Dewey Catchem and How

09/10/2026

This is the brand new pack trap 1. Pack trap 1 and 2 will be in store soon we also have all the updated models of the other shacks be ready for this new drop!

09/09/2026

Coming to the store soon brand new vision x10 from vexilar

09/05/2026

Labor Day weekend fishing report.

Water levels are very low. Some channels between lakes may be impassable on some chains(Lac du Flambeau). Gravel and rock piles behind blow out holes at launches can chip props or ground your boat. (Thank the dock and lift barges that power load w twin 350’s) Large boats forget about trying to launch on spring lakes like Big Muskie, Razorback , Laura and White Sand by Boulder off K. Lost and Found may also be difficult to launch due to the hallow nature of launch area.

We are in a time of transition. Water had cooled to upper 60’s before this mini warm front. Cold nights and sunny skies have triggered algae blooms on most lakes.

Best advise is to use crawlers and crappie minnows. Bait schools contain minnows about 1” long. Half crawler or minnow on a light jig or drop shot and the same if fish are near bottom. Lots of suspended fish. Find those clouds of bait and fish will be close by. On deep clear lakes, bait was moving shallow into w**d edges. Yesterday the bait was in 20’ of water on a shallower algae stained lake and a school of largemouth were working over the school.

Work mid lake structure top to bottom. Buy a lake map to narrow your search.

Provided by local guide: Jim Lund

09/05/2026

11am to 1pm

09/05/2026

Stop in to support our local lakes!!

09/02/2026

🎣 BRATS, BURGERS & BETTER FISHING! 🌭🍔

Saturday, September 5 | 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
📍 Dewey Catchem & How

Come hungry and help support our local fisheries!

We’ll be grilling brats and burgers to raise money for the Northern Wisconsin Fisheries Rehabilitation Corporation, helping support fishery restoration efforts right here in our area.

While you’re here, stop in and meet the new owners of Dewey Catchem & How!

We’d love the chance to meet more of our customers, neighbors, anglers and fellow Northwoods families — all while raising money for a cause that is incredibly important to our lakes and fishing community.

🎣 Support our fisheries
🍔 Grab a burger or brat
👋 Meet the new owners
❤️ Give back to the waters we all enjoy

We hope to see you there!

Shane & Megan Dorn and Family
Dewey Catchem & How

08/29/2026

🎣 A New Chapter at Dewey’s Catchem & How! 🎣
We’re excited to officially introduce ourselves as the new owners of Dewey’s Catchem & How!

We’re Shane and Megan, and along with our three kids, we’re excited to make this a true family affair. We love the Northwoods and are looking forward to becoming an even bigger part of the Minocqua community.

Our goal is simple: keep the things people love about Dewey’s while bringing some fresh ideas, new products, and a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere to the shop.

You’ll be seeing all five of us around the store, so please stop in and say hello! We’d also love to hear what you want to see at Dewey’s — products we should carry, things you’d like us to add, or ideas for the future.
And keep an eye on our page! 👀 We have sales, store updates, new products, events, giveaways, and plenty of fun things planned.

We’re incredibly excited for this next chapter and look forward to getting to know all of you.

The Dorn Family
Shane, Megan & the kids 🎣

08/20/2026

Thursday 8/20/26

We still have Leeches

Flats of jumbo Canadian Nightcrawlers are now $59. Count is approximately 500 worms. That's about $1.50 per dozen. Our part to make fishing more affordable.

The days and nights are getting cooler and the flowages are emptying out. Fall is coming our way. The fish get real confused this time of year trying to figure out where they want to be. On the flowages the fish try to acclimate themselves with the water levels dropping. All of sudden that 15' of water the crappie were suspending in is now only 8' deep. Now they got to figure out somewhere else to go. Same for all species really. But thankfully it doesn't seem to take long. The fish are already starting to find their way towards fall and the bite has really gotten good. They haven't all found their way as one day t=one species will bite and the next its another. No free-for-all yet. But it's coming.
Overall fishing is at a 8 on a scale of 1-10. But, as usual, you have to take what the lake will give you. One day seems to be good for X fish and the next day the Y fish. You can't change it so just enjoy it!

I have still been on the flowages and deep clear lakes lately, and they have been pretty good. The deep clear lakes have been giving us some great action. Not a lot of big panfish yet but the bass have been on fire. The panfish are at least 20' deep and will turn on soon, maybe next week. The bass are just as deep along with the walleye. Crawlers and light jigs are still king. The flowages are low and that means dangerous. Be careful if you need to be told that. But the bite has been above average on the Willow and below average on the Rainbow. But the fish are really starting to stage on the humps and wood. Once those water temps cool another 10 degrees, look out.

The Rainbow and Willow flowages are down about 7' and 6' below capacity respectively and have water temps in the low 70's. Most lake water temps are in and around the middle 70's now, too.

ON A SCALE OF 1 to 10, HOW THEY HITTING?
Walleye 5 (low light), Northern 2, SM Bass 10, LM Bass 10, Musky ??, Perch 5, Crappie 7, Bluegill 8, Rock Bass 10

OUR BAIT REVIEWS:
The 1Standard plastics out fished most of the other plastics in the boat today. The Big Bite minnow was second. Both developed by the same people, oddly enough.

Enjoy your time in the northwoods and please slow down and be kind and be safe so you and others can do it again next year. And please remember those middle turning lanes are not merging lanes and don't use them as off ramps either!
I'm still taking in a few more guide reservations right now. I have a little availability left this summer. Call me on my cell at 715-892-2751 and we'll get out and definitely have some fun.
------------
IN-STORE & WEBSITE SPECIALS
Flats of jumbo Canadian Nightcrawlers are now $59. Count is approximately 500 worms. That's about $1.50 per dozen. Our part to make fishing more affordable.
Kalin Tungsten search baits are 50% off.
FREE Line (braid or mono) with any Reel or Reel and Rod Combo purchase
Late season specials, up to 50% off

Right now for live bait we have Wax worms, Red/White/Multi Colored Spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads (Tuffys), Blacktails, Redtails, Muds, Walleye Suckers, and a bunch of leeches and jumbo night crawlers. Leeches will be by the dozen, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 pound. Crawlers will be by the dozen, 2 dozen, 100 count and 480 count flats ($59).

BAIT SHOP HOURS
Monday thru Thursday 5am to 7pm
Friday 5am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday 5am to 6pm

Jeff Bolander, Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guides
715-892-2751 cell
715-358-5130 shop

fishing outdoors gifts lures musky walleye panfish baits t-shirts solartrans locators electronics plastics augers battery cameras under waters trolling motors

08/06/2026

Thursday 8/6/26

Flats of jumbo Canadian Nightcrawlers are now $59. Count is approximately 500 worms. That's about $1.50 per dozen. Our part to make fishing more affordable.

Again, the warm weather in the 80's continues. Very unusual. But with the forecast of highs in the 70's on the way it looks like it's going to get better for the fisherman's comfort.

Overall fishing is at a 7 on a scale of 1-10. But, as usual, you have to take what the lake will give you. I've never understood the fisherperson who catches 50 bass in a day and is upset that they didn't get any walleye. Some days are like that and I prefer to be thankful for them. Because I know that the next day might entail catching a whole lot more walleye than bass. But, to each his own. We've been putting lots of fish in the boat but hardly any walleye. But it's been a blast and we still come up with a big bag of meat for the fish fry.

We have been on the flowages and deep clear lakes lately, and they have been pretty darn good. When you can go out for a few hours and end up with 5 of filets, that's a pretty good bite. What did we catch? Walleye, bass, crappie, bluegill, perch and bullheads. That's one of the fun things about the flowages is you never know what you got on until you get it over the boat. The deep clear lakes have been the same. A wild mix of panfish and game fish in the same area making for a "can't wait to see what I got this time" casts.

I've found that crawlers still are king out there. I've noticed that at this time of year the length of the crawler matters. Sometimes you need to use a whole crawler while at other times you should use 1/2, 1/3 or just a short nugget. The livescope has been marking lots of fish in the 20-30 FOW but it's been a real challenge to get them to bite. It seems as though there has been some type of bug hatch almost everywhere lately. When we were on the flowages we were marking tons of fish but they were all up and down in the water column. I don't know if they were chasing bugs or it the drop in the water level had them disoriented.

Both the Rainbow and Willow flowages are about 5' to 6' below capacity and have water temps in the 70's. That dark water is always a good ticket to success especially when the sun shines. Most lake water temps are in and around the middle 70's now, too.

ON A SCALE OF 1 to 10, HOW THEY HITTING?
Walleye 6 (low light), Northern 5, SM Bass 10, LM Bass 10, Musky ??, Perch 10, Crappie 6, Bluegill 35, Rock Bass 10

OUR BAIT REVIEWS:
The 1Standard plastics out fished most of the other plastics in the boat today. The Big Bite minnow was second. Both developed by the same people, oddly enough.

Enjoy your time in the northwoods and please slow down and be kind and be safe so you and others can do it again next year. And please remember those middle turning lanes are not merging lanes and don't use them as off ramps either!

I'm still taking in a few more guide reservations right now. I have a little availability left this summer. Call me on my cell at 715-892-2751 and we'll get out and definitely have some fun.
------------
IN-STORE & WEBSITE SPECIALS
Flats of jumbo Canadian Nightcrawlers are now $59. Count is approximately 500 worms. That's about $1.50 per dozen. Our part to make fishing more affordable.
Kalin Tungsten search baits are 50% off.
FREE Line (braid or mono) with any Reel or Reel and Rod Combo purchase
Early season specials, up to 50% off

Right now for live bait we have Wax worms, Red/White/Multi Colored Spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads (Tuffys), Blacktails, Redtails, Muds, Walleye Suckers, and a bunch of leeches and jumbo night crawlers. Leeches will be by the dozen, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 pound. Crawlers will be by the dozen, 2 dozen, 100 count and 480 count flats ($59).

BAIT SHOP HOURS
Monday thru Thursday 5am to 7pm
Friday 5am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday 5am to 6pm

Jeff Bolander, Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guides
715-892-2751 cell
715-358-5130 shop

fishing outdoors gifts lures musky walleye panfish baits t-shirts solartrans locators electronics plastics augers battery cameras under waters trolling motors

07/30/2026

Thursday 7/30/26

Flats of jumbo Canadian Nightcrawlers are now $59. Count is approximately 500 worms. That's about $1.50 per dozen. Our part to make fishing more affordable.

The warm weather in the 80's continues. It seems like we've been in the dog days of summer all year. Very unusual. We had a nasty cold front come through here a few days ago which knocked all the lake temps down over 10 degrees into the lower 70's. That's good news especially for Musky fisherman. You still have to be careful handling them but the cooler temps will be easier on the fish at the side of the boat.

Overall fishing is at an 8 on a scale of 1-10. But, as usual, you have to take what the lake will give you. I've never understood the fisherperson who catches 50 bass in a day and is upset that they didn't get any walleye. Some days are like that and I prefer to be thankful for them. Because I know that the next day might entail catching a whole lot more walleye than bass. But, to each his own.

We have been on the flowages lately, along with a few other lakes, and they have been pretty darn good. When you can go out for a few hours and end up with 5 of filets, that's a pretty good bite. What did we catch? Walleye, bass, crappie, dogfish, bluegill, perch and bullheads. That's one of the fun things about the flowages is you never know what you got on until you get it over the boat.

I've found that crawlers still are king out there. I've noticed that at this time of year the length of the crawler matters. Sometimes you need to use a whole crawler while at other times you should use 1/2, 1/3 or just a short nugget. Weird. For example, we fished one spot hoping to catch some walleyes and nothing was even showing on the Livescope. After a few casts and no fish I put on a full half of crawler and threw it out and let it sit and barely moved it. I moved it just enough to feel the weight of my 1/16 oz jig on the end of the line/ Well low and behold the perch started to bit. One after another came into the boat. Nice ones, too.

On the deep clear lakes we've been on the fish are really deep. We were starting at 20ft and ended up at 28ft one day. That's where the thermocline was. When you find the thermocline in the body of water you are fishing don't fish anywhere below that. In fact, most humps or bars that are at the thermocline depth are where the fish are gonna be.

Both the Rainbow and Willow flowages are about 4' below capacity and have water temps in the 70's, some reported low 80's! That dark water is always a good ticket to success especially when the sun shines. Most lake water temps are in and around the middle 70's now.

ON A SCALE OF 1 to 10, HOW THEY HITTING? Walleye 7 (low light), Northern 5, SM Bass 10, LM Bass 10, Musky ??, Perch 9, Crappie 7, Bluegill 10, Rock Bass 10

OUR BAIT REVIEWS:None this week. Everything seems to be working.

Enjoy your time in the northwoods and please slow down and be kind and be safe so you and others can do it again next year. And please remember those middle turning lanes are not merging lanes!

I'm still taking in a bunch of guide reservations right now. I have some availability left this summer. Call me on my cell at 715-892-2751 and we'll get out and definitely have some fun.
------------
IN-STORE & WEBSITE SPECIALS
Flats of jumbo Canadian Nightcrawlers are now $59. Count is approximately 500 worms. That's about $1.50 per dozen. Our part to make fishing more affordable.
Kalin Tungsten search baits are 50% off.
FREE Line (braid or mono) with any Reel or Reel and Rod Combo purchase
Early season specials, up to 50% off

Right now for live bait we have Wax worms, Red/White/Multi Colored Spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads (Tuffys), Blacktails, Redtails, Muds, Walleye Suckers, and a bunch of leeches and jumbo night crawlers. Leeches will be by the dozen, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 pound. Crawlers will be by the dozen, 2 dozen, 100 count and 480 count flats ($59).

BAIT SHOP HOURS
Monday thru Thursday 5am to 7pm
Friday 5am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday 5am to 6pm

Jeff Bolander, Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guides
715-892-2751 cell
715-358-5130 shop

fishing outdoors gifts lures musky walleye panfish baits t-shirts solartrans locators electronics plastics augers battery cameras under waters trolling motors