Fishing with Levi and Michael...7/5/2025

I drove up to the gas station, but they were closed until 5:00....grrrrr. 

I drove back to the ramp, and readied the boat. When Levi and Michael arrived, I asked them if they could take me up to the gas station before heading out. It was still very dark out, so we had plenty of time. They obliged me, and we were back to the boat in 5 minutes.  I didn't like leaving it there unattended, but there was no one there, unlike the previous mornings that I've been there...I think everyone was slow moving this morning after last night's festivities. I wouldn't know...I slept through all of it. 

We launched, and were at the mouth of the river by 5:20. It was just light enough to read the waves as we rode out. There were still some residual rollers coming in from the NE, from overnight, so the ride out was slower than normal.

The air temp was 82 degrees. The wind was out of the south at 5mph. The forecast called for a partly cloudy sky, but there wasn't a cloud to be seen. The sun was going to be shining on us all morning.

I pointed the Vexus towards Vermilion and set down over 36' of water. The FishHawk went down to record the water temp and "speed at depth", (which in my case is usually at 18-20 foot down). The temp read 78 degrees at 18'. The speed was set using the Ulterra and the baby Merc, in unison, to a speed of 2.5mph.

Once again, Bandits were running on the port side behind Off Shore boards.

I got a couple new colors from Slim Shady Customs, that I liked, so I put those on. 

One is called, "Big John Here", and that one caught a bunch of fish. I had it at both 77 back and 120 back.  The other one is called, "Fire and Ice"...(you can view both new colors on his website.)  That one worked at both 77 and 120 back, too. 

The starboard side ran two new colors of Flicker Minnow 11s...more Slim Shady..

one is called, "Pink Salamander", and the other is called, "Copper Confusion". They both caught fish...but, I eventually took them off, because the Bandits were doing better.  I put a couple more Bandits out, but that side just didn't want to fire as much, this morning. Could have been a current issue, I don't know.

Dipsies ran on the usual zero and three settings (one set, on each side of the stern)

zero settings went anywhere from 35 to 54 and anywhere in-between. I was moving them a lot, due to the pesky little White Perch chomping on everything. They were very annoying to say the least.

Someone's going to message me asking these questions, so I'm going to answer them now. I run the size 1 dipsey with the ring. I run a shorter 6' Med Ugly Stik rod on the "inside", or furthest back in the rod holders. I run an 8'6" Downrigger rod on the "Outside", or second from the back rod holder.

The inside rod is on the zero setting, and the outside rod is set on the three setting. This allows them to stay separated, and avoids most tangles.  Sometimes a hanging fish can cause a problem, but that doesn't happen too often. :)

The bite was constant, if you factor in those stupid White Perch, but the walleye bite was slower. The size is getting smaller too, so I think it's time find new water to fish.  Our 18 walleye today were mostly 16-17 inches, with a handful of bigger ones in there. There were plenty of throwbacks, too.  

Levi, and his 13 year old son Michael, did a great job! They said they had fun, and Levi stated he would like to come back to try for perch later in the season...and, that makes me happy! :)

Unfortunately, due to the economy (I'm guessing), I have nothing scheduled until the 21st. Normally, by now, I have half or more of July and August booked. But, people are hanging on to their money right now, with all the uncertainty, and I can't blame them.

So, with that said....if anyone is looking to get out on the lake...I'm available! ;)

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls