As we approached mid-July here in Wisconsin, everyone assumes we are going to be looking at several weeks of upper 80 degree temperatures and some days in the 90’s and water temps pushing upper 70’s on the surface.  That thought gets us Big Fish Walleye Chasers jacked up about finding fish hanging off the deep structures of the northern parts of Green Bay.  This strange year we are having has thrown us many curveballs so far on the water so why would we think that July 20^th for our Tournament out of Little Sturgeon would be anything different.

The scuttlebutt among the ranks was that absolutely nothing was biting to the north and the water was still loaded with Baitfish and cooler temps.   There was a solid bite happening down to the south but we all had to contend with a southern boundary line and hope the active fish stayed north of that line.

Once the boats were checked in and the release was counted off almost everyone turned south around Henderson’s Point and headed for open water.

The one nice break we all caught was that the forecasted stronger south winds held off for the day until all the teams made it back to the weigh in site.

As the SWC has proven many times in the past we all can catch fish no matter what the conditions and this day was no exception with only a couple teams not weighing any fish.  Teams shared reports of fish being caught on both cranks and harnesses as they weighed in their fish. Continue reading

The Nebraska Walleye Association Kids Fishing Clinics Charity, Inc. sponsored four tournaments in 2014.  The first two were held at the Lewis & Clark Reservoir near Crofton, NE. on May 3 & 4.  The last were held at Merritt Reservoir near Valentine, NE. on July 26 & 27.

Two totally different types of fisheries and a change from late spring to summer patterns presented challenges for the tournament teams and on all days the winning teams used different presentations to overcome that.  At Lewis & Clark the team of Jason Hettler and Brandon Shada had a two day total of 27.23 pounds.  At Merritt the team of Mike Means and Chad Warriner had a two day total of 34.63 pounds.

The top three team finishers after this four tournament format are: Mike Means/Chad Warriner, Russ Glassoff/Rich McShane, and Chuck Pavelka/Will Pavelka.  Congratulations to these teams and they will be offered the opportunity to fish in the 2015 NTC at Milford Lake.

This organization is a 501 (c) (3) public charity that promotes fishing education and conservation in Nebraska to over 2000 youth annually.  Fishing is Fun! is the catch phrase used to conduct 15-20 kids fishing clinics across the state.  Each participant receives hands on fishing instruction from state certified volunteers and is given a free rod/reel/tackle box combination to take fishing.  The only entry required to fish in these tournaments is to volunteer at the kids fishing clinic held at the tournament site. At the Lewis & Clark Crofton Clinic 45 kids learned how to fish and one of them Eli Anderson 3 years old won a youth lifetime Nebraska hunting/fishing permit courtesy of the Fishing is Fun! kids’ charity.  At the Merritt Reservoir the kid’s charity partnered with the Nebraska Game & Parks, The Bass Federation, and the Nebraska Walleye Association to sponsor a Family Fishing Event. This allowed families to come and enjoy the sport of fishing as all equipment, bait, and instruction was available free of charge. The Nebraska State HS Bass Fishing Championship and the Nebraska Walleye Association State Championship were both going on during this weekend which provided a unique opportunity and backdrop for this event.

A big thanks to all who make: Fishing is Fun! in Nebraska.