Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 10-20-14

WI Fishing Reports
Jeff Evens

More great people, more great fish, and more great memories were made over the past weekend as our open water season is winding down in a hurry. Friday was spent on the water with two heroes as part of the Wounded Warriors In Action “Bayfield County Cast & Blast”. This is the second year of the event organized by Chris Diesing from Brookfield, WI. Last year was a huge success, and Chris was kind enough to invite Dave Brown and myself back to spend a day on the water with these brave soldiers who have sacrificed so much for all of us. My crew consisted of Cpt. Larry Roszell from Wheeler, WI who received his Purple Hearts in 1967 – 68 as a Navy Corpsman in Vietnam and Ssgt. Tony Gower from Sardis, OH who served as a Marine in Iraq and received his Purple Heart in 2005. Dave fished with Sgt. Eric Shaffer from Beaufort, SC who received his Purple Heart as a Marine in Iraq in 2004. Chris Diesing, and Paul Smith from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinelwere also along with Dave and Eric. After a great breakfast at The Delta Diner, we headed out into some incredibly nasty weather with gusty north winds and rain throughout the day. However these guys are the definition of “tough”, and a little bad weather wasn’t going to keep them off the lake. We worked hard but caught some very nice fish that included smallmouth up to 19″, walleyes up to 19″, and a 40″ pike landed by Tony. It was Tony’s largest fish ever caught and definitely the highlight of our day that included lots of laughs and lots of great stories. All of our fish were caught on jigs and minnows in 15′ – 24′ of water with water temps holding at 50 degrees throughout the day. Success was had in Dave’s boat as well with two muskies landed by Eric that included a fat 41″ fish. Spending a day on the water with these guys is one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had, and I’m extremely honored to have shared the boat with them. A big thanks goes out to Chris Diesing and WWIA for organizing this event as well as local businesses The Delta Diner, Scenic Drive Resort, Flying Eagle Resort, and Dairyland Fence Company along with the many individuals who donated their personal time and resources to make this event possible. Thank you Tony, Larry, and Eric for your sacrifices, and thank you to all of our Veterans who have served this country past and present. Larry, let me know when you get rid of those prune pits!!!