Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Mike and Carrie...10/11/2026
by Capt Juls on 10/13/26Sunday morning, I went to run errands and stopped in at Fisherman's Central to say, "Hi" to whoever was working there that morning. As I was standing near the register with the MGR, Dave, and associate, Cindy, a couple walked into the store. I said, "Good morning" to them, and Dave welcomed them, too. They said they were here from TX, and since it was a rainy morning, they were just out and about and stopped in.
After they browsed the store, they came over to talk to us. Mike said he was interested in the Vexus DVX22 as a new boat for himself. He's a bass fisherman and has always had bass boats. He and Carrie wanted something a little more protective for their future fishing adventures.
I asked him, "Do you have rain gear with you? I'll go get my boat and take you for a test ride this morning, if you want". He said they didn't. He and Carrie had a three-day charter set up with "Tarter Sauce Charters" for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday... and he has a 28' Duckworth boat with an enclosed cabin, so they didn't think to bring the rain gear.
At some point, Mike asked about fishing "tomorrow", which would be the day before they went out with Tarter. I looked at the wind forecast and said, "I'm free if you want to go tomorrow. Do you want to walleye or perch fish?" They both said, "Either, or both is good; we just want to go fishing". I smiled. "Well, we can start with walleye, and I can bring some frozen shiners along, too".
We set up a plan to meet at Mazurik's at 6:45 and go do some walleye fishing first.
I hadn't been walleye fishing for close to a month, I think, because I've been doing perch trips, so I was looking forward to it. The wind forecast was calling for 10-15 out of the SSW, with the wind picking up to 15 mph later in the morning.
My last time out perch'n I had marked a lot of walleye looking marks off the Marblehead lighthouse, so I thought I would start looking there. We launched at 7am and headed east. The marks were no longer where they were three days ago, so we kept going east towards Huron.
It was still pretty dark out, so we took our time. I was amazed at how few marks there were from Cedar Point all the way to the Huron Dump for this time of year, so we kept going until we were at the dump. I was zig-zagging from 34' of water out to 40'....looking. Nothing impressed me enough to stop, so we headed north from the east side of the dump.
I explained that the further north we went, that when it would get windy later, that the lake would get rougher, but that if it got too rough, we would head back and try for some perch near the launch. (I had marked some good schools right outside of Mazurik's as we left).
After marking some walleye, I decided to just set up and keep heading north, and hope we hit better marks.
Air temp was 64 degrees...water temp was also 64 degrees.
Speed on the FishHawk was 2-0 to 2.4 mph.
The setup was two dipsies off each corner. The zero settings were at 33 and 45 to start, and the two settings were at 60 and 65 to start. Eventually, the zero settings were catching at 47 and 50, and the three settings caught at 75 and 80 back.
The Off Shore boards ran two Bandits on the starboard side and two PWC lites with 20oz snap weights on the port side. The PWCs were set at 50/50 and 40/40....the Bandits were 100 and 65 back.
Bandit colors started with Red Headed and Black Headed Wonderbread, but were changed out to the "Slim Shady" "Fermi" (painted version) and set to 107 back, and Slim's "Green Lantern". The Fermi took a nice fish, so I changed out the PWC lites to Bandits and put another Fermi on that side at 107 back, and that one took a nice fish, too. Those were the only two crankbait fish; the others came on the Scorpion, Stinger, and Yeck spoons.
The two settings at 75 and 80 back caught better than the zero settings did.
In the beginning, we went for quite a while with nothing to show for it, so I said, "Let's change the angle of our dangle, because last night's wind and this morning's are opposite, so the currents are probably a little screwy this morning. I turned the Vexus to the NW, and kept the waves on the port corner. I didn't want to go in a more westerly direction, to keep the ride a little smoother, since they were having a little trouble keeping their balance in the boat.
The wind had started picking up, but it was still 2' or less out there, so we kept going. Then, the bite started, and we finally put fish in the cooler. Carrie caught her first walleye and was having fun. We only caught 8 out there before we decided it was getting a little rough for them, and decided to take a ride back to try for some perch near shore, where it was calmer.
Since Mike was interested in buying a new boat, I let him "Test Ride" the Vexus on the way back in. He and Carrie were both impressed with the boat and the ride, so chances are good they might buy one to replace the old bass boat. :)
They had a fun time and got to relax and enjoy the calm waters while perching (we put 6 in the cooler and threw back twice as many) before we loaded out. They are really nice and down-to-earth people, close to my age, so it was a very enjoyable experience for me, too, and that makes me happy! :)
My trip for this morning (Tuesday) has been rescheduled to the spring, due to the wind forecast of 18-28mph out of the SW. I did, however, get a call right before I went to bed last night from a grandfather who wanted to take his 22-year-old grandson fishing this week. Originally, he was looking at Friday, but it's supposed to blow on Friday, so I asked if Wednesday was a possibility for them. He said it was, so we will be headed out of Huron's launch at 7am tomorrow.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fun Fishing For Perch...10_9_26
by Capt Juls on 10/09/26Keith drove in from Perrysberg and met me at my house at 6:15. We took the long way through town to waste some time while on our way to Hi-Way Bait for some minnows. They opened at 6:30, and there was already a short line waiting to fill their bubbling minnow buckets.
They had perfect-sized Goldies, but no Emeralds yet. I had some frozen shiners with us, too.
We hit Mazurik's at 6:45, and after getting the boat ready, we were launched by 7am. As we headed east towards the Marblehead lighthouse, the sky was mostly clear, the eastern horizon getting lighter, and a barely noticeable wind out of the south. The air temp was....ummmm...I'm not sure..I didn't look. It was chilly...a sweatshirt and light jacket kind of chilly. :)
We started east of the lighthouse in 27' of water, and picked up a few keepers, but most were small throwbacks, so we moved to try another spot. This time, we were over 30 feet of water (water temp was 62 degrees on the surface), and picked up a couple more. We would mark a good school, get set up on them with the Spot-Lock, and they would immediately move.
I didn't like the bottom much, because it was too soft. I wanted to find a rockier bottom, so we moved back towards the lighthouse and checked 24-26' of water....same thing...just a couple keepers in each spot. I think we moved 5-6 times this morning. We ended up with only 16 perch for 5 hours of fishing.
It was a beautiful morning to float in a boat, though, and the fresh air did me some good. I'll be ready to wash some overdue floors tomorrow. lol
My schedule is lean this month, and Tuesday's walleye trip will probably be a no-go due to the remnants of the Hurricane going through, giving us rain and wind that day. They will reschedule to the spring if they can't go Tuesday. The next trip after that isn't until the 17th, and that will be a walleye trip too.
The good news is, while searching for perch east of the lighthouse, the Garmin was lighting up with a lot of fish that sure looked like walleye on the screen. If that's the case, it will sure help if I don't have to drive all the way to Huron or Vermilion to catch walleye. Woot! Woot!
Keith is buying this boat this winter, so I let him drive and operate everything this morning to get used to it. He was having fun. :)
Well, I guess I'll be back to report in a of couple weeks if Mother Nature behaves, or unless I pick up a trip or two before then.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob and Bruce Day 4 of 4...10/1/26
by Capt Juls on 10/05/26
Slowest of the 4 days fished. Only kept 22 this time.
Started at the lighthouse, and then hit 3 spots west of the Miller ferry lane, and one spot in the south passage. There were good marks, but very few takers in each spot. Caught 10 at the lighthouse with no throwbacks. Other areas were a 4:1 ratio of throwbacks.
Only had frozen shiners to use again. No minnows in town this morning.
The wind forecast was very wrong, so it ended up being a beautiful day on the lake. Bob and Bruce had a great week, and will be back again next Fall for another 4-day trip. I think they have been fishing with me for 8 years now, and that makes me happy!
Sunday is looking nice so I might go fun fishing with friends.
Stay tuned…
Cap Juls
Fishing with Bob and Bruce Day 3 of 4...9/30/26
by Capt Juls on 10/05/26
Another short report…and not a lot of pics..
Hi-Way was out of minnows this morning, and he didn’t know when the next delivery would be, so luckily I had some frozen shiners for us to use.
Launched out of Mazurik’s at 7am, (because launching out of Catawba with a SW wind is no fun), and headed back to the last spot we hit yesterday…32’ of water between Catawba and Green Island. The current had changed, so it wasn’t as fast as yesterday, but they were still there.
We were close to the ferry route, and every time they went past the bite would pick up…then slow down again when they were past.
We ended with 47 keepers again (11 pounds). The last fish, that almost made it into the boat, was a bruiser that was at minimum a good 15 inches, or more! Oh well…while Bob was bummed, I’m sure the fish is happy it got away.
Looks like tomorrow is going to be a gusty south wind, so we will work the area from the lighthouse to Mouse, and see what we can find.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob and Bruce Day 2 of 4...9/29/26
by Capt Juls on 10/05/26
Got a late start due to waiting on the minnow delivery at Hi-Way bait this morning, but it wasn’t too bad…launched out of Mazurik’s at 7:45.
Headed north…and to make a long story short, we hit eight spots on the north side, east side, and south side of Kelly’s… and only had four keepers in the cooler by noon. The 4 came from the first spot, but it was slow, so we went looking. We found a lot of junk fish, but the yellows were elusive.
Made a run over to the area between Green Island and Catawba over 32 feet of water… and in an hour and a half we put 47 more keepers in the cooler. The throwback ratio was probably 3 to 1. Weight at PC fish Co. was 11.4 pounds.
Bob and Bruce were happy that we finally found some and had a great time. I think that’s where we’re going to start tomorrow.
I’m short on time this afternoon, so once again, no long report. Sorry!
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob and Bruce Day 1 of 4...9/28/26
by Capt Juls on 10/05/26
Due to time constraints and my needy/clingy dogs wanting attention I can’t do my usual long report.
Short report is, 41 kept out of close to 200 perch today (11pounds total…the 13” I caught was 1 pound even)
100 yards off of CIC complex, in 18’ of water. Fishing Addiction Flies and my homemade crappie rigs with chartreuse beads were working. Emerald Shiners from Hi-Way Bait were perfect for cutting in half.
Water temp was 64.4 degrees, and water was stained but not muddy.
We will be launching out of Mazurik’s tomorrow and heading north, I think.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing Day Two with Walter and Lisa Aude...9/10/2026
by Capt Juls on 09/11/26This report is a day late, due to a gremlin that keeps tormenting me with mechanical issues. Yesterday, when we took our fish to PC Fish to have cleaned, my truck's radiator fluid puddled up on the road. The reservoir was half empty, too. I'm glad we made it back from Vermilion without issue, though, because stopping on the side of the highway with a boat in tow is never fun.
The morning started its usual way, with a coffee and dogs out on the back deck. The air temp was 66 degrees, and the sky was partly cloudy. The wind was light from the southerly direction. It was going to be a beautiful day to be on the water.
Walter and Lisa met me at my house again, but they were a little earlier then the other day, due to us driving over to Vermilion this time...it would take longer to get there than going to Huron. They showed up right on time, and off we went.
We hit the gas station for some ice for the coolers and hit the highway. 40 minutes later we were in Vermilion. We were the only ones at the ramp, so launching was fast and easy. We idled out of the river while this couple from Nebraska marveled at the beautiful houses and boats lining the river. Lisa kept saying, "When I hit the Powerball we can do this". :)
The plan was to head to Lorain from Vermilion and hope to run into some good marks to set up on. I stopped once when the screen was full, but I didn't think they were the right fish, or even the right flavor of fish, so we moved further north... about halfway between Vermilion and Lorain.
The Garmin was marking fish the entire way, but they looked better in this area.
The Ulterra and Baby Merc were deployed and worked in unison to steer us to the NNE at a FishHawk speed of 2.3-2.5 mph. The marks were thick, along with thick schools of forage showing up like big blobs on the screen. The fish were feeding on the schools of minnows or bugs (whatever they were), so the competition would be tough.
The Dipsies went out first. The zero settings were set to 35 and 40 to start, and the two settings were set to 60 and 70 back. BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. Blue/Silver would be the dominant color for the morning.
Since Walter and Lisa fished with me earlier in the week, they already had been trained and knew the routine. Walter was happy to take over checking and setting lines, and I was confident in his abilities that I didn't need to interfere by nagging him with instructions. I only explained that we were probably going to have to keep checking the lines for itty-bitties that would be hard to see when they are just hanging there.
After the first 5 itty-bitties, the two setting at 60 back on the port side went back aggressively a few times, and Lisa jumped up to get it. Walter was always there to help his 5-foot-tall wife get the rod out of the rod holder, turn off the clicker, and pop the mechanism on the dipsey before handing her the rod. I thought at first it was probably a big sheephead, due to her struggling to reel it in, but it wasn't acting like a sheephead.
To all of our surprise, it was a 28 1/4" 8-pound walleye. Luckily, it had almost swallowed the spoon, so the one little hook wasn't going to let go, and Walter landed Lisa's big fish in the net. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath as they were trying to net it until it was in the boat, and I let out a deep sigh. lol
Lisa was so excited to have caught it, and said, "This just made my entire week!" It was only 7:30, so we had all morning to try and catch more like that. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We caught a lot of fish, but mostly small eyes, white bass, white perch, and sheephead. We would only catch a total of 5 keepers all morning. The best leads were the zero at 45 and 50 back, and the two setting at 60 and 84 back.
One of those keepers was caught on a fast turn, when we had to get out of a ship's way. We were only two miles out when it came out of the mouth of the river, so it wouldn't have taken long for the ship to run us over, had we stayed on the same line without noticing them. Good thing I keep my head on a swivel most of the time. Whew!
They both said they had a great two days fishing with me, even though we didn't limit, and would like to come back again...and that makes me happy!
I had two older men this morning (9/11) that I picked up from the Whitecaps...did the usual stops and hit Catawba. Launched the boat, and the power steering in the steering wheel was making a liquid, squishy-washy sound that wouldn't stop, so the trip was canceled. I wasn't going to risk the power steering going out when I'm miles out. They understood and told me to hold their deposit for another time.
We went and grabbed breakfast and had a good chat before taking them back to the Motel.
I don't know when my next trip is, because I don't have anything scheduled until the 25th right now. Next week is out, because I have too many vehicle appts to get both my car and truck fixed...and now, I have to get the boat down to Fisherman's Central to have the line bled, or whatever they need to do to fix this power steering issue. It's never ending...deep sigh.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Walter and Lisa Aude...9/8/2026
by Capt Juls on 09/09/26I'm posting this early this morning instead of yesterday, because of how late it was when I got home yesterday, and the dogs needing some playtime and attention...and, quite frankly, while it was a fun morning fishing with Walter and Lisa, it was a dismal day catching out of Huron.
They met me at my house in the morning. I went outside 15 minutes before they were to show up, and to my surprise, they were already sitting in my driveway. The plan was to hit the gas station and then head on over to Huron to launch.
We got to Huron at 6:30 and were headed out of the river by 6:45. The weather forecast was much better than Monday was, and I had high hopes for a good bite. I had cut Monday's trip short due to a NE wind that was supposed to be east, which kept building. My customers had a hard time moving around the boat to reel in fish, and I knew it was only going to get worse, so I called it.
We had gone 3 for 5 in about an hour and a half in those conditions, so I thought this trip would do better with the lake laid down and a light SSE wind.
The rollers were still coming in from overnight, but they were not bad at all. We took a nice easy boat ride out to about 34' of water before setting up. There were fish marks on the Garmin all the way out, so I was hopeful they would be biting.
I set the Ulterra on a course to the north, while the Baby Merc pushed us at a FishHawk speed of 2.3-2.5mph.
The dipsies were sent down first. Walter and Lisa have never used dipsies before, so I showed them how dipsies worked and how to set them. I said, "The most important thing to remember is to make sure the 'Clicker' is on when they go down, because if it isn't on, they will go down too fast and the leader will end up wrapping around the dipsey, making it useless". They caught on fast. :)
I showed Walter how to attach the Off Shore boards to the lines, with the loop trick, so that the line can be released from the front arm when a fish hits, or is coming in. For those that haven't already tried it, or figured it out...that allows the board to swing around and only stay attached by the back release...allowing it to swing to center and not have to come in over all the other lines.
We started out with PWC Lites with 2oz snap weights, but they produced nothing. Switched out to Bandits and caught one at 70 back unassisted. That was it for the crank bite.
Spoons kept us somewhat busy with itty-bitty walleye, white perch, white bass, and a kitty cat. We only caught three keeper walleye and one nice yellow perch all morning. The marks were plentiful, but were msotly noncommittal. Short hitting or barely hooked was the order of the day.
Lisa's absolute enthusiasm kept us feeling positive. Her personality is so freak'n cute, and infectious and kept it fun even when it got slower. I have them again tomorrow. We Will try for Walleye again, but will be launching out of Vermilion this time
During our troll, an Off Shore board floated by. It had been in the water a long time, as the red flag was now colorless, and the foam on the back was algae-ridden. I made a turn and went back to retrieve it to see if there was a name on it, and luckily there was. It belonged to "Possessed Again Fishing Charters". I gave him a call and told him I found it. He said he had lost it in Lorain, so it had floated a long way. I told him I would mail it back to him. I'm replacing the foam and the flag for him, since it was in such bad shape. The releases looked new, though, so they can stay. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Brian and Jenny Dietz...9/7/2026
by Capt Juls on 09/09/26
No report today…went out of Huron and went 3 for 5 before calling it due to rough conditions. When the NE rollers started white capping with 2-4s…and my customers couldn’t stand up in the boat…it was time to call it.
We had fun for the short time we were out though. Tomorrow is looking better wind-wise, so hopefully that will not change.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
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
