Visit Fishcast

Andrew Ragas

Andrew Ragas lives and catches fish from both Illinois and Wisconsin waters, with the latter located up north being his most favorite. A multi-species angler at heart, Andrew enjoys fishing for Bass, Muskies, Pike, and wading for river Walleyes. This original FHQ.com blog features his trip reports and summaries, and regionally-published fishing reports for the Chicago Sun-Times and PrairieStateOutdoors.com. Not only will Andrew discuss and talk about how to catch fish and how he does it all, but he will also cover a wide array of fishing-related topics such as current news and events taking place within the world of fishing.

Visit Mplant Fishing

Angling in Mplant's Neck of the Woods

Mike Planthaber

Resident Chicagoland stream fishing expert, Mplant, writes and tells the tales of how he fishes the region for all species of fish, including some of his favorites being the Lake Michigan Perch and Salmon. Not only that, but he has some interesting things to write about regarding the Trout and Steelheads he catches from many of the Great Lakes tributaries. Get to know Mike and his unique style of fishing by reading his blog - Angling in his neck of the woods.

Visit Trophy Hunting

Trophy Hunting with Kenny Lookingbill

Kenny Lookingbill

Website staff member and discussion forum moderator, Kenny Lookingbill, joined the crew as a blogger. He has limited writing and web logging experience but with our help, he will become a professional in no time. A student at Illinois State University who would like to someday work with the Department of Natural Resources, Kenny is whom you call a "trophy hunter". He simply enjoys pond hopping throughout all of Central and Northern Illinois in hopes of catching record-breaker Largemouth Bass and other big fish, wherever his travels take him to. Let Kenny share his fishing experiences and knowledge of the field work by ,you, reading his stories.

Visit Special Ed Fishing

Special Ed Fishing - Four Season Angler

Ed Schmitt

Website member, Special Ed, joined the website in spring, 2009 and has surged himself into being one of our more prominent members. For a while he was pondering whether or not he wanted a blog of his own to chronicle his own adventures and eventually the day finally came in January 2010. Ed has been a lifelong Chicago area resident who happened to serve our country in the Marines. Now, he resides in the southwest suburbs and goes fishing every chance he gets. If he had a goal in life, it would be to spend the remainder of his days learning new waters, sharing his knowledge of local waters, and enjoying the scenery that nature surrounds us with.

Visit Back East Fishing

Fishin' Back East with Jim Gronaw

Jim Gronaw

Jim Gronaw, 58, of Westminster, Maryland recently joined the Fishing Headquarters website and its discussion boards as a new member and contributor. He then proceeded to drop us a line and asked for a position to be one of our writers and bloggers. Without hesitation, he joined the crew. Jim is a licensed fishing guide, writer, and multi-species angler whose passion is chasing trophy Panfish. What he hopes to bring to FHQ members and readers is a view of what is happening on the eastern side of the United States. He may not have Salmonoids, Pike, Walleyes, or Musky like we do, but he does have big Catfish, major-league Bass, Panfish, and gigantic Shad and Stripers to catch. In addition to his fishing, Jim is a contributor for In-Fisherman, and has been published over 600 times both nationally and regionally  for various publications such as In-Fisherman, Outdoor Life, Fishing Facts, and Sports Afield.

Visit The Creek Wader

The Creek Wader, by Phillip Krotine

Phillip Krotine

Longtime FHQ member, Phil, joined the ranks as our first ever official fly fishing blogger in May 2010. A resident of eastern Ohio, Phil was introduced at the age of 14 to this foreign thing called fly fishing. Having only fished soft plastics, this was something completely different and intriguing. From there he learned everything he could about the sport, including fly tying and rod building. Phil loves the rod building and fly tying because it let me express myself in ways spin fishing couldn’t. He still uses the spinning rod from time to time, but fly fishing makes up 98% of his angling. Phil's favorite places to fish are small ponds and creeks! He enjoys small creeks for the reason that there tends to be a great variety of fish, they are very underfished, and hold some special prizes.