Big Catch Fishing Expeditions, LLC

09/20/2026

Big Catch Chetek Report: This past weekend, I had two groups out on the Chain of Lakes. Yesterday, I picked up Jim and his Son In Law at there place. Earlier in the summer, we had to call off the trip because of rain , but we made it happen this time. Jim’s been retired for 32 years in Chetek. We shared a lot of stories about the town we both love and cherish so much. The guys caught a nice mess of fish , but nothing big for the typical Chetek bluegill. This morning, I picked up Denny & D at Shady Grove Resort. It was a beautiful start at 7AM pulling up to the gorgeous Shady Grove. I had to work my butt off so the guys could hook some fish, but at least we were able to get D his first walleyes. I think I gave the guys some good options to fish the rest of the week and they took a good start to the fish house. On a side note, Raiden came up from Thorp High School to fish the Muskie Inc tournament on the Barron County lakes with musky. We pushed off my dock at 5:45 AM. The tournament started at 6AM. I think it was on Raiden’s 5th cast a 37 1/2 inch fish crushed his surface lure. Later, at 8AM, he caught his second musky to lock up 21st Place out of 195 competitors. I guess I placed 195 because I quit the tournament after one day and didn’t catch Jack! Raiden is a fishing machine. He even caught a small musky on his own yesterday. Best of luck this week!

09/16/2026

Big Catch Chetek Report: Kathy caught a good one right away this afternoon. Then fishing was just one here and one there. We usually do much better this time of year, but of course the catching was better before the rain yesterday. Plus, for some reason this season, every time we get a North wind, it turns into a slug fest of running around the lake. Thank God for Sunny Pines Resort with their 25 Footer and my amazing group from Iowa tonight!

09/13/2026

Big Catch Chetek Report: I had Mike, Kathy and Leland out on a Guide trip this morning. We stuck with the panfish most of the morning and did a little walleye fishing. Fishing was just okay today with a few little spurts of decent action. I’m still looking for consistent action on the walleyes. A few smacked purple scouring around this past week. Back at it on Tuesday! Tomorrow looks wet and cold! Best of luck on your fall fishing in Chetek!

~Andy Schommer

09/09/2026

We caught a Rod & Reel the other day trolling on Lake Chetek in front of Shorewood Resort. It is a Cabela’s Tourney Trail Combo. You’re welcome to get it back if you lost it! 🙏

09/07/2026

Big Catch Chetek Report: With fishing being really slow, I wasn’t very optimistic yesterday when I picked my clients up at Outer’s Resort. At our first spot, we started catching bluegills and crappie right away on red worms. The crappie were suspended so we adjusted our bobber stops and started catching them on night crawlers. And then some boats started showing up around us so I hit the Ulterra and we jumped to some different spots on the Chain. At our third spot, we started catching fish every cast and stayed there for over an hour. We caught nice bluegills, perch, crappie, bass and a walleye. The fish are starting to show a fall pattern of hanging on drop offs and even pretty shallow in 4-6 FOW. My clients kept 30 panfish yesterday. This is my second year taking Rod and Jan out fishing. They are a fun couple. On a side note, I’ve been trolling and casting around to get back on the walleyes again. I thought I had a pattern down with a 24 inch fish , but that has been a flop. Trempeleau Jeff & Musky Chris caught a couple keepers this weekend so maybe the walleyes are going again. Best of luck!

09/06/2026

08/30/2026

Big Catch Report: Last Saturday morning, I hopped on a pontoon at an Airbnb with some guys on Prairie Lake. The wind was out of the north and we just caught little panfish. Then on Sunday morning, I went scouting for walleyes and pike. I didn’t find much of a pattern so I pulled my boat to do some fishing at my house on Rice Lake. The musky have been showing themselves quite a bit. I had a couple from Texas out on Tuesday night. Bud had one musky hooked but it got off. Yesterday, I did a fishing trip that I donated for a fundraiser for my kid’s Catholic School in Rice Lake. I took my gang out to a local honey hole. The kids caught crappie, bluegills and smallmouth. It was a nice trip!

08/23/2026

Last Week, I was up at Cobb Bay Lodge with my Dad, Wife, Son and Katina. We had great walleye fishing, weather and lodging. Sheri and Jamie are amazing hosts! They don’t have many openings in the summer, but you may get lucky in the Fall!

www.cobbbaylodge.com