June 2017 | Volume 48 | Issue 6

Walleyes Unlimited USA Newsletter is published on a monthly basis by editor Brad Richardson

Monthly Highlights: Sturgeon Bay Outing

 June Speakers By Jim Zegar  Little Sturgeon Bay If you like wind, a lot of it, especially when it blows from the north, you would have  Reports loved fishing during the outing on May 6th. It honked and honked that day but it didn’t  Dale Steps Up Again! blow away the fun of our biggest outing of the year.  Scout Lake Kids Clinic 69 members showed up and enjoyed Saturday night’s free buffet dinner. Thanks to  Long Lake Report Dave King for helping provide tons of great prizes for the raffle and what a raffle it was. I think we set an all-time record for raffle ticket sales that helped cover most of the  Boat Night Date Change cost of the event, including the dinner.  2017 Outing Schedule Ten two-man and four three-man teams entered the fishing contest and the winners  Club Contest delivered some good fishing reports after dinner. I managed the official contest scoring  Classifieds and thanks go to John Papa for developing a fantastic spreadsheet program that did  Sponsors the heavy lifting for me. It calculates the points for each team, ranks them, and allo-  The Pres’s Boat Deck cates the prize money according to the contest rules.

Place Winners of the Two-Man Contest: 1. Carl Kaufmann & Bob Mikolatczak June Meetings: 2. Jeff Acerbi & Bill Ersbo th  June 14 3. Jim Zegar & Tom Parker Wisconsin Meeting 4. John Zegar & Keith Hahn Rob Wendel 5. Mark O’Neill & Gene Smelko Kayak & Small Boat Fishing Lake Michigan 6. Glenn Kollman & Jose Trejo

st  June 21 Place Winners of the Three-Man Contest: BOD Meeting 1. Jerry Fisher, Brad Richardson, Nate Bergman 2. Bruce Dentice, Chuck Gorzalski, Bob Thomas th  June 28 Illinois Meeting Big Fish Contest Winners: Scott Goldapske 1. Bruce Dentice 42.00” Summer Walleye 2. Tom Parker Smallmouth bass 20.75” Patterns on the on 3. Jerry Fisher Smallmouth bass 20.25” Winnebago System 4. Jim Zegar Smallmouth bass 19.75”

5. Brad Richardson Smallmouth bass 19.75” 2017 Events: 6. Bill Ersbo Walleye 28.00”

th  Wednesday July19 Marine Boat Night at Thanks go to Tom Parker for his usual fantastic job of organizing, promoting, and man- M-W Marine aging this event. Thanks also go to Gary Schlapinski for making dinner arrangements Please Note the Date even though he was unable to attend due to an illness. Change for this Event If you missed this year’s Sturgeon Bay outing then you missed a great one! Walleyes Unlimited USA Page 2 June 2017

June 2017 Speakers June 14th - Wisconsin Meeting Rob Wendel - Kayak & Small Boat Fishing Lake Michigan Rob Wendel is a lifelong but began kayak fish- ing on Lake Michigan over ten years ago. Since then he has developed and fine tuned techniques for catching all species of fish from kayaks and small boats.

Rob has been a member of the Hobie Fishing Team for the last six years and is a currently among the Hobie Elite Top Guns. He has won the Salmon-R-Rama Kayak Divi- sion and had several top 5 finishes.

He says that being in a kayak at water level is on of the most enjoyable ways to fish for any species. The stealth and mobility of kayaks allows him to access and catch fish not possible from shore fisherman or motor boat fisher- man. He also manages Lake Michigan Angler in Winthrop Harbor. A super store for and Lake Michigan tack- le.

This will certainly be a unique presentation and is one of the largest growing forms of fishing in the coun- try. It will be an excellent opportunity to get Rob's perspective. Make plans now!

June 28th - Illinois Meeting Scott Goldapske - Big Gunz Guide Service Summer Walleye Patterns on the on Winnebago System

Scott has over 25 year's of fishing experience on this vast sys- tem and many others targeting the biggest fish in each He is an experienced tournament angler fishing many local tournaments as well as the Mercury Nationals and the Battle on Bago. Scott is a true multi-specie angler with a passion for Walleye, Salmon and .

In addition Scott operates Big Gunz Guide Service during the winter months and fishes the waters of central Wisconsin and Lake Michigan. Scott's focus on jig fishing and summer time river patterns of Lake Winnebago. For more information about Scott and guide service go to Big Gunz Guide Service.

Volume 48 Page 3 Issue 6 Little Sturgeon Bay By Jim Zegar

A triple play. Three’s a party. The triumvirate. What am I talking about? Well, it’s a trio of businesses in Little Sturgeon Bay that collectively provide most of the goods and services we fishermen need. They are all Premier Sponsors and great supporters of Walleyes Unlimited and its members. Here are the three players: Stevenson Pier Citgo: Owned by Roger Cherney, this gas station/mini mart has most things one might need for a couple of days of fishing. It’s well stocked with good tackle, stuff for break- fast and good sandwiches for lunch, and most other things you’ll find in a mini mart. Roger’s sup- ply of bait is excellent and it’s a good place to order suckers and golden shiners. There’s also a water hose to fill your livewell, an important asset. In addition to being a Premier Sponsor, he has always donated merchandise for our raffles. Call Stevenson Pier Citgo at 920-824-5222.

Rouer’s Roadhouse: Dave and Jennifer Rouer purchased Merkle’s Saloon a couple of years ago and renamed it Rouer’s Roadhouse. It’s a terrific place to unwind after a long day of hammerin’ the smallies in Little Sturgeon Bay. They upgraded the menu with some excellent sandwiches and other bar food. The Rouers really know the saloon business and are there themselves every day to help you enjoy yourselves. It’s also a good place to find Tom and me, along with Jeff Katz and Howie Bloom to talk fishin’ and enjoy a libation or two before retiring to the motel.

Countryside Motel: Liz and David Merner purchased the motel from Chris Merkle a few months back and are making substantial improvements. It’s an excellent place for fishermen to stay. There is plenty of parking so you don’t have to unhitch your . They have a great indoor fish cleaning station with running water, a freezer for your catch, and bags of ice for your cooler. If you have an RV, they can accommodate 16 vehicles with full hookups and showers. They are very interested in your comments and suggestions on how to improve things to better accommodate your needs. They’re open year ‘round, even for . Call them at 920-824-5309. ______

This trio of local businesses is there to meet the needs of your visit. It’s close to both the public launch in Little Sturgeon Bay and Al’s Launch just down the road. Located midway between down- town Sturgeon Bay and Chaudoir’s Dock, staying at this location gives you flexibility on where to launch considering wind conditions, fishing reports, and your target species. Don’t be shy in supporting our friends there because these businesses help support us, as well! Walleyes Unlimited USA Page 4 June 2017

Fishing Reports

by Jim Rutkowski (IL) & Norb Kopka (WI)

When filing a report be sure to include the techniques that led to your fishing success. Consider including information on lake structure, bait, presentation, depth etc. Our website walleyesunlimitedusa.com, has a helpful fishing report form in the Members Only section. Anyone can also submit a report by simply e-mailing me with no special form required at: [email protected]. Jim Rutkowski

On April 17-18 Scott Moranski and John Lewis fished the wolf River out of Shaws Landing. With calm conditions and an air temp of 40-50 deg. they were using 1/8oz jigs with night crawlers. They landed a variety of fish including walleye, sheepshead, crappie, and pike.

Jerry Metz fished the upper Wolf River near Shawano on April 29-30 and May 5-6th. Conditions were cool and windy with a strong current. Jerry was using red worms on a red crappie hook under a slip bob- ber in 4-6 FOW letting the current move his rig near new weeds. He caught between 8 and 10 fish per evening including blue gill, crappie, and . Jerry reported that he had a couple of Houdini fish that managed to release themselves from his fish basket.

Doug Kasprzak fished Lake Michigan out of Bender Park from mid April through May 10th. Trolling moonshine walleye sized spoons in 20-30 FOW with a water temp of 45-49 deg. he caught aprox 10 brown trout per outing.

John Kretchmer and Tom Maki planned to join the club members in Sturgeon Bay but the forecast of strong north winds made them change their plans. Instead they headed up to the St. Germain area and fished 4 different lakes in the area. They spent 1/2 day targeting walleyes with no success. At noon on Saturday they switched target species and starting casting jerk baits for smallmouth bass. Action was good as they boated 25 between the afternoon and morning of the 7th. X-Raps and Shadow Raps were productive. Most fish were 16-18” topping out at 19½” long, fun.

Sturgeon Bay Opener 2017 video Click the Link https://youtu.be/eQz5zn02oXs Volume 48 Issue 6 Page 5

Dale Steps up Again! By Jim Zegar Pro angler, guide, businessman, and good friend of Walleyes Unlimited, Dale Stroschein, has done it again. Dale has generously donated another Jiffy Professional ice auger to us for use in furtherance of our benevolent programs and overall mission. He donated a similar auger last year that considerably enhanced the prizes for our Meat Raffle and Ice Jamboree. We’re not sure yet how your board of directors will utilize this great donation, but stay tuned for future details. Stroschein is one of the top Door County guides and clearly at the pinnacle of his career. His top-notch service can be viewed at wackywalleye.com. Dale has joined us in the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2014. Dale and his wife, Karyn, also operate Sand Bay Beach Resort, a first-class lodging facility located on Sand Bay, which is near Little Sturgeon Bay. You can visit the web site at sandbaybeach.com to check out the great facilities. Thanks, Dale!

Scout Lake Kids Clinic 2017 Kids fishing at Scout lake was at its best this year with a beautiful day, plenty of sunshine, calm winds and lots of Walleye club members. The morning started out with the smell of fresh coffee home made bakery and plenty of camaraderie among the volunteers. As usual the day proved to be fun and educational for many kids. They received safety instruction, fish identification along with knot tying instruction before heading out to the practice casting station. Many kids caught fish which were cleaned, placed in plastic bags and sent home as table fare. Thank you to all of the club members who donated time and items for the tackle boxes we gave as raffle prizes. The success of our kids fishing clinics and future events are made possible thru generosity of members time and donations.

Gilbert Leon, The Shuler family: Terry, Liz & Abby, The Wendorf family: Bob, Edie & Jennifer, Roger Kossert, Brian Chudd, John Krauss, Bob Repnik, Jerry Metz, Keith Hahn, Jeff Katz and his son Alex, Howie Blohm, Gene Schmitt , Walt Koch and Cece Boelter.

Thanks, Brian Boelter and Brad Miller Walleyes Unlimited Kids Clinic Directors Walleyes Unlimited USA Page 6 June 2017

Long Lake Report By John Ansell

On this last weekend in April before the Wisconsin gamefish season opener W.U. held a get you rig ready outing on Long Lake in Ingle- side IL. Of the 8 boats and 14 guys signed up to fish the outing 4 boats and 7 guys were brave enough to show up. Participants were Keith Cerk, Stee Kappel and partner James, Phil Piscatello and part- ner who’s name I forget (sorry) myself and my father Denny Ansell.

The forecast all week kept changing and from most aspects kept changing for the worse except for the rain outlook which improved. It was supposed to rain all day but by Friday night had been pushed back to not start until early afternoon and this held true. We were greeted with temps starting in the low 40’s and ending in the upper 30’s with NE and N winds 15-25 mph and overcast skies. I read water temps from 45.3-58.7* with the colder water being on the south side of the lake and the channels held the coldest dirtiest water of all. I think in all 31 bass all largemouth were caught with the largest being 18½” and the average being around the 15-16” mark. Nearly all the fish were caught on two types of baits being a jig and swimbait combo or a lipless rattle bait in a shad type color pattern. I know the best color swimbait was a green pumpkin but some other colors took a couple fish as well. The best depth was 1-4’ with only maybe two fish deeper than that if I remember the reports correctly. Guys were greet- ed in the morning with hot coffee and doughnuts and since half the group was a no-show we were able to share with the access owner and a couple other customers which showed nice for our organization. At the end of the day which varied because some of us came in early there was nice cold water and so- das to share with a nice cheese and sausage tray and assorted munchies but they were hardly touched because of the cold and rain so we just shared our reports and headed for warmer conditions and to start the prepping the following weekend. May Club Fish

Continued next page Volume 48 Issue 6 Page 7

2017 Outings & Club Trips s we the weather hopefully warms up here, we will start our open water outings. This year we will start the year off with Mr. President (John Ansell) on April 29th on Long lake in Ingleside, Illinois. A This is apart of the Fox Chain O’Lakes but not navigable due to a dam. This will be a multi-species but the largemouth bass fishing is exceptional this time of year. Your basic pre-spawn/spawn presentations should shine during this time of year. Contact John Ansell at (847) 727- 1169. Please see the Club Outings section of our website for further details. Next we will be fishing the Wisconsin game fish opener out of The Lodge at Leathem Smith in Sturgeon Bay on Saturday, May 6th with Tom Parker. This outing also has our only optional tournament each year. Sturgeon Bay is a premier destination with chances of trophy fish of all species. Walleyes, Pike and Smallmouth are the key targets in the contest. But you may come and fish with us even if your not inter- ested in the tournament. Most members get here early to take advantage of the post-spawn Walleye and Pike bites. Live baiting, casting artificial baits and trolling have their time and place this weekend. Dinner will be on the club at Leathem Smith with Gary Schlapinski coordinating that portion of the outing. Please see the Club Outings section of our website for further details. Contact Tom Parker at 262-215- 2222 and Gary Schlapinski (414)-659-6960 On Saturday, May 20th I will be heading up an outing on famed Big Green Lake, in Green Lake, Wiscon- sin. This is a new outing for 2017, but the club has had outings here in the past. Another multi-species gem located in Central Wisconsin will hopefully be prime time for some pre-spawn/spawning Small- mouth and Largemouth bass. I will provide breakfast and refreshments before launching. And we will meet back at the launch around 4:00 pm for fishing reports and soft drinks and snacks. Please see the Club Outings section of our website for further details. Contact Steve Kappel (847-946-7286 Below are the rest of the outings that I will outline in further detail in the coming newsletters.

 Lake Erie Outing - June 9-10 (Little Ted's Cottages, Marblehead, OH)

 Southern Green Bay - June 24

 Chain O' Lakes Veterans Outing - September 30

 Pewaukee Lake - (Mid-Week Outing) September 20

 Pewaukee Lake Outing - October 7

 Washington Island Outing - October 28-29 (Tentative) Please check the website because dates, times and venues can change. Look forward to seeing you on the water this season.

Steve Kappel Outings Chairman, Trustee

M-W Marine Boat Night Date Change This years boat night will be Wednesday July 19th Walleyes Unlimited USA Page 8 June 2017 May Club Fish

2017 Fishing Contests Hopefully the weather will settle a bit as we get closer to summer. I know I have seen enough wind and rain. Congratulations to Jason Drewa for the April fish of the month – an 11 pound 14 ounce wall- eye from Green Bay. So far this year, there have been 44 walleyes over 8 pounds entered. Get your entries in so this will be a great contest year. For those with a smart phone, try entering your contest entry from your phone. By entering from your phone, it will allow you to skip a step of transfer- ring your photo to another device. In some cases, it gives you a task you can complete on the ride home. If you have questions about this process, feel free to send me an email at [email protected].

Fish Hard! Bob Needles CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (Aggregate, Catch & Release & Club Lakes Combined) Club Division Masters Division 1 John Ansell 390.416 1 Robert Graham 655.283 2 Bruce Frentz 117.596 2 Steve Everetts 278.961 3 3 AGGREGATE - (BY POINTS) - (BY POINTS) 1 Robert Graham 236.27 1 Robert Graham 305.18 2 Bob Needles 235.02 2 Bob Needles 304.21 3 Mel Christensen 152.10 3 Thomas Maki 170.61 4 Mike Oraweic 143.99 4 John Ansell 135.21 5 John Ansell 120.00 5 Steve Rusteberg 131.21 6 Jason Drewa 113.19 6 Mel Christensen 124.95 7 Steve Rusteberg 110.34 7 Mike Oraweic 121.80 8 Steve Everetts 109.91 8 Gavin Scray 120.75 9 Gavin Scray 105.28 9 Bill Ersbo 120.23 10 Brad Richardson 101.73 10 Steve Everetts 119.70 BEST OF SPECIES - (BY WEIGHT) CLUB LAKES - (BY POINTS) Walleye: Mel Christensen 13.50 1 John Ansell 135.21 Smallmouth: John Ansell 6.63 2 Robert Graham 113.83 Northern Pike: 3 Bruce Frentz 58.80 Largemouth: Robert Graham 4.50 4 Tom Parker 54.60 Musky: 5 Steve Everetts 49.35 BEST OF SPECIES CLUB LAKES - (BY WEIGHT) BEST ONE DAY LIMIT - (AGGREGATE POINTS) Walleye: Tom Parker 8.25 Walleye: Mike Oraweic 288.75 Smallmouth: John Ansell 6.63 Smallmouth: John Ansell 120.00 Pike: Northern Pike: Largemouth: Robert Graham 4.50 Largemouth: Robert Graham 40.22 Musky: Musky: PAN FISH CONTEST (3 Fish - Combined Length) 5 LARGEST FISH - (BY POINTS) Bluegill: Glenn Kollman 27.25 Walleye: Mel Christensen 346.66 Northern Pike Crappie: Tom Parker 41.25 Largemouth Robert Graham 89.38 Smallmouth Robert Graham 129.65 Perch: Glenn Kollman 39.25 Musky: SPOUSE’S CONTEST - (By Length) TAKE A KID FISHING CONTESTS - (By Length) Walleye: Walleye: Smallmouth: Smallmouth: Northern Pike: Northern Pike: Largemouth: Largemouth: Musky: Musky: Walleyes Over 8 Lbs. Caught = 46 Walleyes Over 8 Lbs. Released = 40 FISH OF THE MONTH January: February: Mel Christensen 13 lbs. 8 oz. Walleye, OH March: Mel Christensen 11 lbs. 2 oz. Walleye, OH April: Jason Drewa 11 lbs. 14 oz. Walleye, WI May: June: Volume 4843 Page 10 Page 10 JuneIssue 20175

The Swap Shop is a service for club members only. If you have something you would like to sell or perhaps are looking for a particular item, please contact our Newsletter Editor, Brad Richardson at: [email protected] for further details. The Swap Shop will appear in our monthly newsletters and no longer be posted on the web site. Each ad will remain posted for 6 months, then it will be deleted and you will need to re-submit. Please notify us as soon as your item has sold so that we can remove it and make room for more ads.

PLANO TACKLE BOX COLLECTION (5 BOXES TOTAL) $40 PHANTOM PRO BOX, 21.5" x 14" x 12", 4 individual lower drawers each with movable dividers, top lid compartment with 4 spinner bait racks and large main area DBL SIDED MAGNUM BOX #1126, 12" x 8" x 4", each side has 13 compartments, per- fect panfish tackle organizer DBL SIDED MINI-MAGNUM BOX #3213, 6" x 4" x 2", 13 total compartments, perfect pocket tack- le box TWO (2) DBL SIDED MICRO-MAGNUM BOXES #3214, 4" x 3" x 1-1/4", 14 total compartments, perfect ice boxes ALL IN GOOD CONDITION. If interested contact Ed Menta at 224-381-2749 or email [email protected] Minn Kota Terrova bow mount electric trolling motor for sale. I-Pilot with one wireless remote. 80# thrust, 60 "shaft, 24 volt model also included is a Quick Release Plate. $950 now discounted to $850! Contact Bob Clark at 815-527-5109 or 847-274-8247 Just N Case Musky Box 26” long 16 1/2” wide 14 1/2” tall $225 Contact Mel Christensen 920-866-2142 (March 2017) $10,000 tax free reward for anyone that finds me a buyer for my Northern Wisconsin Lake Home. Fully furnished home on highly desirable Armour Lake in Presque Isle, Wi. No public access to the lake. Great smallmouth, musky and walleye fishing. Complete information and short VIDEO at: http//www.lakehouse.com-310130.html. Be sure to click on the visual tour to watch video. Contact Jim Knuth at 715-686-7746 (summer), 702-613-4356 (winter) or email him at knut- [email protected] (March 2017)

2012 Humminbird 597ci HD DI. 5” sonar, GPS, down imaging. With Lakemaster Wisconsin chip. Mint condition $250 Lakewood Boat lift. All aluminum and stainless construction. Capacity 2000lbs and 100” width. Excellent condition $1000. Contact Jim Rutkowski 262-877-9569 (March 2017)

2017 Premier Club Sponsors

Walleyes Unlimited would like to thank the following companies that have become Premier Sponsors with us. Please patronize and thank these businesses & individuals.

Walleyes Unlimited USA Page 11 Issue 6

2017 Premier Club Sponsors

Walleyes Unlimited would like to thank the following companies that have become Premier Sponsors with us. Please patronize and thank these businesses & individuals. Walleyes Unlimited USA P.O. Box 8817 Waukegan, IL 60079 [email protected] June 2017 Newsletter

Walleyes Unlimited USA is classified as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

. . . Fishing News That You Can Use . . .

Visit us on-line at: walleyesunlimitedusa.org

From the President’s Boat Deck ere comes June and there goes May! Was it just me or has it been one wet and windy spring? The Long lake recap it was cold windy and wet but all who showed up caught fish, more details in this issue. Tom H Parker hosted the annual Sturgeon Bay Outing on the WI opener with the fishing reports mixed. Thanks to all who put this event together and attended. The Big Green lake outing was cancelled due to weather and partici- pants. Next will be Lake Erie hosted by Mike Orawiec and Gary Raymond out of Little Teds Cabins may you have good luck and fair winds. Just over a week ago Eric Ehrhardt and a handful of faithful volunteers held an Illinois Open Water Kids Fishing Clinic with some less than ideal weather of course but the kids showed up caught fish and had in general a good time. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers. A shout out goes to Bass Pro Shops in

Gurnee for their generous donation to this event.

Please note that our July Boat Night hosted at M-W Marine will be held on July 19th NOT on our regular schedule of 7/12. I’d like to make yet another plea for volunteers to step up and take over our WI Kids Fishing Clinics as Bri- an Boelter will be stepping down as chairperson soon. Gentlemen it is contributions such as this and other benevolent activities that has made this club what it is. Without volunteers to keep things going some cuts may have to be made. Jim Zegar agreed to keep the Fox Lake IL Social Night for this one last year but would like someone to re- place him for this. I would like some help with our Club Sponsors Program and with some help from my father and Mike Cassidy we are trying to make some changes with our clothing program as well. If you have some time and or interest please call me at 847-727-1169 or email me @ [email protected] and I’ll tell you what I can or put you in touch with someone for additional details. Tight Lines to all, John Ansell President Walleyes Unlimited USA