28 lbs. 1 day winnebago, Can it be repeated and how?

[Eye man]

I am still amazed by this feat from the first day of the merc national last year. Do you guys think it can be beat and how? That is almost a 5 lb. average on the Winnebago system. The most amazing part to me is they didn't come off the hot mud bite that was going on the north end.

[Curious]

Where do you think it came from if not on the north end hot mud bite?

[Why Not ask Gary Or Jim????]

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[risor39]

Well how bout it Gary or Jim some generalizations will do.Come on help a guy out.Maybe even out the competition a little. LOL

[SLIPKNOT]

My bet is that gary locked through to green bay;) No just kidding, It was done in the mud, and I don't think it will happen again anytime soon, but I am probably wrong.

[Jeff]

Nope Nope i saw gary the first day i was out with my son. he was fishing a cane bed.

[BD]

I've fished Bago for 49 years. Those fish didn't come off of the mud bite. The mud bite is average run fish with some schools a little over average. Was the winning catch from Bago or could it have come off of Poygan or the river? If it was from Bago I can think of only one pattern that would get you larger size fish consistantly. :)

[SLIPKNOT]

It was either 2 spots, the caine, or the mud. I wouldn't be suprised by either. BD, you are right, most fish in the mud are average, however, I do have some spots out there that always produce nice fish, but could i catch 6 fish weighing 5 pounds each, probably not. the only reason I lean towards the caine is because I know he was fishing the caine in the wwa tournament a few weeks before, but I did win that tournament and beat gary so there ya go (there was no harm intended there, gary is a GREAT fisherman and I just had to thrown that in to make me feel better;) )

[BD]

I see Jeff posted about the cane about the same time I was writing my first reply. The cane is why I asked about Poygan. Parsons won a few years back following the sturgeon that were stiring up the bottom. The eyes were feeding (?) on the lakefly larve the sturgeon stired up. At least that is what Parsons claimed.

[Rich S]

Get it right from the horses mouth. Check out the Gary Gray chat from last year. He tells where it happened. He also told me that it will be broken this year. The guy is truly a fishing machine and I hope that he dominates this year as well. He deserves it.

[jerry]

I can tell you that those fish did not come from either the mud or cane beds. I cannot tell you where though. I can tell you that the guys who pulled over 25lbs. on day 2 caught their fish casting Shad Rap RS' over shallow weeds. As for the question, can someone pull over that amount this year? Most definitely. It could happen in a number of places. Cane bed, weeds, mud, rock bars are all capable of big fish at any time. Anyone who discounts any of these areas as big fish potential spots is missing the boat.

The interesting thing about the 'Bago system is you never know what or where it will happen. You have a bite that is dictated by water levels and forage. Based on the mild winter we've had in comparison to last years average winter, I'd say the shad die-off will be minimal and fishing will be a little tougher than last year. Good luck to all and I hope to see you out there.

[scooter]

It can be done but bago is a one of the rare places that you can have 6 differnt bites going and never get to the big ones.Who in there right mind fishing a tourney is going to leave a 3lb average bite to go find bigger fish.I wouldnt but then again I have never found a 6lb average out there.I have caught many fish larger than 6 out there but never enough to but together that kind of average.
I did see a 5lb average out over the mud about 2 feet down a few years ago.If any one can do it again Gary could but I think he would even say wow!Mabey not he is one of the best there is so.
If I had to pick a bite to fish it would be a shoreline rock weed bite but heck with my luck they would be in the cain the day I tried the rocks.Anyway good luck to all of the guys and gals fishing the merc.nat.


scooter

[stevefellegy]

'Bago goes in streaks, it seems, like most big walleye lakes. Of course, I am surely not a 'Bago regular but I have fished at least one event there for about 17 years in a row. Proudly, always in the top ten. In the '85 -'89 era, five pound averages were VERY common on the mud. Tournaments were consistently showing that size average in the top ten weights.
It seems things are headed that direction these days, again. I have also had those types of limits on the reefs at 'Bago.
Back in the 'early mud days', there weren't GPS or even Loran C units to follow the open water schools. My partner, Viking linebacker Wally Hilgenberg, an avid duck hunter, brought along a gunny sack full of decoys, instead of a line of marker bouys, to stay with the fish. The "boys" just trolled by. BUT old Probst and McClelland used fake sea gulls too. lol Them were the days....

[bump]

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[Eye man]

I know where Gary was, how he got the spot, and how he caught them. He did catch the fish slip bobbering, he got the spot from a local two days before the tourney and not by the locals choice. He was fishing rocks and not on winnebago. He has fished too many tourneys to give up the spot. The spot is only as big as about two boats.
None of his fish came from the north end of bago. None of his fish came from bago at all for that matter.

By starting this thread my point was not to pinpoint gary's spot. What I am saying if there is a spot like this one holding big fish, how many other hidden humps are out there that no one even knows are there because they are not on any map. These are big fish spots because no one ever fishes them. Gary deserves a lot of credit for effectively fishing the spot once he found it to pull the big ones out fast and get out of there before anyone was on to him.

[Gary Gray]

Now to answer all speculation:

The spot I fished, was given to me by a friend. And for your information, it was his choice! He took me out there 2 weeks before, and the fish were not there. It is a hit and miss spot, unlike the spot where Creeper and Hugh's fished. We fished more that one spot, there was no one spot that held all of these big fish. I use to have a few big fish spots, and still do. But every time I get caught on one of them, the locals and some tournament guys, jusat seem to pound them to death, and keep the fish.

It is very hard to keep ahead of the game, and sometimes you just get lucky, as we did last year. It's not having one spot, but many spots, and just making a milk run, till you find the right ones. I don't prefish the places, that I am going to fish during the tournament, for the reason above.

I got caught on one of my best spots, about 7 yrs ago, by Stork, he fished it for the next 6 days prior to the tournament, and kept all the fish, These where fish ranging from 5-7 lbs. Over the course of 6 days, he caught and took home over 30 fish of that caliber. Then come tournament time, I caught 1 7lb er there, and he was there, and asked the stupid question, " where did they all go?" there were here all week!. I just shook my head and left.

Now to answer where, How, I will tell you this, we caught 5 on slip bobbers, 12 trolling, 15 pitching jigs, 3 casting cranks. Out of this, we had caught fish on the upper lakes, and river, and winnebago. 18 fish came from winnebago.

I will say this, some of the big fish, came from where Kenny Bauman won the Nigl's tournament, The Pilings, and 41 bridge. ( trolling fly's) and 3-ways.

Hope this clears the air a little,
Gary Gray, #10

[whitetips]

Do you think this related to the water level being lower than normal for those fish trying to go up the river . Then the majority not doing so and staying in the big lake. Local told me this 3 years ago.
What do you think? To Steve Fellegy. Also Gary.

[Gary Gray]

Yes, this does have a effect on the fish. Last year was a good example, and now that we have a lot of moister, it will all change again. The type of spring that we have, will be a big effect, on where, and when these fish will spawn. It all happens with timing. If the big fish spawn early, they will be back in time. My bet, is that the RCL, will have the best bite ever seen on Winnebago system, because those fish will be located in smaller area's, and if they find them, it will be a tournament fisherman's dream come true. I have documented the walleye run for over 30 yrs, and my Dad did it before me for 40 yrs, so there are a lot of variables, but they still follow a pattern with the water levels, and warmth of spring water. I wished I were fishing the RCL on the pro side, but instead, I will fish the co-angler side, and just have fun and watch it happen.

Hope this helps,
Gary Gray,#10

[Eye Man]

Thanks Gary! It was an unbelievable weight but not so unbelievable that you got it. You are a class act when it comes to the tournament trail. I respect you for the fisherman you are and apologize for spending too much time in the rumor mill. Good luck to you and your partner this year.

[stevefellegy]

I know NOTHING! lol

I surely am not one to speculate in detail about Winnebago, when you have Mr. Gray to do so. And, knowing Gary, the class act he is, I wouldn't ever expect him to get TOO specific on his tournament strategies. Let's all respect this when it all involves home water/tournament strategy.
Guys like Gary and myself appreciate the opportunity to interact with all of you, and offer everything we can, to a point, to help you all enjoy our great sport to the optimum. BUT... As someone said on another post recently, "someone might be listening".lol

So....go ahead and keep asking. Maybe 'someone' will SLIP and I will learn something. lol lol

[Gary Gray]

No Problem EyeMan,

Of all the tournaments that I won, last year ment more to me, winning it with my cousin Ronnie. About 7 yrs ago, Ronnie's son Bobby who was 24 at the time, fished a lot with me. He went to a couple of tournaments, and wanted to get into this game. He was a kid with high values, and worked hard at his job. He was single, and raced snowmobiles at 100 mph plus. Speed was no evil to him. He bought my Skeeter, and the first day on Winnebago with his New boat, the day before his birthday, he had a accident. From the best that we can figure, he hit a Sturgeon, and it launched the boat upward. We figured the sturgeon got tangled between the transom, and the motor, and when the boat came back down, it took a hard right, which threw him to the left. He hit his head on the hinge of the passenger seat, and the boat just kept going around and around, till it threw him into the water. He would have been 25 the next day. My wife and I were devistated, because Bobby was like one of our own kids. Ronnie and I where never very close, till that happened. We have become Best friends since, and he has picked up where his son left off. I live with Bobby's memories, everyday I get into a boat. And for winning the Merury National's last year, that meant so much to me, to win it with Ronnie, and I know it meant the world to him.

Gary Gray, #10