I am blessed to be a short drive to the mighty Mississippi River.  Pool 4 of the Mississippi is my primary location to take my clients kayak fishing (see my business www.smallcraftoutfitters.com ).  It offers a vast variety of species, it is common to see several bald eagles, and other wildlife is abundant there as well.  The views can also be breathtaking with the bluffs of Wisconsin.  The river changes by the day and brings new challenges and mystery to the adventure.  You never know what kind of fish will end up on the end of your line, what the water/beaver dams/other wildlife will allow you to explore.  Disclaimer:  With this beauty and mystery comes a high level of danger.  Currents, barge traffic on the main channel, and a maze of backwaters.  These can all get you lost, injured, or worse.  If exploring them alone or for the first few times, be sure to be well informed by a guide or local. This time of year it is quite cold in Wisconsin and the duck hunters swarm the backwat

Like a jet ski buzzing my bow, the summer was a ride that went by like a blur.  It was rough at times, but rewarding.  Most importantly, I came out unscathed.  Before the snow was even off the ground my garage was filled with kayaks.  My business, Small Craft Outfitters , was in business for its second year.  We had exponentially more kayaks and guided kayak fishing trips this year.  I feel truly blessed to have had such a good year already!  We still aren't out of the red yet, but we will get there.  Someday. I love bringing my passion of kayak fishing to others through my writing, forums, social media, selling kayaks, and guiding.  Between the business adventures, my family, volunteer EMT work, and day job the summer filled up to the brim.  As the season wound down, my wife reminded me to be cautious.  She doesn't want to see my passion become a job or a grind.  I had only gotten out on the water a couple times all season for pleasure.  Even then, it seemed I was piggy-back

First of all, I'd like to apologize to my regular readers for the silence.  I was going to school to become an EMT while dealing with some family health issues over the fall/winter.  I am back, and it feels good to be writing again!  My first big outing of 2018 was exactly what I needed to resurrect my writing.  A day kayak fishing with my good friend Chang of www.cxfishing.com! It is March in Wisconsin.  Temperatures range from -10 to 45.  We can see 50+ degree swings in a day.  The robins and geese are returning from the south, bald eagles and ravens enjoying feasts of the roadkill previously frozen under feet of snow.  Wisconsinites are out in t-shirts and shorts, anxiously awaiting warm-weather activities. When this happens you'll find a majority of Wisconsinites doing things the rest of the country would deem "crazy".  We wear shorts, we grill (though we never actually stop doing that all winter), we take convertibles out (top down), motorcycles will be spott

When I was a kid, I remember my Great Grandpa telling me stories of fishing for Catfish and Musky on the Fox River in Illinois.  Some of the bait would be frowned upon today and would cause an uprising from PETA.  But in those times, it was as normal as a night crawler.  He used to tell me about some of the old lures they used.  Spoons and spinners.  Simple, flashy, effective.  To this day, though having more advanced engineering, materials, and manufacturing, just as effective.  My best fish have been caught on spinners. I've always loved inline spinners.  The ones my Great Grandpa told me about, and we have all seen in magazines and on the interweb, are amazing.  Horse hair, a treble hook, a wire, and a hammered-out buffed piece of metal as a spoon.  Sure, lure manufacturers made some.  But in my Great Grandpa's youth, they didn't have the funds or supply chain to get things instantly.  Some made them in their machine sheds on the farm.  But they caught fish.  Without

After a rough start to the 2017 Wisconsin fishing season in Part 1 of this story , I was out to redeem myself. My good buddy Chang Lor of www.cxfishing.com suggested we start at a big lake then move to a body of water connecting two large lakes in Western Wisconsin.  A bit sore from the previous day, I'm running late and tell them to launch sans me.  I arrive at the launch on the big lake, go through my rigging exercise, and hit the water. Eventually I merge with my fellow yakers and we hit a small area of the water.  Chang manages to haul in some bass.  I'm targeting crappie once I see the size of the slabs spawning in the shallows.  To make a long story short, the big crappie won't bite on anything.  They have other things on their mind.  I do eventually landing a few nice ones.  A bit later, we try the big water, but it is fruitless.  We opt to head to the smaller water.  Chang tells us stories of the amazing vegetation there, making it a frog heaven.   I am clo

It has been a long Wisconsin spring.  We had a wide range of weather and temperatures.  Anything from 20 degrees to 80, sunshine to snowfall.  This has made the bite difficult to lock down.  Early in the season the pike bite was hot on spinners during their spawn.  The temps rose and I was able to boat over 40 bass and a nice 4.5lb bass in one day on PowerTeam Lures Grubs and the James Gang Fishing Lovertail2 both covered in JBs Fishsauce .  The two weeks following were slow when the water temperatures dropped back into the 40s with the cold temps.  I was able to coax a few bites, but not the hot pre-spawn bite while temps were on the rise.  The first weekend in May, Wisconsin Fishing Opener, a sacred day to some (myself included), was no different. I'm still in winter sleep mode, my mind still sleeping late to avoid the bitter cold mornings from the Wisconsin winter.  To avoid side affects (severe irritability) I ease into my summer up-and-at-em-for-fishing sleep schedule by w

For those of us in the north it is inevitable.  Winter hits, water turns to ice, and our kayaks are put away to hibernate for the winter along with our souls.  This winter, I would open up the shed to sneak a peek and say hello to my Feelfree Lure and Bending Branches Angler Pro whilst they slumbered.  A tear would drip from my eye and instantly freeze.  Head hanging low, I shut and locked the shed before retreating to the warmth of the house. A couple ice fishing trips slightly abated the urge to hit the water.  It at least gave me an opportunity to wet a line and land some fish.  But the odd weather this winter ranged from dangerously cold to dangerously warm.  This made for tough and/or unsafe ice conditions.  I was unable to get as much time on the "hard water" as I would have liked.  Still, I had to scratch the itch to fish. I was able to accomplish this by stocking up for the upcoming season and the first season for Small Craft Outfitters , my new kayak sales/guide

A beautiful January day in IL. Photo Cred: Jeff Ashmann This past weekend, I managed to sneak out on the water on a gorgeous 61 degree day.  I have no idea how or why it we had a 61 degree day in January, but I wasn't gonna miss my chance to break the yak out.  I met up with a bunch of new friends from Southern IL and we went to a local power plant lake.  The fishing wasn't great, we did manage to catch some fish and I got to fish in shorts so I was a happy camper!  One thing that I pondered while on the water was how do you determine what bait to throw (slow moving baits).  I know everyone has their preferences and confidence baits, but what is the deciding factor when fishing a new lake?  Is it the water clarity? Type of cover? Presence of forage?  In my opinion that is A LOT to take into account when you are on the water, especially when you have a limited amount of time.  Now let me preface, most will start with a reaction type bait to find fish, which I did but I coul

It is inevitable in the Great White North.  The scorching, humid, summer is followed by the blazing colors of fall, followed by the blistering winter.  Said winter makes it difficult to kayak with ice thick enough to drive large vehicles on (though I have seen people attempt it).  Thus, we kayak fisherman take this lemon and make lemon vodka.  We bust out the shanties and ice poles, fill our flasks with vodka, and fill our ice-free coolers with beer (to keep it from freezing since it is so cold), and head out on the "hard water". Hard water is a beast of its own.  Specific rods, reels, lures, bait, electronics, and augers to get you a hole through which you wet your line and (hopefully) retrieve some fish. In this area, others had been out sooner.  Some die-hards will go out on questionable ice, crawling across with plywood, tied to their buddies with a long rope.  Yes, I've kayaked in my fair share of conditions others wouldn't consider.  But, for me, ice is too un

As 2016 has finally ended and 2017 begins, it bring a new year of possibilities both in fishing and in life.  While for some our kayak fishing season has ended, but for others it is starting to heat up as fish will be making their way to beds within the next few months.  Whether you are able to fish or not, there is always something to do.  Lately I have been cleaning reels, organizing tackle, and replacing rusty hooks.  While these tasks might not be as fun as getting on a school of toads, they are crucial tasks that need to be done to ensure proper and efficient use of your time on the water.  I would much rather do this stuff now, to allow me to be on the water as soon as everything unthaws! New PB, 21.5 inches, from 2016! Now let me preface that I have never been a huge goal type of guy.  A lot of times I make decisions as they come to me rather than a long distance goal that I could lose motivation to accomplish.  My kayak fishing goal for 2016 was to make the KBF National

Prostaff, field staff, ambassador, sponsored, team member, etc.  These are all hot, sought after, positions in the exploding kayak fishing, and fishing, industries.  I have been blessed to pick up several of these opportunities to officially represent the brands I love.  Several have asked me how I do it, so I thought I'd share my experiences here. My FeelFree Lure, Bending Branches Angler Pro, Ardent Pro reel.  No, I am not sponsored by a wizardry supplier - the wizard staff was found in the lake and placed in a rod holder for good luck (it didn't work). Definition Each company calls it a different thing, but Prostaff seems to be the most universally used.  People often do not understand the meaning of this team.  Prostaff is short for Promotional Staff.  You are representing the company in different ways in exchange for a discount, sales credit, etc.  I personally do not consider myself a professional angler.  I am not a professional until I can make a liv