Fishing with Jenn for the "Back to the Wild" Eagles 4/28/2020

The Charters are shut down until the May 12th now, per Governor DeWine's briefing yesterday afternoon.  

I'm hoping that they would be wise enough to start the sale of out of state licenses by that date too, or it wouldn't do us much good, when most of our customers are tourists that come to go fishing.

I do think that if sanitary protocols are met, the customers are limited to the number that can fit on any given boat (with enough room to keep a decent distance), they are Ohio residents that have been on quarantine here in the state, and have an Ohio resident fishing license....they should be able to charter if they want.  I do know that the ODNR would not write a ticket for any of that, because the Capt and the customers would not be breaking any law(s). Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

Anyway...back to today's trip...:)

I woke up at 5am, and could already hear the birds chirping while I laid there in bed, pondering what another boring day in my house the day would be.

As I drank my coffee on the back deck, and listened to all the noises that happen only when the dark of night is lifted off the horizon and the Sun begins its ascent, I noticed the quiet too. The wind wasn't blowing, so my plethora of wind chimes weren't dinging and clanging their music. That meant only one thing...the lake was going to be calm today.   

I checked the weather apps on my phone and found out it was going to be a very nice day. Probably one of the nicest days we've had so far.  I wasn't about to sit at home again, when there is a lake full of walleye swimming around just a couple of miles away from me.

I texted Capt Jenn to see if she wanted to go fishing to catch some fish for the "Back to the Wild" animal rescue with me, and she did.  Even though we can only bring them 12 fish, every little bit is very much appreciated by them. Especially, during this time where everyone is hurting somehow, someway...they are too. They need support with donations of fish or monetary donations whatever can be given.  They're a great organization and do so much for the wildlife around here. If you want to check them out their website is here: https://www.backtothewild.org

We hit Mazurick's and launched at 830am. The air temp was in the low to mid 40's this morning, and the water temp was 46.9 degrees. Colder than a week and a half ago, actually. The water temp had gotten up to 51 degrees before and now it's back down 4 degrees. 

We headed NW out of Mazurik's to the west side of Green and headed towards Rattle Snake at a speed of 1.7-1.9mph.

We set up with Bandits 71, 63, and 57 on the starboard side and 75, 68, and 58 on the port side (at least I think that's what Jenn set out on her side).  We trolled for about 45 minutes with only one pull back, so I told her, "Let's pick up and head someplace else". 

As the big motor warmed up, we retrieved all the lines, and we were off. I headed west towards the reefs, but came across a very muddy and very distinct mud line. I wasn't sure how wide the muddy water was, so I kept heading WNW wondering if it would clean up.  I could see what appeared to be cleaner water on the west side of Niagara, and I hoped that it wasn't an optical illusion fooling me, which it can sometimes do out there. ;)

It did clean up and we ended up setting up between Niagara, Flat Rock, and Little Pickerel reefs in 26-27 feet of water.  The Bandits were dispatched again, but this time I ran on Deep Husky Jerk #12 on the outside board at 45 back. The two other Bandits were at 55 and 65 back.  We ended up catching the first 6 in that one pass. 5 on Bandits and 1 on that DHJ12. 

I got word from another boat, that was back in my first spot, that they were doing well...better than us, so we moved back there, since it was on our way back to Mazurik's anyway.

Long story short...we caught the last 6 there in about a 1/2 hour. Red Headed Wonderbread, Sunspot, Black Gold, Attention Deficit, and one I don't know the name of, but I will soon, because I need more of that one. lol  

We enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather on a calm lake today and charged up our batteries with some much needed vitamin D. It felt good to be barefoot in the boat, and made the comment, "I should have worn shorts", because it got that warm out there. 

It was time to head in, so we could take the fish over to the rescue, and hit up Casa Las Palmas for some Mexican food. 

I don't know when I'll be back out again, but the weekend is looking pretty good right now, so my fingers are crossed. :)

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls