Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Mike and Kurt 5/20/16
by Capt Juls on 05/21/16Launched out of Catawba, and picked my crew up on South Bass Island at 6am.
We headed out to Kelly Island Shoal to start the morning.
Starting at the NE can, we set up and headed towards the middle green can on the west side of the shoal. There were a few other boats already there when we arrived, and by the speed they were running, we could tell they were running crawlers. We started with Bandits, since the report I had the from the day before was that the Bandits were successful...albeit, a slow pick.
We only had one pull back out there in the first pass, so I said, "After we finish this pass to the can, let's move". Mike was talking about his memories of fishing on the east side of Kelly's, out in front of the airport, so I said, "Well, it's about time those fish started moving in there, so we can check it out if you want to. Or, we can go over to Gull Island Shoal". They opted to fish the east side of Kelly's...so, we moved south.
We made three passes in there, going from 30' of water to 24' of water, and caught three walleye and one sheepshead when we hit the 26' range.
Bandits 55-75 back. Black Headed Wonder Bread, Green Clown, and a pink and white custom color caught fish. We didn't see any of the boats pulling crawlers pull a net, so we didn't bother switching over to them.
With only a couple hours left in their trip, I suggested we head over to Gull and see if we could get lucky out there. We made one pass down the east side of the shoal...but, didn't mark any decent fish until we got to the SE corner, near the red can. The west side of the shoal looked a lot cleaner, and we didn't see any nets pulled by any of the boats working that side of it, so with one hour to go, we headed to the area between South Bass Island and Rattlesnake.
The water had cleaned up there, from the previous day, but was still pretty dirty closer to Middle Bass. There were a ton of good looking marks there, but we didn't get anything to go. Then, we ran out of time, and I had to get them back to the island.
We had a good time, even though they only caught a few walleye. And, from the chatter on the radio, it was obvious that most of the boats out there yesterday were struggling. The clear sky, and full moon the night before, didn't help the morning bite either.
My customer for Saturday/Sunday has opted to reschedule Saturday's trip, and just go Sunday, due to unfavorable weather for Saturday. Since he's in OH and driving in each day, it's not an issue. So, I have the day off, and will be back out Sunday...
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Karl and Anthony 5/18/16
by Capt Juls on 05/18/16
Met my crew, Karl and Anthony, at Hi Way Bait, since they were staying at the Penninsula Motel right next to it. We hit Big Bopper's for breakfast, and hit Mazurik's launch by 9am. We did a little later start due to the wind forecast this morning.
Let me just start off with saying, "It was a tough day for us today...ugh! But, we had a lot of fun!"
It started out very well....had two nice walleye in the first pass, by Scott Point Shoal. Then, the wind kicked up and we were in 2-5's....mostly washing machine 3-4's, so we moved up to the protected west side of Middle Bass, when we had to make a decision as to whether to move back up to make another pass, or get into the ferry lanes and dodge a couple drifters on the line I was on.
So, we decided to move to another area., and found it loaded with fish, but very dirty. I'm quite surprised we didn't snag one...that's how many were on the screen! We didn't catch any fish there.
Then, we moved over between North Bass and Sugar Island, and found more marks showing up on the Helix. The water clarity was a little better too. At least I could see the cavitation plate on the G2 this time. We made one pass there, and didn't pull any fish, so we made another move.
This time, we moved to the east side of the islands, by Lucy's Point....made a southward bound pass...picked up one nice walleye there, and then noticed the time....we were running out of it. So, we moved back down towards Scott Point Shoal, and found good marks again. We made a pass for our last 1/2 hour, and didn't catch anymore.
So, we ended with only those three fish.
Bandits 65 and 75 caught the fish today. But, I'll have both cranks and crawlers in the boat tomorrow, and I'll let the fish tell me what they want.
Tomorrow, should be more productive with the winds laying down. I'll be picking my crew up on South Bass Island around 6:15am...bright and early, and starting with 6 hours. They may go longer, but thats up to them. So......
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Crazy Week....
by Capt Juls on 05/13/16Please forgive my lack of blogging this week, but I'm dealing with a couple issues when I'm off the water.
My lab, Jill, had surgery to remove a growth off her leg the other day, and she opened the wound, after a few days with that cone thing on her head. And, when she goes outside, she keeps getting under the deck and full of mud. So, she's got the cone back on her, and she is not happy about it. I've got the wound cleaned again, but she keeps getting the bandages off somehow, and I've got to keep an eye on it and her....deep sigh.
Then, I have a cat that keeps terrorizing my other cat, and started pissing in my bedroom...marking "her territory", and that's pissing me off!! She's now in a cage, and meowing incessently to get out, and making me freak'n crazy.
Then, I was also diagnosed with "Fish Handling Disease", and put on a 3 month regiment of a strong antibiotic that's putting me in a funk. My house is a pig sty and my yard is a swamp again with all this rain!!
So, until my routine gets a little more "routine"....I will be slow to blog.
But, since I'm here now....I can tell you, that unless you get on some active fish...the catching is spotty. Both cranks and worms are working now, so pick your weapon, and get after them!
Headed out this morning, but we haven't decided on a time yet. The wind forecast shows it blowing hard out of the west mid to late morning and then dying down around 11am.
Have a great day, and good luck.
Tomorrow's trip has been rescheduled due to the wind forecast, and I'm watching Sunday's forecast right now too.
Capt Juls
Fishing with Rodney, Jim, and Patrick 5/7-5/9/16
by Capt Juls on 05/09/16I only had time this week to summarize the three day trip into this one blog, due to yard work that needed to get done before more rain comes this week. I had to cut my grass in sections, due to water saturation from the last rains we had. But, the good news is, it's finally all the same length. :)
So, with that said...
Each morning, I picked up my crew from their hotel, and we went to Bopper's for breakfast before heading to a launch. The first morning we launched at Mazurik's, because it was a nice Saturday, and I figured that Catawba would be jam packed with weekend anglers wanting to launch. No one was at Mazurik's, so we were on the water in quick fashion.
We made a pass at Starve, where I was fishing the day before with the last crew, and we caught a few white bass and one walleye there, before heading over to the D Can area.
We ran Bandits on one side and the new Smithwick Top-20's on the other side. And, even though there isn't a dive curve published for the T-20's yet, we ran them at 55 to 100 back, and if they produced a fish, we simply duplicated the amount of line out, on the rod that it was caught on. They actually outproduced the Bandits on the first day of their trip.
After getting 5 more fish at D Can, we made a run up to the North Side of North Bass, to give that a shot. That area produced 4 more nice fish, but it was definitely a "spot on the spot" situation, because we only caught them on that spot. lol
After we left North Bass, we went through the middle passage and over to Kelly's to check that area out on the way back to the launch. The water was pretty clean, and we didn't catch anything with cranks in the one NE to SW pull that we did, in 32' of water. We didn't have time to look around the area very thorough though, so we didn't think we would be back the next day in that area.
Ended the day with 10 walleye.
Day two we launched out of Catawba and hit the area between Green and South Bass. It was showing a lot of marks on the Helix, so we set up to make a pass...again, with the Bandits and Top-20's. (I know...I know...I shouldn't even tell you that, since no one can get them yet...so unfair!! Eh? :)
Anyway, we stuck to that area, and the area over between the west side of Mouse Island and the point at Catawba. At one point, we had the point all to ourselves, while the area at Green was contested with boats and anglers. We were picking slowly at the fish, but they were often enough to keep us all entertained.
My crew got adept enough at running Off Shore boards that we put a 4th one out on each side, for a total of 8 boards out. We had some tangles, but nothing very bad, so it all went very well.
Only 10 walleye caught on day 2 too.
Today we launched at Catawba again. We set up for running crawler harnesses, and hit west of Mouse first. Still lots of marks in there, but they didn't want anything to do with meat this morning...so strange. It's got me scratching my head.
As soon as we switched back over to Bandits we caught three fish in quick fashion. We moved over to make a pass at Green, but about 3/4 of the way through that pass, we picked up and headed out to Niagra to see what was going on out there.
There wasn't much, apparently, because the marks were fewer and we only caught one small fish out there. We headed back to the islands, and hit Middle Bass next. It's typically good for a fish or two, but nothing came in that pass either. We only had an hour left, so I just keep the baits in the water and headed from Middle Bass down towards Green. We marked a lot of fish in that pass, but only picked up one more before heading in.
We ended the day with 6 fish today.
Not sure I'm going to be able to get on the water tomorrow with the wind forecast calling for steady winds of 15-22, and gusts up to 28mph, so I'll be looking at the forecast again in the morning, and letting my new crew know what the decision is then.
So Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Ryan, Dani, and Nick 5/6/16
by Capt Juls on 05/06/16Picked my crew up at their hotel at 6am, and headed to Catawba to launch. But, first, we stopped at Rickard's so they could pick up some Bandits, because they were going to be fishing out of their boat the rest of the weekend, and needed some.
We launched at 6:30, and headed north to the Niagara area. We made a couple passes there and picked up two small fish. There were decent marks, but nothing like we saw two days ago there. So, after listening to the radio for a bit, we decided to head to the Starve Island area to give it a go there.
There were a lot of boats there, and I'm sure tomorrow is going to be a zoo there, so I think I'll find another spot to fish that will have less traffic involved. Anyway, we were running the deep walleye Bandits again today. The best color for us was the Blue/Chrome with the orange belly. IB Frozen took a fish, as well as the chart/blue back Bandit. We ran them 55-75 back behind the Off Shore boards.
We also ran the new Smithwick "Top 20" stick baits. Three on one side and Bandits on the other side. The Black/Chrome and the Lemon Lime Crush with the orange belly took two fish today too. We didn't start running them until later in their trip, so who's to say how well they would have done had we run them longer. We caught fish on those at 75 and 100 back. I don't know exactly how deep those dive yet, because there isn't a dive curve for them yet. So, we just sent them out and just duplicated the leads when we caught fish on them. lol
Ryan and Dani Baker, and their friend, Nick, were a real treat for me today. They fish Green Bay a lot, so they are very adept at running inline planer boards, and running a boat, so basically, all I had to do today was keep them over some fish, and let them work everything. They did an awesome job, and it was quite relaxing for me really, and was more like I was just out fishing with some friends who let me come along to fish with them. It was just a great day! I really enjoyed their company. They learned some things, and I gave them a lot of info to help them the rest of the weekend too.
We went 10 for 11 fish today, and they kept 8. They put the bigger fish back.
After I dropped them off at 2:30, they grabbed their boat and headed back out to try for their 10 more. I just got a text from them telling me that they went back to the same area we fished, and have already put 7 fish in the boat! I feel like a proud momma! They really paid attention, and it's paying off. Woot! Woot! And, that makes me happy...:)
Tomorrow through Monday, I have Rodney Ferguson, his friend, Jim, and Jim's son Patrick.... they are repeat customers from last year, that I had fun fishing with, so I know it will be another enjoyable three days on the water.
The weather looks favorable to get all three days in too! Yay!
So...Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
No Fishing Today...5/5/16
by Capt Juls on 05/05/16It's blowing pretty good out of the North today. No-Go for this gal.
Be back out tomorrow....the weather is going to be terrific! :)
Day 2 with Bob and DeAnn Herting 5/4/16
by Capt Juls on 05/04/16We left out of Mazurik's at 6:30am and started to head to D Can, but stopped short to check the marks on the south side of Starve. We set up, but didn't stay very long, because the conditions didn't look bad out on the main part of the lake, and we decided to head back to the area we were at yesterday, between D Can and Niagara.
Bandits were the lure of choice again today...55-75 back took all our fish. Same colors as yesterday, but the "Glow Pink Squirrel" was by far our hottest color. "Taco Salad" and "IB Frozen" were also good colors today. Speed was still 1.6mph.
I broke the cardinal rule of "Don't leave fish to find fish" after we caught 5, but I was hoping to find some bigger fish for them, so we headed towards the islands. My plan was to hit Middle Bass...go through the pass, and hit Kelly's on the way back to Mazurik's. But, then, Capt. Kevin called, who was fishing out by us earlier, and he said the bite was getting better. Ugh...decisions...decisions...
After talking it over with my crew, we decided to turn the 6 hour charter into an 8 hour charter and make the move back out to Niagara. We picked up three more fish in an hour and a half, so I gave my crew the option of finishing out the 8th hour, or stopping after 7 hours with their 8 fish. They opted for the 7 hour trip, and were happy with the fish they caught. The grade was definitely better than yesterday's catch, so that helped with their decision.
Had we stayed out there, and I hadn't moved, I'm pretty sure we would have limited out. Oh well...that's what happens when I quit smoking, and get fidgety! lol
Tomorrow's forecast is "iffy". I'll look at the wind forecast in the morning, and make the call to go, or not to go, around 5am. 15-20mph out of the North is NOT 1-3's like the marine forecast is saying. It will be more like 3-4's with the occasional 5 footers thrown in.
Bob and DeAnn are a lot of fun to fish with, and DeAnn was a big help, because even though she is a novice planer board user, she has an eagle eye and can see the fish hitting, when most other people can't. Thanks DeAnn!!
I'll be fishing with Bob and DeAnn again if the wind forecast allows us.
Stay tuned....:)
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob and DeAnn Herting 5/3/16
by Capt Juls on 05/03/16Bob and DeAnn drove in from South Dakota yesterday, and met me out in front of their hotel at 6am this morning. We hit Bopper's for breakfast, and then headed over to Catawba to launch, since we were planning on hitting the area between D Can and Niagara.
The NE winds were finally turned off today, and the morning was absolutely beautiful. What little wind we did get, was from variable directions, but nothing over 3mph, I'm guessing.
We started catching fish before all the lines were set, and had five fish in the box in the first short pass. Bandits 65-100 back were taking fish, but the 65 and 75 foot leads were the strongest. Speed varied between 1.6 and 1.8mph. Color didn't seem to matter. They were stacked there, but most were still hanging out on the bottom.
When we were looking for our 12th fish, I said, "After we get your limit in the boat, I want to go try another area in case the winds are up to tomorrow, and we can't get back out here. They said, Okay, and two boards went back, to give us 13 fish. We left Niagara and headed to the area to the west of Mouse, and NW of Catawba.
We went 3 for 5 fish there, and lost two big fish, that were probably not hooked very well, because they came off half way in.
I was using the "Rabbit" mode on the Ulterra to jump the speed up to 2-2.4 mph, and then turning it off to slow it back down again. Up and down, up and down....it seemed to trigger bites when we were going with the current....which tells me, that I needed to be going faster than the 1.6-1.8 mph I initially started with. At one point it triggered a double...and both were undoubtedly our biggest fish of the day. Woot! Woot! Sometimes, just doing something a little different can trigger them. Making "S" turns can help you determine if you need to be going faster, or slower, too. But, don't forget about that bunny button, it's there for a reason....play with it. :)
Bob, DeAnn, and I will be launching out of Mazurik's in the morning, and heading back to that area between D Can and Niagara, if the wind forecast doesn't change.
But, you know me....I could always change my mind, and my plan will be totally different in the morning. LOL
Stay tuned....
Juls
Fishing with the Tebben Family 4/30-5/1/16
by Capt Juls on 05/02/16Saturday was a humbling day. We started fishing at Round Reef, then trolled Middle Bass to Rattlesnake, checked north of North Bass (too clean and no marks), fished west of West Reef, Green, and Catawba....we zeroed. Uffda!
Brian, Chris, and Ian Tebben flew in from MN for a vacation, and planned on releasing all their fish, but the Fish Gods didn't allow us any on Saturday. Stupid Fish Gods...:(
Yesterday...May 1st....lots of thick fog.
I decided that we were going to go east to fish Kelly's this time. My plan was to start with some perch fishing, and while they were perch'n, I was going to switch my rods over to spinners, so we could run crawlers. But, in my usual fashion...I changed my mind.
I had stopped in at Hi-Way Bait after breakfast, and he had some of DJ's new colors, so I couldn't resist buying a bunch. Needless to say, we started trolling up on Kelly's Shoal with Bandits. We started out at the furthest green can, and trolled along the west side of the shoal, all the way down to the island...we didn't mark anything, or catch anything until we got to the opening between the shoal and the island.
But, they finally got to get a picture with one of our Lake Erie piggy's. I don't know what the color is on this Bandit, because there are no names on the packages, but it has a dark purple back, chartreuse sides, orange belly, black perch stripes, and gold sparkles on it. That first fish came at 55 back. Then, shortly after it was put back out at 55', we caught a smallmouth on it.
We trolled down to the west side of North Bay with no more takers, so I decided to move west a bit. The fog was very thick, so we couldn't go anywhere very fast, and we made our way over to American Eagle Shoal, where I just took a look around, but didn't mark enough to encourage a trolling pass, so we moved over to Starve Island. The marks were very good there, so we set lines and made a pass.
We managed another big walleye there on the same Bandit color at 75 back this time. We passed over a spot in 40' of water that had an incredible amount of marks on the Helix, and I joked that "Pooh Bear" was always saying, "Those are Catfish". So, I said, "Let's put some shiners down there and see what they are".
We pulled lines, set the SpotLock on the Ulterra, and pulled out the perch rods. I caught a white perch first, then Chris caught a catfish. I said, "I guess Pooh Bear was right, those are catfish", and laughed. Then, Brian caught a 28" walleye on his little perch rod, so I said, "Well, I guess that answers that question...there are walleye down there with those catfish".
We didn't catch a lot, but they had fun here this weekend, and plan on coming back again next year. Brian told me, "I think we want to make this an annual trip", and that made me happy. They were a ton of fun to fish with, and a very nice family.
It just seems like I was always going left, when I should have been going right...it was just one of those trips....deep sigh.
Today's trip was rescheduled, due to my customer having to schedule foot surgery, so my next trip will be with the Herting family on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
The forecast looks good for Tomorrow, so I'm sure we'll be heading towards Niagara, Cone, and Little Pickerel to play with the big boats out there.
I just spent another 100.00 on Bandit colors, so we'll try those first, and then switch up to meat if I need to try that.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Day 2 with Mike, Nick, and Max 4/26/16
by Capt Juls on 04/26/16We started out well, but cancelled after two hours, due to sea sickness. So, no report today.
Tomorrow's trip is being rescheduled, due to the man's wife not enjoying rough conditions (can't blame her there!).
And, if the forecast doesn't change, it would appear that Thursday's trip will be cancelled too. They, however, have Friday also, so they will get one of their two days in.
This stupid NE wind has got to end one of these days...deep sigh.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mike Hamsa and Cousins 4/25/16
by Capt Juls on 04/25/16I swung by the Holiday Inn Express at 5:45 this morning and picked up my crew for the day. Mike, and his cousins, Nick and Matt, were hungry, so we headed to Bopper's for a quick breakfast. When we left, I headed to Mazurik's, but after pulling in, I decided it would be better to launch at Catawba, because I wanted to head to Niagara to start the trip.
We launched at Catawba at 7am, and indeed headed to Niagara. We set up on the northeast side of the reef and had a fish on the first Bandit as the Off Shore board was going out. I made the comment, "I hope this isn't like a tournament day, where you get a fish right away, and then...nothing". They laughed, and agreed, but that's exactly what happened. We didn't see another board go back for the next 45 minutes! We found some good marks further to the NE of the reef, but several of the other charters were catching closer to the reef.
The radio chatter had the Bandits working at all different depths, from 30 to 100 back, and it was making me crazy switching things up and changing colors, trying to match what they were doing.
After the second fish came in, we decided to make the move from Niagara up to the north side of North Bass Island, where I thought I would have it to ourselves. But, that was a wrong assumption, since there were approximately 25-30 boats working that area too. Uffda! We made one pass, and caught one nice walleye. We moved back up to the NE side to make another slide, but I didn't see the marks up there that I would have liked to see, so we decided to move down between North Bass and Niagara...somewhere out in the middle of nowhere in the direction of Niagara. We would mark a bunch, and then nothing....mark some more, and then nothing. At one point, I was listening to that stupid radio again, and decided to change something up. After I took the board off and started to reel, a walleye hit it, so I figured that meant I should speed up the troll, so I did. But, that didn't help anything....we were still struggling.
We were getting really good at catching white bass though. I've got that down pat pretty well!
Then.....it happened....Max pulled a BANANA out of his lunch bag!!!! I looked at him and said, "You brought a banana on a fishing boat?" He said "Yeah, what's wrong with that?" I said, laughing, "What's wrong with that? Have you never heard of the long standing superstition of how bananas shouldn't be on boats....ever?" He looked at his brother and his cousin for some recognition of what the heck I was talking about, but they had never heard of it either. So, I explained it to them, and told him, "Well, you'd better eat it, or throw it overboard". So, he decided it was best to eat it. When he took the first bite I said, "Well, now that it's in you, I have no choice, but to throw your body overboard too". (Just kidding, of course!) He laughed, and finished his banana. Smiling, I told his kin, "If we don't catch anymore fish today, it's Max's fault." They were more than willing to blame him too. lol
After finishing the pass up near the reef, I told them I had one more spot I wanted to try, since the NE wind was starting to kick up. I thought it would be a good idea to go over to Green Island and try that area. This time though, I would turn off that blasted marine radio, put on some Pink Floyd, set out Bandits at 60-75 back, with one on the 2oz inline 60' back, and adjust my speed to the current, which right where we were would be, 1.6mph.
It turned out to be a good idea, since we managed to catch as many fish in a 1/2 hour as we had all morning up north. We ended the day with 10 walleye from 25-29 inches.
After dropping the fish off at Bay's Edge Fish Cleaning, I took them back to their hotel, and told them I would text them tonight with a launch time for the morning. I told them I had to look at the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, since they are calling for a chance of severe thunderstorms overnight and into the early morning hours. More than likely though, I will have to wait until I get up at 4am to check it. We will have to wait for any storm remnants to pass.
All I know is, that I won't be looking forward to more North winds, and colder temps again. I've had just about enough of that, thank you very much....ugh.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Mike and his Buddies 4/24/16
by Capt Juls on 04/24/16Woke up at 3:30am, which was too early, but I couldn't sleep, so I got up and put the coffee on. I checked the weather and wind forecast, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was going to be a nice morning.
After gassing up the Ranger, and hitting Bopper's for breakfast, I drove over to Mazurik's to wait on my crew. They were camping last night at East Harbor State Park, in a tent, so I can only imagine how cold that had to be....brrr!
I was at the ramp early, so I texted them to let them know they could come over as soon as they were ready. They showed at a little before 7am, so we were on the water at 7. Thanks Nick Hogan for dumping us in, so we didn't have to wait!
With only a 4 hour trip scheduled, (something I no longer offer), we made a plan of hitting Mouse Island and the ferry channel area. The reports on the radio were that Bandits 45-65 back were working.
My guys had never run Off Shore boards before, so after a quick tutorial, and my looking over their shoulders, to make sure they didn't have any issues, they were setting the lines with ease.
We caught the first one on a Pink Lemonade Deep Walleye Bandit at 55 back, and then....nothing. So, with the info from the tournament still rolling around in my brain, I thought, "Why not?" So, I put a 2oz inline weight on and a 6' leader in front of a Natural Perch Bandit, and set it out 55 back. I'm only guessing, but I think that puts it in the 21' range. Our speed was 1.6mph.
It wasn't long and the board sporting the 2oz inline went surging back, and another nice walleye was put in the box...putting a smile on my face, since the program everyone else was catching fish on wasn't working for us, for some reason.
We would end the short trip with 5 nice walleye. Four of them came on the 2oz set up, and just that first one came on the higher bait. It's funny how you can be running the same area, same baits, same colors, and one boat does well at it, and the other does nothing. That's a head scratcher for sure!
The guys were happy to have enough for a great fish fry, and for learning a new technique, so that made me happy. :)
Tomorrow is a new group of guys (3 of them, I think?), who will be fishing with me for two days. The weather looks pretty decent for the next two days, so hopefully, the fish will be cooperative. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with the Montana Men...Cont'd 4/21-22
by Capt Juls on 04/24/16After a fun week of fishing with Craig and Scott, my boat was dirty, my house was dirty, my yard was full of dog poo, and my dogs were giving me the "big sad eyes", so I opted to clean everything up and take the dogs for a ride, and walk, yesterday instead of taking the time to write the blog.
To summarize the info, because I'm headed out fishing again this morning, I just want to say first that they were the greatest guys to fish with, and I hope to fish with them again next year! It truly was more like just fun fishing than work for me, so I can't thank them enough for the opportunity to fish with them.
We fished in the rain on Thursday, but it wasn't bad, and the winds were down, so we could move from spot to spot with relative ease. And, Friday was perfectly calm with the most beautiful sunrise I have seen yet this season. What a way to end the trip.
Anyway, the bite was at Niagara, and we pulled Bandits 55-75 back. Thursday, it was chromes (blues and pinks), and Friday it was Anti Freeze and Fire Tiger that did the best. Speed was a little higher on Thursday at 1.8-2.0mph, while Friday it was back down to 1.6 mph.
If anyone has been following the chatter on the NWT tournament that was just here. The winner, Tom Keenan, I'm told was fishing over in Vermilion, so the fish are definitely on the move now. The second place finisher, who was in the lead on day one, was fishing over by the Marblehead lighthouse...fishing deep. We had hit that area before take off on day one, so my guys could watch the boats fly by...which was pretty cool. It brought back a lot of memories for me too.
One boat gave a pretty good show....but, I doubt he meant to..lol
He hit a wake and the entire boat was out of the water...I could see his prop clear as day. Ouch! I'm sure his Co Angler was thinking, "Holy #%$#, this guy is nuts"! Ha!
Anyway, I'm keeping this one short, because I have too many good memories from fishing with these two gentlemen to get them all down in print. So, I'll just keep the memories to myself this time.
I'm headed out this morning for a quick 4 hour trip (which I no longer offer, but they were repeats and booked early last year before I changed the services)...and, will be sticking close, in order to maximize our time on the water. I'm thinking of fishing either the Mouse Island area, or going over to the lighthouse again to see if I can get those deep fish to bite. Wayne Van Dyke got them to bite on Deep Bandits 150 back, but I'm thinking that if I use a 2oz snap weight, I can cut that length in half and run them 75 back at 35/40. It's worth a try anyway. :)
Good luck if you get out today...I'll blog later since my chores are all done.
Stay tuned...
Juls
Day 3 of a 5 Day Trip with the Montana Men 4/20/16
by Capt Juls on 04/20/16I just want to say, I have been super busy with taking care of my customers, my dogs and cats, my house guest, and my house and yard work...in that order. The blog, unfortunately, is not the highest priority on my "to do" list.
I am telling you this, because I actually got yelled at by a guy on Facebook for not blogging my "what/where/how" info for him to use. I mean.... what?? What? WHAT?
I'm a charter Captain. I share out of the goodness of my heart, WHEN I can. I am not obligated to do it, nor does anyone PAY me for my information. This is how I make my living.
If the fishing is tough, like it has been lately, I am not going to tell you to come in on me, when I have a small bite going someplace. If it's a fast bite, and there's plenty to share, I will tell you. However, my paying customers come first. Always.
I hope everyone can understand that.
So, with that said....it's been very tough with these NE and E winds lately. The fish are moving around like crazy, and it's hard to stay on top of them. Here today, and gone tomorrow, so it's not easy. When you find a small pod of fish, stay on them, and work them out....figure them out. That's half the fun of fishing.
Fishing is SO MUCH more than just putting meat in the freezer.
What I can tell you is, that since Monday, me and my Montana crew of Craig and Scott, we have fished Round Reef, Middle Bass, Green, the Ferry Channel, Mouse, Starve, and D Can. So, it's not a secret. These are all popular places during the transition, and you just need to keep checking for the next group to show up.
We have stayed with the Bandits, and they have produced some nice fish. Today, was our best day out of the three, but the fish were a little smaller. We had 35 pounds for 5 fish yesterday, and 50 pounds for 9 fish today.
The Deep Walleye 5/8 Bandit, run 55-75 back, is still the best for us. The Black Headed Wonder Bread, Blue Chrome, I Be Frozen, and Fire Tiger are our hot colors on sunny days, and the Pink Chrome/purple back, Fire Tiger, Toxic Melon, and Pink Lemonade, are better on cloudy days. Speed is still 1.5-.16mph
Tomorrow will be day 4 of their 5 day trip. Hopefully, the rains will hold off, or stay over to the west while we search for Scott's wall hanger in the morning.
We'll be heading out of Mazurik's in the morning, because the southwest wind will send waves into the launch at Catawba, and it's just easier to load up by yourself without the waves hitting your back end. :)
Good luck if you get out tomorrow. Stay dry, and get off the water if you see lightning! ;)
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with the Chapman's on their New Boat 4/17/16
by Capt Juls on 04/17/16I had a customer reschedule for today, so I had called my other regular customers, Steve and Jeremy Chapman. They have fished with me for the past 5 years, so I know them very well, and they jumped at a chance to fish on a nice day...however...they asked if we could take their new boat out for the first time, and set it up to fish for walleye. I agreed, that I thought it would be a good idea too.
Jeremy bought a "new to him" 2003 23' Pro Line, and after some initial motor trouble at the dock, we got under way, and headed out to the area around the east side of the monument. The water was really muddy there yesterday, but was stacked with fish. Today it was perfect clarity, and we caught some fish. One was a fat 30 inch fish, that still had spawn in her.
I suggested we pick up lines, and move, knowing Jermey wanted to drive his new boat again. He was all for it, but his Dad said he wanted to drive, and so he did...and, we headed over towards Kelly's. On the way, we saw a pack of boats out in the middle between Kelly's and the monument, and decided to set lines again.
We were running Bandits 50-75 feet back, and everything came on 50, 55, and 65 back. Best colors were Fire Tiger, Blue Chrome, and Huff Daddy at a speed of 1.5-1.6 mph.
We went 5 for 7 today with two 30 inch walleye in the mix, and the boat fished well, so they were happy, happy, happy, and that made me happy.
Tomorrow is the first of a 5 day trip for two Montana fellas. They couldn't have picked a nicer week to come. The warmer temps and light winds will finally bring that water temperature up quickly, and those fish out there are going to go nuts on an exceptional bite....or, so I'm hoping. They drove a long way to get here, and U want them to get the experience they've been hoping for. The brownies are fresh out of the oven, and ready to go. :)
So...Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Sorry for the lack of Reports the last couple of trips!
by Capt Juls on 04/17/16It's been a super busy weekend and this week will be better for reports.
I have a house guest this week, and it's been a bit hectic. Sorry for the lack of reports.
It's been tough fishing for myself, since I am usually off trying to find other spots away from the big crowds.
I think this week is going to be a good week as far as fishing goes. We are still under an high pressure situation, and will still have light NE winds today, but the sunny weather will warm things up more, and the fish should start putting the feed bag back on.
There are reports of limits being caught near the Niagara area, and south. Kelly's is starting to pick up, but we need the currents to switch, and quit pushing the fish back west again for that area to get going really good.
I won't be in my boat today, but will be out with one of my regular customers. They bought a new to them boat and wanted me to go to consult them on how best to fish with it. Couldn't say, "No" to that!
Monday through Friday I will have two nice fellas from Montana fishing with me, so that will make for an easier week, and I should be able to get more blogging done.
Enjoy the nice weather headed this way this week...and, good luck fishing!
Stay tuned...
Juls
Fishing with Mike, Steve, and Bob 4/13/16
by Capt Juls on 04/13/16Got up early this morning and made a fresh batch of brownies for my crew today. I have fished with Mike before. He usually fishes with Chris Utter, from Wisconsin, but Chris won't be in until tonight, because he had to stay behind to finish up some work...so, Mike brought Steve and Bob down to fish with him today.
It was calm when we left Catawba launch at 7:20am, but we knew it was going to get windier as the day went on, so I decided the furthest spot was the one I wanted to try first, so we could make our way back as it got windier, and as time ran out.
Our first stop was up by West Reef (south side of it). The water was more clear than I like to see, but we were marking some fish there, so we put some Bandits and a couple Deep Husky Jerks out.
We made one pass there, and decided that the water was getting cleaner, and the marks were dissipating, so we picked it all up and headed west.
I had set a "Go To" line to the area just north of Niagara, because I figured the fish coming off the reefs would be going right past there to the area north of west reef, where there was a pack of boats. I know that pack was picking away at them, slowly, but it didn't sound like anyone up there had anything really dialed in to the point of catching a lot of fish fast, so I opted to go find a less congested spot.
On our way out to the waypoint, I stopped about a mile short of it and marked some good marks on the Helix. The water clarity was perfect, so I had the guys set the lines again.
This time, we ran all Bandits anywhere from 45-75 back. BUT....I over thought it, and I got impatient, AND I looked at the wind forecast....AND I got indecisive....so, I told them to pick them up again, after we didn't catch anything in the first 1/4 mile. (From what I heard on the radio, I should have kept going...ugh!)
Anyway, we moved over to the area on the west side of Middle Bass. A stretch I like to fish this time of year, or just a little later. I wanted to see if they were in there yet.
In the first pass, we caught two beautiful fish (that are now at Jim's Taxidermy here in Port Clinton, for Steve and Bob), using the same set up as previously.
We would catch four really nice fish in that area, before moving down to the area between South Bass Island and Green Island. We didn't mark a lot of fish there, and made one pass about a mile long.
Giving up on that area, our next destination, as we were on our last hour, was over to the Mouse Island area, but as we got closer, we could see it was all mud there.
Pulling the boat of plane, I talked it over with the guys, as to what our options were, and they said, "It's up to you Captain". Steve said, "Let's go back to where we caught some fish", and I heard Mike say to him, "It would take a 1/2 hour to get back over there". That's all I needed to hear, because this gal is running a new Evinrude 300 G2 on this Ranger 621! Ha! Woot! Woot!
I said, "Everyone good?" And, turned to make sure everything was put away, and nothing would fly out of the boat. After a careful navigation through the trough caused by the NE winds in the "Slop Chute", we got to the protected side of South Bass Island, and I opened her up....well, mostly. I wasn't full throttle, but it was over 50...lol It only took us 10 minutes to get from where we started, to our fishing spot. When I set the boat down, and deployed the Ulterra, I turned around and, smiling, said, "Because....we can!" They laughed...and, that made me happy. :)
Again, they set the lines, and the Off Shore boards floated away from the boat with our offerings to the finicky walleye. This would be our last pass of the day. I put some Pink Floyd on the bluetooth, and "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" was playing. Steve told of his experience back in 1975 when he saw them at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Then, as we approached a very small area where we had picked up all our fish, the flag on the middle board on the port side, went down, and then back up. "Did you see that?", asked Bob. Mike, who was sitting on the bow said, "Yeah, the flag went down". I said, "Hit and a miss".
About a minute later the same board went back. That fish was swimming with the bait after it hit it. Ha!
It was a nice 6-7 pound walleye. Then, while we were getting that fish out of the net, Mike jumped to the other side of the boat and grabbed a rod. Looking up, I saw that the middle board on that side was dragging another big fish. The guys did a great job landing all their fish today, and didn't lose any at the boat. Steve said, "Even the fish like Pink Floyd!" I agreed.
We ran out of time, and high-fived our successful move back up there, and headed back in. Everyone said they had a good time, and that's all I can ask for. The fish don't alway cooperate and give us limits, but if you can have fun while you're fishing, then it's a successful trip in my opinion.
Our best Bandit colors were the stock color Black Headed Wonder bread, and the Domka custom colors, "Huff Daddy", and "Toxic Melon". We caught fish at 45 back, 55 back, and 65 back. Speed was 1.4-1.6mph.
I'm not sure if we will get tomorrow's trip in yet. I'll see what the winds are going to do tomorrow, in the morning, and talk it over with my crew. I have Chris and Mike, and a new guy tomorrow, so I know if we do go, and it's rough, I have two out of three in the crew that can definitely handle the conditions.
So...Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Won't be back on the water until Wednesday....
by Capt Juls on 04/11/16Due to water and weather conditions this past weekend, my Sunday/Monday trip was rescheduled, as well as my Tuesday trip too.
My Wisconsin crew will be here for Wednesday through Friday, so hopefully, it looks like we'll be getting all three of their days in this week. The forecast looks pretty good. Especially, next weekend. Next weekend will be sunny and almost 70 degrees! Woot! Woot!
I hope this is a sign that the weather is going to give us a break and let us get back to some great fishing. :)
Hopefully, we'll get a good satellite picture before Wednesday, so we can at least see where the muddy water ends, and where we should start fishing. That sure cuts down on a lot of running around, when you can see it from above. Problem is, it's been cloudy for so many days now....we can't see anything.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Ken and Doug 4/5/16
by Capt Juls on 04/06/16I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to fishing yesterday, because of the muddy lake conditions, and the cold temps in the morning. I'm fighting a stubborn cold right now, and the thought of sitting out there in 30 degree temps was less than appealing. They still wanted to go yesterday, so since it was fishable, we made it happen.
I had advised my crew to stay home, but they came down from Wisconsin anyway. We didn't get out Monday, due to gusty north winds, so Ken and Doug spent the day in Cleveland touring the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". They said that was pretty awesome, and enjoyed exploring it.
We met at Bopper's at 8:45 for some breakfast first, because I wasn't going to go out until the winds laid down, which was forecast for around 8am. By the time we
got to Catawba, the lake was still rough looking on the horizon, but was laying down, so we went ahead and launched.
The first order of business was to locate some cleaner water. The lake looked like chocolate milk coming out of the launch, and from my experience the cans would be muddy too.
I had driven the Catawba point before meeting them for breakfast and thought I had spied a strip of cleaner water on the SW corner of South Bass and Green Island, so we headed there first. It must have been an optical illusion, because when we got over there, I couldn't see the cavitation plate on my G2, but we did mark fish on the Helix. We didn't stay there long, and decided to make the run to the north, to check the water clarity up by Niagara.
The water there was better, so we set up to the east of the reef, and headed SW with the waves. We ran Bandits 45-65 back, at 1.3mph, and picked up two 20(ish) inch fish there, and one white bass. Then, I got a Facebook message from someone that was out fishing too, and he told me there was good water clarity on the east side of the islands, which is always the case after a blow, and that they caught a couple nice fish. I was hesitant to run there, because of how early it is, and I didn't think the fish would be in that area for a few more weeks yet, but we made the run anyway.
Once we got there, he messaged me again and said, "We haven't had a bite in an hour now"...lol Just what you want to hear after making a 10 plus mile run to get there. Ha! Anyway, we set up and made a couple passes, because we were marking fish, and the water looked good. We didn't get anything in those two passes, so I wanted to run down to Kelly's, where I had been fishing last week.
Luckily, when we got there, we found that the water clarity was decent enough to set up and give it a shot. This would be the last spot, since we were running out of time. We would pick up three more eater sized walleye before heading back in at 3:45. They had an 8 hour drive back to Wisconsin, and it was getting late.
The water temps had dropped almost 5 degrees from last week and were 40-42 degrees in the spots we fished yesterday.
Color Bandits that worked for us were the Fire Tiger, Anti-Freeze (caught 2), the Purple with the pink head and 3 Chartreuse dots, and the Fruit Dots (black headed wonder bread color...just thought I should use it's proper name.)
They followed me to Bay's Edge, where I dropped their fish off to be cleaned, and said my thank you and good byes. Ken will be coming back in August with his wife for a couple days of Perch fishing, so that makes me happy, and I'm looking forward to that. Did I ever tell you that I LOVE perch fishing? hehehe :)
I'm glad we made the trip, because it ended up being a really nice day on the water, and the company was exceptional! :)
My crew that would have been here today through Saturday didn't make the trip out from South Dakota, so my next trip will not be until Sunday.
So stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Mother Nature is throwing a Hissy Fit...
by Capt Juls on 04/04/16Just an update....My weekend trips were rescheduled, thus no reports.
My crew for today, are going to Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because it's blowing hard out of the north this morning, and it's too rough. They do want to go tomorrow though, even though I told them that the western basin is like chocolate milk right now. But, the winds will be laying down mid morning tomorrow, making it possible to get out, so we'll go try to find some cleaner water and see if there are any fish in that area. I'm not holding my breath on finding a good bite though, but you never know....we might get lucky and pluck a few here and there.
My Wednesday trip has been cancelled, due to a family thing my customer has, but it's going to rain and blow again anyway, so either way, we wouldn't have been fishing on Wednesday.
My Thursday, Friday, Saturday crew has rescheduled to April of 2017, due to the forecast and the unfavorable conditions. They were coming from South Dakota, and it's too long, and expensive of a trip, to come out for really no good chance at fishing. These poor guys had booked last April too, and did drive out here last year, only to find out that they couldn't get on the water. I didn't want them to do that again, so they agreed to try again next April (a little later in the month next time too). I hate giving bad news like this, but I don't want them wasting time or money on a bad trip.
So, I'm hoping Mother Nature gets this crap out of her system by Saturday, so we can get back to fishing again next week!! I'm becoming bored out of my mind sitting here on shore....deep sigh.
Sunday is looking promising....partly cloudy and 50 degrees. So, hopefully, I can get my Sunday/Monday crew out and on some fish. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
