Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Mindy and Melissa...8/31/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/31/26The dogs woke me up half an hour early, so I had extra time to spend with them out on the back deck. The coffee was hot and going down well. They cruised the fenceline looking for any critters that might be lurking close. They found none, but came back looking like they had just done their good deed for the day.
The air temp was 73 degrees, the sky was cloudy, and the wind was light and variable out of the SSW. My weather app (NOAA-Clime) notified me that rain would be starting in 2 hours and 45 minutes, so I checked the RadarScope app to see where that rain system was at the time...and to check if it was a heavy rain or just a misty rain. The radar showed it was a misty kind of rain, so even if we got rained on, it wouldn't be bad or last too long.
I was meeting Melinda, "Mindy", and her friend Melissa at the Huron ramp at 6:30. I wanted to be launched by 6:45 since sunrise is now 7 a.m., because I like to get a pic of the sunrise out on the water.
I left the house at 5 a.m., and hit the gas station for some gas for the Vexus and some ice for the coolers. Then, hit the highway to Huron. I got there at 5:45, and proceeded to ready the boat. I wanted to get there early, so I had time to clean the boat with a towel and some spray wax, and shine her up. I hadn't had time to do it yesterday, so I made time this morning.
It was perfect timing...they showed shortly after I was all done. It was 6:15, so they were early, too. The morning was starting out very well...lol
It got even better when I asked a gentleman readying his boat, "Would you be willing to dump us in and park the truck? I have a spare, so you could just lock the keys in the truck. I have two women today that are not comfortable backing me in." He said, "Sure! Not a problem, just give me a minute". I didn't get his name, but I wished I had, so I could thank him here. But if he reads this....he knows who he is. :)
We were headed straight out of the river to the north. The Garmin was picking up fish along the way, and when the marks were more plentiful, I shut her down. The Ulttera when down and the Baby Merc was deployed. The Ulterra ran on power level 5, and the iPilot kept the boat on a northerly course.
After the FishHawk went down to 18', and started registering the speed, I adjusted the Baby Merc's RPMs with the "iTroll" controller to hit a speed of 2.3-2.5 mph.
The dipsies went out first. The zero settings were set to 25 back and 44 back to start. I normally run a three setting on the two outside dipsies, but today I ran a 2 setting at 53 and 65 back. BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. Green and slivers did best. The orange one and the blue one I normally use didn't work today, so they didn't stay out long.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites with 2oz run behind Off Shore boards caught a handful of walleye. The "Purple Tiger" at 50/47 (total of 97' of line out behind the board) caught 4, and the "Red Tiger" at 50/24 (74 total) caught 1. The rest were caught on the spoons.
Two kitties hit the net. The first one was maybe 2-3 pounds, and the second one was around 8 pounds. I didn't weigh it, but it was heavy to lift. Melissa achieved her personal best big fish to date, which was only a 22 incher and caught the catfish, too. She had never caught a catfish before, either, so she kept it.
Melinda is a retired people doctor, and helps a farm rescue (I think...or, it's something like that), and Melissa has her own dog grooming business. These two friends like to get together and do things from time to time. Today, it was fishing. We had tried a few times earlier this season to get out, but it was either Mother Nature being bitchy, or a runaway adventurous dog that stayed out for 6 nights and 7 days. He finally got reunited with Melissa, and all is well again. :)
The weather was perfect, and it never rained on us at all. The wind was SSE out of Huron, and was really nice for a few hours and then picked up a little as the morning went on. I decided to turn the nose of the Vexus around and go into the waves as we made our way back to shallower water. The Garmin was showing fewer marks over 45' of water than it did over 35-40' water.
It just dawned on me that I never looked at the water temperature, so I can't tell you what it was. I'm sure it's still in the mid-seventies, though.
It was a grind early, but as the pieces of the puzzle became clearer, we were able to put a program together that gave us 10 nice eaters and one big kitty in the cooler.
Mindy and Melissa both said they had a great time, and want to do it again next spring, and that makes me happy!
I've rescheduled tomorrow's trip to mid-October. It's going to get hot the next couple of days, and the bite is tough, so I'm okay with that.
I'll be back out for 4 days next week with three different groups.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dan, Stephanie, and Greg...8/27/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/27/26Late yesterday afternoon, I got a call from Dan asking if I had this morning open to go fishing. He didn't care whether we were chasing walleye or perch, and said he had never gone perch fishing before, so that's what I chose. Everyone should go perch fishing at least once in their life. It's relaxing, and can be a blast when the bite is going good!
Dan is here in town with his co-worker, Greg. They fly a private company jet for someone who is here in town taking care of business. Since they had a day to goof off, he called his girlfriend Stephanie to see if she wanted to go fishing, too. She did. She's a police officer in Chicago and had some vacation days to use up, so she drove the 4-hour trip over to go with us.
I picked them up from the Fairfield Inn at 6 a.m., and we headed to Hi-Way Bait to see if they had any minnows. They did, but they were Goldies...not Emeralds. :(
I bought 3 scoops of those, and had about 4-5 scoops of frozen Sand Shiners with us, too.
We launched from Mazurik's at 6:45(ish) and headed to the east side of Kelly's. I decided to go that way up to the east side of Middle Island, because the wind was out of the west at 8-10 mph, and the lee side of the island would be a faster and more comfortable ride. I was right. I even got to open up the V-10 for a bit..as it was a 6" chop for the length of the island.
I would watch the Garmin and hit "Mark" as we passed over some good marks, as we headed up to my original destination. So, if that spot was a bust, we could come back to these areas to try.
We found some good marks up by the east side of Middle Island over 39 feet of water. I got everyone set up with rods and baits. They were using the "Fishing Addiction Flies", and I had on one of my homemade crappie rigs with chartreuse beads. I hadn't even gotten my minnows in the water yet, and Dan hooked into a real dandy. That got us all excited, and I thought we hit the jackpot. But, just like a nightmare tournament day...where you catch a fish in the first 5 minutes and then nothing...it was like that. lol
It took a little while before any more were caught, but they were caught close enough together to keep us interested and staying there. The fish were moving in and out of the area.
With Spot-Lock, the lines are usually staying vertical over the side, but the undercurrent was strong up there...from the NE to the SW, and had the lines slanting.
Eventually, we would leave that spot and find the school again...set up, and then catch a few, only to have them leave us again. In total, we hit 6 spots. Three up there and three on the way back down (spots that I had marked earlier)
The bites we did have were both super light and aggressive. The light biters snatched a lot of minnows, but the more aggressive ones took a ride with us, or fed a seagull. We didn't catch a lot of White Perch, so the seagulls were sad. Small perch went back, mostly no worse for the wear.
The fishing was fun, and the company was great! They are very interesting people, and it was a lot of fun getting to know them. They all said they had a great time, and Dan said he wants to come back next spring and do some trolling for Walleye, and that makes me happy.
He has his own boat, but usually does jigging or drift casting from it.
The weather was absolutely beautiful this morning, and a nice day to be on the water....even if the fish didn't want to cooperate like we wanted them to.
My next trip is with Melinda Phinney and her friend on Monday the 31st. They want to do walleye, so we'll probably launch at Vermilion to try our luck.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Frank...8/25/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/25/26Slept in until 2:30 this morning. The cooler nights are making sleeping deeper easier. I did wake up at midnight to go pee, and noticed that the moonlight was very bright. It's building up to a full moon that's happening on the 28th. I'm not a fan of fishing during full moons, especially if there is a clear sky at night. The fish eat in abundance during the night, and that can make it tougher when the sun comes up.
The back deck forecast showed a temperature of 64 degrees, clear to partly cloudy skies, and a light wind out of the NW. By 5 a.m., the wind would switch to the SSW.
I picked Frank up at the Whitecaps Motel at 5:40, and we headed to Huron. I stopped to pick up some ice for the coolers before hitting the highway. We chatted on the ride over, and Frank explained that he just needed to get out of the house for a couple of days, and his happy place is floating in a boat on a lake. He lost his wife last October to a sudden illness, and the house can get "suffocating" at times.
Frank has fished with me plenty of times over the years, but usually has his partner, Ray, along for the trip. Ray couldn't make it this time, due to his need to finish a deck job he was doing for a lady back home in Michigan.
The sky was beginning to lighten on the horizon when we arrived in Huron at 6:15...sunrise wouldn't happen until 6:51 a.m. We launched at 6:30 and took our time heading out of the river.
There were a lot of good marks just outside the river in 33-34' of water, but I kept heading out towards the south side of the dumping grounds. The Garmin was showing fewer marks out there in 36 feet of water, so I pointed the Vexus back 180 degrees and headed back to the shallower water. When the fish marks showed up again, I shut her down and deployed the Ulterra and Baby Merc, and set a course to the east.
The FishHawk went down, and the iTroll was dialed in to set a speed at the baits to 2.3-2.5 mph. The water temp was 75 degrees at 18' down.
Since there were only two of us, and we could only run 6 lines, I started with 4 dipsies and two Off Shore boards. I'm not going to report on the cranks, because they only caught one giant White Perch the entire time they ran.
The dipsies were running two per side. The zero setting was on the inside rod and, the three setting was set on the outside rods.
Zero settings were at 28 and 30 back to start. Eventually, the best numbers were 38 and 44.
The three settings were at 58 and 64 back.
BadMo, Yeck, Scorpion, and Stinger spoons were used, and all caught fish.
When the boat was even with the Huron lighthouse again, we turned to head west over the same 33-35' of water. This time, it would take us as far as the west side of the white condos, before we turned to head back east again.
The wind had laid down, so the wacky waves from the SSW hitting the NW rollers were dying down. Making it easier for Frank's sea legs to start working better.
The early bite was slow, but picked up about an hour and a half before our time was up, and we ended up putting Frank's 6 walleye and one big perch in the cooler for him to take home. One walleye was deformed in the tail end, so he got lucky and went back in the lake. His deformity let him stay just under the 15" line on the ruler. If he had been normal, it probably would have been a 16" fish.
Frank said his freezer is packed with fish, so this trip wasn't a meat run for him. He just wanted to relax, have fun, and learn the art of using dipsies without tangling....and we did just that. By the time we finished, Frank was definitely more proficient in using and setting dipsies. I love them; they are the easiest presentation, and fastest to reset, too.
It was a beautiful morning to be on the lake. Frank said he had a great time, and that's all that matters.
He and Ray will be back in November for their annual trip with me, and that makes me happy!
I'm off the rest of the week, but have a test-ride to give to a person interested in a Vexus DVX22 one of the days this week, so there's that.
My next trip is with two ladies who want to go chase walleye on Monday the 31st. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Rick and Donna...8/19/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/19/26Rick and Donna are on a road trip for their 41st anniversary next week. Camping their way to NY, Vermont, and someplace else, (I can't remember), and stopped to camp at East Harbor State Park on their way east. Rick contacted me last weekend to see if I was free today to take himself and his wife Donna out perch fishing.
Rick had mentioned that Donna was prone to seasickness, so if it was going to be too rough, we would just cancel.
Yesterday, I had texted Rick saying, "You might want to find something else to do tomorrow, it's going to be rough, and it's supposed to rain in the morning...I don't think your wife would like this trip".
He texted back, asking if we could make the call in the morning...to which I said, "Of course".
So, I got up at the usual 2 a.m. time, and hit the back deck with some coffee and two happy dogs. The forecast changed. The winds were not from the WNW anymore, but were supposed to blow from the WSW instead. That's more doable, but it was still going to be rough up where I wanted to go perch'n.
I was to meet them at Mazurik's at 7:45, so we could be launched by 8:00. I left my house at 6:30 and drove out to Hi-Way Bait to see if they had any minnows. I had stopped out there yesterday when they had some nice shiners, and bought 10 scoops, so I could freeze them. I just want to make sure I have some bait to use when the bait shops are out of minnows.
They had Goldies this morning, so I bought 2 scoops. I had about 4 scoops of frozen shiners along for the ride, too, so we had plenty of bait.
I explained that we could stick close, so we would be more protected from the wind, and probably find some perch there, too. There would be solid 2s and 3s up the middle where I wanted to go, and they agreed.
There were plenty of fish out in front of East Harbor in 19 feet of water, but more scattered. We tried two spots. The first one wasn't bad, and we caught fish. We put 10 in the box before deciding to move a little bit. I didn't bring the Ulterra up and just went slow. We went a little further west and found some more good marks on the Garmin, so I hit the Spot-Lock button. Good marks, but fewer bites. "Let's try down by the lighthouse", I said.
As we were headed east, some good marks showed up over 26 feet of water out in front of the Lakeside pier. Down went the Ulterra, and the Spot-Lock engaged.
We would spend the rest of our time there. It was a little rough, but Donna was completely fine and caught fish. The highlight fish of the day was Rick's 13-incher. It had such pretty colors on it, too. There were a lot of little fish thrown back, and we ended up only keeping 27, but Rick and Donna were happy with that.
They both used "Fishing Addiction Flies", while I used one of my own homemade crappie rigs with charteuse beads.
It was a fun morning with good company and good music. I could hear them both singing along to my 70s Playlist very quietly...lol It was very relaxing.
"Where's a good place to eat?", asked Donna. "The Orchard", I replied. They're the best in town, and it's a beautiful place. I also told them I would discount the price, so they could put that towards their anniversary dinner. (Note: I only did that, because we may have only used a whopping 3 gallons of gas today, and I was feeling generous...lol)
I hope they do go there and enjoy a great meal!
Tomorrow's got a NE wind forecast, and I was scheduled to take two ladies walleye fishing. We are rescheduling that one for August 31st instead. Where I think I need to go for walleye wouldn't be fun with a 12-15 mph NE wind.
I picked up a 2-day trip for the weekend, and they are game for either perch or walleye, so I'll wait and see what the forecast is going to do before deciding which species we will target.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Laurie, Jordyn, and Tim...8/15/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/15/26The "Back-Deck Forecast" this morning was calling for cloudy skies and light winds out of the east. The wind would die down around 9:00 or 10:00. The air temp was 76 degrees.
After my morning routine with the dogs, getting showered, and loading the boat with misc stuff, I was out the door at 4:30 a.m. I wasn't meeting the Spieth family (and a friend) until 6 a.m.
I left early, so I could find some live minnows... I remember how long it took me to do that the other day. I got to Hi-Way Bait, but they were out. Matt said the guy that was delivering the load this morning canceled the delivery, due to 80-90% of the Goldies being dead already. I stopped off at PC Party Mart, but by 5:55 he wasn't there yet, so I didn't think that they had any minnows....I left. I went to Herb's, but they were out, too.
I hit the Speedway to get some ice. Luckily, I made a trip to find minnows earlier this week, and froze about 15 scoops, so we had some to use today.
I had texted Laurie to tell her I might be a little late, due to the running around. I got there at 6:20. We loaded up and launched. Laurie, her daughter Jordyn, and their friend Tim were excited and in a really good mood. I heard Jordyn say she only got 3 hours of sleep last night, but she was wide awake now.
The 400 pushed the Vexus at a cruising speed of 25-30 mph. It was a little rough this morning, but not too bad. The east wind pushes against the natural current in the south passage and makes it rougher than other places on the lake.
Once we got to the north side of Kelly's, I headed towards Gull Island Shoal. I was watching the Garmin as we traveled, and when it marked something good, we stopped. The Ulterra was lowered. When I got the boat to stop completely, with its nose into the wind, I hit the Spot-Lock button... she held perfectly.
I got everyone set up with a rod, some bait, and towels to cover all the carpeting where they were sitting. Perch fishing is very messy, so towels make for an easy clean up. I still have to scrub the boat tomorrow, but it won't be as bad as it could have been after 3 trips. It's mostly the floor...it needs a good scrubbing.
Laurie and the young people said they had a great time, and so did I! They are very laid back and have optimistic/positive attitudes. They were a lot of fun to fish with. Laurie has already made plans to come back in October... to do either another perch trip, or...maybe, change it up to walleye. I'll be looking forward to it.
I was using my own homemade crappie rigs, and they were all using "Fishing Addiction Flies" (also Crappie Rigs). I add the 3rd "Hook On Clip" to the weight at the bottom of the "FA" rig, so that one is lying on the bottom when it's down below.
The minnows I froze in "Wintergreen Rubbing Alcohol" worked well enough, I guess, because the cooler held 60 fish that weighed 20 pounds at Bay's Edge Fish Cleaning. They were very happy with the catch today, and that makes me happy!
I'm not scheduled until the 19th and 20th this coming week, so it's time to clean the boat, clean the house, and weed the gardens. If I get anything for Tuesday, I'll be sure to post a report. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Terry and Becky Frank...8/13/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/13/26It was a muggy 67 degrees on the back-deck this morning. There was a light breeze from the SW, and the sky was cloudy. Our perch trip was good to go.
I told Terry and Becky that I would be at the Whitecaps at 5:30 to pick them up, but, as usual, I showed up 15 minutes early. To my surprise, they were already outside and ready to go. I took my time going through town and headed out to Hi-Way Bait to pick up some shiners and some ice. I was hoping they still had some minnows after getting some in yesterday. They did, but there weren't many left, but enough for me to get 5 scoops for the three of us.
They were a mix of Emeralds and Sand Shiners....I'd say it was a 50/50 mix.
It was still dark out when we got to Mazurik's. I pulled over near the bathrooms to ready the boat. We would be waiting about a 1/2 hour before launching the boat, and it would be a much shorter distance to walk if they needed to use the bathroom before heading out. I know I always do! ;)
We launched at 6am and headed north... to North Bass. The first area I was interested in was "Lucy's Point"... (For those wondering what "Lucy's" is, it's the green buoy off the NE corner of Middle Bass). Much to my disappointment, the Garmin didn't mark much there, so we kept going...sweeping the nose of the Vexus to the NW...towards the shipping channel buoys on the northeast side of North Bass.
The Garmin picked up some fish between Lucy's and the green buoy, so I stopped over the marks and deployed the Uterra. The Spot-Lock was engaged and held us over 26 feet of water. I got Terry and Becky set up with a couple of perch rods, showed them the various ways to hook the minnows, but said, "It's not a rule. Hook them however you like, but those little Houdini's will steal a bait quickly if it's not holding onto that hook very well".
Terry and Becky love to fish for Crappie, so I only had to tell them once how I work the crappie rig, with its 1 1/4oz pancake weight, to catch perch. The first spot was entertaining, but it was all small perch that we threw back. I think it was 15 itty-bitties caught before the first keeper went in the box.
It was the same story at all the spots...east side of North Bass, in the middle channel between North Bass and Middle Bass, the west side of Sugar Island, and the last spot on the east side of South Bass.
Mostly little perch with some White Perch, Sheephead, Gobies, and one out-of-place Smallmouth Bass were caught.
Becky caught the bass, and while reeling it in, she asked, "Are Sheephead brown?" I looked at Terry and said, "OMG! She's got a smallmouth!" I grabbed the net and landed it for her, so she could get a picture with it. She put it back in the lake and watched a 3-4 pounder swim off. She was very excited, because it was her first smallie, and Terry and I were very happy for her. :)
I think it was the 4th spot in 25' of water by Sugar Island, where we had just set up, when both Terry and I got our baits down to the bottom... just set the bails on the reels when we both got hit by big bites. Both of us pulled up a nice perch 10+ inches. I thought we had finally found "THE" spot, but it wasn't meant to be. They must have been the only two large perch down there, because it went back to being little fish, after little fish, after little fish again. (Deep frustrating sigh...)
Terry and Becky wanted to make sure I knew that they were having fun, even though the cooler wasn't filling up with keepers. "This is more than just catching fish to us", said Terry...adding, "It's the whole experience to us. The great weather, the good company, the boat, the ride, the scenery, the birds...everything!" Becky agreed, and that made me happy! They want to come back next season to do walleye, since I told them I would show them how to set lines while trolling.
I have another perch trip tomorrow, but am waiting on a reply from the customer. I gave him tomorrow's forecast of rain and an east wind, and the info from today's less-than-stellar catch. I'll see what he wants to do. I told him we could wait and see what the forecast says in the morning, if that's what he wants to do.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mike, Kathy, and Mariane...8/12/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/12/26
Short report today, due to time and stuff to do...
Picked up Mike, Kathy, and their granddaughter, Mariane, from the Whitecaps Motel at 5:30.
The first stop was Hi-Way Bait, but they were out completely. Then, I backtracked to PC Party Mart, and he gave me the last 4 scoops of Goldies that he had (1/3 of them were dead). So, I made one last stop at Bay's Edge, and she gave me the last 1 1/2 scoops of tiny Sand Shiners that she had. I wasn't feeling very positive about was in the bucket.
I had frozen ones with me that I froze yesterday, after running around for 3 hours looking for some to freeze. All I could find were Sand Shiners, but that's okay, because they work, too. I figured we would make do with what live ones we had and the frozen ones, too. So, we headed to Mazurik's to launch.
As I was getting the boat ready, I realized that I hadn't picked up any ice for the coolers, and we would need to run back to Hi-Way Bait to get some. After securing the boat back on the trailer, off we went.
As I walked through their door, Dwight said, "We've got minnows...he just showed up a few minutes ago". I said, "It's a good thing I forgot to get ice, or I wouldn't have come back this morning". I dumped the pathetic survivors of the morning's search, and had Dwight put some fresh clean water in my bucket along with 5 scoops of nice-sized lively shiners. It was a mix of Emeralds and Sand Shiners, so I was very happy with that.
We made it back to Mazurik's and launched by 7am. I headed to the lighthouse first, and found some there. Not many, but the marks were good. I think they were just not ready to bite yet. We gave them the normal 1/2 hour, and then headed towards Green Island to try over there. On our way, the Garmin picked up on some decent marks just east of Mouse Island, so I stopped to give it a try to see what they were. They were mostly White Perch, so we left and went to a spot south of Green over 29.4' of water.
As usual, there were a lot more little perch biting, and we threw so many back....If they make it for another couple of years, the perch fishing will be pretty darn good!
My crew was a lot of fun to fish with, and very interesting people. Mike and Kathy live in a cabin in the woods, and are homesteaders to an extent, and Mariane is an accomplished golfer, going to college in Florida. She got a full-ride scholarship for her golfing achievements, too. I asked her what her best score is, and she said a "68 from the men's tees". Wow! That's really good! lol
She's majoring in accounting.
They had a good time, and so did I. Mike said he wants to go again, but maybe for walleye next time, and that makes me happy! :)
I have perch trips for the next three days, so hopefully, tomorrow's trip is more successful in putting more perch through the "Catch-Counter".
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Matt, Dan, and Adam...8/8/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/08/26The rain that was forecast for the morning hours stayed to the south, so there was no rain up here on the shore of the lake. My back deck was dry when the dogs and I went out for our routine forecast check.
The sky was partly cloudy, the air temp was 70 degrees with 85% humidity, and the wind was light out of the SW. The wind forecast was calling for 10-20 out of the SW later in the morning. The wind forecast for the Huron Vermilion area was for the same but more SSE than SW. The plan was to launch out of Huron.
I decided to use up some of neighbor Jerry's zucchini and whip up a batch of chocolate zucchini muffins for my guys this morning, since I had a couple of hours before I had to head out. They turned out really yummy.
My guys were staying at an Airbnb, so we met at the Walmart here in town at 5 a.m. so we could ride together over to Huron. RT 6 East exit is still closed even though it's been 60 days (today), and their sign says it would be closed from June 8th "for 60 days"....so, it shouldn't be long.
Take note, though, that coming home, I couldn't get back on RT 2 from RT 6 West, and had to take a longer route back to Milan Rd to get back onto Rt 2....so, expect that little inconvenience if you go to Huron.
After they jumped in the truck, we hit Hi-Way Bait, because I had left my nightcrawlers at home, and wanted to have some in the boat in case we needed them, so I had to buy more. When we got there, there was a long line of fishermen waiting on minnows that hadn't arrived yet. I went in the side door and grabbed some crawlers, so we could get back on the road.
I got in the truck and remembered I hadn't gotten any ice yet, so we would need to stop at a gas station, too....deep sigh. I forget stuff when my routine gets interrupted, apparently. lol
We made it to Huron by 5:40 and were headed down the river by 6 a.m. Sunrise would be at 6:34. My plan was to start inside near Old Woman Creek and head NNE from there. There were good marks in the area, so we started there. The wind would be picking up in a little while.
The water was 26' deep there, so the dipsey leads weren't going to be very long. The zero settings were set at 20 on the port side, and 25 on the starboard side.
The three settings were set at 40 on the port side and 50 on the starboard side.
A mixture of Yeck, BadMo, and Scorpion Stinger spoons was used.
The FishHawk speed was 2.5mph with the Ulterra on power level 5 and the Baby Merc pushing us along from behind and being dialed in with the iTroll.
Bill Lewis PWCs with 2oz snap-weights started out on the starboard side behind the Off Shore boards, and a new Walleye X bait called the "Paladin" was set on the port side. There isn't any data in the "Precision Trolling Data" app for that one or the "Halieou" (another new Walleye x bait), but Justin Seiverding sent me a pic of a handwritten note stating the Paladin will dive 11' with 25' of line out, 16' at 50 back, 20' at 75 back, and 22' at 100 back.
The "Halieou" will go 12' at 25 back, 18' at 50 back, 22' at 75 back, and 25' at 100 back.
So, the "Paladins" were set at 70, 50, and 25 back to start.
As we got out over deeper water, the leads were changed to 100, 75, and 50 back.
The PWCs were set at 50/25, 50/15, and 50/13 to start and would be changed up to run one of the "Halieou" lures on the outside at 100 back, and a couple of Bandits on the two inside boards. The Halieou caught one fish, but it was just under, so it went back. The cranks just were not working this morning. The dipsies did most of the work, but it was a continual removal of itty-bitty walleyes from 4-10 inches long that were just hanging on.
We did manage to get 10 nice eaters in the cooler by the end of the trip though, and the guys were happy with that. They had fished with Capt Pete Scheid yesterday, and got 17 casting for them. They are going out with Capt Pete again tomorrow, so they will have some more walleye to go in the freezer, I'm sure.
I did try using a crawler on a worm-burner, but it never got touched, so I didn't bother with changing out all the cranks for harnesses. I just wasn't feeling it, and you all know how much I like using crawlers. lol
We fished from Huron up to the inside Vermilion Dumping grounds, and covered water from 26' to 42'.
Matt has fished with me previously, and brought Dan and Adam along this time. Dan is an avid fisherman, and is obviously a bass angler, because he had no balance issues when standing on the Livewell to do stuff. Not that I like people up there, but he seemed right at home up there, so I let him.
Adam has been fishing before, but he's not an avid angler. He did really well though, and learned how to set the dipsies well enough that I didn't have to keep watch the entire time. All did great, and it was a lot of fun for me, because they all had a positive attitude and there was no pressure put on me to make sure we got limits. It was just a fun morning, and I look forward to Matt coming again next August...who he brings changes. :)
Matt owns a restaurant called "Spanky's Sports Bar and Grill", and is known for the best pizza in Racine, WI. One of these times, I want to try it when I'm headed home for Christmas.
I'm off tomorrow, so I'm going fun fishing with my neighbors and our friend, Keith. We'll be using Keith's boat to go perch'n. I get to just be a passenger for the morning. Yay!
My next trip is a perch trip on Monday, so we will actually be scouting for that trip tomorrow.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Rick Rensch...8/4/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/04/262 a.m. back deck forecast for the morning was clear skies, 64 degrees, and an absent wind. iWindSurf said the wind forecast west of the islands would be 5mph out of the south....in other words, a beautiful day to go perch fishing.
Rick Rensch was driving in from Indiana this morning, and was meeting me at Catawba at 5:45, so we could be launched by 6a.m.
I left the house at 4:45 and took the slow way through town, out to Hi-Way Bait to pick up some ice and some Emerald Shiners. Their shiners this morning were nice ones. The perfect size to cut in half. I like to use the tail on one hook and the head on another hook instead of whole minnows. I tend to think that the smell of the innards draws them in to check it out.
I got down to Catawba at 5:15 and readied the boat. Rick showed up at 5:30, but since it was still pretty dark out, we waited... and launched at 5:45.
I didn't have any intel on where to go after this two-day blow, so I simply headed NW out of the launch and started searching. I was headed towards D-Can, but kept an eye on the Garmin for any tell-tale signs of perch down below.
We stopped once between F and E Cans and gave it 20 minutes. There were good marks when I hit the Spot-Lock on the Ulterra, but they wouldn't bite. The bottom was a little softer than I like to sit over, too, so we continued on up towards D-Can.
The bottom wasn't rock, but it was harder than the first spot, and there were marks, so I was going to give it more time than just 20 minutes.
There was a pack of boats starting to congregate on the west side of the cans, and only a handful of us on the east side of the Can. We fished over 26 feet of water.
The bite started slow, with some little ones, but eventually got steadier with some keepers coming in over the side. It was about a 3:1 ratio of little ones to keepers, so it took us from about 7a.m to 10:30 to get our 2-person limit of keepers.
Rick was happy with the size, and wants me to keep him informed on the bite, because he wants to come back for more...and that makes me happy! :)
My next trip will be Friday with Jack Scott and his two friends. We will be launching out of Huron or Vermilion and chasing walleye over in Lorain again. If the wind forecast is anything like it was last Saturday, we'll launch out of Huron. But, if it's stronger, we'll launch out of Vermilion and save 10 miles on the boat ride.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bill, Brock, and Bennett...8/1/2026
by Capt Juls on 08/01/26If you've been reading my fishing reports over the past 15 years, you already know the morning routine...grab a cup of coffee, a couple of dog treats, and take the dogs out on the back deck to check the morning's forecast.
I knew there was a chance of showers for the morning, but the thunderstorms were predicted to show up by mid to late afternoon today. RadarScope was showing some sprinkles scattered throughout NW Ohio and over to Illinois. My plan was to launch at Huron this morning, so when looking at the radar image, it looked like everything would miss that area...I was relieved.
The wind forecast was perfect. Light winds out of the SE...the lake would be 1 foot or less where I wanted to fish. The sky was cloudy, so the full(ish) moon wasn't able to shine on the lake overnight, and maybe those night-feeding walleye would be hungrier this morning. The air temp was 74 degrees.
Bill's wife Lana had called me and set up this trip for them. Initially, it was supposed to be herself, Bill, and their son (either Bennett or Brock, I don't know which one), but yesterday she said that their other son would be taking her place in the boat. So, I had Bill, Brock, and Bennett this morning.
I picked them up from the Whitecaps Motel at 5:00. We headed to the gas station for some ice for the coolers, then hit the highway. We were Huron bound. We arrived at the launch at 5:40, and I got the boat ready to launch. The Vexus was headed out the river at 5:50a.m. It was still pretty dark, and there was no one else there launching at the time, which surprised me since it was a Saturday, and it was going to be a nice day.
I knew the lake would be calm enough to take a comfortable ride up towards Lorain from Huron. I didn't want to use Vermilion's launch, because I thought it might get busy, and it's a very tight launch site. Huron's is so much better, so we went out of Huron. I was right; the ride was fun, and it was easy. Even though we could have gone fast, I didn't want to because, first and foremost, the big 400 drinks more gas the faster it goes. I kept it at 30-35 mph on the way up, because if a big log shows up...I would have time to see it and react.
We went about 13 miles before stopping over some fish the Garmin was marking. "This looks like a good place to start", I said. I deployed the Ulterra, which always gets approval from my customers who have never seen one deploy on its own before, and the Baby Merc. The Ulterra was set on a course towards the Lorain Dump. We were SSW of the bottom of it and over a good contour on the map.
Our water depth where we started was 46'. You'll be able to see the line I was on if you enlarge the Garmin screen behind Bennett in his big fish pic. ;)
We made one long pass towards the dump, turned and headed a bit north for a bit, then turned the boat completely around to head back over the same fish we had just gone over. The bite became faster going that way than going the other direction. We had their 3-person limit in the cooler by 9:15. My 6 were in the cooler by 9:45.
None of them have ever fished with linecounter reels, dipsies, or planer boards before, but were excited to learn it. I showed them how everything works, how to set dipsies, attach the snap-weights and Off Shore boards, and explained the must-do's for each.
Dipsies HAVE to go down with the "Clicker" (tension) ON. The reason being, if it's free-spooled, it will dive too fast, and the leader will get wrapped around the dipsey, making it useless.
For the snap-weight, the line must be behind the pin in the center of the OR-16 (red clip), so it doesn't come off the line until you take it off.
The Snapper release on the back of the Off Shore board must be secured with the pin pointing down in front of the release (not back and pointing up), because once the front arm is released from the main line, the board swings around and is only secured to the line by the Snapper release. If the release is attached wrong, there is a chance that the line could come out of it... and then we would have to reel everything back in and go chase a board. That's never fun.
The guys did a great job today and had a fun time. This was their first time catching walleye. The teeth were a subject of conversation a few times this morning.
Brock was promoted to "First Mate" since he caught on quite easily, and between the two of us, we could keep enough lines in the water to keep the catching going.
Bennett had the lucky touch and caught the two biggest fish...a 25 1/2 and 27 inch walleye, so he was happy.
What worked...
Dipseis...early on, I had the port side zero setting at 28 back. The starboard side was set at 50 back. The "28 back", on an Orange Yeck spoon, caught the 27-incher that Bennett reeled in. Eventually, the port side was set to 50, and the starboard side was set to 60 back.
The three setting on the port side ran at 70-75 back, and the starboard side ran at 80-85 back. BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. I don't think color really matters over there right now. If it wiggles and passes by them, they will eat it.
Ran the same Bill Lewis PWC Lite program I ran yesterday. 2 oz snap-weights at 50/47 (97 total line out), 50/25 on the port side. On the starboard side, they ran 50/43 and 50/30.
Speed was 2.5 mph on the FishHawk.
The bite was better today than it was up by the Weather Buoy yesterday. The fish weren't tight to the bottom like yesterday, either, so that helped. The quality of fish was better than I expected...and that made me happy!
My perch trip for tomorrow has been rescheduled to Tuesday, due to a forecast of gusty NE winds.
The dogs will be happy...:)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Craig and Jack...7/31/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/31/26The 2a.m. back deck forecast was nice this morning. The wind was less than 5mph out of the SSW, and the sky was clear. The only thing I didn't like was how lit up the backyard was with the full(ish) moon. Since the sky was clear, that meant the walleye would have been feeding easily overnight. Sure, it's easy pickings way to the east with the abundance of walleye over there, but over here closer to the islands, it's a lot tougher. That meant we needed to get an early start.
I met Craig and Jack at Mazruik's at 5:30, and launched at 5:45. The lightening sky to the east was just starting, and I needed enough light to be able to see the little flags on the trap nets set out there east of Kelly's. By the time we got out to where the nets were last weekend, it was light enough. The lake wasn't angry, so we were able to spot the flags from far enough away to avoid them. I only saw one set out there this morning, so that was good.
The plan was to head towards the Weather Buoy, and if the Garmin marked anything between Mazurik's and the buoy...we would stop and start fishing. And that's what happened. When we were about 5-6 miles from the buoy, over 43 feet of water, the screen lit up with marks.
Down went the Ulterra and Baby Merc, and set on a course to the east. The FishHawk was deployed, and the speed was dialed in at 2.5 mph.
Now, I'm told that these guys are the best fishermen at "Hidden Creek", and Craig already knew how to run dipsies, since he used to have a boat of his own up here on the lake...but, doesn't have it anymore...So, I knew it was going to be a fun and easy morning. Jack didn't have the dipsey experience, but did have the Off Shore board experience, so he got to help with boards, and Craig set the dipsies.
The zero settings started out at 40 and 50 back, and the three settings were at 65 and 85. Both would be changed up throughout the morning, so fish that were caught on the zero settings came at 36 back (26 1/2 inch fish on that one) with an orange Yeck spoon...40, 50, 60, and 65 back. The three settings caught fish at 65, 75, 85, and 95 back. One three-setting ran a Stinger "Confusion" spoon and caught two. (It wasn't out until the last part of the trip...I should have put it out sooner!)
The orange Yeck spoon was the busiest spoon, and at one point, I had three of the four lines sporting one.
The Bill Lewis PWC Lites behind the Off Shore boards pulled a handful of fish, but weren't that busy. The usual colors were used..."Green Tiger", "Purple Tiger", and "Red Tiger". The Red Tiger never pulled anything, so it was replaced with another purple one. One of them was the "PCC Light" (Precise Coastal Crank Lite...it's a saltwater version of the PWC Lites). The color name is "Bloody Emerald". I tried it for the first time last week, and it took a lot of fish, so I stopped off at Fisherman's Central and bought 3 more to have on the boat. I did leave one there on the peg, so I didn't take them all. (shy grin). lol
I ran the PWC's, two per side, with 2oz snap weights. The port side ran at 50/47 (97 total line out) and 50/24. The starboard side ran at 50/75 and 50/30. The 97 back took most of the fish, but all the other leads took fish, too. The 50/75 was brought up to 50/43 and took more fish.
We did a long pass from that starting point to just past the weather buoy, and marked a lot of fish 85% of the way, but they were mostly tight to the bottom this morning.
We only caught their two-person limit and two of my fish. We lost two nice walleye this morning too, so that would have helped, but ohhhhh welllll.
There were only 3 Sheephead and 3-4 White Perch caught all morning, too, so there wasn't a lot of junk fish, but there were a ton of itty-bitty walleye that kept biting the spoons, so the dipsey rods had to be checked every 5 minutes, or so, to clear them off.
Craig and Jack were happy with the size of fish caught and called them "Perfect eaters". We caught a huge Sea Turtle on the way back to Mazurik's, too...it was a huge mylar balloon floating out there in the middle of nowhere, so we picked it up.
They said they had a great time and learned a lot, and want to come back next spring, so that makes me happy! They were a lot of fun!
Tomorrow, I have a trip with a new customer... Bill Lange and his two sons Brock and Bennett. We will be launching out of Huron around 5:45 or 6a.m. and looking to see what we can find over there. I don't like messing with the South Passage on a weekend, because it just turns into a big washing machine with all the boat wakes going every which way, and takes forever to get in from just a couple of miles out. (I like to choose my battles). ;)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Lee and Cameron...7/25/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/25/26
Took a cup of coffee, a couple of dog treats, and the dogs out to the back deck to check the forecast. It was a duplicate of the day before, so it was nice out.
The air temp was 68 degrees, the wind was barely noticeable, and the sky was clear.
The wind forecast for the morning was a switching wind. It was quiet on my deck, because it had been NE overnight, but it was in the middle of the switch to the NW, so it was less than 5mph at 2a.m. By launch time at 6a.m., it would be picking up to 10-12mph out of the NW. That meant that the rollers on the lake would still be coming in from the NE, while a NW wind would blow the waves up to 1-3' feet.
I picked up Lee and his son, Cameron, at the Country Inn and Suites at 5:15, and we hit Hi-Way Bait for some ice before heading to Mazurik's. We launched and headed NE at a slow pace, due to the rollers and boat wakes in the South Passage.
The ride didn't get much faster after leaving the South Passage, like I thought it might, so we just kept going at a slow 20mph and took our time getting up near the line NE of Kelly's. I kept an eye on the Garmin, so I could look for walleye below us on the ride out. I was hoping I didn't have to go all the way to the Weather Buoy in those conditions...it would take forever.
Luckily, we found some good marks around the 36/35 line, over 43' of water, so I shut the big black motor down and deployed the Ulterra and Baby Merc. The Ulterra was set to power level 6 since we were headed into the rollers, and the Baby Merc putted along, pushing us at a good pace to keep the speed around 2.5mph on the FishHawk. The course was set from west to east. The waves were building, so if we wanted to go back over the same line, we wouldn't go into them, but rather pick up and make a run back up.
I only wanted to use the 4 dipsies, so if the bite was good, we wouldn't get done so fast, and they could spend some quality Father/Son time on the water together this morning.
The inside dipsies ran on the zero setting. The port side ran at 60 back, and the starboard side ran at 65 back. (Eventually, both sides would be running at 63 back.)
The outside rods ran on the three setting. The port side ran at 85 back, and the starboard side ran at 95 back. They never changed.
BadMo, Scorpion, and Yeck spoons were used. That Yeck with the special blue painted belly that DJ Custom Eye Lures does for me (color name: "Tourney Winner") is still catching fish, and I have never taken it off this season. I had him paint me a bunch more, too.
No Off Shore boards or snap weights today...kept it simple. We had our 18 walleye in the cooler by 10:00. We only caught, maybe, a dozen junk fish in the mix, so that was nice.
Cameron was reeling in a big fish, and when he lifted the rod for that last 6' of the leader, a huge catfish came up and rolled violently....and he lost it. It broke off one of my orange Yeck spoons, which made me sad. I need to replace it, because I only have one more of those in my box, and it's a good one.
The kitty, at a guess, easily went 10 pounds. The head on it was huge. I use 20# test Sunline for the leaders...it may have had a knot in the line, or something for it to break where it did. Oh well....it happens...at least it was just a cat and not a big walleye. :)
We did pick up once and made a run back towards where we started earlier, but didn't go back far enough. We should have gone another mile, I think. The second pass was too short for my liking. After the screen went clear of fish marks, I turned the Vexus around and started going into the waves. They were starting to lay down a little bit, and instead of being 2-3's they were more 1 and 2s with some 3s thrown in for good measure. I felt comfortable going into them with those conditions.
I don't like it over that, because it's rough and my customers have a hard enough time trying to get their sea legs to work out there, so I try to make it as comfortable as possible...when possible.
We caught more fish going from west to east than we did going from east to west, so once we had gone a mile to a mile and a half, I turned again and headed east. We finished up on half of that last pass.
Lee and Cameron had a great time and enjoyed the experience. Cameron has never been on this big lake to fish, and mostly wades rivers for smallies. That's something I used to love to do when I lived in Wisconsin, years ago, so his mentioning it brought back a gush of memories for me...that I relived in my head while we set the dipsies. Those were fun days for sure!
Lee doesn't do much fishing, but wanted to catch his first walleye...so, that has been checked off his bucket list. Yay!
Cameron was hands-on in helping set the dipsies. He was a quick learner and was setting them out with ease in no time at all. Lee was happy just to reel in his fishand hand me the net when I needed it. It was a good time for all of us today. Mother Nature was in a good mood, and we all appreciated it!
I'm not scheduled until the 31st and the 1st, so if I pick up a trip before then, I'll be sure to give a report.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 2 with Joe, Ron, and Dale...7/24/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/24/26I was up early this morning, so I had a little extra time to spend out on the back deck with the pups. The coffee was tasting better than usual for some reason, which might have been the cooler temperature and less humidity than we've been having.
The sky was speckled with stars, so it was clear. The wind was absent, and the forecast was calling for winds less than 10 out of the SSW to start and switching to the east later in the morning. The high temp during the morning was forecast for the mid to high 60s...reaching a high of 75 in the afternoon. It was going to be a great morning.
I had the same crew as yesterday, but instead of going after walleye again, we switched it up to chase some perch. The two older gents in the group were a little unsteady on their feet, and so I thought it would be a good idea to go perch'n, so they could relax, stay seated, and catch some fish. They liked that plan.
I picked them up from the Whitecaps Motel at 5:15, and we went and got some minnows from Hi-Way Bait. The size was perfect for using whole or tearing in 1/2.
We launched out of Catawba at 6:15 and headed back to look at the spot where Keith and I caught them last Monday, but the Garmin wasn't marking them like they did that day, so I turned the Vexus to the NW and headed out towards D-Can at a nice cruising speed, so I could keep an eye on the bottom and watch for tell tail signs of perchy looking water.
As the sun was coming up behind the islands, I turned the boat around, so I could get a better shot of it as it peeked through between Middle Bass, South Bass, and Green Island. As I did so, Dale said, "What are those little flags"? My heart dropped for a second...in panic...because I never saw them. "Where do you see flags?", I asked. Pointing his finger, he said, "Right there". I was right on top of them in between the single and double flags. Luckily, we didn't get stuck in it and cleared it. I explained what they were and how they are marked, and how you should never go between the two flags, as I had just done. I never saw it, because it was on the side of the boat that I can't see off the bow, due to the seat up there.
After getting my sunrise picture, we got going again, and ended up stopping about 1/2 mile directly east of D-Can in 30' of water. We would never have to move to go find fish, as they kept biting all morning. 1/2 minnows worked best for me, and the guys followed suit in baiting their hooks that way, too.
I didn't actually count, but we kept 77, and I know we threw back at least almost 3 times that in itty-bitty perch, and some junk fish. The seagulls got the white perch and there were only 4-5 sheephead caught. One little walleye bit Dale's rig, but it wasn't big enough to keep. The future looks bright if the number of 3-4" perch is any indication of that. :)
Joe, Ron, and Dale all had a good time and were very happy with their catch today, so that makes me happy!
Tomorrow, I'm back to walleye fishing with Lee Colley and his son. I'm thinking of going out of Mazurik's and then heading NE towards the Weather Buoy, and hoping to find some fish somewhere in between those two points. I don't want to have to go all that way if we don't need to.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Joe, Ron, and Dale...7/23/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/23/26
Short report…
Fun morning out of vermilion today with Joe, Ron, and Dale. Trolled from Vermilion to Lorain at 2.3-2.5mph.
Dipsies on the zero setting did best at 60 & 70 back, and the three settings at 97 back.
PEC Lites with 2oz behind the Off Shore boards at 50/75 (125 back), 50/47, and 50/24.
Purple Tiger, Green Tiger, and a custom color I don’t know the name of…
Bandits ran on the other side with 2oz…same distances.
“IB Infected” (DJ Custom) was best
“Whiskey and Water” (Slim Shady Custom)
And another custom I don’t know the name of but was used a lot in the earlier reports back when I was running Bandits.
Then the bandit side ended up in a huge tangle somehow and took that entire side out of commission. Had to cut lines and will need to re-spool…Uffda! lol
They caught their 3-man limit and I caught 3 of mine before we headed back in. We went through a ton of sheep and white bass, too, so they stayed busy.
I have them again tomorrow, but we decided to try for perch instead of going for walleye again.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing with Keith (First Perch Trip)...7/20/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/21/26Just a quick report...
Went fun fishing to try and find some perch after the NE winds the day before with my friend, Keith, who is able to move his work schedule around on a short notice. He was able to go, so we launched out of Mazurik's at 6am.
We went to one spot and stayed there for 4 hours. The spot was between Catawba and Green Island in 26' of water. The marks were good and would come and go...and everytime they came we would catch a few. Then, they would go off scree and we would have to wait a few minutes for them to come through again. They never left the area, so we didn't either.
We went through about 40 perch, 2 sheep, and 5 white bass to keep 28 good eater perch in that 7-9" range, which is my favorite size to eat. The rest were gently released itty-bitties to grow up. :)
They went 7 pounds at the cleaners.
So, they are starting to go in the western basin...get out there and get after them while you can. :)
Fishing with Stephanie and Jeff...7/17/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/17/26As Canada and the western US burn, the smoke is a reminder of courage, love, and perseverance. So many are losing their properties and everything dear to them by no fault of their own. Drought conditions, a lightning bolt, and little rain are wreaking havoc to our two countries. It's so sad. :(
The smoke was hanging in the air again this morning when I hit the back deck with the dogs. On one hand, having my coffee with the smell of a campfire while it's dark out...made me think of all my trips up to Meta Lake Lodge, which is a 25-minute float plane flight NW of Nakina, ON.
I'm told that John and Cheryl's place has an active fire about 2km to the south of them. So far, the winds have been light, and out of the right direction to keep it away from them, but it's still creeping closer.
And, on the other hand....while enjoying my cup of coffee... I couldn't help but feel sad for all those affected and hope it rains up there soon (with no lightning!)
The forecast for this morning was light winds out of the east-southeast at less than 10mph. It doesn't matter what the sky was doing, because we would never see it. The sunrise was just an orange dot shrouded in a beige colored smoke. The air temp was high 70s at 2a.m. It would be rising to 86 later in the morning.
Stephanie had contacted me a couple of weeks ago to set up this trip for herself and her husband Jeff. They are a fun and positive-minded couple from Indiana, who were here for the weekend. Besides fishing, they wanted to take in some of the sites while they are here, too.
I picked them up from the "Fairfield Inn" at 5:15 and headed to Mazurik's to launch by 5:45. It's staying darker in the mornings already. The sunrise is now 6:15, so we were a little early and waited a little bit before heading out.
I do not like to run a boat in the dark, to be honest, and like to be able to see the surface of the water while I'm driving. You never know what's floating out there at any given time, and there are always the perch nets, too. It just makes me too anxious, so I just don't do it. ;)
I went back to the area NW of Kelly's where my friend and I did well in just two hours yesterday. However, the bite was different today. Don't get me wrong, it was non-stop, constant reeling, and resetting lines this morning, but there were a lot more Sheephead, short Walleye, and White Perch in the mix than there was yesterday.
I showed them how to set the dipsies and Off Shore boards.
Stephanie wanted to be hands-on with the planer boards, so I showed her how to attach the snap-weight and then the planer board. She eventually got the hang of it, and did a good job helping get them back out. Jeff preferred to work with the dipsies, so that's what he did.
Neither of them complained about all the other fish that kept them busy, and were happy with the 10 eaters we put in the cooler for a couple of fish fries.
Would I go there again any time soon? "No". It's time to be east of Kelly's for the rest of the summer, I think.
The water temp on the surface today was 77.9, but it was 80.7 at 18' down.
We ran two dipsies off each corner, and two Off Shore boards out each side.
The dipsies were the usual zero and three settings. The zero settings were changed up often all morning. Anywhere from 28 to 50 back. (30, 33, 35, 37, 38, 40, 42, 47, 50 back)....all numbers caught fish.
The three settings were either 50, 55, 60, or 65 back...all numbers caught fish.
BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. All the spoons I used had silver bellies, except that blue one that I have DJ Custom Eye Lures paint for me. That one is still producing, so I never take it off.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites ran behind the boards with 2oz at 50/35, 50/30, 50/25, and 50/13. (Total line out would be 85, 80, 75, and 63).
Speed was 2.3-2.7 on the FishHawk.
Stephanie and Jeff both said they had a good time, and are thinking of coming back in October to do it again, so that makes me happy! :)
Tomorrow's father and son trip has been rescheduled to next Saturday. Tomorrow's wind forecast is calling for winds out of the SW from 20-28mph. That's not fun.
I have another 3-day trip scheduled for the 21st through the 23rd, but it's looking like some gusty NE winds are coming in, so I'm watching that right now.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jermey and Luke...7/10/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/10/26I contacted Jeremy yesterday to see if he wanted a fishing trip before I contacted anyone else that's on the list of "Give me call if..." people. He quickly confirmed it after talking to his wife, Erika, and moving some work stuff around.
I normally like to see the sunrise on the lake, not only for its majestic beauty, but also, because the walleye bite is usually pretty strong right before sun-up. It's also nice to be able to get at least one pass in before anyone else shows up to get in the way. ;)
However, they drove up from Columbus with a 7-year-old boy this morning, so we did a later start and didn't launch until 7:30. There was already a big pack of boats over where I had been fishing, so I decided to go west towards G-Can, since there was no one over there...just to see if there were any fish there. The wind would also be behind us on our troll back towards the east, making the boat less bouncy and more comfortable for the little dude.
The Garmin was marking fish, thankfully, so we stopped...and set up over 21 feet of water. The FishHawk speed was 2.5-2.7 mph.
The dipsies went down first. The zero settings were 20 and 23, and the three settings were both set to 30 back. Both three settings ran Yeck spoons with both sides of the spoon sporting a lot of orange. Those two dipsies outfished the zero settings by a lot. It could also be that as soon as the zero settings went down, a little White Perch would jump on it, and were never noticed until it was time to check them.
The Bill Lewis PWC Lites are still going strong. Best lead was 50/25 with 2oz...(total line out was 75). Several times, as soon as the board was locked in to jog to its spot....a fish would have already hit it.
"Green Tiger", "Purple Tiger", "Red Tiger", and "Chrome Barbie" were the colors again. All caught fish.
We were able to have an enjoyable morning without having to dodge a lot of boat traffic, and the boy reeled in so many fish his arms hurt. lol
We only fished a few hours, and went in per Jeremy's directive. The wind had died along with the bite...the sun was hot, the air was heavy with humidity, and the bugs were starting to find us, so we went in. We like to keep the experience a fun one for Luke, so his enthusiasm to fish with his dad doesn't wane.
Jeremy has his own Ranger boat, but likes to hire me so he can relax and enjoy the family stuff without having to do everything else, too. Now that he's had a refresher course in dipsies, he's going to be getting his boat out next week, and taking his Dad and Luke out fishing on their boat. :)
After dropping their fish off at Bay's Edge Fishing Cleaning, we met over at Casa Las Palmas for a quick lunch, so we could visit more and they could wait on their fish cleaning to get done. It's always nice to spend time with folks who feel more like family than just customers.
They all said they had a fantastic morning, even though we didn't limit out. We only put 8 keepers in the cooler, but caught a lot of fish. Unfortunately, there were a lot of White Perch, Sheephead, and short walleye, too. It kept it busy and fun for Luke, while Jeremy picked up some tips on how to do some things. So it was a successful trip in their eyes, and that makes me happy!
I don't have anything else scheduled until the 17th and 18th, next week, but if I get a call, I'll be sure to report.
I'm hearing that the hot and humid weather will be back next week....again....deep sigh. On one hand, I'm glad I'm not fishing in that weather, and on the other...I want to go fishing. There are several good wind days next week...with Tuesday looking the best right now.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Melinda and Caleb...7/8/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/08/26There was no sleeping in this morning. At 1:30 a.m., Ella decided I had been asleep long enough, and it was time to get up and go out on the back deck. As soon as the blankets were thrown back, Alfie shot up and started dancing on the bed.....deep sigh. To be honest, I could have kept sleeping, but I was fishing today, so it was better to get an early start.
When the coffee was ready and the dog treats dispersed, we hit the back deck to check the weather apps. The forecast was calling for winds less than 10 out of the WSW, clear skies, and no rain. I was just hoping there would be no bugs this morning.
Caleb and his twin brother have fished with me several times in the past. Their Dad would drop them off at Mazurik's to jump in my boat, then launch us and park the truck. Then, they would send him a text when we were done and on our way back in, so he could meet us there and pick up the boys. Back then, they were in their mid to late teens, I think. I have taken them bass fishing a couple of times, walleye fishing, and perch fishing before. Their dad only went when we did the perch trip.
I was sad to learn that their Dad passed away from COVID a few years ago; he was a great guy. :(
Melinda and Caleb came up from Waco, TX to visit family in Lakeside. Caleb reached out to me last week to set up a fishing trip for his mom and him, so we landed on this morning to make that happen.
I jumped in the truck at 4:30 and headed to the gas station for some ice. It felt good to have my truck back. Matt Wieland put new injectors and spark plug wires in it yesterday, and it's running like a champ. There are so many new parts on this truck now that it's "newer" than the day I bought it in 2020 (it's a 2016 GMC Sierra). Anyway...it's running great, so I think she'll be around for a while.
I arrived at Mazurik's at 5 a.m., but wasn't expecting them until 5:30. I readied the boat and polished up the motors while I waited for them.
They showed up right on time, and off we went. If you read the previous report, you know where I went on Sunday. The plan was to go back there again, and hope the fish hadn't moved yet. I was concerned, because of the big storm system that came through here on Monday. Thankfully, as I approached the area NNW of Catawba, the marks on the Garmin started showing up. As soon as the Vexus came off plane, the screen lit up with good marks. It was time to fish.
I started out with the same program that I ran Sunday. The water depth right there was 25 feet.
The dispsies went out first. The zero settings at 20 and 23 back.
The three settings went out at 37 and 42 back.
Speed was 2.5mph on the FishHawk.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites with 2oz snap-weights ran behind the Off Shore boards. Two boards per side.
Colors on the port side were: "Green Tiger" and "Red Tiger"
The starboard side ran "Purple Tiger" and "Chrome Barbie".
On the port side, the outside board was running 50/25 (weight goes on at the 50 mark and the second number is how much additional line is let out before the planer board is attached. So, 50 (weight) +25=75 total line out.
Now, to make it confusing for you...some people, including myself, will sometimes write it 50/75...meaning, the weight goes on at the 50 mark and the second number is the total amount of line out before attaching the board.
Anyway...I digress...
Port Side:
50/25 outside board (75)
50/11 inside board (61)
Starboard side:
50/30 outside board (80)
50/24 inside board (74)
All took fish. We had our 18 in the cooler in about 2 1/2 hours. I didn't look at the clock. We caught some Sheephead, short walleye, and White Perch, too, so that kept us very busy. The bite slowed a little as the sun got higher, so we were all glad that we were able to get out early and catch the tail end of a feeding frenzy.
They asked about fish cleaning, so I told them to follow me into downtown Port Clinton, so we could drop the fish off to be cleaned there. I knew that they would be able to get them cut fast, because we got there within a 1/2 hour of them being open. There would be several cutters to help process them. They were done in less than 10 minutes. If you come in after the "Fishermn's Wharf" headboats get in across the street, you'll be waiting longer. They usually have a lot more fish to clean when that happens.
Melinda and Caleb had a great time, and said they will be back, and that makes me happy. :)
Looks like I have a two-week dry spell now; I'm not scheduled to fish until the 17th and 18th.
If I pick something up between now and then, I'll be sure to report.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dave, Danielle, and Keith...7/5/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/06/26I took my neighbors Dave and Danielle, and our friend Keith out as a "Thank you" for letting me use his truck this past week to tow the boat for my trips. My truck has an issue that should be fixed Monday morning. Fingers crossed!
Anyway...
We didn't go to Huron, and launched out of Catawba instead. There was rain in the forecast that would be showing up in about three hours, so we didn't want to waste any time driving and get that time on the water.
I had gotten a report of a large school of fish near the cans, so we went to check it out. The report was right. We didn't go far from the launch before I said, "We are marking fish...let's fish". So, we got the dipsies and Bill Lewis PWC Lites in the water and started catching right away.
Zero dipsies set at 20 and 25, and the three settings at 40 back started catching right away, so it took a few minutes before we got the cranks out behind the Off Shore boards.
The PWC's were set at a total of line out at 60 (2), 65, and 74 back. The 2oz snap weights were all put on at the 50 mark. Same colors I've been using in Huron..."Purple Tiger", "Green Tiger", and Red Tiger"....all caught fish.
We also caught some Sheephead, White Bass, and White Perch, along with some short walleye that we threw back. I was watching the radar the entire time, because the system that was moving in was expanding as it neared the lake, and the colors were going from green (just rain) to orange, yellow, and red (heavy rain). I was watching for lightning strikes on the Radar as it moved in, and when it showed some, I said, "It's time to head in".
We had 12 nice eaters in the cooler in about an hour and a half, but had caught a lot more than that with the junk fish and shorts, so it was a fun morning.
A funny tidbit was my favorite pair of pliers disappeared, and I thought they went overboard...we looked everywhere, but they were gone. I could only suspect that someone accidentally sent them overboard when a line that was being reset quickly got tangled in them. I know this can happen, because I did it myself earlier this year on a pair of pliers I didn't really like. lol
However, out of the 4 pairs I had on the boat, that is the one I used all the time, so it made me sad. I kept saying they went overboard, and Keith kept saying, "I don't think so, I think I would have heard them go in the water". I just shook my head.
After we got in, we decided to go to Casa Las Palmas for breakfast, and while were standing at the door waiting to be seated, Keith was digging in his pockets and then pulled out my favorite pair of pliers! He didn't realize he stuck them in the deep pocket and didn't feel them until then. Ha! I was so happy! :)
We were lucky we got off the water when we did, because it rained hard, and there was some lightning while we were eating breakfast.
It was a fun morning, and it felt good to just go "fun fishing" with friends...everyone had a good time, including me! :)
My next trip is scheduled for Wednesday, with a previous customer from years ago, whose dad would drive his twin boys to the launch, and send them off with me to go fishing, and then pick them up when we got back. Unfortunately, their Dad died of COVID a few years ago, and his twin can't make it, so his Mom is going to go fishing with him this time. They were mid to late teens when I first started taking them, and I fished with them 3 times, I think, so now he's got to be in his early 20s.
Tuesday is their preferred day to go, but it looks like the NNE wind will still be gusting on Tuesday, and Wednesday looks calm, so if Tuesday's forecast changes, we will go tomorrow; but if it doesn't, we will go Wednesday. I'm pretty positive it's going to be a Wednesday trip, though.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Chris and Jeff...7/3/2026
by Capt Juls on 07/03/26Chris contacted me yesterday afternoon, after I got home from fishing, and asked if I still had Friday open, and I told him I did, so we set up a meeting time at Huron for this morning. I asked them to be there between 5 and 5:15a.m.
I was up early again and managed to get the kitchen clean, gardens watered, dogs fed, cat fed, showered, emails returned, and messages answered before walking out the door at 3:45.
I hit the gas station for some ice and headed to Huron. I would be early, but I needed that time to clean the boat a little. It was too hot to do it when I got home yesterday, so I took advantage of the 81-degree temp at 4:30 a.m. to do it.
I only had to do the windshield and get the fish slime off the black 400. Only one side gets the fish slime from the netting process, whereas the other side is just water spots and wipes off easily. Fish slime takes a little more elbow grease to remove it.
The windshield just had some bugs on it from the ride over, so that was easy enough.
Chris and his Dad Jeff showed up at 5:10, and we launched. The ramp was busier than it had been at that time of the morning for the last few days. This morning, there were probably 8-10 boats launching at 5:15.
As we headed out the river, we talked about the program I'm running, and they told me how they hired me, because they wanted to learn to troll. They have only done drift casting with their own boat. It's not really set up for trolling, so Chris wanted to see how I troll and what gear I use to make my trolling more efficient, so he could take some ideas back and implement them on his own boat.
We didn't go far before I shut the Black Mama-Jama down and deployed the Ulterra and baby Merc. While the Ulterra kept us on course, I let the kicker warm up, and I put the FishHawk down to 18'. Then, I adjusted the iTroll controller to get the kicker's speed up to 2.5mph.
We started in 25' of water, with good marks....Like I have the past several days out, but this time they were mostly White Perch, Sheephead, and White Bass, with a couple of walleye mixed in. The past few days, by the time we were near the south side of the dump, there would be 2 limits in the cooler already. This morning, we had 7. They were kept busy with removing undesirables from the lines and resetting the lines.
I showed them how to use the dipsies and set them out. Short rod on the inside (furthest rod holder to the rear), and the long rod on the outside, and how to get the outside rod set without tangling in the inside rod line.
The inside rods ran dipsies on the zero setting, and the outside rods ran on three settings.
Zero settings started at 25 and 27 back. As the sun rose and we traveled over deeper water, they were lowered to 33 and 41 back.
The three settings started at 40 and 50 back, and then lowered to 64 and 82.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites ran behind the Off Shore boards with 2oz snap-weights...leads were:
50/100, 50/85, 50/80, and 50/75. (Put the weight on at the 50 mark, and then the second number is the total amount of line out, before you put the board on).
Colors used were:
"Purple Tiger" (2 of them)
"Green Tiger"
"Red Tiger"
They all caught fish.
When we got to the top of the Huron Dump, I turned the Vexus east-northeast for a bit, before turning back around to go back over our trail. Sometimes, it's just a directional issue, and I wanted to see if they would bite better going back the other way.
I got off course, though, when some boats showed up right at the moment my Ulterra remote said, "I'm done. I need new batteries". I had to quickly change them out, so I could operate the motor. I had a boat heading straight on at me, and I needed to turn to starboard. Luckily, it happened, so the crisis was averted. Whew!
Thankfully, I keep a lot of extra batteries in the boat, and have them handy at all times.
Yes, I know, I could have turned the big motor on to control direction....but, it's still a panicky/icky feeling when you see something out of your control, and there's a big boat in front of you. ;)
All is well...
I let Chris and his Dad set lines as I watched and gave instruction when needed, so they could remember how to do it more easily. People only learn when they can actually do it for themselves, and figure it out. Chris and Jeff certainly did that. I wanted them to do everything together, because they fish together, so they also netted each other's fish, which was funny to watch. The only advice I gave them was, "Use the net like a shovel and not a pool skimmer when you reach for the fish". After they started doing that, they got the fish in easily. :)
After the remote mishap, we were headed from east to west over 38' of water, and just kept going. We picked a walleye here and there and more junk fish.
The marks on the Garmin were getting fewer... and what looked like bugs coming up were showing on the screen instead. So, I turned the boat north to start a turn to go back. We had trolled maybe a 1/4 mile when one of the planer boards went floating away after it released from the front clip. One of them had not properly secured the line on the Snapper release before letting it out.
We picked up all the dipsies and brought the boards in, then headed back to where it floated away. It was a pretty calm morning, so it was easy to find. I don't think the wind ever got over 10mph at any time this morning. After picking up the board, I just turned the boat to the east, which was the plan in the first place, so that board floating away right when it did was pretty fortuitous, because we hit a frenzy of bites as soon as we got set up. I wouldn't have hit that area in my turn if we had kept going.
We set the dipsies out and got the planer boards out, and they suddenly went bonkers.
"Fish on the inside dipsey", "Fish on the outside board", "Fish on the inside board opposite side", Fish on the other board now, too", "There goes the other dipsey". lol They thought that was great and were giggling throughout the chaos. We put the last fish in the cooler and headed in. They got their limits this morning, and I reeled in mine too.
It was getting hot out, and I knew it was going to be even hotter when we got back on land. The good news is, there were no bugs out this morning. That would have been miserable, as humid as it was. They would be sticking to every inch of exposed skin...ick.
The water temp out there was 79 degrees on the surface and 18' down. The water is getting hot now, too.
I'm off tomorrow, but will be fishing with my neighbors Danielle and Dave, and our friend Keith (whose boat we sometimes take instead of mine) on Sunday.
My truck goes into the shop on Monday. Dave has been generously letting me use his truck for the past several trips, so I wouldn't blow mine up before I can get it fixed. Thanks, Dave! :)
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
