Chequamegon Bay with Jim Hudson February 6-7, 2006 I couldn't take it anymore! I've been hearing about the smallmouth fishery at Chequamegon Bay and seeing photos of these sumo smallmouths and had to finally check it out. The trip started a few months ago when I e-mailed Jim Hudson of Hudson's On the Spot Guide Service. "Come on up," Jim said! Jim is a Fishing Minnesota regular as well as a staffer so I've gotten to know him pretty well online but FINALLY got to meet Jim in person. I can't speak for Jim but it sure fealt like we'd been friends for a long time. Anyway... You want to know about the fishing perhaps? My trip started Monday morning at 3:50am in the Twin Cities and hit the road with snowmobiles in tow. One wrong turn and a half hour more than planned and I arrived in Ashland, WI. I met Jim at Harbor Bait where I purchased my 2 day great lakes fishing license.

Once on the ice and 30 augered holes later, we were fishing. Still catching my breath from augering holes, Wham!!!, a smallie smacked my bait! I have got to tell you, I wasn't ready for the fight these fish give you. Drag was too tight and I lost the fish on his first good run. "Great," I thought, "That is going to jinx us." And did it ever!! Jim won't like this but he lost the next 3 fish as well. To our defense, the weather really shut the fish down and they were biting very, very light if they did hit. It took us three moves and another 60 some holes before Jim finally hooked into and LANDED a smallie. This was about 4pm and we'd been fishing since 9:30am. We talked about this on the ice but it just goes to show how persistence and determination can pay off. We had to slow our presentations way down, move alot, and auger alot of holes and it paid off by finally putting a couple fish on the ice.

I hadn't landed a fish yet and quittin' time was nearing... "One more hole," I told Jim "and then we can go!" This last hole was interesting since I marked a smallie on the bottom on my Marcum. Of course this had been happening all day and when I dropped my spoon down, the smallie disappeared off of my flasher screen. Well this time, I had tied on a Scenic Tackle Angel Eye, Jr and dropped that down. For those who fish AE, Jr's, you know they flutter off to the side and out of your cone of vision on the flasher. Well that happened on this drop and as I was tightening up my line, I had a fish on and landed my 1st Chequamegon Smallie! Not a big one but it was a smallie and thats what mattered!! The fish totally caught me off guard and Jim too. Great way to end the day! As we were heading off the lake, Jim said "Tomorrow will be better." I smiled and said it couldn't get much worse. So we hit the Bay this morning a little bit earlier than yesterday and I yanked a fish right off the bat! Not a smallie but a 15" Coho Salmon. Cool! But not what I was after! No sooner than I had that fish on the ice, Jim had the 1st smallie of many on the ice! A couple quick photos and it was released. I bet it wasn't even three minutes later and he had another one on! Here's a couple photos of that fish. Jim proceeded to put on a clinic on catching smallies and I FINALLY got in on the action with a small fish. Shortly after that one, I had another one on and finally got a pig that taped out a tad over 19 1/2 inches.

Remember I said Monday was an exercise in frustration and persistence? Well... This morning's fishing was about as fast and furious as you may find on the Bay! Jim and I combined for 10 smallies and a Coho in about 1-1/2 hours of fishing plus another 4-5 fish that we didn't quite connect with, either lost at the hole or shortly after the hookset.