My name is Joel "Boog" Ballweg and I'm a certified, confirmed fish-a-holic.
I grew up, went to school and fished the waters around Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin for the past 40 years.
As a kid, I remember Dad taking me and my brothers fishing. Many times we used nothing more than a cane pole and a few worms or minnows as bait.
Some of our favorite spots were along the shorelines of the Wisconsin River and Lake Wisconsin.
Two of my older brothers, Chuck and Dennis, were also fish-a-holics. After graduating from college, they both bought boats and allowed me to tag along with them whenever possible.
Ballweg's Guide Service, LLC
Specializing in Walleyes, Saugers & Crappies
on Lake Wisconsin & Wisconsin River
Walleyes were far and away their favorite species to catch. We would be on the river as soon as the ice would allow each spring. Their two favorite places to fish during late winter and early spring were the tailwaters of the Prairie du Sac dam and the tailwaters of the Wisconsin Dells dam. Fishing for walleyes and saugers was very good back then. Clothing however left much to be desired. In between putting a fish on the stringer and baiting jigs with fathead minnows, cotton gloved hands were frequently roasted over a coffee can filled with white hot charcoal briquettes. Yep, those were the good old days alright!
Both of them spent time guiding as well. Chuck guided mostly in northern Wisconsin around the Minocqua area. Dennis guided right here on Lake Wisconsin from 1977 thru 1980. Careers and family pulled them away from Wisconsin though and eventually, I had to buy my own boat and start my own adventures.
My younger brother Pete and I pulled that boat all over the place to fish.
The Mississippi River was one of our favorite destinations for walleyes in the spring and the fall.
The Lake Michigan waters of Door County provided excellent fishing for Brown Trout in the spring and Pike in the fall.
Lake Mendota was always good for a perch outing in June and early July.
Canada was not too far to pull a boat either. But we always ended up right back here on the Wisconsin River. Either on a stretch of river below the dams or on Lake Wisconsin. We sure had alot of fun chasing around with that boat.
Up until the last few years, it was always kind of a competitive thing for us to see who could catch the most or the biggest fish. That kind of changed when I met my wife Nancy. She loves to fish too but without the extensive background of my usual fishing partners, it became necessary for me to do some serious tutoring if I wanted to see her catch fish as well. And I did want to see her catch fish.
After awhile, I began to realize that I was doing alot of smiling every time she caught a nice fish. And so was she. I was getting a bigger kick out of seeing her catch a nice fish than if I had caught it myself.
Becoming a fishing guide was the only thing I thought about for quite awhile after that. I wanted to show more people how to catch fish and see the smile on their face when they did.
So I applied for and received a guiding license from the State of Wisconsin.
Shortly after, we bought a 2003 18' Lund with a double counsel and powered by a 175hp Envinrude. A T8 Yamaha kicker motor takes care of the trolling and a 24 volt, 70lb thrust Minn Kota bow mount electric motor does a great job of controlling the boat when fishing presentations need to be slowed down. A Lowrance LCX-27C full color fish locator and GPS + waas mapping capabilities was added to help find the fish.
Walleye fishing has come a long way since those early days. Back then about the best thing a kid could hope for was a new fishing pole, a hand full of pinky's and a bucket of minnows.
Looks like the good old days haven't gone anywhere after all!
