Jim Hudson hears lots of questions about how to approach big water. Long ago, he accepted that when you specialize in guiding anglers on an inland sea, people expect you to thoroughly understand all big lakes.
Hudson was born and raised in the Chequamegon Bay area of northwest Wisconsin and has fished Lake Superior all his life. His grandfather commercial-fished this southernmost bay of the greatest lake, and he taught Jim everything he knew about the fish and the structure of this versatile fishery.
A college graduate in the area of natural resource management, Hudson has combined that lifetime of practical knowledge about the bay’s many fish species -along with the techniques used to catch them -with his academic training.
“My grandfather showed me where to find the fish, and I guess I’ve put a biological spin on why they’re there,” he said. “I love to fish and I’m totally at ease on this water.”
Hudson pro-staffs for the many Ice Team partners that are leading the charge for modern ice fishing, and he’s become a Power Stick for the Ice Team. He brings a lifetime of fishing knowledge and guiding big water experience to the team.
Through Hudson’s On The Spot Ice Fishing Adventures, his clients fish Chequamegon Bay, the gorgeous Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, as well as the many surrounding inland waters around the region. It’s one of the most beautiful, and perhaps underfished, areas of the country. There are fishing opportunities for trout and salmon, smallmouth bass, walleyes, northern pike, perch, whitefish, and burbot (eelpout).
And as with rivers, you never know what you’ll catch in big water, especially a healthy fishery like Lake Superior.
With all of the options available, Hudson and his clients can search for a specific species or stay versatile and have a multi-species adventure. He also works a variety of techniques: ranging from standard jigging approaches, dead-sticking, as well as tip-ups. He may hit very shallow water or depths of 150 feet or more.
Where does he begin when tackling an expanse of water that covers hundreds of thousands of acres? He believes that any big water system, whether it’s Mille Lacs, Lake of the Woods, or Chequamegon Bay (by Ashland, Wis.) always contains spots that will concentrate fish. And whenever he fishes new areas, he has a plan.
“It’s a matter of familiarizing yourself and doing your homework beforehand,” he said. “Obtain maps, read online forums, speak with bait shops, whatever – to see what’s going on -not only to find fish, but to judge ice conditions, which can change fast.”
Specific to ice fishing, he loves first ice. On Chequamegon Bay, that prime “first ice” lasts for months as anglers follow freeze-up into progressively deeper water. Just as anglers in traditional lake country target the freshest ice, seasoned guides on the inland sea work the newest hard water. Staying on top of the freshest ice is a key to success from late November well into January, he believes.
“We enjoy the first-ice roll for months,” he said. “The bay is mostly pretty shallow so that freezes first, then as the season wears on, we follow the ice build-up to Washburn, then to the Apostle Islands by mid-January where we’re fishing deeper than 100 feet pretty regularly.”
Much of Lake Superior can be unfishable for ice anglers because of wind constantly shifting and breaking up the ice. But the harbor of Chequamegon Bay, shields the area from the westerly winds and allows good ice to form, then work its way north. Last year late season, Hudson fished 20 miles out from the mainland. It takes an exceptional ice year to pull that off, however.
“We’ll fish 200, even 300 feet of water, and that completely blows people’s minds,” Hudson said. “The harbor and these islands provide access to that deep water. It’s pretty unique.”
The bite switches from species to species as the season progresses, Hudson said. During that first ice of early December, he’ll focus on trout and salmon as they pursue smelt, herring, and other pelagic (roaming) baitfish that enter the shallows during late fall.
“It’s easier to contact fish in these areas than a big mud flat that’s in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “They’re roaming with the currents to find plankton, and the gamefish follow. Points seem to concentrate these fish.”
As winter progresses, these same baitfish – which went deep during the summer to find cooler water – will head farther offshore in search of higher oxygen levels, Hudson said.
A real free-for-all kicks in then on the Chequamegon, he says. He considers the bay fairly easy to fish under such circumstances. He locates underwater points and inside turns offshore that hold and concentrate fish. Name the north country sportfish – big trout, salmon, walleyes, perch, and pike, whitefish – and you’ve got a shot at them here.
Many of Hudson’s clients desire those hard-fighting denizens of the deep: lake trout. He uses specialized gear with big flying jigs (“We call them ‘beetles.'”) custom made for fishing with cut bait in 200 or 300 feet of water. At that depth, fish can’t see much, so bait is mandatory, Hudson notes.
“We look for flats between the islands and fish the bottom. The best bite is first ice and late ice,” he said. “I tell people ‘We’re going to fish 300 feet of water’ and they say, ‘No way!’ “
It’s a great ride pulling up a 20-pound-plus lake trout from those kinds of depths. Plus, you’ve probably reached the location – at one of the northernmost points in the Lower 48 – via snowmobile, which adds to the adventure of it all.
“It’s can take 20 to 30 minutes to haul up a fish like that,” he said. “That’s a lot of fun through the ice.”By: Tim Lesmeister
