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Return to the Northwoods By Don Dziedzina
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It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. With family in Lake Geneva, trips there have been frequent. But years ago, it was an annual ritual to head further north to Vilas County for a week long fishing vacations.

Vilas County is located in the far northern portion of Wisconsin, right at the Wisconsin/Michigan border. I’ve fished a number of lakes up there like Lake Vieux Desert, Black Oak Lake, Lake George and a hand full of others. On this recent trip, I was introduced to a few more Vilas County lakes, all of which that are located in the Boulder Junction area.

A good friend of mine, Todd Gessner invited me to spend a few days up north to enjoy some great fishing. Gessner has been vacationing in the Boulder Junction area himself for about forty years. It was a vacation destination that his parents always enjoyed too. Since he has been guiding on Rend Lake and other southern Illinois lakes for over twenty-five years, Gessner thought it would be fun to spend the summer up north and guide out of the lodge where he often stayed for his summer trips.

Gessner’s Northwoods home base is the Wildcat Lodge. Located a few miles north of Boulder Junction, the Wildcat Lodge is found on the shores of Big Kitten Lake. Connecting lakes are Little Kitten and Wildcat Lake. If you like to move around, there are one hundred and ninety-four other lakes and streams found within ten miles of the lodge.

I have to share with you that my stay at the Wildcat Lodge was just great. Since my wife was with me, we were able to enjoy the amenities of their American plan. This included breakfast, dinner, and maid service. It just wouldn’t be a vacation for my wife if she had to shop for groceries, cook and clean up after words. It’s not that I wouldn’t give her a helping hand, but she deserves to relax and enjoy herself too.

While at the lodge, Gessner took me fishing on a few of the nearby lakes. When I arrived, the first lake to try was Wildcat Lake. My third cast with a white spinnerbait brought to the boat a smallmouth bass that was just less than three pounds. What a way to start the trip.

We also fished Little Trout Lake with a local guide, Duane Horstman (715-385-0081). Horstman is a multi-specie guide and works closely with the Wildcat Lodge and the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce (www.BoulderJCT.org).

We caught smallmouth bass and northern pike at Little Trout Lake and the action was continuous throughout the day. A few largemouth bass were caught too. Little Trout is a nice body of water and we had a fun day out there.

Gessner has been taking some of his clients to Nebish and Escanaba Lakes, a little south of the lodge, but still only minutes away.

Nebish Lake is a Wisconsin DNR controlled lake where it contains smallmouth bass and no other species of fish. It’s an experimental lake with only smallmouth bass, nothing else.

When fishing Nebish, anglers have to sign in at the DNR office nearby before going out and upon leaving the lake. Every smallmouth bass caught must be measured and recorded. When you leave the lake, you submit stats of your catch for their survey. This is one lake where you can bring the kids to catch a lot of fish. Gessner had a Dad and his two young sons on Nebish on the day of my arrival. The boys caught forty-two smallies of various sizes on a simple sixteenth ounce jig tipped with a Berkley Gulp Alive three inch leech. Of course, we did very well too.

We also fish Escanaba and caught walleyes, smallmouth bass, rock bass and pumpkinseed. Escanaba Lake is also being studied by the Wisconsin DNR. There too you must sign in and out at their field office located at the boat ramp. Escanaba Lake has no size limit on their fish; however keeper walleyes must be over twenty-eight inches long. It was a bit frustrating to release fish that were well over twenty inches long.

I recall making trips up north many years ago with the drive to be an all day affair. Now, almost the entire way to the Wildcat Lodge is two lane highways. From the Lincoln-Way area, it took only six hours.

I’ve wondered why it has been so long for me to go back to northern Wisconsin. I know now that I’ve missed out on a lot. The Boulder Junction area is a comfortable distance for a weeklong vacation or even a weekend trip. The Wildcat Lodge offers great lodging where the cabins are clean, neat and perfectly located amongst many great fishing lakes. The dining is fantastic and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. For more information about the Wildcat Lodge visit www.WildcatLodge.net or give them a call at 715-385-2421.

And if you’re looking for some help on the water or want to try a few new lakes up north, give Todd Gessner a call at 618-513-0520. He can guide you while he’s still up north and with any fishing that you might want to do in Southern Illinois as well. His website is www.ToddGessnerOutdoors.com.

If you have not been to Northern Wisconsin in a while, consider going back. You might be pleasantly surprised that even up north, great fishing is not that far away.

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