Sometime around May 20th, my good fishing buddy, Gary Grenda, took these snapshots of mating muskies from Northern Wisconsin. At the time he took these pictures, he says he saw roughly five fish compressed in a small pool and dancing together. If I were to guess, the female is in the 44-47 inch range while the male is a middle thirty incher. I’ve caught muskies from here before, up to 45″, so that’s as accurate as I can be with the guesstimation. With the full belly, she’s likely 25 pounds plus. This body of water shall remain nameless, but it’s  [ Read More ]

I recently returned from a two week adventure to the north, only to do laundry, produce a few videos, watch the Blackhawks win, and catch up on a few unimportant work related tasks. Other than the hockey and videos, it’s been a real pointless week in my opinion. Since I don’t have much time to write my usual daily summaries these next few days, as I leave for my next two week trip in a little over 48hrs from now, I will lay it all on the line for you guys in this post…. I’ll eventually catch up to the  [ Read More ]

On May 10th, I was interviewed by Cortland Line for its monthly newsletter that’s sent to retailers and dealers, and used for the web. Each month, they will be interviewing a different pro staff member. I was contacted for their first installment and happily obliged. Thank you to Artie Loomis! And thanks for the new walleye line also; just got it in the mail! The full link can be visited here: Q&A with Cortland Pro Staffer Andrew Ragas In the coming weeks I hope to supply you with more reviews; Cortland Endurance and Spectron are on deck. Share this:EmailPrintFacebook

Prior to Saturday May 4, 2013, the entire state of Wisconsin and its residents were unsure whether there would be any open water present in its northern regions. Local guides and friends expressed little confidence. The day before the season opener, it appeared there would be no chance for much accessible open water thanks to the late winter and delayed arrival of spring. The latest ice-out period in recent memory were the winters of 1996-97 as ice didn’t leave the lakes until mid-May. Pictured below is May 3, 2013, as I overlooked my small 23 acre lake in 30 degree  [ Read More ]

We would like to happily announce the release of Fishing-Headquarters Magazine, Issue 13. This is our issue for May & June, 2013. Online Link – http://issuu.com/aragas/docs/fishing-headquarters-issue13 Website Link – http://www.fishing-headquarters.com/issue-13-may-jun-2013/ As I conclude the layout and editing of this latest issue, I sit here and think of how we are rapidly beginning a new season of summer fishing. During the months of May and June, I will be on the road and fishing throughout the northcountry for a total of five weeks. The planning stages of such travels leads to antsy-ness and sleepless nights. The excitement of post spawn walleyes,  [ Read More ]

Since my last project update from end of March, I’ve been working very hard to complete my jon boat restoration before my spring fishing season commences. Thankfully the hard work paid off. I finished a week ahead of schedule. When I made my last post, I completed the sanding, prepwork, and interior and exterior painting; All during a two day window of sunny 60-degree weather. Since then, we haven’t come close to reaching those daytime highs. These were big tasks which led me to this latest and the project’s completion. To make this story less redundant, I will leave you  [ Read More ]

Back in March when I fished and waded those swampy backwaters of the Des Plaines River for northern pike, I encountered a misfortune. My wading boots of two and a half seasons fell apart; sole and boot completely separated from one another. Because of this, I was barely able to make it back to my vehicle due to the difficulty of walking bootless through vegetation, mud, wood and other debris. These boots are the first generation Cross Currents which are no longer made and were no longer under manufacturers warranty. My wading has declined in recent years due to declining  [ Read More ]

After yesterday’s successful outing, I returned again this afternoon for round-2. I fished from 4pm until 7pm, and concentrated on the exact same areas as yesterday except I added two additional spots to the mix. If it wasn’t broke, then I wasn’t going to fix anything or refine my techniques. Nine largemouth bass and one walleye came to hand this evening. A nice feeding window was present between 4-6pm. With a bridge area being my key location yesterday, the first spot I fished today was a different bridge. This particular bridge I fished was re-built, and practically inaccessible to fishing  [ Read More ]

It was only a matter of time before I’d catch my first fish of 2013. With the weather finally becoming more spring like the fishes are waking up and so am I. With the Des Plaines River being a bust so far this spring, I decided to fish one of it’s largest tributaries this afternoon and evening from 4pm until 7pm; my first outing here this year. Luckily I only have to travel less than five minutes to get to most of my good spots at the local flow. Not knowing what to expect, because I hadn’t fished here since  [ Read More ]

Dear readers, I hereby check myself into my blog to acknowledge that I am still alive and have not yet perished from excessive workload and lack of fishing. Between my work schedule, cold weather, boat building, and the fish having not yet fully recovered from their winter hangover, I went fishing a total of two times in March. Both times were at a large backwater system of the Des Plaines River with spawning pike being the objective. The fishing was terrible, and this was the first spring season in which I caught nothing from my early season pike backwater. My  [ Read More ]