“Wisconsin Fishing with Pete Stoltman”

Part 4: Doodle for Pike and Bass

Editor’s Note: Pete Stoltman of St. Germain, Wisconsin, host of the Internet radio show, “Regular Fishin’ for Regular Guys,” guides and fishes for muskie and other species of fish, including bass, bluegill, perch, walleye and crappie on every lake in northern Wisconsin. “There are a couple hundred lakes in the county where I live,” Stoltman says. “So, I choose the lake to match the species of fish my clients want to catch.” Stoltman also works at Rollie and Helen’s Musky Shop (www.muskyshop.com), the world’s-largest tackle shop devoted to muskie fishing, in Minocqua, Wisconsin. The shop supplies fishing tackle, including Mepps’ products, to any part of the world where fishermen target big pike and/or muskie. This week, Stoltman tells us where he finds fish in Wisconsin and how to catch them.

Question: Pete, you’ve got to be a hardcore angler to fish all day in hopes of catching one muskie. I know you have many clients who like to catch pike and bass. What lures do you use to catch northern pike and largemouth bass?

Stoltman: I like the Mepps Timber Doodle. Most people who say they want to fish for muskies often decide they’d rather catch fish instead of trying all day for one muskie. Too, I guide many families with young children. Young people don’t like to go fishing. They like to catch fish. So, I’ll tie Timber Doodles on their rods and they’ll wear-out the pike and the bass, and still have a chance to catch muskies. The Timber Doodle is relatively weedless.

The pike and the bass seem to congregate in areas where the weeds are fairly thick, in water 3- to 6-feet deep. Most other lures won’t come through those weeds and slop like the Timber Doodle will. With other lures, when you bring in the lure, you may pull a 6-foot-long string of weeds behind it. But when I tie on a Timber Doodle with a Mister Twister Split Double Tail Grub on the back, I can retrieve this lure weed-free. The pike will jump all over this lure when they see the flash and the wobble of the Mepps Timber Doodle coming through the weeds.

Question: What color Timber Doodle do you like?

Stoltman: Most times I use the silver and the rocket-red colors on the 1/2-ounce Timber Doodle.

Question: What kind of Mister Twister tail do you put on the backs of the baits?

Stoltman: The Timber Doodle comes with a Mister Twister Split Double Tail Grub. Sometimes, the pike will tear up that trailer pretty bad. When that is the case, I like to use the 3-inch Mister Twister Curly Tail Grubs. The pike prefer something on the back of the lure that gives it a little wiggle.

Question: On what pound-test line do you use to fish the Mepps Timber Doodle?

Stoltman: I use 8-pound-test monofilament line on spinning tackle, which is the same combination I’ve used when fishing for smallmouths at the first of the season. I’ll use a wire leader at the end of my 8-pound-test line to keep the pike from biting the line. A pike can bite through 8-pound-test monofilament line easily, so you must use a leader.

Question: What length wire leader and what pound-test wire leader do you use?

Stoltman: I’ll fish with 6 inches of 90-pound-test wire leader coming off the monofilament main line. I’ll tie monofilament line to a barrel swivel at the end of the wire leader. Then I’ll use a snap at the other end of the wire leader to attach to the Timber Doodle.

Question: What percentage of the fish you catch will be pike, and what percentage will be bass?

Stoltman: I’ll probably catch three pike for each largemouth bass I put in the boat, which figures to about 75% pike to 25% bass.

Question: How big are the bass you catch?

Stoltman: They’ll weigh from 1- to 3-pounds each. But we’ve caught largemouths weighing up to 5 pounds.

To fish with Pete Stoltman, call (715) 542-4142, email him at pjs53@frontiernet.net, or visit www.lastcastguideservice.com. You also can listen live to Stoltman’s radio show on his website from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm CST on Sunday evenings.