Perfect Day on the Water…8/19/13

It was a pretty typical morning. The alarm was set for 5am, but my dog, Dexter woke me at 4:30, because he smelled some earthly creature outside the bedroom windows.

With coffee brewing, I set about with my pre-charter activities. I check the internet for reports, look at the posts made by my Facebook “friends” through the night, and check the wind, weather, and marine forecasts for the day. Then, I drink my coffee, and watch a bit of news. I shower, get dressed, and play with the dogs until the sky lightens enough to take the cover off the boat. Then I load it with everything needed for a day of fishing. Food...check. Homemade brownies...check. License...check. Minn-Kota remote...check. Phone charger...check. Towels...check. Cooler...check....etc., etc., etc.

After getting gouged at the gas pump, filling my truck and boat, I headed to Hi-Way Bait and Tackle to pick up some crawlers and shiners. It was planned as a walleye fishing trip, but, feeling positive, I thought if we got our limit of ‘eyes early enough we might be able to get a bit-o-perch’n in too.

Today’s crew consisted of a previous customer, Billy Kodosky, and his customers, Ray and Evan. We launched at 8am from Mazurik’s Boat Access in Marblehead, and headed to the Canadian line. We wouldn't be crossing over, because they weren't carrying Canadian licenses.

We didn't need them after all. The walleye were stacked up East of Middle Island on the line. All we had to do was figure out what they wanted.

Larry Lambert and Keith “Pooh Bear” Unkefer both had given me the same area to try, so if those two walleye catching phenoms say to go there……you’d be a fool not to go!

As usual their advice was spot on.  We ran Larry’s custom made double willow leaf harnesses behind #3 Tadpoles and 3oz inline weights 67-85 back, with a speed of 1.7mph. We had fish on turns, but the first time they were on the fast side and the second time they hit on the slow side, so I averaged it out and stayed at 1.7mph. J

18 fish went 66 pounds at the cleaners this afternoon. The fish size ranged from 15 inches to 29 inches.

My crew learned quickly and by mid-morning they were setting lines out all on their own. (Yes, of course, I was watching and nagging them the entire time...Ha!) They took turns reeling in fish, helped each other take off the Off Shore inline planer boards, and net the fish.

There wasn't a lot of junk fish, but there were some. There was one tiny little fish that thought it was a big fish. “I’m a BIG fish”, I could almost hear it saying. That little 2 ½ inch white perch had gone after a double willow leaf harness with a very long crawler on it. That bait must have had a profile of almost 18 inches long. What would possess that little fish to try and eat something that much bigger than it is? That little...er, "big fish" got a good round of laughs and we took pictures of Ray holding his “catch of the day” trophy.

While Evan might have reeled in the largest walleye today, it was Billy that caught the biggest fish. A very large and overly fed catfish came up from 37 feet to pay us a short visit. That kitty cat was every bit of 18 pounds, if not more, in my opinion.

Just a little after Noon we had a three man limit in the boat. The 120 quart cooler was filled to the top with walleye (over a nice layer of ice, of course).  I suggested we go perch fishing, because it’s usually fun. They agreed, and with time expiring, we stopped in a couple of places to check for a perch bite. We caught a few sheephead , white perch, and a couple more little catfish, but no perch. With their time running out, we headed in to get their fish to the cleaners.

The lake was beautiful, for a change. The temptation to run wide open throttle was there, and the Ranger’s capabilities were there, but the cheapskate in me just couldn't bring myself to burn that kind of gas. I opted for a cruising speed and turned the radio up for “effect”. After a fun day of fishing it was definitely the right thing to do. Everyone was relaxed and in a good mood by the time we hit the dock at 2pm. 

It was a great day on the water with three great guys. I've had a lot of fun trips this season, but this one definitely is near the top of the list.

Time to hit the hay here; I have another trip to do in the morning... I’m pretty sure I know where I’m going. ;)

Captain Juls