Captain
Dennis Ansell

Member since February 2016 Sturgeon Bay, United States
Background
My father taught me how to fish for largemouth bass with plastic worms and I became interested in tournament fishing. As I fished more tournaments for different species I became a consistent multi species angler. This year I'm working with Lathem Smith Lodge in Sturgeon Bay. If you're going to be here in town for 2 night's or more they are offering a 10% discount on rooms with free breakfast. You have to mention my Guide Service for the discount.
Techniques
My preferred method is using artificials for all species including perch,walleye, largemouth and smallmouth bass, Northern pike and Musky on Green Bay and trout and salmon on Lake Michigan. Both trolling and casting methods are used.

Hey, I'm Captain Dennis Ansell

Sturgeon Bay, United States
Background
My father taught me how to fish for largemouth bass with plastic worms and I became interested in tournament fishing. As I fished more tournaments for different species I became a consistent multi species angler. This year I'm working with Lathem Smith Lodge in Sturgeon Bay. If you're going to be here in town for 2 night's or more they are offering a 10% discount on rooms with free breakfast. You have to mention my Guide Service for the discount.
Techniques
My preferred method is using artificials for all species including perch,walleye, largemouth and smallmouth bass, Northern pike and Musky on Green Bay and trout and salmon on Lake Michigan. Both trolling and casting methods are used.

My Charter Listings

Excellent
4.6 / 5
(159 reviews)
Sturgeon Bay
 4 bookings in the past week.
 Instant Confirmation
Trips from US $500
Excellent
4.6 / 5
(24 reviews)
Neenah
 Last booking: 6 days ago
 Instant Confirmation
Trips from US $550

Fishing Reports

Not really a report. More of a answer to
Not really a report. More of a answer to
Jun 12, 2026 Neenah
Sometimes the weather does not always cooperate during a fishing trip. A recent trip out on Lake Winnebago was just the case. We had high winds from the West and the lady on board was not comfortable with going out in the rougher water. So we opted to fish close to the shore where we were out of the wind but also catching fish. Mainly Bass, largemouth and smallmouth and some other fish mixed in as well. When we're casting, I encourage everybody to move around. The boat feel as comfortable as possible. I also cast with them as they're fishing to say okay. Fish are over here. Fish are under the trees in the shade. That sort of thing if people are not willing to move around and fish appropriately, I cannot help that they wanted fish to take home. They only wanted to keep bass. I was catching rock bass in an area. They said they didn't like rock bass. They don't eat them so they were keeping largemouth bass. We didn't catch any keepers. Smallmouth bass. But they said they needed more fish than the one that the lady caught. So I was casting a little bit more vigorously to help them get fish. The one gentleman in the back of the boat was happy. Fishing off the back of the boat. Now to the side. He was in a beer drinking mood. That's great. He was having fun drinking his beer. The other two I was told were serious fishermen and wanted to fish the lady put in a lot of effort. I command her and her ability to cast fight fish. Do everything like it fisherman? Would her other half sat in the front seat never got out of his chair? Never casted into the area where the fish were but he was also the first one to leave a bad review because everything that I was trying to get him to do he would not do. He would not make an effort to do it so this is just a post-explaining. A bad review and the situation around it. Today is Sunday. I have an afternoon trip on Sturgeon Bay. I have a morning trip on station Bay on Monday. On Tuesday we'll be back down on Lake Winnebago. I will give another Winnebago report Tuesday.
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Customer reviews

Rating summary
Excellent
4.6 / 5
out of 5 stars from 183 reviews
Boat
Excellent
4.5 / 5
Crew
Excellent
4.7 / 5
Experience
Excellent
4.5 / 5
Photos & videos by reviewers (152)
Very knowledgeable captain, great trip!
Experienced captain ensured I caught fish!
Experienced captain ensured I caught fish!
+149
Angler rating
134
31
7
6
3
Anglers claimed
Good experience
85%
Friendly captain
96%
Recommend this charter
91%
Appropriate for children
89%
Satisfied with the boat
94%
Caught fish
82%
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Showing:
5 of 183 reviews
Stephen M.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Very knowledgeable captain, great trip!

VERIFIED   NEW  Half Day Trip Afternoon on June 14, 2026
Captain Dennis was great! We had a good time with him. We caught what we were after, some nice perch and walleye! We went as...
Stephen M. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Sturgeon Bay
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Stephen M. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Sturgeon Bay
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Karl H.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Experienced captain ensured I caught fish!

VERIFIED   NEW  Full Day Trip on May 29, 2026
Caught many small mouth bass and some rock bass. Saw a few large muskies but they wouldnโ€™t bite for anyone. Overall great...
Karl H. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Sturgeon Bay
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  Dennis Ansell Captain replied

Tamara M.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great day fishing!

VERIFIED   NEW  Half Day Trip Afternoon on June 20, 2026
From start to finish the experience was great!
Tamara M. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Sturgeon Bay
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Tamara M. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Sturgeon Bay
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John W.
Excellent
4.7 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Very good
4.0 / 5
Overall

June fishing trip

VERIFIED   NEW  Half Day Trip on June 12, 2026
Very tough conditions. Strong (20-30 mph) winds out of the west. Captain Dennis tried everything to get us fish. We caught...
John W. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Oshkosh
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  Dennis Ansell Captain replied

Rick M.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

We had a great morning of fishing

VERIFIED   Half Day Trip AM on July 5, 2025
The wind did not help us but the Captain was able to adjust and put us on fish anyway. We started a little slow but we kept...
Rick M. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Sturgeon Bay
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Rick M. recommends Lure-In Fishing Guide โ€“ Sturgeon Bay
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