Tuesday-Thursday Sept 10, 11th, 12th

They rented a place that was on my way into town, so I just picked them up each morning and took them with me to the baitshop, and launch, and then to the fish cleaners in the afternoon each day. 

That worked out perfectly as I was took off from work each of those nights and didn't have to hurry home to shower and get ready for work. (I'm not always that lucky and it makes for a very long day!)

Tuesday:  We launched at Mazurik's and headed over to the Catawba area as that was the last report I had of a decent perch bite a couple days before from a friend.

The wind was blowing 10-15 out of the SW, so I thought it wouldn't be that rough over there. I would say it was 1-3's when I got around the corner at Mouse Island.  I cruised around and didn't mark anything that would make me want to stop and drop lines down, so I turned the boat and headed back to the East. 

I was on my way to the dumping grounds east of the Marblehead lighthouse when I heard "Pooh Bear" on the radio hailing "Co Pa"...two of the best captains on the lake. They were perching up by the red can north of North Bass Island. I said, "That's all I needed to hear", and turned the boat to the port and headed up there.  

The conditions up there were much like they were down by Catawba...1-3's. The "spot lock" on the Terrova held us in place so I didn't have to mess with an anchor.  I watched as a few boats pulled their anchors up and moved a couple times, because as soon as we arrived their bite had slowed down.....figures!

It was not a fast bite by any means, but the quality of perch was pretty decent, so we plugged away at them, but only managed a little over a one man limit between all the junk fish up there.  We stopped at one of my other favorite perch spot near Gull Island Shoal and managed to catch some more decent perch there. Time was up and we headed in. We took the fish to the cleaners and I dropped them off to get ready for the second day of perch'n.

I want to add that the shiner size at all the baitshops around here right now is pretty pathetic. They are tiny little buggers that are easily stolen off the hooks, so buying enough to make it through the junk fish and swipers is a must. :)

Wednesday Sept. 11th, 2013

Not only was this a day that will live in history as a day we shall never forget, but it was Perry's Anniversary too. Did I mention that Perry came on this trip with his two friends, while his wife stayed home? She doesn't like to fish, so he came without her. In his defense though, he DID send her flowers that showed up while we were out fishing, which made her happy. :)

I had gotten on Facebook Tuesday night and through private messaging with friends for perch spot information I was able to come up with a plan of attack for Wed. morning.  I would give the spot information, but since I didn't find it myself, and they wanted to keep it quiet, I feel I need to keep my mouth shut on the location. Let's just say it was out in the middle of nowhere between the islands and Vermilion.

The bite was a lot faster than the day before, but there was also a lot more junkfish to sort through.  The seagulls ate very well that morning and we managed to catch their three man limit plus part of mine before heading in. It was not an "Up and Down" bite that I'm looking for. You know, where you bait up, send it down, and have a yellow perch on before you even set the bail. That kind of bite. But, we all had fun and they were very happy with their 33 pounds of fish at the cleaners that afternoon.

Thursday....the weather man was a little off...lol

The wind forecast was for 10mph out of the west, and a marine forecast of 2 foot or less, but it blew much harder than that and the waves kept increasing throughout the morning. 

We started out in the same place as the day before, but there were more junkfish in the mix, so the yellow catch was slower. We caught a lot of nice sized perch, so that kept it interesting for them.  
When the winds got a little stronger and I felt a need to get them to another spot that would be a little more protected, we moved in towards the NE side of Kellys where I spied a group of perch boats fishing. We set in to the south of the pack and picked up some more perch.  It was time to go in now. 

The winds had switched to the NW and were blowing pretty stiff. The slop chute between the main land and Kellys now had 2-4's in there. As I came around the SW corner of the island and saw what it looked like I said, "Well, I'm glad we didn't come to my other spot, because this is rough over here".  

I just took my time and made it back to the launch with just a little spray from time to time from the crosswind. When we got on land Patsy gave me a hug and said, "Thank you for getting us back safely"! I just laughed and said, "You're welcome". The slop chute can be very intimidating to boaters, because the waves can come at you from every direction, like in a washing machine, and can make the ride a bit of a challenge. But, if you just take your time and pay attention, you'll make it back safely.

After dropping their fish off at the cleaners again, I took the trio back to their place and thanked them for a fun three days and bid them farewell.

It was time to take the boat home and clean her up again. The dogs were very happy that I was home too.  However, they will not be happy this coming week, because I'm going to be even busier with charters and work.

So, I will try to blog each afternoon to keep it up to date, but I can't make any promises. I might not get to it until I have more time. :)

Capt Juls