Being a native of the urban jungle named Chicago, a weekend getaway within a reasonable drive is something to be cherished. Illinois residents share a common language when they think of that type of trip or even vacation, Wisconsin. I've spent some time up there from my adolescence through adulthood, and the reasons for traveling there weren't lost on me. The whole Packer following is tough to swallow, but at least their quarterback shares a love of the outdoors.

Upon arriving up in Wisconsin Rapids, we followed the strip of everything imaginable on WI-13/8th Street to the Maples Motel (www.maplesmotel.com). We checked in and proceeded to chew the fat with our host, Greg Allen. He's been at the front desk for 26 years and runs one of the finest Mom and Pop motels I've ever stayed at. Accommodations are clean, comfortable, and a good base of operations away from home. The room had a pair of twin beds, electric stove, refrigerator, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and plastic dishes. Greg has outfitted 17 complete kitchenette rooms with 10 having microwaves and refrigerators. For entertainment, every room has a TV/VCR, TV/DVD player, or combo unit in them. To extend the comforts of home, he also has a heated outdoor pool, basketball hoop, and fire pit for visitors to gather around. The clock radio that is bedside will help wake up the late night outdoorsman. Greg Allen has deliberately set up each room as if he were staying in it for the night.

Dining amenities also abound in Wisconsin Rapids. When I said the strip with everything, I truly meant everything. There are steak houses, chicken places, family restaurants, diners, and of course the supper clubs the state is famous for. For those who don't dare wander off from the predictability of fast food, that stuff is also plentiful on hand. Across from the Maples Motel is the Sportsman's Bar and Grill. They serve a mean menu of sandwiches, appetizers, and one could parlay a number of things to make it interesting. It's also a nice place to wander over to for some adult, outdoor conversation and spirit. Not far off the river where it comes out of the flowage, we ate at the Trails End Bar and Grill. Located at 1497 Alpine Drive on Highway D, this recently remodeled and expanded site welcomes anglers and outdoors people just off the river, lake, out of the woods, or off the snowmobile trails. I highly recommend the Hot Wings and a cold one for starters followed by the Not For Wimps Burger. This burger is definitely not a meal, it's an event.

Our day of fishing began early on Saturday. We were treated to a young guide who was both friendly and knowledgeable about this river. Dean Stoflet (www.deansguide.com) is both a professional guide and tournament fishermen. The 34 year old Nekoosa, Wisconsin native does not suffer from the affliction of guides when they sometimes fish with clients like they're tournament fishing. Dean's gig was for us to locate fish, cover some productive water and put his guests on some fish. The other thing I liked was that our guide did very little "salesmanship" before, during, or after the trip. He put every effort into working his environment in our favor. My brother, Patrick Athern, and I had both experienced the guide whose former occupation was selling used cars or shoes. Dean allowed us to pick his brain about the fish, the ever changing river conditions, and what we might encounter.

Stopping on the way to the river, we met up with Roger Peterson the owner of Timberline Archery, Bait, and Tackle. A friend of Dean's, Roger began primarily with archery supplies, hunting equipment, and the video archery league he runs on Thursday nights. He recently expanded into live bait and tackle while also becoming a state deer registration point as of 2004. Roger was friendly and showed us around a bit as we gathered fishing intelligence from anglers that reported in from the previous day. He's located on WI-13 just south of town and opens at 6am.

We were greeted with less than perfect conditions as we launched. Mother Nature had again thrown us a curve ball with 25-30MPH winds and gusts up to 45MPH, overcast/frontal weather patterns, declining air temperatures from a week of stable weather, and falling water temperatures. As Charlie Brown might say "Ugh!" Our shining light was that Dean's Guide Service had been on the water during these changes and he had a game plan.

The trip began with us heading up river to find some of those wingdams, eddies, and blowdowns that river walleye love so much. We found a few occupied by other anglers from both shore and boat and tried alternative spots rather than crowd them. Dean positioned his Ranger 620V just off a point as smaller craft were being blown out of the spot. Having the correct type of anchor is critical on days where the wind is beating 2 foot white caps on the river. This is no place for the mushroom anchor or coffee can filled with cement.

After settling into the spot, it took about 5 minutes for a cast I had launched "too far" to shore to find a nice male walleye cruising in 18 inches of water. Things were looking better although my wind protection was saying otherwise. Dean scored the next fish, a shorter male or "dink" from the head of the pool. We moved after 45 minutes of not much. We combed a few shoreline breaks with my brother and Dean scoring more short males. Nothing so far fell into the slot of mature, protected fish of 20-28 inches. Moving again, we settled into a foamy patch of blowdown shoreline, upriver from some shore guys. Poking through the snags with leadhead jigs and curly tail grubs was producing very little. We alternated with minnows and minnows on the grub offerings. On a hunch, Dean and Pat began casting and then vertically jigging off the back of the boat in slightly deeper water. Bang, more pay dirt was found. A few fish and 1 1/ 2 hours later we moved to a wind protected slough to join a half-dozen other boats seeking relief from the wind. Both Pat and Dean found a fish a piece off the main channel drop that wound its way through the slough. Plenty of short hits convinced us that 5-6 hours was enough punishment for one day. The Trails' End Bar and Grill was sounding pretty good just then.

Although we accessed the river from a private club's facility to which our guide belonged, river access is not that difficult. Launching the boat can be accomplished out of the Nekoosa Treatment Center and Nekoosa Plankhill on the west side of the river. On the east side is the Chester Creek Landing located on Highway Z, where the river enters the Petenwell Flowage.

Late March and April are certainly peak times for the locally Promoted “Walleye Days” on the Wisconsin River attract folks from all over attempting to catch and register the largest walleye for the $3,000 cash prize. Although the river receives a tremendous amount of pressure during the late winter/early spring period, good catches of fish and numbers are made throughout the summer and fall. It also makes the river more family/user friendly for planning that trip. Heading out to the Wisconsin Rapids area during the summer also makes for better family time to take in all the area has to offer.

Deans Guide Service
http://www.deansguide.com/

Maples Motel
GREG AND WENDY ALLEN
4750 8th St. South
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494
Phone: (715)-423-2590