Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Rick Rensch...8/4/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/04/262 a.m. back deck forecast for the morning was clear skies, 64 degrees, and an absent wind. iWindSurf said the wind forecast west of the islands would be 5mph out of the south....in other words, a beautiful day to go perch fishing.
Rick Rensch was driving in from Indiana this morning, and was meeting me at Catawba at 5:45, so we could be launched by 6a.m.
I left the house at 4:45 and took the slow way through town, out to Hi-Way Bait to pick up some ice and some Emerald Shiners. Their shiners this morning were nice ones. The perfect size to cut in half. I like to use the tail on one hook and the head on another hook instead of whole minnows. I tend to think that the smell of the innards draws them in to check it out.
I got down to Catawba at 5:15 and readied the boat. Rick showed up at 5:30, but since it was still pretty dark out, we waited... and launched at 5:45.
I didn't have any intel on where to go after this two-day blow, so I simply headed NW out of the launch and started searching. I was headed towards D-Can, but kept an eye on the Garmin for any tell-tale signs of perch down below.
We stopped once between F and E Cans and gave it 20 minutes. There were good marks when I hit the Spot-Lock on the Ulterra, but they wouldn't bite. The bottom was a little softer than I like to sit over, too, so we continued on up towards D-Can.
The bottom wasn't rock, but it was harder than the first spot, and there were marks, so I was going to give it more time than just 20 minutes.
There was a pack of boats starting to congregate on the west side of the cans, and only a handful of us on the east side of the Can. We fished over 26 feet of water.
The bite started slow, with some little ones, but eventually got steadier with some keepers coming in over the side. It was about a 3:1 ratio of little ones to keepers, so it took us from about 7a.m to 10:30 to get our 2-person limit of keepers.
Rick was happy with the size, and wants me to keep him informed on the bite, because he wants to come back for more...and that makes me happy! :)
My next trip will be Friday with Jack Scott and his two friends. We will be launching out of Huron or Vermilion and chasing walleye over in Lorain again. If the wind forecast is anything like it was last Saturday, we'll launch out of Huron. But, if it's stronger, we'll launch out of Vermilion and save 10 miles on the boat ride.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bill, Brock, and Bennett...8/1/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/01/26If you've been reading my fishing reports over the past 15 years, you already know the morning routine...grab a cup of coffee, a couple of dog treats, and take the dogs out on the back deck to check the morning's forecast.
I knew there was a chance of showers for the morning, but the thunderstorms were predicted to show up by mid to late afternoon today. RadarScope was showing some sprinkles scattered throughout NW Ohio and over to Illinois. My plan was to launch at Huron this morning, so when looking at the radar image, it looked like everything would miss that area...I was relieved.
The wind forecast was perfect. Light winds out of the SE...the lake would be 1 foot or less where I wanted to fish. The sky was cloudy, so the full(ish) moon wasn't able to shine on the lake overnight, and maybe those night-feeding walleye would be hungrier this morning. The air temp was 74 degrees.
Bill's wife Lana had called me and set up this trip for them. Initially, it was supposed to be herself, Bill, and their son (either Bennett or Brock, I don't know which one), but yesterday she said that their other son would be taking her place in the boat. So, I had Bill, Brock, and Bennett this morning.
I picked them up from the Whitecaps Motel at 5:00. We headed to the gas station for some ice for the coolers, then hit the highway. We were Huron bound. We arrived at the launch at 5:40, and I got the boat ready to launch. The Vexus was headed out the river at 5:50a.m. It was still pretty dark, and there was no one else there launching at the time, which surprised me since it was a Saturday, and it was going to be a nice day.
I knew the lake would be calm enough to take a comfortable ride up towards Lorain from Huron. I didn't want to use Vermilion's launch, because I thought it might get busy, and it's a very tight launch site. Huron's is so much better, so we went out of Huron. I was right; the ride was fun, and it was easy. Even though we could have gone fast, I didn't want to because, first and foremost, the big 400 drinks more gas the faster it goes. I kept it at 30-35 mph on the way up, because if a big log shows up...I would have time to see it and react.
We went about 13 miles before stopping over some fish the Garmin was marking. "This looks like a good place to start", I said. I deployed the Ulterra, which always gets approval from my customers who have never seen one deploy on its own before, and the Baby Merc. The Ulterra was set on a course towards the Lorain Dump. We were SSW of the bottom of it and over a good contour on the map.
Our water depth where we started was 46'. You'll be able to see the line I was on if you enlarge the Garmin screen behind Bennett in his big fish pic. ;)
We made one long pass towards the dump, turned and headed a bit north for a bit, then turned the boat completely around to head back over the same fish we had just gone over. The bite became faster going that way than going the other direction. We had their 3-person limit in the cooler by 9:15. My 6 were in the cooler by 9:45.
None of them have ever fished with linecounter reels, dipsies, or planer boards before, but were excited to learn it. I showed them how everything works, how to set dipsies, attach the snap-weights and Off Shore boards, and explained the must-do's for each.
Dipsies HAVE to go down with the "Clicker" (tension) ON. The reason being, if it's free-spooled, it will dive too fast, and the leader will get wrapped around the dipsey, making it useless.
For the snap-weight, the line must be behind the pin in the center of the OR-16 (red clip), so it doesn't come off the line until you take it off.
The Snapper release on the back of the Off Shore board must be secured with the pin pointing down in front of the release (not back and pointing up), because once the front arm is released from the main line, the board swings around and is only secured to the line by the Snapper release. If the release is attached wrong, there is a chance that the line could come out of it... and then we would have to reel everything back in and go chase a board. That's never fun.
The guys did a great job today and had a fun time. This was their first time catching walleye. The teeth were a subject of conversation a few times this morning.
Brock was promoted to "First Mate" since he caught on quite easily, and between the two of us, we could keep enough lines in the water to keep the catching going.
Bennett had the lucky touch and caught the two biggest fish...a 25 1/2 and 27 inch walleye, so he was happy.
What worked...
Dipseis...early on, I had the port side zero setting at 28 back. The starboard side was set at 50 back. The "28 back", on an Orange Yeck spoon, caught the 27-incher that Bennett reeled in. Eventually, the port side was set to 50, and the starboard side was set to 60 back.
The three setting on the port side ran at 70-75 back, and the starboard side ran at 80-85 back. BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. I don't think color really matters over there right now. If it wiggles and passes by them, they will eat it.
Ran the same Bill Lewis PWC Lite program I ran yesterday. 2 oz snap-weights at 50/47 (97 total line out), 50/25 on the port side. On the starboard side, they ran 50/43 and 50/30.
Speed was 2.5 mph on the FishHawk.
The bite was better today than it was up by the Weather Buoy yesterday. The fish weren't tight to the bottom like yesterday, either, so that helped. The quality of fish was better than I expected...and that made me happy!
My perch trip for tomorrow has been rescheduled to Tuesday, due to a forecast of gusty NE winds.
The dogs will be happy...:)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Craig and Jack...7/31/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/31/26The 2a.m. back deck forecast was nice this morning. The wind was less than 5mph out of the SSW, and the sky was clear. The only thing I didn't like was how lit up the backyard was with the full(ish) moon. Since the sky was clear, that meant the walleye would have been feeding easily overnight. Sure, it's easy pickings way to the east with the abundance of walleye over there, but over here closer to the islands, it's a lot tougher. That meant we needed to get an early start.
I met Craig and Jack at Mazruik's at 5:30, and launched at 5:45. The lightening sky to the east was just starting, and I needed enough light to be able to see the little flags on the trap nets set out there east of Kelly's. By the time we got out to where the nets were last weekend, it was light enough. The lake wasn't angry, so we were able to spot the flags from far enough away to avoid them. I only saw one set out there this morning, so that was good.
The plan was to head towards the Weather Buoy, and if the Garmin marked anything between Mazurik's and the buoy...we would stop and start fishing. And that's what happened. When we were about 5-6 miles from the buoy, over 43 feet of water, the screen lit up with marks.
Down went the Ulterra and Baby Merc, and set on a course to the east. The FishHawk was deployed, and the speed was dialed in at 2.5 mph.
Now, I'm told that these guys are the best fishermen at "Hidden Creek", and Craig already knew how to run dipsies, since he used to have a boat of his own up here on the lake...but, doesn't have it anymore...So, I knew it was going to be a fun and easy morning. Jack didn't have the dipsey experience, but did have the Off Shore board experience, so he got to help with boards, and Craig set the dipsies.
The zero settings started out at 40 and 50 back, and the three settings were at 65 and 85. Both would be changed up throughout the morning, so fish that were caught on the zero settings came at 36 back (26 1/2 inch fish on that one) with an orange Yeck spoon...40, 50, 60, and 65 back. The three settings caught fish at 65, 75, 85, and 95 back. One three-setting ran a Stinger "Confusion" spoon and caught two. (It wasn't out until the last part of the trip...I should have put it out sooner!)
The orange Yeck spoon was the busiest spoon, and at one point, I had three of the four lines sporting one.
The Bill Lewis PWC Lites behind the Off Shore boards pulled a handful of fish, but weren't that busy. The usual colors were used..."Green Tiger", "Purple Tiger", and "Red Tiger". The Red Tiger never pulled anything, so it was replaced with another purple one. One of them was the "PCC Light" (Precise Coastal Crank Lite...it's a saltwater version of the PWC Lites). The color name is "Bloody Emerald". I tried it for the first time last week, and it took a lot of fish, so I stopped off at Fisherman's Central and bought 3 more to have on the boat. I did leave one there on the peg, so I didn't take them all. (shy grin). lol
I ran the PWC's, two per side, with 2oz snap weights. The port side ran at 50/47 (97 total line out) and 50/24. The starboard side ran at 50/75 and 50/30. The 97 back took most of the fish, but all the other leads took fish, too. The 50/75 was brought up to 50/43 and took more fish.
We did a long pass from that starting point to just past the weather buoy, and marked a lot of fish 85% of the way, but they were mostly tight to the bottom this morning.
We only caught their two-person limit and two of my fish. We lost two nice walleye this morning too, so that would have helped, but ohhhhh welllll.
There were only 3 Sheephead and 3-4 White Perch caught all morning, too, so there wasn't a lot of junk fish, but there were a ton of itty-bitty walleye that kept biting the spoons, so the dipsey rods had to be checked every 5 minutes, or so, to clear them off.
Craig and Jack were happy with the size of fish caught and called them "Perfect eaters". We caught a huge Sea Turtle on the way back to Mazurik's, too...it was a huge mylar balloon floating out there in the middle of nowhere, so we picked it up.
They said they had a great time and learned a lot, and want to come back next spring, so that makes me happy! They were a lot of fun!
Tomorrow, I have a trip with a new customer... Bill Lange and his two sons Brock and Bennett. We will be launching out of Huron around 5:45 or 6a.m. and looking to see what we can find over there. I don't like messing with the South Passage on a weekend, because it just turns into a big washing machine with all the boat wakes going every which way, and takes forever to get in from just a couple of miles out. (I like to choose my battles). ;)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Lee and Cameron...7/25/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/25/26
Took a cup of coffee, a couple of dog treats, and the dogs out to the back deck to check the forecast. It was a duplicate of the day before, so it was nice out.
The air temp was 68 degrees, the wind was barely noticeable, and the sky was clear.
The wind forecast for the morning was a switching wind. It was quiet on my deck, because it had been NE overnight, but it was in the middle of the switch to the NW, so it was less than 5mph at 2a.m. By launch time at 6a.m., it would be picking up to 10-12mph out of the NW. That meant that the rollers on the lake would still be coming in from the NE, while a NW wind would blow the waves up to 1-3' feet.
I picked up Lee and his son, Cameron, at the Country Inn and Suites at 5:15, and we hit Hi-Way Bait for some ice before heading to Mazurik's. We launched and headed NE at a slow pace, due to the rollers and boat wakes in the South Passage.
The ride didn't get much faster after leaving the South Passage, like I thought it might, so we just kept going at a slow 20mph and took our time getting up near the line NE of Kelly's. I kept an eye on the Garmin, so I could look for walleye below us on the ride out. I was hoping I didn't have to go all the way to the Weather Buoy in those conditions...it would take forever.
Luckily, we found some good marks around the 36/35 line, over 43' of water, so I shut the big black motor down and deployed the Ulterra and Baby Merc. The Ulterra was set to power level 6 since we were headed into the rollers, and the Baby Merc putted along, pushing us at a good pace to keep the speed around 2.5mph on the FishHawk. The course was set from west to east. The waves were building, so if we wanted to go back over the same line, we wouldn't go into them, but rather pick up and make a run back up.
I only wanted to use the 4 dipsies, so if the bite was good, we wouldn't get done so fast, and they could spend some quality Father/Son time on the water together this morning.
The inside dipsies ran on the zero setting. The port side ran at 60 back, and the starboard side ran at 65 back. (Eventually, both sides would be running at 63 back.)
The outside rods ran on the three setting. The port side ran at 85 back, and the starboard side ran at 95 back. They never changed.
BadMo, Scorpion, and Yeck spoons were used. That Yeck with the special blue painted belly that DJ Custom Eye Lures does for me (color name: "Tourney Winner") is still catching fish, and I have never taken it off this season. I had him paint me a bunch more, too.
No Off Shore boards or snap weights today...kept it simple. We had our 18 walleye in the cooler by 10:00. We only caught, maybe, a dozen junk fish in the mix, so that was nice.
Cameron was reeling in a big fish, and when he lifted the rod for that last 6' of the leader, a huge catfish came up and rolled violently....and he lost it. It broke off one of my orange Yeck spoons, which made me sad. I need to replace it, because I only have one more of those in my box, and it's a good one.
The kitty, at a guess, easily went 10 pounds. The head on it was huge. I use 20# test Sunline for the leaders...it may have had a knot in the line, or something for it to break where it did. Oh well....it happens...at least it was just a cat and not a big walleye. :)
We did pick up once and made a run back towards where we started earlier, but didn't go back far enough. We should have gone another mile, I think. The second pass was too short for my liking. After the screen went clear of fish marks, I turned the Vexus around and started going into the waves. They were starting to lay down a little bit, and instead of being 2-3's they were more 1 and 2s with some 3s thrown in for good measure. I felt comfortable going into them with those conditions.
I don't like it over that, because it's rough and my customers have a hard enough time trying to get their sea legs to work out there, so I try to make it as comfortable as possible...when possible.
We caught more fish going from west to east than we did going from east to west, so once we had gone a mile to a mile and a half, I turned again and headed east. We finished up on half of that last pass.
Lee and Cameron had a great time and enjoyed the experience. Cameron has never been on this big lake to fish, and mostly wades rivers for smallies. That's something I used to love to do when I lived in Wisconsin, years ago, so his mentioning it brought back a gush of memories for me...that I relived in my head while we set the dipsies. Those were fun days for sure!
Lee doesn't do much fishing, but wanted to catch his first walleye...so, that has been checked off his bucket list. Yay!
Cameron was hands-on in helping set the dipsies. He was a quick learner and was setting them out with ease in no time at all. Lee was happy just to reel in his fishand hand me the net when I needed it. It was a good time for all of us today. Mother Nature was in a good mood, and we all appreciated it!
I'm not scheduled until the 31st and the 1st, so if I pick up a trip before then, I'll be sure to give a report.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 2 with Joe, Ron, and Dale...7/24/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/24/26I was up early this morning, so I had a little extra time to spend out on the back deck with the pups. The coffee was tasting better than usual for some reason, which might have been the cooler temperature and less humidity than we've been having.
The sky was speckled with stars, so it was clear. The wind was absent, and the forecast was calling for winds less than 10 out of the SSW to start and switching to the east later in the morning. The high temp during the morning was forecast for the mid to high 60s...reaching a high of 75 in the afternoon. It was going to be a great morning.
I had the same crew as yesterday, but instead of going after walleye again, we switched it up to chase some perch. The two older gents in the group were a little unsteady on their feet, and so I thought it would be a good idea to go perch'n, so they could relax, stay seated, and catch some fish. They liked that plan.
I picked them up from the Whitecaps Motel at 5:15, and we went and got some minnows from Hi-Way Bait. The size was perfect for using whole or tearing in 1/2.
We launched out of Catawba at 6:15 and headed back to look at the spot where Keith and I caught them last Monday, but the Garmin wasn't marking them like they did that day, so I turned the Vexus to the NW and headed out towards D-Can at a nice cruising speed, so I could keep an eye on the bottom and watch for tell tail signs of perchy looking water.
As the sun was coming up behind the islands, I turned the boat around, so I could get a better shot of it as it peeked through between Middle Bass, South Bass, and Green Island. As I did so, Dale said, "What are those little flags"? My heart dropped for a second...in panic...because I never saw them. "Where do you see flags?", I asked. Pointing his finger, he said, "Right there". I was right on top of them in between the single and double flags. Luckily, we didn't get stuck in it and cleared it. I explained what they were and how they are marked, and how you should never go between the two flags, as I had just done. I never saw it, because it was on the side of the boat that I can't see off the bow, due to the seat up there.
After getting my sunrise picture, we got going again, and ended up stopping about 1/2 mile directly east of D-Can in 30' of water. We would never have to move to go find fish, as they kept biting all morning. 1/2 minnows worked best for me, and the guys followed suit in baiting their hooks that way, too.
I didn't actually count, but we kept 77, and I know we threw back at least almost 3 times that in itty-bitty perch, and some junk fish. The seagulls got the white perch and there were only 4-5 sheephead caught. One little walleye bit Dale's rig, but it wasn't big enough to keep. The future looks bright if the number of 3-4" perch is any indication of that. :)
Joe, Ron, and Dale all had a good time and were very happy with their catch today, so that makes me happy!
Tomorrow, I'm back to walleye fishing with Lee Colley and his son. I'm thinking of going out of Mazurik's and then heading NE towards the Weather Buoy, and hoping to find some fish somewhere in between those two points. I don't want to have to go all that way if we don't need to.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Joe, Ron, and Dale...7/23/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/23/26
Short report…
Fun morning out of vermilion today with Joe, Ron, and Dale. Trolled from Vermilion to Lorain at 2.3-2.5mph.
Dipsies on the zero setting did best at 60 & 70 back, and the three settings at 97 back.
PEC Lites with 2oz behind the Off Shore boards at 50/75 (125 back), 50/47, and 50/24.
Purple Tiger, Green Tiger, and a custom color I don’t know the name of…
Bandits ran on the other side with 2oz…same distances.
“IB Infected” (DJ Custom) was best
“Whiskey and Water” (Slim Shady Custom)
And another custom I don’t know the name of but was used a lot in the earlier reports back when I was running Bandits.
Then the bandit side ended up in a huge tangle somehow and took that entire side out of commission. Had to cut lines and will need to re-spool…Uffda! lol
They caught their 3-man limit and I caught 3 of mine before we headed back in. We went through a ton of sheep and white bass, too, so they stayed busy.
I have them again tomorrow, but we decided to try for perch instead of going for walleye again.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing with Keith (First Perch Trip)...7/20/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/21/26Just a quick report...
Went fun fishing to try and find some perch after the NE winds the day before with my friend, Keith, who is able to move his work schedule around on a short notice. He was able to go, so we launched out of Mazurik's at 6am.
We went to one spot and stayed there for 4 hours. The spot was between Catawba and Green Island in 26' of water. The marks were good and would come and go...and everytime they came we would catch a few. Then, they would go off scree and we would have to wait a few minutes for them to come through again. They never left the area, so we didn't either.
We went through about 40 perch, 2 sheep, and 5 white bass to keep 28 good eater perch in that 7-9" range, which is my favorite size to eat. The rest were gently released itty-bitties to grow up. :)
They went 7 pounds at the cleaners.
So, they are starting to go in the western basin...get out there and get after them while you can. :)
Fishing with Stephanie and Jeff...7/17/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/17/26As Canada and the western US burn, the smoke is a reminder of courage, love, and perseverance. So many are losing their properties and everything dear to them by no fault of their own. Drought conditions, a lightning bolt, and little rain are wreaking havoc to our two countries. It's so sad. :(
The smoke was hanging in the air again this morning when I hit the back deck with the dogs. On one hand, having my coffee with the smell of a campfire while it's dark out...made me think of all my trips up to Meta Lake Lodge, which is a 25-minute float plane flight NW of Nakina, ON.
I'm told that John and Cheryl's place has an active fire about 2km to the south of them. So far, the winds have been light, and out of the right direction to keep it away from them, but it's still creeping closer.
And, on the other hand....while enjoying my cup of coffee... I couldn't help but feel sad for all those affected and hope it rains up there soon (with no lightning!)
The forecast for this morning was light winds out of the east-southeast at less than 10mph. It doesn't matter what the sky was doing, because we would never see it. The sunrise was just an orange dot shrouded in a beige colored smoke. The air temp was high 70s at 2a.m. It would be rising to 86 later in the morning.
Stephanie had contacted me a couple of weeks ago to set up this trip for herself and her husband Jeff. They are a fun and positive-minded couple from Indiana, who were here for the weekend. Besides fishing, they wanted to take in some of the sites while they are here, too.
I picked them up from the "Fairfield Inn" at 5:15 and headed to Mazurik's to launch by 5:45. It's staying darker in the mornings already. The sunrise is now 6:15, so we were a little early and waited a little bit before heading out.
I do not like to run a boat in the dark, to be honest, and like to be able to see the surface of the water while I'm driving. You never know what's floating out there at any given time, and there are always the perch nets, too. It just makes me too anxious, so I just don't do it. ;)
I went back to the area NW of Kelly's where my friend and I did well in just two hours yesterday. However, the bite was different today. Don't get me wrong, it was non-stop, constant reeling, and resetting lines this morning, but there were a lot more Sheephead, short Walleye, and White Perch in the mix than there was yesterday.
I showed them how to set the dipsies and Off Shore boards.
Stephanie wanted to be hands-on with the planer boards, so I showed her how to attach the snap-weight and then the planer board. She eventually got the hang of it, and did a good job helping get them back out. Jeff preferred to work with the dipsies, so that's what he did.
Neither of them complained about all the other fish that kept them busy, and were happy with the 10 eaters we put in the cooler for a couple of fish fries.
Would I go there again any time soon? "No". It's time to be east of Kelly's for the rest of the summer, I think.
The water temp on the surface today was 77.9, but it was 80.7 at 18' down.
We ran two dipsies off each corner, and two Off Shore boards out each side.
The dipsies were the usual zero and three settings. The zero settings were changed up often all morning. Anywhere from 28 to 50 back. (30, 33, 35, 37, 38, 40, 42, 47, 50 back)....all numbers caught fish.
The three settings were either 50, 55, 60, or 65 back...all numbers caught fish.
BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. All the spoons I used had silver bellies, except that blue one that I have DJ Custom Eye Lures paint for me. That one is still producing, so I never take it off.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites ran behind the boards with 2oz at 50/35, 50/30, 50/25, and 50/13. (Total line out would be 85, 80, 75, and 63).
Speed was 2.3-2.7 on the FishHawk.
Stephanie and Jeff both said they had a good time, and are thinking of coming back in October to do it again, so that makes me happy! :)
Tomorrow's father and son trip has been rescheduled to next Saturday. Tomorrow's wind forecast is calling for winds out of the SW from 20-28mph. That's not fun.
I have another 3-day trip scheduled for the 21st through the 23rd, but it's looking like some gusty NE winds are coming in, so I'm watching that right now.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jermey and Luke...7/10/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/10/26I contacted Jeremy yesterday to see if he wanted a fishing trip before I contacted anyone else that's on the list of "Give me call if..." people. He quickly confirmed it after talking to his wife, Erika, and moving some work stuff around.
I normally like to see the sunrise on the lake, not only for its majestic beauty, but also, because the walleye bite is usually pretty strong right before sun-up. It's also nice to be able to get at least one pass in before anyone else shows up to get in the way. ;)
However, they drove up from Columbus with a 7-year-old boy this morning, so we did a later start and didn't launch until 7:30. There was already a big pack of boats over where I had been fishing, so I decided to go west towards G-Can, since there was no one over there...just to see if there were any fish there. The wind would also be behind us on our troll back towards the east, making the boat less bouncy and more comfortable for the little dude.
The Garmin was marking fish, thankfully, so we stopped...and set up over 21 feet of water. The FishHawk speed was 2.5-2.7 mph.
The dipsies went down first. The zero settings were 20 and 23, and the three settings were both set to 30 back. Both three settings ran Yeck spoons with both sides of the spoon sporting a lot of orange. Those two dipsies outfished the zero settings by a lot. It could also be that as soon as the zero settings went down, a little White Perch would jump on it, and were never noticed until it was time to check them.
The Bill Lewis PWC Lites are still going strong. Best lead was 50/25 with 2oz...(total line out was 75). Several times, as soon as the board was locked in to jog to its spot....a fish would have already hit it.
"Green Tiger", "Purple Tiger", "Red Tiger", and "Chrome Barbie" were the colors again. All caught fish.
We were able to have an enjoyable morning without having to dodge a lot of boat traffic, and the boy reeled in so many fish his arms hurt. lol
We only fished a few hours, and went in per Jeremy's directive. The wind had died along with the bite...the sun was hot, the air was heavy with humidity, and the bugs were starting to find us, so we went in. We like to keep the experience a fun one for Luke, so his enthusiasm to fish with his dad doesn't wane.
Jeremy has his own Ranger boat, but likes to hire me so he can relax and enjoy the family stuff without having to do everything else, too. Now that he's had a refresher course in dipsies, he's going to be getting his boat out next week, and taking his Dad and Luke out fishing on their boat. :)
After dropping their fish off at Bay's Edge Fishing Cleaning, we met over at Casa Las Palmas for a quick lunch, so we could visit more and they could wait on their fish cleaning to get done. It's always nice to spend time with folks who feel more like family than just customers.
They all said they had a fantastic morning, even though we didn't limit out. We only put 8 keepers in the cooler, but caught a lot of fish. Unfortunately, there were a lot of White Perch, Sheephead, and short walleye, too. It kept it busy and fun for Luke, while Jeremy picked up some tips on how to do some things. So it was a successful trip in their eyes, and that makes me happy!
I don't have anything else scheduled until the 17th and 18th, next week, but if I get a call, I'll be sure to report.
I'm hearing that the hot and humid weather will be back next week....again....deep sigh. On one hand, I'm glad I'm not fishing in that weather, and on the other...I want to go fishing. There are several good wind days next week...with Tuesday looking the best right now.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Melinda and Caleb...7/8/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/08/26There was no sleeping in this morning. At 1:30 a.m., Ella decided I had been asleep long enough, and it was time to get up and go out on the back deck. As soon as the blankets were thrown back, Alfie shot up and started dancing on the bed.....deep sigh. To be honest, I could have kept sleeping, but I was fishing today, so it was better to get an early start.
When the coffee was ready and the dog treats dispersed, we hit the back deck to check the weather apps. The forecast was calling for winds less than 10 out of the WSW, clear skies, and no rain. I was just hoping there would be no bugs this morning.
Caleb and his twin brother have fished with me several times in the past. Their Dad would drop them off at Mazurik's to jump in my boat, then launch us and park the truck. Then, they would send him a text when we were done and on our way back in, so he could meet us there and pick up the boys. Back then, they were in their mid to late teens, I think. I have taken them bass fishing a couple of times, walleye fishing, and perch fishing before. Their dad only went when we did the perch trip.
I was sad to learn that their Dad passed away from COVID a few years ago; he was a great guy. :(
Melinda and Caleb came up from Waco, TX to visit family in Lakeside. Caleb reached out to me last week to set up a fishing trip for his mom and him, so we landed on this morning to make that happen.
I jumped in the truck at 4:30 and headed to the gas station for some ice. It felt good to have my truck back. Matt Wieland put new injectors and spark plug wires in it yesterday, and it's running like a champ. There are so many new parts on this truck now that it's "newer" than the day I bought it in 2020 (it's a 2016 GMC Sierra). Anyway...it's running great, so I think she'll be around for a while.
I arrived at Mazurik's at 5 a.m., but wasn't expecting them until 5:30. I readied the boat and polished up the motors while I waited for them.
They showed up right on time, and off we went. If you read the previous report, you know where I went on Sunday. The plan was to go back there again, and hope the fish hadn't moved yet. I was concerned, because of the big storm system that came through here on Monday. Thankfully, as I approached the area NNW of Catawba, the marks on the Garmin started showing up. As soon as the Vexus came off plane, the screen lit up with good marks. It was time to fish.
I started out with the same program that I ran Sunday. The water depth right there was 25 feet.
The dispsies went out first. The zero settings at 20 and 23 back.
The three settings went out at 37 and 42 back.
Speed was 2.5mph on the FishHawk.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites with 2oz snap-weights ran behind the Off Shore boards. Two boards per side.
Colors on the port side were: "Green Tiger" and "Red Tiger"
The starboard side ran "Purple Tiger" and "Chrome Barbie".
On the port side, the outside board was running 50/25 (weight goes on at the 50 mark and the second number is how much additional line is let out before the planer board is attached. So, 50 (weight) +25=75 total line out.
Now, to make it confusing for you...some people, including myself, will sometimes write it 50/75...meaning, the weight goes on at the 50 mark and the second number is the total amount of line out before attaching the board.
Anyway...I digress...
Port Side:
50/25 outside board (75)
50/11 inside board (61)
Starboard side:
50/30 outside board (80)
50/24 inside board (74)
All took fish. We had our 18 in the cooler in about 2 1/2 hours. I didn't look at the clock. We caught some Sheephead, short walleye, and White Perch, too, so that kept us very busy. The bite slowed a little as the sun got higher, so we were all glad that we were able to get out early and catch the tail end of a feeding frenzy.
They asked about fish cleaning, so I told them to follow me into downtown Port Clinton, so we could drop the fish off to be cleaned there. I knew that they would be able to get them cut fast, because we got there within a 1/2 hour of them being open. There would be several cutters to help process them. They were done in less than 10 minutes. If you come in after the "Fishermn's Wharf" headboats get in across the street, you'll be waiting longer. They usually have a lot more fish to clean when that happens.
Melinda and Caleb had a great time, and said they will be back, and that makes me happy. :)
Looks like I have a two-week dry spell now; I'm not scheduled to fish until the 17th and 18th.
If I pick something up between now and then, I'll be sure to report.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dave, Danielle, and Keith...7/5/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/06/26I took my neighbors Dave and Danielle, and our friend Keith out as a "Thank you" for letting me use his truck this past week to tow the boat for my trips. My truck has an issue that should be fixed Monday morning. Fingers crossed!
Anyway...
We didn't go to Huron, and launched out of Catawba instead. There was rain in the forecast that would be showing up in about three hours, so we didn't want to waste any time driving and get that time on the water.
I had gotten a report of a large school of fish near the cans, so we went to check it out. The report was right. We didn't go far from the launch before I said, "We are marking fish...let's fish". So, we got the dipsies and Bill Lewis PWC Lites in the water and started catching right away.
Zero dipsies set at 20 and 25, and the three settings at 40 back started catching right away, so it took a few minutes before we got the cranks out behind the Off Shore boards.
The PWC's were set at a total of line out at 60 (2), 65, and 74 back. The 2oz snap weights were all put on at the 50 mark. Same colors I've been using in Huron..."Purple Tiger", "Green Tiger", and Red Tiger"....all caught fish.
We also caught some Sheephead, White Bass, and White Perch, along with some short walleye that we threw back. I was watching the radar the entire time, because the system that was moving in was expanding as it neared the lake, and the colors were going from green (just rain) to orange, yellow, and red (heavy rain). I was watching for lightning strikes on the Radar as it moved in, and when it showed some, I said, "It's time to head in".
We had 12 nice eaters in the cooler in about an hour and a half, but had caught a lot more than that with the junk fish and shorts, so it was a fun morning.
A funny tidbit was my favorite pair of pliers disappeared, and I thought they went overboard...we looked everywhere, but they were gone. I could only suspect that someone accidentally sent them overboard when a line that was being reset quickly got tangled in them. I know this can happen, because I did it myself earlier this year on a pair of pliers I didn't really like. lol
However, out of the 4 pairs I had on the boat, that is the one I used all the time, so it made me sad. I kept saying they went overboard, and Keith kept saying, "I don't think so, I think I would have heard them go in the water". I just shook my head.
After we got in, we decided to go to Casa Las Palmas for breakfast, and while were standing at the door waiting to be seated, Keith was digging in his pockets and then pulled out my favorite pair of pliers! He didn't realize he stuck them in the deep pocket and didn't feel them until then. Ha! I was so happy! :)
We were lucky we got off the water when we did, because it rained hard, and there was some lightning while we were eating breakfast.
It was a fun morning, and it felt good to just go "fun fishing" with friends...everyone had a good time, including me! :)
My next trip is scheduled for Wednesday, with a previous customer from years ago, whose dad would drive his twin boys to the launch, and send them off with me to go fishing, and then pick them up when we got back. Unfortunately, their Dad died of COVID a few years ago, and his twin can't make it, so his Mom is going to go fishing with him this time. They were mid to late teens when I first started taking them, and I fished with them 3 times, I think, so now he's got to be in his early 20s.
Tuesday is their preferred day to go, but it looks like the NNE wind will still be gusting on Tuesday, and Wednesday looks calm, so if Tuesday's forecast changes, we will go tomorrow; but if it doesn't, we will go Wednesday. I'm pretty positive it's going to be a Wednesday trip, though.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Chris and Jeff...7/3/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/03/26Chris contacted me yesterday afternoon, after I got home from fishing, and asked if I still had Friday open, and I told him I did, so we set up a meeting time at Huron for this morning. I asked them to be there between 5 and 5:15a.m.
I was up early again and managed to get the kitchen clean, gardens watered, dogs fed, cat fed, showered, emails returned, and messages answered before walking out the door at 3:45.
I hit the gas station for some ice and headed to Huron. I would be early, but I needed that time to clean the boat a little. It was too hot to do it when I got home yesterday, so I took advantage of the 81-degree temp at 4:30 a.m. to do it.
I only had to do the windshield and get the fish slime off the black 400. Only one side gets the fish slime from the netting process, whereas the other side is just water spots and wipes off easily. Fish slime takes a little more elbow grease to remove it.
The windshield just had some bugs on it from the ride over, so that was easy enough.
Chris and his Dad Jeff showed up at 5:10, and we launched. The ramp was busier than it had been at that time of the morning for the last few days. This morning, there were probably 8-10 boats launching at 5:15.
As we headed out the river, we talked about the program I'm running, and they told me how they hired me, because they wanted to learn to troll. They have only done drift casting with their own boat. It's not really set up for trolling, so Chris wanted to see how I troll and what gear I use to make my trolling more efficient, so he could take some ideas back and implement them on his own boat.
We didn't go far before I shut the Black Mama-Jama down and deployed the Ulterra and baby Merc. While the Ulterra kept us on course, I let the kicker warm up, and I put the FishHawk down to 18'. Then, I adjusted the iTroll controller to get the kicker's speed up to 2.5mph.
We started in 25' of water, with good marks....Like I have the past several days out, but this time they were mostly White Perch, Sheephead, and White Bass, with a couple of walleye mixed in. The past few days, by the time we were near the south side of the dump, there would be 2 limits in the cooler already. This morning, we had 7. They were kept busy with removing undesirables from the lines and resetting the lines.
I showed them how to use the dipsies and set them out. Short rod on the inside (furthest rod holder to the rear), and the long rod on the outside, and how to get the outside rod set without tangling in the inside rod line.
The inside rods ran dipsies on the zero setting, and the outside rods ran on three settings.
Zero settings started at 25 and 27 back. As the sun rose and we traveled over deeper water, they were lowered to 33 and 41 back.
The three settings started at 40 and 50 back, and then lowered to 64 and 82.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites ran behind the Off Shore boards with 2oz snap-weights...leads were:
50/100, 50/85, 50/80, and 50/75. (Put the weight on at the 50 mark, and then the second number is the total amount of line out, before you put the board on).
Colors used were:
"Purple Tiger" (2 of them)
"Green Tiger"
"Red Tiger"
They all caught fish.
When we got to the top of the Huron Dump, I turned the Vexus east-northeast for a bit, before turning back around to go back over our trail. Sometimes, it's just a directional issue, and I wanted to see if they would bite better going back the other way.
I got off course, though, when some boats showed up right at the moment my Ulterra remote said, "I'm done. I need new batteries". I had to quickly change them out, so I could operate the motor. I had a boat heading straight on at me, and I needed to turn to starboard. Luckily, it happened, so the crisis was averted. Whew!
Thankfully, I keep a lot of extra batteries in the boat, and have them handy at all times.
Yes, I know, I could have turned the big motor on to control direction....but, it's still a panicky/icky feeling when you see something out of your control, and there's a big boat in front of you. ;)
All is well...
I let Chris and his Dad set lines as I watched and gave instruction when needed, so they could remember how to do it more easily. People only learn when they can actually do it for themselves, and figure it out. Chris and Jeff certainly did that. I wanted them to do everything together, because they fish together, so they also netted each other's fish, which was funny to watch. The only advice I gave them was, "Use the net like a shovel and not a pool skimmer when you reach for the fish". After they started doing that, they got the fish in easily. :)
After the remote mishap, we were headed from east to west over 38' of water, and just kept going. We picked a walleye here and there and more junk fish.
The marks on the Garmin were getting fewer... and what looked like bugs coming up were showing on the screen instead. So, I turned the boat north to start a turn to go back. We had trolled maybe a 1/4 mile when one of the planer boards went floating away after it released from the front clip. One of them had not properly secured the line on the Snapper release before letting it out.
We picked up all the dipsies and brought the boards in, then headed back to where it floated away. It was a pretty calm morning, so it was easy to find. I don't think the wind ever got over 10mph at any time this morning. After picking up the board, I just turned the boat to the east, which was the plan in the first place, so that board floating away right when it did was pretty fortuitous, because we hit a frenzy of bites as soon as we got set up. I wouldn't have hit that area in my turn if we had kept going.
We set the dipsies out and got the planer boards out, and they suddenly went bonkers.
"Fish on the inside dipsey", "Fish on the outside board", "Fish on the inside board opposite side", Fish on the other board now, too", "There goes the other dipsey". lol They thought that was great and were giggling throughout the chaos. We put the last fish in the cooler and headed in. They got their limits this morning, and I reeled in mine too.
It was getting hot out, and I knew it was going to be even hotter when we got back on land. The good news is, there were no bugs out this morning. That would have been miserable, as humid as it was. They would be sticking to every inch of exposed skin...ick.
The water temp out there was 79 degrees on the surface and 18' down. The water is getting hot now, too.
I'm off tomorrow, but will be fishing with my neighbors Danielle and Dave, and our friend Keith (whose boat we sometimes take instead of mine) on Sunday.
My truck goes into the shop on Monday. Dave has been generously letting me use his truck for the past several trips, so I wouldn't blow mine up before I can get it fixed. Thanks, Dave! :)
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Gary, Matthew, and Milo... 7/2/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/02/26I had gone to bed earlier than usual and slept until 1 a.m. The dogs and I went out to the back deck to check the weather forecast for the day. The air was thick and muggy, and the air temp was already 81 degrees. The sky was partly cloudy. The wind was less than 10mph out of the SW.
Thankfully, Gary told me he and the boys would meet me early at the Huron ramp. I had told him 5:15, because of how dark it still is at 5am, but they showed up at 4:50, so we waited around and chatted a little before launching.
Matthew is 13 years old, and Milo is 10. Both looked like fishermen to me, so I was looking forward to the morning. Gary is their grandpa, and has his own 22' boat, but it's in the shop right now, and he wanted to get the boys out on the water, so he hired me. I'm glad he did, too! Those boys were awesome in the boat!
Matthew played "First Mate" after a quick refresher course on setting dipsies. He's run them before, but it's been a little while, and it didn't take very long for him to start doing it on his own.
Milo, he was watching the rods like a Hawk and was often the first one to the rod. He did great with both the dipsies and the boards. He didn't set any boards, but his brother did. He did set the dipsies, though. I was really impressed by both of them.
Grandpa takes them fishing a lot. :)
We headed out of the Huron River at 5:15 and headed back to the same area I have been fishing the past two weeks....but, it's expanding. There are fish in close and out by the dump, and deeper, so there's a lot of water to choose from to catch fish.
We ran the same program I've been running over there the past two weeks.
Two dipsies off each back corner... the inside rod is set on zero, and the longer outside rod is set on the three setting. Leads were the zero setting at 25 and 27 back, in shallower water (24-25'). and then dropped to 33 and 47 back over 39'-42' of water.
The three settings started at 47 and 50 back, then dropped to 64 and 72 back over deeper water.
Speed was 2.5-2.9 on the FishHawk.
We caught fish going from directions south to north, west to east, and north to south. The bite was best very early, and as the sun got higher, the bite slowed down for us, but it was still steady enough to keep it fun.
The Bill Lewis PWC Lites did fantastic behind the Off Shore boards this morning, too. I only ran two boards per side; even though I could have run 4, I wanted to keep it simple for the boys, and it worked out.
I started out with the PWCs on the starboard side and the Flicker Minnow 11s on the port side, but took the Flickers off eventually and replaced them with more PWCs.
The best lead for the PWC Lites was 50/30 and 50/35 with a 2oz snap weight. The best colors were the "Purple Tiger" and "Green Tiger". I ended up running 3 Purple Tigers and 1 Green Tiger. All of them were catching fish. The larger fish came on the cranks over the spoons, though.
It was a beautiful morning to be on the water. We caught fish and got off the water before it got too hot out.
They all said they had a great time, and that makes me happy!
Spending time with their Grandpa, and doing fun stuff...that's what it's all about. Memories made. :)
Tomorrow...hmmmm...
Well, at this point in time, I may or may not have a trip tomorrow. I'm waiting at the moment for a decision from them.
If I don't have a trip, friends want me to go with them, so I'll be fishing either way. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Joe and Shawnee....7/1/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/02/26This was a short day.....same place and same program as yesterday. lol
We were off the water by 8:30.
No need to repeat it all ...I have things I need to get done at the house. :)
Tomorrow, I have Gary Flemming and his two grandsons, Matthew and Milo...13/10 years old, respectively.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jim Renaldo...6/29/2026
by Capt Juls on 06/29/26Started the morning off at 1a.m., because the dogs felt that I had had enough sleep and decided it should be time to go out on the back deck. I had gone to sleep an hour earlier than normal, so I guess their internal clock was keeping track. So much for that extra hour of sleep I wanted. lol
We went out on the back deck after I made some coffee, grabbed a couple of dog treats, and some cat food for my "back porch kitty". I checked the apps for the morning's forecast and found it would be warm, humid, and no wind. The lake would be calm.
Originally, Jim set this trip up for his son and an exchange student from France, but they had other plans, and the student went home to France, I think. Then, Jim asked two of his church friends to come, but they bailed at the last minute, too, so it would just be Jim.
Jim is a local (Akron area) and has had his own boats, but he sold both of them recently. He often fished out of Vermilion, and would text me his reports if he got into some fish, and I would text him back with my reports of where I was fishing and how I was doing where I was. I've communicated with him for years, and fished with him a couple of times.
So, we went from having to get a 4-person limit down to a 2-person limit. I decided to put the trolling rods away and just use the 4 dipsey rods, so we wouldn't get done in a half hour. lol
We launched at Huron at 5:15 and took a slow idle down the river, because it was still pretty dark out, and I wanted it lighter by the time we got to where I wanted to start. It wouldn't take us long to get to where we were starting, because I was only headed out to 35' of water.
It was close enough to "light enough" to remove the navigation light in the back and turn the rest off. It was a Monday, and I knew the traffic was going to be low, so there was no danger of anyone hitting us this morning.
The sunrise was beautiful, because of the thick humid air, I think. It was definitely different than the clear air sunrises.
The Garmin was marking fish from 25' all the way out, so I stopped over 28 feet of water to set up. The Ulterra and baby Merc worked together to keep a speed of 2.5 on the FishHawk, and the iPilot was keeping us on a course from the south to the north....out to deeper water.
As the Vexus moved over deeper water, the dipsey settings were adjusted to what I was using the past two weeks.
The zero settings were set at 25 and 30 to start and eventually adjusted to 33 and 47 back.
The three settings were initially set at 50 and 60 back, but would be set to 64 and 72, like I had been using in my previous reports.
Yeck and Scorpion spoons started taking fish right away.
I did eventually cave and put two Off Shore boards out, pulling the Bill Lewis PWC Lites in the "Green Tiger" and "Purple Tiger" colors with a 2oz Guppie weight attached at the 50 mar and the boards put on at 97 and 83 back. Both took multiple fish right away.
The bugs found us early on. Lots of them. Caddis Flies, Muffleheads, and Midges...all the ticklely kind. They covered us head to toe and all over the boat. And, because the boat was damp from dew, they stuck to everything once they landed.
It was a fast bite this morning, and we had our 12 good eaters by 7:10. We played catch and release after that, but not for too long, because Jim had to get home to meet an electrician who was coming to install something on their new swimming pool, so the decision was left up to him on how long he wanted to stay out.
The air temp was already up to 81 degrees at 8am, and it was only going to get hotter, so he called it, and we went in.
He didn't want to keep any of the fish, because he already has a freezer full, so he gave them to me. I didn't have any left in mine. Thanks, Jim! I appreciate it!
I'll be out again between the 1st and 3rd fishing with a friend out of his boat. I don't know if we are walleye fishing or perch fishing yet. Then, on the 5th, I'm going to take my neighbors, Dave and Danielle, out fishing, as a thank-you for letting me use his truck while mine is incapacitated. I'll be getting mine fixed on Monday the 6th.
I have a lot of open dates available in July, right now. I usually have half the month booked, but the economy is weak, obviously, and people aren't scheduling trips like they normally do. It's scary. :(
Anyway....As I get out, I'll report....But I don't see a lot of reporting happening in July right now.
Update: I just picked up trips for Wednesday and Thursday...thank you! :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bill, Tom, and Austin ...6/26/2026
by Capt Juls on 06/26/26Woke up before the 2am alarm again, so I got up and made some coffee, grabbed a dog treat for the knuckleheads, and we headed out to the back deck to check the weather.
The sky was partly cloudy, but mostly clear. The stars were shining, and the moon was lit. The air temp was around 60 degrees, and the wind was barely a whisper.
The forecast for the morning was calling for wind out of the WNW at 5mph and then switching to the east in the afternoon... it was going to be a gorgeous morning.
I had told Bill in the last phone call that I would pick them up from the Whitecaps Motel at 5am. He repeated it back to me, letting me know that we were on the same page.
I left the house at 4:45 and headed to the Motel. I arrived a few minutes later and sent Bill a text stating that I was there, I was early, and there was no hurry. I didn't get a response. At 5 minutes to go, I called him...no answer. I tried calling 5 times over the next half hour, and started to think the worst....that they had been in an accident on the way over and didn't check in last night.
I almost left, and then thought I should try calling the Motel first, to see if they checked in last night.
I was surprised Dawn answered that early, but she did, and I asked her about them, so she checked.
They had checked in. At least I knew they were alive. Dawn gave me their room numbers, so I could go knock on their doors to see if they still wanted to go fishing.
Turns out, Bill had told Tom and Austin that I was picking them up at 6am, so they were surprised to see me so early. lol
They got ready fast, and we were on our way through town by 5:45 (the time I'm usually launching). They apologized again for the misunderstanding. I just smiled and said, " It's okay, I'm just glad you're here....let's go fishing...it's going to be a beautiful morning". :)
We hit the Speedway for some ice and a couple of snacks, and then headed to Mazurik's to launch. It was almost 6:30 by the time the Vexus was headed east again.
The past two days were really good between CP and the Huron Dump, so we headed back there. The target would be that 35-38' of water again. The Garmin was picking up fish in the area, so we stopped over 35' of water to start.
It was the exact same program from two days ago, which also worked yesterday. I didn't change anything yesterday, or today. The first day took longer, because I had to dial in the program that the fish wanted.
Yesterday and today, it took 3 hours each day to catch our 24 for the cooler.
It was a steady, busy bite.
Austin did great learning how to set the Off Shore boards and dipsies. I only had to tell him once how to do something, and he would do it. He said he does a lot of deep-sea fishing down south.
I promoted him to "First Mate" for the morning, so he helped me keep up with getting lines set back out.
As soon as you would get one back out, another one was coming in.
Bill, who was the oldest (80s), was eager to learn how to do the loop/twist on the first release, which makes the board release and flip around, when a fish is on. He really liked that.
Tom is Bill's friend, Austin's Grandpa, and is around my age. I'm guessing Austin was in his 20s....just a good, smart, kind, and funny kid. He's going to go far in this world, I think.
The program from the other day is...behind the Off Shore boards:
Bill Lewis PWC Lites would run on the starboard side with 2oz snap weights at 50/50, 50/35, and 50/24. Colors were:
"Black Headed Wonder Bread on White" at 50/50
"Purple Tiger" 50/35
"Green Tiger" 50/24
For the newbie who might be confused about the 50/#...this is the Precision Trolling Data info used with a 2oz Guppie weight or snap weight. You put the snap weight on at the 50 mark, and the board on after you add the extra number listed. Example: 50/50=100 total line out...put the board on at the 100 feet out mark.
Flicker Minnow 11s replaced the crawlers on the port side. They ran at 125, 115, and 75 back (unassisted). Colors were:
"FireTail Chrome Candy" Ran two...125 and 115 back
"Slick Sunset" ran at 75 back
Dipsies were set on the usual settings of zero and three, and ran all Yeck spoons this time.
The zero settings ran at 30 and 40 back. The three settings were set at 64 and 72 back.
Speed was 2.5-2.7 on the FishHawk.
Water temp was 69.9 degrees, 18' down.
Looks like a NE wind this weekend....but, Monday and Tuesday look nice.
I have a trip this Monday (29th), but after that I don't have any trips lined up until the second week of July right now. So, if anyone is looking to get out, I'm available. I don't usually fish the 3rd/4th/or 5th due to the Holiday, but it seems boat traffic is way down this year.
It was a beautiful summer morning, and I think I counted fewer than 20 boats on my ride to and from Huron, this morning. It felt weird. This is not normal.
Bill, Tom, and Austin all had a great time, and I did, too! They are on their way back to the Cincinnati area with a pile of fish for their efforts.
Until the next time....
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day Two with Ed, Tim, and Rick...6/25/2026
by Capt Juls on 06/25/26The original plan was to pick up my guys at 4:45 and head to Huron, but when I got in the truck at 4:30, the check engine light wasn't just on, it was flashing. I know that when it's flashing, it means something is very wrong, and I didn't want to take the chance of driving all the way to Huron at highway speeds, so the plan changed.
Let me first say that this check engine light was scanned, and it came back as "Cold Start/ Fast Idle", so last week I had Matt Weiland clean the injectors and change the spark plugs. He didn't change the spark plug wires at that time, though. It also required another oil change due to the injectors being cleaned, even though it was still at 78% oil life from the last change.
Back in April, I had the coolant flush, tranny flush, and the oil change done. He also put new springs and shocks on it at that time, too.
The light was off for most of the week after he worked on it, but came back on a couple of days ago. The truck isn't making any weird noises or vibrations, so I drove it to the launch and back...that's it.
Since it was flashing this morning, I'm guessing there is a clogged injector that needs replacing, or it's simply the spark plug wires needing replaced. I can get it in on Monday the 6th, so I'm not too worried about it.
My neighbor, Dave, is going to let me use his new truck to run my trip tomorrow, so I don't have to worry about it. Then, I'm good. Well, not really....July's bookings are dismal to say the least. Normally, by now, I have half of July booked, but I only had 5 as of the other day. But then one of my customers who had a two day-trip booked called to cancel, so now I only have three days booked for the entire month of July.
After talking to another Captain, I have found out that a lot of bookings are down for a lot of Capts, too. I blame the economy right now. People are hanging onto their money with the unbelievably high prices of everything, and no relief is in sight right now. I can't blame them.
Anyway....
This morning, I picked my guys up at 4:45 anyway, even though we would be launching at Mazurik's instead of Huron, and got to the ramp when it was still dark. We waited until 5:30 to launch, so I could see when we were driving out.
The rain had stopped, so that was a relief, too. Somehow, we managed to miss most of the rain all morning. It either went south of us or to the north of us, but never on top of us. We got a little drizzle for about 5 minutes, but that was it.
We went to the same place as yesterday, and ran the exact same program and lures as yesterday, too. I didn't change anything all morning, and we were done with our 24 eaters by 8:15. My guys were happy, because they are older, and the forecast was calling for some wind to come in, but it was nice while we were out there...thank goodness, because they are older and their sea legs were out of practice. lol
Since it's the same program and info as yesterday....I'm keeping this short, because I still have to clean the boat for the new customers fishing with me tomorrow. :)
The forecast for tomorrow is showing light winds out of the west and switching to the east by late morning. We will launch out of Mazurik's, because with my luck, if I drove my neighbor's truck to Huron, some stupid deer would jump out and wreck his truck. Ha!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Ed, Tim, and Rick...6/24/2026
by Capt Juls on 06/24/26Yesterday, Tuesday, was supposed to be the first of three days for Ed, Tim, and Rick, who came down from Eau Claire, WI, to fish with me, but Momma Nature said she had other plans for us. She was angry and was blowing out of the NNE.
The forecast was calling for it to lay down as the morning progressed, so I told them I would pick them up at the Whitecaps Motel at 8am instead of 5am. We got to Mazruik's at 8:30 and sat there in the truck looking at an angry lake. I told them it was a no-go, and I don't do afternoons because of my regular schedule, and that it was still going to be rough with the NE rollers continuing to roll in from the east end. They were okay with that.
This morning, the wind was going to be light out of the SSW, so I picked them up at 5am, and after getting some ice for the coolers, we went back to Mazurik's to launch. I pointed the Vexus east once we were out of the breakwall, and off we went.
The plan was to start on the east side of Cedar Point and work our way over to Huron as long as we were marking fish. If not...we would move. Luckily, we were marking fish. All we had to do was figure out what they wanted this morning.
I had gotten a tip to take crawlers, because the kitchen sink had been thrown at them by a friend yesterday, and they didn't like what was in the sink. So, this morning, before I picked up my crew, I jumped in the boat and re-rigged 6 rods to crawler harnesses (double willow-bladed wire harnesses). We would start with those and two dipsies off each back corner.
After the FishHawk, Ulterra, and baby Merc were set on a course to the east at a speed of 2.5 (FishHawk speed), the dipsies went out first. By running the willow leaf harnesses, I could keep the speed up enough to still use the dipsies.
Dipsies were set on the usual settings of zero and three, and ran all Yeck spoons this time.
The zero settings ran at 30 and 40 back. We had set up over 36' of water to start, and my aim was to hit the 38 to 40' of water. Once we got to deeper water, the fish were holding deeper, so we dropped the zero settings to 40 and 54 back. The three settings started at 50 back, but would eventually end up at 72 on both sides.
The crawler harnesses ran behind the Off Shore boards with 2oz inline weights at 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 back. Nada...not even a nibble. I ran them for half an hour and decided to pull them and put small cranks on.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites would run on the starboard side with 2oz snap weights at 50/50, 50/35, and 50/24. Colors were:
"Black Headed Wonder Bread on White" at 50/50
"Purple Tiger" 50/35
"Green Tiger" 50/24
(For the newbie who might be confused about the 50/#...this is the Precision Trolling Data info used with a 2oz Guppie weight or snap weight. You put the snap weight on at the 50 mark, and the board on after you add the extra number listed. Example: 50/50=100 total line out...put the board on at the 100 feet out mark).
Flicker Minnow 11s replaced the crawlers on the port side. They ran at 125, 115, and 75 back. Colors were:
"FireTail Chrome Candy" Ran two...125 and 115 back
"Slick Sunset" ran at 75 back
Everything took one or two fish this morning. We had our 4-person limit by 10:30, so it wasn't on fire, but it was steady enough to keep my guys busy and entertained. We did have one triple that made them giddy. They had a lot of fun, and it was nice to see the family get together and spend quality time like this. :)
We will be launching out of Huron tomorrow, instead of Mazurik's, due to the wind forecast for the morning, which is 15-20 out of the SW. It might be raining in the morning, too.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dave and Danielle 6/21/2026
by Capt Juls on 06/24/26Didn't write a report for this one....Dave and Danielle are my neighbors, and booked a trip for walleye. We had a slow bite for some reason and only caught 13 of our 18 over between Huron and Cedar Point.
All were just eaters between 16 and 20 inches, so few pics were taken. It was a beautiful day on the lake, though, and we had fun. When we got off the water we went to Casa Las Palmas for lunch, before heading home.
We did pull out the perch gear at one point, when the Garmin marked what looked like perch to us, so we pulled the trolling gear and tried it for 15 minutes. Good marks but no nibbles on the Emerald Shiners, so we went back to trolling for the last 1/2 hour.
The three-day trip scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is rescheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, due to heavy winds on Monday.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing Day Two with Steve, Dave, and Doug...6/16/2026
by Capt Juls on 06/16/26I didn't write a report for Day one of Steve, Dave, and Doug's trip, because we had a late start, and by the time I got home, I only had time to feed the dogs, go to the bank, and make a quick dinner. For those that know me, you know what time I go to bed...for those that don't know me, I am going to bed when most normal people are sitting down to dinner. I like to get up at 2am, so by the time I have to meet my customers, I am in a good mood, and I've already gotten lots of things done before I leave the house. It's not for everyone, but it works for me. ;)
Anyway...day one, we caught their 3-person limit and a couple of mine. We fished the SE side of Kelly's with spoons behind dipsies and Bandits behind the Off Shore boards. The spoons outfished the cranks, but the crank fish were still larger on average.
Day 2:
I got up at 1:30, feeling like I slept very well, and was feeling good. While sitting on the back deck with the dogs and my hot cup of coffee, I remembered telling them I would make them some of my brownies today, so after checking all my weather forecast apps, we went back inside.
I whipped up the brownies, and while they baked in the oven, I jumped in the shower and got ready. When I went outside to put stuff in the boat, I saw it....my electrical cord was on the ground. #%@*/! Ugh....I forgot to plug the charger in when we got back late. I said a few words, knowing I was the only one to blame.
Luckily, I have "Miller Tech" lithium batteries in the boat for the Ulterra. They have an app that lets me check the percentage of usage, and it showed there was still 65% left on all three batteries. Whew! If they were still AGMs, I would have been in a panic, knowing the batteries wouldn't last for a second trip without a charge.
The forecast was calling for wind out of the SW at 10-18mph.
The air temp was 64 degrees at 4:30, and I could see some stars in the sky, so I figured it was clear to partly cloudy. The high today would only reach the mid 70s.
My guys are staying at Camp Perry, which is 2 miles west of my house, so they met me at my house and jumped in my truck for the ride to the launch.
This morning, I thought it would be a good idea to launch out of Huron, because of the wind direction and the location of the area I wanted to fish. It would be closer and not as rough as launching out of Mazurik's and fishing the east side of Kelly's.
These friends are in their mid to late 70's, so I didn't want them to take a rough boat ride if I could help it.
After stopping at the Speedway on 250 and Rt2 to get ice, we hit the Huron launch a little after 5am.
**Note: If you're driving in from the west, you need to get off on Rt6 West and go through town, because 6 East is closed.
I got the boat ready and took the Bandits off the port side and attached Flicker Minnow11s instead. I wanted to try a smaller profile to see if the fish preferred those to a Bandit right now.
We didn't go far out of the river and headed west until I hit 25' of water. The fish marks were good, so I shut the big Merc off and deployed the Ulterra. The baby Merc and Fish Hawk were also deployed. The FishHawk usually gets set at 18' down, because that's far enough to get a good reading of opposite currents.
The target speed was 2.5mph, and the course was set in the direction of the dump.
The wind was still light when we started and was less than 5mph. By the time we would end, it would be blowing at 15mph(ish), and the lake would go from calm to 1-3s a mile out, 2-3s two miles out, and 2-4s on the north side of the dump.
Dipsies ran off the two back corners, as usual. Two on each side. The zero setting started out at 25 and 30 back, and the three settings were initially set to 50 and 60 back. They would be let out as we got over deeper water to what has been working the past two weeks.
The zero settings at 35 and 54, and the three settings at 64 and 72 back.
The Yeck spoons, DJ Custom Eye Lures, paints the bellies blue for me were consistently catching fish. I don't know the name of the other Yeck color, but it has a pink belly and orange/chart/and pink on the back. It did well, too.
The Off Shore boards on the starboard side pulled Bandits at 100, 90, 80, and 63 back. (I run the long leads on the outside and shorter leads on the inside...it works for me).
Colors were:
"Sunspot" (stock color) 100 back
"Blue Shiner" (stock color) 90 back
"Halographic Natural Shad" (Slim Shady Custom) 80 back
"Fruit Dots" (stock color) 63 back
The port side ran Flicker Minnow 11s (unassisted) at 115, 90, 80, and 63 back.
Colors were all stock colors:
"Firetail Chrome Candy" (115)
"Firetail Hot Perch" (90)
"Flashy Chartreuse" (80)
"Racy Shad" (63)
All but the Fruit Dots caught one or more fish this morning. Slim Shady's "Halographic Nat. Shad" caught the most of all the cranks, though. I need to order another 3 or 4 of those. I only have one in my box, and I really like that one. :)
Thankfully, my crew had a day of training before we had the kind of bite we had. And, they knew more about what to do. Dave was helping set dipsies, but they left the board setting to me. They helped net each other's fish while I was busy resetting lines.
The first pass was from inside to the north side of the dump. We picked everything up and made a run back to the start, so we could make another pass. The first pass had produced 12 keepers and several throwbacks. The second pass gave us the other 12, along with more Sheephead Dave wanted to keep for his traps back home. He called them "Bobcat Bait".
They caught their 3-person limit, and I reeled in mine, too. We had our 24 by 8:45 this morning, which made my guys very happy. Steve said, "This is the kind of experience we always read about, when people talk about Lake Erie...thanks, Juls". I smiled, and nodded, and that made me happy! :)
They have two more days scheduled with me, and it looks like tomorrow will be the last day, because Thursday's forecast looks nasty!
We'll be headed back to Huron in the morning...
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
