Juls WFA Blog
Fishing Two Days with Harold and Jim Nelson...5/31 & 6/1/2024
by Capt Juls on 06/01/24Harold, and his son, Jim, drove over from Iowa to fish with me, again. They had a good time last year, and I did, too. This past two days were even more fun than last year, even though the fish didn't cooperate as well as they did last year, on this same weekend.
Wanting to stay away from crowded areas, I opted to take a ride to an area up on the line, west of the islands. The wind forecast was calling for winds less than 3 mph for the morning, but that wasn't the case, early on. We launched out of Catawba at 5:30, even though there was a SW wind pushing waves into the docks...something I prefer not to do...and headed north, up to the line.
There were a lot of good fish marks, but there was also a huge Mayfly hatch emerging from the bottom, and halfway up the water column. My hopes for a great bite, diminished...knowing, I should probably pull out the crawler harnesses, and slow down. But, we ran cranks behind Off Shore boards, and spoons on dipsies for the first three hours. We caught a couple keepers, some sheephead, and a handful of shorts, before I decided it was going to be best to move to a new area, with less food for them to gorge on, and try crawlers.
We moved down in-between Lucy's and Gull, and started marking fish, so we set up. The harnesses were all weighted with 2oz inline weights, and set between 40 and 80 back, at a speed of 1.6-1.7 on the FishHawk. We started to pick up fish at a faster rate than running the cranks and spoons, so my guys were happy with that. We only caught 7 keepers yesterday, and maybe if I hadn't waited so long to make the decision to switch up presentations, and area, we probably would have limited. Who knows...
The bite seemed to get better around the time we had to head in.
We got back to the launch to find that my Vexus Trailer's tire had a roofing nail in the sidewall, and would have to be replaced. Jim was kind enough to remove the tire and put the spare on for me (Thanks, Jim!)
I took it over to Wieland's Auto and Marine. While Jim was changing the tire, I called Matt and told him what happened, and he said, "I think I have a tire that size in the shop". I drove over, and he had one....whew!
Matt put the new tire on in about 10 minutes, and now that tire is the spare tire. (Thanks, Matt!)
When I got home yesterday, my routine involves plugging in the boat batteries... and, to make a long story short...I forgot to plug them in overnight. I sent a text to Jim and told him what happened, and that it would be a later start this morning.
They were fine with that, because they could sleep in, and get a breakfast, before meeting me.
Alfie, my dog, was happy that it was a late start, because he got to go for a walk...and, smell stuff, before I left for the day.
By 7:30, the charger read 50% on the trolling motor batteries. That would be enough, if I kept the power level on the Terrova at 4, instead of 5, and didn't do any speed bursts with it.
We launched out of Mazurik's at 8am. The wind was around 8-10mph out of the SE, so the waves on the east side of Kelly's were 2 foot or less.
Water temp was 66.8 degrees.
We set up with the same program as yesterday, and pulled a keeper in the first 15 minutes, but it would be a while before the next one would come. The fish marks were tight to the bottom, but every so often they would be low to mid-column, and we would catch one here and one there. It wasn't a fast bite, but it was consistent enough to keep everyone interested and enjoying the day. The highlight of the day was when Jim caught a nice 28" fish, and was all smiles. :)
Luckily, there were no hiccups in my routine today...the boat is plugged in, gassed up, and ready to go again. But, tomorrow's trip has been rescheduled to next Sunday, because he's a "Fair weather fisherman", and tomorrow morning is calling for showers and scattered thunderstorms, most of the morning. But, I didn't water my garden, so it will probably miss us now. ;)
I'll be back out next week....starting on Monday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Steve, Jeremy, and Luke...5/24/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/24/24
Fishing with Steve, Jeremy, and Luke…5/24/2024
Late start, and didn’t want to play, “Dodge the boats” today, so we found a spot all to ourselves, and proceeded to have some fun!
They would have been happy with 12 fish, but we managed 24….in 2 1/2 hours.
Colors that worked:
Green Lantern (Slim Shady custom)
Green Clown (stock color)
IB Infected (DJsCutom Eye Lures)
(2)Carrot Top (stock)
Blue Chrome (stock)
Stinger, Scorpion, Yeck spoons…and, a worm burner worked behind the size 1 dipsies, on settings…zero and three…30-40 on the zero setting, and 47 & 53 on the three settings.
Speed was 2.2-2.6mph on the FishHawk
They hit on the fast side and the slow side, so it was constant action for the Chapman family this morning.
Steve and Jeremy have fished with me for 13 years now, but this was Luke’s first walleye trip…his very first fish was the biggest of the morning, and he was pretty proud of that. Jeremy was over the moon happy, to see his boy fall in love with walleye fishing, and having fun! Lots of great memories were made for them, today.
Tomorrow, I have a father and his two adult sons going out with me, so I’m not even hinting where I was today, because it was really nice being alone out there, and not having to have my head on a constant swivel, for a change. Sorry!
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Fishing with Cisco, Ted, and Lonny... 5/20/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/20/24Alfie woke me up at 1:30 this morning. I had already had 6 1/2 hours of sleep, so we got up to spend some quality "alone time" out on the back deck, before I had to get ready to head out.
The wind forecast was calling for little to no wind this morning. It was 68 degrees in the wee hours of the morning, and expected to rise to the upper 70s to low 80s by the afternoon.
I got to Catawba early...as usual, and got everything ready to go, so when my crew of three arrived, we could just launch. The parking lot was empty, when my crew arrived, and we all chuckled at how nice it is on a weekday morning. Then, as we unloaded the Vexus in the water, another rig showed up. I didn't have to worry too much about other boats on the lake that early, so we just cruised on out to where I fished yesterday.
As the clear sky started to lighten at 5:30, I could see there was a light fog around the island shorelines, but not on the lake. It was still pretty dark when we left the launch at Catawba, and headed northwest, to the cans, so I couldn't wear the glasses I usually wear in the mornings, because it was too dark with them on. My eyeballs took a beating with the wind hitting them...all the while, I'm just praying that a bug doesn't get in one. I got lucky....no bugs to the eyeballs. :)
It was the same program I used yesterday, since it worked so well.
Bandits:
Barbie (painted...not chrome...I think it was a Domka Outdoors custom) at 110 (unassisted), and 50/18 with 2oz, back behind the Off Shore boards.
Carrot Top (stock color) was 80 and 90 back (unassisted).
Green Lantern (Slim Shady Custom) at 80 back (unassisted).
Eventually, a Barbie and another color were replaced with two IB Infected (DJ custom color) were put out, and started catching.
Flicker Minnow 11:
Pooh Bear (I think it's a DJs Custom Eye Lures bait) at 120 back (unassisted)
Dipsies:
Zero Setting at 30 and the two setting at 47 and 50. Spoons on three of them, and one Gold/Black Ripplin Red Fin on the starboard side...on the outside rod, that ran the two setting at 47 back. That caught a few.
Speed was anywhere from 2.0 to 3.0 mph. I would speed up, and then slow down, to trigger bites. It worked.
We kept 23, before a dipsey line got around the kicker prop, and I called the day. I didn't want to risk the seal getting damaged. Luckily, it came right off, and the spoon was still there, so win-win. :)
Cicso, Ted, and Lonny fished with me last year, and at the time they said they wanted to make it an annual thing, so they could get some early season training in, before they hit the water with their own boats. They said, it helped the rest of their season...by putting to practice, what I taught them, and that makes me happy!
Tomorrow, I have a new crew...some more locals...that want to learn to troll. So, I'd better go tie up some more leaders for my dipsies, because when I checked last...I only had one extra one in the boat. Glad I checked...lol
Tomorrow's forecast is calling for wind out of the southwest at 12-13 mph, so we'll be launching at Mazurik in the morning.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Day 3 of 3 with Jason, Cindy, and John... 5/19/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/19/24This is a short report....need to clean the boat for the new crew tomorrow, and go exercise my very patient dog. :)
The same program as yesterday.
It was a beautiful morning to be out fishing...the fog did not show up, like expected. Yay!
Tomorrow I have a new crew of three people...Cisco, Ted, and Lonnie.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 2 of 3 with Jason, Cindy, and John.... 5/19/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/19/24
Jason, his bride Cindy, and his father, John, joined me again for another round of walleye fishing.
This morning, was really foggy...and, we launched at 5:40, so it was still a little dark out, too. It was too misty to wear any eyewear on the ride out, because it would just make it impossible to see, without wiping the lenses every 5 seconds, soooooo ....that was fun. (Negatively shaking my head).
It took much longer to get to our spot from yesterday, but we got there. We started out with the same set up that caught yesterday, but the bite wasn't the same as yesterday. It was much slower. We were marking good fish on the ride up there, but as soon as we set up and turned back on them, they were gone.
Spoons didn't do as well as they did yesterday, either. Bandits behind Off Shore Tackle Company boards from 60 to 97 back..."Barbie at 60 and 70 back was very good, again), Khaki Bandits assisted with 2oz snap weights run 50/18 (weight is put on at the 50 mark, and another 18 feet of line is let out, before the board is attached), and a "Pooh Bear" custom painted color, (by DJ) Flicker Minnow 11s at 120 back, took several, bigger fish, too.
Dipsies were two to a corner...
the inside rod ran on the zero setting anywhere from 25 to 40 back. The outside rod ran on the two setting anywhere from 45 to 60 back. Yeck Spoon, Scorpion Spoons, and BadMo Arrowhead Spoons were run. I tried some shallow diving "Yaleyes" for a bit, but they didn't pull anything, so I went back to the spoons. The spoons started to light up as our trip was ending late this morning.
Speed was 2.0-2.3 mph on the FishHawk
Water temp was 62.4 degrees
We managed their three limits, and I caught 5 of mine. Like everyone else fishing right now, we had to go through a lot of little fish, to get our keepers. Those little fish are fast, and hungry! But, I'm still happy to see them, kiss their boo-boo, and set them free. 
Tomorrow's forecast is for even thicker fog in the morning, and clearing out mid-morning. I'll see what it is in the morning....we may hold off on going out until later. The forecast shows it clearing at 10am.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 1 of 3 with Jason, Cindy, and John....5/17/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/17/24
This report is going to be short…my face kind of hurts right now, due to a pulled tooth yesterday.
Short story…
Fished over 28-29 feet of water…west of the Bass Islands.
They caught their limits, (I reeled mine in too), using Bandits, and Flicker Minnow 11s, behind Off Shore boards.
Dipsies with spoons…at a speed of 2.2-2.4mph (On the FishHawk)..
Zero setting at 30 and 35 back …
Two setting at 45-50 back…
Three setting at 47…
SOG was similar to the FishHawk, going from west to east.
Red Headed WB, or just a red and white one, with a black dot …was our best spoon…(Scorpions)
“Barbie” Bandit… 70 back was hot…as was the “Purple Glass Perch” Flicker Minnow11 at 120 back. We doubled up on those colors, and leads, and we were done by 9:15.
Nothing really big…a 22 or 23 incher, is the biggest caught this morning….the rest were 16-20” fish….just good eaters.
This lake is going to be some insane fun, in about five years. I’m glad to see all the smaller fish surviving, and getting fatter…
Same crew tomorrow…
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dave and Danielle....5/8/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/08/24I forgot to set the alarm last night, but thankfully, I woke up at 3:15. I only lost 15 minutes of routine, so it wasn't too bad. By now, those of you who follow me, know my routine.
If you don't, it's me going out on the back deck with my coffee, my dog Alfie, and my two weird cats. This is where I get the morning's weather, in real-time. Then, I look at the wind and weather apps, to see what lays in store for the morning's trip.
All the wind apps were showing different conditions, but I trust iWindSurf the most, out of all of them, and decided it was going to be a fishable morning. My neighbors, Dave and Danielle, were going with me, this time. This trip was set up months ago, for Dave's birthday, by Danielle, so I wanted to get it in. Today, is Dave's birthday, and I didn't want to disappoint, since they both took off of work, to do this trip.
I told Danielle, last night, "I'll text you at 4am to let you know if it's a "go", or not." And, because, the apps were all different, it took me 45 minutes to decide which one to believe, and what time we should launch... but, at 4:00 I sent her a text saying, "We'll leave at 5:30".
The forecast was for a WSW wind from 10-13 w/gusts to 20. Very fishable, but Catawba was out of the equation, for launching.
A SW wind blows right into the docks, making loading and launching a little more uncomfortable, there. I don't want scratches on my boat, if I can help it.
We headed to Mazurik's, after hitting the gas station for gas and ice, and arrived at 6am. By 6:15 we were in the water, waiting a few minutes, for the 400 to warm up. Once she was up to temp, we headed north, to the line.
It was unfortunate, that I only found very clean water, with no fish marks showing up on the electronics, up there.
I didn't even come off plane, before turning the boat and heading around to the other side of the islands. Down, around Sugar Island, through the pass between the underwater wall (between Middle Bass and Rattlesnake)...and, Rattlesnake Island.
The fog was pretty thick, up in the "Triangle", so I stopped and put my navigation light in, (back on the transom), and turned them all on.
I was just about to start moving again, when Danielle said, "There's a boat right there", pointing out of the port side of the boat.
He didn't have any lights on, and was going too fast for conditions... and would have hit us, had I not stopped to put the navigational lights on.
The fish will be there when you get there.....slow down, when it's foggy, you might kill someone! Just say'n...grrrrr
Anyway....there were very scattered marks from the west end of Rattlesnake to the north side of Green. We kept heading west at a slow speed, and eventually, we ended up over by the "outside cans". The fog was lifting, so we could start to see the land masses, and that made Danielle happy. The sun was trying to burn the fog off, too.
The Humminbird started showing some fish. The water was a nice mixing color. More stained, than the clean water to the north, but not chocolatey, either. I was headed to the edge of the chocolatey color, when the fish marks showed up.
I turned the boat, shut the motor off...deployed the Terrova, and the baby Merc, and set a course to the south....then, SW.
Bandits, out behind Off Shore boards, at 120, 110, 100, 80, and 60 back started the morning off. Along with a dipsey, on the zero setting, off each corner. The port side ran at 28 and the starboard side ran at 31.
Water temp was 58 something degrees
Speed was 2.0-2.3 mph on the FishHawk, and 2.3 to 2.6 SOG
Every now and then we would hit a current seam, and the FishHawk would show a drop to 1.4-1.6mph when the SOG was still at at 2.4 mph. They seemed to be skinny seams, because by the time I was done adjusting the speed, it would change back again, and we would be going too fast.
The fish definitely liked us going into the waves, rather than with them, this morning. It was a 60:40 split, with the spoons on the dipsies doing better than the cranks. The largest fish came on a spoon, too.
Well, this is long enough, and my dog keeps shoving a ball in my elbow, so it's time to go play with him. Dave and Danielle said they had a great time, and that makes me happy! Happy birthday, Dave! :)
Tomorrow's trip, is cancelled, due to the wind forecast. Ex PWT/FLW walleye pro David Kraft, set this trip up with his wife, as part of their adventure here. They came to town, from far away, like many do, to see the bird migration that happens in this area. The fishing trip was just an added highlight, but instead, we will meet for breakfast, and do some catching up. And, that makes me happy, too!
Next trip out if Friday, weather permitting.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Marc and Norm....5/5/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/05/24Got up at 2AM, and headed out to the back deck with Alfie, and a cup of coffee. The air was thick with moisture, due to a system that rolled through overnight, but the rain was done for the day. The wind forecast was looking fantastic, which meant the lake would be relatively flat, and we would be able to get from point A to point B, with ease. I was able to spend some quiet quality time with the pup, before heading out at 5:15.
I told "Stanny" (Marc) and Norm, that I would meet them at 5:40, but showed up early as usual...but, they were ready, so we hit the road. Off to the gas station first, for ice and snacks, then to Hi Way Bait to get some crawlers. I wanted to have the option available to me, if we needed it. If not, I would just give the crawlers to them, so they had the option, too. (They are here all week, using Stanny's boat).
We launched from Catawba at 6:20, and headed north. The ride out was nice, because we could go fast, and not get beat up. The fog hadn't rolled in yet, either.
I did have a mishap on the ride out, though, that cost me some money. I turned my head to see the sunrise, and forgot my favorite pair of Costa sunglasses were sitting on the visor of my hat...and, the wind got them. They flew off, and into the lake, never to be seen again...deep sigh.
I drove the Vexus up to where I was last time out, and although the fish marks were less, there were still scattered fish showing on the electronics. Reining her in, I set down over 30-31 feet of water, and deployed the FishHawk. The Terrova and baby Merc were dialed in to a speed of 2.0, and set on a NW course.
Bandits, behind Off Shore boards, ran on both sides. Leads were 120. 100, 80, and 60 on both sides, too.
Colors that caught in this first spot were:
(2) Barbie (I THINK it's a Domka Outdoors Custom)
Blue Chrome (stock color)
Greasy Chicken Wing (Slim Shady Customs)
We ran one dipsey (size 1 w/ring) on the port side, with a Yeck Spoon in the "Confusion" color, and caught a nice eater....but, that was it for the spoon up there.
At 9:30 I decided it was time to move. The fog was getting really think in that area, and it was hard to see more than 50 yards, so we moved down inside, by the cans. It was less foggy there, and the water color was a little muddier, too. There were plenty of fish marks, so we set up over 18 feet of water, and headed east on our trolling pass.
Bandits at 80, 60, 50, and 45 caught fish.
I had one Blue and White Jointed DHJ12 out at 65 back, and it took a bigger fish, so we put another out, and it caught a fish, too. I eventually had three out, and set one at 85 back, which also caught a nice fish.
Speed was 1.9-2.2mph. Water temp was 58
We caught one shy of our three-person limit, this morning, but it was still a fun day on the water with those two, and they both agreed....and, that makes me happy! :)
I have the next two days off, due to a cancellation (customer's bad knee), so my next scheduled trip is Wednesday, with my neighbor's...a birthday present from Danielle to her husband Dave, so that should be a lot of fun, too. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with David and Dean....5/2/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/02/24Summary of a two-day fishing trip for two Iowans:
Day one...
We launched out of Mazurik's, and headed to the Canadian line. Rigged up with crawler harnesses (Colorado blades), because I figured since the water temp dropped a couple degrees, with the east wind pushing in colder water, from the deep end of the lake, they might want it slower, and meat is always a good attractant.
Water temp was 54.4 degrees.
We marked nice fish up there, but they were not ready to eat yet. I don't know if it's that lull that happens after the spawn, or they had fed at night with the bright moon, and clear skies, but they were not hungry.
We made one pass, and called it quits up there. We picked up and moved down to the north side of Kelley's. After a short pass with the crawlers, I got tired of them, and decided to put on some Bandits, behind the Off Shore boards.
Long story shorter....leads that caught best were 120, 110, 90, and 80 back, at a speed of 1.8-2.2mph.
Best Colors were...
One, I don't know the name of, or who paints it, (I put it in the photos), was a productive one.
Copper Greasy Chicken Wing (Slim Shady Custom)
Fruit Dots (stock color) "Black Headed Wonder Bread" for us old timers...lol
Blue Chrome (stock)
Barbie (Sorry, I forget who painted this one)
We ended with only 9 eaters...nothing big.
Day 2...
We launched out of Catawba at 6:15 and headed north...staying west of the islands, this time. It was too early, and dark, to see how muddy, or clean, the water was. When the sun got higher in the sky, we would find out. Anyway, I was marking fish for a long ways, before deciding to ditch my first destination, so we could try to catch what I was seeing on the Humminbird.
The waves were whacky this morning. First they were coming from the NW, and then as we traveled further north, they were coming from the NE, too, so it was like a washing machine, at times.
The wind was switching from the NW to the NE, so the lake was laying down, and wasn't expected to get windy again, until late morning. Waves were 2' or less, and laying down to 1 foot or less. Loved that, because then we would be able to go in any direction, without having to pick up, and make a run back up, like I have to when it's too rough to go into them.
The fish marks were too good, not to stop, so the Terrova as deployed, as was the baby Merc, and set on a southerly direction.
We ran the Bandit program from the day before, but added more of the productive colors listed above, and took the less than productive off.
Once the sun came up, my heart kind of sunk, because we were marking fish in muddy water, and I was afraid it might be too dirty for them to bite. But, just as I thought about picking back up, and running to my first destination, which I figured would be cleaner water, Dean said, pointing his finger out the port side, "Number 3! Fish on!"
We stayed and made about a mile pass, before a friend called and said my "first destination" was a good, and they were biting. We only had 6 in the box when he called, so we decided that maybe cleaner water would produce a better bite, so we picked up, and headed further north.
The water did clean up, but the fish marks were nothing like we were seeing in the first spot, but we set up anyway, and made a pass to the NW, but I decided that since the wind was behaving, and the lake was laying down...it would be a better idea to turn the boat around and just troll back to where we started.
It was the right idea, because they did bite, and they bit all the way back down to our original spot. We had our 18 in the boat by 9:45, and headed back in at 10am.
As we approached the launch, David said, "That was good timing, because it's getting windier". Smiling, I agreed.
They both said they had a good time, and Dean said he learned a lot, so that makes me happy! I have no doubt they can run their own Off Shore boards with a little more confidence now.
Tomorrow, I have the winner of the South Shore Marine charity raffle, that I donated a trip for...and, two of his friends.
I think I know where I'm fishing tomorrow...:)
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Nancy, Glen Sr., and Glen Jr....4/30/2024
by Capt Juls on 05/01/24Quick report today…had a later launch, and there’s lots to do before bedtime.
First time back on the water since a week ago, today.
Launched out of Catawba with my crew from Huron, OH, and headed west to the other side, and landed in 14-18’ of water.
The water was dirty to the south, mixing where we were (could see the cavitation plate and the prop was “ghostly”), and there was cleaner water to the north.
We didn’t catch any big fish this morning, but what we did catch were all good-sized eaters.
I was slacking on my photos today…sorry. This is the only one.
It was raining when we launched at 7am, so no sunrise pic, but by mid-morning the Sun was breaking through, from time to time, so that dried things out, and warmed the air up, nicely.
We ran crawlers on the starboard side and Bandits on the port side. The catch rate was 50/50 between the two, so I never broke down one side to run the other…I probably should have, but I couldn’t decide which to take off. So I left them.
We ended up with 16 for 18 on the walleye…and, we caught the first sheephead (in my boat)
of the season, and two white perch.
Speed was anywhere from 1.5 to 2.0mph.
Water temp varied from 55.6 to 57.3 degrees.
The mud is cleaning up fast, and shifting locations by the hour.
The Shortman family did a great job learning to run the OffShore boards, and setting them out. They currently run big boards on their boat, but wanted to see how to run inline boards, and I am confident they would be able to do this easily, by themselves.
We ran 2oz inline chain sinkers on the harnesses at 20, 30, 33, and 35 back …and, the Bandits ran at 55, 45, 40, and 35 back.
Tomorrow, and Wednesday, I have two fellas from Iowa, so I’m meeting them at Mazurik’s, and launching at 6:15, so hopefully there will be a sunrise pic in the morning.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Fishing with Frank and Ray....4/25/2024
by Capt Juls on 04/25/24Went to bed early last night, in anticipation of fishing this morning, but woke up an hour earlier, so I got up at 2AM, made some coffee, and took the critters out onto the back deck with me.
The wind was out of the north, at around 5-10mph, the sky was mostly clear, with a full/waning moon, and the air temp was a chilly 36 degrees.
The wind forecast for the morning was a light and changing wind...from the north, then, switching from the ENE at 5-10 mph.
I told my dog, "Goodbye, I love you...I'll be back!", and headed to the gas station. The truck and boat were already gassed up, so all I needed was some ice, and powdered donuts. "It might be a good idea to stop at Hi Way Bait and get some crawlers", I thought to myself... in case the crankbait bite was tough after the last blow and cold.
So, I did. Hit Hi Way for 10 dozen crawlers, hoping deep down, that they would all end up doing their thing in my gardens, instead of messing up my boat. It's not that I don't like running harnesses, because I do. I make my own, in fact ...it's just that they are so messy, and create more work for me. If I can get away with cranks and spoons all summer...I'm cool with that. :)
Frank and Ray have fished with me for many years now, and had this past Tuesday scheduled, but it blew (surprise-surprise), so they took today, since it was available, and going to be relatively nice.
We launched out of Catawba at 6:45, and once the big motor was warmed up, we headed north. The inside water, was chocolate milk, and without a satellite picture to reference, it only made sense to go north until we got out of the dirty water.
It cleaned up a little more, north of Greene Island. I first went up to look near West Reef, but the marks were not what I was looking for, so we went back down into the "Triangle", and set up on an east to west trolling pass, starting near Middle Bass in 31 feet of water, that had some decent marks. They were scattered, though.
The Terrova and the baby Merc purred along, while I took instruction from the FishHawk, to keep the starting speed in that 1.5-1.8 range. Once adjustments were dialed in, I got busy setting the starboard side.
Frank set the port side, and is already familiar with how I rig my Off Shore boards, so he didn't need any instruction, to get them out and running. Frank started out with Dead Eyes running at 80, 63, 45, and 32 back, behind the boards.
I ran Bandits on my side, and set them at 97, 77, 57, and 42 back. We had the water column, that was showing the most marks, covered.
We were marking fish, in the range of the cranks, but we weren't catching. Not only that, but we had nothing in the first three hours, so I made the decision to move. With a relatively calm lake, it wasn't going to take long to run out to Niagara and C can, to take a look. So, we picked everything up, and headed west.
We set up, near Niagara, over 31 feet of water...with all Bandits. The port side ran at 110, 97, 80, and 65 back (longest leads on the outside). The starboard side ran at 80, 67, 55, and 53 back.
Speed was 1.6-2.0
We would eventually find a spot that was very small, but holding active fish. When we did get bit, it was always a double ...two fish, each time. We had two of those, before it ran dry, and I decided it would be a good idea, just to circle on them, since they were showing us they were active. It was a good decision, because we eventually caught their limit and one of mine, before we ran out of time. When I say it was a small spot, it was maybe 1/4 mile long.
The best colors for us today, were:
Mike Schlimgen's (Slim Shady Customs): (1) Chrome Furmi, (1) Big-Bad-Bill, and (1) Copper Greasy Chicken Wing
Stock colors: (1) Taco Salad and (1) Blue Chrome
Domka Outdoors: (3)Buck Fever
Frank and Ray had a great time, and are planning another trip with me in the fall, so that makes me happy!
Two more reschedules for the weekend, and a dentist appt on Monday, so I won't be back out until Tuesday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Just updating you all...
by Capt Juls on 04/16/24No, I'm not ignoring my blog....I haven't been out. I had a whole week of rescheduling this week.
I had a two day trip scheduled for Sunday/Monday, but it was a husband and wife who don't like it rough, so Sunday was definitely out, and although yesterday was not as rough, it was still an NE wind, so too rough for them. They are rescheduling.
Then, my crew for a 4 day trip this Thursday through Sunday wanted to reschedule to a two day trip in early May (not weather related, because they would have gotten 3 of their 4 days in). And, me being the nice person that I am, agreed to it.
So, I unless I fill one or two of the days later this week, I am not scheduled again until next Tuesday!
My April is not full, but May is, and June is starting to fill up.
Just wanted to keep all of you who follow this blog up to date on what is happening. Sorry for the lack of fishing reports...:(
Stay tuned...
Juls
Fishing with Steve and Jeremy 4/10/2024
by Capt Juls on 04/12/24Sorry, this one is late, due to family being in town, and my entertaining them while they are here.
A quick recap of this trip, for those interested is basically the same as the day before, that I had with Lisa and Tanya.
We started out east of F can, where I had the ladies, but ended up NW of F can with Steve and Jeremy. The fish had moved from the day before, but we found enough to keep the boys busy for a few hours.
We had a late start, due to them driving up from Columbus that morning, so we didn't hit the water until 9am. By the chatter on the radio, it sounded like the early bite was over, and it slowed way down for most people. My guys heard it, too, and were like...."Meh, we're just glad to be out on the water today", so that made me relax a bit. That's the plus side of fishing with the same people for over 12 years..lol
We did manage to catch their limit, and one of mine, to take home, though.
We ran Bandits behind Off Shore boards on the starboard side, and DHJ12's on the port side. The double jointed DHJ in blue/white/orange belly, and the one I call "Eriedescent" caught several at 65 back. One that is all chartreuse with three black dots on its side, caught two, also.
Bandit colors and leads that worked for us were:
Khaki at 80 back (but this color was also a favorite of the giant white bass, too)
Carrot Top at 53 back
Painted Barbie at 43 back
Blue Chrome at 40 back (caught the most, I think)
Speed was 1.6 on the FishHawk, but we also caught fish going faster, and slower.
We did a lot of S-Turns, and bumping the speed up and down with the Terrova. They reacted to the speed changes more than if we were just going one speed the entire time.
Water temp on Wednesday was 46 degrees at 15' down and 47 on the surface.
Yesterday, we got A LOT of rain, and it's raining again this morning (Friday), and is expected to rain all day, again. The forecast is also calling for a big WNW wind today...gusting into the 40's. Luckily, I was scheduled off yesterday and today, so I didn't have to bother with rescheduling anyone. But, tomorrow's trip has been rescheduled to a new date in May.
I'll be back out on Sunday and Monday with husband and wife team, Casey and Heather Wheeler, who want to learn some things. Hopefully, we can find some cleaner water up between the islands, with some hungry fish in it, for them to catch.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Lisa and Tanya....4/9/2024
by Capt Juls on 04/09/24After too many days off, I was back to work this morning. WoooHoooo!
I have family in town, and staying at my house for the week, so my morning routine is a little off, and I was trying to be quiet, so I wouldn't wake my sister and brother-in-law, and got a little impatient, and left the house early.
I wasn't meeting my crew until 6:30 at the Portage River launch, but I left the house at 5AM anyway. I figured I would take the long way through town, while it was dark and quiet, to waste some time, before meeting my crew at 6:30.
I only needed ice this morning, since I had gassed the boat and truck up the other day, when I brought the Vexus out of storage, and put it back under the carport, here at the house.
I drove to the Speedway across town, picked up some ice, and headed back across town again, to the launch.
It was still dark at 5:45, so I turned on the boat's interior lights, and used the spotlight on my iPhone to rig some rods. Since I was going to be passing under a bridge, before I got to the mouth of the river, I didn't put the rods in the rod holders, or put the antenna up yet. I didn't want anything getting broken. Been there, done that before....oops!
Anyway, the boat was ready to go, it was getting a little lighter out, and they weren't there yet, so I launched the boat, thinking that because they were both women, (one likes to fish and the other had never been on a boat, or caught a fish before), that they wouldn't be comfortable backing up a trailer. I couldn't have been more wrong...and, could have saved myself the trouble of launching alone. (Not my favorite thing to do).
Lisa, Tanya, and Kim rented a house in town for the Solar Eclipse, and booked a trip with me, for the day after. Lisa loves to fish, and had a bucket list of fish she wanted to catch....a walleye was one of them. Initially, Tanya was just along for the experience, but would come to know the joys of catching her own walleye, too.
And, Kim gets sick just looking at waves, so she opted out of the trip, and stayed on shore.
Both of them own horses, and have pulled horse trailers for a long time. If you can handle a horse trailer, with a live animal in it, you can easily back up a boat. I should have waited for them, because launching solo still makes me a little nervous. For some reason, I always think the boat is going to float away on me, even though I have ropes securely in place. lol It's a mind game with myself, I guess.
When I was parking the trailer, a car drove into the lot, and no one else was there at that time, so I knew it had to be my crew. They arrived, excited to go, so we hopped in the boat, and headed down the river.
Once we passed the bridge, I had Lisa take the wheel. "Just keep the boat in the center of the channel, while I get the rods out", I said to Lisa. She took control and I pulled the rods out of the locker. They were all set up with Bandits, in varying colors....Carrot Top (stock), Taco Salad (stock color), Potato Bread (custom), Fruit Dots (black headed wonder bread/stock), Barbie (custom), and RC Crush (custom).
Heading out of the river, I asked, "Is everyone ready to go?" They both replied, "Yes!", so the 400 spurred and got the boat up on plane, and off we went, to the west. We set up near Camp Perry in 15' of water. The Terrova and baby Merc quietly pushed us in a northeasterly direction, at 1.6-1.7 mph on the FishHawk...SOG was similar in that area.
I started out with only 3 Off Shore boards per side, and set the Bandits on the port side at 25, 35, and 40 back, with the shortest lead on the outside. My boards are set to trip from the front arm now, which allows a shorter lead to work on an outside board, easier than on one that doesn't release.
The starboard side ran at 35, 45, and 55 back. Nothing for the first 1/2 hour, so we made a 5 mile move east, and set up over 27 feet of water, adding another board, per side, with leads running at 60 on the outside boards, 53 on number three, 43 on number two, and 41 on number one, (inside board), on both sides.
White bodied baits were used to start, and would catch most of our limit, but near the end, Lisa chose one of my favorite colors (Carrot Top), and it would get hit in minutes of being out, and let out again. It hit three fish pretty fast. I laughed and said, "I had that one in the beginning, but took it off...my bad!" I think I will have a few of those out again tomorrow. :)
Lisa was so excited to have caught her very first walleye, and could mark it off her bucket list, now. She said, "I don't even care if we catch another one, because I caught my walleye, and can scratch it off the list". I said, smiling, "You're my favorite kind of customer, but I think we can catch a few more this morning".
It was a beautiful day, and not as windy as was predicted in the forecast, so I was grateful, and pleasantly surprised. We all commented how nice it was today, and how everyone had needed a nice day like this one, to recharge the batteries.
We timed it right, because when we had our limit, and time was up, we headed in...the wind was picking up as we arrived back at the river, and whitecaps were forming, even close to shore. (It was an offshore wind today).
Lisa and Tanya both said that they had a great time. And, now Lisa is coming back in October to try some perch fishing with me, and that makes me happy!
Tomorrow, I have my long time customers, (who are more like family to me than just customers). Steve and Jeremy Chapman. Steve was my very first customer, 13 years ago, and Jeremy started coming with him 12 years ago, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow too.
The weather looks like it's going to be really nice again, so hopefully the fish are in a good mood, and will be biting.
We are doing a little later start....at 8am, since they are driving up from the Columbus area in the morning.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Report for the first weekend in April....4/7/24
by Capt Juls on 04/07/24Good morning...I'm not scheduled to go back out until Tuesday, this week.
As you know, my three day trip that was planned earlier this week was cancelled, due to wind, and then the next three day trip scheduled after that one was rescheduled, so it's been a long week of not fishing for me....deep sigh.
The lake is not as tore up as we all thought it would be after the wind and rain we had earlier in the week, so that's the good news. But, the rivers are dumping a lot of debris into the lake, so be careful and keep a lookout for floating logs that can damage your rig.
Water temps are in the 40s, so fish are being caught both pre-spawn and post-spawn, now.
Bandits, Dead Eyes, DHJ12's, P-10's, and other cranks are working well for the trollers. Speeds vary from 1.3 all the way up to 1.9mph, but 1.6-1.7 seems to be an overall good speed to catch them at.
Jiggers are catching on the reefs now, too.
We had a good satellite picture yesterday, so if you're fishing this weekend and see this...check it out...it will help you find the mixing water, where the most active fish will be hanging out, and save you some gas while you're out there running around.
Fish are being caught all over...from way west, and all the way to Cleveland, so just find the right colored water first, and use your electronics to mark some fish...and, if you find some fish in the right water, it shouldn't be hard to catch them. Key word..."shouldn't be". ;)
I have family coming down from Wisconsin today, so I won't be out until Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I still have Thursday and Friday open...weather permitting.
Good luck if you're headed out this weekend...be safe. :)
Capt Juls
I Wish this was an April Fools Joke....4/1/24
by Capt Juls on 04/01/24Mother Nature has ruined the three day trip that was scheduled for tomorrow through Thursday, with big wind and rain. I told my crew, that would be driving in from 11 hours away, to stay home, and save that drive for another time.
It's April 1st, and looking at the radar, it appears that it will be an all day rain today, so that's going to muddy up the rivers, that will be dumping into the lake in the next few days.
Tomorrow's wind is forecast to be 25-30mph out of the ENE. Wednesday's wind is 20-25 out of the SW, and Thursday's wind is forecast to be 23-29mph out of the NW. That, along with the muddy rivers dumping in, is going to dirty the water up inside again, so next weekend's trips will be very challenging.
Fish that were being caught the past couple of days, were a mix of both pre-spawn and post spawn fish, so the spawn is underway.
My next scheduled trip is a three-day trip this Friday through Sunday. Then, my sister and brother-in-law are coming down Sunday afternoon, to stay for a couple of nights, to watch the solar eclipse. I'll be taking that day off to hang out with them, and will be back at it on Tuesday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jason and Warren...3/28/24
by Capt Juls on 03/29/24Well, this report is not what I wanted to report after being off for since my last trip on March 3rd.
I usually don't schedule trips until the last week of March, but Mother Nature had given us a reprieve early in the month, so I took advantage of that, and got a couple of trips in, but she changed her mind mid-month and brought the cold and wind back.
The lake conditions right now are typical for this time of year, and yesterday, it was muddy inside and had mixing water a few miles out.
Jason brought his 12-year-old son up for another trip with me. The last trip was a fall trip two years ago, where we had a successful walleye trip, added with some bonus perch fishing, over by Vermilion.
Unfortunately, this last trip was not so successful. While it was fun fishing, the catching part of it was poor, for us. As I would learn later, the area that I started in, which was over by South Bass, would be where we should have stayed. But, we weren't marking fish, and my patience was running low, so we made a move over to the NE side of Kelly's.
It was strange, that my Humminbird wasn't marking any fish the entire way over there from South Bass. It had me scratching my head, and wondering if I was making the right move.
We set up on the SW corner of Kelly Island Shoal, out in 42' of water, and headed NNE from there. We started in some muddy water, so we had time to get set up, before hitting the mixing water.
We ran Bandits behind Off Shore boards at 125, 120, 100, 97, 90, 80, 70, and 60 back. We hit a pocket of fish, and the fun began, but it would only last a half at the most. We caught 5 fish, on the 125, 120, 97, and 90 leads, but threw one little 15" fish back, thinking we would keep catching, but that was the last fish we would catch.
Taco Salad (Stock Color), Potato Bread (Custom Color by Bruce Hochstetler), and Mint Condition (Custom Color by SlimShady Customs) took all the fish. Taco Salad (3), and the other two took one each.
Speed was 1.4-1.6mph on the Fish Hawk and 1.7-1.9 SOG.
Water temp on the Fish Hawk at 18' down was 40 degrees.
We tried picking up, and making another pass through the same area, but those fish were gone already, so we made another move, and tried again, but didn't catch any more fish.
We made another long move over to the NW side of Kelly's, but the wind was picking up, and we didn't mark any fish there, so we just decided to head in.
At least Warren was able to reel in those 5 fish that we did catch, and his arms were a little sore from it, so he was satisfied. :)
Jason was understanding, and said we will get them next time, so it's nice to know they will be back again, and that makes me happy.
I don't like not limiting out, but the day was full of sunshine, and wasn't as cold as we thought it was going to be, so it was fun to get out and go fishing. I just wish the catching had been better. As it turned out, from what my friends told me, had I just kept going north from where we started in the morning, we would have gotten into some fish.
I have to work on my patience....lol
My trip for Saturday has been rescheduled, due to rain and neither myself nor my client want to fish in a cold rain with an east wind, so he's rescheduling. My Sunday trip, is a regular from Wisconsin, that bought one of my boats, and likes to bring it down for a few days to fish, after he fishes with me, and, while Sunday looks fishable... Monday through Thursday looks like crap, so he's rescheduled to later in the month....it's also Easter Sunday, so it was an easy decision to reschedule him.
I didn't have a trip scheduled on Monday, but I do have a three-day trip scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, with some folks coming from 11 hours away, so we will look at the forecast again on Sunday, to see if Mother Nature will change her mind, and calm the &%^*$ down, and let us get their trip in. If the forecast doesn't change from what it's showing right now, I won't have them drive that far, just to sit on shore.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 2 with Eric Vogel 3/3/2024
by Capt Juls on 03/03/24Woke up early, and did the usual morning routine, before heading to the building where my boat is staying warm and dry, to pick her up.
Eric was on his second day of fishing with me, and was right on time, when I picked him up at 6AM. We hit the gas station for ice, and off we went to Mazurik's.
We launched at 6:30... and, while I waited for Eric to park the truck, the morning darkness was lifting, allowing me to see that the sky was full of clouds. I was hopeful, that after two days of cloud coverage at night, that the fish would be hungry, and biting, this morning. The air temp was 46 degrees. The wind forecast was for less than 10mph out of the south.
We took a right turn outside the break wall, and headed east. We started where we left off yesterday, and the Helix was still showing good marks, but they were really low to the bottom, as compared to yesterday.
We decided to give it a go, so the Terrova and the baby Merc were deployed and set to work together at a speed of 1.7-1.8 mph SOG (FishHawk was showing 1.3-1.4mph).
Eric ran the Bandits that were working yesterday, behind Off Shore boards at 70, 60, and 50 back, unassisted, and I ran some P-10s with 2oz snap weights at 45/45, 35/35, and 25/25.
(For those new to snap weights and are reading this for the first time, the numbers mean that you let out 45 feet of line and attach the snap weight...then, let out another 45 feet of line (total 90), and attach the planer board.)
We caught 4 nice eaters in that area, but it was slower than yesterday. Capt Bobby Greene told me that he had good marks where he was (4 miles from me...sorry, it wasn't my spot, so I can't give that up), so we picked up, and made the move over.
We picked a few, and figured out that the Green Clown P-10 at 35/35 was something they wanted, so I loaded up all three rods on my side with them, and we caught 5 on that color. Eric's side was slow, so I dug out more P-10s and gave him a Chrome Marvin, Chrome Perch, and Blue Chrome. The Chrome Marvin and the Perch caught 3 more. We were done at 9:45.
Water temp was 36.6 degrees over 37-38 feet of water today.
We headed in after we caught our limits, so Eric could get an early start back to Nebraska. He said he had a great time and learned a lot, so that makes me happy!
Saturday, I'll be at South Shore Marine for their event, with the Off Shore Tackle display, so if you got your tickets online, in advance, stop by and say, "Hi"! :)
I'm off until next Sunday and Monday, if Mother Nature lets us get out after them again. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Eric Vogel 3/2/2024
by Capt Juls on 03/02/24After a good 8 hours of sleep, I got up at 2am to have my coffee, check the weather apps, and get the dog outside to relieve himself. The weather apps informed me of a decent morning ahead. It was calling for cloudy, chilly, and damp to start the morning, but the fine mist that was in the air, early this morning, dissipated by the time we headed out of Mazurik's, at 7am.
Eric drove in from Nebraska yesterday, to today and tomorrow.
We headed east from the launch, and marked fish the entire way, so we didn't go far. We were over 35 feet of water, and the marks were mostly below 20', but there were several that were hanging in that 15-20' range that I like to target, so we broke out the Bandits, and P-10s, to start.
With only 6 lines running behind Off Shore boards, I let Eric run the Bandits on his side, and I put out 3 P-10s with 2oz snap weights. Working off the program that worked for me during the previous trip, I set the outside one at 35/35, the middle one 30/30, and the inside one 25/25. I'm sure I didn't let them run long enough, but I wasn't "feeling it", and took them off. I replaced them with Bill Lewis PWCs at (outside to inside) 70, 53, and 40 back. (The Bill Lewis PWCs run a lot deeper than Bandits, with shorter leads.... example: Bandit at 65 back, is 15' and the PWC at 65 back, is 20').
Eric ran the Black Headed Wonderbread at 70, RC Crush at 60, and the Red Headed Wonderbread at 50 back.
Speed was 1.2-1.4 on the FishHawk, and showing 1.7-19 on the Helix's GPS/SOG...as we went from west to east.
We just kept going around in slightly different circles, as we worked an area that had different groups of fish, moving west. When we would get over good marks, we usually got bit. The more scattered fish marks, were on the move, I think, and their goal was to keep moving west, but I could be wrong....I don't speak fish, so they couldn't tell me what their plans were for the day. :)
The Black Headed WB was by far the best color this morning, with RC Crush coming in with a close second. A "Slim Shady Custom" called, "Mint Condition" (pictured in the photos) caught the biggest girl of the morning...a nice 28 incher... (Eric released her).
Blue/Chrome at 60 back took one fish, and a Bill Lewis Black Headed WB at 40 back took one, too.
We switched out some colors that weren't producing and ended up running colors that all had taken a fish or two.
The bite was better earlier in the morning, and slowed down as the morning progressed. It was still a pretty steady bite, just not as fast as we all know it can be on this lake.
The water is still cold....35.5 off of Marblehead
Eric had fun, and is looking forward to fishing again tomorrow, and that makes me happy! :)
We will be out again tomorrow...same bat time and same bat channel.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Steve and Mick 2/26/2024
by Capt Juls on 02/26/24My alarm went off this morning, for the first time since last fall, and I woke up startled, wondering why it was going off...then, I remembered...I was going fishing! I jumped out of bed to get my coffee, and make sure the weather was still going to be nice today. To my delight, it was.
Steve called me the other day, asking if he and his friend, Mick, could get out with me today, so I checked the weather and wind forecasts, and told him, "Yes".
I don't usually run this early in the season, but with the mild weather upon us, I thought it was a good idea to take advantage of the nice weather, while we have it.
My boat is over in heated storage at the moment, so I left the house at 5:45 to go over to the bldg and grab her. Then, I hit the gas station, to gas up the Vexus and get ice for the coolers, and headed to Huron.
Steve and Mick drove in from MI this morning, and met me at the Huron ramp a little after 7. We were to meet at 7:30, but as usual, I was early. I had time to get everything set up, before they arrived, and was finished by the time they showed up, so we launched a little early.
We headed out of the river, and headed east towards Vermilion...searching water from 38-44' of water. I wasn't seeing the kind of marks I wanted to see, since Mick has never caught a walleye over 28", and was hopeful to do that today, and I figured that the water would be a little cleaner to the east, than what I was seeing out in front of Huron.
I had already used up an hour looking, so I took a friend's advice, who said he was working "stained" water at Huron, but was loaded with good marks...to go and fish over that way. So, off we went...headed back west.
When we got there, I could clearly see the cavitation plate, and the prop was slightly visible, so I was more positive that fishing would be okay there. The fish marks were all sitting below the 30 line, and not coming up, so I'm guessing with the clear sky last night, and the back end of a full moon, that the fish were feeding heavily overnight, and would get hungry again more towards the afternoon. And, from what I heard on the radio, it sounded like a lot of people were struggling, and asking if anything is working. The responses were few.
We set up with Smithwick P-10s on both sides, running with 2oz snap weights behind the Off Shore boards. We only put 7 nice fish in the box this morning, and lost 5 others, that didn't hook themselves well enough.
Most of the fish came on a Fire Tiger color at 45/45...(for those new to snap weights...45/45 means, that you put a weight on at the 45 mark, and then let out another 45' of line (total line out is 90), then, put the board on.
50/45, 45/45, 40/40 all caught.
At one point we took the P-10s off the port side and replaced them with Bandits. The Black Headed Wonder Bread at 120 back (unassisted) took two fish, and lost one . The other colors got changed out and set deeper, but the outside board was the only one to go, each time.
We were running 1.2-1.4 mph, but 1.3 was showing every time we caught a fish.
The FishHawk was showing 1.3, but the GPS was showing 1.7-1.8 mph.
Steve and Mick had a fun day, though, and said they want to come back again, soon, and will be watching the forecast. I'm looking forward to it, because they were a lot of fun to fish with. Both of them had positive attitudes and were just happy to be on the lake, on a nice day, spending time together.
I'm happy to report that everything was working the way it should be, after sitting for a couple months. However, I have to do the latest updates on the Humminbirds tomorrow, so fingers are crossed they both update without any issues. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
