Tuesday April 23, 2013 Fishing Report
by Capt Juls on 04/24/13Yesterday morning I was up at 4:30 making sure I had everything I needed for the days charter. My fishing partners for the day would be, Mark, James, and John. James and John drove in from Pittsburgh, I think.
I was in the Catawba parking lot at 6:30 and my guys showed up at 6:45am, as promised. We launched at 7am and headed straight out of Catawba to the spot I ended the day on Monday in. With the South winds blowing at 15mph it would be a South to North troll for us.
After a brief explanation on how to use the OST planer boards, my crew had the lines set and we were trolling. The 1198 marked some nice fish and we proceeded to troll over marks/icons from the day before. The fish hadn't moved...thankfully.
I have to learn to keep better notes, because I'm finding as I get older the details are harder to keep track of....especially, when we are having a great time! So, I'll just give you the most memorable moments and the program we used instead of a fish by fish blow by blow.
The program was the same as the day before:
Speed was 1.3-1.5mph.
Fish came on Deep Husky Jerks at 45-50 back in Purpledescent, Clown, Sunfish(?), Pink Glass, and Blue/Chrome.
Rogues were 85-90 back and run on the outside boards since they ran the highest in the water column. Blue/Chrome and Black/Chrome both took fish.
The same as the day before with one little exception...
Do you know how when you run a Deep Rattl'n Rogue at 85-90 back it's still running higher than a Deep Husky Jerk at 50 back?
Well, I always run my Rogues on the outside boards, because they are the highest running baits.
Anyway, at some point, James, who was becoming very adept at running the boards, setting lines, and paying attention to little details, decided that he wanted that blue/chrome Rogue on the inside, because it kept firing and it was much easier to bring the inside board in than the outside board. I felt I didn't need to watch his every move any longer, so I didn't pay attention when he did this little switch. And, I'm glad I didn't.
When the outside board fired again, he laughed and said, "That figures! I put the blue ones on the inside, so I wouldn't have to get that outside board again". It was the largest fish of the day, and I gave him a high five for it. As I set the line out again, I asked him how far back he had had it, expecting him to say, "50", and he said, "85". I chuckled to myself and said, "well done" after giving him a little ribbing about line distances and lure designs. :)
Chatter on the radio that morning was all 45-50 back on DHJs, so I announced that my novice troller accidentally came upon a new depth to try. After that, several announcements of fish being caught on Clown DHJ's 80 back came across the radio from other trollers. That made James smile.
We ended our 6 hour trip going 9 for 12 and three fish short of a three man limit. It seemed like when the wind died down around 12:30, the bite slowed down too. But, my guys were very happy with the day on the water that they had. They said they learned a lot, and had a lot of fun, and had 66+ pounds of fish to share between them. I'd say a 7 pound average was a pretty good day.
Oh, and before I forget, a friend had called me when I was getting off the water and told me that when the wind died down they started making sharp turns and getting fish to trigger on the slow side, when the baits would stall... then start moving again. So, the next time the bite seems to die with the wind, give that a try. It just might work for you too. I'm certainly going to try it. I don't think my turns were big enough... :)
Thanks Mark, James, and John...it was a genuine pleasure fishing with the three of you, and I hope to be able to do it again some day!
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