for bass fishing that includes the perfect bass boat, which is an 18-foot Champion, which is pushed by a 150-horse Mercury.
Believe it or not, I used to have a full head of hair, then I started fishing with Bucher and I lost some of it due to his “rocket ship” bolting across the water.
What Paul has to go with his quality rig is organizational skill that include, tackle and a wide assortment of rods and reels ready for whatever circumstance he fish’s into. This afternoon, we fished on Largon Lake, which is located in Polk County, 129 acres and is a respected bass lake.
Spinning rods with 14-pound fluorocarbon and 3/8-ounce lime, green tube jigs would turn out to be the most reliable outfit the entire weekend.
Whenever I fish with Paul it’s always a hoot watching how intense he is about bass whacking, every cast has a plan and his favorite place to fish is piers and preferably ones that have pontoon boats tied to them. Structure and shade make that combination awesome bass habitat.
We met all requirements of my job and than went to the Paul’s home and sat around a campfire with Sarah Bucher and Paul’s 11-year-old son Isaac. Later, some of Paul’s friends came over and the fun continued.
Friday, May 28
High 76, Low 51
Paul wants to be able to say we caught a big bass and have the picture to go with it. Today, we fished on Beaver Dam Lake, which is right in Cumberland, 1,112 acres and is highly respected for having big fish in several species
A few years back, Paul and I fished Beaver Dam Lake and had a world-class day on big, pig smallmouth bass. Today, I watched Paul skip cast, tube jigs through a whole bunch of floats on pontoon boats and between the poles under lots of piers.
Skip casting is truly a skill and one I have yet to acquire. Our big fish of the day was about a 17-inch “smallie” that I caught and when Mr. Bucher took my picture, my camera literally broke.
The day before, my other main camera also went to heaven.
Later that night, an important meeting was held at The Timberland Pub. Several important topics were discussed and once again, I had met the requirements of my job.
Saturday, May 29
High 78, Low 53
Today we fished Staples Lake, which has top-notch bass fishing as well as a healthy population of sumo bluegills.
There was one problem and it was rather unfortunate. As we worked the shoreline working tube jigs, Paul and I, as well anyone else on the water, could observe a fish die-off that was killing hundreds, probably thousands of the big gills and some bass.
The fish die-off may have caused the bass to be pretty lethargic as far as the bite goes and what I observed was a memory I will not soon forget.
On a positive note, I went through another bass class and had a blast doing it!
Tube jigs are the ticket!
Sunset
