Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Rodney, Dan, and Joe 7/8/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/08/21I slept really well last night knowing that the crew I had for this morning were guys who have many years of experience under their own belts, and already know how to troll, so it was going to be an easy day for me. :)
Since they booked at "The White Caps Motel", I swung by and picked them up at 4:45. They were pulling in beside me, holding up coffees from a gas station. "You want us to follow you, or jump in with you?", asked a voice from a darkened car. I said, "You can jump in with me". "Okay, we'll be right back, we just have to park the car", the voice said.
They showed up again a minute later and introduced themselves. Rodney, Dan, and Joe. After the pleasantries, we piled in the truck and headed off to the gas station for gas and ice. Then, we went to Mazurik's to launch by 5:30.
The forecast was calling for SW winds that would build for a few hours and then subside again. It was a nice ride out to the east side of Kelly's, since it wasn't really windy yet. We went to where I left off yesterday, and found some good marks again. We set up there.
I almost started my routine of explaining everything, but I saw quickly that it wasn't needed, as these guys were already putting lines out before I even got the Baby ETEC fired up. lol It was going to be an easy day, I thought to myself.
They just got a couple of "do it this way....because...." out of me though, because they use a different brand of board, with different releases, than what I use on my Off Shore boards, and I need them clipped on a certain way, so they wouldn't have a chance to come off. Other than that, I didn't have to do anything. They were taking boards off, reeling in fish, netting fish, and having fun.
The first spot, we set up with Reapers on one side and Spro Madeyes and Bandits on the other. Oh, wait...I notice that there's a Bandit on the Reaper side.. "How did that happen?", I asked, giggling. Joe confessed, as he whispered in my ear. "I did that, I really liked that color" (It was the Pooh Bear color). "Well, if that's the case, then just keep it there", I said.
The baits were set out at 125, 100, 80, and 70 back on both sides. Speed was 2.3-2.5mph.
We picked off around 7 walleye, some sheep, and some throw backs, before we got close to the Canadian line, where I would have to make a decision to pick up and make another pass there, or go find another area. The wind was picking up and so were the waves, so I decided to move inside to calmer seas.
I said, "This isn't stellar up here today, so let's go try another area closer to Cedar Point." Rodney had mentioned earlier that he owns a 621 also, so when we were all picked up and ready to go, I told Rodney to get in the driver's seat and take us to a marker on the Helix, pointing to the "go-to" destination on the GPS. He didn't hesitate, and sat right down and got us going.
We set up in 39 feet of water to start and trolled north to 43 feet of water, picking away at more walleye. The walleye were a little better size there, than they were way up north, so the move was worth it, even if it too wasn't very stellar.
We switched out the Reapers for some Bandits that Dan picked out of the plethora of Bandits I own, and ran those all over the water column.
The spoons outdid the boards in numbers of fish caught, but the bigger fish came on crank baits. I think one of the nicer walleye did come on the Tangerine Yeck spoon though. But, mostly, the spoons caught a lot of little walleye. A couple of them were only a little bigger than the spoon they were trying to eat too. Aggressive little buggers, eh?
We ended the trip with 14 keepers. It was fun fishing with them and getting to know these guys a little bit more. They kept me giggling the entire time. Joe said to me, "You're the first woman I ever let give me orders...I usually don't". I laughed and said, smiling, "I get it. I don't like taking orders from men either". ;)
I really felt kind of guilty for taking a Guide's fee for the morning, when I really didn't have to do anything, except sit there and watch, and hit the button on the remote for the Ulterra when a course change was needed. I said, "I should only charge for gas since I didn't do anything this morning", but they insisted and paid me anyway. Thanks guys! Much appreciated. :)
I dropped them back off at the motel with their fish and headed home to my waiting doggo.
I have tomorrow off, but my Sunday is swapping for my Saturday that I had scheduled off, because of the forecast for Sunday. Thankfully, he was able to add a night to his reservations over there in Sandusky. Fingers crossed, that the forecast holds for Saturday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Two Days of Fishing with Mark and Claudia Miller 7/6-7/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/07/21Yesterday, we stayed close to shore, because I was told that Claudia may get motion sickness, and the winds were gusting out of the SW, so it would have been pretty rough out where we ended up today, and where I was two days ago. We decided to give it a shot.
We left Mazurik's at 5:30 and headed to Mouse Island, where we turned the boat back to the east, and set up in 17 feet of water. There were good marks there, but I wasn't convinced they were walleye, but we tried it anyway, because my options were limited.
The port side ran the Reapers from the day before, at 60, 50, 40 back behind the Off Shore boards. The starboard side ran Spro Madeye 120's at the same distance behind the boards. Speed, going with the current, was 2.5-2.7mph.
I set the Ulterra's course, going parallel along the shoreline. We trolled from Mouse to the Marblehead lighthouse, and then picked up, ran back up to the Mazurik's area, out in front of East Harbor, and set up again for another pass. We made it to the lighthouse again before we ran out of time.
We ended with 10 fish in the cooler along with some sheephead, which were donated to the "Back to the Wild" rehabilitation center over in Castalia, OH.
When we were setting up for the first time that morning, Mark said, "We don't need to keep any fish today, or tomorrow, we have plenty in the freezer already, I just wanted to come and learn some tips". I said, "Great! Would you mind if we donated them to "Back to the Wild...for the...."? He cut me off... and, smiling, he finished my sentence saying, "the Eagles!!" They were all for it, so everything went in the cooler except for white bass. (There's something in White Bass that the birds can't eat).
So, that's what we did.
Fast Forward to this morning....
We met at Mazurik's again, and launched at 5:30. The wind was out of the SW, but it was a light wind...almost calm, at that hour this morning. The humidity was already high, and the forecast was calling for another hot and humid day. The wind was supposed to pick up a little, a little later in the morning, (which it did, but it wasn't bad at all).
I was a little wary of taking Claudia out on the "big water", where I knew she wouldn't feel as comfortable as she did yesterday, closer to shore. But, I needn't have worried, she did absolutely great! There was no issue on her part at all. That made me feel better when we set up E of Kelly's, out there in the wide open yonder. ;)
We ran 2 dipsies and 2 Off Shore boards on each side of the boat. The dipsies were set on the zero and three settings. Zero setting was at 45 to 65 back and the three setting was set at 65 and 75 back. The spoons were a steady bite, but mostly smaller fish. We had 4 to 5 fish that went 23", or better, in the cooler, but most were in the 16-17" range. The shorts range anywhere from 4 inches to 14 3/4 inch.
As bothersome as they are right now, I just remind myself how good the fishing is still going to be in a few years, and just keep pulling, checking, and resetting lines. Almost every time we checked a dipsey, there was a tiny little bugger hanging there, taking a ride. :)
We ended the day with our three-person limit in the cooler. And, again, Mark donated his fish to me, to do whatever I wanted to do with them, so they are going in my freezer this time instead, because I don't have any in my freezer.
Mark and Claudia had a good time, and Mark learned a lot. Claudia was the dipsey queen...she had the "Reel down to the diver, lift, and back up" down pat in no time, which made it easy to net the fish, or grab the line if they were just itty-bitties.
Tomorrow, I have three fellas that already know how to do all this stuff, and all own boats, so I really don't know why they need me, but was told they just want to see how I do things, and see if they can learn anything. I told Rod, "I might learn something from you guys too. I'm looking forward to it".
The forecast is calling for some rain in the morning, but as long as there is no lightning in the system, like there is this afternoon, with this storm rolling through, we will be a go. The wind forecast is SW again. I think I'll launch out of the Portage River and go explore some areas west of the islands in the morning.
I think these guys will be fun. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dave, Sue, and "Wojo" 7/5/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/05/21I had the 4th and 5th scheduled off....just because....but, I received an email from a local who was having some issues learning to troll for the first time, and asked if I had any openings this week. I couldn't let him go out there not knowing what he's doing, so I said I had tomorrow (today) open. He booked the trip.
We met at Mazurik's at 5:15 and headed out at 5:30. By the looks of the sky, I can start meeting the crews at 5:30 and heading out at 5:45. I like to be able to take the navigation light off the back, once we get to our destination. It was still a little dark at 5:40 when we set the first boards this morning, out in front of Cedar Point, but since no one was out, and it would be getting lighter soon, I removed the back one anyway.
Dave, his wife Sue, and his buddy, "Wojo", had never used more than two boards, so it was going to be a quick lesson on how to set 4 boards per side and a dipsey off each corner. I started with a speed of 2.1-2.4mph.
The port side ran "Baby Spros" (Diver 85's), and the starboard side ran the Madeye 120s. Both sides were set out at 100/80/60/and 45 (longest leads on the outside boards). The dipsies were set on the zero setting at 30 and the 1 setting at 35. We started in 38' of water in front of Cedar Point. The Ulterra and Baby ETEC were on a northerly course, along one of the more common contour lines.
As we trolled into deeper water, I changed up the Baby Spro side to Bandits, since the Spro Madeyes were picking a fish here and there. I also think the Baby Spros don't run as well at faster speeds, as the Madeye 120's.
It was a slow bite, and mostly small eyes on the spoons, until we moved even deeper to 43 feet, and changed things up again.
This time, I took one board rod out of the set up on each side, and pulled out two more dipsey rods. These dipsies were both set on the 3 setting and set out at 65 back with spoons. I also changed out the Bandits for the Walleye Nation Creation, Reapers. The deep diver. I had three out, at 77, 65, and 57.
One color, caught 5 of the walleye that we put in the cooler, and I wish I had had it out sooner, because every fish it caught was one of the nicer ones. Its color name is "Goldaliscious". I think Capt Bobby Greene said this one was hot for him the other day, but I didn't see the lure color. I had to go look up the name, just now, so I got lucky by picking the right one out of the box this morning... because, he was right! lol
Anyway, the other two Reapers out there, running a little shallower, only caught one at 65 back. The Goldaliscious at 77 back was doing something right, I guess. I only have two in that color though, so I'll see if I have the shallow diver in that color and put it on a dipsey, and see what happens.
I sped things up to 2.7-2.9mph to get by a boat that was encroaching on my port side, and the chaos began, so they definitely wanted it faster today.
The spoons were constantly being checked, otherwise, little walleye that want to be big walleye would just be hanging there, getting pulled along. So, it was pretty steady work all morning, The crew kept busy, and I let them handle as many as they wanted, so they could really learn what was happening and why I do stuff the way I do. I even let them do the netting too.
On a side note, just because I'm thinking of it...I always say, "Organization is the key to success". Meaning, if things are organized, and there's a routine for bringing in fish, netting fish, and placing the net in the boat a certain way, etc.... I call it, "The Dance". Once everyone gets in the groove, everyone starts working like a well-oiled machine, and the cooler fills up with fish. :)
Dave, Sue, and Wojo did a great job this morning....they learned "the dance" well. I have no doubt in my mind that they have a better understanding of how to troll now. Dave was excited about taking what he learned and figuring out how to best do it from his boat....and, that makes me happy! Mission accomplished! :)
Tomorrow, I'm fishing with Mark Miller and his wife (I don't know her name yet), who are driving in from Rochester, NY this afternoon.
The forecast is calling for some gusty SW winds in the morning, so I'm going to see if there are fish in close tomorrow, as the wife is susceptible to motion sickness. If I were to go out where I was this morning, with the wind forecast, as it stands right now...it would be 3-4s with some 5s thrown in for good measure. I can't do that to her.
I'm told there were some good marks seen inside today, so I'll give it a shot, and see what happens.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with the Mathewson Family 6/30/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/30/21This was the first trip in about two weeks, because of reschedules, so I was really looking forward to getting back to work.
Two days ago, Capt Matt Wieland and I went out to prefish for his and Capt Jenn's trip that they had the next day. We went to a spot, that another Capt gave us to look at, so I am not at liberty to say where. It was shallow water bite... that's all I can say. We caught our two person limit in about two hours on short leads (18 to 25 back on Blue/Chrome and Golden Perch Spro 120s did best). The walleye and the sheephead got donated to the "Back to the Wild" wildlife rehabilitation center, for the Eagles, critters, and other birds of prey that they have there.
This morning, I was up at 2:30 and out the door by 4:10, so I could go gas up and get some ice for the coolers. I was meeting my crew at 5:15, so we could be on the water by 5:30. I was early, so I could change up some baits from my trip out with Matt, an get some other things ready before they showed up. I like that bit of quiet and calm before the morning starts, and the day gets busy.
They were right on time, and that always makes me happy! We were off to a good start. ;)
Clint set this trip up for his wife Molly, who is fighting Cancer right now. Katie, Molly's sister, introduced herself and explained that Molly had wanted a fishing trip on Lake Erie as part of her "Bucket List". I was honored to have gotten the call. Molly did a great job today reeling in her fish with the help of family members, as did the rest of the family. Jude, Clint and Molly's 11 year old son, had never fished before, and said, "I didn't think I was going to like this, but I do."
Katie had the magic touch this morning, because every fish she brought in was a nice fish. The size today was 16 to 25 inches. Most were in the 20-23" range, though. A "Perfect Eater" in my book. :)
We ran 4 Off Shore boards on each side of the boat. On the starboard side, we ran 4 Spro Madeye 120s.
Colors were:
Golden Perch at 25 back
Chrome/Blue at 18 back
Chrome/Blue at 18 back
Pink Lemonade at 18 back
(They all caught fish)
On the port side we ran (2) Spro Diver 85s (I just call them "Baby Spros"), one Flicker Minnow 11, and one Bandit.
Golden Perch Baby Spro at 35 back
Purple Glass Perch Baby Spro at 25 back (hot bait today, but I only had one).
Chrome/Purple/Red Flicker Minnow 11 at 20 back
Pooh Bear Bandit (purple body/chart head) at 18 back
(These all caught fish)
Speed was 2.1-2.3mph Water temp was 75 degrees Air temp: hot/humid light SW wind 5-10mph.
I was watching the radar app to see if there was any lightning in the pop-up showers headed our way. It was a beautiful morning weather wise, but a system was moving in. We had a 3-person limit in the cooler, when the bite shut off, and Jude was hungry, so we headed in 20 minutes early, to try and beat the rain.
It was just starting to spit a light rain when we hit the launch, so the timing was pretty good. :)
I told Clint about "Cutcher's Fish Cleaning" over in Oak Harbor, and he liked that idea. They were going to go eat at "Jolly Roger's" first, and then head over there.
It was a fun morning, and I hope Molly had a good experience, and will be able to check off every box on that bucket list!
Oh, I almost forgot, Clint caught the first Smallie to be brought into my boat this season too! That was a nice bonus fish today.
I am off tomorrow, and will be making a call on Friday's trip, on Friday morning. Steve Miles has the same area code as me, so he must live around here. I will look at the forecast that morning and make a determination then, if our trip is a go, or not.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Chuck, Vic, and Dave 6/17/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/17/21Let me preface this one by saying that I KNOW I took pics of these guys with fish this morning, with my iPhone, but for some reason, when I got home...all that was on there was the sunrise pic and a pic of a cooler of fish! Uffda!
We left Mazurik's a little before 5:30 this morning, and headed towards the dark horizon that had a big orange and yellow glow peeking up from below. We were only 1/2 way to our destination when we had to stop, so I could get my "Sunrise Pic" taken. "This is the best place to see a morning sunrise", I said. To which, they all agreed. We got back on plane and dodged a few nets, before setting down to troll.
The Ulterra and the baby ETEC worked together to keep us on an East to West course at a speed of 1.9-2.4mph.
The wind had picked up a little, but it wasn't bad. I'd say it was 2' or less, with an occasional 3 footer thrown in there for good measure. The waves were hitting my Port bow, but were not coming over the bow, so it wasn't that bad.
The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the air temp was very comfortable. The water temp was 68.9 degrees.
Dipsies only caught one today, but it was the biggest one. It was 27 1/2 inches. The dipsey was set on the 1 setting at 35 back and a Rippling Redfin in the Clown color was used.
The Flicker Minnows were set at (from the inside to the outside board) 45, 60, and 80.
The Spros and Bandits were run at 50, 80, and 100. The Golden Perch Spro Madeye 120 was hot today, and caught most of the 16 fish we put in the cooler today. The Pooh Bear colored Bandit, and the same also in the Flicker Minnow, also caught well.
The Spro and Bandit side was outproducing the Flicker side, so we changed out the Flickers to more Spros, which helped the Port side start producing too.
My crew is older, and their steadiness isn't what it used to be, but we made it work, and they did a great job getting the fish in the boat! They commented on my bare feet, and I explained that a person has much better balance when they take their shoes off, and go barefoot. "That's why I keep my boat so clean", I said. (No hooks on my floors). :)
We had 16 beautiful eaters in the cooler when they huddled up and discussed maybe heading in early. They asked me if that was okay, and I said, "My dog would love that!" So, it was an easy decision for them, and we headed in.
The three of them were fun to fish with, and Vic said he wants to come back in the fall to fish again, so that makes me happy!
Tomorrow is a blow day with a chance of thunderstorms rolling through too.
Saturday is still on the table, but it's not looking good from what my weather app says.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dan, Brian, and Dalton 6/13/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/13/21This morning started out a little strange. I got up at 2am and there was a lightning show going on over on the Canadian side of the lake. I made a cup of coffee, made the cats their wet food....grabbed my phone and Dexter, and went out on the back deck to check out the storm on the other side of the lake.
I just got a new iPhone 12 Pro Max, because it takes better pictures...in my humble opinion. My clients like the photos, and my old phone was getting a bit worn out in that department, so I had to upgrade. Apple claims that it takes better pictures in low light, so this was a chance to try it out. I've tried to take video footage in lowlight conditions with the iPhone X that I had, and it could never capture anything of quality at night. The new phone captured the entire show, so I was pretty happy I upgraded. I have a lot of early morning lowlight conditions that it will come in handy for. :)
So, this is how the rest of the morning goes....
I got gas and ice at the local corner gas station and walked back out to my truck. The ground was spotted with quarter sized rain drops. I couldn't believe it, I checked all the weather apps before I left, and there was no wet weather predicted. Well, a quick moving cell burst and flowed enough water to make my entire boat completely soaked. Now, I had to deal with a very wet boat.
I didn't know if it would rain again and I realized my rain gear was not in the boat or the truck. Then, I remembered I had a little papery Frogg Togg suit-in-a-bag somewhere in the boat for a "Just in Case" situation like this.
My crew was supposed to meet me at 5:15, but at 5:19 they hadn't showed yet, so I gave them a call to find out if they were running behind. Dan, apologetically told me they had gone to the wrong park by mistake. From there, they showed up pretty quickly, and we were launched and on our way by 5:30
This is one of those spots that I am not at liberty to share with any of you, because I'm working it with a few other captains right now. Unfortunately, it's a small area, and cannot take the pressure, so we are keeping it quiet. I hope you understand. Sometimes, a person needs to keep just one...just for themselves. Know what I mean? Anyway....sorry about that. But, I'm sworn to secrecy.
The guys had a good time, worked hard, and caught a lot of fish today. They did a great job setting lines and retrieving them too. We didn't lose any boards today either, so that's a plus. lol
Tomorrow, I have a husband and wife team, from Ohio, scheduled for a walleye trip. The weather is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a wind from....hard to tell...one site says one thing and another site says something completely different, so I have no clue which one is right and which one is wrong. We will just go fishing, and watch the weather closely.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Day 4 with Mark and Patty Leucht 6/10/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/10/21This morning, was Mark and Patty's 13th wedding anniversary, so I was happy to see it was going to be a nice day for their special day. The air temps were supposed to be a little cooler than it has been, but the humidity was still up.
The sunrise was supposed to be special this morning too. The Moon was eclipsing part of the Sun, so we all had our fingers crossed that we would be able to see it.
We were early enough, since we hit the water a little before 5:30, but there was a rim of clouds coming up from the horizon, so the Sun was hidden behind them for a bit.
I think, I was able to get a photo of it, but I'm not sure if it's the actual eclipse making a dent in the sun, or if it's a cloud. I can't really tell.
We headed NE out of Mazurik's and set up in 40' of water. The Ulterra and Baby ETEC worked together to keep us on a northeasterly course at a speed of 2.2-2.5mph. The Helix was marking scattered fish.
We ran Bandits on the starboard side and Flicker Minnow 11s on the port side, behind Off Shore boards. "Racy Shad" paint job on both the Bandit and the Flicker Minnow did well on the larger fish we caught today. Pooh Bear (also in both the Bandit and Flicker Minnow) did well today too. We only ran two boards per side, and 2 dipsies per side too.
The dipsey on the port side corner set on the 1 setting at 35 back caught the most fish today. The two dipsies on the three setting (with depth levels adjusted several times, along with changing spoon colors, or crank colors) never caught a fish. The dipsey on the starboard corner was set up exactly like the port side, but only caught a few.
The Red Headed Wonderbread "Yeck" spoon was hot this morning....on the port side anyway. lol
A thick fog rolled in from the NE, with a little wind along with it, that made it a little rough, so we turned it around and headed west.
Mark and Patty added another 3 person limit to their tally this morning. They are looking forward to brining them back home to Wyoming, to enjoy throughout the season. From what they have told me during our chats in the boat...I think, they seriously have a little piece of heaven out there. :)
Tomorrow's forecast, for my last trip with this fun couple, is calling for winds 5-10 out of the ENE, and partly cloudy skies, so it will be another enjoyable morning to look forward to. However, it's supposed to blow out of the NE overnight, so we might launch out of Catawba tomorrow and fish the protected side of the islands. Those rollers will still be rolling in, in the morning, and I don't want either of them getting seasick on their last day here. ;)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Al, John, and "Fred" 6/8/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/08/21I met my crew at Mazurik's at 5:15 and headed north out of the launch at 5:30. It was a warm and humid morning, after yesterday's storms, with a partly cloudy sky. The air temp was near 70 degrees. The wind forecast was calling for very light winds out of the SW, so the lake was pleasantly flat on our ride out.
We made it up to the line and set up with Flicker Minnow 11's running 60', 50', 45', and 40' behind Off Shore boards. Dipsies were running on both corners with two rods on each side. The inside rod was on the zero setting at 31 back on the port side, and the 1 setting at 45 back on the starboard side.
The two longer "outside" dipsies were set on the 3 setting running at 47 and 60 back.
Speed was 2.0-2.4 mph while I tried to dial it in. We hit fish pretty fast in the morning, but mostly shorts. We kept 3 eaters in that spot. After the pack showed up, and the sun came up, it slowed right down, so we picked up to move west of North Bass, and see if there was a better bite over there. There wasn't.
Then, Al said, "We don't really care about taking any more fish, we caught enough yesterday, we just want to learn how you do things." I wished I had known that much earlier in the morning, before I used up 16 gallons of gas, because I could have gone 4 miles from the launch and done that. lol
Anyway, I took them to where I ended up yesterday, and we got into a steady bite. And, between reeling in small fish, sheephead, and blobs of weeds that decided to attach themselves to the lures or the boards...we caught some "good eaters" to add to their freezers.
Al, John, and Fred did a good job trying to set lines. Al said he learned a lot, and appreciated my "stern directions"...Heheh He said he will be taking his education and applying to his own trolling endeavors back home in Wisconsin. :)
If the guy in the boat, that said he didn't take my planer board, after it came off and floated away, while we tried to pick everything up to go after it....I hope Karma only allows Sheephead to bite your lures for the rest of your life! You are not a good human. Shame on you.
Tomorrow, I'm back with Mark and Patty Leucht (my customers from Sunday and Monday of this week).
Mark said he's making breakfast burritos for the three of us, so that is something to look forward to in the morning.
And, the best part is....they are already "trained", so I just need to have a day where I don't have to say, "I should have turned right, instead of turning left"! Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mark and Patty 6/6-7/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/07/21Yesterday, was the first of a 5 day trip for Mark and Patty Leucht, who flew in from Wyoming Saturday night. They will be taking Tuesday off to do some sight seeing, and will be fishing Wednesday through Friday with me, while I take another crew out tomorrow.
Anyway....Yesterday....(6/6/2021)
We did a later launch than my usual 5:15-5:30 launch and launched at 8am. I thought they might want to sleep in a bit after the late night they had the night before trying to get here.
We left out of Mazurik's, and headed to the old international C Can area, up there east of Middle Island, and set up over 40' of water. The Ulterra was deployed and the baby ETEC put into commission to steer us on an easterly course, trolling at a speed of 2.2-2.4mph.
4 dipsies set with spoons or shallow diving cranks were set up on the corners. I run a shorter rod and a longer rod on each side. The shorter one is the "inside" rod, and the longer rod, since it's further out away from the boat, and longer than the shorter rod (of course), is the "outside" dipsey.
The inside dipsies were set on the zero setting, and set back 31' on one side and 45 on the other side.
The outside dipsies were set on the three setting and set back 47' on one side and 60' back on the other side.
Bandits, Reapers, Spros, and Flicker Minnow 11s were run behind Off Shore boards from 45 to 100 back, (not all at once...we ran two boards per side and switched things up from time to time) All caught fish.
Water temp was up to 65 degrees.
We only had 8 or 9 in the cooler, and like many others are experiencing...little walleye, who think they're "big fish", and go after baits they couldn't possibly swallow in real life, and a handful of Sheephead. Not great, but not bad either. :)
Mark and Patty had a good time and relaxed. They are a fun couple to fish with, because even when it's a slow bite, like we had yesterday, they stayed positive, and kept things fun. We tried many different things, but couldn't get more than a semi steady pick. I told them that I thought an earlier start in the morning might help our catch rate, and it wouldn't be so darn hot. They agreed.
Fast forward to this morning's trip (6/7/2021)
I swung by and picked them up at 4:45, and they were ready to go....right on time. We headed through town, and hit the gas station to top off the boat and get some ice for the cooler....then, headed over to Mazurik's to launch.
I didn't want to go back up to the spot from the day before, and was hopeful we could find some other fish on the east side of Kelly's. We started looking out by the Marblehead dumping grounds, but the Helix was showing me a blank screen, other than a small mark here and there...not what we were looking for, so we moved.
This time, I decided that maybe there might be some fish still making the trek east...and, since there are a lot of fish being taken in the North Passage, I figured it was worth taking a look at the "Weather Buoy". Speaking of the weather buoy, it sure would be nice if it were working on iWindSurf again someday...that's the buoy I looked at the most over the years. I miss having that wind info out there).
Anyhoooo....I digress...sorry....
There were marks out there, but not the colorful fat ones I like to see on my screen, but rather, just blue arches, signaling they were smaller fish. Ugh....
So, after about a mile trolling pass....we picked up and moved again.
This time, to the Huron Dumping Grounds.....long story short...it was a bust too. So, I say, "Let's pick these up again and try one last spot", and as we are reeling lines in we get a small fish and the screen lights up with some good looking marks, so we keep lines in, and......of course, the screen goes blank for the next 5 minutes. Grrrrr...deep sigh....
So, we picked up and moved back towards Cedar Point and set up there. An even longer story shorter is that we ended with 5 nice walleye (16", 17", 19", 25", and 26 3/4"), plus several big sheep, and many throwbacks. So, it went from a boring, non-catching, morning to a fun time for all!
Mark and Patty are doing very well on learning how to set lines using the Off Shore boards, and bringing them back in, without having to remove the dipsey rod out of the way. I'm looking forward to another three days with them later this week.
Tomorrow, I have Al Bjorkman and his crew. The forecast shows it's going to be a nice, but cloudy day tomorrow, with the winds laying down towards mid to late morning. The rain should hold off until the late afternoon, but with hot temps like this...pop up showers can happen anytime. I think I'll take some rain gear tomorrow, because it's better to have and not need, than to need and not have. ;)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Joe, Ray, and Joe 6/2/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/02/21The morning was a repeat of yesterday morning, so no need to bore you with that opening again...;)
Joe Edelstein set this trip up to fish with his Dad, and his dad's friend, Joe. Ray (Dad) and "Big Joe" drove down from Wisconsin and "Little Joe" drove up from Cincinnati yesterday, so they got to do some catching up with each other before fishing with me today.
They met me at Catawba State Park at 5:15, and we were launched and headed north at 5:30. It was a mostly cloudy morning with a break in the clouds on the horizon, so once again, there was enough light flickering off the surface of the water to be able to see if there were any "DFOs" (dangerous floating objects) in the water on the way up to our spot.
We started in the spot I was working yesterday and found some early with the same program as yesterday too. Well, we started with that, and when the first bite changed, with the shifting wind, we took the Flicker Minnows off to try the Spro Madeye 120's. Set the same distances as the previous at 45, 50, 55, and 60 feet back behind Off Shore boards.
The Bandit side was doing fine, so those all stayed on.
Colors that worked today were:
Bandits: RC Crush (ran 2 of them), Daydream (or, Daydreamer...I forget.), and Green Clown.
Flicker Minnow: Racy Shad, Flashy Pearl, and Pooh Bear.
Spro: Blue/Chrome, and Purple Glass Perch.
"Little Joe" learned to set lines and did a great job helping me. Ray was pretty handy with a net, so he was able to net whenever he wanted to. :)
"Big Joe" just had a good time doing a little of everything.
It was a rainy morning, but at least it never poured until we got in. It was mostly just an annoying drizzle, but I'll take that over a downpour any day. It wasn't that cold, so minus the rain, it was a great day to be on the lake!
The wind was out of the NE when we first arrived up by North Bass, and then an hour later it was out of the SE, and another hour after that, it was more out of the South, so when the wind shifted the first time.... the first slow down occurred in that spot.
We moved eventually....trolling SW towards the hoards of boats off Rattle Snake Island. We cut it short, and turned west before getting too close to the pack. We would hit pockets of fish and get 2 maybe 3 and then nothing for what seemed to be very long periods of time.
We managed their 18 fish, but didn't get mine today....but, that's okay. They had a good time, and learned a lot, and will be coming back sometime for a perch trip, so that makes me happy! :)
I thought I had a trip tomorrow, but when I looked at the notes on the calendar, I saw that he never put a deposit down. Everyone, but a few people, have been able to use the PayPal feature on my website to submit deposits, but a few have sent me checks. He said he was sending me a check and that's what I wrote on the calendar under his name. Normally, I wouldn't write a name in the calendar unless their deposit came in, but in this case, I didn't want him to lose the day while his check was in the mail. Then, I completely forgot about it, and didn't notice it until last night.
I sent him a text to see if he was still planning on fishing (which I already knew he wasn't coming)...to which he replied, No I didn't send it. Sorry, should've told you long ago. Way too busy with my business. Sorry again.
So, both of us completely forgot about it....uffda! Oh, well... I won't complain, because it's supposed to be raining again tomorrow, with a chance of thunderstorms, so I'm cool with staying home, warm and dry, tomorrow.
Then, I'm scheduled off for the 4th and 5th, for my birthday, so I won't be back out until Sunday...for the start two-week stretch, if the weather behaves.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Tom, Susan, and Mimi 6/1/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/01/21Left the house at 4am, hit the gas station for some gas and ice, and headed to Catawba State Park to get things ready before my crew showed up.
I almost rescheduled this trip, thinking the lake was going to be too trashed after that big blow last week, but after running a scouting trip yesterday with my friend, Capt Jenn, we found enough hungry fish to make me change my mind.
I called Tom, to let him know we could run, and what time to meet me at the ramp. He agreed, so he and his wife Susan, and Susan's sister, Mimi, showed up a little before 5:15.
Capt Bobby Green was there early this morning too. He said his crew wasn't showing up until 6am. I asked him, if he could drop us in while he was waiting around, and he happily agreed to do it. Thanks, Bobby! Much appreciated! :)
It was dark when we headed north out of Catawba, with clouds covering most of the sky. There were three patches of clear sky on the horizon, that lit up the ripples of on top of the water, as we drove across to the Bass Island area at a nice cruising speed of 39mph.
The wind was absent this morning, so the lake was like glass. I was thankful for that. It makes it much easier to spot floating debri out there. After last week's big blow from the NE, it left a lot of big items floating down the rivers and across the lake. Be very careful out there for the next couple of weeks if you get out. Don't be nervous about it, but just keep a good eye out for them. They can ruin your day, or even possibly your life.
The air temp was 60 degrees, and the water temp was 62 degrees. The forecast was calling for a cloudy sky, and a high temp of 73 degrees. A perfect morning in my book.
Our long ride up north was enjoyable, because I know of only two boats that launched ahead of me this morning. PorkChop Express, and a local. So, the ride up was....well....FUN! It's nice when you think you are the only one on the lake at that moment. Especially, knowing how crowded it was going to get in just a couple hours.
I slowly throttled down, and when the boat felt like it was in a slow glide, I hit a couple buttons on the Helix, that deployed the Ulterra, so it could slowly and methodically, deliver itself into workhorse position. With a few pokes on the remote, I had it set for a course to the NNW. The baby ETEC was fired up to help push the boat, while the bow mount steered us, at a speed of 1.8-2.0mph.
We set up with Bandits on the starboard side, and Flicker Minnows on the port side. Both sides ran the longest leads on the outside, behind Off Shore boards, and the shortest leads on the inside. So, from the inside board to the outside board, we ran them 45, 50, 55, and 60 back. "S-Turns" proved they would also take the baits faster, or slower, depending on which side they hit on, and how hard of a turn it was. :)
Colors that worked best on the Bandit side were:
RC Crush, at both 55 and 60 back (best producer today)
Another one I don't know the name of, but its got white, light blue, orange, and chartreuse on it...but, mostly white and light blue. That one was very good at 50 back.
Buck Fever at 45 back caught a few too.
Colors that worked best on the Flicker Minnow (11s) side were:
Racy Shad at 60 back took a bunch
Flashy Chartreuse at 55 back took a few
Flashy Pearl was good at 50 back
Chartreuse/Pearl caught a couple
Tom said, "I think we've caught more fish this morning, than we have in an entire year!" (They are not set up for trolling, (yet), and have only drift casted in the past, so this trip was to teach them how to troll, and to help them decide if he wanted to invest in all the equipment needed to start trolling. I'm pretty sure they all had fun today, and they did a great job learning how to set lines, so it wouldn't surprise me if they actually do set up their boat to do some trolling. I have all the confidence in the world that if they remember how to do what they did today, they can be successful at it.
Tomorrow, I have three customers. One is coming from Ohio, and the other two are coming from Wisconsin. I told them to bring their rain gear, since it will probably be raining tomorrow. As long as there are no storms on the radar, we will fish.
Now, I must go cut the grass again, because it's going to rain tomorrow....:)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
4 Day Trip Rescheduled....
by Capt Juls on 05/24/21Just wanted to let my readers know that I will not be out the rest of this week. I had a 4-Day trip scheduled with a couple of my regular Wisco guys, and the winds are gong to be less than ideal for these two gents. They might have gotten two days in, but they opted to reschedule to July, so they can try to get 4 full days in.
The marine forecast for the week shows the following:
TUESDAY
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Waves 2 feet or less.
TUESDAY NIGHT Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots increasing to 15 to 20 knots. A chance of showers and thunderstorms overnight. Waves 1 to 3 feet. WEDNESDAY Southwest winds 15 to 20 knots becoming west 10 to 15 knots. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Waves 1 to 3 feet. WEDNESDAY NIGHT West winds 10 to 15 knots becoming northeast. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Waves 1 to 3 feet. THURSDAY Northeast winds 5 to 15 knots increasing to 15 to 20 knots. Showers likely Thursday night. Waves 1 to 3 feet building to 3 to 6 feet. FRIDAY East winds 15 to 25 knots becoming northeast. Showers likely during the day. Waves 3 to 6 feet building to 4 to 7 feet, then subsiding to 3 to 6 feet. Waves occasionally around 9 feet.Saturday's trip has been rescheduled by my customer's request. He is in the process of buying a boat, and Saturday is the only day he and his wife can go get it. I will not be trying to fill the date, due to the fact that Saturday on Memorial Day Weekend is a zoo out there with all the weekenders getting their boats in the water for the first time, and running around. The bad part is, they usually don't know there are "Rules of the Road", that need to be followed....for the safety of everyone out there. Everyone who owns a boat should learn at least the basics of who has the "Right of Way". (End Rant)
Good news for the day....I caught the biggest Sheephead I've ever seen in my 20 years down here on Lake Erie's Western Basin. It measured 34 inches. I didn't put it on the scale, because she was out of the water long enough, and I didn't want to stress her more than I had to. Anyway, that was cool. :)
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Tony, Julie, and Dale 5/22/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/22/21I went to bed at 5:30 yesterday, and turned the TV off at 6:30, and set the alarm for 2:30. That was the plan anyway, but I ended up waking up at 1:45, and was fully awake, so......I got up. I did the usual routine, that most of you that read my blog regularly will know already. For those that are new here, it usually involves topping off the gas tank in the boat and icing up the cooler for the day's adventure.
I met my crew at 5:15. Tony and Julie Lalli, and their friend, Dale, who happen to be local residents over there in Marblehead, were right on time. We were on our way out of the launch site by 5:30. (The sky is much lighter at 5:30 now, than it was last week, so that's a good thing.)
We hit the same area that I can't tell anyone about, because of how small the area is, and the fact that I have other Capt friends that are also fishing there, so to keep the crowds down, we are all in agreement not to share that info. Sorry! It's been a good spot, but it's only going to take so much pressure. I hope you understand...:)
Flicker Minnows were the bait of choice once again, and put a 4-person limit in the boat this morning. It was slower than previous days, but they were still biting on the Flicker's (number 11's). Color didn't seem to matter....I used whites, blues, purples, and greens....and, they all got hit. Speed was all over the place too. Some wanted it faster, as high as 2.2mph, and some wanted it as slow as 1.5mph.
My crew for tomorrow doesn't like the rougher waters, so with a west wind forecasted to blow 15-20 during prime hours tomorrow, they opted to reschedule to another date. So, I'm off tomorrow....and, basically all week. Monday was a scheduled "Off Day", and my Tuesday through Friday guys from Wisconsin saw the forecast for big winds Wed-Friday, and will be rescheduling too... unless the forecast somehow changes by tomorrow night, when they need to know by before they drive down here. I can't blame them, I wouldn't want to drive 7 hours, pay for lodging, just to sit on shore 3 out of the 4 days. They also had two days scheduled in June, so hopefully, Mother Nature will get her freak'n act together and straighten out. Fingers crossed!
I think Capt's Jenn and Matt, and I, will be going out after they get done with their charter tomorrow, so I can scout new spots and try to catch some walleye for the Eagles over at "Back to the Wild" rehabilitation center.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jake, Jarrett, and Jenna 5/21/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/21/21I woke at 2:30 this morning, and figured since it was so close to my 3am alarm, that I would just get up and have some extra time for that second cup of coffee.
Dexter, and I, did the usual routine of going out on the back deck to check the weather, while I sipped my coffee and watered the plants. I checked iWindSurf, DarkSky, and RadarScopePro, while the canine checked the perimeter of the fence for intruders. :)
The forecast was calling for another beautiful morning. I was very happy about that, because today I had Jake, a young father with his two kids Jarrett and Jenna. Jarrett is 10 years old and Jenna is 8.
They met me at the launch at 5:20, and we were on the water by 5:30am. We hit the same area as yesterday, and again....I'm not saying where, because a few of my Capt friends are working it too, and it can't take a lot of pressure there. Sorry.
We ran Flicker Minnow #11s on one side and the new to my arsenal, the Square Bill Reaper, on the other side. The Flicker's out fished the SBR's 4:1, so we took them off and put more Flicker's out and caught our 4-person limit in a short period of time.
We were fishing them very shallow in the water column....top ten feet shallow...up high. Color didn't really matter. They hit greens, blues, purples, and whites at a speed of 1.8 to 2.0mph.
The Phipps family, who drove up from Kentucky, had a great time....or, I should say the boys had a great time, while Jenna tried to catch up on her sleep, in-between clicking the fish counter clicker thingy, asking if she should click it. She did keep an accurate count though, soooo "You Go Girl! Do your own thing!". :)
I was impressed with Jarrett's comfort in the boat, and being able to handle a big trolling rod and reel all by himself, but he did it, and did a great job putting fish in the boat too. He was fun!
Tomorrow's weather looks nice again, but a little windier in the morning. It's fishable though, so Tony Lalli and his wife will be joining me tomorrow to try their luck at this sport of walleye fishing. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dick and Brad 5/20/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/20/21I had an unexpected day off yesterday, when my customer forgot that he had a trip scheduled for the 19th, so I rescheduled him to August instead.
Left the house at 4:20, because I was meeting Dick and Brad at Mazurik's at 5:30, and I wanted time to go gas up the boat, ice up the cooler, and get over to the launch to get things ready before the crew showed up. They showed up around 5:15, so we were on our way by 5:25.
The sky was partly cloudy, so there was some light on the dark horizon illuminating the water as we drove out, so it wasn't as dark as it is on a fully cloudy morning. There must have been a ENE wind last night, because the little residual rollers were still coming in at 5:30. We took our time, and were setting lines by 5:45.
All 8 lines ran Flicker Minnow #11s behind Off Shore boards at a speed of 1.8-2.0mph. I'm sorry, but that's all I can report on it this time. It's a small area and I have a few captain friends working it too. It can't take the pressure, so I'm not giving any info on this spot. So sorry...:(
It was all over so fast....They were game for breakfast, so we got off the water.
Dick and Brad had a great time, and Dick learned how to use the Off Shores in no time at all..(he owns a boat). Brad laughed and said, "This is great! When we usually go, we only catch one, or maybe two...all day long". I just smiled...:)
Tomorrow, I have a young father, who is bringing his 10 year old son, and his 8 year old daughter. I might have to run fewer lines tomorrow, just to keep it easier for him. Jake is going to have his hands full, I think. lol
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Chris, Tom, and Kevin 5/17/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/17/21I woke up a little before 3am, before the alarm went off, so I got up and made some coffee. Dexter and I, went out to the back deck to check out the morning's weather. Dexter smelled something that he couldn't see, in the damp morning air, so he took off running to the back fence, to act all big and scary to any would be intruders. All critters now had fair warning that he would kill them if they came inside the fence. While he tended to his morning business, I sipped coffee and looked at my weather apps.
The iWindSurf forecast was calling for 5-15mph, out of the E at Middle Bass for most of the day. The weather app said it was supposed to be cloudy all day too, but neither of those things happened. The wind never arrived until the afternoon, and the sun was shining quite a bit this morning too. The air temp was somewhere between deciding if I should put my slippers on my bare feet, or leave the off. I'm guessing it was around 60 degrees when we launched at 5:30.
We left out of Catawba, and headed north. The program used the past two days is what was used first thing this morning. Some of the colors changed though.
Spros and Bandits were run on the starboard side, and Flicker Minnow (#11's) were run on the port side. The starboard side was set at (shortest to longest lead out behind Off Shore boards)...30', 40', 50', and 60' back (unassisted), and the port side was run at 40, 50, 55, and 60'.
Colors that caught fish today, were "Flashy Chartreuse" (FM11), "Purple Shiner" (FM11), "Blue Shiner" (FM11), and "Flashy Pearl" (FM11), Blue/Chrome (Spro), and "Taco Salad" (Bandit),
Speed was 1.7-2.0mph. Water temp was 57-58 degrees.
Some fish hit on the slow side and some hit on the fast side, and most were caught on the 40 and 60 foot leads on both sides.
We caught 12 healthy walleye, a few GIANT Sheephead, and one big White Perch. It was a slow bite for us this morning, and a frustrating one for me. I felt like it was going to be one of those, "I went left when I should have gone right" kind of days. Uffda! But, we worked at it and managed to grind out 12 good eaters for them to take home.
During the lulls between fish, we were kept entertained by Chris, who is a Capt of his own walleye fishing charter service over there in Vermilion, OH, called, "Seawise Charters", with a plethora of his funny "Dad Jokes".
He and his friends, Tom and Kevin, came out with me to learn more about using the Off Shore boards while trolling.
Mission Accomplished. They were setting out, and bringing them in, like a well oiled machine in no time at all. They had a good time, relaxed, enjoyed the good weather, and friendly banter....the music wasn't bad either...wink wink.
I'm off tomorrow, but will be back out for the rest of this week and weekend, before the next day off, so....
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jeff, Jacob, and David 5/16/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/16/21This morning, my crew had one change up. Ty stayed on shore to take his Mom to breakfast, and his Dad Jeff took his place in the boat today.
Dexter, my dog, wasn't happy to see me leaving at 4am, but I wanted to top off the boat with gas, and get ice for the cooler, before heading over to Catawba to ready the boat, and change some baits, before my crew showed up.
It was still dark out at 5am, when they showed up. The kind of dark that would make it impossible to see the Off Shore boards out there without lights on them.I said, "We'll take a slow ride up there, because we won't be able to see the boards anyway"....and, that's what we did.
We set up two Spros and two Bandits on the starboard side and (4) #11 Flicker Minnows on the port side. Best color Spros were Golden Perch and Blue/Chrome. Best Flicker Minnows were Flashy Chartreuse, Flashy Pearl, and Blue Shiner.
Leads were the same on both sides.....40-60 back at a speed of 1.7-1.8mph...with a lot of "S-Turns" thrown in. Some came os tthe slow side and some came on the fast side, on both sides, so I think it was just the S-Turns getting reactions, and not really a critical speed thing. Some were barely hooked and some tried to swallow the bait too.
After we had their three-man limit, Jeff, who is older, wanted to go in, due to being chilly...and, the fact that they mentioned that they didn't have the freezer space for all the fish they've caught this weekend. Jeff turned to me and asks, "It won't upset you if we go in early, will it?" I just smiled and said, "Do I look upset? My dog will be very happy to have me home early." So, we came in at 8:30.
It's kind of nice, I got to go fishing and have some fun, and I have time to clean the boat, cut the grass, walk the dog, and get ready for tomorrow's trip with Chris Wise and his crew, before I hit the hay at 7pm.
Same bat time and same bat channel tomorrow.....:)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Ty, Jacob, and David 5/15/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/15/21Launched at 5:15 this morning and headed north out of Catawba. Our first spot was really good, until the flotilla of boats started showing up around 6am. Then, we just tried to stay on one small pod of active fish by turning on them over and over, while dodging boats.
We went 20 for24 there, and decided to move and find another less crowded area to catch the last 4 someplace else.
Program was Spros and Bandits 40-60 back at 1.7-1.8 mph. Chromes worked best for us, but maybe that's simply because that's what we had on. lol
(2) Golden Perch, (3) Blue/Chrome, Buck Fever, Green Clown, Black/Gold.
In the second spot, we ran Spros and Bandits on one side and Flicker Minnows on the other. The Flicker Minnows out-fished the Bandits 2:1 there. Speed was the same.
We played catch and release for a bit, then came in an hour and a half early at their request.
It was a fun morning, especially after struggling yesterday in another area to the east.
I have the same crew tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to it, since they already learned how to set and retrieve the boards. I think I will sleep well tonight, and that makes me happy! :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Kirk and Ken 5/12/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/12/21What started as a three-day trip turned into a two-day trip with a blow day in-between both trips.
Monday 5/10:
I picked my crew up at their hotel at 5:30, because they flew in from Iowa, and were shuttled to the Island House downtown, so they didn't have a car to drive.
After stopping for gas and ice, we headed to Catawba to launch. The wind was out of the NW at around 10mph, so the waves were 1 to 3 feet. There were more 2's than anything, so the ride out was a little bumpy.
We set up west of Green and set up with the usual set up I've been running lately.
Spro's in the chrome colors, and Bandits in the chrome colors too. All were set anywhere from 45-85 back, and the speed was 1.7-1.8mph.
Water temp was 52 degrees...down 3 degrees from Friday.
Monday was a tougher bite for us, but we managed their two limits and one of my 6 walleye.
Tuesday was a blow day with NW winds gusting to 22mph, so there's nothing to report. :)
This morning, we had a late start, due to windy conditions, but it all worked out just fine. We launched at Mazurik's at 9am and headed to the NW corner of Kelly's. I drove up as far as the stained water lasted and when it cleaned up too much, we turned the boat around to go with the waves and set up. The water temp in the cleaner water was 52 degrees and in the stained water it was 53.5 degrees.
Same program to start with. We caught 5 fish there, but it was slow, and the Helix wasn't showing me much, so we picked everything up and headed back to the west side of the islands.
We set up again in an area that was void of boats (there was a big pack to the south), so we would have plenty of room to maneuver, and hold a heading, without interference from boats with the right of way.
Same program....this time we hit it right. We had our last 13 fish in less time than it took to get the first five over by Kelly's. So, needless to say, my guys were having fun!
Best colors were....of course...Blue/Chrome, Purple Glass Perch, Blue Chrome, Purple Glass Perch, and, if you didn't get it the first time...Blue/Chrome, and Purple Glass Perch. :)
Best leads were all of them....45, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85.
It was a small pod that we found, so we turned on them as soon as the marks left the Helix's screen, and went back over them, so we were going into the waves at this point. I kept the speed the same, even though I would usually slow down a little going into the current, but it worked, and we hit a quad in the spot where the first fish hit.
Both nets had to come out for that little fire drill. lol
My guys did great, and were pleased with the day's events. They got to sleep in a little, enjoyed some sunshine on a calmer lake, listened to some good music, and caught a lot of fish. I ask you, "Does it get any better?" Kirk said he would like to come back again, and that makes me happy!
I'm off tomorrow....so home chores are on the to-do list.
I'll be back at it on Friday with previous customer, Diane Leeson, and her two college age kids. Looks like nice weather for the next several days. Finally!!
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Larry, Tony, and Rudy 5/7/2021
by Capt Juls on 05/07/21It was raining this morning, when I woke up and let the dog out. I looked at the weather apps to see what was in store for us, and found the rain would be clearing out by 7am. I had told my Indiana crew that we would delay the trip for one hour, so instead of meeting them at 5:30, I would meet them at 6:30 instead.
It was pretty windy when I picked them up, and stated, "We can go gas up the boat and stop for breakfast, if you want, we need to waste a little time, and let this wind die down a bit, before we head out on the lake. It's going to be rough out there right now". They weren't really hungry, but agreed, so we headed to the gas station to get ice and gas first.
When we were at the gas station, the back end of the rain clouds moved out, and so did the wind. I said, "The winds have laid down, so why don't we skip breakfast and just head to the launch to see what the lake is looking like right now". Again, they agreed, so we headed over to Catawba to launch.
We were on the protected side of the peninsula, so it was calm right outside the launch, and over to Port Clinton, but you could see the telltale peaks of bigger waves out beyond the point. However, I think it was more of an optical illusion than reality, because once we were headed north, it wasn't that bad....waves were 1-3's from the NNE.
We motored up to Rattlesnake Island and set up with a SSW trolling pass.
Same program as yesterday....
Spros set anywhere from 40-70 back, starting with the colors that worked yesterday too. Blue/chrome, Golden Perch, Purple Glass Perch, and Marble Brown. I put a Lemon-Lime out again, just to see if it would work in that area, like it did before. It caught one, but again, was taken off and replaced with another Purple Perch. Someone was on the radio at one point and mentioned that a couple of Wonderbread colored Bandits were working well, so I dug a red one and a chartreuse one out of the box and set one out each side. Both caught fish, so whites are working too.
The speed was the same as yesterday too....1.8-2.0mph.
Water temp was 52 degrees up by Rattle and Green, but was 55 degrees by Catawba. The water was a bit muddier nearer Catawba, so with the sun coming out mid-morning, it warmed up faster than the cleaner water up north.
We made one long pass from Rattlesnake all the way back to Catawba, picking off fish here and there as we trolled along. The bite was fast enough to keep everyone interested, but not so fast to have any kind of fire drills going on. It just turned out to be a very nice day to be on the lake.
We caught our 4-person-limit with a bonus white bass, but that was the only non-target species we caught today.
The winds laid down to almost nothing (Davis-Bessie's steam stack was almost straight up in the air by 10:30-11:00), the sky was partly cloudy, and the air temps were jumping up into the high 50s. For a day that started out pretty crappy, it had turned into one of those beautiful days we all want to have out there. :)
Rudy, who is only 9 years old, reeled in his share of fish, with the help of his Dad and Grandpa. His "laid back" excitement of the sport, made me remember fishing with my Dad, and how those memories have lasted me a lifetime. I hope that we made the same kind of memories for their family today too.
Rudy wants to come back to go perch fishing sometime, so that makes me happy!
Tomorrow's forecast isn't looking very good, so I have already rescheduled tomorrow's trip to the 23rd instead. (Those scheduled days off are coming in handy...I can use them for reschedules, but now if the weather turns good for the next several weeks, I'll be one tired puppy, because my scheduled days off are disappearing! Deep sigh)
Sunday is on notice too, but I'm hoping we can get out on Sunday.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
