Juls WFA Blog
Fishing Day Two with Curt and Cheryl...6/23/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/23/25My Wisco crew was up and ready to go at 4:30, when I pulled into the White Caps Motel, to pick them up. We hit the gas station for some ice, and headed to Huron to launch. I found out, that the work at the Huron parking lot was finished, so instead of hitting Vermilion, we would save some time and gas by launching at Huron instead.
When we arrived, it was still dark out, so I took my time readying the boat and gear, before launching. But, by the time we were at the mouth of the river, it was light enough to see if there were any floating logs, or other obstacles that needed to be avoided on the ride out.
The air temp was already 80 degrees, and very humid. The sky was cloudless, the moon was a crescent, and Venus was shining bright. The wind was very light out of the SW at maybe 5mph, and the waves were 6" or less. :)
I decided that we would drive up to where we ended our trolling pass yesterday, because the fish were a little bigger over 43-44 feet of water, than they were back in the shallower stuff...hoping they were still around. They were. It took a while to get all the lines out, because they started chomping right away.
Bandits ran on both sides, behind Off Shore boards. Blue Chrome at 120 back, Purple Mist at 80 back, ran on the port side. That blue/green nameless one ran at 97 back and Sunspot ran at 67 back, on the starboard side. All of them caught fish. The bigger fish came on the cranks, while the smaller fish still jumped on the spoons.
The dipsey settings are the same as I've been running...
zero at 45 and 54 and three setting at 65 and 71 / 75.
After I took a spoon off and put a black and gold Ripplin Redfin on the three setting at 65, it caught several bigger fish, like the board cranks were catching, in quick fashion. It wasn't down a minute and fish were on it!
It was non-stop action and we were all reelers this morning.
Curt and Cheryl had so much fun they have already booked a 2-day trip for next May, on Cheryls birthday, and that makes me happy! :)
The fish were very cooperative today, and made their experience an exceptional one, and I explained that it's not always like this, and that they had two great weather days....on the lake, anyway. Once we got back on land it was very hot and humid...ugh.
Tomorrow, I have a reschedule from last season, due to Mother Nature's fury, so we'll finally get that trip in. I'm headed back to Huron in the morning, hoping to have the same experience with these guys.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day One of Two with Curt and Cheryl...6/22/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/22/25At 2AM this morning, the wind was pretty blustery out on my back deck. I checked iWindSurf, and it showed a forecast of 10-20mph SW for the early morning, with it diminishing a little as the morning went on.
I picked my Wisco crew up from the White Caps Motel at 5AM, and hit the gas station, and then Mazurik's. I didn't want to drive back over to Huron after seeing the fiasco the work crews were causing with the repaving/repainting of the lot, and being a weekend day, I figured it would be worse.
My plan was to launch from Mazurik's...hug the shoreline over to the Huron...start in shallow, and head NE, over the dumping grounds. So, at 5:45, we were headed east. The water was pretty smooth, close to shore, and not bad as we crossed the open area in front of Sandusky Bay, and we made it to Huron in about 15-20 minutes.
We started in 30 feet of water, out in front of the "White Condos", and set a speed of 2.4 (FishHawk reading) to the NE. That would take us right over the top of the dumping grounds, and to the area I was fishing two days ago.
There were a ton of marks in the shallower waters, and the action started immediately with smaller fish, some keepers, and Sheephead. The sheep weren't bad though. I think we only caught 3 or 4 all morning.
The water temp at 20' down was just under 69 degrees.
Spoons ran behind dipsies on the zero and three settings. The zero settings were 35 and 40 to begin with. Eventually, as we got deeper, they were running at 45 and 55 back.
The three settings were 65 and 71 the entire time.
BadMo Arrow spoons, Yeck spoons, and Scorpions spoons did the job. Color didn't matter. They were always busy with fish on.
Two Bandits ran behind the Off Shore boards on the port side at 97 and 67 back.
That blue/green one from Slim Shady Customs, that I can't remember the name of ran at 97 back, and Purple Mist ran at 67 back. They both caught fish early on, in the shallower water. Then, as we went further out, they were lowered to 130 and 120 back, and again, both caught fish.
The starboard side ran Flicker Minnow 11s at 97 back and 57 back. Firetail Chrome Candy, and Slick Purple Bengal... both caught fish.
The lake wasn't as rough as I thought it would be, with the forecast that was projected, so it was a beautiful morning on the water. It was definitely a lot cooler out there, than it was on land. I'm thinking that we might just run the 4 dipsies tomorrow, and take more time out there, because it's freak'n HOT on shore, and tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer!
According to a source, the Huron parking lot is done now, so I think we will be launching over there in the morning. I was going to go to Vermilion, but I'd rather go out of Huron, and use the wind direction to our advantage.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with the Chapmans...6/20/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/21/25For anyone that has been following my reports for the past 14 years, you know the name Chapman. Steve was my very first customer, way back when, and Jeremy started coming along later that same year.
Since then, they bought themselves a Ranger, to do what I have trained them to do, but when Jeremy wants to take his boy along, he hires me, so he doesn't have to be in charge, and can concentrate on helping his boy learn to love fishing. :)
We had a later start, due to their drive up from Columbus (2 hour drive), and I met them in Huron. I was disappointed to see that the crews working on the repaving and repainting of parking lot lines, had not finished yet, had the place really restricted...making it hard to maneuver with a boat in tow. Hopefully, it's done soon. I won't be going back until it is.
The river was pure chocolate milk, and the current was super strong...with lots of debris floating around.
Anyway....
It was a beautiful morning to be on the water. The sky was clear, the waves were 1 foot or less, and the water temp was 68 degrees.
We got out to the Huron dump around 9AM, and set lines. Once again, the speed was set using the FishHawk for guidance, at 2.5mph, and the Vexus pointed to the north.
Dipsies were running on my usual program of a zero setting at 43 and 54, and the three settings at 65 and 71. BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons ran behind the dipsies....color didn't seem to matter. They were checked often for itty-bitties, for which they were plentiful.
Bandits ran behind Off Shore boards on the port side at 130 and 120 back (unassisted). Blue Chrome and Purple Mist did the job.
Flicker Minnow 11s ran on the starboard side at 97 and 57 back. Colors were Firetail Chrome Candy, and Slick Purple Bengal.
We only ran two on each side to keep it simple, since we were entertaining a 6 year old, and didn't need more chaos than we were already dealing with. The bite was non-stop, and we were busy, busy, busy, so Luke was never bored! He did a great job reeling, as his Dad held the rod for him. We all caught our limits, and ended with a 4-person limit in 4 hours, and headed back in.
They wanted their fish cleaned at Port Clinton Fish, Co, so they met me there. It took forever to get back, thanks to road construction on RT2, and added an extra 1/2 hour to the normally 20 minute drive....ugh. I'm sure my dogs were wondering where I was, because they needed to be fed, and when I got home it was very dramatic....needless to say, they were very happy to see me. lol
Jeremy had sent me a text on their way home to say how much fun they all had, and that Luke couldn't stop talking about how he caught the biggest fish, and said that he wanted to be his Dad's fishing partner, and that made Jeremy very happy...which makes me very happy! :)
I'm scheduled for the entire week, starting Sunday, so hopefully Mother Nature doesn't cook us too bad with the heat and humidity that is forecast. Stay cool, everyone!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bill, Pete, and Marv...6/17/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/17/25Picked my crew up from the White Caps Motel at 5AM. Bill, Pete, and Marv drove in from Iowa last night, and were a little tired, but awake and ready to go.
We launched at Mazurik's at 5:30, while the sun was just peeking up over the horizon, to the east. The plan was to head to the SE side of Kelly's and troll the east side of the island.
The speed was set using the FishHawk, and when it hit 2.5 mph, I began the set up. My crew is older, so I didn't bother showing them how to set boards and dipsies, and instead, just did all the work myself, while we rotated, taking turns reeling in fish.
I was exhausted by the end of the trip, due to so many hungry little fish in the system, hitting our offerings, and having no help resetting lines. It was basically non-stop action all morning.
Bandits ran behind the Off Shore boards at 120 (outside board), 80, 67, and 47 back (inside board). Colors that did best were the Purple Mist (47), blue/chrome (67), Sunspot (80), and that blue/green one (120) that I can't remember the name of.
The starboard side started out with the Livingston Walleye Minnow 111s, and caught a few. Then, I changed them out, and ran Flicker Minnow 11s at the same distances back as the Bandits, and they were catching more frequently.
Dipsies were best on the zero settings at 43 and 54 back. The three settings were the usual 65 and 71 back. Yeck, Scorpion, and BadMo Arrow spoons were a continuous exercise. I would just keep rotating my checks, because I think as soon as they went down, they picked up an itty-bitty. We caught some legals on them too, but those were very noticeable when they hit, of course. But, if you don't keep checking for itty-bitties, you're just going to drag them around forever, and never catch anything bigger.
Our 5 hour troll started in 34 feet of water as we headed NNE, and then when we got even with Airport Reef, we headed east, out to 44 feet of water. Then, when we were a little NE of Cedar Point, I pointed the Vexus back south, until we hit 41 feet of water, and turned her back to the west towards the dumping grounds.
The plan for tomorrow, was to head to Huron, for a change of scenery, and maybe some bigger walleye, but after I got home, I received a text asking if we could perch fish tomorrow, instead of going after walleye, because they felt they had enough walleye going home with them already. I said, "Sure, but I can't make any promises on how we'll do, because I haven't chased any perch yet, this season". They're okay with that. Yay! I love perch'n and am excited to go look for some.
So, if anyone has been fishing for perch out of Mazurik's and can help me out...that would be greatly appreciated! :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 3 with Marion and Ruth Baker...6/12/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/12/25The original plan was to go to Huron again, so my crew was instructed for a 4:45 pick up, but I had changed my mind this morning, and wanted to launch at Mazurik's instead. I didn't want to deal with the traffic if the re-paving wasn't done yet, and they still had the accesses blocked.
So, I pulled into the White Caps Motel at 4:35, and there were Marion and Ruth, sitting on the front steps of the office...waiting, on ME!
I told them, that I had changed the launch location, and that we would be early, so we had time. We drove through town, and hit the Speedway for some ice, before heading to Mazurik's.
It was still dark out, when we pulled into the get-ready lane, so I just took my time getting things ready, and after a couple of us used the bathrooms, we were headed out at 5:20. This reminds me, I need to get a pair of clear lens glasses, for the early morning rides out. The yellow ones I have are too dark, for that early in the morning. I can't go without, because if you have ever had a bug hit your eyeball, you would never go without glasses, driving a boat, ever again. ;)
The wind was less than 5mph out of the SW, the sky was clear, and the air temp was 69 degrees.
We headed to the east side of Kelly's, and set up over 36 feet of water, headed to the NNE....moving out to deeper water as we went. Speed was 2.5mph on the FishHawk, and the water temp was 65 degrees, at 20 feet down.
The dipsies were non-stop with little itty-bitties, and a handful of keepers. The larger fish are on the Bandits at 47, 57, 67, 77, and 97 back, behind Off Shore boards.
Dipsies:
Zero setting at 43 and 54 back caught with Yeck and BadMo Arrow Spoons, and the three settings were at 65 and 71 back....running a Michigan Scorpion spoon and another Yeck spoon. Color didn't matter.
We caught a Steelhead! They had never seen one before, so I told them they were really good, smoked, so they kept it. I was surprised to see it caught right there, (northwest of Cedar Point).
We only caught one Sheephead, but it was a tanker, with a big belly. No White Bass or White Perch, either.
My crew wasn't choosy today... if it was legal, it went into the cooler, because they had a 12 hour ride back to Iowa, ahead of them. They talked about coming back for a week next time, and that makes me happy! :)
It was getting rough, anyway. The wind had switched from the SW to the NE around 7AM, and kept picking up as the morning went on. I don't think it was ever over 15mph, though. The waves grew to 1-3's by 9AM, when we finished with our limits, and headed in.
I'm off for a few days. My Saturday trip just rescheduled to the 28th, due to a forecast of a gusty NE winds, and rain.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 2 with Marion and Ruth Baker...6/11/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/11/25I picked Marion and Ruth up 15 minutes earlier than yesterday. After picking up some ice for the coolers, we were headed to Huron a little before 5am. The parking lot at Huron was empty, except for one rig that was backing down the ramp, as we drove in.
PUBLIC NOTICE INFO....They are resurfacing the roads, and lot, with that tar spray stuff.
They started on it yesterday, and have the get ready lanes blocked off...so, you'll have to go left, and the wrong way, in order to get in the "second lot", by the cleaning station. That's the only way you'll be able to access the ramps.
I hope they have it done by the weekend, because when it gets busy, and if they are still blocking access, there are going to be problems. There is only one lane to get in and out, so what are you going to do when someone is coming in, and you want to get out?
I had that happen yesterday, but I was able to pull off on the grass, where the curb hadn't started yet. I let them pass, and they were grateful....But, if I had been any further, on my way out, I couldn't have done that. That's a big curb, and I wouldn't want to take my trailer over it. So, there are going to be problems.
When I left Huron, this morning at 9 AM, they hadn't arrived to start working on it yet.
_________________________________________
As we approached the mouth of the river at 5:30, the sky was clear, the air temperature was around 60 degrees, and the wind was out of the SW at around 11 mph.
We weren't going to go far, and would start in the area that we finished up at, yesterday. In fact, I burned a whopping 1.5 gallons of gas today. lol The 400 purred, quietly, as we made our way out, (1 mile), to 34 feet of water. We fished 36 feet, yesterday, but the fish were showing up on the Garmin at 34, so I figured we would start there.
The Ulterra and baby Merc were deployed, and adjusted so that the kicker would do most of the work, while the Ulterra would use just enough power to keep us on course, and use minimal battery. The speed was set to 2.4mph to start. It would fluctuate between 2.0 and 2.7, as I played with speed. 2.5 seemed to be most liked by the walleye, this morning.
The program was the same as yesterday, with Bandit and Walleye Minnow 111s running behind Off Shore boards.
Bandits did best at 80, 67, and 47 back, and the Walleye Minnows worked best at 80 and 47 back.
Dipsies caught a ton of shorts, and a few keepers, and had to be checked every spare moment, when we weren't bringing fish in, or setting lines out again. There was usually an itty-bitty hanging on, and I didn't want them to have to hang on too long. All were unhooked carefully, so as not to rip their tiny lips...and given a kiss for good luck, before swimming back down.
The zero setting ran a Yeck spoon at 50, and a BadMo Arrow Spoon at 35-43 back.
The three settings ran a Yeck spoon at 65, and a Stinger spoon at 60 back.
All caught fish. It was pretty much non-stop action, even if they weren't all keepers. :)
Marion and Ruth are farmers. The farm they are on, is where Ruth spent her entire life. They do hay, corn, soybeans, pigs (lots of piggies), and something else, that I don't want to say without being sure. It could have been chickens, but I don't know. I know it's not cattle/cows, because I know they said they used to have them, but don't anymore.
They did even better today, since they had already had some training, yesterday. And, they already knew me, so that nervousness strangers have when meeting new people was gone. It was like getting in the boat with family, instead of strangers....you know....comfortable.
We had a successful morning, but Ruth was still kind of upset for losing the biggest fish that we had seen, in the two mornings of fishing. It got caught in the whirlpool suction in that corner by the motor and stern, and was flopping around, while I was trying to get it in the net....then, it spit the hook, and was heading back down, before I could get it.
I told her, "At least you saw it", to which she replied, "I did, but I'm still not happy about losing it." I said, "I'm sure the fish is happy"....she laughed...understanding. It was maybe a 5 pound fish...so, to me, that's just a "good eater", but to her it was a wall-hanger. ;)
We will give it another go in the morning, and maybe she'll get an even bigger one. Fingers crossed! :)
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Marion and Ruth Baker...6/10/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/10/25Marion and Ruth had a trip scheduled last season, but due to major flooding in western Iowa, they had to cancel. I moved their deposit to this season for them, and we were able to make it out this morning. They have a three-day trip planned, and it looks like we'll get all three days in! Yay!
As usual, I got up early, to have my coffee out on the back deck with the dogs, and check the weather. My initial plan was to go out of Mazurik's, but the forecast was calling for kind of gusty winds out of the WSW, so I thought it would be better to go out of Huron, which was closer to the fish I wanted to target. I hadn't met the Bakers before, so I didn't know how old they were, and didn't want to make a long rough run from Mazurik's, if I didn't have to.
I picked them up from the White Caps Motel at 4:45, and we hit the gas station for some ice, and jumped on the highway. We got to the ramp a little before 5:30 and were passing the lighthouse on the way out, at 5:45.
The sky was clear, the air temp was 59 degrees, and the wind was light at around 5-7mph. The lake was relatively flat, and made for an easy ride out.
The Garmin marked fish, here and there, for the entire ride out. No big schools, but a lot of smaller spotty ones....enough to keep my interest. So, when we were on the west side of the Huron Dump, I shut the big 400 down and deployed the Ulterra and baby Merc, and let the kicker warm up while I set the FishHawk out. Water temp was 63 degrees at 20 feet down.
I turned the Vexus to the NE, and set a speed of 2.3-2.5mph.
We ran three Bandits behind the Off Shore boards on the port side, and two "Livingston" Walleye Minnow 111s on the starboard side.
Bandit colors were:
That green/blue fade one that I don't know the name of from Slim Shady Customs at 80 back.
Buck Fever, from Domka Outdoors, at 67 back, and Green Lantern...another Slim Shady Custom at 45 back.
All of the above caught fish.
Walleye Minnows:
LimeLight at 93 back, and Sherbert at 57 back. Both of those caught fish, too.
Dipsies were the usual...
Zero setting at 54 on the starboard side, and 35-43 on the port side.
Three settings were 71 on the starboard side and 65 on the port side.
Dipsies caught the most fish, but the crankbaits caught the bigger fish.
Marion and Ruth both did a great job, learning my "fishing language", and even though it took a little while to get the hang of it, they managed to do just that. They said they had a good time, and are looking forward to getting out again the next two days, and that makes me happy! :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dave and Danielle...6/8/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/10/25
Fishing with the Neighbors…6/8/2025
Took my neighbors, Danielle and Dave, out this morning. We had a late start and launched at Huron at 10 AM. It was still cloudy and a little drizzly on the way out….(it was cleared up and the sun was shining an hour later).
The lake had some rollers, due to the wind direction, but it wasn’t bad.
Capt Sam (Pork Chop Express) was on his way in, as we were going out, and he told me where to start, (out in 44’ of water), so that’s where we went. Thanks a bunch Sam! 
We made one pass and caught around 30 fish in 2 hours.
Same program I’ve been running the last several trips, so I’m not going to repeat it again, since it can be easily found.
We kept our 18…all good eaters, and released a bunch of shorts that came on the spoons, running off the dipsies.
They had a great time, and scheduled a perch trip for the 21st, and that makes me happy!
I’m ready to do some perch’n! Woot! Woot! 
I’m off tomorrow, and need to clean the boat, because I have a two day trip with a nice couple from Iowa, that had to cancel last season, due to the massive flooding that hit western Iowa last summer.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing with the Hubbard Family...6/6/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/06/25I was up earlier than usual, so I left the house a 1/2 hour earlier, and headed to the gas station at 4 AM. Bought my ice, and skipped the smokes, because they went up again. I'm going to have to be done with them now...it's ridiculous to pay so much just to take years off of my life. Thanks, you greedy bastards, for making me quit!
Anyway...rant over...lol
I hit Mazurik's at 4:30, so I had 45 minutes to get things ready before my crew showed up at 5:15. When I pulled in the park, it was completely empty, and very quiet...just how I like it. I readied the boat and the gear, and spent a little time on the internet.
Brian (Dad), Mitch, and Nick are from Wisconsin, and live not far from where I lived, when I lived there.
Even though they showed up right on time, we still had to wait a bit, for it to get lighter out, so I said to them, "I'll go hit the bathroom, and get rid of the last bit of coffee, then we can go". By the time I got back, more rigs were starting to pull into the park.
The air temp was 65 degrees, the sky was cloudy, and the wind was around 5-7mph out of the NE. I looked at the radar, and it showed scattered showers headed towards the lake, which surprised me, since my weather app was saying, "No precipitation" for the entire day. I guess that's what happens when the NWS and NOAA lose funding for important weather tests needed for proper forecasts.....deep sigh.
We launched, and our destination was north to the line, and then, I would figure it out from there. The drizzle started about halfway, and made my visibility even worse, and I had to keep wiping my glasses off, so I could see. At one point, we almost ran over a Perch net that was set up on the NW side of Kelly's....not far from the red buoy at American Eagle Shoal. It was on the port side, and the bow seat was blocking my vision at that angle, so I didn't see it until we were almost on it. Luckily, it was the single flag end, and I only had to dodge the little floats that are on the outside of the flags, and didn't have to worry about anything in the middle.
Once we got up to the line (west side of Middle Island), I turned the boat and headed to the east side of Gull Island Shoal.... and, north of Kelly Island Shoal. The plan was to hit the area I fished my last time out, and see if the fish were still in the area. The Garmin had marked fish here and there, but there wasn't any big schools showing up. Reports from the days I wasn't fishing told me that they should still be there.
The FishHawk was deployed to 20 feet (showed a water temp of 63.6 degrees), and the Ulterra and baby Merc worked in unison, at a speed of 2.2-2.5mph on a southerly troll. The waves were set on the port stern, so speed control could be maintained. We were over 42 feet of water, and that would change here and there as we trolled south.
The dipsies went out first, with the zero settings on 35 and 54, and the three settings at 65 and 71. Yeck, Stinger, and BadMo spoons were on all of them.
Color didn't seem to matter....they all caught fish.
I ran the same crank program I've been running the last several times out, and they all produced, too, but the spoons definitely out-fished the cranks this morning.
Bandits and Livingston Walleye Minnows ran behind the Off Shore boards. The Bandits ran on the port side at 120 back (outside board), 80, 67, and 50 (inside board).
The Walleye Minnows ran at 97 (outside), 80, 65, and 57 back (inside).
Colors were:
Bandits: 120 back was that one I don't know the name of...it's a custom color by Slim Shady Customs, and is like a green and blue fade, (maybe Mike Schlimgen will see this and tell me what it is, because I can't find it on his site). 80 back was Buck Fever, by Domka Outdoors, 67 back was Pooh Bear, Domka Outdoors, and the 50 back was Green Lantern, by Slim Shady Customs.
Walleye Minnows:
97 back was LimeLight, 80 back was Sherbert, 65 back was Chrome XXX Shad, and 57 back was another Sherbert.
Everything above caught fish.
The dipsies had to be checked often, to make sure the itty-bitties were not being dragged around, and almost every time we checked, there they were....anywhere from 5 to 12 inches, just spinning around and around...poor little fishies. They were all returned unharmed, and with a kiss for good luck. That's why dispsies need to be check regularly. :)
They caught their three-man limit, and I reeled in mine, too. It's been years since they had been to Lake Erie, so learning to troll was the game plan. They did a great job, and picked the routine up quick. I showed them how to attach the Off Shore boards, and set them back out into their original spots, without having to move other boards, to do it. We only had a couple of tangles due to the wind, but nothing bad, thankfully.
I have the same crew tomorrow, and told them I would like to visit Vermilion in the morning, so they will be meeting me at my house, and we will drive over there together. It's a lot cheaper in gas, and a better ride, than riding across the lake with another NE wind. The winds should be the same tomorrow, which is forecast to be 8-10mph.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with David, Fred, and Craig...6/1/2025
by Capt Juls on 06/02/25My crew today, are friends with the Jay Prater group, from last week, and were supposed to go tomorrow, but the wind forecast for today was more favorable, and they were able to move it, so it all worked out.
I left the house at 4:30, but didn't need to pick my crew up, since they were meeting me at Mazurik's at 5:15. I stopped to get ice on the way to the ramp. I wanted to get there early, so I could get things ready before they showed up. But, Jay must have told them I like to be early, because they showed up at 5 AM.
It was still dark out, so I took my time. While it's possible to drive in the dark out there...I do not like it, because I can't see if there are floating logs, or perch nets, and it kind of freaks me out. Those nets are always moving....so, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
The sky was partly cloudy, the wind was less than 10 mph out of the south, and the air temp was a chilly 51 degrees. It's the beginning of June, and I'm still wearing my BlackFish Gear out there, (it has a fuzzy fleece liner in both the jacket and the pants). This spring has been the worst I've ever experienced in my 62 years on this planet....deep sigh. On the bright side, though, it looks like it's going to get hot by mid-week.
We left the dock at 5:25 and headed north to the line, near Gull Island Shoal, and set up on the west side of it. The Vexus was pointed to the east, with the Ulterra and baby Merc moving us along at 2.1-2.2 mph (FishHawk speed).
The water temp was 60 degrees.
The port side ran Bandits behind the Off Shore boards, and the starboard side ran the "Livingston" EBS Walleye Minnow 111s, with the same leads I used the last time out. 97 (outside boards), 80, 75, and 57 (inside boards). Eventually, the Bandit at 97 was set to 120 back, and started taking fish. That's the "SlimShady" Custom, that I can't remember the name of, and can't find it on his site, but it's a fade of blue and green with an orange belly.
Other Bandit colors that took fish were..."Domka Outdoors" Buck Fever at 80 back, and Red Headed Wonder Bread at 67 back. Sunspot didn't catch this morning, and neither did an orange and sliver one, that I can't remember the name of, either.
The Walleye Minnow colors that took fish were the LimeLight at 97 back, and Sherbert at 80 and 67 back.
Most fish came on the dipsies using BadMo Arrow Spoons and Yeck Spoons.
Two dipsies off each corner ran with the zero and three settings. The zero setting was changed often and settled on 40 and 54 back, while the three settings were catching at 65 and 71 back. We did catch one fish with a black and gold Ripplin RedFin off the three setting at 71 back, but that was it for that one, so we swapped it out for another BadMo spoon. Colors didn't seem to matter....we had the whole spectrum, out there.
David, Fred, and Craig were on a learning trip, to up their skills in their boat, when they are here, so after a little training, (and, me chirping in their ears for hours) they practiced setting lines all morning, and did a great job. I have no doubt they will be able to take what they learned and apply it...giving them the confidence to duplicate what we did today. :)
We fished the Canadian line, and were mostly all alone, except for an occasional boat here and there, but it wasn't a crowd, and made it a very nice morning. The south wind stayed below 10 mph, and the waves up on the line were 2 foot or less.
The crew all said that they had a good time, and learned a ton, and that makes me happy. David and Jay have scheduled to come back in October, to fish together, so I'm really looking forward to that.
My next trip is Wednesday, with John Ackerman. The forecast looks bumpy, but fishable. Hopefully, the winds do not get any stronger in that forecast. Right now, it's showing 17-20 out of the SSW.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Danny and Charlie...5/29/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/29/25This morning, I had two brothers from southern Ohio, who are in their 70s. I was supposed to have them out yesterday, but when given the opportunity, they opted for today's west wind, over yesterday's east wind. It was a good decision.
I left the house a few minutes before 5 AM, and drove the mile it takes me to get to the White Caps Motel, down the road. I was early, of course, and had told them 5:15, but they saw me pull in, and were ready to go, so they hopped in the truck and off we went.
I only had to get some ice for the coolers, since the Vexus and truck were already gassed up from the previous trip, so that didn't take long. We hit Mazurik's around 5:20.
We were in the water by 5:40, and headed over to the Cedar Point Dump, to start.
The water temp at 18 feet (on the FishHawk) was 58.7 degrees, this morning.
The air temp was 55 degrees. The sky was partly cloudy to the east, with some high-hanging fog to the west, but the lake was clear of fog.
The wind was forecast for less than 10 mph, out of the west, for the early morning, and up to 11 mph later in the morning... (It hit 15mph by the time we were heading in).
There were still some residual rollers from last night's east winds, so we didn't go very fast, on our way out.
On the last trip out, I had left some good fish out in front of Cedar Point, so I wanted to start there, and troll my way up the east side of Kelly's following contours in that 42-44' range....at a speed of 2.0-2.2 mph. When we were east of the shoal, we were in 46' of water.
I ran the same program as the last time out, and they started catching again, but there were a lot more short fish, than last time. The further north we got the better the fish got. There were less shorts up that way.
Since there were only three of us this time, we ran three Off Shore boards on each side, and two dipsies on the port side, and only one dipsey on the starboard side.
"EBS Walleye Minnow 111" ran on the starboard side behind the boards, and Bandits ran on the port side. The dipsies ran with Yeck spoons. The zero setting was best at 50 and 60 back, and the three setting was best at 70.
Danny had showed up with in an old peanut butter jar, or something similar, and it had two shallow running baits in it. He couldn't remember who makes them...only that he got them at Bass Pro or Cabelas.
He said, "These are my lucky baits...we hammer fish on these all the time". I was a little skeptical, but I liked the little lip on it, and the color (black/gold/red belly), and had him pull one out. I put it on the dipsey using the three setting, because....why not? If it didn't pull a fish in 15 minutes, we could change it out again.
Well, that little bait pulled several fish this morning, and they were usually bigger fish.
Now I have to go find some to use on the dipsies in the future. I just used Google to look it up. It's a 3 1/2" "YoZuri Pins Minnow". I really liked the action behind the dipsey, so that's worth spending a few bucks on, to have in the arsenal for future trips. He said they were cheap, and I just found that Walmart carries them, so I'll check it out later. :)
The Walleye Minnows were set at 97 back (outside board), 77, and 57 back (inside board), and the Bandits ran at 97, 67, and 57 back.
Bandit colors that worked today were "Sunspot" (stock color), "Big Bad Bill" (SlimShady Custom color), "Glacier Shad" (SlimShady Custom), and another SlimShady color that I can't find on his site to look up the name...but, it's a chrome bluish-green fade color.
The Walleye Minnow colors were:
Sherbert and Limelight (2 of these)
My crew did a good job, even though it was very difficult for them to stand up, while the boat was rocking in the waves. We boxed 18 fish, but had a lot of shorts we threw back, and some fish showing up as we were clearing lines, before heading back in at 10 AM. They said they had a good time, and that makes me happy! :)
On the way back to the White Caps Motel, we stopped off at Port Clinton Fish Co, to drop off their fish, to be cleaned, so they didn't have to do it before heading south again.
Tomorrow I'm fun fishing with a friend, because it's supposed to be nice out, and I could use some fish in my freezer, now that I bought a chest freezer for my garden's bounty later this summer.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Just Sharing This....:) 5/27/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/28/25
I got an email today, that made me happy, so I thought I would share it, since he took the time to make it so long...
I'm Out of A Lot of Money and It's Partially Your Fault!!!
Juls,
June 1, 2019 was my second time walleye fishing. My uncle, Jeff, and dad, Greg, booked a trip with you. I wasn't a fishing enthusiast but wanted to experience Erie again, only having a few memories of my first trip. You taught us how to troll using dipsies and boards with bandits and flicker minnows. The weather was good, we had a great time, and I have a photo of 24 fish in a cooler at 11am.
It'd be two years before we'd go again. A friend of my dad's, an exceptional walleye fisherman, Mike Bentz invited us up to fish. Our first time with you was an enjoyable experience so I wanted to go again. For a second time, good weather, minimal wind. Mike had us trolling with boards and bandits so everything we learned from our trip with you came in handy. We caught our limit and pulled in a 30" fish on that trip. We fished 4 days that spring with Mike and his son Andy. After that, the hook was set.
I was ready to try trolling myself but the only boat I had was a 27' SeaRay cruiser. I built my own rod trees out of exhaust tubing and bought some buggy bags to slow the boat down. I bought a pile of Bandits and four cheap counter rods. We went fishing for two days in late October and caught five fish. Had a fish fry and had a great time.
This year is my 5th year fishing on my own. I've collected an arsenal of rods and tackle. Last year I purchased a center console with an iPilot and added a kicker. Mike has been giving us colors, speeds, depths, and locations over the years, and I typically check your blog, but I've also found fish on my own. This year Mike showed us how to tie and run worm harnesses, and we limited out several days on those.
I've had the opportunity to introduce many people to walleye trolling. I've taken anyone from my family that wanted to go, countless friends, hosted their friends, and this weekend I'm taking three guys from work that have never been on a Great Lake. I've shared walleye fillets with so many people and they all rave about the quality. I've shared more fish frys with friends and family than you can shake a stick at. Everyone loves it.
My first trip with you and the next two with Mike were all decent weather. It wasn't until I started scheduling my own trips that I got to learn how often it's windy out there. This Saturday looks to be a blow day also.
I haven't kept an exact count of how many fish we've caught but im close. If it didn't already happen last week, with some luck this weekend, we'll have boated 500 walleye in the last five years. That's a pile of fish that came with a bigger pile of memories.
Thank you for everything you do. I'm sure you've gotten thousands of people addicted to this sport. There's tens of thousands of people that have caught fish because of your blog. But imagine the money I would have saved if you wouldn't have put us on fish that day!
Best of luck out there,
Ryan Withered
Fishing with Jay, Jimmy, and Bob...5/26/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/26/25I got up at 2 AM this morning...but, I still had 7 1/2 hours of sleep, so I was feeling refreshed.
Grabbed my cup of coffee, fed the dogs, grabbed their tennis balls, and hit the back deck, to check the weather.
It was 55 degrees, clear sky, and not a breath of wind. I smiled, knowing that it would be a fun day on the lake.
Jay, had scheduled this trip for last week, but Mother Nature was having another Tizzy-Fit, and their day would be rescheduled to today.
Jay, Jimmy, and Bob would be meeting me at Mazurik's at 5:15. I made sure I was there 1/2 hour early, so I could ready things before they arrived. I like to do things in the quiet of the morning, so I don't get distracted and miss something.
They showed up right on time, and we launched. The sky was glowing to the east, but still dark to the west. We headed back up to the ENE side of Kelly's, where we would start.
I didn't want to pull crawler harnesses, slow, again, so I had swapped them out for Bandits on the port side, and a new-to-me lure...the "EBS Walleye Minnow 111", by "Livingston" (a Texas Company, I believe). It's similar to the Flicker Minnow 11s, but they dive deeper than the Flickers. Example...the Flicker at 15 feet would be 74 back. The Walleye Minnow is only 55 back. They also have a different rattle sound than the Flickers.
Both sides ran the same distances back, behind the Off Shore boards, in the beginning....120' (outside), 80', 67', and 57' (inside), but eventually the 120s became 97 feet back, and took a lot of fish.
The "Sunspot" Bandit was hot, so we changed out a couple of the others and had three of them running out there. They all produced.
The Walleye Minnow 111 colors were... "LimeLight", "Sherbert", and "Chrome xxx Shad" (ran two of those), and they all took several fish. At one point, I was ready to take them off, due to no action, but as soon as I tripped the outside board to bring in the Walleye Minnow, and change it out to a Bandit, two of the inside boards took off. Needless to say, they stayed out and caught a lot of fish from then on. I didn't keep track, but it seemed like it was a pretty even tally between them and the Bandits.
Dipsies started out with a couple of "Worm-Burners" on the starboard side, and a couple of Yeck spoons on the port side. The Yeck out produced the worms for us, so eventually, the worms were removed and more spoons put out.
The zero setting was catching at 30' back, and the 3 setting was catching at 60 back.
I have a few Yeck spoons that DJ (DJ's Custom Eye Lures) painted the bellies of them for me with a royal blue. The top side is a mix of gold/copper/red/and black.
That was a hot spoon, so we ended up with three of those out, too. The fourth one was a mostly orange one...orange belly with wide edge strips of orange, over gold, was on the top side.
Speed was 2.0-2.2 on the FishHawk. Most of the time, SOG was 3-4 tenths faster.
The water temp on the surface was 57 and down 18 feet, it was 58.7.
We made one big half circle, from east of the south end of the shoal...out to the NE side of Cedar Point, and then back towards the dumping grounds. The bite was spotty...we would get one here and one there, and then we would have doubles or triples happening.
The crew did a great job, and said they had a blast, and learned a lot, and that makes me happy! I really had a good time with these guys, too! They worked me to near exhaustion, but it was worth it! Ha!
We had our 24, and threw back around a dozen, in just over 3 hours...most of which, would have been legal, but Jimmy's kind heart said, "Let them live, to get bigger"....and, I can respect that.
I have tomorrow off, and will be back at it on Wednesday, with Dan Harris and his brother. Fingers crossed the weather doesn't stop us.
Update: I got a phone call while I was writing this, and they must have had fun, and weren't just saying that, to say it, because Jay's friend, David, just called and booked June 3rd, for himself and two of his friends. Woot! Woot! Thanks, Jay!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Joe and Nolan....5/25/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/25/25After yesterday's cancelation, due to wind, my crew decided to stick around this morning, to make it out, before heading home later. Joe is my second cousin, and Nolan is his son, so I guess that makes him my third cousin (yes?). I told them I would pick them up at 5:15, and showed up 15 minutes early, as usual. They were ready to go, so they loaded in the truck and off we went.
We hit Mazurik's at 5:30, before it got busy, and headed out...making it to an area and set up by 6am. We went to the east side of Kelly's (where I think most boats that launched after us ended up, too.
The wind was around 5mph out of the south at Marblehead, and was expected to stay nice and calm all morning. The temp was 49 degrees, and the sky was partly cloudy.
The FishHawk was sent down, and showed a water temp at 58 degrees...down from my last time out. The surface temp was 55 degrees.
We were running slow, at 1.4-1.7mph (FH speed-SOG was usually at 1.8-2.0) with crawler harnesses using 2oz inlines and #6 Colorado blades, BadMo blades, and different bead color combos.
All colors worked, so I don't think it matters.
Both sides ran behind Off Shore boards with 20 back on the outside, 30 back, 40 back, and 50 back on the inside. All leads took fish, and we went 18 for 23 in three hours.
After dropping the fish off at Port Clinton Fish Co., Joe was told it would only take 15 minutes, so since his gal, Angela, had shown up with the car, I didn't have to take them back to the White Caps Motel, and came home to my tail-wagging dogs, who were patiently waiting for me. :)
I asked Nolan, "Since you hardly speak, or show any emotion, I have to ask...did you have fun this morning?" He said, "I did! I had a blast!", and I think I even saw a smile crack his lips for a few seconds. lol He's a great kid...just quiet. :)
Joe wants to come back with some of his buddies, either this fall or next spring, and that makes me happy! I was glad we were able to get out, and send them home with a cooler full of fish, to share with the family back home in Indiana.
Tomorrow, I have a trip with another group that I had to reschedule from last week's blow days, and it's looking like another nice morning to be had. Fingers crossed it doesn't change!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing With Mike...5/19/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/19/25Said, "Good bye" to my sister and brother-in-law, this morning, as they were leaving to head back to Wisconsin, and I was leaving to go pick up Mike at the White Caps Motel. It was time to get back to work, after having a nice relaxing visit with my family over the past 4 days/nights.
The weather at 5:30 AM was a chilly 50 degrees, with a NNE wind at around 10 mph. The sky was cloudy, but it wasn't supposed to rain. The wind was to diminish around 9:00-10 AM, to around 5 mph.
The water temp was at 58 on the surface, and 60 degrees down at 18 feet.
Mike was here from the Chicago area, and was originally supposed to fish with a good friend of his, from MN, and someone who I used to fish against in the FLW and PWT tournaments, Kevin Kraft, but the April date was a blow day, so they had to reschedule. Kevin couldn't, but Mike still wanted to come.
Mike is an intelligent fellow, and he easily keeps the conversation flowing. He's 75, but looks like a man in his 60's, and claims it's "good genetics". :)
We stopped for gas and ice, and then headed down the road for some crawlers, at Hi-Way bait. Fisherman's Central has them, but they don't open until 7 AM. It would have been more convenient if they had been open, though, because it's right next to the gas station I use in the mornings. :(
We launched out of Catawba, due to the wind direction, and planned to go up the west side of the Bass Islands, to fish calmer waters. Capt Sam, (PorkChop Express), had left Catawba before me, but headed NE on the east side of the islands. He would text me later to tell me that it was rough on that side....3-4s.
The Garmin had marked fish all the way from the point of Catawba, all the way up to Rattlesnake. The water got muddier the further north we went, so I turned the Vexus around to head back the way we came.
The Ulterra and the baby Merc were deployed, and set to 2.0-2.1 mph on the FishHawk. We ran Bandits and a Flicker Minnow on 4 of the Off Shore boards, and ran one dipsey off each corner...on the zero setting. The port side ran at 28 back and had a worm-burner on it. The starboard side ran on the zero setting, too, and was set at 40.
"Pooh Bear" Bandit ran at 120 back and was the first to catch a fish. The worm-burners caught, but a spoon didn't. The "Fire Tail Hot Perch" Flicker Minnow 11 at 47 back caught, too. Bill Lewis Lites didn't take any this time, and neither did a few Bandits that I changed out several times. We switched it up to running crawler harnesses, since the cranks weren't getting the attention I thought they would, with the marks we were trolling over.
A pink bellied BadMo Arrow blade caught a couple, Pink Squirrel, and some others with gold bellies, along with gold, green, red, and black on the back side, caught fish.
2oz inline at 25, 30, and 40 caught fish. Worms were missing at 50 back, too.
Speed during the harness pull was 1.5-1.7 mph.
We only went 5 for 8 today, but we still had fun. Mike said he learned a lot, and enjoyed it, so that makes me happy! He said the little 3 pounder (biggest of the morning) would be considered a "Giant" where they fish on Lake of the Woods, so he as tickled pink with it.
We dropped the fish off at Port Clinton Fish Co., so Mike didn't have to clean them, and then stopped at Jolly Rogers for lunch, while the fish were being cleaned, so he could get a perch sandwich. He'd been craving one since he got here.
After picking up the fish, I took him back to his Motel, so he could hit the road back to Illinois, and I could go home and feed my beastie best friends, who were patiently waiting for me.
It's supposed to start blowing again...surprise-surprise...deep sigh. I'll be rescheduling trips this week....again. (insert eye-role here).
Stay Tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Vito and Neal....5/15/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/15/25I first met Vito in 2016, I think. He hired me to take him fishing, and teach him how to run Off Shore boards more efficiently. He's been fishing with me once or twice a year since. He also bought my 2017 Ranger, so when he does come down here, he usually brings it with him, so he can stay and fish a couple more days.
We were supposed to fish this coming Sunday, but the forecast is calling for another big blow for Saturday and Sunday....so, when he contacted me via text saying, "Hola Juls. I'm on my way over to do a little fishing before we fish", I took that opportunity to ask him if he could change his date to Thursday, since he would already be here. He agreed after seeing the forecast.
The person he would be taking fishing is a co-worker from Michigan, and I asked if I had to be on my best behavior, or if I was allowed to swear...( I swear a lot...sorry!) Laughing, Vito said, "Oh, you're good....you can be you...I wouldn't have it any other way", and that made me happy! :)
They were meeting me at Mazurik's at 6:15, so after picking up ice and getting some big fat crawlers from "Hi-Way Bait", I hit Mazurik's at 5:30. While I was getting the boat ready, I thought to myself, "Vito knows me too well....he's probably going to show up any minute now, so we can get an earlier start". And, sure enough, at 5:35, they pulled in. :)
I finished getting rods out of the rod locker and putting them in the rod holders, for the ride out, hit the bathroom, and off we went. It was 65 degrees, cloudy, with a chance of rain. The forecast was calling for 7-8mph out of the SE, water temps were 55 on the surface and 57 20 feet down, and there were small ENE rollers still coming in from overnight.
We headed to the north side of Kelly's to start, and set up with Bandits on the port side, and Hit Stick 12s on the starboard side. I kept hearing how well people were doing on the Hit Sticks, so we put some out. They didn't do diddly for us, so we replaced them with Flicker Minnow 11s.
The best color and lead for us, was "Pooh Bear" (purple body with a chartreuse head...painted, not chrome) Bandit, at 120 back behind the Off Shore board. It caught at least 1/2, if not more, of our total catch today.
We would eventually remove a few board rods and replace them with dipsies....running two off each corner. The inside rods were on the zero setting and the outside rods were on the 3 settings.
We caught 7 on the north side of Kelly's, before I told the guys we were going to pick up and move, to find better marks and water clarity. The north side of Kelly's was pretty clean, and the fish marks that were there a few days ago, are gone.
We moved to the west side of Middle Bass and picked up the rest of our fish in that area. There were only a few boats in there, but they were far enough away from us, that we didn't have to keep dodging anyone, that would have had the right-of-way.
"Pooh Bear", worked its magic in that area, too...but, the bigger fish came on worm-burners off dipsies. The 3 setting at 60 was best. The zero setting was set at 30 and pick up a few, too.
Speed was 2.1 on the FishHawk.
We all caught our limits, and headed back in to Mazurik's, where there was a back up of boats launching, and loading out, because they have started work on repairing the pavement at the launch, and the parking lot.
Two of the 4 ramps were blocked off, and the pavement was ripped out already, so it was a little messy....doable, but messy. It will be nice when it's all done, though.
So, if you plan on using Mazurik's, know that that is happening, and expect delays.
My next trip won't be until Monday the 19th. I have family in town for the weekend, so I'll be entertaining. Have a great weekend, everyone! :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Gene, Nick, and Brian...5/10/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/10/25Gene Piscitello, his son Nick, and Gene's friend, Brian, drove in from Hudson, OH, this morning. They were to meet me at Mazurik's at 6:15, so we could be launched by 6:30.
Much to the chagrin of my two dogs, I left the house at 5:15, and headed through town, and got some ice at the gas station, before heading to Mazurik's, to set things up before they showed up.
It wasn't too busy yet, but it would be. It's Saturday, and one of the nicer days we have had lately.
The wind was forecast for 10-15 out of the WSW, the skies were clear, and the air temp at 6:30 was 50 degrees.
The water temp had dropped 4 degrees from three days ago, when I was last out, and went from 58 degrees to 54. The NE wind we had on Thursday and Friday blew the colder water in. The sunshine today should help warm it back up again pretty quickly, though.
My crew showed up right on time, and we launched by 6:30. While I was there waiting for them, I decided that we would be running crawler harnesses on the port side, and Bandits on the starboard side.
I had heard that a slow Bandit was still chewable, so I figured why not run both at 1.5mph.
I pointed the Vexus to the NE and went up the east side of Kelly's, but ended up on the north side, due to wave direction, and where I wanted to start...using the waves to our advantage. The water clarity was the perfect "mix" of dirty and clean.
Well, a long story short...it worked. Both sides caught fish this morning, with crawlers taking the early lead. Just when I thought to myself, "Crawlers should be on both sides"...the outside Off Shore board, pulling a "Pooh Bear" Bandit sank back out of line. We left the Bandits running all morning, as they didn't disappoint, from that moment on.
I should mention that the speed was determined by the FishHawk, which was often much lower than the surface speed....ie: SOG 2.0 ....undercurrent speed was 1.4-1.5. We often hit "ribbons" of currents that had the FishHawk going up and down all on its own, without help from the Ulterra, or the baby Merc. It's kind of neat to watch what happens down there.
Colors and leads that worked for the Bandits were:
Pooh Bear at 120 back
Khaki at 97 back
Geneva at 80 back
We tried different colors on the inside board at 57-65 back, but none took a fish.
The BadMo spoon with a pink underside, and different colors on the back took a lot of fish with 2 oz at 40 back.
other leads that worked with 2oz inlines were 20, 25, 30, 35, 45, and 50 back.
It was a fun morning, with the guys learning how to run the Off Shore boards. "I've only run two boards before, not an 8 board spread before", said Gene. But, they listened, and by the time we were done, they had done great! I know they would be able to duplicate what they learned today, on Gene's boat, and run more than two boards.
They all said they had fun, learned a lot, and were happy to finally get this trip in, and that makes me happy!
Gene had been trying for a few years now. Mother Nature had a target on his back, because every time his trip was coming up, she would throw a tantrum and we would have to reschedule. They were supposed to come this past April, too, but we all know how pleasant April was. I'm just glad we were able to put 20 fish in the cooler this morning. I was expecting less, due to the bright moon that was out last night. Thankfully, they are hungry!
Tomorrow, was supposed to be the reschedule of Dave and Danielle's trip, from this past Thursday, when it blew, but it appears from he forecast, that it is going to blow from the NE, again. Since they are my neighbors, we can just check the weather in the morning. Fingers crossed that we can get out, but 15-20 NE isn't fun, so we will reschedule, if that's the case.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fun Fishing with Keith Scheuer...5/8/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/07/25Mother Nature has not been nice to me this season. When I have no one scheduled, it's nice out, and when I have a trip scheduled, she turns the fans on "High"!
So, with that in mind, when I was invited to go fishing on a friend's boat this morning, I said, "Yes". I wasn't going to let another nice day get away. The lake is nice only so many days of the year, so you have to take advantage of them when you can.
It looks like my trip tomorrow will be moved to Sunday, because Old Momma Nature wants to blow from the NE again tomorrow (17 to 23mph). Luckily, my customers are my neighbors, so it's easy to reschedule with them. It's neighbor, Dave's, birthday tomorrow, so it would have been fun to go tomorrow, rather than Sunday, but hopefully, Sunday will be nicer...and, it's still close enough to his birthday, to celebrate it. Should I make him a cake? Maybe, I will....we'll see. :)
My friend, Keith Sheuer, runs a Ranger 620, and wanted to get it out and run it... so, we were fishing out of his boat today. We launched from Catawba at 7am.
I go through a real adjustment, mentally, when I'm not in control of the boat, but Keith did a fine job, and I learned to relax and have fun, but by the time I relaxed, it was time to go in...(it's a big adjustment...lol)
We were fishing west of Green in 26 feet of water, and there was no one around us...that we could see, anyway, but that's not saying much, since it was pretty foggy out there for many hours. Once it did lift, we could see boats a mile to two miles away.
Our speed was 1.8-2.0mph
Water temp was 58.3 degrees
We first set up in the dirty stuff and pointed the boat in the direction of the cleaner water, so we would pass through several shades of water clarity. The fish were holding mostly in the kind where you can just make out your cavitation plate.
We went 10 for 13 before heading in.
The tally was:
Flicker Minnow 11s in "Flashy Chartreuse", "Firetail Hot Perch", and "Firetail Chrome Candy" caught at 47 (3), 72 (1), and 74 (2) back.
**(#) depicts how many fish were caught at that distance back.
Bandits caught at 37 (1), and 57 (2) back. "Fruit Dots" at 37 back caught one, and had a hard pull back, but it came off.
"Bumblebee" at 57 back caught two, and had a pull back/lost fish, too.
A baby "Spro" caught one at 85 back. I don't know the name of it...sorry. It's the goldfish color with the red head and painted dots all over the sides.
We had one more pull back on bandit at 90 back, but it came off.
We got off the lake at 12:30, and headed back through town, so the fish could be dropped off at Port Clinton Fish Co., to be cleaned. It was only going to take them 15 minutes, so we hung out until they were done. I bought a chest freezer last month, so now I can keep a fish or two from time to time. My kitchen freezer is very small, so I couldn't fit any, if I tried. Now, I can, and that makes me happy...:)
I invited Keith to stay, when he brought me home, and fried up some of that fresh walleye for lunch. It was delicious!
I have a trip scheduled for Saturday, with Gene Piscatillo, and it's looking decent right now, with winds forecast for 10-15 out of the west. That's doable. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Another 2-Day Cancellation for this Weekend...5/3/2025
by Capt Juls on 05/03/25Well, Mother Nature has decided to be nasty again this weekend, so I had to reschedule my crew that I had lined up for today and tomorrow. NE wind gusting to 28 with on and off rain for today, and gusting to 35 out of the NE tomorrow. Ugh...
Yesterday, I finally got my new phone, and my number attached to it, so at least that is working again. It was a quiet week for me, with no phone calls...lol I was able to get my yard in shape before it rained.
My friend and I installed the LiveScope on the boat yesterday, too. Then, we launched the boat, so we could make sure its working, and it was! Yay! I'll be utilizing that for perch fish'n.
My next trip isn't until the 8th, but will probably be out on the 7th to prefish for that trip, since I haven't really been out since a week ago. :(
I just wanted to check in here, because I know many of you check this blog often. I apologize for the lack of reports, but it is what it is....sigh.
I have a lot of trips in June, but May is lacking, so if anyone is looking to get out in May, give me shout. :)
Hopefully, soon, I'll have a good report for you guys.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob, Toby, and Josh (changed up crew)....4/24/25
by Capt Juls on 04/24/25This morning, I still had the same group, but different participants. This time, I had Bob, who was with me yesterday, Josh, and Toby. We launched out of Mazruik's again, but this time headed NE, up to the line.
We started closer to Middle and worked our way out. The water temp near the island was 53 degrees, and a few miles east it was 49 on the surface, and 47 at 18 feet down. Yes, that's right...I have my FishHawk back. Yay!
We marked spotty fish, and caught when nothing was on the screen.
When I noticed the temp change getting colder, we turned back around and headed SW towards Kelly's Shoal. The fish marks were much better, but they were deep and light hitting, when one did hit. We lost 4.
Good news is....dipsies and spoons will work now too!
I had 4 dipsies in the 12 rod spread, running spoons. An orange spoon (front and back) took two walleye and one sheephead. We ran the zero setting at 45 and 54 (over 42' of water)...both of those caught. The three setting was at 70 back, and caught one....same color spoon.
Speed was 1.9-2.1mph
We changed out cranks from time to time, but the crank bite was slow. Bandits caught 3. "Daydream" (a stock color) caught two, (but one was a white bass), and Chrome Marvin caught one. Daydream was running at 120 back, and Marvin was running at 70 back. The last walleye, number 6, was on a Spro Madeye 120 at 70 back...I don't remember which color it was, though.
It was a tough day for us, only going 6 for 10 on the walleye with one sheephead and one WB, but we had a lot of laughs in the boat, so that made it bearable. I'm going to throw some crawlers in the boat and see if those finicky fish want some meat tomorrow, instead.
Sorry there's not much to report...other than it was tough for us.
Hoping their last day with me will be better...fingers crossed!
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
