Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Casey and Ryan 8/13/2021
by Capt Juls on 08/13/21I didn't do a report on my August 4th trip, because I was heading to Wisconsin to visit family early the next morning, and I don't like to announce on social media that I will not be home for a week....know what I mean? And, there was a lot of stuff to do before I left, like cleaning the house, cutting grass, and packing the car.
Anyway, I got back in town Tuesday morning, and I was supposed to fish Wednesday and Thursday, but my client had to reschedule at the last minute, due to work, so we'll see him in September instead. There were storms and wind anyway, so it all worked out, and I got a short, needed vacation from my vacation. lol
I was supposed to do a fly in this past week, up at Meta Lake Lodge, but the border didn't open on time, (two days late...grrrr!), so I went up to visit with my family instead. It was a nice visit, but I'm glad to be back home. And, you're welcome....I leave, and Momma Nature doesn't blow...I come back, and she's all pissed off again.
Today's wind wasn't bad. The forecast was for SW winds with gusts up to 15mph. Down inside, it was really nice...and, up by the line, it was only 1-3s.
I had Casey and his son, Ryan. They have fished with me before, so only a refresher course was needed for them to be helpful setting the lines this morning.
We started with 4 Spro Madeye 120s behind the Off Shore inline boards, all weighted with 2oz Guppie Weights (same as a snap weight...the name of the weight, produced by Off Shore Tackle is, "Guppy", because it looks like a little fish with a smile on it), but it does the same job as a teardrop shaped clip on weight. So, if I say, "Guppy"...that's what that is. (I just try to clear up any confusion, before I get emails asking what I meant.)
Colors we started with were the Golden Perch and the Purple Glass Perch. The Golden Perch took one I think from the moment it was set, but because of the rougher conditions this morning, and the lack of anything to gauge it against...I let it ride for a while. That one was set 50/85 (total line out was 135...the weight was put on at 50').
Purple Perch did nothing today, even though my last few times out it was a hot color. The port side Spros were changed out to Yaleye Mooneye Minnows at 30/80 back with 2oz. They didn't catch anything today either, even though that set up was pretty good last week. So, those were changed out one more time to Bandits and put out 50/75 and 50/70 with 2 oz Guppies behind the OST boards. This last set up, along with the original sets on the starboard side, would end up pulling short fish around for a while, because we never could tell they were there.
I need to loosen up the springs on the Tattle Flags, because I have them set pretty tight for larger fish. But, since we're in the middle of summer and the smaller fish, I need to be able to detect those little suckers better. Who knows how long we grumbled about the slow bite, but you can't get bit if a little walleye is hanging on it.....deep sigh.
The dipsey rods were running two on each back corner, and set on the zero and three settings. The inside, shorter rods, were set on zero...and, run back 40-65 back. The port side ran the Red Headed Wonderbread Yeck spoon and the starboard side was a silver/black Ripplin Redfin.
The longer rods, which were set on the three settings, ran at 75 and 91 back.
Speed was 2.3-2.6 mph
We fished out east of Kelly's...just off the reef in 43' of water, but the fish were scattered around there. We took that contour, north... close to the line, and then headed back inside, where we did a little better. We only ended up with 8 keepers and the rest were throw backs, or junk fish.
I will see Casey and Ryan this fall, and again, in April 2022, so that makes me happy, and we will hopefully get a better cooler full than what we had today. They are a lot of fun to fish with, so I'll be looking forward to fishing with them again.
Tomorrow's trip has been rescheduled, due to strong NE winds in the forecast. My customer, Mike Smith, of Michigan, has already moved that trip to April of 2022 too. He's looking to test drive the Ranger 621 FS Pro, to test its "Fishability", so he can decide if he wants to purchase one in the near future, or if he would prefer to buy something else. That's a really smart way to buy a boat, I think.
Fish out of it first, and spend enough time in it, so you know if it would fit your style of fishing too.
I had Sunday down as a scheduled day off, so I guess I won't be out again until Monday, unless Sunday's weather is looking good. Then, we may go fun fishing for some perch. I finally have another perch trip on Tuesday, so I'm really looking forward to that, and need to find some...woot! woot!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Kevin and Rich 8/3/2021
by Capt Juls on 08/03/21Today was day two of two for my crew from Iowa. Yesterday, Kevin and Rich were quick learners on setting the dipsies, but the fish were less enthusiastic on biting. We did a later launch out of Vermilion, and found fish, but they were tight to the bottom most of the day, so we only manage a two-man limit, instead of the three we were allowed.
Dipsies, set on zero ran between 55 and 65 back. Baits running behind the 3 setting were at 80 and 91 back. Speed was 2.3-2.7mph. We ran the trough of 2-3 foot waves, caused by wind from the WNW. It was around 13mph when we headed out, but had calmed down quite a bit by 2:30 in the afternoon.
Overnight, the winds were calm, so the lake had time to calm down. The forecast for this morning, was light winds from the SSE. It would be calm when we headed out...pick up a little for a couple of hours, and then lay back down for the rest of the day.
We hit Mazurik's at 5:45 and were headed out of the breakwall by 6am. The sky was partly cloudy on the rim of the earth, but otherwise, clear. Another beautiful sunrise was shared on the water, and it gave hope to a fun morning.
We finally set down about 16 miles to the ENE, where the Solix showed some good fish below us. Again, they were close to the bottom, but not quite as tight as they were yesterday, so I was hopeful it would be a better bite this morning.
Kevin and Rich knew the routine, so it was a lot easier to get going with the set-up. We started with what worked yesterday, and it wasn't long before the first dipsey set on zero/65 started bouncing with the telltale sign of, "fish on!".
The black/chrome Ripplin Redfin ran on three dipsies and the other was a "Gold Digger" Yaleye Mooneye Minnow. The Gold Digger consistently caught the largestof the eaters that we kept, but the Black/Chrome took the most. The Red Headed Wonderbread Yeck spoon caught as soon as it was put out too....though, typically, smaller fish.
It turned out to be a great morning. Kevin and Rich had fun setting lines and reeling in fish, and best of all....just relaxing, and enjoying the great weather. The conversation was much more fun today, than yesterday, too. Familiarity, opens people up a little more, I think. They are planning on coming back in the spring, to try for some pre-spawn piggies, so that makes me happy. :)
Tomorrow, I have a group of 2 or 3, for walleye. I wish it was perch, but everyone still wants walleye, so I patiently wait to fish for my little friends....deep sigh.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with TJ and Daphne 7/31/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/31/21Sunrise was at 6:31 this morning, so I had my crew meet me at Mazurik's a little before 6am, so we could be launched by 6am. The half hour before the actual sunrise is great for driving on the lake. It's light enough to see everything, but there's no big fiery ball in the sky yet, to blind you when you're headed ENE. :)
TJ and Daphne have their own boat, and have started to use inline boards, on the few trips they have been up here. Today, TJ wanted to learn how to run dipsies. "We have some dipsies", said Daphne, "But, they are still in their packaging", she added with a giggle. "That's okay, dipsies are the easiest thing in the world to run, and you'll have all the confidence in the world, after this trip, to use them on your own boat", I said. I wasn't lying. Dipsies are the easiest thing in my arsenal to use.
We set up north of Cedar Point in 41' of water and let the Ulterra and baby Merc guide us on a NNE trolling pass.
Running two dipsies off each corner:
The "inside dipsies" were set on the zero setting, and the "outside dipsies" were on the three settings. The port side zero setting was set to 54 back and the starboard side zero setting was set to 65 back. The three setting on the port side was set to 65 back to start, and the starboard side three setting was set to 91' back.
A Black/Gold Ripplin Redfin ran on the starboard side 3 setting, while a Yaleye Mooneye Minnow ran on the three setting on the port side. The two inside dipsies ran spoons...the larger BadMo spoon on the starboard side and the Red Headed Wonderbread Yeck spoon on the port side.
Speed was 2.5mph. I usually start with that, because the "Precision Trolling Data" info for the dipsies is based on a speed of 2.5mph. I adjust from there.
(3) Bandits and (1) Spro were running, unassisted, behind the Off Shore boards between 45 and 75 back. Blues with white in them were a good color today.
We caught our three-person limit by 10:15, and took a nice leisurely back in.
The forecast was a little off today. I was expecting a relatively calm lake, other than some residual NE rollers from last night's wind, and less than 5mph out of the south. Well, it wasn't less than 5, and it wasn't out of the south. It was a SE, and sometimes NE wind...it kept switching around. The waves were no more than 1-2's, unless some knoob with a pleasure boat drove by too close, plowing through, and throwing a big wake. I wonder if they think they will lose their way if they deviate from that straight line they are driving on out there. I don't get it....but, I digress.
Anyway, it was a nice morning. Cool enough to wear jeans and a light jacket, and sunny. TJ and Daphne had a good time and said they learned a lot, so mission accomplished...and, that makes me happy! :)
I'm off tomorrow, and have the same crew for Monday and Tuesday. They are driving in from Iowa, and we will be targeting walleye.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mark and Jim 7/27/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/27/21The forecast was calling for a nice day. Winds, low to start, then picking up to 10mph with gusts up to 15 out of the WSW...and, sunshine. I left the house at 5am, and swung by the Best Western, to pick up Mark and Jim, who hail from my home state of Wisconsin. They have fished with me once or twice a year for the past 10 years. In fact, Mark was one of the first customers I guided, when I started this lifestyle back in 2012. They are here for the next four days. :)
We completed the usual routine at the gas station, of topping off the gas tank, and getting ice for the coolers, before heading over to Mazurik's to launch. It was still dark when we were sitting in the "Get Ready" lane at the park, so I took my time getting things ready in the boat for the day's fishing.
We headed NE from the breakwall, and set down at the 37/33 line. There were good marks, but they were deep, so I pulled out the dipsies and set two of them zero, and two of the on the three settings. The zero settings were set at 54 and 65 back. One side ran a "Velvet Fog" Yaleye Mooneye Minnow, and the other side ran a Black/Gold Chrome Ripplin Redfin. The three settings were set at 65 and 91. One side had a Red Headed Wonderbread Yeck spoon, and a "Gold Digger" Mooneye on the other side. (If you're confused...both corners ran a zero setting and a three setting).
Bandits, Reapers, Spro Madeye 120's, and Mooneye Minnows were run behind Off Shore boards at a variety of depths.
A Purple Perch Spro caught one at 45 back (unassisted)
A Golden Perch Spro caught one at 50/70 with 2oz (weight is put on at the 50 mark and then another 70 feet of line is let out for a total of 120', which puts it approximately 29 feet at 2.5mph).
A Gold Digger Mooneye caught at 30/80 with 2ozs
The Blue Chrome Spro caught one at 50/70 with 2oz
But, the majority of fish came on the dipsies.
It was a slow but steady pick, between checking baits for little walleye hanger on'rs. We went from the 37/33 line, east to the 38/28 line, where we finished.
The Solix showed more marks behind us, but we were still picking away when the screen was showing absolutely nothing too, so we just kept heading ENE, with the wind behind us. The fish were definitely bigger the further east we went. Unfortunately, we would have our limit of smaller eaters after keeping only 4 of the bigger fish there...(and, by "bigger", I mean, 23-24" fish. The earlier fish were in the 16-17" range).
The ride back in was a lot bumpier than going out, but we made it back in an hour's time. The lake was not too bad today, and I was surprised not to see a lot more people fishing out there today. I only saw two other boats north of me, but in the same relative area, and only maybe a dozen, on my way back to Mazurik's from the Buoy, and all of those were closer to Cedar Point and the SE corner of Kelly's.
I'm liking the 16" Humminbird Solix unit on this "new to me boat". It does a good job of marking fish on plane. I was able to mark a bunch on the way back in, so we can check that area first, if we don't do perch tomorrow instead. I just looked at the wind forecast at the weather buoy for the morning, and it's showing NE 10-12mph. That's a long haul for fish that bite, when the sonar screen is void of marks. lol Maybe we'll perch fish tomorrow and head east on Thursday. Right now, it show very light winds for Thursday. A 10-12NE wind would be good for perch'n, I think. We shall see....
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Larry, Rudy, and Neil 7/25/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/26/21Larry Carlson, his son-in-law, and grandson, Rudy, fished with me back in early May for walleye. Rudy is the 9-year-old boy who loves to fish. Anyway, Today it was Larry, Rudy, and Larry's son (and, Rudy's Uncle), Neil, for a perch trip.
This was my first official all perch trip of the season, and while I was cautiously optimistic, the kid in me was excited to go perch'n.
I left the house at 5am to do a gas station stop, and hit Jeannette's Bait, over there on Catawba. It opens at 6am. That's late, for a bait shop right now, but she was the only one I called the night before, that had Emeralds for this morning.
Everyone else said they had "dead", "frozen", or Goldies available.
My guys met me at the park, and we launched by 6:45. The ramp wasn't as busy as I thought it would be, since the day's forecast was a nice one. We headed to the Green Island area to look around, and see if we could find some perchy looking marks on the Solix screen...and, then, set up on them.
The weather was weird this morning. On land, you could still see the full moon high in the sky even as the sky lightened...but, then it clouded up with a heavy fog like cloud that eventually drifted down and surrounded us for a while. At one point, it was thick enough that by navigation rules, the navigation lights were turned on. That lasted about a half hour, I think. Then, the fog lifted, and we could see the islands again. Our spirits lifted a bit too.
We hit three spots before finding one that we would sit on for a longer duration. The bottom was a little bit harder than the previous spots, and there were good marks on the Solix screen. We had Emerald Shiners, and a 9-year-old boy that declared that we weren't here on a "Fishing trip"...."We are here on a catching trip!" (no pressure there, eh? lol)
We had a slow bite, but it was still fun, and the size of the perch made up for the quantity caught today. Rudy was happy, and that made me happy! He's the most positive kid I've met so far. Most would have been bored, but he stayed focused, and when he missed a bite, he would just try even harder. He's pretty cool. :)
The final count was 38, I think....plus or minus one. I know we were short of 40, which was only 1/3 of the allowable catch. From what I heard on the radio, it sounded like a lot of people were struggling on the perch today. At least the ones being caught are a nice grade, and not the little bait stealing 4-5 inchers, like a couple of years ago. I hope the bite keeps getting better as the season progresses.
We shall see....
I'm off tomorrow....then, back at it Tuesday through Saturday.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Larry, Rudy, and Neil 7/25/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/25/21Larry Carlson, his son-in-law, and grandson, Rudy, fished with me back in early May for walleye. Rudy is the 9-year-old boy who loves to fish. Anyway, Today it was Larry, Rudy, and Larry's son (and, Rudy's Uncle), Neil, for a perch trip.
This was my first official all perch trip of the season, and while I was cautiously optimistic, the kid in me was excited to go perch'n.
I left the house at 5am to do a gas station stop, and hit Jeannette's Bait, over there on Catawba. It opens at 6am. That's late, for a bait shop right now, but she was the only one I called the night before, that had Emeralds for this morning.
Everyone else said they had "dead", "frozen", or Goldies available.
My guys met me at the park, and we launched by 6:45. The ramp wasn't as busy as I thought it would be, since the day's forecast was a nice one. We headed to the Green Island area to look around, and see if we could find some perchy looking marks on the Solix screen...and, then, set up on them.
The weather was weird this morning. On land, you could still see the full moon high in the sky even as the sky lightened...but, then it clouded up with a heavy fog like cloud that eventually drifted down and surrounded us for a while. At one point, it was thick enough that by navigation rules, the navigation lights were turned on. That lasted about a half hour, I think. Then, the fog lifted, and we could see the islands again. Our spirits lifted a bit too.
We hit three spots before finding one that we would sit on for a longer duration. The bottom was a little bit harder than the previous spots, and there were good marks on the Solix screen. We had Emerald Shiners, and a 9-year-old boy that declared that we weren't here on a "Fishing trip"...."We are here on a catching trip!" (no pressure there, eh? lol)
We had a slow bite, but it was still fun, and the size of the perch made up for the quantity caught today. Rudy was happy, and that made me happy! He's the most positive kid I've met so far. Most would have been bored, but he stayed focused, and when he missed a bite, he would just try even harder. He's pretty cool. :)
The final count was 38, I think....plus or minus one. I know we were short of 40, which was only 1/3 of the allowable catch. From what I heard on the radio, it sounded like a lot of people were struggling on the perch today. At least the ones being caught are a nice grade, and not the little bait stealing 4-5 inchers, like a couple of years ago. I hope the bite keeps getting better as the season progresses.
We shall see....
I'm off tomorrow....then, back at it Tuesday through Saturday.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Ronald, Bill, and Orlando 7/24/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/24/21Ronald Long has been trying to fish with me since last October, but every time his date came up, good old Mother Nature would intervene and say, "Nay-Nay", while pointing her finger in the air, and moving it back and forth. "Not today. I'm in a bad mood". So, I think, this is his 4th attempt since last fall.
This morning, Ron, Bill, and Orlando drove in from Fort Wayne, IN and met me at my house. They would park here, and we would drive to the launch together.
They showed up at 5am, and hopped in my truck. I was taking them to Vermilion to launch this morning. I was then informed that Orlando has never been on Lake Erie before. My heart sank....I knew with the wind we were expecting, Orlando wasn't going to last 15 minutes out there. I already felt bad for him....deep sigh.
After we stopped, to top off the gas tank and get ice for the coolers, we jumped on the highway and headed east. It was just getting light out when we got there, so the timing was perfect.
Ronald reminded me to keep my antenna down, until we got past the antenna eating bridge. "You wrote about that in one of your reports", he said...smiling. "Thanks, for the reminder", I said. Then, of course, I had to tell the story of how I had it up on a dark morning, due to routine at Mazurik's, and hit the bridge with it...busted off 5 inches of the tip. Oops! That's one of the reasons why it's mounted on the driver's side gunnel now, instead of on the passenger's side. I knew by the time they figured out how to drop it, it would be broken. All I could do was watch. If it had been on my side of the boat, I could have had it down before it hit. Lesson learned.
We left the ramp at 6 and idled down the river. I knew where I wanted to head, and told the guys, "It's 10 miles out". I was expecting a SW wind though, and it was ESE at maybe 5mph when we got out of the river and onto the lake. So, it was an offshore wind, giving us following seas to our destination.
The further out we got, the bumpier it got, so knowing Orlando would need to still be able to see land, if he were to stand a chance, I set down 5 miles short. We were marking some deeper fish, so I deployed the Ulterra and Baby Black Motor and set a course quartering the waves, back and forth. That helps control the speed, so there's a little less surging, and throws an "S-Turn" in there from time to time. Speed was set for 2.5mph to start.
Each corner ran a zero and a three setting dipsey. The zero settings were at 45 and 54, and the three settings were at 65 and 95. The Black Gold Ripplin Redfin caught a couple, and a Flicker Minnow 11 caught one. We had three fish in the box, along with a few throw backs and one nice one lost at the boat. I knew if we kept heading out, the bite would only get better... but, the wind was picking up.
The waves were getting bigger....and, Orlando was turning another color. When they go completely quiet, it's a sure sign they are fighting just to keep it together. I said to him, "If you're feeling nauseous, the best thing you can do is throw up. You wouldn't be the first, and you won't be the last... Hell, I've gotten seasick before, so I know what you're going through". He mustered a smile when I smirked and added, "Just make sure you get it OUTSIDE the boat". That got a laugh out of Ron and Bill.
We fished out there a little longer, but after looking at the wind forecast on iWindSurf, it showed it was going to keep building a little and then settle down in the afternoon again. So, with that knowledge, I said to the crew, "I think we need to go find skinny water to fish. The waves are only building, and this has got to be torture for him. They agreed pretty quickly, and we picked up and headed back towards the, "Castle" area.
I was looking at 25' of water, so we put Flicker Minnows out on the starboard side behind three Off Shore boards, at 50, 40, and 30 back, and a Golden Perch Spro, and two Reapers out on the port side at the same distance back.
It was a slow bite, but we managed to catch another 8 keepers over there for a total of 11 fish for the day. I was disappointed in the number, but Orlando had a better time over there in the quieter water, and making it a "good" day for all of them to remember, was the most important part of my job today. Mission accomplished.
Oh, yeah....and, this happened.... a fish spit the Golden Perch Spro at the back of the boat and the lure flew up and around and attached itself to the back of my hat. Luckily, it didn't penetrate and skin, so all was well. But, this is exactly why I always wear glasses when I'm netting fish. Sometimes, those baits come right at you. Uffda....
Ron brought me some sweet corn from his garden, a jalapeño/raspberry jelly, and some Jalapeño, cheddar, Elk sausage that he made too. I had some sausage on the boat, and it was delicious! I ate some sweet corn after we got back, and I said my thank you and goodbyes to them. It, too, was delicious! Thanks, Ron!
It made me happy! :)
Tomorrow, I have a perch trip with the Carlson Clan. We will be launching out of Catawba. This will be my first all perch trip this season, and I have been looking forward to it. I love perch'n! Hope we find some hungry ones!
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mark, Cindy, and Kiera 7/14/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/14/21I got up at 2:30 and did the usual routine of making coffee, cleaning the cat box, getting the royals their canned food, and grabbing a couple treats for Dexter, before hitting the back deck to check the weather for the morning. Today's forecast, was calling for a decent wind from the west for the early morning hours, and then diminishing as the morning progressed, and picking back up in the afternoon. So, I texted my crew and told them to meet me at Mazurik's at 6:45 instead of 5:30. We would do a later start. Well, the forecasters got it wrong....deep sigh...again. It was pretty calm when I looked out over the water from the get ready lane at Mazurik's. There was just a small ripple, due to a light SSW wind. My crew, this morning, consisted of a family from a place near Rockford, ILL. Mark and Cindy Simon, and their daughter, Kiera, would be joining me today. We headed east out of the break wall, and headed towards Cedar Point. The sky was cloudy and gray, and their was a light haze hanging over the water too. But, there in the smallest of openings in the clouds... the sun poked through, and lit things up a bit. We started in 30 feet of water. The Ulterra steered us on a northeasterly course, while the Baby ETEC pushed us at a speed of 1.9-2.1mph. We started with Flicker Minnow 11s behind Off Shore boards, (3 on each side), and two dipsies off each corner. The Flicker Minnows were set at 100 / 70 / 50 on the starboard side, and 100 / 80 / 65 on the port side...(longest leads on the outside). Dipsies: Yeck Spoons, Rippling Redfins, BadMo Spoons, and Scorpion Spoons today. Shorter inside rod: set on zero and set 30 back on both sides. The longer outside rods: were set on the 3 settings and sent out 50 and 60 back. I showed Mark how to use the boards and clip them on the line, and set them out. He caught on quick, and before he could start the second rod, the first bait out, got hit. Mark reeled in a nice eater, and put it in the cooler. I said, "I just hope this isn't one of those days when the first one comes superfast, and then we catch nothing for hours". Mark laughed, and emitted a feeling that he knew exactly what I was talking about. But, we didn't have to wait long for the next one to hit. It was another nice eater, I thought we were going to have a great morning. But, after fish number 4 came in the boat, the marks on the Helix were thinning out, and so was our bite. I tuned the boat around, to go back through that area, and see if that direction would be any better. We caught a few more, along with a couple of sheephead, so I directed the Ulterra to the NNW this time. We were now going with the waves, out to deeper water. I replaced the spoon on the starboard side's 3 setting with a Black and Gold Chrome Ripplin Redfin, and it caught a bunch of fish at 65 and 70 back. Kiera was on the money when reeling in dipsey fish.....reeling down to the dipsey, and then lifting and backing up at the same time, so the fish could be netted. She's a young athletic young lady, with a contagious smile, who loves to golf...and will hopefully succeed in getting a golf scholarship to college. She did an awesome job today. :) Mom, Cindy, was happy just floating along on the boat, and wasn't really interested in reeling in any fish, so Kiera, Mark, and I did it all. Most of the fish we caught today were little buggers on the spoons...along with 16 keepers that went in the cooler...the largest only going 23 inches. The Simon family was happy with their catch, and would have been happier, if Mark hadn't broken the key off in the truck topper's lock this morning. His cooler was in the back. lol I drove the fish over to Port Clinton Fish Co., so they could have them cleaned there. The bagged fillets could be put in a smaller cooler then. They had a great time, and that makes me happy! :) I am off tomorrow, due to forecasted conditions. The trip has been rescheduled to a later date. Weather permitting, I'll be back at it on Saturday. Stay tuned.... Capt Juls
Fishing with Rodney, Dan, and Joe 7/8/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/08/21I slept really well last night knowing that the crew I had for this morning were guys who have many years of experience under their own belts, and already know how to troll, so it was going to be an easy day for me. :)
Since they booked at "The White Caps Motel", I swung by and picked them up at 4:45. They were pulling in beside me, holding up coffees from a gas station. "You want us to follow you, or jump in with you?", asked a voice from a darkened car. I said, "You can jump in with me". "Okay, we'll be right back, we just have to park the car", the voice said.
They showed up again a minute later and introduced themselves. Rodney, Dan, and Joe. After the pleasantries, we piled in the truck and headed off to the gas station for gas and ice. Then, we went to Mazurik's to launch by 5:30.
The forecast was calling for SW winds that would build for a few hours and then subside again. It was a nice ride out to the east side of Kelly's, since it wasn't really windy yet. We went to where I left off yesterday, and found some good marks again. We set up there.
I almost started my routine of explaining everything, but I saw quickly that it wasn't needed, as these guys were already putting lines out before I even got the Baby ETEC fired up. lol It was going to be an easy day, I thought to myself.
They just got a couple of "do it this way....because...." out of me though, because they use a different brand of board, with different releases, than what I use on my Off Shore boards, and I need them clipped on a certain way, so they wouldn't have a chance to come off. Other than that, I didn't have to do anything. They were taking boards off, reeling in fish, netting fish, and having fun.
The first spot, we set up with Reapers on one side and Spro Madeyes and Bandits on the other. Oh, wait...I notice that there's a Bandit on the Reaper side.. "How did that happen?", I asked, giggling. Joe confessed, as he whispered in my ear. "I did that, I really liked that color" (It was the Pooh Bear color). "Well, if that's the case, then just keep it there", I said.
The baits were set out at 125, 100, 80, and 70 back on both sides. Speed was 2.3-2.5mph.
We picked off around 7 walleye, some sheep, and some throw backs, before we got close to the Canadian line, where I would have to make a decision to pick up and make another pass there, or go find another area. The wind was picking up and so were the waves, so I decided to move inside to calmer seas.
I said, "This isn't stellar up here today, so let's go try another area closer to Cedar Point." Rodney had mentioned earlier that he owns a 621 also, so when we were all picked up and ready to go, I told Rodney to get in the driver's seat and take us to a marker on the Helix, pointing to the "go-to" destination on the GPS. He didn't hesitate, and sat right down and got us going.
We set up in 39 feet of water to start and trolled north to 43 feet of water, picking away at more walleye. The walleye were a little better size there, than they were way up north, so the move was worth it, even if it too wasn't very stellar.
We switched out the Reapers for some Bandits that Dan picked out of the plethora of Bandits I own, and ran those all over the water column.
The spoons outdid the boards in numbers of fish caught, but the bigger fish came on crank baits. I think one of the nicer walleye did come on the Tangerine Yeck spoon though. But, mostly, the spoons caught a lot of little walleye. A couple of them were only a little bigger than the spoon they were trying to eat too. Aggressive little buggers, eh?
We ended the trip with 14 keepers. It was fun fishing with them and getting to know these guys a little bit more. They kept me giggling the entire time. Joe said to me, "You're the first woman I ever let give me orders...I usually don't". I laughed and said, smiling, "I get it. I don't like taking orders from men either". ;)
I really felt kind of guilty for taking a Guide's fee for the morning, when I really didn't have to do anything, except sit there and watch, and hit the button on the remote for the Ulterra when a course change was needed. I said, "I should only charge for gas since I didn't do anything this morning", but they insisted and paid me anyway. Thanks guys! Much appreciated. :)
I dropped them back off at the motel with their fish and headed home to my waiting doggo.
I have tomorrow off, but my Sunday is swapping for my Saturday that I had scheduled off, because of the forecast for Sunday. Thankfully, he was able to add a night to his reservations over there in Sandusky. Fingers crossed, that the forecast holds for Saturday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Rodney, Dan, and Joe 7/8/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/08/21I slept really well last night knowing that the crew I had for this morning were guys who have many years of experience under their own belts, and already know how to troll, so it was going to be an easy day for me. :)
Since they booked at "The White Caps Motel", I swung by and picked them up at 4:45. They were pulling in beside me, holding up coffees from a gas station. "You want us to follow you, or jump in with you?", asked a voice from a darkened car. I said, "You can jump in with me". "Okay, we'll be right back, we just have to park the car", the voice said.
They showed up again a minute later and introduced themselves. Rodney, Dan, and Joe. After the pleasantries, we piled in the truck and headed off to the gas station for gas and ice. Then, we went to Mazurik's to launch by 5:30.
The forecast was calling for SW winds that would build for a few hours and then subside again. It was a nice ride out to the east side of Kelly's, since it wasn't really windy yet. We went to where I left off yesterday, and found some good marks again. We set up there.
I almost started my routine of explaining everything, but I saw quickly that it wasn't needed, as these guys were already putting lines out before I even got the Baby ETEC fired up. lol It was going to be an easy day, I thought to myself.
They just got a couple of "do it this way....because...." out of me though, because they use a different brand of board, with different releases, than what I use on my Off Shore boards, and I need them clipped on a certain way, so they wouldn't have a chance to come off. Other than that, I didn't have to do anything. They were taking boards off, reeling in fish, netting fish, and having fun.
The first spot, we set up with Reapers on one side and Spro Madeyes and Bandits on the other. Oh, wait...I notice that there's a Bandit on the Reaper side.. "How did that happen?", I asked, giggling. Joe confessed, as he whispered in my ear. "I did that, I really liked that color" (It was the Pooh Bear color). "Well, if that's the case, then just keep it there", I said.
The baits were set out at 125, 100, 80, and 70 back on both sides. Speed was 2.3-2.5mph.
We picked off around 7 walleye, some sheep, and some throw backs, before we got close to the Canadian line, where I would have to make a decision to pick up and make another pass there, or go find another area. The wind was picking up and so were the waves, so I decided to move inside to calmer seas.
I said, "This isn't stellar up here today, so let's go try another area closer to Cedar Point." Rodney had mentioned earlier that he owns a 621 also, so when we were all picked up and ready to go, I told Rodney to get in the driver's seat and take us to a marker on the Helix, pointing to the "go-to" destination on the GPS. He didn't hesitate, and sat right down and got us going.
We set up in 39 feet of water to start and trolled north to 43 feet of water, picking away at more walleye. The walleye were a little better size there, than they were way up north, so the move was worth it, even if it too wasn't very stellar.
We switched out the Reapers for some Bandits that Dan picked out of the plethora of Bandits I own, and ran those all over the water column.
The spoons outdid the boards in numbers of fish caught, but the bigger fish came on crank baits. I think one of the nicer walleye did come on the Tangerine Yeck spoon though. But, mostly, the spoons caught a lot of little walleye. A couple of them were only a little bigger than the spoon they were trying to eat too. Aggressive little buggers, eh?
We ended the trip with 14 keepers. It was fun fishing with them and getting to know these guys a little bit more. They kept me giggling the entire time. Joe said to me, "You're the first woman I ever let give me orders...I usually don't". I laughed and said, smiling, "I get it. I don't like taking orders from men either". ;)
I really felt kind of guilty for taking a Guide's fee for the morning, when I really didn't have to do anything, except sit there and watch, and hit the button on the remote for the Ulterra when a course change was needed. I said, "I should only charge for gas since I didn't do anything this morning", but they insisted and paid me anyway. Thanks guys! Much appreciated. :)
I dropped them back off at the motel with their fish and headed home to my waiting doggo.
I have tomorrow off, but my Sunday is swapping for my Saturday that I had scheduled off, because of the forecast for Sunday. Thankfully, he was able to add a night to his reservations over there in Sandusky. Fingers crossed, that the forecast holds for Saturday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Two Days of Fishing with Mark and Claudia Miller 7/6-7/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/07/21Yesterday, we stayed close to shore, because I was told that Claudia may get motion sickness, and the winds were gusting out of the SW, so it would have been pretty rough out where we ended up today, and where I was two days ago. We decided to give it a shot.
We left Mazurik's at 5:30 and headed to Mouse Island, where we turned the boat back to the east, and set up in 17 feet of water. There were good marks there, but I wasn't convinced they were walleye, but we tried it anyway, because my options were limited.
The port side ran the Reapers from the day before, at 60, 50, 40 back behind the Off Shore boards. The starboard side ran Spro Madeye 120's at the same distance behind the boards. Speed, going with the current, was 2.5-2.7mph.
I set the Ulterra's course, going parallel along the shoreline. We trolled from Mouse to the Marblehead lighthouse, and then picked up, ran back up to the Mazurik's area, out in front of East Harbor, and set up again for another pass. We made it to the lighthouse again before we ran out of time.
We ended with 10 fish in the cooler along with some sheephead, which were donated to the "Back to the Wild" rehabilitation center over in Castalia, OH.
When we were setting up for the first time that morning, Mark said, "We don't need to keep any fish today, or tomorrow, we have plenty in the freezer already, I just wanted to come and learn some tips". I said, "Great! Would you mind if we donated them to "Back to the Wild...for the...."? He cut me off... and, smiling, he finished my sentence saying, "the Eagles!!" They were all for it, so everything went in the cooler except for white bass. (There's something in White Bass that the birds can't eat).
So, that's what we did.
Fast Forward to this morning....
We met at Mazurik's again, and launched at 5:30. The wind was out of the SW, but it was a light wind...almost calm, at that hour this morning. The humidity was already high, and the forecast was calling for another hot and humid day. The wind was supposed to pick up a little, a little later in the morning, (which it did, but it wasn't bad at all).
I was a little wary of taking Claudia out on the "big water", where I knew she wouldn't feel as comfortable as she did yesterday, closer to shore. But, I needn't have worried, she did absolutely great! There was no issue on her part at all. That made me feel better when we set up E of Kelly's, out there in the wide open yonder. ;)
We ran 2 dipsies and 2 Off Shore boards on each side of the boat. The dipsies were set on the zero and three settings. Zero setting was at 45 to 65 back and the three setting was set at 65 and 75 back. The spoons were a steady bite, but mostly smaller fish. We had 4 to 5 fish that went 23", or better, in the cooler, but most were in the 16-17" range. The shorts range anywhere from 4 inches to 14 3/4 inch.
As bothersome as they are right now, I just remind myself how good the fishing is still going to be in a few years, and just keep pulling, checking, and resetting lines. Almost every time we checked a dipsey, there was a tiny little bugger hanging there, taking a ride. :)
We ended the day with our three-person limit in the cooler. And, again, Mark donated his fish to me, to do whatever I wanted to do with them, so they are going in my freezer this time instead, because I don't have any in my freezer.
Mark and Claudia had a good time, and Mark learned a lot. Claudia was the dipsey queen...she had the "Reel down to the diver, lift, and back up" down pat in no time, which made it easy to net the fish, or grab the line if they were just itty-bitties.
Tomorrow, I have three fellas that already know how to do all this stuff, and all own boats, so I really don't know why they need me, but was told they just want to see how I do things, and see if they can learn anything. I told Rod, "I might learn something from you guys too. I'm looking forward to it".
The forecast is calling for some rain in the morning, but as long as there is no lightning in the system, like there is this afternoon, with this storm rolling through, we will be a go. The wind forecast is SW again. I think I'll launch out of the Portage River and go explore some areas west of the islands in the morning.
I think these guys will be fun. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dave, Sue, and "Wojo" 7/5/2021
by Capt Juls on 07/05/21I had the 4th and 5th scheduled off....just because....but, I received an email from a local who was having some issues learning to troll for the first time, and asked if I had any openings this week. I couldn't let him go out there not knowing what he's doing, so I said I had tomorrow (today) open. He booked the trip.
We met at Mazurik's at 5:15 and headed out at 5:30. By the looks of the sky, I can start meeting the crews at 5:30 and heading out at 5:45. I like to be able to take the navigation light off the back, once we get to our destination. It was still a little dark at 5:40 when we set the first boards this morning, out in front of Cedar Point, but since no one was out, and it would be getting lighter soon, I removed the back one anyway.
Dave, his wife Sue, and his buddy, "Wojo", had never used more than two boards, so it was going to be a quick lesson on how to set 4 boards per side and a dipsey off each corner. I started with a speed of 2.1-2.4mph.
The port side ran "Baby Spros" (Diver 85's), and the starboard side ran the Madeye 120s. Both sides were set out at 100/80/60/and 45 (longest leads on the outside boards). The dipsies were set on the zero setting at 30 and the 1 setting at 35. We started in 38' of water in front of Cedar Point. The Ulterra and Baby ETEC were on a northerly course, along one of the more common contour lines.
As we trolled into deeper water, I changed up the Baby Spro side to Bandits, since the Spro Madeyes were picking a fish here and there. I also think the Baby Spros don't run as well at faster speeds, as the Madeye 120's.
It was a slow bite, and mostly small eyes on the spoons, until we moved even deeper to 43 feet, and changed things up again.
This time, I took one board rod out of the set up on each side, and pulled out two more dipsey rods. These dipsies were both set on the 3 setting and set out at 65 back with spoons. I also changed out the Bandits for the Walleye Nation Creation, Reapers. The deep diver. I had three out, at 77, 65, and 57.
One color, caught 5 of the walleye that we put in the cooler, and I wish I had had it out sooner, because every fish it caught was one of the nicer ones. Its color name is "Goldaliscious". I think Capt Bobby Greene said this one was hot for him the other day, but I didn't see the lure color. I had to go look up the name, just now, so I got lucky by picking the right one out of the box this morning... because, he was right! lol
Anyway, the other two Reapers out there, running a little shallower, only caught one at 65 back. The Goldaliscious at 77 back was doing something right, I guess. I only have two in that color though, so I'll see if I have the shallow diver in that color and put it on a dipsey, and see what happens.
I sped things up to 2.7-2.9mph to get by a boat that was encroaching on my port side, and the chaos began, so they definitely wanted it faster today.
The spoons were constantly being checked, otherwise, little walleye that want to be big walleye would just be hanging there, getting pulled along. So, it was pretty steady work all morning, The crew kept busy, and I let them handle as many as they wanted, so they could really learn what was happening and why I do stuff the way I do. I even let them do the netting too.
On a side note, just because I'm thinking of it...I always say, "Organization is the key to success". Meaning, if things are organized, and there's a routine for bringing in fish, netting fish, and placing the net in the boat a certain way, etc.... I call it, "The Dance". Once everyone gets in the groove, everyone starts working like a well-oiled machine, and the cooler fills up with fish. :)
Dave, Sue, and Wojo did a great job this morning....they learned "the dance" well. I have no doubt in my mind that they have a better understanding of how to troll now. Dave was excited about taking what he learned and figuring out how to best do it from his boat....and, that makes me happy! Mission accomplished! :)
Tomorrow, I'm fishing with Mark Miller and his wife (I don't know her name yet), who are driving in from Rochester, NY this afternoon.
The forecast is calling for some gusty SW winds in the morning, so I'm going to see if there are fish in close tomorrow, as the wife is susceptible to motion sickness. If I were to go out where I was this morning, with the wind forecast, as it stands right now...it would be 3-4s with some 5s thrown in for good measure. I can't do that to her.
I'm told there were some good marks seen inside today, so I'll give it a shot, and see what happens.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with the Mathewson Family 6/30/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/30/21This was the first trip in about two weeks, because of reschedules, so I was really looking forward to getting back to work.
Two days ago, Capt Matt Wieland and I went out to prefish for his and Capt Jenn's trip that they had the next day. We went to a spot, that another Capt gave us to look at, so I am not at liberty to say where. It was shallow water bite... that's all I can say. We caught our two person limit in about two hours on short leads (18 to 25 back on Blue/Chrome and Golden Perch Spro 120s did best). The walleye and the sheephead got donated to the "Back to the Wild" wildlife rehabilitation center, for the Eagles, critters, and other birds of prey that they have there.
This morning, I was up at 2:30 and out the door by 4:10, so I could go gas up and get some ice for the coolers. I was meeting my crew at 5:15, so we could be on the water by 5:30. I was early, so I could change up some baits from my trip out with Matt, an get some other things ready before they showed up. I like that bit of quiet and calm before the morning starts, and the day gets busy.
They were right on time, and that always makes me happy! We were off to a good start. ;)
Clint set this trip up for his wife Molly, who is fighting Cancer right now. Katie, Molly's sister, introduced herself and explained that Molly had wanted a fishing trip on Lake Erie as part of her "Bucket List". I was honored to have gotten the call. Molly did a great job today reeling in her fish with the help of family members, as did the rest of the family. Jude, Clint and Molly's 11 year old son, had never fished before, and said, "I didn't think I was going to like this, but I do."
Katie had the magic touch this morning, because every fish she brought in was a nice fish. The size today was 16 to 25 inches. Most were in the 20-23" range, though. A "Perfect Eater" in my book. :)
We ran 4 Off Shore boards on each side of the boat. On the starboard side, we ran 4 Spro Madeye 120s.
Colors were:
Golden Perch at 25 back
Chrome/Blue at 18 back
Chrome/Blue at 18 back
Pink Lemonade at 18 back
(They all caught fish)
On the port side we ran (2) Spro Diver 85s (I just call them "Baby Spros"), one Flicker Minnow 11, and one Bandit.
Golden Perch Baby Spro at 35 back
Purple Glass Perch Baby Spro at 25 back (hot bait today, but I only had one).
Chrome/Purple/Red Flicker Minnow 11 at 20 back
Pooh Bear Bandit (purple body/chart head) at 18 back
(These all caught fish)
Speed was 2.1-2.3mph Water temp was 75 degrees Air temp: hot/humid light SW wind 5-10mph.
I was watching the radar app to see if there was any lightning in the pop-up showers headed our way. It was a beautiful morning weather wise, but a system was moving in. We had a 3-person limit in the cooler, when the bite shut off, and Jude was hungry, so we headed in 20 minutes early, to try and beat the rain.
It was just starting to spit a light rain when we hit the launch, so the timing was pretty good. :)
I told Clint about "Cutcher's Fish Cleaning" over in Oak Harbor, and he liked that idea. They were going to go eat at "Jolly Roger's" first, and then head over there.
It was a fun morning, and I hope Molly had a good experience, and will be able to check off every box on that bucket list!
Oh, I almost forgot, Clint caught the first Smallie to be brought into my boat this season too! That was a nice bonus fish today.
I am off tomorrow, and will be making a call on Friday's trip, on Friday morning. Steve Miles has the same area code as me, so he must live around here. I will look at the forecast that morning and make a determination then, if our trip is a go, or not.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Chuck, Vic, and Dave 6/17/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/17/21Let me preface this one by saying that I KNOW I took pics of these guys with fish this morning, with my iPhone, but for some reason, when I got home...all that was on there was the sunrise pic and a pic of a cooler of fish! Uffda!
We left Mazurik's a little before 5:30 this morning, and headed towards the dark horizon that had a big orange and yellow glow peeking up from below. We were only 1/2 way to our destination when we had to stop, so I could get my "Sunrise Pic" taken. "This is the best place to see a morning sunrise", I said. To which, they all agreed. We got back on plane and dodged a few nets, before setting down to troll.
The Ulterra and the baby ETEC worked together to keep us on an East to West course at a speed of 1.9-2.4mph.
The wind had picked up a little, but it wasn't bad. I'd say it was 2' or less, with an occasional 3 footer thrown in there for good measure. The waves were hitting my Port bow, but were not coming over the bow, so it wasn't that bad.
The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the air temp was very comfortable. The water temp was 68.9 degrees.
Dipsies only caught one today, but it was the biggest one. It was 27 1/2 inches. The dipsey was set on the 1 setting at 35 back and a Rippling Redfin in the Clown color was used.
The Flicker Minnows were set at (from the inside to the outside board) 45, 60, and 80.
The Spros and Bandits were run at 50, 80, and 100. The Golden Perch Spro Madeye 120 was hot today, and caught most of the 16 fish we put in the cooler today. The Pooh Bear colored Bandit, and the same also in the Flicker Minnow, also caught well.
The Spro and Bandit side was outproducing the Flicker side, so we changed out the Flickers to more Spros, which helped the Port side start producing too.
My crew is older, and their steadiness isn't what it used to be, but we made it work, and they did a great job getting the fish in the boat! They commented on my bare feet, and I explained that a person has much better balance when they take their shoes off, and go barefoot. "That's why I keep my boat so clean", I said. (No hooks on my floors). :)
We had 16 beautiful eaters in the cooler when they huddled up and discussed maybe heading in early. They asked me if that was okay, and I said, "My dog would love that!" So, it was an easy decision for them, and we headed in.
The three of them were fun to fish with, and Vic said he wants to come back in the fall to fish again, so that makes me happy!
Tomorrow is a blow day with a chance of thunderstorms rolling through too.
Saturday is still on the table, but it's not looking good from what my weather app says.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dan, Brian, and Dalton 6/13/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/13/21This morning started out a little strange. I got up at 2am and there was a lightning show going on over on the Canadian side of the lake. I made a cup of coffee, made the cats their wet food....grabbed my phone and Dexter, and went out on the back deck to check out the storm on the other side of the lake.
I just got a new iPhone 12 Pro Max, because it takes better pictures...in my humble opinion. My clients like the photos, and my old phone was getting a bit worn out in that department, so I had to upgrade. Apple claims that it takes better pictures in low light, so this was a chance to try it out. I've tried to take video footage in lowlight conditions with the iPhone X that I had, and it could never capture anything of quality at night. The new phone captured the entire show, so I was pretty happy I upgraded. I have a lot of early morning lowlight conditions that it will come in handy for. :)
So, this is how the rest of the morning goes....
I got gas and ice at the local corner gas station and walked back out to my truck. The ground was spotted with quarter sized rain drops. I couldn't believe it, I checked all the weather apps before I left, and there was no wet weather predicted. Well, a quick moving cell burst and flowed enough water to make my entire boat completely soaked. Now, I had to deal with a very wet boat.
I didn't know if it would rain again and I realized my rain gear was not in the boat or the truck. Then, I remembered I had a little papery Frogg Togg suit-in-a-bag somewhere in the boat for a "Just in Case" situation like this.
My crew was supposed to meet me at 5:15, but at 5:19 they hadn't showed yet, so I gave them a call to find out if they were running behind. Dan, apologetically told me they had gone to the wrong park by mistake. From there, they showed up pretty quickly, and we were launched and on our way by 5:30
This is one of those spots that I am not at liberty to share with any of you, because I'm working it with a few other captains right now. Unfortunately, it's a small area, and cannot take the pressure, so we are keeping it quiet. I hope you understand. Sometimes, a person needs to keep just one...just for themselves. Know what I mean? Anyway....sorry about that. But, I'm sworn to secrecy.
The guys had a good time, worked hard, and caught a lot of fish today. They did a great job setting lines and retrieving them too. We didn't lose any boards today either, so that's a plus. lol
Tomorrow, I have a husband and wife team, from Ohio, scheduled for a walleye trip. The weather is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a wind from....hard to tell...one site says one thing and another site says something completely different, so I have no clue which one is right and which one is wrong. We will just go fishing, and watch the weather closely.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Day 4 with Mark and Patty Leucht 6/10/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/10/21This morning, was Mark and Patty's 13th wedding anniversary, so I was happy to see it was going to be a nice day for their special day. The air temps were supposed to be a little cooler than it has been, but the humidity was still up.
The sunrise was supposed to be special this morning too. The Moon was eclipsing part of the Sun, so we all had our fingers crossed that we would be able to see it.
We were early enough, since we hit the water a little before 5:30, but there was a rim of clouds coming up from the horizon, so the Sun was hidden behind them for a bit.
I think, I was able to get a photo of it, but I'm not sure if it's the actual eclipse making a dent in the sun, or if it's a cloud. I can't really tell.
We headed NE out of Mazurik's and set up in 40' of water. The Ulterra and Baby ETEC worked together to keep us on a northeasterly course at a speed of 2.2-2.5mph. The Helix was marking scattered fish.
We ran Bandits on the starboard side and Flicker Minnow 11s on the port side, behind Off Shore boards. "Racy Shad" paint job on both the Bandit and the Flicker Minnow did well on the larger fish we caught today. Pooh Bear (also in both the Bandit and Flicker Minnow) did well today too. We only ran two boards per side, and 2 dipsies per side too.
The dipsey on the port side corner set on the 1 setting at 35 back caught the most fish today. The two dipsies on the three setting (with depth levels adjusted several times, along with changing spoon colors, or crank colors) never caught a fish. The dipsey on the starboard corner was set up exactly like the port side, but only caught a few.
The Red Headed Wonderbread "Yeck" spoon was hot this morning....on the port side anyway. lol
A thick fog rolled in from the NE, with a little wind along with it, that made it a little rough, so we turned it around and headed west.
Mark and Patty added another 3 person limit to their tally this morning. They are looking forward to brining them back home to Wyoming, to enjoy throughout the season. From what they have told me during our chats in the boat...I think, they seriously have a little piece of heaven out there. :)
Tomorrow's forecast, for my last trip with this fun couple, is calling for winds 5-10 out of the ENE, and partly cloudy skies, so it will be another enjoyable morning to look forward to. However, it's supposed to blow out of the NE overnight, so we might launch out of Catawba tomorrow and fish the protected side of the islands. Those rollers will still be rolling in, in the morning, and I don't want either of them getting seasick on their last day here. ;)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Al, John, and "Fred" 6/8/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/08/21I met my crew at Mazurik's at 5:15 and headed north out of the launch at 5:30. It was a warm and humid morning, after yesterday's storms, with a partly cloudy sky. The air temp was near 70 degrees. The wind forecast was calling for very light winds out of the SW, so the lake was pleasantly flat on our ride out.
We made it up to the line and set up with Flicker Minnow 11's running 60', 50', 45', and 40' behind Off Shore boards. Dipsies were running on both corners with two rods on each side. The inside rod was on the zero setting at 31 back on the port side, and the 1 setting at 45 back on the starboard side.
The two longer "outside" dipsies were set on the 3 setting running at 47 and 60 back.
Speed was 2.0-2.4 mph while I tried to dial it in. We hit fish pretty fast in the morning, but mostly shorts. We kept 3 eaters in that spot. After the pack showed up, and the sun came up, it slowed right down, so we picked up to move west of North Bass, and see if there was a better bite over there. There wasn't.
Then, Al said, "We don't really care about taking any more fish, we caught enough yesterday, we just want to learn how you do things." I wished I had known that much earlier in the morning, before I used up 16 gallons of gas, because I could have gone 4 miles from the launch and done that. lol
Anyway, I took them to where I ended up yesterday, and we got into a steady bite. And, between reeling in small fish, sheephead, and blobs of weeds that decided to attach themselves to the lures or the boards...we caught some "good eaters" to add to their freezers.
Al, John, and Fred did a good job trying to set lines. Al said he learned a lot, and appreciated my "stern directions"...Heheh He said he will be taking his education and applying to his own trolling endeavors back home in Wisconsin. :)
If the guy in the boat, that said he didn't take my planer board, after it came off and floated away, while we tried to pick everything up to go after it....I hope Karma only allows Sheephead to bite your lures for the rest of your life! You are not a good human. Shame on you.
Tomorrow, I'm back with Mark and Patty Leucht (my customers from Sunday and Monday of this week).
Mark said he's making breakfast burritos for the three of us, so that is something to look forward to in the morning.
And, the best part is....they are already "trained", so I just need to have a day where I don't have to say, "I should have turned right, instead of turning left"! Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mark and Patty 6/6-7/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/07/21Yesterday, was the first of a 5 day trip for Mark and Patty Leucht, who flew in from Wyoming Saturday night. They will be taking Tuesday off to do some sight seeing, and will be fishing Wednesday through Friday with me, while I take another crew out tomorrow.
Anyway....Yesterday....(6/6/2021)
We did a later launch than my usual 5:15-5:30 launch and launched at 8am. I thought they might want to sleep in a bit after the late night they had the night before trying to get here.
We left out of Mazurik's, and headed to the old international C Can area, up there east of Middle Island, and set up over 40' of water. The Ulterra was deployed and the baby ETEC put into commission to steer us on an easterly course, trolling at a speed of 2.2-2.4mph.
4 dipsies set with spoons or shallow diving cranks were set up on the corners. I run a shorter rod and a longer rod on each side. The shorter one is the "inside" rod, and the longer rod, since it's further out away from the boat, and longer than the shorter rod (of course), is the "outside" dipsey.
The inside dipsies were set on the zero setting, and set back 31' on one side and 45 on the other side.
The outside dipsies were set on the three setting and set back 47' on one side and 60' back on the other side.
Bandits, Reapers, Spros, and Flicker Minnow 11s were run behind Off Shore boards from 45 to 100 back, (not all at once...we ran two boards per side and switched things up from time to time) All caught fish.
Water temp was up to 65 degrees.
We only had 8 or 9 in the cooler, and like many others are experiencing...little walleye, who think they're "big fish", and go after baits they couldn't possibly swallow in real life, and a handful of Sheephead. Not great, but not bad either. :)
Mark and Patty had a good time and relaxed. They are a fun couple to fish with, because even when it's a slow bite, like we had yesterday, they stayed positive, and kept things fun. We tried many different things, but couldn't get more than a semi steady pick. I told them that I thought an earlier start in the morning might help our catch rate, and it wouldn't be so darn hot. They agreed.
Fast forward to this morning's trip (6/7/2021)
I swung by and picked them up at 4:45, and they were ready to go....right on time. We headed through town, and hit the gas station to top off the boat and get some ice for the cooler....then, headed over to Mazurik's to launch.
I didn't want to go back up to the spot from the day before, and was hopeful we could find some other fish on the east side of Kelly's. We started looking out by the Marblehead dumping grounds, but the Helix was showing me a blank screen, other than a small mark here and there...not what we were looking for, so we moved.
This time, I decided that maybe there might be some fish still making the trek east...and, since there are a lot of fish being taken in the North Passage, I figured it was worth taking a look at the "Weather Buoy". Speaking of the weather buoy, it sure would be nice if it were working on iWindSurf again someday...that's the buoy I looked at the most over the years. I miss having that wind info out there).
Anyhoooo....I digress...sorry....
There were marks out there, but not the colorful fat ones I like to see on my screen, but rather, just blue arches, signaling they were smaller fish. Ugh....
So, after about a mile trolling pass....we picked up and moved again.
This time, to the Huron Dumping Grounds.....long story short...it was a bust too. So, I say, "Let's pick these up again and try one last spot", and as we are reeling lines in we get a small fish and the screen lights up with some good looking marks, so we keep lines in, and......of course, the screen goes blank for the next 5 minutes. Grrrrr...deep sigh....
So, we picked up and moved back towards Cedar Point and set up there. An even longer story shorter is that we ended with 5 nice walleye (16", 17", 19", 25", and 26 3/4"), plus several big sheep, and many throwbacks. So, it went from a boring, non-catching, morning to a fun time for all!
Mark and Patty are doing very well on learning how to set lines using the Off Shore boards, and bringing them back in, without having to remove the dipsey rod out of the way. I'm looking forward to another three days with them later this week.
Tomorrow, I have Al Bjorkman and his crew. The forecast shows it's going to be a nice, but cloudy day tomorrow, with the winds laying down towards mid to late morning. The rain should hold off until the late afternoon, but with hot temps like this...pop up showers can happen anytime. I think I'll take some rain gear tomorrow, because it's better to have and not need, than to need and not have. ;)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Joe, Ray, and Joe 6/2/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/02/21The morning was a repeat of yesterday morning, so no need to bore you with that opening again...;)
Joe Edelstein set this trip up to fish with his Dad, and his dad's friend, Joe. Ray (Dad) and "Big Joe" drove down from Wisconsin and "Little Joe" drove up from Cincinnati yesterday, so they got to do some catching up with each other before fishing with me today.
They met me at Catawba State Park at 5:15, and we were launched and headed north at 5:30. It was a mostly cloudy morning with a break in the clouds on the horizon, so once again, there was enough light flickering off the surface of the water to be able to see if there were any "DFOs" (dangerous floating objects) in the water on the way up to our spot.
We started in the spot I was working yesterday and found some early with the same program as yesterday too. Well, we started with that, and when the first bite changed, with the shifting wind, we took the Flicker Minnows off to try the Spro Madeye 120's. Set the same distances as the previous at 45, 50, 55, and 60 feet back behind Off Shore boards.
The Bandit side was doing fine, so those all stayed on.
Colors that worked today were:
Bandits: RC Crush (ran 2 of them), Daydream (or, Daydreamer...I forget.), and Green Clown.
Flicker Minnow: Racy Shad, Flashy Pearl, and Pooh Bear.
Spro: Blue/Chrome, and Purple Glass Perch.
"Little Joe" learned to set lines and did a great job helping me. Ray was pretty handy with a net, so he was able to net whenever he wanted to. :)
"Big Joe" just had a good time doing a little of everything.
It was a rainy morning, but at least it never poured until we got in. It was mostly just an annoying drizzle, but I'll take that over a downpour any day. It wasn't that cold, so minus the rain, it was a great day to be on the lake!
The wind was out of the NE when we first arrived up by North Bass, and then an hour later it was out of the SE, and another hour after that, it was more out of the South, so when the wind shifted the first time.... the first slow down occurred in that spot.
We moved eventually....trolling SW towards the hoards of boats off Rattle Snake Island. We cut it short, and turned west before getting too close to the pack. We would hit pockets of fish and get 2 maybe 3 and then nothing for what seemed to be very long periods of time.
We managed their 18 fish, but didn't get mine today....but, that's okay. They had a good time, and learned a lot, and will be coming back sometime for a perch trip, so that makes me happy! :)
I thought I had a trip tomorrow, but when I looked at the notes on the calendar, I saw that he never put a deposit down. Everyone, but a few people, have been able to use the PayPal feature on my website to submit deposits, but a few have sent me checks. He said he was sending me a check and that's what I wrote on the calendar under his name. Normally, I wouldn't write a name in the calendar unless their deposit came in, but in this case, I didn't want him to lose the day while his check was in the mail. Then, I completely forgot about it, and didn't notice it until last night.
I sent him a text to see if he was still planning on fishing (which I already knew he wasn't coming)...to which he replied, No I didn't send it. Sorry, should've told you long ago. Way too busy with my business. Sorry again.
So, both of us completely forgot about it....uffda! Oh, well... I won't complain, because it's supposed to be raining again tomorrow, with a chance of thunderstorms, so I'm cool with staying home, warm and dry, tomorrow.
Then, I'm scheduled off for the 4th and 5th, for my birthday, so I won't be back out until Sunday...for the start two-week stretch, if the weather behaves.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Tom, Susan, and Mimi 6/1/2021
by Capt Juls on 06/01/21Left the house at 4am, hit the gas station for some gas and ice, and headed to Catawba State Park to get things ready before my crew showed up.
I almost rescheduled this trip, thinking the lake was going to be too trashed after that big blow last week, but after running a scouting trip yesterday with my friend, Capt Jenn, we found enough hungry fish to make me change my mind.
I called Tom, to let him know we could run, and what time to meet me at the ramp. He agreed, so he and his wife Susan, and Susan's sister, Mimi, showed up a little before 5:15.
Capt Bobby Green was there early this morning too. He said his crew wasn't showing up until 6am. I asked him, if he could drop us in while he was waiting around, and he happily agreed to do it. Thanks, Bobby! Much appreciated! :)
It was dark when we headed north out of Catawba, with clouds covering most of the sky. There were three patches of clear sky on the horizon, that lit up the ripples of on top of the water, as we drove across to the Bass Island area at a nice cruising speed of 39mph.
The wind was absent this morning, so the lake was like glass. I was thankful for that. It makes it much easier to spot floating debri out there. After last week's big blow from the NE, it left a lot of big items floating down the rivers and across the lake. Be very careful out there for the next couple of weeks if you get out. Don't be nervous about it, but just keep a good eye out for them. They can ruin your day, or even possibly your life.
The air temp was 60 degrees, and the water temp was 62 degrees. The forecast was calling for a cloudy sky, and a high temp of 73 degrees. A perfect morning in my book.
Our long ride up north was enjoyable, because I know of only two boats that launched ahead of me this morning. PorkChop Express, and a local. So, the ride up was....well....FUN! It's nice when you think you are the only one on the lake at that moment. Especially, knowing how crowded it was going to get in just a couple hours.
I slowly throttled down, and when the boat felt like it was in a slow glide, I hit a couple buttons on the Helix, that deployed the Ulterra, so it could slowly and methodically, deliver itself into workhorse position. With a few pokes on the remote, I had it set for a course to the NNW. The baby ETEC was fired up to help push the boat, while the bow mount steered us, at a speed of 1.8-2.0mph.
We set up with Bandits on the starboard side, and Flicker Minnows on the port side. Both sides ran the longest leads on the outside, behind Off Shore boards, and the shortest leads on the inside. So, from the inside board to the outside board, we ran them 45, 50, 55, and 60 back. "S-Turns" proved they would also take the baits faster, or slower, depending on which side they hit on, and how hard of a turn it was. :)
Colors that worked best on the Bandit side were:
RC Crush, at both 55 and 60 back (best producer today)
Another one I don't know the name of, but its got white, light blue, orange, and chartreuse on it...but, mostly white and light blue. That one was very good at 50 back.
Buck Fever at 45 back caught a few too.
Colors that worked best on the Flicker Minnow (11s) side were:
Racy Shad at 60 back took a bunch
Flashy Chartreuse at 55 back took a few
Flashy Pearl was good at 50 back
Chartreuse/Pearl caught a couple
Tom said, "I think we've caught more fish this morning, than we have in an entire year!" (They are not set up for trolling, (yet), and have only drift casted in the past, so this trip was to teach them how to troll, and to help them decide if he wanted to invest in all the equipment needed to start trolling. I'm pretty sure they all had fun today, and they did a great job learning how to set lines, so it wouldn't surprise me if they actually do set up their boat to do some trolling. I have all the confidence in the world that if they remember how to do what they did today, they can be successful at it.
Tomorrow, I have three customers. One is coming from Ohio, and the other two are coming from Wisconsin. I told them to bring their rain gear, since it will probably be raining tomorrow. As long as there are no storms on the radar, we will fish.
Now, I must go cut the grass again, because it's going to rain tomorrow....:)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
