<*))))))< WWW.CUSTOMFISH.COM

Fall report 2011

2011-10-06T22:42:00.003+09:00

Well..that's a wrap folks. I think I'll end the 2011 fishing season with this as my last cast. A 23" 7lb (+-) smallmouth bass. Largest in Illinois I believe for 2011. A huge thanks to fishing partner Ken Schumacher of smalliefishing.com for the spot and the photo :)

It was a great year which included some great trips and some awesome fish. Some of the memorable ones were this 23" smallie, a 44" muskie on ONE cast while on a great trip to Pipestone Lake in NW Ontario. A great trip to Taltson Bay on Great Slave Lake in Northwest territories, Canada where 6 of us caught over 1,060 pike with 124 that went 41-48". And many more big bass from local waters both while hiking and while kayaking.
Be sure to keep up with the facebook page. We've got a ton on there. Just look up customfish graphics.
Thanks all!

Fishing reports..where are they?

2011-08-18T22:14:00.002+09:00

Facebook. Look up Customfish Graphics.
That's where most of the stuff is these days.
See ya there!!

THE JIM GOLLA REPORT FOR EARLY AUGUST!!!

2011-08-18T21:12:00.000+09:00

Just back from an Aug. 6-13 trip. Curiously, my daughter, Julie, and I caught exactly the same number of trophies (over 41") as my first trip 2 years ago, which is/was 43. I must say that Julie did most of the heavy lifting, and at times I felt primarily like a camera man. The most remarkable thing, however, might be the bulky average size of the fish. If you chose a 4-inch bracket that would encompass our most typical-sized fish, it would probably be 35-39" or 36-40". There were A LOT of Big, heavy, burly fish, and when you spot them about 100 stalks of cabbage to dig into and slice through, they can kick your ass just fine, thank you.

The trip got off to an inauspicious start, however. On our first casts, we BOTH snapped the cork handles of our rods right in half. By the end of the first hour, all 3 of Julie's rods, and 2 of mine, had done this. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" No one at camp had ever seen or heard of this happening. My third "first string" rod went on day 3. Upon investigation, there was a subtle dent across my (standard Plano) rod tube, right at that same level, so apparently the tube took a very heavy and sharp blow, and then bounced back to almost normal shape, but the damage was done. Still pretty bizarre. With the crap that the TSA (inspects my rod tube most of the time, and likes to jam stuff back in) and baggage handlers dish out, I' m not buying any more rods without lifetime warranties. By the way, if this happens to you, here is the solution: get a Clorox-type jug, cut off the top and bottom, and slit open the remaining plastic cylinder. Cut in half, that will give you enough to wrap 2 handles stoutly enough to not bend. Then secure with Duck Tape (don't leave home without it!), and you're back in business.

The massive weed bed between camp and Tower Island was the biggest fish magnet, with some off the island itself. Just little ones at Thubin. Went upriver one half day, and caught 4 over 39" (incl. a 45). Biggest of the trip was a 46", by Julie. Some in the trolling channel, too. The other boat in camp, Tim and Bryan, did as well or better than we did, mostly using big, gaudy spinnerbaits (bigger than most of the stuff I had). We had a fair amount of wind, but topwater was fun when it was calmer. I usually drifted back to the old reliable Johnson spoon, and firetiger may have been superior to plain silver or gold. Julie has a favorite spoon, and that is no mean feat to have success in those weeds with a spoon-- has to be small, light, single hook (which is sure nice for the fish and fish handlers, too), and further buoyed by a trailer.

I never put on my rain pants, sweatshirt, or hooded sweatshirt, and I only used my rain jacket (as a windbreaker only) for 2 evenings and the ride upriver. Can't complain about that (but it was pretty windy 4-5 days).

Now, OK, guys. We have a definite lack of fishing reports this year. Don't be shy. Don't be modest. Let's hear from you! Like Jamie says, "There's no shame in talking about kicking ass, in the company of others who also kick ass!" And somebody can certainly post an "angler profile" (so I won't look like a tool being the only one besides Jamie).

Tight lines and solid hooksets, Jim Golla

P.S.Best story: I hooked a 14"-er on my first cast upriver, which was promptly slashed by a BIG fish. I tell Julie to "throw that rubber thing that looks like a pike". She (Julie) does, and she (the fish) also "does", all 43 1/2 of her. Many boatside ambushes, and many "companion" fish following in hooked fish, seemingly always bigger than the one you've got on! No other species can give me the rush these guys do.

And finally, I promised I would do this: I made a big mistake going to laker's unltd on Athabasca last year. I would urge you not to make the same mistake.

Pipestone Lodge 2011

2011-07-07T01:20:00.000+09:00

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR FISH LOOK LIKE OURS!!!!

Pipestone Lodge June 24-July1
Good trip again this year to Pipestone Lodge in NW Ontario.
Weather was good most of the week. Fishing was fair. We don't lie here on Customfish.com so I'll say that I've caught more in previous years. BUT..I will add this note: We could have done 50% better had we have used leeches all week. John and I just don't like to sit and watch lines for 7 days so we were throwing all the lures that you've read about in my past Pipestone Lodge reports since 2005.
The spawn was totally screwed up this year. What smallies DID spawn were in the shallows for maybe a week. They should have been in for a month. We saw some in shallow...but most off the first drops. Spawning areas had less than 5% of the beds/activity that we normally see at this time. The walleyes and muskies were exactly where they should have been as were the pike.
Perch seem to be BOOMING on Pipestone in the past couple years as are the walleyes. We didn't catch a single small walleye. They started at 17" and we topped out at 25". There were a couple over 30" caught last week as well.
Muskies on Pipestone show up here there and everywhere as usual. I mean..c'mon..we DID catch 2 muskies in 3 casts.
The problem with muskie fishing on Pipestone is that there are literally TOO MANY options and TOO MANY spots. It's not easy to fish because jumping spots is the name of the game for most. Luckily we have a milk run of 5 spots that produce on a consistent basis. We caught what we went there for as well as raised up some mid 40"-low 50" class fish. A couple of them just wouldn't turn hot but we got them to follow select lures day after day. All in all we did pretty darn good for only spending a total of about 2 hours worth of time actually fishing muskies. It helps that John is a top notch veteran muskie angler who writes for Muskie Hunter on occasion and I'm no slouch muskie-wise either:)

The accommodations were awesome as usual. The staff was exceptional. The food is top notch. And the boats are in top-of-the-line shape as always.
Our crew thanks Art, Jenny and the entire staff for yet another awesome week of great fishing, great food & drink, and great friends.

HOME!! CLICK IT!

Where are we?

2011-05-10T01:41:00.002+09:00

Facebook.
Search " Customfish Graphics "

See ya there!

Baconfest. The kick-off to the 2011 fishing season.

2011-04-23T01:31:00.000+09:00

IT'S ALMOST TIME TO DINE ON SWINE, RAIN OR SHINE!!!!

5-14-10 . Whoa.

2010-05-15T12:45:00.000+09:00

Well. We certainly weren't expecting THAT to hit a bass bait.
But we'll take it.

Fishing is looking up again after a few days of nasty storms. Rivers are still high so stay out of them. Lakes are doing ok. Things will be much better by sunday.

Missed the Illinois record by "that" much!

2010-05-04T11:36:00.000+09:00

First we'll start with one of the best river smallmouth anglers on the planet. Customfish crew member Rich Delaney with a monster 19"smallie from an urban creek. We also scored a dozen more easily along with an 18"! This guy is GOOOOD!

Then ofcourse there's Customfish owner Mike Kauchak with just one of thousands of smallies he's caught. This one was from last week. Just an average Mikey fish.

Now we move on to Customfish crew member Tim Ozanne. A trout/fly fisherman at heart, we have been showing him the bass ropes recently.

And...um..we're done showing him anything.
He came up just a but short of the state record largemouth this past weekend. 10 pounds of northern Illinois Largemouth!
Ya didn't think we had those, did ya? Hmmmm... ya may want to hire us as guides then.

This photo is 100% unaltered in size or scale. Taken with a cell phone ( it always happens like that. Ya catch a potential record 25" bass and all ya got is a cell phone. Grrrr!) So hold the doubts. Remember...we analyze fishing photos for a living....not to mention we had the photo 10 minutes after the fish was caught.
Congrats Tim!! You ARE the man. That fish wont be beat in the Chicagoland area for a VERY long time!

It's back on!

2010-04-23T10:50:00.001+09:00

Most of the big fish are done spawning so it's GO TIME!
Ken and I did a short trip today and scored BIG! A Smallmouth that went over 20" in a foot of water! 9 other largemouth that went as big as 18"!
We threw Husky jerks, rattle traps, Senkos, Minus 1. They all worked. But the lowly, hated, horrible-hooking-percentage Chatterbait was the big ticket today. Hopefully that was it's 15 minutes of fame because I dont intend to bring that lure out again in 2010. The hooking percentage is just way too low!!!
Here's some pics of the average sizers and a couple of big ones. Enjoy.

4-14-10. Pat Halko and his mojo!

2010-04-15T12:19:00.000+09:00

He felt good enough to try an hour of fishing. After 6 months of cancer treatment hell...he deserved it.
And he deserved the 20", 18", 16" Largemouth AND the 17" and 15" smallmouth he caught IN AN HOUR!
The kid still has what it takes.

Also pictured is Ken Schumacher fighting a huge largemouth that hit a clouser minnow fly.

Spring 2010 in pictures.

2010-04-13T11:11:00.001+09:00

2010 IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE A VERY GOOD YEAR!!!

Hopefully you've been following us on Facebook. If not, this is what's been going on. Again, as with every spring for the Customfish Crew, we have been on nothing BUT big fish. A bunch of 18-22" bass! Rattle Traps, Senkos, Shallow Cranks have taken most of the fish.
The spots we fish are unconventional to say the least. Heck..our single best smallmouth spot is a mud ditch that you'd drive over. Other spots are some specialized common ponds. Another spot is ofcourse in my back yard courtesy of our own bass pond that we keep pretty well stocked and fed.
BUT..it doesnt matter WHERE the spot is. If it's got fish, then it has BIG fish. They all do....you just have to know how to catch them.

We hope your fishing is going well.
Stay tuned for more pics and tips.
And as always...call us if ya need us.

3-19-10

2010-03-21T09:06:00.001+09:00

We hope some of you got to enjoy the outdoors this past thursday and friday. Temps in the high 60's with sun. A couple of great days they were....but the party is over, as most of you saw when you woke up this morning.
Fishing was very good on friday. The bigger fish took the opportunity to eat while they could before the snow storm hit and drove everything down deep.
The productive places were incoming water sources, warmer shorelines, and rock points. The baits we used varied a bit. Rattle Trap type baits, Slider head jigs with either 4" Senkos or Reaction Innovation Beaver Tails, Salmo Bullhead, Small Reef Runners that gid into the bottom. Basically I think they would have hit almost anything on friday. These fish knew there was a big shut-down coming!
We're going to take a few days off until the weather breaks and the sun comes back. It makes no sense to chase fish that are long gone...and freeze while doing it.
Check in again soon. We have more pictures from friday to upload.

Godspeed, Captain Phil Harris.

2010-02-11T08:56:00.000+09:00

Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie passed away this week. We at Customfish.com would like to offer thanks to a man who helped show a part of our world to the rest of the world.

Thank you to Captain Phil for showing the world why we as fishermen do not only want to to what we do but HAVE to do what we do.
Thanks for helping to show our wives and children why we feel the need to travel to the most inhospitable places on the planet to chase a dream.
Thanks for showing what it's like to live a life that is misunderstood by most. For showing what it's like to hit the "mother load" in fishing. For showing how devastating it is to miss it. For showing what it's like to go on no sleep and keep going. For showing what it's like to be cold. For showing what it's like to be warm with laughter, For showing that life shouldn't be measured by the distance you travel but by how high the waves are that you crash thru to get there.
He was a great captain. We offers our prayers to his family.

Godspeed to you, Captain. We hope to meet you in that big port in the sky.

Videos of Phil Harris

2010 sale

2010-02-01T11:19:00.000+09:00

Hi all! Hope you are having a great start to 2010!
We took some much needed time off this winter. We did our usual walking of the sports shows and had a great 4 days showing at The All Canada Show in the Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge Booth.
For 2010 we are bringing the sales back! Starting today we're putting ANY fich on the wall for $50 until 4/1/2010!! That's good news for some of our marlin/shark/dorado customers!! As well as you musky guys!

Get your stuff in quick. Make sure it's the ORIGINAL HIGHEST RESOLUTION photo file from the camera. Just send it to us via email to mike@customfish.com !!!

Stay tuned for more updates soon! We'll help you fight that cabin fever!

August 22-29 group report from Great Slave

2009-09-02T03:50:00.000+09:00

Jamie here back from Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge on Great Slave Lake, NWT, Canada.
Had a great trip! We caught a grand total of 1,652 pike landed by hand. 207 were of trophy status ( 41"+ ) and the largest came in at 48".
Fall is the time for really heavy fish and this year was no exception. We caught many that were just under 40" yet still hit 20lbs!!!

The first set of pictures that are in are from Jamie Riani & Bill Kallenberg.

Jamie & Bill scored a total of 379 fish. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 11
41.5" - 3
42" - 13
42.5" - 2
43" - 5
43.5" - 2
44" - 5
44.5" - 1
45" - 2
Jamie had 21 trophies.
Bill had 23 trophies.
Biggest for both anglers was 45"

Art & Steve S scored a total of 356 fish. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 4
41.5" - 6
42" - 10
42.5" - 2
43" - 6
44" - 1
44.5" - 5
48" - 1
Art had 14 trophies. His biggest was a 48".
Steve S had 20 trophies. His biggest was 44.5"

Marc & Steve scored a total of 388 pike. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 16
41.5" - 1
42" - 6
42.5" - 3
43" - 11
43.5" - 4
44" - 7
44.5" - 3
45" - 1
45.5" - 1
46.5" - 1
47" - 1
Marc had a total of 29 trophies. Biggest fish was a 46.5"
Steve had a total of 27 trophies. Biggest fish was a 47"

John and Bob scored a total of 529 fish. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 19
41.5" - 6
42" - 19
42.5" - 5
43" - 10
43.5" - 2
44" - 4
44.5" -
45" - 2
46" - 1
47" - 1
48" - 1
John had 30 trophies. His largest fish was 47"
Bob had an unbelievable 43 trophies! His biggest fish was a 48".

We'll have more photos and videos! up as they come in from the other team members! Stay tuned!

Hardcore version

2009-08-19T21:43:00.000+09:00

I actually like this version better. Just because I dig the bands featured.

I'm back...by the way.

Full report when I return from here!!

2009-08-18T09:47:00.000+09:00

Oh..and by the way bass fishing is very good around Chicago due to rains. Find a flowing storm drain..blah blah blah..you know the deal. See ya!!!!!!

Jamie here back from Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge on Great Slave Lake, NWT, Canada.
Had a great trip! We caught a grand total of 1,652 pike landed by hand. 207 were of trophy status ( 41"+ ) and the largest came in at 48".
Fall is the time for really heavy fish and this year was no exception. We caught many that were just under 40" yet still hit 20lbs!!!

The first set of pictures that are in are from Jamie Riani & Bill Kallenberg.

Jamie & Bill scored a total of 379 fish. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 11
41.5" - 3
42" - 13
42.5" - 2
43" - 5
43.5" - 2
44" - 5
44.5" - 1
45" - 2
Jamie had 21 trophies.
Bill had 23 trophies.
Biggest for both anglers was 45"

Art & Steve S scored a total of 356 fish. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 4
41.5" - 6
42" - 10
42.5" - 2
43" - 6
44" - 1
44.5" - 5
48" - 1
Art had 14 trophies. His biggest was a 48".
Steve S had 20 trophies. His biggest was 44.5"

Marc & Steve scored a total of 388 pike. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 16
41.5" - 1
42" - 6
42.5" - 3
43" - 11
43.5" - 4
44" - 7
44.5" - 3
45" - 1
45.5" - 1
46.5" - 1
47" - 1
Marc had a total of 29 trophies. Biggest fish was a 46.5"
Steve had a total of 27 trophies. Biggest fish was a 47"

John and Bob scored a total of 529 fish. The trophy numbers are:
41" - 19
41.5" - 6
42" - 19
42.5" - 5
43" - 10
43.5" - 2
44" - 4
44.5" -
45" - 2
46" - 1
47" - 1
48" - 1
John had 30 trophies. His largest fish was 47"
Bob had an unbelievable 43 trophies! His biggest fish was a 48".

We'll have more photos and videos! up as they come in from the other team members! Stay tuned!

Pat's ARMY! PLEASE HELP.

2009-07-27T21:12:00.000+09:00

http://www.patsarmy.com/about.html

Please click here and help out our very own Pat Halko. He's 25 years old and has been stricken with cancer. He needs all of our help.

The Pipestone Lake Report, June 20-27th, 2009

2009-07-03T03:57:00.000+09:00

Yet again a great time was had at Pipestone Lodge!! Just as in past years the place was great, the food was awesome, the friends were spectacular and the fishing was OFF THE CHARTS!
Our main fish was , of course, smallmouth bass. The shallows were packed with them in certain areas. We also caught some really decent pike, a muskie or two and even the occasional walleye.
A strange thing happened this year. We had a late spring so the water temps were in the high 50's a couple weeks prior and shot up to 72-74 by the time we got there. That meant that almost every fish in the lake was prowling the shoreline.
Another strange thing was the " Beaver Hut Phenomenon". With young-of-the-year perch just schooling up around the beaver huts, it was common to see smallies, pike, HUGE schools of walleyes and several muskies stationed at each and every beaver hut on the lake. I've never seen it before. A muskie sitting there next to a smallie, next to 3 pike, all surrounded by 18-24" walleyes in 3' of gin clear water on a sunny day right under the boat!
I fished solo this trip, which was a total change and a birthday present to myself. I took my pictures with a set-up of a Canon A-95 Powershot camera with a flip-out screen (so you can see yourself), a Joby "Gorillapod" tripod, and a 10 second timer setting on the camera. With a couple practice shots and a good routine in the boat I was able to lift the fish for about 12 seconds and have it back in the water. I recommend that if you fish solo you try the same set-up.
So...anyway, pictures tell a thousand words. Here's what I got by throwing some whacky rigged Senkos, Mepp's #4's and Husky Jerks. Enjoy!

Update as of 6-17-09

2009-06-17T22:10:00.000+09:00

It's been a strange spring. Seems like everything is a bit late, both here and all the way to Canada.
The bass JUST finished spawning in the chicagoland area.
While on the Holcombe Flowage in N. Wisconsin a couple weeks ago we didn't see a single bass in the shallows.
Word is that on the Pipestone Chain in NW Ontario, there still aren't any bass in teh shallows. As of last week surface temps were only about 54.
I'll be headed to Pipestone on June20th for a week of fishing solo. That should be an interesting experience which I'm looking forward to.
As far as the bite goes around chicagoland, we had a fantastic bite going on buzzbaits last week. The cold fronts of this week turned that off and we're back to trying to pick up one here/one there on crankbaits. Mepp's spinners are also working well, as are whacky rigged Senkos.
Mike was in Florida last week. We'll put up photos of that trip as soon as we can. Stay tuned for Mike's report.
Here's some pics of recent catches arounf here and in N. Wisconsin. Enjoy.

In other news: We have some COOL things to show you as far as new products. They include decals, window graphics for your car, AND a new press that is state of the art, biggest of the big and top of the line!!!

Also..Mike was recently fishing in Florida. We'll get a report of that up soon. And Jamie is going to be fishing solo for a week on Pipestone Lake in NW Ontario June 20-27. Keep checking back for updates!!!

Train keeps rollin'

2009-05-01T23:00:00.001+09:00

Those are just a few of the fish from a couple quick outings.

Still using the same tactics as previously written about.

4-18-09 instant report

2009-04-18T23:32:00.000+09:00

Only had a half hour to fish so I ran out to the back yard. Took 2 lures. A Savage Gear Rattle Shad and a Salmo Bullhead.
When you have limited time, only take a couple "go to" lures. Use one for 15 minutes then use the other for 15 minutes. Sometimes the lack of time to fish makes you really think about what you are doing and how to catch something fast.

Oh and here's some bonus fish from the other day.

Name that fish and win a prize.

* Editors note:
We got a comment the other day but we not able to publish it. To the reader we apologize but we have a policy here of never naming an exact lake. It's the tactics that are important ,not the lake itself. Our tactics are being used by us on 6-9 different lakes at any given time. Plus....the place that was named is incorrect anyway. We were in western Kane County in an industrial complex.

Easter fishing.

2009-04-13T22:00:00.000+09:00

Ok...we get alot of emails asking exactly where we are fishing.
Um...sorry. But no good fisherman gives up his spots.
But we can tell you what to look for.

As you know we have been out there fishing and hiking for almost 2 months now and we've done pretty well. We start every year long before 99.9% of fishermen even think about going out. The weather is rarely pleasurable. Often times we are wearing 3 layers while trying to keep warm, which never really works.

So...what kinds of areas have we been catching both numbers of fish and huge bass as well?
This is what we look for:
Ditches like this. It's not a stream. It's just a man made straight line ditch. Hardly what you'd call a classic fishing spot, but fish tend to adapt to what is available, and if a "ditch" is their incoming water source...they're gonna use it!

We're also looking for these. Storm drain outlets. Think about it...the water that exits these is always warmer than the lakes they dump in to. These are PRIME areas that almost always hold at least 1 good size bass.

Ditches and drains have to lead into the lake somewhere. It's THAT area that usually has a school of bass sitting there. Of all of the huge bass you've seen us catch so far this year, it's a safe bet to say that 80% of them have come from these areas.

The payoff? In quick time you can develop a milk run of spots like these that will allow you to effectively catch a few fish in a few minutes...often times in a few casts.

Those aren't very big, but even on a cold day with east winds and mile high skies, you can hit spots like these on just about any subdivision, factory or roadside lake and knock around a few fish in short order.
And ofcourse, we're still throwing Rattle Traps and Rattle Shads. Burn em' in, baby! Burn em thru the ditches , culverts, drains and channel mouths for some quality smallmouth and largemouth. It may not be the prettiest scenery in the outdoor world.....but ya can't complain about the results.

Picture of the week.

2009-04-10T02:53:00.000+09:00

Taken a few days ago by Gene Oleynik

It's basically ice-out again.

2009-04-10T01:02:00.000+09:00

Winter came back.
So..put the rattle traps back on.
There, how simple was that for a report?

Pat gets hooked to a shark.

2009-03-28T02:45:00.000+09:00

This is from Customfish reporter Pat Halko.

Read the story...but then watch the video as Pat gets his foot hooked to a hammerhead and lives to tell us about it:

10lb jack as bait, 200 yards off the beach. Normally we get all our big sharks after dark but this run happened an hour before dark. The day before we had lost a big hammer and we could tell right away we had another one on. Hammerheads tend to fight on the surface and we could see the big dorsal fin of this shark hundreds of yards out during the fight. About 45 minutes on 80lb test with the drag as tight as it could possibly go and we were rewarded with this guy. Of course I forgot that instead of using one 20/0 hook like we usually do, this particular day we put 2 hooks in the bait both with separate 6 foot wire leaders. As soon as I grabbed the shark he turned his head my direction which threw the hook right into the side of my foot. The initial sharp pain actually made me think I had stepped on a stingray until I felt the wire alongside my foot. 36 seconds in the video you can see my right leg suddenly get pulled out from under me. Luckily I didnt fall over or the shark would have been able to pull me out to sea. If I would have let go of the tail I would have been in deep trouble. Anyways 20 seconds of adrenaline go by before I ripped the hook out of my foot as hard as I could barb and all. I can still feel every head shake that shark made as he pulled my leg with him burying the hook deeper into my bone. But luck was on my side and we ended up putting a great shark on the beach and I have a great memory of getting in the water with one of the greatest predators alive.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO!!!

Holy CRAP!!!!
I guess when you have that much adrenaline you don't even feel reaching down and pulling out a shark hook from your foot.
Nice going Pat!!

( Note* The shark was released)

A Clockwork Green, with some bronze thrown in.

2009-03-23T11:10:00.000+09:00

It's like clockwork at this point. Now we're trying out some stuff that shouldn't work right now.
Mike was banging HUGE fish yesterday on a Reef Runner Rip Shad. Yeah...we know "Who throws a Reef Runner Rip Shad while fishing from shore? It's a trolling lure!" True. But, it dredged the bottom and activated a feeding frenzy.
Today, based on what Mike did yesterday, I went with a Salmo Bullhead for 30 minutes and scored big as well. I was once told that bass will start hitting crank baits at 47 degrees. We disagree with that rule. We've been doing this with ultra fast retrieves for almost 3 weeks now. We started 4 days after ice out. The water is STILL not 47 degrees.

Oh..oh...and what whackiness did Mike try today? A topwater Chug Bug..IN MARCH! In 45ish degree water!! And in doing so caught several fish the likes of which 99.9% of all anglers will never equal in a lifetime. And he did it all in 15 minutes.
NOTE*** Mike and I fish 7 different lakes. And that's key. Sometimes we fish the same place. Sometimes we split up and fish different lakes to try to figure out whats what. Today he fished at 3pm. I chose a different lake and fished at sundown for 30 minutes.

Editor's note**
We're gonna use this as an educational post to teach you how to further enhance your photography skills. Sometimes we don't quite get it right either...so don't feel bad.
That last fish that Mike is holding was ALOT BIGGER than it looks in the picture. If you notice he's holding the fish BEHIND his head while trying to get the entire beast in the photograph. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the entire fish in the photo frame. That's where a tripod is a valuable tool. Jamie uses a Gorillapod made by JOBY. Retails for about $15. We'll be buying a couple extras so that all of our crew members has one from now on.
But then again, if Mike was well prepared he wouldn't have caught a single fish...it always happens when you are missing something. :)

Tomorrow we are going to be writing an article that will surely anger you as an angler. It has to do with the stoppage of work on the Thorium Clean-up project on the DuPage river by Tronox ( formerly Kerr McGee). I'd stay tuned if I were you.

Sat hello to my little friend!

2009-03-22T12:19:00.001+09:00

And his weapon of choice? A lure called a "Reef Runner Rip Shad." How's THAT for unconventional?!

Nice going Mike!!

And one for Jamie to boot.

Earlier in the day Mike tried one of our other lakes for a few minutes and scored HUGE! He lost a fish that dwarfed these. I think he knows where it is though and you might see it here tomorrow.

We are not just about fish. We're "Outdoor Geeks" as well. And just like any 12 year old should do, we find frogs and pick them up.

So..not only are our fish bigger. Our frogs are bigger too!

General Zod strikes again!

2009-03-21T21:50:00.000+09:00

40 degrees out. It was 23 the night before. Huge monster coldfront moved in and took over what was previously mid 70's degree temperatures.
Oh..oh...the fish couldn't be there STILL!! Oh my..they just couldn't Auntie Em!

Listen up! I'm gonna say this YET again! The fish gotta eat and they gotta eat NOW! What..ya never heard of ice fishing?? They eat then don't they?

So Ken and i meet up. he's got like 15 minutes to fish. he only needed like 15 seconds!! he takes three casts with his patented secret weapon ( Senko straight rigged on a Sliderhead...ya ya ya..we know already! Just beat us like red headed step children and get it done with already, Ken!".
So anyway he takes THREE casts!
THREE!!!
And whammo!
I wasn't even out of the car yet! I look over and see his pole doubled over as he's pullin' one off the rock wall!

So...I had to fish another 90 minutes to finally connect but right at sundown ( the witching hour) I threw that red rattle trap down the lee ward shoreline of a main lake point ( right where this fish is supposed to be) burned it in as fast as I could reel, and WHAMMO!! Ten feet in front of me I tie into 20" of angered goodness!

It's 40 out. The wind is blowing 20 from the south eat. It's a massive cold front. I'm wearing 3 layers.

Spring has officially sprung

2009-03-19T22:59:00.000+09:00

Robins showed up last week. I've seen a couple frogs, plus i hear them at night. The first green plants are just starting to show. And the shad in the lakes are starting their annual migration into the shallows....and that brings the big fish right behind them.
The tactics: Rattle baits burned in and suspending minnow baits twitched in a steady cadence.

Plus the crappies have started to invade the shallows near any warmer incoming water source.
And even though a cold front came thru, these fish don't care. It's time to eat...that's all they care about right now.

Fishing on St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-19T01:05:00.000+09:00

Ken Schumacher used a 4" Senko ( Black with blue fleck) on a Sliderhead jig crawled along the bottom. I used a Savage Gear Rattle Shad burned in as fast as i could reel it.
So...my only question for you on St. Pat's day is....
Enough green for ya??

There were half a dozen more caught in our short after-work-outing.

General Zod has arrived. Riding a donkeyfish.

2009-03-09T12:12:00.001+09:00

"Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?"
-General Zod-

And that's kinda what Mike was like today.
Between raging thunderstomrs, we took the one hour of no-rain and headed to one of our favorite lakes as near record flood levels once again set in across northern Illinois.
He takes his FIRST CAST OF 2009...
ONE CAST!!!!
ONE!!!!

And.....( drum roll please...)
BAM!

Ok..ok..so that's pretty good. Actually it's a better first cast than any single person reading this.
Then he makes a second cast.
A third.
And then the forth! Oh god no...please not that forth cast!!!
BAM AGAIN!!!

I hope you've been reading the blog for a while, because then you'll know what we were doing.
Rattle something.
40 degree lake.
43 degree incoming water source.

Listen, anytime you want to stop thinking we're just a couple of clowns and finally come to grips with the fact that every single spring WE WILL SMOKE YOU...that'd be ok. Til then, don't hate the player....
hate the game.

( That last paragraph was for a couple of our overly jealous peers :)

The need for speed! DONKEYFISH!!. Plus Jade's crappie kingdom.

2009-03-07T10:50:00.000+09:00

Rattle baits. We use the Savage Gear Rattle Shad. A Rattle Trap or a Rattling Rap would also do the trick.
Bring em in fast in 40 degree water. Bring them in so fast that you think nothing could possibly want to hit it in that cold water. This water was still partially iced a week ago.
The result:

It isn't a numbers game. It's a trick to piss off the biggest fish ( or the craziest fish) in the area. Remember...the big fish have to eat first...and they got that way by NOT letting something go by quickly without eating it.
I also fought and lost a largemouth that was substantially larger than that smallie. Plus got another one around 16", one about 12" and lost another one about 15".
Oh...and the ones I caught had that 3" bait all the way in the mouth...all 4 hooks. They can swim WAY faster than you can reel it in, trust me.

Also, Doug got on the board with his first fish of 09'! Nice one Doug. He was throwing a shallow Shad Rap in an area of fast incoming warmer water....which is exactly where you'd be if you were in a 40 degree lake, right? All makes sense now, doesn't it?

So...FAST baits or twitched cranks. Rattles. Incoming water that is at least 1 degree warmer than the rest of the water. And yes...it really is that simple.

A big thumbs up to Ken Schumacher. The host with the most!

<*)))))))))< ~~~~~~~~~

And now, the southern report from Jade Miller:
I am in northern Alabama just south of the TN border. I would give it 1 to 2 weeks before the same action begins in northern Illinois.. Our water temp is barely in the 50s if that. We got snow last week. Watch for the dogwoods to bloom. Next week here should be even better.
Find brush piles. Use 1/32 to 1/16 oz jigs with either small tubes or maribou grubs. Need to have a little chartruese. I have had one rod with a jig and the other with a float with a couple of split shot and a #6 aberdeen with a small minnow. Double the action.

3-5-09

3-6-09

And last but not least..um..boys, you might want to check this out. That's all I'm saying. CLICK HERE No, we don't know her. We don't advocate her. We have no idea who she is and honestly I didn't even read the site.

Northern girl in Florida.

2009-03-06T23:15:00.000+09:00

Ok..ok..so normally I'd say something clever and put up some bikini clad hussie.
Can't do that this time cuz she's a friend of mine.
She owns THIS

So...here we go. Without my whacky comment about some bikini clad hussie going fishing.

That was SO hard to not put in my usual comments. Ugh!

2-25-09! Spring has sprung!

2009-02-26T11:40:00.000+09:00

We're on the board for 2009!!!
2-25-09. Spring has sprung! I'm callin' it.

X-Rap, Pointer minnow, or a Husky Jerk.
Find warmer water. Warmer is relative to the surroundings.
Twitch twitch twitch..BAM!
It's just that easy.

Fake!

2009-02-21T02:32:00.000+09:00

Real or fake?
I'm sayin fake.
Totally fake.
Real ones don't look like that at all!

Seriously...that bass is fake. It's a replica mount. Has to be.

Pipestone trip alert!!

2009-02-10T06:16:00.001+09:00

The Customfish crew had to move the date of the Pipestone 2009 trip to June 20-27th.
please mark your calendars.

Bacon Porn.

2009-01-27T12:57:00.000+09:00

Ok..listen up. You all know that Mike and I REFUSE to be serious except when it comes to working on stuff for you folks. We especially refuse to be serious on THIS blog or any other forum based site. And furthermore based on the amount of emails I have gotten today alone about bacon, most of YOU refuse to be serious as well. I mean...it's all just fun and passing time while we have a few minutes to mindlessly surf.

So.... Just because No ONE can tell us what to do here on Customfish...

I dedicate this post to Jim Saric and Musky Hunter magazine.
(gratuitous plug coming up. read it as if it were an Earl Scheib commercial)
Musky Hunter! For the finest in Magazine articles, TV, Internet, Books, Clothing, Hats, Towels, Collectible lures, Gloves, Nets, Jackets, Calendars, Sweat shirts, Fleece pullovers, Hook sharpeners, DVD's, Beanies, Refrigerators, Used Oldsmobiles...

Ok..ok..I made those last two up.

SO. on with the dedicated show. Big credit goes out to fellow Musky Hunter Ken Korczynski. And again, thanks to all on the website for sending me your pro-bacon emails.
Jim Saric..this one's for you. Enjoy.

Name that fish

2009-01-20T22:48:00.000+09:00

Hey..anyone know what kind of fish that is?

Yes..there's a fish in that picture.
We didn't see it right away either.
_____________________________________

And then there's this:
Doesn't this guy know there's a size limit on muskies??? WTF!

Movie time!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-14T06:03:00.000+09:00

Step 1: Hit this link
http://taltsonbaypike.com/taltsonbaymovie.html

Step 2: let it upload for a few minutes...just leave that tab open and go get a drink.

Step 3: Get ready to have your mind blown by the best esox fishing porn movie ever made.

Step 4: Go get some Kleenex.

Enjoy, my friends.

FISH PORN RULES!

Is that bait?

2009-01-14T05:03:00.001+09:00

YOU CALL THAT A FISH???? GOOD GOD, COULD YOU POSSIBLY CATCH SOMETHING SMALLER?? I HAVE SEEN BAIT BIGGER THAN THAT!! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF AN ANGLER!!?? LADY, YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE FISHING WORL..(*!*! SLAP *!*!)

Whoa. Thank you to whoever slapped me. I must have blacked out for a minute.

Oh look..there's a fish in the picture I think.
Nice fish, lady. Best one I've seen all day. Keep up the good work.

Get it while you can

2009-01-14T01:33:00.000+09:00

Mike is busy. That's a good thing....for you anyway.
Ya see, he's the voice of morality and reason.
Me? Well.. this just about sums me up.

So...before Mike actually has time to check this blog to see what's going on, I suggest that we keep having fun.
Because..like the Joker said:
" Why so serious?"

NEXT!

Fish porn at it's finest

2009-01-13T04:41:00.000+09:00

Ahhhh...the stuff I find floating out there on the airwaves.

So...who feels like getting a new tattoo?

We give credit where credit is due. I happen to know that this picture came from a beer company. If you need to know which one just drop me an e-mail. And yes..there's alot more where that one came from.

2009...starting with a bang!!

2009-01-13T00:30:00.000+09:00

First:
Thanks to all who visited us at the Chicago Musky Show and at the All Canada Show. We look forward to being of service to all of you in 2009!

Second:
Sneak peak. Larger version coming in a day or two.
ENJOY. CLICK HERE

Third:
We spoke to a few of you who read the Customfish blog.
And the thing I heard the most was that you all want a certain something back. You want that little bit of attitude that makes this place unique. You want that edge that makes this place worth visiting. You don't need another ho-hum fishing blog ( God knows there's enough of those out there).

So..I'm going to trump Mike's good sense and I'm taking this thing back to Donkeytown where it belongs.
Thank me later....or send hate mail. Whatever. :)

Now..I'm going to balance that out by making it a public service reminder.
Here goes.
Ahem..Um..don't forget to oil your reels for the upcoming season.

How'd I do?

(** To anyone offended: Please note that there's a foot of snow outside and we get bored easily. Thank you. **)

Musky Show!

2009-01-05T23:27:00.001+09:00

Please stop by the Customfish Graphics booth at the Chicagoland Musky Show this weekend! We look forward to talking to all of you!
It's gonna be a great 2009!

Jade fishes on.

2008-10-24T22:12:00.000+09:00

Jade Miller is still hammering them daily on the Mississippi in NW Illinois.
Great shot, Jade!

The mid october report continued.

2008-10-18T00:57:00.000+09:00

Have I got your attention yet?
Because that's what it looked like at sundown last night as we threw Senkos and Chug Bugs at some huge bass ( and 1lb+ Greengills). Crazy crazy action during the witching hour!
Pictured are Ken Schumacher from www.smalliefishing.com and Skip Riani from www.festing.com. And some other guy.

Get out and fish!!!!!

Yes, they are different fish...I gotta change my pose.

And the WINNER!!! Blackjack...a 21!!

Baseball is done. Back to fishing.

2008-10-06T23:30:00.000+09:00

Well...some time was taken off due to the Cubs.
They lost. The season is over. So it's back to fishing.

So..I woke up sunday to God's voice who said to me " James. You have suffered enough. I shall release you from the baseball chains that bind you. You need to get back to the waters, where I shall grant you a quick victory. But you gotta go to church today too.
I grabbed a rod and a back pack, went out and fished for 30 minutes. First 4 casts, 4 fish. 2 more cats after that and I tied into one of my top 10 largest smallies (19") of the year. Total for this short trip was 13. They were sitting in a flowing 1' deep ditch that connects two lakes.
Off to church.
Later in the day I stepped out of the house with a rod after dinner. Fished for 15 minutes in the back yard and landed one of my top 10 largest largemouth (20") of the year. Got a couple more that went 12-14".

The hot lures....SMALL stuff. Real small. Subwart, Bullhead, small Mepp's. Start small... finish big. Dig the lid too.
It's nice to be back to fishing. Taking basically the summer off from angling with the exception of a monster smallie trip to NW Ontario and the world's most grueling fishing trip at the Arctic Circle for pike was a pretty good thing. Usually by this time I'm getting burned out. Now it's fun til ice-up.

Scierra Kaitum Wading Jacket

2008-09-13T00:53:00.000+09:00

Scierra Kaitum Wading Jacket

This year we have been trying out alot of new products. Some we recommend. Others we throw in a wood chipper.
This one is a real winner!
The Scierra Kaitum Wading Jacket.

Normally I wear Frogg Toggs, but this jacket proved worth it's weight in gold during our trip to taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge near the Arctic Circle this past June.

It may not look cold because I have a nice fish in my hands and my body was warm. But trust me, my hands were stinging with pain in 40 degree temps with 30 MPH winds.

-From the Scierra website-
The Kaitum wading jacket is based on a 3-layer wind and waterproof material with a breathability of 3500g/m2/24h and waterproofness over 20,000 mm. The main feature is the designer asymmetric; waterproof front zipper and large front pocket, which will fit a large fly box and more. The sleeves and elbows are special cut and articulated for ultimate casting performance.
The stylish, yet highly technical two-toned Kaitum wading jacket is designed to meet the demands of the dedicated fly fisherman.

Adjustable `storm hood´ with soft peak
Comfortable chin guard
Two fleece lined `hand-warmer´ pockets
Practical upper arm pocket for fishing license etc.
Roomy back pocket
Adjustable waist toggle
Soft Velcro adjustable cuffs
Sizes: S, M, L, XL and XXL

From what I have found online, the cost of this jacket is somewhere in the $250 (US) range. And that's not too bad for the amount of protection you get.
Plus...c'mon. It looks cool too!

Donkey!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-10T23:44:00.000+09:00

Check out this Donkey Fish!
21 3/8" by Jade Miller.

Nice going Jade! You took it all the way to Donkey Town on that one!! Bigger than 99.9% of all smallie anglers will ever get!

Is there no one on this planet to even challenge the Customfish team???

FINALLY...A fishing report

2008-08-28T23:22:00.001+09:00

8-25-08

We've been very busy lately. So there hasn't been alot of time to fish.
BUT..last night I did manage to get out for 2 hours with Ken Schumacher for some sundown topwater madness.
The magic lures were The Chug Bug and the White Buzzbait. Prior to the sun actually disappearing we managed a couple of 16-17" smallmouth bass on Senkos. But it was the topwater bite we were keyed in on.
Tip of the day : You can't get it close enough to shore. Of all the fish we caught I think only 3 were out more than 5' from the shoreline rocks.

Enjoy the pics. And get out there when it's getting dark and throw some topwater baits at the shorelines!

( note to self. Get longer arms. I can't get the entire fish in the self-photo when they get around 20" long....)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here's some recent nature shots from a couple other uneventful hours of fishing.

54" Vermillion Muskie Man

2008-08-12T01:44:00.001+09:00

John just got back from Vermillion where he nailed this 54" beast.

Not much else to add to this report other than to drool. ( over the fish..not John)

Topwater sundown madness.

2008-07-29T04:26:00.000+09:00

20" largemouth by Ken Schumacher on a flyrod. No ones works a fly better. ( wait...that sounded wrong...)
The topwater bite at sundown could be rated as supreme right now. I suggest you get out and fish. We were able to catch some very respectable bass in the last hour of light. Flies, Chug bugs, Buzzbaits...whatever. If it floats or rides on the surface, they'll hit it. The stable weather has made a gold mine of the local fisheries. Hot days. Dead calm nights. Big fish looking for anything to move.
So get out and fish!

Pipestone Lodge, 2008 report part 1.

2008-07-28T22:34:00.000+09:00

We're going to split this up into a couple parts.
The trip to Pipestone lake, Ontario was another great one! Smallmouth bass fishing was very good all week.
Lakes we fished were Pipestone, Loonhauntm Shistose, Darrow, and a 400 acre "private" lake that Buzz and I hiked to ( we caught somewhere in the area of 150-200 smallmouth bass in 6 hours. Incredible).
Muskie fishing was very good. Buzz got a 44 in 10 minutes. Everyone else caught a couple as well.
I'll have more pictures soon. So check back!
On with the show!

Thanks again to Art and Jenny for making the week spectacular! A great time! Great food! Great fishing! And the most comfortable lodge we've been to yet....and we've been to alot fo them!
For more info on Pipestone Lodge on Pipestone Lake in Ontario please CLICK HERE!

Pipestone Lodge, Pipestone Lake, July 2008

2008-07-23T21:10:00.000+09:00

The Buzz Man throws for muskies for ten minutes.
TEN FRIGGIN MINUTES!
There were serious muskie guys up there that didn't do this in a week of throwing big baits 14 hours a day. Give Buzz 10 minutes and he'll smoke ya and aggravate ya all at the same time.
Congrats Buzzard. You did great and you get the Trophy for a little while longer.

Adios..again.

2008-07-10T03:34:00.000+09:00

Ah what charmed lives we live, eh?
Hey, it IS our business, after all. So you can't blame us for having to actually GO on fishing trips to keep our hands on the pulse of the industry.
I'm off to Pipestone Lake in Northwest Ontario. Mike is going to the Chippewa Flowage in Hayward,WI.
Expect our usual huge report with millions of pictures. We'll be back in the Customfish office on July 21st.

Great Slave boat ride. Weeeeeeee!

2008-06-26T21:39:00.001+09:00

We have a ton of videos from the last trip to the Arctic. here's one of them.
Hey...sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do to get to the fish.

Get back on the horse. 6-24-08

2008-06-26T02:13:00.001+09:00

I gotta be honest with ya. I almost had to force myself to get out there. I mean, c'mon, that last trip will just about ruin anyone's will to go bass fishing. But I pulled myself together and hit the water for an hour at dusk. 7 smallies and 1 largemouth all on Wilson. Fishing within 3' of shore making parallel casts. Fish activity is VERY high right now. So feel free to fill in for me and go out and lay waste to the land.
I'm back up in Canada in 2 weeks.

The Arctic Circle Trip. Great Slave Lake. June 2008.

2008-06-21T03:44:00.000+09:00

I really hope you are viewing this on a high speed connection because as usual I have a ton of pictures.

I don't have everything in yet as far as photos and videos. Plus I have something special in store for everyone in the form of a feature length video but that's going to take some serious time. We're figuring probably about 30 man-hours to complete it. So you now have something to look forward to.

This report will be revised a couple times as additional info comes in, so please bookmark it and check back often. You'll see new pictures, videos, specs and numbers.

Ok...so on with the Group 1 show!
The players were Jamie Riani & Bill Kallenberg, Dick Kessler Jr & Dick Kessler Sr., and Bob Brenton & John Mich

Great Slave still had a fair amount of ice on it even after we left. Upon our arrival the main ice pack was within 1 mile of us. Due to a steady southeast wind the ice was out of sight in a couple days.

The back bay water temps were generally in the high 40's with the occasional 51 showing up here and there. The main lake water was substantially colder which made ANY area that had warmer incoming bay water an instant goldmine. Some areas had pike,walleyes and inconnu (shee fish) so condensed that you could fish in a 200 yard area all week and do just fine.

Technically we were a couple days early. The first day or two were still the best fishing on the continent, but as the week went on the fishing got better and better. The tell tale sign that we were indeed a little early was the easy with which we found, targeted and caught a couple dozen inconnu. By week's end they had all but disappeared from the shallows.

The spring hot spots (which John can further explain if you want more detail...just leave a comment and he'll read it) were Snuff Channel, Becks' Camp, The Back Bay, Tower Island Inflow, Beck's Channel, Horseshoe Bay and the mouth of the Thubin River.
The Inconnu hot spots were Beck's Camp and Tower Island Inflow.

The walleye hot spots were Beck's Camp and Snuff Channel ( Snuff Channel is about 20 yards wide and 6 feet deep of tea colored water. If you took a sideways slice of Snuff you'd see a layer of dirt/rock, a solid layer of walleyes, a thin layer of pike, and a layer of water over that. I'll put it to you this way: We caught 120 walleyes in 2 hours. Most of the guys swear by a Beetle Spin there. Jamie swears by a Salmo Roach diving crankbait. It was not uncommon to reel in a 24" average size walleye on every cast or two. BUT...regarding baits for walleyes in June, we caught them on bucktails and larger pike plastics just as easily sometimes. So basically you can try anything. They aren't too picky. )

The pike hotspots were...well...anywhere we fished that had water. But seriously, all of the spots mentioned so far. The Back Bay is probably the best option if conditions are right. But Beck's and Thubin and Snuff each had their days were no other water in North America was going to compare.

The lures used: I'm going to change this and update it later with specifics. But for now let's just start with these: Savage Gear 4-Play, Savage gear Alien Eels ( FAR BETTER than a Bulldawg FYI), Dunwright Lifelike Pike 8", Savage Gear Rattle Shad, Bucktails, Bucktails and more Bucktails (save the silver blades please. Whites, yellows, reds, pinks and oranges worked better 10:1) and Doctor Spoons. Again..I'm going to update this so check back.

Koi sushi,anyone? (Savage Gear 4-Pal in Koi pattern)

This 43"er "found" Nemo.

Custom Modified Nemo Slider by Customfish.

As per usual I'm going to start with some scenery and other "interesting" shots.

And now some from the players themselves. The first slideshow is from John and Bob's boat.

Next up is a double slideshow. The first is of Jamie and second of Bill.
Why 2??? Because when you go fishing with Jamie (who co-owns www.customfish.com) you're gonna get internet-famous. There were over 200 pictures and videos taken in that boat with the promise to Bill " I'll make ya famous!". So instead of killing your computer with one massive slideshow I'm gonna split it up into 2.
Here's Jamie:

And here's the star of the trip, Bill!

Numbers! It's all about the numbers baby!
We have the totals for boat #1 and boat #2.
Boat #1 (Kallenberg & Riani) had a total of 594 fish.
Jamie with 302 and Bill with 292.
34 trophies (Pike 41"+). 17 for Bill and 17 for Jamie.
Our largest Inconnu was caught by Bill: 41" / 18lbs.
Most walleyes were in the 22-28" range.
The trophy pike numbers for Boat #1 were:
41,43.5,42,41,41,42.5,46,
43.5,41,41,41,45,41,41,46,43,45,45,43,41,41,41,
41,41,41,41,42.5,43,45,42.5,42.5,45.
Yeah I know. It's just sick. And that's just two guys' numbers.

Boat #2 (Mich & Brenton)Had even better numbers. They caught 143 walleyes, 648 pike and 4 inconnu. They had 33 pike over 41" (trophies).

Here's some of my personal trophy numbers that I kept track of on the water courtesy of a golf scorer and a Sharpie Marker.

( Those numbers were only as of thursday. We still had a way to go.)

Here's some of the baits that really kicked ass. Take a close look at them and notice the teeth marks. These baits were responsible for hundreds of big pike.
The Customfish Malawi Bucktails.
Before:

After ( That's the 3RD tail on it!)

Before:

After:

Savage Gear 4-Play: Let me stress that we had every intention of bringing back these baits in pieces. We expected the paint to be taken off by the hundreds of pike that were caught on them. But as you can see, even after thousands and thousands of teeth biting into them they are in suprisingly great shape. We give the hardware and paint a 4 star rating and recommend this bait as a mainstay for this trip. The only thing we might recommend is that the hooks be changed out to a size larger due to the sheer number of fish on this particular excursion.

One of my all time favorites, The Salmo Roach: This one bait has been one of my top muskie producing baits. It took a Trip to Taltson Bay to put this bait into retirement.

The Storm Kick'n Minnow: This bait held up suprisingly well and withstood dozens of fights from pike, walleye and inconnu.

The Savage Gear Alien Eel: Keep in mind that this ONE bait caught over 20 big pike before it was broken in half! The average Bulldawg lasts 1-2 fish. This bait really took a beating and a hell of alot of punishment. You'll see it hanging from the mouths of big pike in some of the previous photos...and it's all the same bait. I brought ONE on this trip and it paid off BIG!

More updates to follow.
Thanks!
Jamie

Mike's Florida Report Part 3

2008-06-19T03:36:00.000+09:00

Well we set up on the last night for some Shark fishing. Rich wasn't leaving without one and to be honest we'd had enough of him so... a shark he wants... a shark he'll get. Pat set the rods, rigging both up with spanish mackerel that we'd caught earlier in the day.

Then he paddled the baits out for what seemed like two football fields and dropped them into the deep water. It didn't take long for the fish to start biting but 5 pick-ups later Rich still hadn't hooked up. Then came the sixth bite... FISH ON ROD-1!

Pat straps Rich in. (I could make a joke here but it's just too easy)

I love this next shot. Pat is coaching Rich who's possibly met his match...

Hold it guys, fish on Rod-2.... seconds later a huge Tarpon breaks the surface and tosses rig-2. That would have been a circus for sure. Now back to Rich as a crowd is forming. People are setting out lawn chairs and running back to their rooms for cameras.. one group ordered a pizza. This is going to take awhile.. notice the sun setting... and the clouds forming.

At the end of hour #1 Rich begins to question his sanity. So do we. Small children run in fear, a priest is called, the priest runs in fear, I refill my gin & tonic...

Then the heavens opened up as a thunderstorm unleashes lighting, thunder and buckets of rain... the fight goes on and actually the rain feels good though than my G&T is getting watered down. (I'm only there for moral support at this point) Half the crowd leaves but 10 or so remain with our fearless fisherman... or is it foolish fisherman...

Finally as we close on hour 2 the Shark nears the beach. Pat and Randy jump in and grab it's tail to get her up on the shore for a quick photo-op and release.

Congratulations Rich on your first Shark! Rich had this to say after the trip while recovering from his second of two knee replacements:

Still on pain killers from yesterday's surgery, but if I can be coherent for a few seconds, I have to say that that shark was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, let alone fishing.

I think immediately after, when Mike asked me how I felt, I compared it to the feeling of running a half marathon. Awesome.

Man, I love big fish.

Well that's it. I'd like to thank Pat Halko for his supreme Florida guiding and mostly Cliff and Betty Hooks for the giving us the opportunity of a lifetime. This is one trip we'll never forget.

Mike's Florida Report... Part 2

2008-06-17T22:55:00.000+09:00

Ok so day One ends on high note as Randy and I head back to the condo for some refreshments. The next morning we hit it again (We're late, it's 6:30) and already it's 85 degrees and seems like noon. Oh no I'm starting to sound like the ladies at Hertz....Why's it so hot in Florida... Wah!

The fishing is much slower this morning. Sure we got a dozen or so between the two of us but its nothing like yesterday. We head in early to do some grocery shopping and get ready for Ying and Yang....also know as Pat and Rich to show up.

It's now early afternoon and Rich is amped... literally shaking he's so excited. Just like we were the day before. Pat on the other hand is groggy and shows up with Walmart bags for suitcases and a empty lure case with 5 baits. 3 Puppy Jr's, and two Yozuri Crystal Minnows with broken hooks.

Then he proceeds to kick our ass. Couple cast here - Snook, couple more casts - trout, yawn... pause... cast.. a snook... lather, rinse & repeat..At this point in the story let me apologize to Pat for the lack of photos. I see now why he doesn't take very many. You can't carry a camera around your neck in salt water. I know that now. Mine is in the trash.. With the fast action you also don't want to stop and go unpack the camera to take a photo. So we didn't. I did get a shot of Pat with a small trout. It's all so boring and easy for Pat. It's not a shark so its dull. Been there, done that. BORRRRINGG! He's still pissed at me for this photo..

Meanwhile Rich was throwing a swim bait, Randy a Pointer Minnow & I was throwing some sort of tantrum... as usual.

The Savagear Rattleshad spanked a snook on it's first cast of the morning.

You'll notice that Randy is not in these photos... He took off up the beach runnin and gunnin... We shark fished later that evening with several takers but no hook ups. Got some great photos though..

The next morning Randy had great success up the beach and headed out at a sprinters pace. Unfortunately I had my camera in the back of his pack when i caught my biggest Snook of my life on a topwater. NOt huge by FL standards but it was mid 30's and was the best fight i've had in a long time. Damn you Randy.

We had a pretty successful morning casting the trough and everyone caught fish though Pat was getting pretty bored as the flatlanders from the north whooped it up. Rich even got a bluefish.

Pat taught us that the gray area close to shore was actually baitfish. He's so dang smart! Too bad he can't find the wire cutters, his hooks, the knife, his car keys, the sunscreen....

Later that morning we stopped for a sandwich break and a cold beverage

I proceeded to catch my token catfish/bullhead that I get on every trip on every body of water everywhere.. always..

Quickly I redeemed myself and basked in my snooky glory.

We took a break around noon, had a fish fry at 3pm and headed back out for the evening to snook it up before Shark Time.

Now that's good eating! Don't freak, we didn't eat snook. Those were sea trout!

Did we mention that Snook fight awesome!

Stay tuned for Rich's Shark story.. or as we call it... the calm before the storm.

Mike's Florida Report... Part 1

2008-06-16T23:53:00.000+09:00

Well here goes. A month ago I was offered a few days at a friends condo and then things just kinda fell into place for once.... Though it didn't seem so at the start.

Randy Dunlap and I left on Wed. to Ohare for a 7:15 flight. We arrive early to avoid any complications and had a drink or three while we waited. Did I mention that I took Dramamine® since I knew there would be bad weather and a bumpy flight... well combine the two and I was a little sleepy to say the least.

What do you know. The flight is delayed 15 minuted, 20 minutes, 30 minutes..and on I swear every time we looked up it was later. TWO HOURS LATER and a few naps on the airport floor the plane finally arrived. Randy woke me up and I limped over to see what was up. (Don't ask about foot. Let's just say I'm no longer young and I'm still accident prone. You see it all happened.... HEY WAIT I SAID DON'T ASK! MAN, YOU'RE A TRICKY DEVIL)

Well we get on the plane... I'm first as we weren't sitting together and would you believe I'm next to a 2 yo and a crying baby!!!!!!!! YES I would believe it. In fact when we saw them in line, Randy called it.

Oh well, doesn't matter, WE'RE ON OUR WAY BABY!! Then the plane backs out from the gate & the captain announces that the storms are further delaying take-off's for the next hour and half... Cue the screaching halt sound effects...I doze off to sounds of screaming children and my grinding teeth.

On and off for the next 3-4 hours I wake up to crying, in fact now the little girl behind me is crying also (No I"m referring to Randy... well maybe)

Finally our 10:30 pm arrival flight touches down in Tampa at 1:30 am and believe it or not our rental car company closed at midnight. WHAT THE @#$! Yes believe it.. the Kauchak curse shifts into overdrive!

So we walk around for awhile and find a couple agencies open.. Hertz wants to rent us a minivan for $99 a day. While Hertz the agent rumages through big box of keys looking for something else.. two women stand there bitching "It's So Hot In Florida. Nobody said it would be so Hot" I contemplate kicking someone in the #$$ with my broken foot but instead...

Exit stage left from Hertz and into Budget. Not only are they cheerful, pleasant and helpful, they give us the exact same vehicle we had reserved for 40 bucks cheaper.. BUDGET ROCKS! The curse is turning...

We head out to our 1hr drive to the condo..down Rt 75 but wait.... can you BELIEVE that 75 is closed at night for road work....I CAN"T @#$% BELIEVE IT! Out of the corner of my eye I see Randy reaching for the door handle attempting to bail out before something else happens but first he looks at the map and heck, we can take this old hwy 41 straight to Siesta Key. BINGO!

Finally.. foggy headed we arrive at 4:30am. We're just gonna stay up and fish! The sun's coming up soon then we'll......... 4 hours later we awake and head out to the gulf coast. It's 8:30 am, sun is already way up and the temp is 85 degrees. Pat said cast the trough what ever the hell that means and I tie on Savage-Gear Prey89 and Randy an X-Rap. 5 casts later..

A few more casts and..

Randy is jumping out to quite a lead (5 fish) and I don't have squat. Finally I hook up.

Now lets stop here and let me say that though I don't have as many photos as Ansel- Adams-Jamie, I do have 50 or so and it's hard to keep these all in perfect order but I'll do my best. Let's just say that the nightmare of getting here is all but forgotten as Snook explode everywhere for the next hour and a half. Schools as big a 30 or more blast out of the gulf 20 ft and sometimes as close as 6 ft away from us. We have multiple double hook ups and by the end of the morning we have over 35 Snook landed and this is a bonified @$$ whoopin. FINALLY A PLAN COMES TOGETHER! THE KAUCHAK CURSE HAS BEEN DEFEATED!

The Savagear Prey89 rocked on day 1. The Snook Teeth took their toll on the finish and it even picked up a couple sea trout. They hit on the pause almost every time. Great bait!

So we make the ultimate dumb move and leave the bite (JAMIE ALWAYS SAYS DON'T LEAVE THE YADA YADA) so we can go get some grub. Well it was so easy.. how could this end? A frickin cake walk I tell ya.... We grab lunch, take another couple hours for shut eye and head back out around 5pm for the evening bite. It's like going to Wisconsin..

That evening is even more spectacular but in a different way... in the eve' the fish push all the bait right up to the trough and then it's just a frenzy as all different types of fishy predators slash and grab. Sea Trout, Jacks, Bluefish, King Mackeral, Snook and more are on fire. We aren't getting as many snook now but the action is fast and furious.. Notice Randy's famous Crazy Eyed "here take my fish" poses and my sloppy-man-boob-hope this fish covers up my gut poses..

Part 2 Coming soon (The Rich & Pat show)

We're back

2008-06-13T03:25:00.001+09:00

Jamie is back from the Arctic and Mike is back from Florida.
Here's the link to Jamie's pictures CLICK HERE!

Mike is still working on his report.

Check back tomorrow for the updates!

Jamie with his new "personal best" pike. 46" from Great Slave lake,NT,Canada.

We're back

2008-06-11T02:11:00.001+09:00

We can't write the reports just yet due to work schedules, but we'll have tons of stuff up in coming days. Check back soon for the full reports from Florida and Canada.
Thanks,
Jamie

Oh, just a couple more things before we go.

2008-05-26T07:35:00.000+09:00

By now you know that it's tradition for me to go out and have the best possible day of fishing locally before I leave on a big trip.
This time was no exception.
Rich Delaney, Ken Schumacher of smalliefishing.com and myself had about 3 hours on saturday 5/24/08 to fish. We headed out to Rio Fuego (in chicagoland).

The baits used? Ugh..good question. I know that 3,4&5" Senkos in darker colors were used. Whacky rigged or on a 1/8 oz Sliderhead jig. I know that 4" Berkley powergrubs on 1/8oz Sliderhead jigs were used and did outstanding. A Chug Bug was used and got hit immediately (Topwater time has officially started. There's your big tip for the week). A tube jig was used and that caught fish. A small chatterbait got popped a time or two.Flies were used and got tapped a few times too. And ofcourse the Savage Gear Rattle Shad got nailed by yet another trophy bass on cast NUMBER FRIGGIN ONE!
I think the Lucky Craft Pointer was the only dismal failure. It caught one channel cat. Go figure.

How many noteworthy fish in those 3 hours? Ok..listen. We do NOT count dinks. If we counted dinks I'd put it at 60. But since we're only counting largemouth and smallmouth that are the size featured in the photos...I'll say 30 conservatively. Maybe 40. Honestly we were catching so many that we lost count.

So on with the show. Because only 1 out of 100 of you actually read anything that we just wrote anyway :) We understand. After all..we are Customfish. Our whole lives are built around fishing photography. Now here's some fish porn for ya.

The Master of Disaster. Ken Schumcaher.

Dude...our greengills eat 4" baits!!!

Rich Delaney: Famous muskie angler, yet he'll still kick your can on bass.

1)tie on chug bug 2)make one cast 3)smile and bask in one's glory.

( I didn't know Kenny Rogers fished either.)

I tell ya what. The first person to send me a picture of a bass bigger than that caught between today on when I leave gets a print for free.

Rich with a Neosho Strain "Spike" smallimouth bass. They fight 3 times harder than a northern smallmouth.

Here's a couple shots from 5/15-5/16. Nothing special. Just a couple nice pics courtesy of a Canon A-95 and a Joby Gorillapod Tripod (dont have one yet??? Well let me show you how well it works. Look.)

A big crappie that nailed a Smack Tackle Gizz3.

A nice Illinois pond smallouth bass that hit a Savage Gear Prey115
( Hey..ya like that shirt? CLICK HERE to buy one!)

And last but not leat...this!!!
As you know I plan on throwing some pretty amazing baits on the upcoming trip. Most will be from Savage Gear, Smack Tackle and Dunwright Tackle. But I have a few specialties from Customlures(That's our own hand crafted baits) and some hand painted BIG FISH lures from Mad Scientist Productions.
If you want more info on Mad Scientist productions just drop me an email.
The lures made by Mad Scientist are...well...SICK! And I can't wait to throw them.
If you know 2 about me they are these:
1) My friends and I can flat out fish. Anywhere...anytime.
2) If I had it my way there'd be a Tarantino film about fishing.
And with that in mind I contracted Mad Scientist Productions to handcraft me a bait for the upcoming trip to Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge.
One of the craftsmen who works for Mad Scientist is this cat named Hatori Hanzo. I've bought one of his swords before (Budd's sword, to be exact). He worked on this very bait......
The HANZO SPOOK.

What does the Japanese writing on it say?
One word.
"Pray."

See? I told you it was sick.

Have a good couple of weeks everyone. I'm off with John to the Arctic. Mike and Rich are Off to fish with Pat in Florida. Stay tuned. We're gonna blow your friggin minds when we get back.
Adios amigos!

Signed,
Jamie Riani -The Vincent Vega of fishing-

"There's something very very wrong with us" -Bill Murray-

2008-05-23T21:11:00.000+09:00

Next week Mike and Rich are going down to Pat's place to fish here.

Meanwhile, John and I are going a couple thousand miles north to fish here.

It's going to be a very interesting series of reports when we all get back.

(Oh..by the way, the comments section is coming back. So speak up! Don't just sit there!)

Captain Quint is home.

2008-05-22T06:38:00.001+09:00

5-21-08
Customfish field reporter Pat Halko is now in Florida where he has taken up permanent residence.
His report for today is:

"Got out from 8:30-11:00 this morning with my buddy doug. I wish we had longer to fish because the bite was pretty good. Still super windy down here. Snook were hitting topwaters as usual and redfish on gulp shrimp. Catching big snook along mangroves is no easy task. Every one you hook heads right for cover. You have to jump out of the yak or else they tow you right in."

Nice goin', kiddo. Save some for Mike and Rich. They'll be down in a little over a week. I'll be on the other side of the planet on the Arctic Circle. We'll have some great reports when we all get done.

Our most asked question:

2008-05-14T22:53:00.000+09:00

People often ask Mike and I how we do it? How do we keep it all together? How can we stand to be in business, be friends, and be fishing partners all at the same time.
Well....
It's alot like...
Well, like this.
Click to hear the sounds of Jamie & Mike

Oh..and Jade & Mark keep catching tons of fish.
See past reports for details on how.

Here's a vintage picture of a smallmouth angler circa 1952.

Just kidding...
*** This just in. 2PM 5-14-08. At noon Mark caught THAT.****

Mads is mad!

2008-05-12T23:45:00.000+09:00

We got another couple of shots from Mads Grosell of Savage Gear Baits
We see alot of crazy stuff in pike fishing...but this one is up in the top three.

Farewell to the prince. 5-10-08

2008-05-12T01:01:00.000+09:00

Customfish field reporter Pat Halko is going to be taking up permanent residence in Florida to further his education.
But before he left he HAD to catch one more smallmouth bass here in Illinois. Off we went to one of my favorite stretches of local river for the first wade of the year....and Pat's swan song.
Long live the prince! Because in one short wade he proved yet again that he's not only better than most anglers here, he's also luckier in that he gets to go to Florida where he'll live on the beach and fish for sharks,tarpon and snook.
God speed to you our good friend. And may all the success in the world come your way. You earned it!

*************************************

Now, as with any monarchy we have to find someone else to fill the void left by Prince Halko....so everyone moves up one notch. Captain Jade now takes the position of local interim prince and Mark now enters the camp as court jester (Hey we all gotta start somewhere).
Their report from friday states that the Mississippi is STILL en fuego and these two clowns are sitting on the biggest untapped smallmouth goldmine in history. Mark schooled Jade 11-3 on friday at last count. And THAT, my friends, is the preverbial student beating the crap out of the teacher.
You taught Jester too much too soon, Jade.

State of the union

2008-05-10T05:04:00.001+09:00

Yesterday I grabbed a 5' ultralight, 1 1/32oz jig and 2 1" twist tails and checked the area for crappies. I found no crappies. But what i did catch made me alot happier. In a few minutes worth of casting I caught 12 smallmouth bass.

And they were all this size or smaller.

Now, some people would look at that and say "Man, that's one small fish. Are those all you caught yesterday?"

Ah, but the educated angler would say "You caught 12 of those in a few minutes!? Man, you're gonna be sitting on a smallie goldmine for years!"

Exactly.

Think about that the next time you catch a bunch of small bass. They have parents somewhere. And those parents are spawning right now...thus making more just like him.

Ya see where I'm going with this???

Water wolf!

2008-05-09T01:25:00.000+09:00

Our friend Mads Grosell of Savage Gear Lures sent us a great action shot of himself and a monster pike. It really answers the question of 'why we do what we do'.

The land of the midnight sun

2008-05-08T20:44:00.000+09:00

In 21 days I'll be up on Great Slave lake near the Arctic Circle in the Northwest territories of Canada.
Sleep is going to be at a premium....due to lack of darkness. Check out these sunset/sunrise times.

Jun 1, 2008 3:57 AM 11:16 PM 19h 18m 36s
Jun 2, 2008 3:56 AM 11:18 PM 19h 22m 35s
Jun 3, 2008 3:54 AM 11:20 PM 19h 26m 25s
Jun 4, 2008 3:52 AM 11:22 PM 19h 30m 06s
Jun 5, 2008 3:50 AM 11:24 PM 19h 33m 36s
Jun 6, 2008 3:49 AM 11:26 PM 19h 36m 56s
Jun 7, 2008 3:47 AM 11:28 PM 19h 40m 06s
Jun 8, 2008 3:46 AM 11:29 PM 19h 43m 03s

So basically it'll be dark (or almost dark) for maybe 2 hours a night. I better bring a sleeping mask.

Crappies, Huckleberry, a blank, and God

2008-05-07T23:57:00.000+09:00

Mike here with a late report from the weekend.

Starting on Friday I hit a local Strip Pit on my lunch hour for a few casts and to clear my head. This pit/pond was deep and clear and the bass we still in prespawn.

Caught 4 small males and one decent 16” with great color. Worked a smoke Hula grub on a gravel hump and found it really hard to go back to the office that afternoon.

Saturday a front came through and the weather was sunny,rainy,cloudy,rainy,sunny with the wind changing directions every 10 minutes. That would explain why I’m wearing sunglasses in the rain… really! It’s not because I want to look cool… I’d need a lot more than sunglasses to pull that off.

Anyways the Crappies were biting and catching a nice fat 12” on the 9’ ultralight was a blast. I did a little scouting for family fishing day on Sunday and they were just slurping up the Chartreuse 2.5” Gulp Minnows. It’s the bait of choice on this lake for panfish and almost anything else that eats small minnows.

The next morning the weather cleared so the kids and I went out and they slayed em’. Rachel was a Crappie machine getting 7 beauties all by herself while her brother Christopher wasn’t to be outdone with 3 Crappie and nice fat Bass that cleared the water at least 3 times! I was so excited I forgot to take a photo.

We kept just enough for a fish fry and threw the rest back for another day. Working a slip bobber set at 2’, casting out to 8 foot of water and just slowly bring it in with a stop and go motion was the trick. Some fish were deep, some were shallow but they all wanted the Gulp. A great time was had by all and later the kids still had time to ride scooters and play with their furry friend Bailey. If your’e a crappie fisherman, those Gulp baits are awesome. Though they are a little on the pricey side, we used only 3 bodies between the three of us for 2.5 hours and over 30 fish.

In other news:
Jamie went out yesterday for a short 45 minutes. And being the honest site that we are we proudly report that he blanked ( c'mon, one 6" yellow bass and one 10" largemouth is a blank) He hooked into yet another monster-class smallie that nailed the lure, jumped and got off immediately.
Alot of spawning big bass were seen and passed by. We DO NOT fish for spawning fish. No exceptions. Sometimes it's good enough to see a couple of huge fish at your feet just doing their thing. Then just walk away knowing that there will be more fish in coming years. ( Note* The missed monster smallie came from deep water. She wasn't a spawning fish yet. Not all bass spawn at exactly the same time. You can still effectively fish for bass at this time...just don't cast shallow,please). Hey..would you like to be hooked while you're gettin' your freak on???

It's time for the Jade "Huckleberry" Miller report from Rock Island,IL Mississippi River:
"Well last night produced more from the multispecies bonanza for Mark on a new crankbait he bought including a nice largemouth, especially for river standards. He also managed a nice 19" walleye at dusk. This morning we both managed some smallies with the largest of mine going around 15-16". Actually had some showers start and caught 3 smallies on four casts."

And finally..It's random photo time!!!!:
This one was taken by Jamie Riani last night as the storms came in from the west.
So not only did he see some spawning fish....he also saw God.

Keep your pole in the water!

Fishing is like a box of chocolates....

2008-05-07T00:43:00.000+09:00

Ya never know what you're gonna get.

Largemouth bass slamming a Savage Gear Rattle Shad in a ditch that hooks up to the main lake.

A big Yellow Bass and a big Crappie that nailed a small floating Rapala on a main lake rock point. (twitch, twitch, twitch...BANG!)

A nice surprise. A big walleye that was working a school of shad on that same main lake rock point. This post-spawn female slammed a Savage-Gear Prey115 at the edge of the rock point after just 2 twitches.

And finally one of a couple of smallies that nailed the same Prey115 on the rock point. Everything was using the rock point and pinning shad against it's walls. The pattern was pretty easy to figure out just by watching the water explode every other minute as another predator drove a shad to the surface and unloaded on it.

Not bad for 90 minutes.
Now get yourself back to the home page and check out THE TOTALLY INSANE SALE that we're gonna end very soon! CLICK HERE!!!!!!!!

*****UPDATE! Cinco De Mayo hotter-than-a-hobanero-pepper-on-a-taco report from Rock Island, Mississippi, Il.*********
"
Today the water is down several feet from Friday. In the typical eddy I
managed 5 smallies with the largest at 17". The whites were also in
there, but it was the smallies I was after. Mark had some luck in the
same location yesterday. These smallies are fat. Had fun with
perspective, made a 14" look like a 48". Anything worked. I caught
them today on a 4" finesse minnow, a sassy shad, and a bluefox spinner."

And then there's this one from 5-6-08.
Jesus!! That's a friggin danergous looking bastard, aint it??!

Nice gar from the Mississippi River at Rock Island, il.

******SECOND UPDATE**********
Ok..I'm just gonna add this to the existing post because Jade "The friggin King of The Mississippi" Miller keeps sending me report after report because he has immediate access to one of the hottest smallmouth and white bass fishing holes on the planet.
Listen..somebody just give him his freakin' crown already! And give Mark one too.
Man, I hate those guys!

The official report from lunchtime on 5-6-08
"And the smallies are coming to life.

This morning it was four with the biggest at around 16", a spike fin at that.

At lunch is where it got real interesting. Mark and I headed out at around 1130. I got there first and tagged a fat little 14" on a tube. Mark got there shortly after and hit a nice sized drum. He really has that species down right now. Next I got another small smallie around 14". No real mega dinks so far, all 14 or better this year. A few casts later I got the lures, dual jigs 1/16th oz over an 1/8th oz with a 3" and 4" soft plastic minnow on each respectively, back in to an eddy. Problem was that my line was drapped across a broken corner of a concrette foundation. That was all the big smallie needed to give me a heart attack. I felt the hit thru the line and thought I got a white at first. Turned out to be a nice 18" smallie. Had to climb out on the fence on the foundation to get my line off the corner and then go to free spool to ease the fish in. Mark followed that up with a nice 17" smallie that hit his modified drop shot rig which had a 1/4 oz jig as the weight. We both got a few more smaller smallies and had to get back to work."

Hey..Did I mention that I hate Jade and Mark?
I did?
Just checking.
Signed, Jamie

HEY!! GO TO THE TOP OF THE TOOLBAR AND PRESS THE "BOOKMARK" TAB!! TRUST ME ON THIS.

It's dark outside and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it!

2008-05-04T02:57:00.000+09:00

Friday (5-2-08) I had VERY limited time to fish.

Why?

Because I had THIS on one side of me...

this on another side of me...

and this on another side of me...

So that left me with about 30 minutes to fish in high winds basically in the eye of a hurricane that was closing in around me.
Didn't do too bad. Probably got 8 or 10. Nothing huge. Again, the Savage Gear Rattle Shad was the ticket in the muddy waters of the ditches and the muddied banks of the lake that were getting pounded by whitecap waves.

Sometimes even a half hour of fishing is better than nothin' at all...

The friday Jade report

2008-05-03T04:21:00.001+09:00

Fresh from the Mississippi River, Rock Island, Il.
Jade writes:
Today was a day that a major thunderstorm was supposed to hit us. It did for about an hour. Following that was a white bass bonanza. But that is not why I am writing. Mark, my camera man, the guy with the tiny white compared to the monster I got a few weeks back, managed a trophy smallie today. Throwing a 3/16th oz jig with a 3" white twister he hooked and landed the fish in the photo. It is his P.R. for a smallie, 18.25 prior to this. Next week should be phenomenal provided the water goes down a bit more.

20.5" length 14.24" girth.

********************
Editor's note:
"Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!"
-General Zod in "Superman"-

Yep...that about sums up how we feel lately.
Nice work Jade and Mark. Chalk up another trophy for team Customfish.

And the bottom fell out.

2008-05-02T22:02:00.001+09:00

Well, hopefully you got out and fished in the past couple of weeks because the bottom just fell out for a while.
Did we catch fish yesterday? Of course we caught fish. Mostly small male largemouth and smallmouth. Mike got one or two respectable size largemouth. I got one smallmouth that went about 16". Other than that it was very tough to crack the 14" mark on anything.

So...bass ( the big females anyway) are thinking about getting their freak on more than anything else. Couple that with a whicked cold front that went thru and eventually thru things in a bit of a tailspin, and you have a day or two where things are just a bit "off".
I have no doubt that there were alot of bass in some of the ditches I covered, but there were also about 1,000 carp in there too. So, while snagging a carp and going for a ride is fun and all, it does get in the way of bass fishing and will drive me right off the spot....which it did.
This weekend we have The Great Wall Of Rain heading right at us. We'll be lucky to fish at all. Temps are gonna take a nose dive in a few hours and bottom out at about 50. Nice,eh?

The next generation.

2008-04-30T02:51:00.000+09:00

He's 2.
I wish I could do that when I was 2.
Good going son.
Oh and next time try not to wipe fish slime on me.

4-25 & 4-26. The perfect storm.

2008-04-29T03:54:00.000+09:00

Mike Kauchak reports:
Temps in the upper 70's with the mother of all cold fronts moving in and wind gusts to 40mph. The technique was a no brainer. Find the windy side of the lake and run burn the rattleshad down the shoreline. Both Smallmouth and Largemouth were hammering the 36g Rattleshad. It was awesome.

Also pictured is Ken Schumacher of www.smalliefishing.com.

Jamie reports:
Ok..so I struck out on friday. Notice how I'm not in those pictures above. In the 30 minutes to fish, I went exploring a couple hundred yards of new water and did too fast of a run and gun. Then the storms got close...add a little lightmning..and we were out of there, with a whinning Mike in tow " But I was catching fish...waaaaaaaa!"
Then the cold weather came. Temps dropped 30 degrees overnight. The winds were howling! All day long lakes and ponds were being whipped into water that looked more like YooHoo. White caps were in my 2.5 acre Lago Casa.
And ya know who didn't care at all?
The fish.
Ya see...at this time they are thinking about exactly 2 things. 1)food. 2)Sex. (kinda like most of us.). So they stayed shallow. They stayed active. They didn't care about lightning, rain, storms, drops of 30 degrees, howling winds. They actually used all of it to their advantage and instead of picking off shad that were going IN to the channele...they started picking off shad coming OUT of the channel due to the coldfront. The bass were still perfectly happy in 1-2' of muddy, ripped up water on the lake shoreline or in the now muddied ditches.
The key baits? The Savage Gear Rattle Shad and the Lewis Rattle Trap and the Lucky Craft Pointer..all burned in as fast as you can reel it. Right thru the muddy water. They have no problem going after the sound and hitting the lure. Trust me on that.
On another site I got into quite the little squabble with a fellow angler about WHERE we fish. As you know Mike and I along with our crew fish everywhere. If we fish it, you read it here. From the Mississippi to Chicago to Ontario to Florida to The Arctic Circle. Lately Mike and i have been hitting lakes, ponds and ditches. No rivers yet for us. We're leaving that job to Jade for now.
So... where do we catch HUGE smallies?
How about spots like this.

Ripped up muddied lakeshore

Or these spots?

Muddied 1-2' deep roadside ditches that hook up to lakes,ponds and rivers. packed with shad, baitfish and..oh..HUGE smallies and largemouth.

The end result?

So basically I just took the "classic" smallie spots of rocky pristine streams and threw them in the crapper. I also took the whole "fish dont bite after a massive cold front" and threw THAT in the crapper too. Oh..and I also took "big,bright,slower baits in muddy water" and threw THAT in the crapper.
Anybody got anything else they want disproved this week?
Listen..sometimes the fish don't read the same books that you do. You never know til you get out there and try, even when the weather turns to crap and every sign says "the fish aren't biting." .....wanna bet?

Ok...this is just too easy.

2008-04-26T03:25:00.000+09:00

" is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!"
-General Zod in "Superman"-

I mean, really..c'mon. 1 cast? That's all I need now?

I know..I know..I'm gonna pay for my arrogance at some point and be stricken down by the fish gods and forced to endure a skunking of biblical proportions.
But until then...all i have to say is this. "Don't hate the playa'. Hate the game."

*largemouth bass caught in 1' of water next to an under-road drain in a 10' wide ditch that leads to a lake. And you thought YOUR spot was good?*

Camera: Canon a-95. Auto setting. Full 5.1 megapixel set on superfine.

Tripod: Joby Gorillapod

Gear: 7' medium/light IM8 Gander Mountain Pro Guide Series rod. Pflueger Trion 30 series reel. 8lb Fireline Crystal line. Lewis Rattle Trap in Red Crawfish pattern.

Car that got me in and out of there in 5 minutes: 2006 Mazda 6 V6 Atenza featuring K&M air intake.

Our fishing reports: Priceless.

_________________________
This just in. Go here sunday night at 7pm: www.lastcastguideservice.com
You may just hear yours truly on the radio.
Click the "listen live" button when you get there.

Membership has it's privileges.

2008-04-23T00:13:00.000+09:00

Q: Ya want to know the best part about living ON one of the Customfish lakes??
A: Even when I'm home sick with the flu, I can still walk 70 feet outside the back door, catch this, and go back to bed.

Again. Savage Gear rattle Shad. 2 casts. Caught 4 more in the next 5 minutes and like I said...went back to bed.
Contact Savage Gear to get yours today. Email Stuart Green at Stuart.Green@svendsen-sport.com. Please tell them we sent you.

There ya go. We just gave you the key to the Emerald City. We suggest you use it.

And in other membership news:
Captain jade Miller checks in again with an instant report from his lunch hour on the Mississippi River.

He reports "Can't keep them off of this thing. Gone thru two of the little ones
already. Head tore open on both."
He's using THIS in the 'smolt' color.

4/18-4/20/08. Our peers hate us.

2008-04-21T08:32:00.000+09:00

I think we'll just let the pictures tell the stories for this weekend.
Lures used: Savage Gear Rattle Shad, Savage Gear 4-Play, Smack Tackle's Gizz4 shallow diving shad.
Same techniques as I've been writing about all week.
Mike went out Saturday 2pm

Here's Mike with a shad that swiped a Savage Gear bait. Do you want to know what our key to success is right now? Shad. If you find the shad, you've found the predators. Even big smallmouth bass that are normally found relating to rocky areas will gladly find comfort in a muddy,silt bottomed ditch or creek when the shad run up to spawn. Some of the areas we are fishing have just such ditches that are now packed with thousands of shad that make the water look like chocolate milk...and the big predators are right behind them!

Jamie went out to the same lake on Saturday at 6pm.
Started out with a Savage Gear Rattle Shad, fishing it in the same muddy water ditch that Mike had been to earlier in the day. New predatory fish move in and out constantly throughout the day as they get their fill on the thousands of shad in the murky 2' depths of ditches and creeks.

Huge smallmouth bass were having a rodeo feeding festival on schools of shad that had not yet made it into the creeks.
The pattern is simple. Watch the area for bass that drive shad to the surface and explode on them. Then immediately cast a lure to that spot. I'm recommending the Gizz4 by Smack Tackle for this little trick. I made exactly 2 casts with a brand new Gizz4 and it got nailed by a smallie over 20". Followed by another one a few casts later. I lost one more that was about the same size as these guys.

That's gotta be a pretty good lure if it gets hit by a suicidal yellow bass. Keep in mind. that lure is 4" long!

Sunday. Mile high bluebird skies...the kiss of death to anglers. We even had vultures overhead. Kind of an omen. It was a little tougher today, but we still managed to scrape up a couple of nice largemouth on a very short trip. Mine was caught by throwing the Gizz4 in the area where the muddy water met clear water. Remember, when water changes color the fish will use that as an ambush point.
. Mike's behemoth was caught by burning in a Savage Gear 4-Play Herring.

Barramundi??

2008-04-19T22:23:00.000+09:00

While watching Charlie Moore's show this morning, I noticed they were fishing a place in Osceola, FL where you can catch a barramundi. How cool is that??

April showers mean big friggin fish!

2008-04-19T10:26:00.000+09:00

Here's another ultra fast report straight from the water.
With rain storms approaching from the south it was a good bet that the bass would be "on" somewhere in the north shoreline of our home waters. All these were found in an area about 20' x 20' were they had cornered a bunch of shad against the bank during high winds.
The bait of choice? A Savage Gear Rattle Smolt. It's the bait on the top of the chart.

Now keep in mind that we are honest. So I'll tell you that I beat the water for an hour with nothing to show for it until running into the right spot at the right time. In the final 15 minutes I was able to pull off a few miracles. As you'll see by the last photo, there was a wall of hell coming towards me quickly, and I was solo out there.
Is there a lesson to be learned here? Yes. if you are daring (or not too bright. Whatever) you can cash in pretty good when there's a wall of hell coming. Just make sure to get the hell out of there before hell hits. Because hell hath no fury like...well..like a wall of hell coming at you.

Uh oh! Time to get the hell out of there. Check out that sky.

4-17-08. A little shakey

2008-04-18T23:06:00.001+09:00

It was a little slow last night. Myself, Ken Schumacher and Luis Saucedo Jr took 2 hours to do some damage. By most people's standards we did great. But given that we know every rock of the lakes we fish, we were a little disappointed. We're going to go ahead and blame it on the earthquake we had in Illinois this morning. Yeah...that's it. Riiiight.
The baits we threw were Rapala Husky jerks and a Rattle Trap. Luis scored the 2 biggest of the day and a few others along with a couple HUGE greengill sunfish. Ken and I didn't do as well but held our own. I got 7 bass and a couple huge greengills. I don't know Ken's numbers but I'm sure he was right there with me.
Luis is also a bit of a rock & fossil hound as well as being one of the top bass anglers in the area. Included in this post is a picture of one he found while casting.
AND..the bonus picture is from a bass that Ken caught. A very hungry bass. Hungry enough to hit his bait even though it had a 4" bluegill in it's throat.
Photo credits: Ken Schumacher, Jamie Riani, Luis Saucedo.
Please check out Ken's site and consider him if you are wanting to learn the fine art of fly fishing for smallies as well as general fishing for bass in the Chicago are. CLICK HERE

Yes. Our fishing reports ARE that damn good.

2008-04-18T03:39:00.000+09:00

We see on alot of the forum based sites that there is a lack of reports. Personally we see the whole forum based fishing site craze as being past. A few people got burned by handing out exact spots to the entire Planet Earth and everyone went running for the hills.
Our answer to that is to read sites...well...like this one. Call us an "indie" if you will. There's a few of us around using blogs and giving out ten times more info than anyone else on a forum site.
Don't get me wrong. I love the forum based sites for the generalities. But as far as seeing pictures and really getting into what's happening that day or week, that info just isn't there.
So..without further adieu we give you YET ANOTHER updated report.
If you follow the site you know that we put up posts ASAP when we start attacking fish. And today is no exception. This report is being posted ast 1:45pm. The action you're about to see happened at lunchtime. I doubt that you'll find a faster real-time fishing report.
You all know Captain Jade Miller, our customfish corespondent on the Mississippi in NW Illinois. He reports today that the white bass are juuuuust starting in the last few hours. We'll have more info as Jade keeps fishing.

Now comes a word from Field Corespondent Jim Jozwiak. Illinois Smallmouth Alliance guru who has recently joined the darkside of largemouth fishing and excelled at the art of trophy hunting.
His tactics in the past couple of days are chronicled here.
Joz says:
Shallow running crankbait, fished medium tempo. Basically no brainer if the fish are shallow and happening.

I know that guys can really catch them using a rattle type bait but I prefer a shallow crank for the following.

1. less chance of hanging up.

2. Ability to stop or slow down when needed. I can throw it in 4 inches of water right against a shoreline and let it sit for a bit before I even start cranking. I can throw it in very shallow bays without hanging up, pause it, start it, etc. which is impossible to do with a rattle trap.

3. Extreme vibration and rattle just like a trap.

And yes, Jim Jozwiak ALWAYS wears a collared shirt while bass fishing.

Savage weather. Savage bass.

2008-04-17T21:45:00.000+09:00

We tested out some new Savage Gear stuff yesterday. The weather was TOO extreme for optimum fishing. Winds at 20mph would have been fine. But we had winds pushing 40. Whitecaps everywhere. The water was basically mud in some spots. Basically we think it freaked out the fish to the point where they ran for cover instead of risking riding a wave onto the rocks like a surfer tackling Mavericks.

Rich kinda played the part of "the control" by switching up and using other baits like rattle traps.He only hit fish with an SG bait. Mike and I stuck with the Savage Gear 4-Play (an instant hit) and the Rattle Shad (which is still kickin' ass even when we shoulda been blanked).

I stayed later than Mike and Rich and finally figured out the pattern late in the day. It was the exact opposite of what we had been doing all week. Instead of burning baits the trick was now to hold the rod tip very high and reel in VERY slow so the bass could find the bait in the newly muddied waters. As soon as I changed to a slow retrieve I nailed 4 bass in 4 casts including a monster, plus I missed 2 more on the next few casts. Unfortunately I had to get off the water otherwise I'm sure i could have hit a few more.

Our numbers weren't stellar. But then again with the dozen plus that we got we're pretty happy. We didn't see anyone catching anything except small bluegills.

We are NOT bull****ing you. If something doesnt work we are happy to tell you. if it works we're gonna tell you that too. This stuff WORKS. We have companies (and we'll reveal them too) that WONT give us baits or rods to test because there's a chance that they'll fail and they KNOW we'll write about it.

Stay tuned. Later today we're gonna put up the contact info for you to finally get your hands on this stuff.

Book Review: South Of The Pump House

2008-04-16T03:32:00.000+09:00

Hey kids! It's time for the Customfish Book Review segment of our show!

(yes, we read. Smarta##!)

Do you fish? Do you like stories about fishing with strange plot twists, murder and 3 guys in a boat who have no business being out to sea?
The we've got the book for you!
This week I'm recommending Les Claypool's "South of the Pumphouse"

Amazon said: A dark, clever tale of two brothers, a fishing trip, drugs, and murder, this novel skillfully combines classic motifs of epic struggle and intelligent layers of imagery, reminiscent of The Old Man and the Sea, and the raw, tweaked perspective of a Hunter S. Thompson novel.
We agree.
It's a good read....and it'll make you think twice about who you are fishing with.

I said "jerkbait", Jerky!

2008-04-15T11:36:00.000+09:00

Look! The fish are biting right now. Why aren't you out there?

The bait of choice today was goig to be the Savage Gear Rattle Shad again. BUT..I'm fresh out. Seems that on the first couple of casts something big had other ideas and really wanted that lure...so it ate half of it. I resorted to using a Lucky Craft Pointer. Same retrieve as I outlined before. Slowly reel it in and twitch twitch twith 2 times per second without pausing.
Total was 7 bass and 2 greengill sunfish in the 1pound range. Not a great evening. We had to hit 3 different areas to scrape that up.
Again, thanks to Ken Schumacher of www.smalliefishing.com for his excellent company as always.

HOLY #%$@!!!!!!! 4-13-08

2008-04-14T23:21:00.000+09:00

Mike and i had some very limited time yesterday so we ran over to Lake W. For those who are new to the reports, lake W is a large retention pond that is about 25' deep, 100 acres, and has several storm drain pipes coming into it as well as a crrek. There is always a current to be found as this small lake could technically be classified as a flowage. So when you hear us talk about Lake W, all you need to do is find a retention pond that fits the bill. And they are EVERYWHERE! Just look around your neighborhood.

We threw a few different lures in the half hour we fished. I got 2 average size bass (13-15") on a Rapala Husky jerk (twitch,twitch,twitch...just like i wrote in previous reports). I also got one on a Lucky Craft Pointer (again...twitch twitch.).
BUT..the King Of The Ring was yet again Savage Gear's Rattle Shad!!
We concentrated on an incoming pipe that had water pushing out of it at high speed due to the recent rains. The bass were lined up waiting for anything to move.
Here's a couple shots of the dozen or so fish we caught in 30 minutes.
Now go find some incoming water and fish within 10' of the flow. Trust us...you're gonna score right now! These fish don't really care about the cold front. They know exactly ONE thing now: Feed and get ready to spawn.

The monster largemouth and the monster smallmouth were caught by Mike on back to back consecutive casts! He was using the technique of holding the bait in the current and letting the water do the work.

This is a shot of Mike's monster largemouth being held by me. I'm posting this just to give it a different perspective in relation to size. let me stress that I DID NOT catch it. Mike was king of the hill yesterday. I'm not even gonna bother putting up my shots because they are not impressive next to Mike's.

( We apologize for the use of the camera phone. We had a little mix-up and forgot any one of the 3 cameras we use. Basically we were rushing and totally clowned it! Lesson to us all, eh?)

And the Savage Gear train keeps rolling.

2008-04-11T00:50:00.000+09:00

In my last report I wrote that on the 2nd cast of a Savage Gear Rattle Shad I got a very respectable largemouth bass.
Remember that?
Ok..well, yesterday was a little slower.
It took 3 casts this time.

The color that I used was Pearl & Orange.
6 fish. 1 hour. Water temp was 57. Ultra clear. Fishing an incoming water source.
Again..it doesn't matter the exact location. Just find some incoming water and I'll almost guarantee that there's fish sitting within feet of it. Burn one of those baits thru and hold on!
Now get out and fish!

A big thanks once again to Ken Schumacher of www.smalliefishing.com for asking me to hit his waters with him. The dynamic duo strikes again!

New secret weapon #1. Savage Gear.

2008-04-08T22:25:00.000+09:00

As you know, we at Customfish always try to stay on top of the big rock candy mountain by getting our hands on new weapons of mass destruction that no one else has yet. And we just got a new weapon. I suggest you hide the children.
Savage Gear is a going to be making their presence known here in the U.S., and based on what we saw in the first 5 minutes of throwing their Rattle Shad we are extremely impressed!
As you'll see by their site, they are huge in Europe. We're guessing they are gonna be huge here as well.
Our first thought was to get our greedy little paws on their bigger baits and run them thru the gauntlet on Great Slave this june while catching a couple thousand monster pike. That's still gonna happen, so stay tuned for that upcoming report. BUT, in the meantime we have decided to run them thru the local gaunlet in search of cold water bass.
I'll sum it up this way:
2 casts. That's all it took. 2 casts til the Rattle Shad got hammered!

Now, that isn't to bad considering we were dealing with a 45 degree outside temperature and high winds. All we had to do was burn the bait in and it got hammered regularly on this short trip.

Mike joined me for a few minutes and quickly landed 3 nice bass and missed a couple more.
At one point Mike's Rattle Shad got hung up. Normally you chalk it up as a loss and keep going. But when you have a HOT bait that's working, you have to go to extremes to keep the mojo going.

How cold is that water, Mike?

Did we try other baits? Yes. We tried the Husky jerk, Rattle Trap, Storm Subwart, a Chatterbait and the Swimmin' Charlie. All of them, as you know, are standard weapons in our boxes. On this trip none of them shined thus proving that our success with the Savage Gear was no fluke. As soon as we tied on the Rattle Shads again we were back on the fish.
Our final numbers for this short-after-work trip were 3 largemouth bass for Mike and 8 for me.

Savage Gear lures will be available soon in local retailers. We suggest you get a few if you want to keep up.

Trip time is coming up soon.

2008-04-08T01:46:00.000+09:00

Just going thru some files today and i ran across this one of Buzz Riani on Pipestone lake a couple years ago.

And that made me start thinking about upcoming trips. 52 days til we're on Great Slave near the Arctic Circle and 94 days til we're back up in Ontario where that shot was taken.

In other news: Fishing yesterday sucked. High winds from the east. But I heard that the trout season opener was stellar. most guys hit their limit in 30 minutes.

It's go time!!!

2008-04-03T22:04:00.000+09:00

Ken and I found some water in the low 50's range. Husky jerks, small chatterbaits and senkos whacky rigged or on slider head jigs all worked. Husky jerk style baits reeled in slowly with constant twitches were taking the lion's share and gettin' hammered.
6 lrgmth/1 smlmth (J) 4 lrgmth (K)

First Customfish muskie of 2008

2008-04-02T03:41:00.000+09:00

Ok..so let me get this straight. Jade gets to work at an arsenal, serve his country here and in Iraq, and go fishing on his lunch hour. Oh..and catch some walleyes and the year's first muskie. Do I have that straight?
The guy is blessed. What can I say?

Oh...and if you are a loyal reader during the day, you'll notice that it was caught about an hour ago.
How's THAT for the most up to date fishing report EVER!?

Say hello to my little friend!!!

2008-03-31T07:24:00.000+09:00

Please excuse me as I put on my totally psychopathic, deranged, maniacal alter ego clown suit for a minute.

Ok..so you've all been following the ramblings of a madman (me) as I work day and night in my dungeon on an entire series of Frankstein-esque lures. Fueled by an endless supply of Starbucks coffee and a drink that Mike and I call "The Pipestone" (send me an email for the recipe. jamie@customfish.com) the visions came to life in grotesque forms of bastardized greatness brandishing ultra sharp hook and an attitude that could only be described as...well...piss in a bottle.
First was the Nemo Slider. I mean..really..think about it.. who the hell would take a child's iconic figure and turn it into an instrument of destruction? I'll tell you who. Me.

Next I thought 'why not take some nice cute unassuming tropical fish and...well...ya know....turn them into instruments of destruction.' And a series of Malawi Bucktails and Spoons were born. Awww..such a cute little fish. Too bad there's a massive friggin hook sticking out of it's....

Then, something went wrong. A bolt of lightning hit the house and ran thru the entire dungeon while I was in the midst of painting pretty,pretty flowers on a muskie lure. And from that incident was born something unseen by man. A boa constrictor skin wrapped Magnum Spook.

Yesterday though, something different happened. Something....well..evil.
Hey..have you ever seen 'Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde"? Yes? Ok, keep that in mind.

If you've been reading this site for a while you'll surely recognize this character.

Ah yes. Wilson. The legendary Wilson. The single most devistating topwater bass lure ever created by God himself. He is responsible for catching more bass than any other lure I or anyone I know has thrown. His record is superb. His offenses are relentless. His demeanor is ruthless. He IS the Master of Disaster...The King Of Sting..The Count of Minto Fist-O! He talks smack and backs it up with a bitchslap. He takes no prisoners. And the slightest hum of his theme music (Darth Vader's Imperial March) causes Mike to instantly drop his rod and cry out " Oh that's just great. Why don't ya just catch 'em ALL while you're at it. I quit!".
Yes. He IS the lure that I will take on ANYONE reading this article with. I'll take your money. He'll take your pride. And we'll both wipe that silly smile off your face!

For years I tried to think of an equal for bigger quests. We do, after all, go after things like this.

And while Wilson would be more than happy to enter the abyss of monster laden waters filled with thousands of angry competitors complete with sets of 400 razor sharp teeth each, I tend to hold him back. I'm not about to lose my secret weapon.
But what could be just as lethal to fish like that? Sure I have a Child's icon that is sure to send waves of hatred thru the water. And I have my cutesy Malawi bucktails that look rather unassuming, yet will surely pull your heart out and step on it with stiletto heals. And I even have a Spook wrapped in boa skin that just screams 'Go ahead...make my day.' But I had nothing that would strike fear into the hearts of men and monster fish alike.
Until now.
Maybe it was too much Starbucks. Maybe it was just a moment of genius. Or possibly a moment of madness. I needed help. Or at the very least a sedative. A call was placed to a fellow mad scientist with a steadier hand then mine.
The Magnum Super Spook was sent out with a note that read "let me know when it's done."
What I got back was a message a couple days later on my phone that said simply "..something wicked this way comes..." *click

And that brings us back to yesterday. I hereby announce that fear will now be felt in the hearts of all! For I now hold The Kingdom, The Power, AND The Glory! (can I get an 'amen'?!)
Behold..The cloned monstrosity that is pure evil personified!
PEOPLE! I GIVE YOU YOUR DOOM!
WILSON 2XL!!!!!!!

I know what you're thinking. Probably the same thing I was thinking the first time I saw it. Something kinda like this?

You're lucky! I have to live with this thing. I have to keep the son of a b**** chained up in the dungeon! hell, as soon as I let him out of his cage he did THIS!

Then he went after the cat! All I found was this!

I took one look and said "That's cold man. Just cold."
He smiled,Winked and said "As Samuel L. Jackson said in Pulp Fiction..."I'm a mushroom cloud layin' mother******. Mother******!"

The next time you will see Wilson 2XL will be in early june when we venture to Great Slave Lake again. I'm sure he'll be featured in several photos of himself with victim monster pike. He is, after all, on a mission. And as Roddy Piper once said " I have come here to chew bubble gum and to kick ass. And I'm all out of bubble gum."

(Wilson 2XL was created by a new company called Mad Scientist Productions. For info, send me an email at jamie@customfish.com.)

HOLY SHI....

2008-03-19T01:29:00.001+09:00

I've said this before and I'll say it again: We don't get impressed that easily. That's why we love our customers.We've seen some huge muskies. We have shown you a few. There's a bunch more that we can't show you due to our policy of secrecy unless the customer gives approval.
You guys give us some jobs that are truly awesome. Some of the biggest and the baddest fish in the water.
We're sending out such a job today.
Previously, the largest muskie we have done was a monster caught by Chad Cain. We did that fish twice because he caught it twice. I'm sure you muskie guys know the fish I'm talking about.

BUT...alas we have a NEW CHAMPION. The benchmark has been raised and you guys now have a new sheriff in town to try to beat!
The new holder of the crown for 'Largest Muskie Customfish Has Done' is Paul Schlagel, owner of Enduro Guide Service out of Clearwater, MN. Enduro specializes in hunting down monsters like this on Mille Lacs and a few other lakes in the area. I strongly urge you to check out his site. He's got a great forum on there along with some truly awesome reports! ( c'mon...hit those links. Paul just earned the Customfish Muskie Crown. He deserves it!)

So..without further adieu, I present to you Paul Schlagel of Enduro Guide Service. Your NEW CUSTOMFISH MUSKIE CHAMPION with a monster that measured 54 1/2" x 27 1/2"!
Truly awesome Paul!

And to think, it only cost him $75 plus shipping to get all 54 1/2" up on a wall!
Someone remind us to end that insane sale soon...please.

We also did this print for an Enduro Guide Service client. This fish is also an absolute beast coming in at 54". Caught in july '07 while fishing with Paul, Josh nailed this monster on one of his own hot spots! Nice goin' Josh!

In other news:
Last night was the annual St. Pat's dinner at Casa Del La Libation (Mike's house). We had traditional Irish fare along with traditional Irish beverages.
Q: What do you get when a Slovak and an Italian try to be Irish for one day?
A: Nothing positive...I can tell ya that.
If someone could please remind us next not to drink Guinness, Killians Red, a nutty irishman, Jamison, and an irish car bomb all in the same evening...we'd appreciate it.
So from all of us at Customfish we wish you a Happy St. Pats week.

We leave you today with one of our favorites: "Fish On" by Primus. Enjoy.

More Customlures Frankenstien series

2008-03-17T23:19:00.000+09:00

Attention! Mad scientist at work!
We got our white lab coats on again and went back into the dungeon.
Here's the latest creations from the minds of the angling insane.
First up is our Boa Constrictor Wrapped Magnum Spook.
It's no secret that we go after numbers of truly big fish. We don't accept dinks unless we have the children with. Period. And when this one hits the water in June...we'll be hiding the children.

Here's another creation that may just be the next Master Of Disaster. We call it The Rattlesnake Trap.

It's gonna take some seriously big, evil, pi##ed off fish to hit these baits. But we wouldn't have it any other way.
_________________________

IN other news, Mike saw a Bald Eagle in downtown St. Charles, IL today on the Fox River. That's a first in that area.
My sighting wasn't quite as regal, but I did see 2 robins. That means spring is almost here. Thank God.
_________________________

IT'S RANDOM PICTURE TIME!
As you surely know by now, we fish everywhere. We don't just limit ourselves to one river. We have waders, boats,a couple trucks,some plane tickets and a couple fast cars to get us wherever we have to go to catch the biggest fish available, whether it's huge smallmouth in Ontario, Steelhead in a creek somewhere, or monster pike up near the Arctic Circle. We are serious about what we do and how we fish. After all...it wouldn't make much sense to own a business dedicated to HUGE prints if we were catching dinks, now does it?
Consequently you also know that we take alot of other pictures besides just fish. This weeks shots come courtesy of Jamie and Steve Riani while fishing the Spirit Flowage in Tomahawk,WI at first light. Enjoy.

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

2008-03-17T22:21:00.000+09:00

Well, well, well..
So, let me get this straight O' Codfather..

You think you might be able to handle this?

Ok. Fair enough. Can you handle THIS?

What about THIS?

Ya might just get THIS.

Either way, I'm sure it'd make for alot of THIS.

Signed,
Don Carpleone

( To the producers of the show: Thanks for the note.)