Juls WFA Blog
Just a quick blog today....
by Capt Juls on 03/19/17
Had a fun day with David, Travis, and Robin. It was a slow start this morning, and we only had three in the box by noon.
At 1:45 I got impatient, even though we had good marks, and I made a slight move out to Gull Island Shoal, but that was a mistake, because there were no marks there on the west side of it. So, at about 2:15 we moved back to the SW, and back to the marks, and the fish had turned on. Had we had more time, we would have limited out, easily, but we ran out of time, and ended their trip going 8 for 9.
They said they had a great time, and that made me happy! 
:)
Travis, the one in the orange coat, fishes up on Lake Ara (Canada), where I always go in August, so we had something in common.
He caught the 10 pounder, and said, "It's the biggest walleye I've ever caught", and was very excited about that. :)
Bandits 75-90 back, and the Lemon Lime Crush w/orange throat P-10 30/30 with 2oz did the catching. Chrome Bandits were the ticket for us...blue/chrome, Purple/Chrome, Green Clown.
Back at it again tomorrow...with Bob Edwards and his friend.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Decent Winds starting next Friday!
by Capt Juls on 03/12/17Still muddy, with streaks of clean water here and there. Monday night, and Tuesday's NNE winds will not help matters, but there's hope....light winds are forecast for the rest of next weekend. Fingers crossed!
Here's a satellite picture from today....
https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.php?region=e&page=1&template=sub&image=a1.17071.1755.LakeErie.143.250m.jpg
Going to be Crappy for A While....:(
by Capt Juls on 03/10/17
https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/mo...e.143.250m.jpg
This satellite pic was from two days ago. Huron was still clean yesterday. Some fish were caught, but it was not an easy bite.
Strong NW winds today... and it's rolling 5-7's out there right now on the west end.
Even Huron will muddy up after today's blow.
Sunday and Monday are calling for lighter north winds, but it's supposed to be very cold and then snow on Monday.
It's going to blow strong out of the NE on Tuesday again. No one will go out.
It's going to be muddy for awhile....I wouldn't bother coming out this weekend.
I cancelled my Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday trips. They were coming from SD, which is a long drive to be sitting on shore or fishing in chocolate milk.
TONIGHT
NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SNOW SHOWERS. FREEZING SPRAY AFTER MIDNIGHT. WAVES 5 TO 7 FEET
SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 5 FEET.
SATURDAY
NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. WAVES 2 TO 4 FEET
SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FEET.
SATURDAY NIGHT
NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS BECOMING NORTH.
WAVES 1 TO 3 FEET.
SUNDAY
NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS. WAVES 2 FEET OR LESS.
SUNDAY NIGHT
NORTH WINDS 10 KNOTS OR LESS BECOMING EAST. WAVES
1 FOOT OR LESS.
MONDAY
EAST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS BECOMING NORTHEAST 15 TO
25 KNOTS. A CHANCE OF SNOW...THEN SNOW LIKELY. WAVES 1 TO 3 FEET
BUILDING TO 5 TO 7 FEET.
TUESDAY
NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING NORTH. A
CHANCE OF SNOW...THEN A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. WAVES 5 TO 7 FEET
SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 6 FEET.
An Early Start to the Season
by Capt Juls on 02/23/17Feb 23rd, 2017
Thanks to the generosity of my friend, Scott Bogen, for lending me his Ranger 621 until my new 621 shows up at the end of March, I was able to get out fishing a few times since last weekend.
Scott and I fished this past Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, we went out of Catawba to see if the girls were moving into the area yet. While we marked some good fish, we were unable to get any to bite for us in the first 6 hours of hunting. We were all over the west side that morning, and didn't find any willing to bite until we moved into shallower water...around 20-21 feet.
We pulled Smithwick Perfect 10's, Bandits, and Deep Husky Jerks. We only caught 3 fish that afternoon on Bandits, up high in the water column....25 back on gold chrome colors. The stock colors of Black/Gold and Copper Clown produced for us. We probably would have caught a limit had we not found them in the last two hours of an 8 hour day. But, then again...who knows? These fish have been turned on one day and turned off the next day, so it's a crap shoot right now.
On Monday, we only had a few hours to fish, since Scott had to get back to Wisconsin, so we decided to go east. We hit Mazurik's launch at 6:30, and were headed to Cedar Point just as the sky was beginning to get light. It was a beautiful morning with a very light NE wind, and a cool 40 degrees. The sunrise that morning was beautiful.
We made about 4-5 passes directly out in front of Cedar Point in 33 feet of water. Our passes were from North to South and about a mile long. We managed 5 nice fish with the largest going 12 pounds and 30 1/2 inches long.
Scott figured out a pattern that they wanted, when nothing else seemed to be working for us, even though we tried several. He put a Lemon Lime Crush (orange throat) Perfect 10 on and used a 2oz snap weight at 45/15. For those that don't know what that means, it means that he let out 45 feet of line, put the snap weight on, and then let out another 15 feet, and then put the Off Shore planer board on.
We were running at .09-1.0mph. We tried several colors and that was the only one that would catch a fish that morning.
We fished for 3 1/2 hours before the NE wind kicked up, and it got colder out. The fish seemed to shut off on us, so we decided it was a good time to go, so he could get on the road back to Wisco.
It was fun to fish with him again. He used to live here, and he and I would fish together a lot. :)
Yesterday, I had a last minute 4 hour trip scheduled with Loren Ruzic, from Wisco, that was working out in NY, but traveling to MI for another job, and he wanted to stop along the way to fish here. It was on his bucket list, so even though I rarely do an afternoon trip (because, ya'll know how early I go to bed...lol) I agreed to it.
As it turned out....My buddy, Capt Kevin Swartz, had a no show yesterday morning, so I asked him if he wanted to do the charter with us, so we could have a couple extra lines in the water....he agreed.
So, he and I went out yesterday morning to try and find some fish for the afternoon trip. We only managed one fish in a few hours, so I called Loren to tell him to "save his money and time", because the bite was super slow. Kevin and I had talked to several other Capt's who were struggling too, and only had one or two fish in the box despite their efforts. Loren said, "Okay", and we hung up.
About 5 minutes later, I get a call from Loren, and he says, "Can we still go? I don't care if we catch any fish, I just want to go fishing. It wouldn't be the first time I spent money on fishing, where we didn't catch anything". I laughed and said, "Of course! It's your money. If you want to go, we'll take you out". So, we picked him up at the Catawba ramp at 1pm and headed out to the firing range area. We took him to the last area we marked some good fish at, while we were out searching around.
Now, either this guys was good luck, or the fish just decided to finally eat! At 1:30pm we started catching on Black and Gold, IB Stolen, and Huff Daddy (chrome) Bandits...the black and gold is a stock color, and the last two are custom colors from Domka Outdoors. We ran them 50-65 back and kept the speed at 1.0-1.2mph.
We only fished for 4 hours and caught 9 (10 if you count the one Kevin and I caught early in the morning)...with the largest going 9 pounds. The largest females were released, thanks to Loren's good sportsman's attitude. :)
A friend in a boat near us, caught an 11 1/2 and a 12 in the area too, so it's a good sign the big girls are finally moving in. I think we still have a couple weeks to go before the fish are west of the islands in big numbers though.
Water temp on Sunday was 33.6 degrees, and yesterday it was up to 37 in some places.
Well, that's it for now. I don't have another scheduled charter until mid March, unless we get some nice weather again, and someone calls for one.
I have the following dates open in March, but then that's it until June. Every day in April and May are booked already.
March 1st through the 15th is available right now. :)
So, until next time....
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
It's Almost Time....:)
by Capt Juls on 02/10/17It's almost time to say good bye to my furry friends at the local animal shelter, where I work in my off season to keep busy and help find homes for them. It's time to start getting everything ready for the upcoming fishing season.
As many of you already know, I sell my boat in the fall, and get a new Ranger Boat every spring. The new one is not expected to show up until the end of March this year, but don't worry....my good friend, Scott Bogen, has offered me the use of his 2016 621 for the charters I have booked in March. I can't thank him enough for his generosity in helping me out this spring. He's a life saver! Thanks Scott!
I can't wait to get the new one. I'm very excited for this one. It's the "Bomb"!! The colors this year are going to be beautiful. (I stole the colors from a friend's boat...but, he said it was, "Okay"). :)
If you can imagine it in your mind, try to picture it....
The hull is Carbon Mist, the #1 & #3 stripes are Eclipse Black, the #2 stripe and the waterline stripe are Gunmetal Mist, the inside is Gunmetal, and the pin stripes are bright yellow.
The 300 ETEC G2 will be dark charcoal on the main part, with silver panels and a yellow accent stripe to match the boat.
The 621 will sport the newest version of the Minn-Kota 112 Ulterra, along with a Humminbird 12 SI Mega Imaging GN2, and a 10 DI Mega Imaging GN2. The boat is loaded with many of the options Ranger offers too.
RSNets is building me a yellow net to match my boat this year too. That will be nice....you know how us girls like to accessorize.....woot! woot!
I can't thank all my sponsors enough for the help they have given me over these past 17 years. I absolutely could not do any of this without them. They have been more than just "sponsors" to me, they have been my "family" too. They have offered me guidance when it was needed, and have given me the encouragement to pursue my dreams...making me the luckiest woman on the planet!
I was given the opportunity to fish for a living, and it's been a true blessing in my life. I have met some of the nicest people in the world. I have made new friends over the past 5 years, guiding, that I would have never met otherwise, and I couldn't be more grateful for them. :)
This season's schedule is filling up nicely. I have a couple openings for March left, zero for April and May, but still have open dates for June through September. I will be gone again from August 2nd through the 13th though, for an annual fly in trip to Meta Lake Lodge up on the Northwest side of Lake Superior. It's something I look forward to every year, and count the days down from the moment I get back to Port Clinton. lol What can I say? I love it up there.
I predict the fishing this season will be outstanding, thanks to the 2014 hatch. All those fish are getting bigger, so it should be a lot of fun. The future looks good.
Let's just pray for stable weather this April, so we can get another good hatch for 2017, eh? But, then I wonder....would there be enough forage for all of them, if that happens? Hmmmm.....
My last time on the water was back in January. We had a nice warm 60 degree day, and everyone and his brother was out that day. The Huron Launch, which has a huge parking lot, was over flowing so much, that they were parking on the grass. Mazurik's, where we launched was pretty full too.
Anyway....
I was invited to fish with Doyle and Ben, and Doyl's son that day, in Doyl's boat. Ben's son, and his two friends, were in a 16 1/2 foot something or other, fishing along side us. While many people caught limits that day, we struggled a bit, and caught a few. We stayed out of the pack out in front of Cedar Point, where I found out later they were doing pretty well on Bandits, P-10s, Top 20's, and DHJ12's. Capt Kevin was just to the west of us, but he had customers that day, so I didn't want to crowd him either, so we just trolled along as long as the marks on the sonar stuck around.
The reason for this blog is that I learned something that day, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you. From the beginning of my teachings on fishing Lake Erie, I was always taught that trolling slow... like .9 to 1.2mph was the preferred speed when the water temps were in the low 30's. But, what I found out that day is, that that isn't really the case at all....let me explain.
I had only fished a 1/2 day with them, and after they dropped me off, they went back out. They fished a little longer, but then decided to go back in before Ben's son wanted to go in. So, Ben's son stayed out with his two friends until the sun started going down. Unfortunately, their bow mount ran out of juice. He decided instead of just packing it in, they were going to try to use the big motor to troll back to the launch from the Marblehead light house. However, they couldn't get the speed below 1.6mph and 1.8mph. Then, the darnedest thing happened....
they started catching fish like crazy. And, not just any fish....these fish were tanks! They caught 7 piggy walleye on that last trolling pass going those "summertime" speeds.
So, what does that tell you? It tells me that we don't necessarily have to keep our speeds to a excruciatingly slow crawl to catch big fish in the spring. And, guess who's going to be experimenting with faster speeds this spring? Yep, that's right...me! Was it a lucky fluke on his part that day? I don't know. But, the results speak for themselves, so I'd be foolish not to experiment a little more....right?
I'm looking forward to getting on the water again, and getting back to work. It's been a long winter, even though it was a mild one, and I am looking forward to a fun and exciting season this year.
Thank you to, Ranger Boats, Evinrude, Minn-Kota, Humminbird, Off Shore Tackle, Vic's Sports Center, EZEE Steps, Costa Sunglasses, RSNets USA, Bandit, Smithwick, Bomber, Domka Outdoors, World Wide Marine Insurance, and The Jewelry Mechanic
Stay tuned.....
Capt Juls
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
by Capt Juls on 12/23/16
With this warm front going through here this weekend, I can't help but look forward to spring! I know winter is not over yet....but, each day brings us closer...and, I can't wait!! :)
With that said... I just wanted to let everyone that is thinking of fishing with me, know that I am completely booked from the last week of March through the end of May now....(only 3 days left open in May yet....the 15th, 21st, and 31st).
I have plenty of openings for the rest of the season though, so don't wait too long to reserve a spot. I look forward to fishing with you!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Wishing you all a very Happy and "Fishy" New Year! :)
Grateful for Another Successful Season!
by Capt Juls on 10/16/16My 2016 season is over. I sell my Rangers every fall and order a new one for the next season, so the 2016 Ranger went home to its new owner back on October 6th. The new 621/G2 is in the order process as I write this. Woot! Woot!
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all my sponsors who make it possible for me to be my own boss and have the best job ever! My dreams wouldn't have come true without you all!
Ranger Boats, Evinrude, Minn-Kota, Humminbird, Off Shore Tackle, Vic's Sports Center, EZEESteps, RS Nets, Bandit Lures, Bomber Lures, Smithwick Lures, Costa Sunglasses, World Wide Marine Insurance, and The Jewelry Mechanic
While being a fishing guide takes a ton of hard work, passion, and dedication, I can't think of anything I would rather be doing. Getting up early, and watching the sun come up with my customers is always a good way to start the day!
I have been fortunate in that all of my customers over the past 5 years have been truly wonderful people, and whom I have had the pleasure of fishing with, and getting to know.
While I do not have much of a social life, due to the fact that I go to bed before the sun goes down, and get up long before the sun comes up, I don't mind one bit.
My customers are my "social life", and that suits me just fine. I wouldn't change a thing!
The 2017 bookings are looking great, and I have the last week of March through April already booked solid. May is almost full now too, but there are still 10 openings in May that are available for anyone looking to book a spring trip.
June and July offer more stable weather (usually), and trips up into Canadian waters, where we chase the big girls that are moving off the spawning areas. But, there are still fish on the US side, for those that do not want to go over.
Going into Canada only requires one of the following for my customers to enter:
Passport
copy of a birth certificate
Or, a Passport Card
That, and a Ontario Fishing License (Sportsman's allows a 6 fish limit, while the Conservation lic only allows 2 fish, so buy the correct one) And, yes, you would also need the Ohio fishing license, because that's where we launch from.
I'll be working at the Humane Society of Ottawa County again this winter, to pass the time until the new boat arrives sometime in February, and start there tomorrow.
I'm hoping for a warm winter, so we can be back on the water in early March, like we were this past winter. (Sorry ice fishermen, but I don't want you out there taking all those big girls staging up for the spawn...lol)
So, until I have another "Random Thought"....;)
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Random Thoughts...Out with the Old and In with the New....
by Capt Juls on 10/01/16
First thought is, I have to redo the photo section on my site here. I tried to put one season on one page, but it didn't work for some reason. While it works on the build part of the site....once it published, the photos are overlapping. You click on one picture, to enlarge it, and a different picture pops up. So, I have to go back and build a few more pages and spread those photos out...ugh. Be patient with that one...I'm thinking that's best left for a cold winter's day, when I'm snowed in with nothing to do. :)
Every year I have to sell my current year Ranger, so that I can get the newest model ordered and ready for the next season. That time has come, and my boat is getting ready to go to its new owner, so my season is over for this year.
Well, I do have two rescheduled trips that I am getting in thanks to Capt Kevin Swartz, who also runs a 621, and is willing to let me borrow his, so I can get these last two trips in.
One of those two trips is tomorrow, and I'll be perch fishing with Chris Mangen and his wife. I asked Kevin if he would like to come along, since I only had two customers on board, and it was going to be a nice day. And, after all, it's his boat we're using, and it just seemed like the right thing to do. That, and it allows us an extra 30 perch....lol ;)
On another note...the past two winters, I worked at the local Humane Society, but I won't be this winter. While I will miss the little critters, my house has 5 animals already, and I'm afraid if I worked there again...I would bring more home!
I had applied at OCTA (Ottawa County Transit Agency) a few weeks ago, to be a driver, and was hired yesterday, after the DOT Drug Test, Background Check, and Physical came back squeaky clean....woot! woot! So, I'll be driving people around this winter instead.
I've had a lot of people asking me about fall fishing trips, so if you still want to go, I highly recommend calling Captain Kevin Swartz to get you on the lake this fall for some monster walleye fishing. He will be running until ice up. His number is 517-672-0581 or email kevswartz22@gmail.com
Forgive me.....Tomorrow's brownies are done, and I have to pull them out of the oven now, so until tomorrow's report...
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Aaron and Tiffany Battrick 9/21/16
by Capt Juls on 09/21/16I had received a private message on my biz's Facebook page a couple weeks ago, where Tiffany asked if she could set up a surprise trip for her husband Aaron, because he follows my blog, and always talks about my trips with her, and shows their children the pictures of the fish we all catch. They live in Indiana, but fish Lake Erie out of Meinke's Marina where they keep their boat. So, he's always looking for info, like every one else is. :)
Anyway, she went so far as to get his boss involved, and the two of them set it up, so that he thought he was coming to Port Clinton to look at some used tool and die equipment. She had him out of the hotel at 5:30am, like she said she would, and I was sitting in my truck. When I saw them come around the back corner of the hotel, I heard Aaron say, "Hey, that's Capt Jul's rig". It still hadn't clicked, because he thought I was there waiting on another crew.
I hopped out of the truck, smiled, and said, "Good morning...are you ready to go fishing?" To which he looked very confused... then looked at his wife, who was grinning from ear to ear, who said, "Happy Anniversary! We're going fishing!" :)
He was stunned, but ready and willing to go, so we jumped in the truck and headed out to do the usual morning routine of getting gas, bait, ice, and breakfast before heading to Mazurik's to launch.
It was a nice morning, but the northeast rollers were still coming in from the winds the night before. The forecast was calling for 10-15 out of the E for the early morning, and then subsiding to less than 5 by late morning. Which it did just that.
Now, understand, that as much as I would like to give you the locations of my perch spots today....I can't. For a couple of reasons....one, I share these two spots with Capt Kevin Swartz, and he would like me to not publish it in my reports, so I have to honor his wishes. Sorry! All I will tell you is that it was east of the Bass Islands...not the west side.
The bigger perch, like we caught today, were attracted to rocky areas, where there isn't a lot of soft bottom. Find that, and you'll probably mark them on your electronics. When you find them....fish them. We also caught a lot of small walleye in these areas too.
We had a lot of fun today, and caught the best cooler of perch that any of my trips have caught this season. They went 35 pounds for 90 perch today....woot! woot!
I thought I had the day off tomorrow, but I picked up another perch trip for the morning....and, that ladies and gentlemen is the reason I don't want to tell anyone where I'm fishing at the moment. I hope you understand. I kind of like it with very few boats around from time to time. ;)
Tomorrow's forecast looks much like it was today, so I'm hoping those fish will stay there overnight, and not move!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
2 Days Perch'n with Marc, Jim, and Greg 9/19-9/20/16
by Capt Juls on 09/20/16Both mornings, I left the house a little after 5am, to go pick up my Wisconsin crew from their hotel at 5:30. Each morning I arrived to find them all ready and waiting to go...woot! woot!
Marc and Jim are from Cedarburg, WI, and have fished with me for the past few years, but Greg never has. He's a friend of their's, who is from their area, but now lives in Arizona a lot of the time. So, it was nice that he could spend some time with his friends.
We would hit the gas station, Hi Way Bait, and then Big Bopper's for breakfast on our way to the launch...(nothing out of the ordinary there, eh...;).)
Yesterday, we launched out of Catawba, but this morning I opted for Mazurik's, due to the SW wind (it blows into Catawba from that direction, and makes it bumpy in there, if you know what I mean.) Anyway...we ended up in the same place both days....up above North Bass between the three cans....the green and red cans on the NE corner of North Bass, and the red one to the west, up on the line, referred to as "Taco Bell".
Yesterday, there were a ton of boats up there by the afternoon too. We had gotten up there early...I think we were the third or fourth boat there, and by mid to late morning there was what I called, "A fleet coming in".
It was crazy how many boats moved in...oh well.
Then, the winds laid down, and the lake went flat....and, so did our bite. It was a slow bite, but slow/steady for a while (we put 60 fish in the cooler at that point).
I was less patient with the spots yesterday, and moved around a lot, trying to find a better bite, instead of just waiting them out, and picking at them at the slower pace. Which in hindsight, would have been the correct thing to do.
We ended yesterday with only 73...but, they were nice ...22 pounds at the "Port Clinton Fish, Co." :)
This morning, we launched in the dark at Mazurik's, and headed to the same area. We were the first boat there! Woot! Woot!
I stopped the boat on top of some numbers Capt Nate Estrada gave me...he runs the "Chelsea IV" boat. He and his crew were on a better bite than most around him, and he was kind enough to give me his numbers...thanks Nate! ;)
We stayed in that spot all morning, and caught 120 really nice perch that went 36 pounds at the cleaners. We had more wind this morning, so I think that really helped keep those fish moving around more. It was a nice steady pick. Not up and down, but not really that slow either. It took us 5 hours, but it was a fun 5 hours. :)
My Wisconsin crew was a real pleasure to fish with, and I'm sure I'll see them again next season for the walleye bite in the late spring.
I have another perch trip in the morning...I have someplace else to check out for tomorrow....received a good report, but since it's not my report, I can't freely give out the information. Sorry!
So, fingers crossed for good weather and a good bite tomorrow...
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Ben, Dennis, and Doug 9/9/16
by Capt Juls on 09/09/16Ben, Dennis, and Doug met me at my house this morning, because they were driving in this morning, and coming from the west, so they had to pass right by my house anyway.
I have fished with Ben and Dennis for many years now, so I surprised them with some homemade buttermilk biscuits smothered in venison breakfast sausage gravy. The sausage was given to me from a Wisconsin crew I had out this past spring, and it's very VERY good!
After they enjoyed a hearty breakfast, we loaded into the truck to head to Mazurik's for a day of perch fishing. We launched at 6:45 and headed up to the spot up on the north side of North Bass that I had been fishing this past week.
The bite was slow, but we managed 25 before moving west to the next red can up on the line, that we call "Taco Bell". There were a half a dozen boats scattered throughout the area, so we just watched the Helix until it told us there were perch on the bottom and set up.
They were biting a little better there, and the size was very good, but it was still not a fast bite. We moved around the area 100 yards at a time, just trying to stay on top of a school that would bite. We would catch 20 or so, and then move. It was like catching 5-6 pretty quick, and then waiting for 15 minutes to catch another bunch real quick....only to have to wait again. It was frustrating. Just when you think they are going to "go"...they stop....ugh. lol
The hot sun, and lack of breeze, made it very hot up there, so I suggested we take a ride and try another area. At least we could cool off on the ride.
We ended up looking for perch over by Lucy's point, and found some in 37-38' of water, a little NE of the green buoy. There was a light ENE breeze, so it wasn't as hot on that side of the islands, so that was nice. They finished out their limit, and we headed in.
So, you can see it wasn't a fast bite, but they did bite, and no one was complaining about the size. :)
Tomorrow's trip has been rescheduled to Monday, due to the weather forecast.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Three days with Al, Dennis, and Oly 9/6-9/8/16
by Capt Juls on 09/08/16My three day fishing adventure with Al (Wally), Dennis, and David (Oley), who hail from my home state of Wisconsin, began this past Tuesday.
The morning was warm, and humid, with a forecast calling for heat indexes on land to reach over 100 degrees!
They were staying at "Little Ted's Cottages", just down the road from Mazurik's boat access there in Marblehead, so I ran my usual morning errands of gassing up the Ranger, hitting Hi Way Bait for minnows and ice, and then eating a nice breakfast at Big Bopper's, before meeting them at the ramp.
After loading Dennis and Oley into the boat, Wally backed us in. Off we went to a spot on the west side of North Bass to look for some perch. The 10-12mph SW winds that morning made it pretty choppy up there with 1-3' waves.
However, when we got there, Oley was looking a little "green". I told him to lay the line over his finger, so he didn't have to watch the rod tip for a bite, and that he should keep his focus on the straight horizon, so it would help ease his seasickness. He tried, but it wasn't working.
We tried a couple of spots that showed good marks, but the bite was slow...I mean really slow...so, after Oley did a little chumming, we headed east to the protected side of North Bass to try and get to calmer waters for Oley's sake. It's also a very good perch spot this time of year, so I was confident we would find some fish over there. We weren't disappointed when the Helix lit up with big perch marks on the bottom.
With a push of a button, the Minn-Kota trolling motor deployed into the water, and with a push of another button, we were "anchored" with it's Spot Lock feature. My customers are always amazed by the ability of the trolling motor to hold us tight on a spot without using an old fashioned anchor. And, I am always grateful that I do not have to lift a heavy anchor every time I want to change spots....woot! woot!
Anyway, I digress...
As soon as we dropped lines into the water, we were getting bites, and bringing up nice perch. Perch that measured between 7 1/2 to 12 inches...with the majority of them being in the 8 to 10 inch range. But, Oley wasn't catching, and was chumming again...poor guy. This time, I told Dennis to come down off the bow, so Oley could go up there and lay down. I know when I used to get seasick that laying down and closing my eyes always helped. The rocking puts you to sleep rather than keep you seasick. It eventually worked, because at one point he was snoring.
So, while Oley slept, Wally, Dennis, and I had a good time catching 3 limits of perch. :)
When we were done, and loaded out, I drove the fish over to Bay's Edge Fish Cleaning for them, so they didn't have to get their nice clean cooler all full of slimy fish.
We made plans to meet at the same time the next morning, but I told Oley to take 2 Dramamine's that night, and 2 more again in the morning with breakfast. He's a big guy, about 6-3 and 310 pounds, so that one little Dramamine he took the first morning did nothing for him. He needed a lot in him. lol
The next morning, I did my same routine and met them at the launch at 6:30. We were on the water and headed to a spot out in front of Lakeside, that I had heard was producing, because I knew it would be windy on their third day, and wanted to see of there were biting perch there, in case the forecast was correct and we needed a closer spot along the protected shoreline.
However, we didn't stay there long, because I knew what was happening up north, and I didn't want to lose my spot up there. So, we headed up there after only about 15 minutes of fishing. When we arrived, there was one boat up there....and, guess where it was....right on the spot I was on the day before, so I took the spot my friend, Capt Kevin Swartz, was sitting on that day too.
To make a long story short...we caught 101 piggy perch in just under two hours up there. The grade was the same as the day before, with the exception of a big fat 13 1/4" perch that found our bait tasty. I stopped them at 101 instead of 120, because I still wanted to go back down in front of Lakeside Pier to find a bite there, so we had someplace to head to on the third morning.
We stopped to look what was underneath hundreds of Commorants and Seagulls that gathered in one area to feed, but I didn't mark anything that looked real "perchy", so we moved down to the north side of a pack of boats fishing in 24 foot of water, and set up. We managed to hit a good spot. They would only need a half hour to catch their 19 more and finish out the 4 man limit.
They had a great time, and the best news is, Oley didn't get seasick at all that morning, even though the waves up north were more like 2-4s than the 1-3's the day before. ;)
I dropped their fish off again, and told them I would watch the wind forecast for the next day and make the call to go, or not go, in the morning. They agreed that that was a good plan.
I woke up at 3:30am, as usual, and put a pot of coffee on to brew while I looked up the day's weather conditions. It was showing wind gusts to 31 out of the SW, but it wasn't doing anything to my wind chimes on my back deck. So, I let them know we would be going out to the spot we hit the day before out in front of Lakeside. That way we would still be in protected waters, and it wouldn't be so bad. They liked the plan, so we launched at the same time as the previous two days, and headed out.
To make another long story short, we tried several spots, and marked a lot of fish, but they wouldn't eat. So, my guys decided to make it a short day, and head back to Wisconsin a little earlier.
It was a fun three days fishing with Al, Dennis, and David. They are making plans to come back in May for a little walleye fishing....and, that makes me happy! :)
Tomorrow, I have one of my regular customers, Ben Rewa, and his crew for either perch or walleye...not sure yet. He likes to fish for walleye, so it might be time to hit Huron and start fishing them again. The water temps are getting lower, so there might be some action to be had.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Steve and Jeremy 8/30/16
by Capt Juls on 08/31/16Steve and Jeremy drove up from Columbus yesterday morning to try a little of that walleye fishing I had done this past Saturday (see previous blog). We met at Mazurik's at 7am and headed east to where my friend and I were fishing Saturday.
We ran crawlers again, but the crawlers were getting stolen from the hooks by annoying little 6-8 inch white perch before the Off Shore boards could get to their marching positions out to the sides of the boat.
We only caught one 18" walleye this time, and I suggested that we consider going perch fishing. They were game for that, so we headed up between the islands, to the spot that I gave you clues about in a previous blog. Again, the numbers are there for you to view, but you have to find them first. lol
We caught our 90 perch in about 2 hours time, since they were coming up two at a time quite often. At around 10:45 I received a call from a young fella from MN that asked if would be able to get him and his girlfriend out on the water, because the walleye charter he scheduled had cancelled on him for some reason. I told him that the perch were biting, and if he wanted to go perch fishing that he should meet me at Mazurik's at 1pm. That would give me time to take Steve and Jeremy's perch to the cleaners for them, grab some lunch, and get back to the ramp.
Fishing with Steve and Jeremy is always a good time, and yesterday was no exception. I had a blast, and they had fun too, and that's all that matters....the fish are just a bonus to a good time on the water!
I don't normally do two trips in one day, but since it was just perch, I took Jerod and his girlfriend Kelly out at 1pm to the same spot I had the guys earlier. The bite was a little slower, but they were able to catch their limit without my help. I had caught my limit with Steve and Jeremy, so legally, I couldn't fish. Besides that, I wanted them to enjoy catching their own limit. I think if I had helped, we would have been done way to fast. lol
They had a good time, and were very happy to be taking their catch home to throw a big fish fry for family that had gathered in Toledo for Kelly's sister's wedding next weekend. :)
It was a long day for me yesterday, but it was a good and productive day.
I'm headed out this morning for some walleye fishing out of Huron, which was a last minute schedule.
So...stay tuned!
Capt Juls
Fishing with Steve 8/27/16
by Capt Juls on 08/31/16Had a day off to go fun fishing with my friend, Steve, this past Saturday in his new Ranger. We didn't get on the water until close to 10am though. Steve isn't into perch fishing, and is a catch and release kind of guy, so we opted to go try for the elusive walleye for a few hours.
We headed out of Mazurik's and headed east towards Cedar Point/Huron to see if the bite has started over there. This time last year, they were in there in good numbers, so we decided that would be a good place to start.
I love it when a plan comes together....
Running crawler harnesses with 2oz inline weights, at 1.5-1.6mph, we managed to pull 9 walleye out of 30' of water. There was very little junk that day, and every time the board went back it was usually a walleye. We ended up catching and releasing 9 walleye ranging in size from 18 inches to 27 inches.
Steve had a monster walleye on, definitely over 30", but lost it at the back of the boat, when she went into the prop of the G2. I can honestly say, it was the longest walleye I have ever seen! His well deserved punishment for not keeping his rod out to the side of the boat, was that he never got to see it! Ha! :)
Anyway, it was a nice 4 hours on the water Saturday, and nice to just relax a little while out there fishing.
You can view the pictures on page 18 in my photo gallery.
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob and Greg 8/24/and 8/25/16
by Capt Juls on 08/25/16Yesterday, and today, I fished with Bob Speilbauer and his friend, Greg, who hail from Wisconsin's Appleton area. They drove down for a little Lake Erie's perch fishing action, and were not disappointed.
Yesterday, after having breakfast, grabbing ice, and bait, we launched out of Catawba with a light SW wind at 6:30am.
We ran out to the spot south of D can that I've been fishing....and, we did "okay", but it wasn't like it had been. The winds were starting to kick up, and my guys were not used to this lake, so I took them closer to some land, to feel more comfortable.
We hit the SW corner of Green island. There was a big pack to the SE of me, and some more boats hiding behind Green, to get out of the wind.
We did okay there too, but the winds were building some more, and the lake was getting rougher, so I said, "Let's go down inside where it will be calmer. I know there's some fish there too". So, that's what we did.
We ran past more packs of boats on the way in, and stopped when the Helix showed some good marks in 18' of water, about a mile and a half SW of the green can at Catawba.
The guys took 19 pounds of perch over to Port Clinton Fish Co. to be cleaned. They mentioned how bad the perch fishing on Lake Winnebago has become, and we very happy with their catch.
Today's trip started out a little later this morning. With last night's storms, the wind forecast, and the threat of more "stuff" coming in, I wanted to wait to make sure it was going to be a good day to go. The morning shaped up nicely, and I picked them up at their hotel at 7:30am.
We hit Hi Way Bait, and Big Bopper's for a breakfast sandwich "to go". They had their hotel continental breakfast earlier, so I opted for the "to go" deal, so we could get to Mazurik's and launched. We hit the water by 8:15, and headed out to some numbers very close to where I was fishing the last day with Pat and Tina. However, the numbers were given to me by the Captain of the "Pirate Clipper", so they are not mine to give out. All I can say is that it was between the islands...;) ;)
The first spot didn't produce, so I moved us a little ways, but it wasn't producing very fast either, and I was getting impatient. Capt Eric called and asked how we were doing. I told him it was slow and that we only had 10 so far. He said they were at 45, and that Pooh Bear was at 45 already, and said to move over by him.....so, we did.
We were right by the big yellow 37' TollyCraft and marked a bunch of perch on the bottom. He was in a good spot, and we started to catch a few more...but, still...not fast enough for me. When we hit 20 perch in the box, I asked my crew, "Would you like to go on an adventure?" They both said they would, so I explained that there is a spot that I needed to check, but that I couldn't guarantee they would be there yet. They still wanted to go, so we left the pack and headed to the new spot (That's all I can tell you about that...it's a secret I share with someone else, and I'm sworn not to tell anyone....sorry!).
Doesn't matter anyway, because they were not there yet. So, back to my Humminbird...looking for last year's waypoints in that area. I decided to move to the west side of Gull that usually holds good perch. We moved around the area until we hit some good marks on a contour line, and set up.
I didn't have my line down for 2 seconds before it had a fat little perch hooked up.
It would be an "up and down bite", and the kind of bite that I wanted these guys to experience...and, boy they had a good time! We caught 70 perch in about an hour in that spot...woot! woot!
Bob and Greg were very happy with their experience and plan on coming back to fish with me again soon, so that makes me happy!
I do not have a perch trip until Sunday again, so if anyone needs the spot, you know where to look for it. That's all I'm going to say....
Do Not text me, and Do Not message me asking me for it.
It's there...in plain sight...if you know where to look. Ha!
I'll be cleaning the boat tomorrow and fun fishing on Saturday in someone else's boat. Then, perch'n again on Sunday with the auction winner of a trip that was donated to the Humane Society of Ottawa County.
Then, I have Monday and Tuesday open if anyone is looking to get out and do some fishing...otherwise, I'm not out again until Wednesday, for a walleye trip with Doug Beyers and his crew.
So...Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mark Sargent and Ben Welch 8/22/16
by Capt Juls on 08/23/16Mark Sargent contacted me about a perch trip, but wanted to know if I knew of anyone that would be willing to go, to split the cost of the trip. Catawba Island resident, Ben Welch, who fished with me at the beginning of the month agreed to go along.
It was a good match, since they both do quite a bit of traveling, and had a lot of stories to share, so the stories were interesting to listen to. :)
We went perch fishing....Mark told us he grew up in Maine, and that in that state anglers treat yellow perch like an invasive species, much like we do with the white perch here. It wasn't until he moved out of state, and had an opportunity in Green Bay to eat a plate of yellow perch for dinner one time, that he realized how good eating they really are. He called his friends back in Maine to tell them that they are crazy to throw those yellows away, and should be eating them. lol
Anyway, we started out in the same area that I had Ken and Pat earlier in the week (D Can area), and had a pretty steady bite...not as "up and down" as the other day, but steady enough to keep us entertained. When the bite slowed, we moved around to a few spots in the area, and then moved to the SW corner of Green, where we finished out our 90 perch limit. Our 90 went 20 pounds at the cleaners, so they were a touch smaller than earlier in the week, but still great eaters...(4.5 fish to a pound).
Mark had never fished Lake Erie before, and he could'n't have picked a better day. It was a bit bumpy in the morning with a 12mph NW wind and 1-3 foot waves, but the heat and humidity was gone...finally. The winds died down as the morning progressed and the temps rose to the low to mid 70's by noon, which in my book is perfect weather! :)
It was a fun morning, and everyone enjoyed themselves, so that's all I can ask for.
No trip today, so it's going to be "boat cleaning day" again. As much as I love perch fishing, I do not love the minnow scales all over my sparkly Ranger. lol
The next trip is a two day trip with Bob Speilbauer and his friend, Greg, from Wisconsin.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Ken and Kathy Groeschel 8/20/16
by Capt Juls on 08/21/16I met Ken and Kathy at Big Bopper's at 6am, where we enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading over to Catawba ramp to launch. We headed out to the area around D can for some perch'n.
The lake was choppy, but not too rough. We set up and started catching perch right away. They weren't monsters, but they were good "eaters"....7-9's. Skipper 9 rigs were used to bring in doubles and even one triple.
Ken and Kathy were supposed to fish this morning with me, but the wind forecast is keeping us on shore today. They have rescheduled, to come back in May 2017 for some walleye fishing.
I'll be out again for some more perch fishing in the morning. Looks like today is a good day to clean the boat.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Final Day with Tina and Pat 8/19/16
by Capt Juls on 08/19/16This morning I left the house at 5am, and hit the gas station, bait shop, and Big B's for breakfast. Then, met Tina and Pat at Mazurik's at 6:30am. We launched and headed out to find some bigger perch than this past Tuesday's catch, so we headed up between the islands.
We got lucky, and found some between Kelly's and South Bass islands (see photos for numbers). When another boat came in and set up next to us, after I waved them in....and, left their motor running (like big charters do), I said to Tina and Pat, "Well, that's not fair...leaving their motor running...that will call all the fish over to them." So, with the bite slowing down at the usual 9am slow down time, I said, "Let's go look up there" (pointing to North Bass), "There's a few spots up there that I like, and I would like to see if they are in there yet". So, we did.
We tried a few spots up by the red and green cans on the NE corner of North Bass, but they weren't biting. It could have been the lull in the action, I don't know. We would set up on good perch like marks, and then not get bit at all.
So, we moved back down to the previous area. I let Pat drive the Ranger back to the spot, so he could really decide if a Ranger was going to be his next purchase. It's really hard not to love them when you're driving them, ya know. :)
Anyway, we ended the day with 60 nice perch in the cooler. It was a fun three days with Tina and Pat, and my expectations of what the trip would be like with them (they are Facebook friends too, so I felt I already knew them), was far exceeded by the reality. I had a blast with these two, and hope to fish with them again some day.
Tomorrow's trip with Ken and Kathy Groeschel will be a perch trip too. However, I plan to go back to the area between D and E cans to get more numbers.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Tina and Pat 8/17-8/19
by Capt Juls on 08/18/16Yesterday, I left the house at 5am, and went to gas up the boat, stop at Hi Way Bait to get ice, crawlers, and minnows for my three day trip with Tina Elly and Pat Goebel, who hail from the Fond du Lac area in Wisconsin. Then, I stopped at Big Bopper's for some breakfast, before heading over to Catawba.
I met Tina and Pat at the Catawba ramp at 6:15am, and we launched by 6:30.
Tina was talking about how they were looking at Ranger Boats for their next boat, so after getting the G2's "Auto Trim" set to go, and the daily log of information cleared and reset on the G2's little computer thingy, I stepped back, and while looking at Tim, pointed to the driver's seat.
He looked a bit confused, so I said, "This is a test ride, so you're driving". He jumped up to sit down in the driver's seat, and asked, "Where are we going?"
I pointed to the Helix, and showed him how to punch in waypoints, and set a "Go To" line for him to follow.
The lake was pretty calm, so I was waiting for him to open it up, but he kept it at a nice steady pace of 40mph. When we stopped, I showed them how the Ulterra's auto deploy worked, and Tina said, "Oh, we have to have one of those!"
Then, I switched the Helix to a split screen, so we could see if there were good marks. We moved around until we found a good number of, what looked like Perch, below us.
I explained to Pat that it's best to point the bow into the wind and have the boat completely stopped, before hitting the "Anchor" feature on the Ulterra. That way, the boat will stay right where you set it. If you hit the button while it's moving forward, the Ulterra will mark that spot, and then move around until it gets back to the spot where the "Anchor" was activated. It just saves time if the boat is completely stopped before activating it...trust me on that one. ;)
Anyway....We fished by a pack of boats between D and E can, and started catching perch immediately. Well, I should say Pat and I started catching perch immediately. Tina was mostly just feeding them for us. Pat and I appreciated her effort in keeping the fish close...lol Then, I realized that she was using a different rig than Pat and I, and I suggested that she change it to the "Skipper 9" rig, like we were using. Once she did, she started catching more fish.
When we got to their 60, I said, "Okay, let's be more selective on the last 30", so we didn't keep anything under 8 inches. Sometimes, it was hard to let a fat little 7 3/4" inches go, but we did. They weren't coming from very deep water, so they were able to get back down to the bottom. Their little air bladders were not in their mouths. If they had been, then I wouldn't have done that. Too many would die that way, and that would be a waste.
I prefer the little ones for eating anyway....jumbos are fun to catch, but I don't like eating them as much as the little ones.
I let Pat drive the boat back to the ramp, but he let me put it on the wall, so he wouldn't scratch it. After putting the boat on the trailer, we headed over to "SumpthinFishy" for Don's yummy Perch Tacos. I have been patiently waiting for a year to treat my taste buds to them again. They tasted just like I remembered them. Yum!
We took the fish to Port Clinton Fish Co. to be cleaned, and found we had 22#'s for 90 fish. Not too shabby...:)
We discussed our plans for today, and decided we would head to Huron to launch, and go after some walleye.
I picked them up at the Beach Cliff Lodge at 6am, and we headed to Huron. We were launched and headed out the river by 6:45. While Pat drove the boat in the river, I readied the trolling rods, and got all the Off Shore Boards out of the storage compartment.
We would be running crawlers to start, and then switching over to Bandits if the junk fish stole too many crawlers, and made us work to hard. That would be the case, so we took the worm harnesses off the rods, and picked some Bandits out of the box.
It was not a stellar walleye day by any means. We fished Sawmill, and another spot further out, and only caught 3 for the box, lost one, and had one throw back. There were still junk fish to tend with too, but not as bad as it was with the crawlers.
After 5 hours of walleye fishing a couple areas, we decided to see if some of the marks we were seeing were perch. We wouldn't find them until we hit a third spot closer to Cranberry Creek, in 31 foot of water. But, the black flies were biting, it was hot, and we were out of time, so 2 perch only made it into the box today.
Pat and Tina agreed to go perch fishing again tomorrow, but Pat added a qualifier of, "Quality over Quantity". So, we will go look for the bigger ones tomorrow between the islands.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Vacation Blog From Meta Lake Lodge in Nakina, ON Canada (Long Read!)
by Capt Juls on 08/16/16After counting down 365 days from last year's trip, the day finally arrived. We weren't leaving until the evening of August 4th, so that day was the longest day of my entire life....just waiting for the hours to pass until we would leave.
I met Steve Jackson and Frank Parzinski (and his two grandsons, Jacob and Joel) over at Frank Rozak's house. We would pack Frank R's truck and head over to pick up Bill Sharp from his house. Steve and Frank P, and the kids, would drive in one vehicle, and Bill and I would ride in Frank's truck. I liked those arrangements, because we didn't leave until 9:30pm, and as you know that's well past my bedtime. While Frank and Bill sat in front, I had the entire back of the cab to lay down and sleep on the ride up...woot! woot!
I woke up 6 hours later, feeling refreshed and even more excited to get up north. Frank and Bill switched seats, so Bill would drive now, and take us over the border in a few hours. The crossing was a breeze at 4am, since there were no lines to wait in. The agent was a bit cranky, but let us in after a few questions about what we were going to Canada for and if we had anything to declare.
I went back to sleep for a couple more hours, and woke up when it was time for breakfast. We lost Steve and Frank somewhere, when they stopped for breakfast at the place we would normally stop, but Frank and Bill couldn't remember where that was exactly, so we ate at an A&W in the next town from where the other's stopped. lol
Now, it was my turn to drive for a while. We found Steve and the gang again, when they caught up to us in the forest someplace between towns.
We arrived in Nakina around 2:30pm on Friday. We would be staying at the "584 Bed and Breakfast", owned by Larry and Raylene Schallock. We enjoyed some Molson's and Lablatt's on the deck before a yummy dinner of fried walleye and some home made salads. It sure hit the spot after living on car food for 18 hours.
We all hit the hay early, since we needed to be at the airport by 5am the next morning. I was up at 4am and showered before getting the rest of them up. They were slow moving, but we got to the airport on time, and met up with Bob and Ned Boytim, who drove up and drove through the night. They slept in their truck for 5 hours instead of staying at the B&B with us.
The float planes only allow for 8 people to fly (with gear), so the pilot said one of us would need to fly out on a smaller two seater plane, and I jumped at that chance. However, it also meant I had to wait another hour and a half before it was our turn to fly out. Other planes were coming in and going out, so we followed the third plane out.
I arrived at Meta Lake Lodge at 7:30, and went up for a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast, before going to the cabin to unpack and get what fishing gear was still needed to be readied. Steve had been putting everything in our boat, while waiting on me, so most of it was done by the time I got there.
Saturday, August 6th...Day 1
It was chilly, windy, and cloudy the first day. We had brought a bunch of floats/markers with us to mark some weed beds to help the rest of our group find them. We set 10 of 12 out. 3 in Stoney Bay, 3 on the "hump" near the south bay in Ara Lake, 3 in the South Bay, and 1 marking a huge rock up in the North Bay of Ara. (Windy conditions that week will make three of those floats just disappear, never to be found again).
We only caught 11 fish the first day and only fished the south end of Ara and Stoney Bay. We figured it was the cold front conditions making them sluggish, because we would see them follow the lures when casting, but they were not aggressive at all.
Dinner on Saturday night was a nice salad, oven roasted turkey, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Dessert was apple cake with vanilla ice cream...YUM!
Sunday, August 7th...Day 2
We started the morning by having breakfast with everyone up at the main lodge. We were doing the "American Plan", so we didn't have to do any cooking at the cabin. They made breakfast, packed us lunches, and made dinner every day, so that gave us more time to fish and just relax.
Breakfast was thick french toast with sausage...YUM!!
Steve, who inhales his food, said "Get in the boat! Let's go!" But, he was mainly joking, because he says it at every meal...and, everyone who's ever fished with him gets that chiding. It's always good for a laugh. :)
It would be the last breakfast for me the rest of the week, since Steve and I both agreed to get on the lake by 6am. It would give us an extra two hours of fishing time each day. We just had Erin pack our lunches in a way that I could put the sandwiches together in the mornings, so they didn't get soggy over night. That worked out well, but a weeks worth of sandwiches for breakfast and lunch was getting old by the end of the week. lol
Anyway, back to fishing... Since we had fished the south end of Ara yesterday, we decided to run up north today. The weather was an improvement over yesterday, and was a little warmer.
We didn't catch any monster pike yet, but we were catching a lot of 22-28 inch pike, so the future of the two lake system looks bright. We would catch a total of 32 fish...both pike and walleye, but always more pike than walleye.
We enjoyed a nice salad and then a dinner of scalloped potatoes, with the most mouth watering, and tender ham I've ever eaten...it was delicious! We finished it off with a sweet dessert of vanilla ice cream covered in raspberries.
Monday, August 8th...Day 3
Each morning I wake up first, at 4:30am. I get up and make coffee, and mine and Steve's sandwiches for the day. Then, after a hot shower, and getting ready, I would go in and wake Steve up for the second time....by then, he was ready to get up and going.
We started out on the North end of Ara, and caught 30 fish up there by 12:00. While we were trolling around up there, we noticed a mother Loon with her fuzzy little baby Loon swimming around near an island. But, about 10 minutes later, the fuzzy little baby is all by itself closer to the island and our boat, and looking scared of something. It's head was tucked all the way down and tight to its body, and momma was no where in sight now. Then, I looked over and saw two adult Loons swimming away....hmmmm. We didn't make much of it, and left to go fishing on the south end of Ara.
It took us a 1/2 hour to ride down there in our 18' wooden boat with the 15hp motor, so we arrived at approximately 12:30pm. We trolled from 12:30 to 3pm and must have hit it at the right time, because we would catch another 28 fish, for a total of 58 for the day. So far, it was our best day yet.
Dinner was a salad, meatloaf, cauliflower mashed "potatoes" and sweet corn. Dessert was ice cream with banana's foster...YUM!!
Tuesday, August 9th...Day 4
Our early start was delayed, due to a thunderstorm that popped up at 5:30am. It had some gusty winds, and lightning, so we opted to let the sun come up more before venturing out.
Frank and Bill would decide it was not a good day to fish, and would stay at the cabin all day.
Steve and I finally headed out for the day around 7am. We were headed to the south end of Ara again. It's about an hour ride from camp on a good weather day, so today it was going to take much longer. And, the ride would likely bust my ass in the front of that little wooden boat.
While we were still in the channel, between the two lakes, I said to Steve, "Maybe we should take the shoreline down, it will probably be more protected", and he replied, "Okay".
However, when we made the turn out of the channel and headed south, straight into the big waves, I kept waiting for him to turn to the left, and head towards the shoreline, but he kept going straight....ugh.
He kept it straight down the center of the lake and busted my ass the entire way down there! As we neared the south end it became calmer....thank goodness...and we could see it would be very fishable....a "bright side".
When we finally stopped, I was scowling from the butt buster ride that crushed my spine and rattled my brain inside my skull. I asked him, "I thought you were going to take the shoreline down?" He said, "Nope", and laughed. "It didn't look any better over there", he said. A wise man once told me, "Don't start no shit, and there won't be no shit", so I bit my tongue, and waited for my headache to go away, before speaking again. There was no sense in ruining a day in paradise by arguing about a boat ride. Even though, I think he did it on purpose, because when I kept looking at the shoreline going down...all I saw was calm water...hmmpf! But, on the other hand, he got SOAKED from all the crashing water over the sides, so I doubt very much he did it on purpose. It just felt like it at the time. Ha!
Anyway, after my Motrin kicked in, and my headache went away it was a fun morning. We fished the bay and caught 13 pike and walleye. With the wind still gusting, and the bite slower than normal...I asked Steve if we could troll the shoreline back up. Partly, because it would be protected, and mostly, because it would be something new to fish and explore. He was game, so we finished our trolling pass through the big weed bed in the south bay and headed north along the shoreline.
It took several hours to work our way up the shoreline, to the channel, but we found spots where we would catch a few, and then go a while without catching, and then, catch some more. We found 20 more fish that would fight and be released to live another day. We both agreed it was a fun day.
We were maybe two points away from the channel when the wind kicked up again, really hard, and forced us to head back to the protected water in the channel instead of fishing the rest of the shoreline.
There are a few spots in the channel we liked to hit, so we headed to the first spot. That's when I noticed the sky turning really dark behind Steve's right shoulder. It was coming from the south, where we just left, but seemed to be staying to the west, while we were headed to the east.
Scanning the sky to the east, it looked like the storm would miss us, so we hit one of our hot spots in the channel. But, I kept a close eye on the sky's horizon, because I learned my lesson two years ago, when we got caught in a similar storm that snuck up us pretty quick.
I told Steve, "I think we need to head back. The horizon is looking like it's headed this way now". So, without hesitation, he picked up and we started our ride back. As we left the channel, and started crossing Meta Lake, the sky behind Steve started throwing lightning bolts down from the darkened sky. The sky above us was getting gnarly, and I was hoping we would make it in before it let loose too. Thankfully, it did. We hit the dock when the big bangs of thunder were starting, and made it into the cabin just before the rain started...woot! woot!
After cocktails with Frank and Bill, we headed up for dinner, where we would enjoy a nice caesar salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, and cheesy bread. Dessert would be a three layer cake of chocolate and lemon with a lemon cream filling and a chocolate/lemon frosting. A strange combination, I thought, but it was surprisingly really good! Yum!!
Wednesday, August 10th...Day 5
It was a cold morning with spotty fog. The lake was calm though, so the lack of wind was a welcomed change. We left the dock at 6am... It was the kind of morning that makes you wonder if it could ever get more beautiful than that, and make you stop to inhale the cool, clean air... deeply.
We headed to the south end and fished the usual spots with pretty good success. We then moved to the main lake point at the mouth of the bay, where we had caught quite a few there the day before on our shoreline troll. There were 4 other boats there though, so we made one pass, caught a few, and then headed across the lake to Stoney Bay. We started on the north shore, out in front, where there are a lot of rocks, and picked up a few walleye and pike, before heading into the bay to hit the big weed bed.
Stoney Bay is better for walleye, I think, because we seemed to catch more walleye than pike in there. We still haven't caught a pike over 30 inches, but there's still two more days to go.
We made a move to the north end of Ara after leaving Stoney Bay, to see if there was an afternoon bite up there. When we arrived up there, and our trolling pass took us over to the the islands, we noticed the fuzzy baby Loon was still there....alone. I had to wonder if the momma had abandoned it, because it was sick, or it was just time for it to be weaned, or if she went off with a new male and left the baby behind. I had no knowledge of baby Loons, so I was just upset that it was still all alone and so young. Had momma been killed by an eagle or giant pike? Would the baby meet the same fate soon, since it was so young? I know, I know....bleeding heart...."it's nature", but I couldn't help feeling sad for the little bugger.
We left it alone, and while trolling back down to the south, we saw a big Bald Eagle flying over the island, really low. I thought for sure it was going to get the baby Loon, but it caught a wind and did the circle thing high into the sky instead. Whew! That was close. Steve agreed to let me bring some fresh minnows the next morning to feed it, in case the momma had left it alone. After three days, sitting in the same spot, I could only think about how hungry it must be. So, that was our plan.
After leaving the north end, we went into the channel to hit our usual honey holes to finish out the day. We ended today with 63 pike and walleye.
Dinner was the usual Wednesday night fish fry. Everyone is supposed to bring back some walleye to be cooked up, but Steve is a staunch catch and release angler, and I have no issue with that, so we agreed that we could just eat the beans and salads for dinner. After all, the beans are a meal in themselves, and are really really good! Frank and Bill didn't bring in any fish either, but Frank P., his grandsons, and Bob and Ned Boytim brought in enough to share with all of us, so we had fried walleye, homemade baked beans, cole slaw, and potato salad for dinner.
Dessert was...ice cream again. Yum!!
Thursday, August 11th....Day 6
Steve thought it would be nice to take one of Frank's grandsons each day, so today we took the youngest one, Joel. I told him he had to be up early, and if he didn't get to the boat by 6am, we were leaving without him. I told Steve to make sure to go knock on their cabin door at 5:45 to make sure he's up. But, of course, he's so pokey in the mornings too, that at 5:50, I went up there and knocked. A sleepy little boy looked through the door window, and I said, with a smile, "Let's go Kid!", and turned to walk away. My sternness worked, because he was at the dock and in the boat by 6am. Ha! After that, I would soften my "touch", to wake him up completely. It was chilly in the morning, and like most little boys who dress themselves, he was not going to be warm enough, so Steve gave up his Guidewear jacket to let Joel wear, so he would be warm enough on the run up the lake.
We headed to the north end, first thing, and started a trolling pass in "Walleye Alley" before making a pass around the grassy island and by the bigger rock islands up there. We were happy to see that we would not need to feed the baby Loon this morning, because as we neared the rocks, where it had been hanging out, we saw momma with it again. That made our hearts happy, and we told Joel the story of the little Loon, and it made him smile too.
We turned the boat and headed back towards "Walleye Alley", trolling our big Silver Minnows tipped with white twister tails. I figured it was a good time to use the bathroom, since it was slow, and I really had to pee.
I set the rod in the rod holder, and it wasn't a minute later the rod tip bends with a violent tug. I told young Joel to get it out of the rod holder. But, he couldn't lift it out of the cradle, so I yelled to Steve to get it, because my pants were around my ankles, while I squatted in the bottom of the boat with a cut off bleach bottle between my legs. lol
Joel did a fantastic job of reeling in a big 40" pike. Steve netted it, and got it in the boat quickly, because it was hanging halfway out of the rubber net. After a quick measurement and a few pictures, she was released to swim another day. Yay!
We left the north end and headed down to the south bay again. Joel ended up falling asleep on the ride down, and woke up as soon as we had another fish on. He was a happy boy, since he reeled in 33 of our 35 fish.
Something very special happened when he was reeling in one of the fish on my rod. A young Bald Eagle flew over from a tree on the shore, and flew very low, like it was going to try and get Joel's fish, that was thrashing on the surface. But, it was too close to the boat by the time it got there, and it circled back.
However, it didn't fly back to shore and made a B-line back to our boat, because Steve's lure was fouled with weeds and on the surface. I pointed that out to Steve, before the eagle tried to go for it, and it flew straight over the length of our boat, about 20 feet up in the air. We could see all the details on the feathers and its face. It looked us over with curiosity, and flew off again.
We were in awe, and couldn't believe that just happened! Then, it came back two more times and did the same thing....straight over the boat and only about 20 feet up in the air. We just looked at each other and laughed at our good luck with this chance meeting of one of America's most majestic birds of prey. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold. :)
It was a nice day, and he couldn't wait to tell his grandpa and his brother that he caught the biggest fish of the week so far.
When they finally showed up at the dock, we walked down, so he could tell them. But, his brother burst his bubble when he said, they caught one that was 45 inches, but it got away when grandpa brought it in the boat, and it flopped and bounced out of the boat before they could do anything with it. So, I said, "Well, too bad, so sad, that doesn't count". It has to be measured to be official. lol
That made Joel smile again, because he was in the lead for the big fish pot at the end of the week.
Grandpa was so disappointed, because it was the biggest fish he's ever caught up there in the many years he's been fishing the lakes.
Dinner was grilled steaks to order, salad, and baked potatoes with butter and sour cream. Dessert was something, but I can't remember what it was. I'm sure it was worthy of a "YUM!" though. ;)
Friday, August 12th...Day 7
We woke up to a cold front again. The wind was calm though, so that was nice.
We would be taking Joel's older brother, Jacob, today. Steve went to wake him up, and we hit the water at 6:15am. Again, like young boys do, he was not dressed properly, so again, Steve gave him his jacket to wear. I'm sure it had to be a cold ride for Steve, because he without his jacket, he wasn't going to be warm enough either.
We made the same rounds as the day before, but didn't get any big fish, but we did catch a few more than the day before. Jacob had reeled in 13 fish before taking a 3 hour nap, where in which Steve and I would land another 27 fish, trolling the weed bed in the south bay.
We finished off the day by casting our honey holes in the channel, but the holes were not was productive as the previous days, and we would end our day with a total of 47 fish.
The highlight of the day was looking over and seeing something odd in the water...and, it was moving. I asked, "Did Ned throw a black marker or something?" But, then we saw the ears...it was a swimming bear! We got close enough to get video, but not close enough to freak it out, because it had to be tired from its long swim across the bay. We videoed it for about a 1/4 mile and watched it run out of the water and disappear into the woods. That was SO COOL!! Glad we had the chance to see it. :)
We had cocktails and packed up our belongings for the early flight out in the morning, before heading up for dinner.
We had a nice dinner of baked chicken, rice pilaf, and garlic green beans. Dessert was a choice of either apple or blueberry crisp with ice cream...Yum! :)
After dinner, we finished packing and organizing our gear, so it could be set out in the morning to be picked up by the staff and loaded on the dock, so when the plane came in, we would be the first flight out.
I woke up early, and cleaned the cabin, and set all the gear out on the porch while them rest of the slept in. I would have time to sleep in the truck on our way to Geraldton, for breakfast.
We stopped at a little restaurant for breakfast, and then set forth on our long journey home. A long story short...we made it back to Frank's house about 1am Sunday morning.
It was a fun trip, and I feel very fortunate to have been invited to spend the time with all of them. The fishing was just a bonus. They are a great bunch of guys, and I can't thank them enough for the opportunity. I hope to do it again in the future.
Capt Juls
You can view the trip pictures here:
http://www.julswalleyefishingadventures.com/Photos-Pg-19.html
