Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Lisa and Tanya....4/9/2024
by Capt Juls on 04/09/24After too many days off, I was back to work this morning. WoooHoooo!
I have family in town, and staying at my house for the week, so my morning routine is a little off, and I was trying to be quiet, so I wouldn't wake my sister and brother-in-law, and got a little impatient, and left the house early.
I wasn't meeting my crew until 6:30 at the Portage River launch, but I left the house at 5AM anyway. I figured I would take the long way through town, while it was dark and quiet, to waste some time, before meeting my crew at 6:30.
I only needed ice this morning, since I had gassed the boat and truck up the other day, when I brought the Vexus out of storage, and put it back under the carport, here at the house.
I drove to the Speedway across town, picked up some ice, and headed back across town again, to the launch.
It was still dark at 5:45, so I turned on the boat's interior lights, and used the spotlight on my iPhone to rig some rods. Since I was going to be passing under a bridge, before I got to the mouth of the river, I didn't put the rods in the rod holders, or put the antenna up yet. I didn't want anything getting broken. Been there, done that before....oops!
Anyway, the boat was ready to go, it was getting a little lighter out, and they weren't there yet, so I launched the boat, thinking that because they were both women, (one likes to fish and the other had never been on a boat, or caught a fish before), that they wouldn't be comfortable backing up a trailer. I couldn't have been more wrong...and, could have saved myself the trouble of launching alone. (Not my favorite thing to do).
Lisa, Tanya, and Kim rented a house in town for the Solar Eclipse, and booked a trip with me, for the day after. Lisa loves to fish, and had a bucket list of fish she wanted to catch....a walleye was one of them. Initially, Tanya was just along for the experience, but would come to know the joys of catching her own walleye, too.
And, Kim gets sick just looking at waves, so she opted out of the trip, and stayed on shore.
Both of them own horses, and have pulled horse trailers for a long time. If you can handle a horse trailer, with a live animal in it, you can easily back up a boat. I should have waited for them, because launching solo still makes me a little nervous. For some reason, I always think the boat is going to float away on me, even though I have ropes securely in place. lol It's a mind game with myself, I guess.
When I was parking the trailer, a car drove into the lot, and no one else was there at that time, so I knew it had to be my crew. They arrived, excited to go, so we hopped in the boat, and headed down the river.
Once we passed the bridge, I had Lisa take the wheel. "Just keep the boat in the center of the channel, while I get the rods out", I said to Lisa. She took control and I pulled the rods out of the locker. They were all set up with Bandits, in varying colors....Carrot Top (stock), Taco Salad (stock color), Potato Bread (custom), Fruit Dots (black headed wonder bread/stock), Barbie (custom), and RC Crush (custom).
Heading out of the river, I asked, "Is everyone ready to go?" They both replied, "Yes!", so the 400 spurred and got the boat up on plane, and off we went, to the west. We set up near Camp Perry in 15' of water. The Terrova and baby Merc quietly pushed us in a northeasterly direction, at 1.6-1.7 mph on the FishHawk...SOG was similar in that area.
I started out with only 3 Off Shore boards per side, and set the Bandits on the port side at 25, 35, and 40 back, with the shortest lead on the outside. My boards are set to trip from the front arm now, which allows a shorter lead to work on an outside board, easier than on one that doesn't release.
The starboard side ran at 35, 45, and 55 back. Nothing for the first 1/2 hour, so we made a 5 mile move east, and set up over 27 feet of water, adding another board, per side, with leads running at 60 on the outside boards, 53 on number three, 43 on number two, and 41 on number one, (inside board), on both sides.
White bodied baits were used to start, and would catch most of our limit, but near the end, Lisa chose one of my favorite colors (Carrot Top), and it would get hit in minutes of being out, and let out again. It hit three fish pretty fast. I laughed and said, "I had that one in the beginning, but took it off...my bad!" I think I will have a few of those out again tomorrow. :)
Lisa was so excited to have caught her very first walleye, and could mark it off her bucket list, now. She said, "I don't even care if we catch another one, because I caught my walleye, and can scratch it off the list". I said, smiling, "You're my favorite kind of customer, but I think we can catch a few more this morning".
It was a beautiful day, and not as windy as was predicted in the forecast, so I was grateful, and pleasantly surprised. We all commented how nice it was today, and how everyone had needed a nice day like this one, to recharge the batteries.
We timed it right, because when we had our limit, and time was up, we headed in...the wind was picking up as we arrived back at the river, and whitecaps were forming, even close to shore. (It was an offshore wind today).
Lisa and Tanya both said that they had a great time. And, now Lisa is coming back in October to try some perch fishing with me, and that makes me happy!
Tomorrow, I have my long time customers, (who are more like family to me than just customers). Steve and Jeremy Chapman. Steve was my very first customer, 13 years ago, and Jeremy started coming with him 12 years ago, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow too.
The weather looks like it's going to be really nice again, so hopefully the fish are in a good mood, and will be biting.
We are doing a little later start....at 8am, since they are driving up from the Columbus area in the morning.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Report for the first weekend in April....4/7/24
by Capt Juls on 04/07/24Good morning...I'm not scheduled to go back out until Tuesday, this week.
As you know, my three day trip that was planned earlier this week was cancelled, due to wind, and then the next three day trip scheduled after that one was rescheduled, so it's been a long week of not fishing for me....deep sigh.
The lake is not as tore up as we all thought it would be after the wind and rain we had earlier in the week, so that's the good news. But, the rivers are dumping a lot of debris into the lake, so be careful and keep a lookout for floating logs that can damage your rig.
Water temps are in the 40s, so fish are being caught both pre-spawn and post-spawn, now.
Bandits, Dead Eyes, DHJ12's, P-10's, and other cranks are working well for the trollers. Speeds vary from 1.3 all the way up to 1.9mph, but 1.6-1.7 seems to be an overall good speed to catch them at.
Jiggers are catching on the reefs now, too.
We had a good satellite picture yesterday, so if you're fishing this weekend and see this...check it out...it will help you find the mixing water, where the most active fish will be hanging out, and save you some gas while you're out there running around.
Fish are being caught all over...from way west, and all the way to Cleveland, so just find the right colored water first, and use your electronics to mark some fish...and, if you find some fish in the right water, it shouldn't be hard to catch them. Key word..."shouldn't be". ;)
I have family coming down from Wisconsin today, so I won't be out until Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I still have Thursday and Friday open...weather permitting.
Good luck if you're headed out this weekend...be safe. :)
Capt Juls
I Wish this was an April Fools Joke....4/1/24
by Capt Juls on 04/01/24Mother Nature has ruined the three day trip that was scheduled for tomorrow through Thursday, with big wind and rain. I told my crew, that would be driving in from 11 hours away, to stay home, and save that drive for another time.
It's April 1st, and looking at the radar, it appears that it will be an all day rain today, so that's going to muddy up the rivers, that will be dumping into the lake in the next few days.
Tomorrow's wind is forecast to be 25-30mph out of the ENE. Wednesday's wind is 20-25 out of the SW, and Thursday's wind is forecast to be 23-29mph out of the NW. That, along with the muddy rivers dumping in, is going to dirty the water up inside again, so next weekend's trips will be very challenging.
Fish that were being caught the past couple of days, were a mix of both pre-spawn and post spawn fish, so the spawn is underway.
My next scheduled trip is a three-day trip this Friday through Sunday. Then, my sister and brother-in-law are coming down Sunday afternoon, to stay for a couple of nights, to watch the solar eclipse. I'll be taking that day off to hang out with them, and will be back at it on Tuesday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jason and Warren...3/28/24
by Capt Juls on 03/29/24Well, this report is not what I wanted to report after being off for since my last trip on March 3rd.
I usually don't schedule trips until the last week of March, but Mother Nature had given us a reprieve early in the month, so I took advantage of that, and got a couple of trips in, but she changed her mind mid-month and brought the cold and wind back.
The lake conditions right now are typical for this time of year, and yesterday, it was muddy inside and had mixing water a few miles out.
Jason brought his 12-year-old son up for another trip with me. The last trip was a fall trip two years ago, where we had a successful walleye trip, added with some bonus perch fishing, over by Vermilion.
Unfortunately, this last trip was not so successful. While it was fun fishing, the catching part of it was poor, for us. As I would learn later, the area that I started in, which was over by South Bass, would be where we should have stayed. But, we weren't marking fish, and my patience was running low, so we made a move over to the NE side of Kelly's.
It was strange, that my Humminbird wasn't marking any fish the entire way over there from South Bass. It had me scratching my head, and wondering if I was making the right move.
We set up on the SW corner of Kelly Island Shoal, out in 42' of water, and headed NNE from there. We started in some muddy water, so we had time to get set up, before hitting the mixing water.
We ran Bandits behind Off Shore boards at 125, 120, 100, 97, 90, 80, 70, and 60 back. We hit a pocket of fish, and the fun began, but it would only last a half at the most. We caught 5 fish, on the 125, 120, 97, and 90 leads, but threw one little 15" fish back, thinking we would keep catching, but that was the last fish we would catch.
Taco Salad (Stock Color), Potato Bread (Custom Color by Bruce Hochstetler), and Mint Condition (Custom Color by SlimShady Customs) took all the fish. Taco Salad (3), and the other two took one each.
Speed was 1.4-1.6mph on the Fish Hawk and 1.7-1.9 SOG.
Water temp on the Fish Hawk at 18' down was 40 degrees.
We tried picking up, and making another pass through the same area, but those fish were gone already, so we made another move, and tried again, but didn't catch any more fish.
We made another long move over to the NW side of Kelly's, but the wind was picking up, and we didn't mark any fish there, so we just decided to head in.
At least Warren was able to reel in those 5 fish that we did catch, and his arms were a little sore from it, so he was satisfied. :)
Jason was understanding, and said we will get them next time, so it's nice to know they will be back again, and that makes me happy.
I don't like not limiting out, but the day was full of sunshine, and wasn't as cold as we thought it was going to be, so it was fun to get out and go fishing. I just wish the catching had been better. As it turned out, from what my friends told me, had I just kept going north from where we started in the morning, we would have gotten into some fish.
I have to work on my patience....lol
My trip for Saturday has been rescheduled, due to rain and neither myself nor my client want to fish in a cold rain with an east wind, so he's rescheduling. My Sunday trip, is a regular from Wisconsin, that bought one of my boats, and likes to bring it down for a few days to fish, after he fishes with me, and, while Sunday looks fishable... Monday through Thursday looks like crap, so he's rescheduled to later in the month....it's also Easter Sunday, so it was an easy decision to reschedule him.
I didn't have a trip scheduled on Monday, but I do have a three-day trip scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, with some folks coming from 11 hours away, so we will look at the forecast again on Sunday, to see if Mother Nature will change her mind, and calm the &%^*$ down, and let us get their trip in. If the forecast doesn't change from what it's showing right now, I won't have them drive that far, just to sit on shore.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing Day 2 with Eric Vogel 3/3/2024
by Capt Juls on 03/03/24Woke up early, and did the usual morning routine, before heading to the building where my boat is staying warm and dry, to pick her up.
Eric was on his second day of fishing with me, and was right on time, when I picked him up at 6AM. We hit the gas station for ice, and off we went to Mazurik's.
We launched at 6:30... and, while I waited for Eric to park the truck, the morning darkness was lifting, allowing me to see that the sky was full of clouds. I was hopeful, that after two days of cloud coverage at night, that the fish would be hungry, and biting, this morning. The air temp was 46 degrees. The wind forecast was for less than 10mph out of the south.
We took a right turn outside the break wall, and headed east. We started where we left off yesterday, and the Helix was still showing good marks, but they were really low to the bottom, as compared to yesterday.
We decided to give it a go, so the Terrova and the baby Merc were deployed and set to work together at a speed of 1.7-1.8 mph SOG (FishHawk was showing 1.3-1.4mph).
Eric ran the Bandits that were working yesterday, behind Off Shore boards at 70, 60, and 50 back, unassisted, and I ran some P-10s with 2oz snap weights at 45/45, 35/35, and 25/25.
(For those new to snap weights and are reading this for the first time, the numbers mean that you let out 45 feet of line and attach the snap weight...then, let out another 45 feet of line (total 90), and attach the planer board.)
We caught 4 nice eaters in that area, but it was slower than yesterday. Capt Bobby Greene told me that he had good marks where he was (4 miles from me...sorry, it wasn't my spot, so I can't give that up), so we picked up, and made the move over.
We picked a few, and figured out that the Green Clown P-10 at 35/35 was something they wanted, so I loaded up all three rods on my side with them, and we caught 5 on that color. Eric's side was slow, so I dug out more P-10s and gave him a Chrome Marvin, Chrome Perch, and Blue Chrome. The Chrome Marvin and the Perch caught 3 more. We were done at 9:45.
Water temp was 36.6 degrees over 37-38 feet of water today.
We headed in after we caught our limits, so Eric could get an early start back to Nebraska. He said he had a great time and learned a lot, so that makes me happy!
Saturday, I'll be at South Shore Marine for their event, with the Off Shore Tackle display, so if you got your tickets online, in advance, stop by and say, "Hi"! :)
I'm off until next Sunday and Monday, if Mother Nature lets us get out after them again. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Eric Vogel 3/2/2024
by Capt Juls on 03/02/24After a good 8 hours of sleep, I got up at 2am to have my coffee, check the weather apps, and get the dog outside to relieve himself. The weather apps informed me of a decent morning ahead. It was calling for cloudy, chilly, and damp to start the morning, but the fine mist that was in the air, early this morning, dissipated by the time we headed out of Mazurik's, at 7am.
Eric drove in from Nebraska yesterday, to today and tomorrow.
We headed east from the launch, and marked fish the entire way, so we didn't go far. We were over 35 feet of water, and the marks were mostly below 20', but there were several that were hanging in that 15-20' range that I like to target, so we broke out the Bandits, and P-10s, to start.
With only 6 lines running behind Off Shore boards, I let Eric run the Bandits on his side, and I put out 3 P-10s with 2oz snap weights. Working off the program that worked for me during the previous trip, I set the outside one at 35/35, the middle one 30/30, and the inside one 25/25. I'm sure I didn't let them run long enough, but I wasn't "feeling it", and took them off. I replaced them with Bill Lewis PWCs at (outside to inside) 70, 53, and 40 back. (The Bill Lewis PWCs run a lot deeper than Bandits, with shorter leads.... example: Bandit at 65 back, is 15' and the PWC at 65 back, is 20').
Eric ran the Black Headed Wonderbread at 70, RC Crush at 60, and the Red Headed Wonderbread at 50 back.
Speed was 1.2-1.4 on the FishHawk, and showing 1.7-19 on the Helix's GPS/SOG...as we went from west to east.
We just kept going around in slightly different circles, as we worked an area that had different groups of fish, moving west. When we would get over good marks, we usually got bit. The more scattered fish marks, were on the move, I think, and their goal was to keep moving west, but I could be wrong....I don't speak fish, so they couldn't tell me what their plans were for the day. :)
The Black Headed WB was by far the best color this morning, with RC Crush coming in with a close second. A "Slim Shady Custom" called, "Mint Condition" (pictured in the photos) caught the biggest girl of the morning...a nice 28 incher... (Eric released her).
Blue/Chrome at 60 back took one fish, and a Bill Lewis Black Headed WB at 40 back took one, too.
We switched out some colors that weren't producing and ended up running colors that all had taken a fish or two.
The bite was better earlier in the morning, and slowed down as the morning progressed. It was still a pretty steady bite, just not as fast as we all know it can be on this lake.
The water is still cold....35.5 off of Marblehead
Eric had fun, and is looking forward to fishing again tomorrow, and that makes me happy! :)
We will be out again tomorrow...same bat time and same bat channel.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Steve and Mick 2/26/2024
by Capt Juls on 02/26/24My alarm went off this morning, for the first time since last fall, and I woke up startled, wondering why it was going off...then, I remembered...I was going fishing! I jumped out of bed to get my coffee, and make sure the weather was still going to be nice today. To my delight, it was.
Steve called me the other day, asking if he and his friend, Mick, could get out with me today, so I checked the weather and wind forecasts, and told him, "Yes".
I don't usually run this early in the season, but with the mild weather upon us, I thought it was a good idea to take advantage of the nice weather, while we have it.
My boat is over in heated storage at the moment, so I left the house at 5:45 to go over to the bldg and grab her. Then, I hit the gas station, to gas up the Vexus and get ice for the coolers, and headed to Huron.
Steve and Mick drove in from MI this morning, and met me at the Huron ramp a little after 7. We were to meet at 7:30, but as usual, I was early. I had time to get everything set up, before they arrived, and was finished by the time they showed up, so we launched a little early.
We headed out of the river, and headed east towards Vermilion...searching water from 38-44' of water. I wasn't seeing the kind of marks I wanted to see, since Mick has never caught a walleye over 28", and was hopeful to do that today, and I figured that the water would be a little cleaner to the east, than what I was seeing out in front of Huron.
I had already used up an hour looking, so I took a friend's advice, who said he was working "stained" water at Huron, but was loaded with good marks...to go and fish over that way. So, off we went...headed back west.
When we got there, I could clearly see the cavitation plate, and the prop was slightly visible, so I was more positive that fishing would be okay there. The fish marks were all sitting below the 30 line, and not coming up, so I'm guessing with the clear sky last night, and the back end of a full moon, that the fish were feeding heavily overnight, and would get hungry again more towards the afternoon. And, from what I heard on the radio, it sounded like a lot of people were struggling, and asking if anything is working. The responses were few.
We set up with Smithwick P-10s on both sides, running with 2oz snap weights behind the Off Shore boards. We only put 7 nice fish in the box this morning, and lost 5 others, that didn't hook themselves well enough.
Most of the fish came on a Fire Tiger color at 45/45...(for those new to snap weights...45/45 means, that you put a weight on at the 45 mark, and then let out another 45' of line (total line out is 90), then, put the board on.
50/45, 45/45, 40/40 all caught.
At one point we took the P-10s off the port side and replaced them with Bandits. The Black Headed Wonder Bread at 120 back (unassisted) took two fish, and lost one . The other colors got changed out and set deeper, but the outside board was the only one to go, each time.
We were running 1.2-1.4 mph, but 1.3 was showing every time we caught a fish.
The FishHawk was showing 1.3, but the GPS was showing 1.7-1.8 mph.
Steve and Mick had a fun day, though, and said they want to come back again, soon, and will be watching the forecast. I'm looking forward to it, because they were a lot of fun to fish with. Both of them had positive attitudes and were just happy to be on the lake, on a nice day, spending time together.
I'm happy to report that everything was working the way it should be, after sitting for a couple months. However, I have to do the latest updates on the Humminbirds tomorrow, so fingers are crossed they both update without any issues. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Capt Ryan and Capt Sam 2/19/2024
by Capt Juls on 02/19/24Yesterday evening, I got a text from Capt Sam inviting me to go fishing with him and Capt Ryan Pettry, this morning. Of course, I said, "Yes"!
We launched out of Vermilion, and had to go through skim ice that someone else had already broken earlier in the morning, ahead of us. There was floating skim ice closer to shore, but once we got away from shore, it was a flat calm lake with no ice. The sun was up and shining, warming things up pretty fast.
It was only 20 degrees out when we launched, so the warmth of the sunshine was feeling pretty good.
We were in Ryan's boat, and he had us going around 2 mph, over 40' of water, while we set the 9 Off Shore boards out, and can you believe it? We caught a few at that speed! But, once all the boards were out, Ryan knocked the speed back down to 1.4-1.6mph and we were catching doubles, triples, quads, and at one point...we had 7 on at one time. What a hoot! We caught our 3-person limit in about an hour.
P-10s weighted with 2oz at 40/40 and 35/35 did best. Color didn't seem to matter, but we mostly had white bodied baits out there. Natural colored baits did well, too.
It was a great morning to be on the water, in a boat, in the middle of February!
Thanks Capt's for the invite and the fun time! Much appreciated! :)
I don't have anything scheduled until the last weekend in March right now, but if it stays ice free out there, and the ramps don't freeze up, I'll start running earlier.
I just have to do a shakedown run with my boat first, to make sure everything is still working the way it should be.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Time to Look Towards Spring...:)
by Capt Juls on 01/03/24Happy New Year! If you're reading this, congratulations on making it to 2024! :)
The weather was really nice, when I was up in Wisconsin visiting family for Christmas, and people were posting all kinds of pictures on Facebook and Instagram, of the fish they were catching. But, sure enough, as soon as I come home, the weather turns colder, the skies stayed gray, and the air was full of misty wetness. Winds were on the cusp of me not wanting to go out there.
So, I cleaned my house, took down all my Christmas decorations, and entertained my dog, instead. I'm still working on organizing my "Fishing room", which has become a big task, since I can't seem to put stuff back where it belongs, and just throw stuff in there....and, walk out, again.
However, while cleaning that room, I am getting more anxious for spring to arrive, so I can get back to taking people out, and teaching them some of the things I know how to do.
If anyone is interested in a trip for the 2024 season, just reach out, and let me get you on the schedule. I've been taking reservations, and the schedule is coming along great! I look forward to fishing with all of you! :)
Have a great, safe, and healthy winter, and I'll see you in the spring....(unless, of course, we get a bit of nice weather, and there's no ice...we'll be on the water sooner...and, I'll report.)
December Thoughts...Fishing with Dipsey Divers...12/12/23
by Capt Juls on 12/12/23I apologize, in advance, for not being able to add pictures to my blogs. The host site, I use, doesn't have that option for me. So, I'll try to be as instructive, and informative, as I can, with only my words. :)
First, let me say, everyone has their own way of doing things when they fish, so I'm not going to tell you that what I'm about to tell you, is the right way, or that your way is the wrong way, and just tell you how I do it. Nothing more.
What works for me, might help someone just learning, learn how to do it with more confidence.
I have had many trips, where my customers, who never used them before, wanted to learn how to run dipsies, and become more proficient with them, so I thought I would write it all down, and share what I do, and how I fish them, with all of you.
Dipsies can be used in shallow water, all the way out to deep water. When I first started using them, I was taught to run them faster and in deeper water. I didn't know you could run them in shallow water, too. One day, I was fishing with friends, on their boat, and Capt Jen, who's my best friend, set out a dipsey on a three setting at only 19 back, over 8 feet of water.
She had said that she and her husband Capt Matt had caught fish the day before on the exact same set up. Sure enough, we caught fish too. That blew the myth that they couldn't be run in shallow water.
So, don't be fooled, like I was, and remember that dipsies can be used in both shallow and deep water.
I use the "Size 1 dipsey with the Ring". I run two short 6 foot rods on the "inside" (rod to the furthest back to the stern), and two longer rods (8'6") on the "outside", off each corner.
A dipsey is designed to go straight down, or out to the sides, by moving a dial on the back of the dipsey. When you look at the backside of a dipsey, you'll see a triangular pointer, dividing the dipsey in half, down the middle.
There is a set of three numbers to either side of a triangular pointer, with zero being in the middle, directly under the pointer.
By moving that dial to a 1, 2, or 3 position, on either side of the pointer, that will determine how far out to the side the disc will swim. Zero is straight down, 1 is a little to the side, 2 is even further to the side, and 3 is furthest out, away from the boat.
When you're looking at the back of the disc, know that the numbers on the right side of the zero and pointer are fished off of the port side, and numbers on the left side of the pointer are fished off the starboard side.
Setting a dipsey:
Before you set a dipsey in the water, the first thing you want to know is, "Where are the walleye swimming in the water column?" Look at your electronics, check the depths where you see marks on the screen, and then pull out your paper depth chart that comes with the dipsey, Precision Trolling Data app, or a picture on your phone, that tells you how much line to put out with each setting. You'll want to set your baits just above the marks you're targeting on your electronics screen.
I use the Precision Trolling Data app, because I always have my phone, and the app works even if there isn't any signal out on the water. I tell the app what setting I'm using, and at what depth I see fish at, and then, it automatically tells me how much line to let out, to reach that desired depth.
I have the "Lifetime" membership, so I can receive any new baits that get tested and uploaded, plus any software updates....for, life. As long as I don't change my phone's OS platform (Apple to Android, or vise versa), I can get it passed on to the next phone I get.
Back to fishing....
If no lines have been set yet, I set out the outside dipsey first, simply because there is zero chance of it getting tangled. I usually use a 3 setting on the outside rod, to help keep novice hands from tangling. Then, the inside dipsey gets set to zero, or one, and let out, to help keep a good separation between the two dipsies.
The reel's tension button must be turned on, when setting a dipsey out. You know it's on when you hear a clicking sound on your reel, as the line goes out. I call that the, "Clicker". The tension keeps the diver from going down too fast. If it goes too fast, the leader will have a tendency to get hung up around the dipsey, and then it's not going to work the way it should, and needs to be brought up, and reset.
On the front of a dipsey, there is a lever that the mainline connects to, and it needs to be pushed into a raised slot, until it clicks in place. There is a tension screw on the side of the dipsey, that allows you to adjust the tension setting on that lever/arm, so it fits snuggly, but will trip if a fish hits the bait. I call this lever, "The Mechanism".
A snubber, that attaches and runs behind the dipsey, and is usually around 6"-8" on average, helps keep bigger fish from getting off the line, by taking some of the shock away, when a big fish puts up a good fight.
The leader, is then attached to the back of the snubber. In my case, it's whatever my arm length is, when I reach out to both sides, and extend my arms out as far as they will go... which is pretty close to 6 feet. :)
Baits I use, are big and little spoons, shallow diving crank baits, crawler harnesses, and "Worm Burners".
Here are a few tips, that might work for all of you too....
When you've caught a fish on a dipsey, and it hasn't tripped the mechanism:
Put your thumb on the reel's spool and press down, to hold it in place...reel down to take up any slack line....then, give the rod tip a flick of the wrist, to pop that mechanism on the dipsey, and reel it in.
Once it's tripped, it comes in a lot smoother and easier.
I tell my clients to keep the rod tip close to the water, as they reel it in, so that the dipsey stays in the water until its found its way to the tip of the rod, where my client then lifts the rod up, and steps backwards a couple of steps, to bring that fish that's out there on a 6-foot leader, closer to the boat, so it can be netted.
I try to bring all the dipsies in on the starboard side of the main motor, because there's more room for netting fish, because the kicker motor is on the port side, and I can't risk a customer netting a fish near the running prop. I've ruined a few net baskets, on the props, by letting customers net fish, too. It's always a learning experience for them, and I get a new basket when it happens.
When setting out an outside dipsey, when the inside rod is already set:
Let's set the port side (where the kicker is, too). The inside rod is running on a zero setting at 47, and I need to get the rod with the 3 setting dipsey out to the side, without tangling. The best way to do that is to place the bait on the inside of the inside rod, and kicker, and hold the line on the reel, so the dipsey doesn't go out.
Then, I point the rod tip out, over, and out to the side of the inside rod, in one smooth action. I do not jerk the rod tip all over the place, bouncing the dipsey up and down and all around. It should be one smooth movement, that takes the dipsey out to the side without interfering with the inside line.
Once my rod tip is out past the inside rod, and to the side, I drop the dipsey in the water, (put the rod in the rod holder while it goes out), and then lock the reel in, when it gets to the desired depth.
By doing this method, you can set more than two lines on each side. And, could realistically run one at zero, one at 1, one at 2, and one at 3...or, four on each side, if done correctly with rod lengths, and settings.
I just run two on each side with clients who are learning. It's enough, and allows us to do both, dipsies and Off Shore Tackle boards. There are days the fish come so fast, that we don't even have time to put any boards out, and just run 4 dipsies, and still catch 24 walleye in an hour and a half.
You might ask, "Is it like that all the time?" No. of course not. I would be lying if I said that. But, during the warmer months, when we can troll faster, dipsies can be a strong tool to have in your arsenal.
Lures I typically use on the dipsies:
Michigan Stinger Spoons and Scorpion Spoons
Yeck Spoons (the 2 1/4" size)
Ripplin Red Fins
YaleEye Moon Eyes
Shallow Bandits
Smithwick P-10's
Shallow WNC Reapers
Worm Burners
Double Willow Leaf Crawler Harnesses
Last tip... Watch the line angles. I use 30# Power Pro in yellow, on my Tekota 500 Line Counter reels, so it's easy to see, and observe from a distance.
If a fish hits, and no one sees the initial jerk of the rod tip, and it decides to just hang there, and swim along with the untripped dipsey, the line angle will change. Sometimes, it is subtle, and sometimes it's unmistakable that there is a fish hanging.
This is the reason I will check each rod every 5 minutes, or so, to make sure I'm not dragging a small fish. Then, I get used to the line angles, that are produced by boat direction and current, and if I see any changes, I will check that rod. Most often, then not, there is usually a fish on it. But, if you don't check them often, you would drag a little fish around for hours, which will knock that rod out of production, for that entire time. That's not good. Just check them....often.
It only takes 30 seconds to check a dipsey, and get it back out.
I hope this helps just one person, who might be struggling with their dipsies, to understand them a little better, and learn how to set them with more confidence.
If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read it. :)
If I have left anything out, and anyone has questions, please email me at RNGRGAL@gmail.com, and I'll answer your questions.
Thank you...
Fishing with Jen and Matt Wieland...11/25/2023
by Capt Juls on 11/26/23Winter is coming...time to put some fish in my freezer, for some walleye chowder I like to make over the cold season. :)
I invited my friends Jen and Matt, to go fishing today. The high temp for the day was only going to be 35 degrees, but the winds were calm, so it would be a good day to go out. The water temp was still at 43 degrees, so there was no icing up at the ramps, yet.
We launched out of Catawba at 9:30(ish), and headed out looking for some fish near the islands. There were several boats working the F Can area, but I decided that going back to the Starve Island area, where Jen and I fished the last time out was our best bet....and, I was right.
There were several boats over there, too, but not too crowded, so down went the Terrova and the baby Merc. The Fish Hawk was deployed, because there's a lot of current in that area, and the speed set at 1.8 on the FH. The SOG was showing 2.0-2.1mph on an easterly direction.
We targeted the south edge of the "hole", in 28-32 feet of water. There weren't a lot of marks, but we started catching anyway.
We set up with what Jen and I used last week, and it didn't disappoint.
We set the following behind the Off Shore boards:
DHJ14s in Blue/Chrome with a 2oz snap weight set at 30/30 (putting the weight on at the 30 mark and letting out another 30' for a total of 60')
Bill Lewis PWCs (Precision Walleye Crank, for those that are as bad at acronyms, as I am)...BH Wonderbread, Christmas Sweater, and Green Tiger set 60-75 back, unassisted (meaning, no weight).
A Dead Eye (deep)... Red Headed Wonderbread, painted by DJ Custom Eye Lures at 50/24 2oz took three fish.
Spro Madeye 120 in the color, "Marvin" at 98 back unassisted did well, too.
We managed to put 19 fish in the boat, but only kept 17. Two smaller 17" fish were released to get a chance to grow bigger.
The average was 2-4 pounds, with our largest going around 6 pounds.
It was a fun 4 hours on a beautiful lake, and it didn't really feel that cold, since there wasn't any wind. :)
The boat is back in its heated storage, and ready to go out again, when the weather allows.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
My Thoughts on the Vexus DVX22 After One Full Season of Use
by Capt Juls on 11/18/23Almost a year ago, I wrote my initial thoughts on the new to me 2023 Vexus DVX22. I had run Ranger's 600 series for 20 years prior, so I knew that the folks who were building the new Vexus Boat, would build an incredible boat in the Vexus, and they did just that. I absolutely love this boat!
As excited as I was to drive it for the first time, I'm still that way, every time I climb in the boat. It's just a fun boat to operate. The ride is very good and is dependable. She has the horsepower to go fast, and she likes to go fast, but I find that on a nice day, I prefer a nice cruising speed of 40-50mph, to get to a spot.
On rougher days, the engine has enough low-end torque to help get up the waves, and a quick response time for throttle adjustments. The boat handles great, due to the design. And I think it's a real winner!
I like the design of the bow, because it feels higher, so when I'm driving in rough water, I never feel that water will be coming in over the bow at any moment. And, speaking of the bow...let's talk about the bow mount trolling motor next.
As many of you know, originally, I had a 112 Ulterra iPilot LINK on the bow, but, after two stow failures (with clients on board, of course), I called my local Minn Kota Service Tech (Matt Wieland), to have him find me a 112 Terrova iPilot LINK, to swap out. He was able to find one that day.
I ran the Ulterras since they came out, and this is the first time I've ever had an issue with one...but, I couldn't give it a chance to do it three times, so I swapped it out.
I sure miss just pushing a button and having the motor deploy and stow by itself, but I'm liking the dependability of the Terrova, too. It's been issue free all season.
So, that's the tip of the boat...so far so good. :)
Next, the bow storage, which consists of an 8' 10" center rod locker, 2 giant storage compartments, and a bait well. The storage compartment on the port side is pleasantly gigantic.
Seriously, a full-grown average adult could lay in there, and there would still be room for more stuff. The compartment on the starboard side is slightly smaller, but still holds a lot.
There are two retractable belts on the bow to hold rods in place, that are stored on the bow, but I don't keep any rods there, so I use it for holding the nets down, while on the road, or running long distances in rough water.
Moving on to the cockpit/dash area....
I have only one criticism, and that's about the trim buttons on the Merc 400's throttle (This is a digital control throttle...and the 400 Verado, before they replaced it with the new V10). The buttons are SO tiny, and under a rubber sheath, so it's almost impossible to work them on the fly in any timely manner.
I opted to put a trim lever at the wheel, so I could adjust on the fly more easily, and without frustration.
Other than that, I like just having one 12" Helix at the dash, because it leaves me the hole in the dash, to use as a "cubby-hole" for all the stuff that is used frequently. The Helix has enough screen to run it in split screen(s). I run another Helix 12 in the rear of the boat, that is connected to the one on the dash, so they are both seeing the same thing.
I didn't put a stereo in this boat, because I just use my Bose speaker/Blue toothed to my phone, so I can play from my playlists. It's one less thing to suck any battery juice from the boat's batteries.
While the boat come standard with the "Air Wave" pedestal bases, I wasn't aware of that when I ordered this boat and opted to put in the suspension seating that I had been using for the last decade... "SmoothMove Seats".
The driver and passenger seats are both fitted with SmoothMove Seats. The passenger side has the "Air-Ride" (plug it in, press a button, and it inflates), and the driver's seat has the manual version (twist a knob). The manual version is set tight, though, because I like to feel what the boat feels, when it's rough out.
Rick LaCourse, my mentor, friend, ex-husband, and the man who taught me how to "drive" a Ranger, always said, "If you can feel it in your ass, so can the boat"...meaning, don't beat up the boat!
The iTroll dial control for the kicker motor sits down, and back, of the big motor's throttle...I have no complaints about this product. It works like it's supposed to and hasn't failed me yet.
The full windshield is the strongest windshield I know of. I never have to worry about a customer using it to support their weight as they are going up and down, and, to and from the bow seat. It's still as solid as the day I first got in the boat.
It's easy to keep clean too, because my hand fits between the glass and the dash.
The glove box is plenty big, and has an upper shelf for those items you want to keep more accessible.
The passenger dash also has a little cubby-hole of their own, (where a stereo would go), which is big enough to hold sunglasses, keys, etc. Then, there is also a nice indentation on top of the dash, to hold more stuff, that won't roll away, or get stuck down between the dash and the windshield.
My antenna is mounted on the driver's side, just behind the Bennett Trim Tab control panel, and above the throttle. I like having it there, so when it must come down fast, (bridge), I have quick access to it. Ask me, how I know... I've already written about in previous blogs, when I had the antenna on the passenger's side. Let's just say, O'Dark 30, a dark bridge in Vermilion, and an antenna standing at 8'....not pretty. I lost two that way. lol
Now, that it's on my side, it's down in a flash, if need be.
The Bennett Trim Tabs have been easy to use on the manual setting, and because of the location, easily operated. It has the automatic settings, but I like using it in manual mode.
The 8' rod storage on the port side holds rods, beautifully. I only keep 4 dipsey rods, and the rear navigation light there, and like the way they are held by what I call "The Claw". I don't know what they are called...it's Y shaped, and rubber coated, to protect your reels. Depending on the rod and reel combos one may run, it could hold a few more rods.
I have a Fish Hawk X2 behind the driver's seat on the starboard tracks. It's working great, and I am very happy with it.
Turning the seat around, to look at the back of the boat....
The storage compartments on the DVX22 hold a lot of tackle, on both sides.
(For those that do not like the storage compartments in the back, the new DVX22S is coming, or might even be here by now, and does not have the storage compartments in the back.
I've talked about the boat's built-in cooler being in the stern port corner, and how I loved the accessibly of it in that position, and that feeling hasn't changed... I still love it!
Originally, I didn't think I would like the room that the built in storage, and access panel to the bilge, in front of the live well took up, but I've grown to really like it. It's perfect for sitting on, standing on, and kneeling on...and, netting fish has not been an issue, like I thought it would be.
And, originally, I was missing the MoDog Running Rod Rack, to hold rods when running from spot to spot, but when Cisco came out with the new Hybrid rod holders that are a cross between their tube and cradle rod holders, I swapped 6 of my 10 cradles out, and could run with the rods in the holders, instead. The nice thing about these hybrids is, they keep the reel facing inside the boat...unlike the regular tubes.
I had all cradles, but they didn't have the ring to lock a rod in, so I would have had to use a bungie cord or something, to keep the rod from bouncing out of the holder, every time I wanted to move. I couldn't be happier with this new holder.
One nice thing about the DVX22 is the metal plate they install under the gunnel, to screw a Cisco Track to the gunnel. It allows the track to bend and follow the gunnel's contour, and solidly attach to it. I haven't had any issues with screws coming loose, either. And, I don't have to worry about a customer who leans on one, to maintain his/her balance...(unless, they are "really leaning").
Having the access panel right there in front of the live well is actually very nice. There's so much more room to work with stuff under there, if need be.
The storage compartments on either side of the access panel can hold 6 crank bait boxes, each. Or, in my case, one side holds all my dipsey stuff. A pool noodle with a dozen leads tied up, a few back up reels, extra size 1 dipsies, extra snubbers, and two crank bait boxes. The other side holds 6 medium sized boxes....boxes that are slightly smaller than a Plano 3700 box.
The stern starboard compartment is where my two battery chargers are located. A 2-bank and a 3-bank charger hang on the walls of the compartment, so there's still plenty of room for all my Off Shore planer boards in there, too.
The 2 plug ins for the chargers, are right in that corner too, but on the splash well side.
The boat power switch is also there, along with the open/close valve for the drain plug.
NOTE: In every boat I've owned with this type of open/close drain plug system...I've always had to go under the boat to push the drain plug closed that last 1/8th to a 1/4 inch.
Will it leak without pushing it in? I don't know, but I would rather be safe than sorry. :)
The only thing left on the rear of the boat, that wasn't mentioned, is the 15 Merc kicker. I have the tiller model, so I can just lock it in straight. I just want it to push us, while the Terrova does all the steering. I use the iTroll to dial in the RPM speed, so I can dial in the speed needed to allow the Terrova's power level to stay at number 5.
I like power level 5, because it will give me enough speed to keep control of the bow on windy days, without using up all the batteries. I'd rather the power come from the kicker.
That's the starting speed. It will get bumped up and down throughout a fishing trip, though, due to maneuvers, but you get my point.
Well, this got long, pretty quick...lol Sorry, for the long read...if you get through it all...thanks for reading it! :)
Fishing with James, Chris, and "Schmitty" (Chris)...11/5/2023
by Capt Juls on 11/05/23I had to reschedule this trip a couple of weeks ago, due to wind, so I had been watching the forecast as the day approached, and it kept getting better day by day, so I told my crew it would be a go.
Originally, the forecast was for the wind to settle down around 8am, but when I went out on the back deck with my coffee at 3am, the wind had already died down to a whopping 3mph. The temp was 46 degrees, so I knew it was going to be a nice day...other than some expected rain showers from time to time throughout the morning.
My boat is in heated storage now, so I had to go across town to get her. I dropped Alfie off at my friend, Jen's house first, so he could spend the day with his brother Ozzie, and his girlfriends, Buoy and Sunny, while I worked. I didn't want him spending the day alone, now that is big brother, Dexter has passed over the Rainbow Bridge. So, thank you, Jen and Matt, for taking care of him. :)
I got to the building a little early, so I could organize some things, before hitting the water. I hit the gas station to gas her up and get some ice for the cooler, before heading over to Mazurik's to meet my crew at 8:45. They were already there, when I arrived, so the day was already off to a good start.
We launched at 9am and after the big motor warmed up to temp, we headed off to the east side of Kelly's. I hadn't been walleye fishing for quite some time, because all of my last trips the past month and a half were perch trips, so it was just a matter of driving until I marked some fish.
We found "some marks" at the 32/27 line, but they weren't stacked, like we often see in some people's photos of their electronics, where it becomes "As fast as you can reel", but more scattered. We decided to give it a try.
The Terrova was deployed, and the baby Merc engaged, and a NE heading was set at a speed of 1.8-2.0 mph. The Fish Hawk showed that the surface temp of 53.4 was the same as the temp down at 15 feet. The SOG was also the same going in that direction.
The port side was set up with 3 white bodied bandits, running behind Off Shore boards. The outside board ran at 120 back (unassisted), the middle board at 80, and the inside board at 60. All three would catch a fish or two.
The starboard side started out running the new Berkley Deep Hit Sticks with the same leads, but didn't catch anything, so they were eventually swapped out for the Berkley Flicker Minnow 11s. The outside bait ran at 100 back, the middle board at 70, and the inside board at 60. All three of these would catch a few fish, too.
Two dipsies ran off each corner, with the inside set on the zero setting, and the outside rods running dipsies on the three setting, with spoons, shallow Hit Sticks, and Ripplin Redfin's. Dialing it in, three rods would end up running the smaller BadMo Arrow spoons in the green and black (silver back), and one white bodied Ripplin Redfin ran on one of the three settings.
The zero settings with spoons caught at 36 to 47 back. The three settings caught at 50 to 80 back. Most of the fish were caught on the dipsies.
When we ran out of marks, I turned the boat around to head back west. The SOG was 2.3 while the Fish Hawk showed 1.9-2.0mph, going that direction. We picked away at them until they caught their limits, and two of mine... then, around noon, the bite slowed for us. We fished for another hour, when they decided they wanted to get back, so they could get the fish cleaned before heading home.
We had a great time out there, and they were very happy with the 20 fish in the cooler, since I didn't have real high hopes of a good bite, since all the reports I had received from the two days before weren't that great.
I had fished with James and Chris back in 2020, and that day we had only gone 11 for 15, but they had a great time that day, too, so I knew they were the positive kind of anglers, and no matter what happened, it would be a good day on the water.
Luckily, though, we beat that day, and put more fish in the cooler for their fish fry efforts. James couldn't have been happier. Chris was a great "first mate", and Schmitty, who had never caught a walleye before, is now hooked and wants to bring some other friends out here to go fishing with me, too....and, that makes me happy! :)
This was the last customer trip of the season, unless a forecast shows nice weather coming in, because I have a few that I can call last minute, if they want to get out.
Otherwise, I'll be doing a little Fall Walleye Brawling, and Walleye Slamming with Jen and Matt for the rest of the month.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jim and Gary 10/11-12/2023
by Capt Juls on 10/14/23Jim and Gary drove in from MN to go perch fishing. Their original date was rescheduled a couple times, due to Mother Nature not behaving, and me not wanting them to drive such a long distance, to only sit on shore while they were here. The winds decided to behave a bit for their scheduled date this time, so they made the trip out here.
The perch bite the week before was pretty darn good, so I was hopeful that it would continue, but east and northeast winds prior to their first day of fishing, made it tough for their first of two days with me.
Day one:
We started out at the Marblehead lighthouse, where I had been fishing with my previous customers for a couple of days, and did well there. We caught 6 perch in an hour and a half. We decided to take a ride up to the area around South Bass Island to see if we could find a better bite up there.
The wind was blowing out of the SW, so the area by the monument was a bit rough for them, and I moved us around to the north side of Put-n-Bay, and found some good marks near the red can by the entrance to PIB. We caught one there, which brought our total up to 7.
After moving around and trying several more spots, we moved back down to the protected side of the mainland, near East Harbor Park. Good marks, but no takers...again.
With an hour and half to go, I decided to make the run back over to our first spot at the lighthouse, where we picked up two more in the last hour. We didn't see anyone around us bringing any in, and heard over the radio that people were struggling to catch them.
It was just one of those days, and we ended the day with only 9 in the cooler. :(
I told the guys we would launch out of Catawba the next morning, and try over by the cans. They were in agreement with that plan, and were looking forward to the next morning.
Day two....
I picked my crew up at Hi-Way Bait, since they were staying next door at the Peninsula Motel. I went in and bought the shiners, and ice, and we were off to Catawba to launch.
It was just getting light out when we launched and headed to G Can. We were the first ones there, so I was able to take some time to locate a school of fish, before deploying the Terrova and hitting the Spot-Lock. We ended up about 25 yards NE of the can, with some good marks showing on the Helix.
"Dollar for the first yellow?", I asked. They both agreed, and it wasn't long before Jim put the first one in the boat. :) "That's a good sign", I said. And, we proceeded to start catching on a pretty steady basis for the next 2 1/2 hours. By 9:15 we had 60 in the box, and had 30 to go. But, by 10AM the bite had slowed way down, and we would only catch another 16 before it was time to head in, for a total of 76 perch.
Jim was attaching live Emeralds to his hook, by their tails, so they wiggled while they were down there, and had good bites. But, he also fed a lot of perch, because they kept stealing his minnows, since they were only hooked once through the tail. However, when he did hook up, they were a nice size fish.
I was letting them use the live shiners, while I used my frozen ones (frozen in Wintergreen Rubbing Alcohol), and was doing well with them, too. I found that the tail halves, on the bottom hook, worked best, but also caught a few with the head portions on the top hook. The piece of meat couldn't be too big though, or it wouldn't get touched.
They had a good time, even though the catching was less than stellar on day one, and said they would like to come back again in the spring, to try for walleye...and, that makes me happy. :)
My trips for the 13th and 14th have been rescheduled to the 2024 season, and my next scheduled trip is for Wednesday the 18th. But, after this strong NE blow, and rain, this weekend....I may have to cancel that one too.
A father and mother are visiting the area Monday through Wednesday, and want to take their 8 and 10 year olds perch fishing. If I think it's too muddy inside, we will not be going. Little kids do not have the patience when it comes to a slow bite. And, if it's muddy...the bite will probably be non-existent inside by the lighthouse or the cans. But, we'll see what the weather does early this week, to see if it cleans up enough.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob and Bruce 10/2-5/23
by Capt Juls on 10/05/23Day one of four, perch'n with Bob and Bruce....
Day one, we launched out of Catawba, (a later start) and hit the G Can area. We started at 8:45 and finished at 2:45 with 87 of our 90 allowed perch.
Day two, we launched out of Mazurik's at 8am. We were going to join the pack of boats out in front of Lakeside, due to good reports of perch being caught there the day before, but the lake was flat, and the Vexus wanted to run, and I don't like fishing in packs, so we let her run.
We went up the east side of Kelly's to look at the green can on the north end of the shoal. Last year, at this time, we did well on jumbo perch there, but the Helix wasn't marking anything when I went around the can, this time, so we didn't stay.
We headed towards Gull Island Shoal, to look there. We found some decent marks just south of the line, in 34 feet of water, so the Terrova was deployed and the Spot-Lock engaged.
We were using two hook crappie rigs that I make myself, with Emerald Shiners, both fresh and frozen (mine are frozen in Wintergreen Rubbing alcohol). I was using the frozen, while I let Bob and Bruce have all the fresh ones. They both worked well, and I can't say that either out-fished me with my frozen shiners.
The perch were much bigger up there, than they were at G can the day before. At G Can we had 87 for 24 pounds, and only 56 at Gull for 24 pounds.
Day three I picked my guys up at their hotel at 6am, and we hit Hi Way Bait for more shiners and ice. Then, we hit Mazurik's again, but launched while it was still dark out. This time, I wanted to try by the Marblehead lighthouse. After setting up in the first spot, I felt the bottom was too soft...softer than I like it. I like to be able to feel when the weight hits the bottom, and I couldn't really feel that happen all to well, so we moved.
I turned the Down Imaging on the Helix, so I could see where the rocks were, and ended up setting up over 24' of water on the east side of the lighthouse. The bottom was nice and rocky, so the weights could "tap-tap-tap", and make noise down there. That brings the fish in when it's a scattered population, in my opinion. Once they find you, they usually hang out, and bite well.
That's what happened yesterday. They found us, and we ended up with our 90 perch for a total weight of 33 pounds. So, another nice grade of perch.
Day 4....
I picked the brothers up at their hotel at 6am again, but this time, they followed me in their truck, because they were checked out, and would be heading home after getting their fish cleaned.
We hit Hi Way Bait again for some more shiners, and ice, and hit Mazurik's again. The wind was still light, so we took a nice leisurely ride over to the lighthouse again, and set up on exactly the same spot we were in yesterday. The bite was slower, and the bite was A LOT lighter than it was yesterday, but we managed to catch 46 more perch, to add to their stash headed back to MI.
I have to tell you about this one fish this morning, though....
First, let me tell you where I sit when I'm perch fishing. I sit on a step stool, in the back of the boat, on the live well, so I'm higher, and my right arm can stay relaxed, because I don't have to hold it up.
Okay....the fish of a lifetime...
I set the hook on what I thought was a smaller/medium sized Sheephead. I'm reeling it up, and it swims into the corner of the big motor and the transom, and does a flip...that's when I see what I have....a GINORMOUS perch! Now, I have caught a few 15" perch out of Cleveland before, and some even bigger in Northern Wisconsin, while ice fishing, but I have never seen a perch this big before.
It dwarfed that 14 1/2" perch we caught last year (that trip was with Bob and Bruce, too).
I didn't have a net handy, so I had to try and lift it, but when I did, it did another flip, and landed on the back platform of the transom (spitting the hook), and laid there, on its side, long enough for both Bruce and I too get a good look at it, but not long enough before it flipped off the boat, and escaped. When Bruce saw it he shouted, "OH MY GOD!", and his jaw was left hanging open...and, at the same time, I said, (pardon my Scottish), "Holy Fuck!", and also had my jaw hanging down, in awe, as I turned to look at Bruce, to see if he saw what I just saw. lol
I kid you not....this fish was easily 17 inches long, and the prettiest specimen to come out of this lake. The colors were vibrant, like a northern Wisco fish. Dark back, and stripes, pretty yellow sides, and super dark orange fins. Just gorgeous.
Deep sigh, I just looked up state records and it looked bigger than this one... https://www.goerie.com/story/sports/outdoors/2021/04/10/pfbc-fishing-state-record-yellow-perch-lake-erie-kirk-rudzinski-brian-clark-east-end-angler-bait/7171457002/
Oh well....we'll never know. But, at least I had a witness, and now we know there are some monster perch there by the lighthouse. :)
It made for a fun morning either way. Bob, however, was disappointed that he didn't get to see it, because of where he was sitting in the boat, and it was gone before he could get up. :(
It's raining now, and it's going to blow for the next couple of days, so I won't be out until later next week, if conditions are good. I'm scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Jason and Dominic DellAria...9/15/2023
by Capt Juls on 09/17/23I met Jason and his son Dominic at Mazurik's at 6:45. Jason is a bass fisherman, and owns his own bass boat, but wasn't going to have it up here for their little family vacation. It was Dominic's birthday present to go out fishing, while they were here, so we originally planned on just a perch trip, but Jason asked if we could do some bass fishing, too. I told him, if you want to bring your bass gear, I'm up for that, so he did.
My plan was to go hit the rocks on the east side of Pelee, but the wind forecast was a bit off, and it was going to be rough on that side, up there, so we headed to the west side, by the "Wheel". One Sheephead caught, and that was it, so we left Canada and headed to West Reef, to do a slide over those rocks. Again, nothing but one Sheephead. So, we opted to go find some perch.
To make another long story short...we hit a few spots and ended up over good marks east of the monument, in 30 feet of water. We would end up with 10 keepers. Lots of short strikes, white perch, and a couple more sheep.
They had fun, but I know it's not as much fun, as it is when you're filling up the cooler! :)
We got back to the dock and talked to a fella that had just gotten there before us, and he asked how we did, so we told him....he just shook his head and said, "We only caught 3, and that other guy right there (pointing his finger towards another boat floating at the landing), said he had 77 yesterday, and only caught 4 today".
Smiling, Jason said, "Well, I'm glad it wasn't only us."
They were really fun to fish with, and I was very impressed at how long the young man stayed focused out there, especially on a slow catch.
Dominic was pretty excited about the Sheephead caught in the morning, because it was his first one, ever! lol
Anyway....I think with these cooler nights, the water temps will be going down fast, and the spiny fleas will die off, giving us minnow dunkers a better bite in the near future. Fingers crossed!
I'm not scheduled this week, until Saturday the 23rd, so unless I pick up a weekday trip, I'll be back on Saturday. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mel and Nick Fisher...9/10/2023
by Capt Juls on 09/11/23Mel, and his son, Nick met me at Catawba at 6:15 for a perch trip. My prior trips were out of Mazurik's, and the perch bite was slow, so I figured since the full moon was over, and the wind was forecast to be NNE, that the bite west of the islands might be better. So, off we went....
Long story really short....
We looked around Green Island, Rattle Snake Island, Sugar Island, West Reef, North of North Bass, Taco Bell, D Can, and the last spot between D and G cans....while we marked good fish on the Helix, we would only catch 5 yellows. UGH!!
Mel and Nick were great to spend the day in the boat with, and took the bad catch in stride, saying we worked hard for them, and that's how it goes sometimes. It doesn't really make me feel better, but we did work hard and tried many areas....always setting up on good marks.
Why did I go north you ask? Because with a NNE wind, the under current is going from the south to the north, and I was thinking that the perch might move that way with the current.
Most of the time, we were by ourselves, but when we moved to D Can, there was around 20 boats there. I didn't see a lot of people moving around in their boats, like they were catching, so I don't think we were the only ones struggling on that bite.
I'm thinking, maybe, it was an afternoon bite, but my trips are only 6 hours, so we weren't able to find that out, and even though I offered to stay out longer, they said they had a 4 hour drive home, and opted to head back.
Maybe next trip out, the bite will improve.....my next scheduled trip is Friday the 15th, with a father and his 11 year old son. Fingers crossed, because it's the boy's birthday!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Sean and Linda...9/6-7/2023
by Capt Juls on 09/07/23Sean and Linda drove down from Wisco to fish with me. They had scheduled their trip back in 2021, but due to some puppies that needed taking care of, (they own a kennel in Wisconsin, near Madison, and a resort out on the west side of Devils Lake, ND), so they had to reschedule.
We tried again in 2022, but Mother Nature said, "Nay-Nay", and blew hard, so that trip was rescheduled too.
Yesterday, and today, were the days they could come, but the lake wasn't too kind, as far as giving up her finny friends.
With some wind and possible thunderstorms, yesterday, we opted to try some perch fishing out in front of Mazurik's and Lakeside. We hit a total of 6 spots, with the best being out in front of the Lakeside pier, in 26 feet of water.
We were also chased off the water by an incoming storm, a little early, so we headed in with only one limit out of a possible three. The bite was light, and the fish were like little "Houdini's", stealing our minnows, when we tried to set the hook on them.
I told them, I would add the time the storm took away from us, to this morning's trip, so we could go try for walleye first, and if that didn't work out (due to the amount of floating grass out there), that we could go perch'n again. They were happy with that plan.
So, this morning, we launched out of Mazurik's at 6:30, and headed up to Kelly Island Shoal. We made one pass over the shoal first, with crawlers, but that produced nothing, but a few missed bites and missing crawlers. Then, we set the trolling gear out to try and troll from the shoal up to the line.
Dipsies were set on the zero and three settings, on each corner with the zero settings set at 40 and 45 to start, and the three settings set at 65 and 80 to start.
The Off Shore boards were pulling Bandits set anywhere from 65 to 120 feet back. The port side ran three boards, while the starboard side ran two. We were only allowed 9 lines for the three of us.
The floating grass took the Bandits out of the equation pretty quickly, and they were put away.
We caught one walleye, one sheephead, and one giant catfish on the dipsies running spoons, but they were getting fouled with the floating grass pretty quickly, too, so we opted to just go perch fishing again.
The waves were 1-3s at the shoal, so we drove down the east side of Kelly's to the SE corner, to see if we could mark any perch there, before heading back to our spot at Lakeside. Nada....so, we drove down to the lighthouse, and set up out in 35 feet of water, out in front of it. The marks were really good, but the bottom was really soft in that spot, and we only caught one in 20 minutes, so we moved in closer to the lighthouse.
Again, good marks when we stopped, but they soon disappeared after we set up, so we only stayed another 15 minutes, to see if they would come back around...they didn't.
We moved back to our spot out in front of Lakeside Pier, in 26 feet of water, and started catching a few. The bite was slow, and the bite was light again, but we managed to get 20 in the box, before heading in. We had been discussing Mexican food, and we all got hungry, and went to Casa Las Palmas for lunch. lol
The fishing was excellent, but the catching was poor again, unfortunately, but once again, I had customers with positive attitudes, and we had a lot of fun anyway.
Sean and Linda run "Dakota Sunset Resort" (www.DakotaSunsetResort.com), and come this winter, will be once again running ice fishing trips, for perch. So if anyone is looking for a good place to stay, with some great guides, check them out. They are super nice people! :)
My next scheduled trip is Sunday (perch)...hopefully, now that the cooler weather is coming back, and the full moon is gone, the bite will hopefully start picking up again.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Gene, Andy, and Drake... 8/29/2023
by Capt Juls on 08/30/23"Grandpa" Gene, his son, Andy, and his grandson, Drake (Andy's nephew) came up from the Cincinnati area, and had signed up for a walleye trip, but due to conditions after the recent storms, and the distance to the walleye that were available, we decided to do a perch trip instead. The storms had ripped up shoreline weeds and mats of floating grass were all over the island area, which would be a pain in the butt, trying to troll the area, so that was a major factor in the decision.
We launched out of Catawba at 6:30 and headed north.
My original plan was to hit the north side of North Bass, to check for those bigger perch, but word from another Captain said to go to D Can, so that's where we started. The marks were really good, but we couldn't get them going and left after an hour and half, with only 8 in the cooler. At that point I should have stuck to my gut, and went further north, but didn't, and went to known producing spots, instead.
I went back to the area between Rattle Snake and Green first, where I had done well in previous trips, and again...there were really good marks, but a poor bite. It seemed like every time I found a good pod, and set the Spot Lock on the trolling motor, the screen went blank. They would come and go, but when they came through, we could only get one or two at a time, so it was very slow and agonizing for me. It was very frustrating.
I told them, that if the bite turned on later in the morning, that I would keep them out, if they wanted, but Grandpa said, "No, that's okay, we'll head back around 11:30-12 O'Clock, if that's okay, we need to get back", and I said, "Of course".
We tried 5 different spots on our way back towards Catawba, with the same experience in each spot. The best spot was where I have been several times SSW of Green in 28' of water.
Andy was doing better than Grandpa Gene and Drake, who would only catch a couple, each, while he and I caught the rest. We were allowed 120, but only ended up with only 24 for our efforts.
It was just one of those humbling days. I'm guessing that the full moon, and the clear sky at night, didn't help matters, and that the fish probably turned on mid to late afternoon...but, that doesn't help when your trips are scheduled in the morning.
They were patient, and stayed positive, so that helped....and, it was a good time in the boat, even though the bite was poor. Gene said he still wants to come back to do walleye, so I told him the best time to come back this fall. He's looking forward to that, and so am I.
On a personal side note... Several times, when Gene would turn his head a certain way, he looked just like my Dad, who I lost in May 2022, so it made me smile and warmed my heart. It was like I was fishing with my Dad again. :)
I don't have any trips scheduled from now until September 6th/7th, so it might be awhile before I'm blogging again, unless I get a trip before that. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dan and Troy Boan... 8/23/2023
by Capt Juls on 08/23/23Dan had contacted me, to schedule a Walleye trip, but after seeing what the wind was going to do today, I called him yesterday, to tell him that where we had to go for walleye would be too rough. I didn't want to take them to Lorain, because I hadn't been over there in about a month, and wasn't going to take them for a long, rough, boat ride, for a bite that may or may not exist, where I was thinking it might. "I'm not going to take your money on a guess...and, it's going to get rougher as the morning goes on," I said. "If you want to go perch'n over here by the islands, I would love to take you," I added. He was receptive to that idea, and we made plans to meet at Catawba at 6:15, this morning.
I left the house at 4:30, so I could get over to Hi-Way Bait before they opened, just in case another early crowd gathered... but, that didn't happen. There were only two others there with me, when it opened at 5am. The scoops were mostly Goldies, but they were a good size, and mixed with a few small Emeralds.
I headed down to Catawba after hitting the gas station, looking for some Cheetos, but they were out...deep sigh. I got to the ramp at 5:30, so I had 45 minutes to waste before my crew was expected. Luckily, they showed up 15 minutes early, so we launched a little after 6am, and headed back to my spot just SSW of Green.
Normally, it would have been in 27-28 feet of water, but because of the NE blow we had all day yesterday, the lake level was up on this end, and that spot was now 30 feet deep. However, it was still holding fish in the area, and the Helix showed some good marks.
I deployed the Minn-Kota, and hit the Spot-Lock, to anchor us over them.
"I usually give it 20-30 minutes, before moving," I said. "It's almost 6:30 now, so if we don't get something going by 7am, we'll move". Then, I added the usual bet of "First yellow in the boat wins a dollar". And, just as I said that, Dan set the hook on a fish, and exclaimed, "I'm in!". Ha! Unfortunately, he lost it before it got to the surface. So, Troy and I still had a chance.
Then, Troy set the hook, and again, he lost it his, too. About a minute later, I said, "Winner-winner chicken dinner," and put the first perch in through the Catch-Counter. :)
It wasn't a fast bite, and like my last trip out, we were missing a lot of bites. Thankfully, the perch were in the mood for Goldies, even though I had brought along some frozen Emeralds to use too. We were using one of each on a two hook crappie rig, and figured we would let them tell us which they liked better, but it seemed to be a 50/50 split on flavor.
They did seem to like littler offerings, than big minnows on the hooks, so picking out the little minnows, or splitting the bigger ones in half, was the ticket for us.
We caught our 3-person limit in about 5 hours, so it wasn't a fast bite. They would come and go, but didn't stay away long enough to get me thinking we needed to move, and we stayed in the same spot from start to finish.
Dan, and his son, Troy, had a good time, and did a great job. Troy is looking forward to making a nice fish fry for his Grandparents when he gets back home, and that makes me happy!
Looks like some very not weather tomorrow with thunderstorms expected. Be careful out there.
I'm not back out until next week, unless someone is looking to do a perch trip, and the weather behaves.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
