Musky Show!

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.

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

The mid october report continued.

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.

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

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!!!!!!!!!

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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