Juls WFA Blog
Perch'n 6/29/14 with Jim Gammons and Chris and Kristi Claybaugh
by Capt Juls on 06/29/14I had planned on meeting my crew at Catawba this morning, but with the SSW winds blowing waves into the ramp, I thought it would be better to use Mazurik's, so there was no chance of scratching the boat on the dock or the wall at Catawba. (Yes, I'm that anal about it!)
They agreed to meet me at Mazurik's instead. :)
I got there early, since I wanted to spray wax and wipe the boat down before the customers arrived, because I didn't get to it the night before. As I was working, someone pulled up and I hear a familiar voice say, "I arrived at Mazurik's at 5:45....still waiting on my crew"...lol A friend of mine, John Gremore, was mimicking my articles...with a smile.
Just about the time I finished cleaning the boat, Jim arrived and we waited for Chris and Kristi, who showed up about 10 minutes later. We hit the water at 7am and headed out to do some perch fishing.
I hadn't been in a while, and could only guess on where to go, since no one had a good report for me at the baitshops or on the marine radio...sigh.
I headed to the area between Sugar Island and North Bass, where I had seen some good marks that looked like perch on the sonar a few days before.
We caught a few there, but it was mostly sheephead and white perch.
We moved over the red channel marker on the north side of North Bass and tried it again. This time there were some yellow perch, and bigger ones too, but it was slow. Not a lot of junk fish up there either.
After another move over to the green can at Lucy's Point, we set up in 41 foot of water off the can and proceeded to catch more yellows. But, just when we would think they were going to turn on and get to the "up and down" stage...they stopped biting. Then, they would show up again...then, stop again. Very frustrating...grrrrr
We ended up with 60...a mixed bag of little ones and really nice ones. But, they will have some nice fish fries with those fish. Just wish we could have found a big enough school to hit the 120 count. Oh well, it was still a fabulous day on the water with really fun people, so it was a successful day in my book.
We made it in just before the rain too!
This crew will be back out with me on Thursday for a walleye trip, so I'm really looking forward to that. :)
Tomorrow, it's back to walleye fishing with some repeat customers from last year. They scheduled Monday and Tuesday, but I'm not so sure the forecast for Tuesday will let us fish, or not.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing 6/28/14 with Raymond Stintson and his Friend Ed...:)
by Capt Juls on 06/28/14I left the house at 5am this morning, even though I wasn't meeting my crew at Mazurik's until 6:45, because I had to gas up the boat, grab some worms and ice from Hi Way Bait, and wanted to re-rig some rods at Mazurik's while I waited for them.
However, I ran into other fishermen at the gas station, and at the baitshop, and of course, we talked fishing, so my time was running out. I did manage to get everything re-rigged and launched by 7am though. Woot! Woot!
I changed things up and didn't want to go back to the west side of North Bass, because it's the weekend, and I figured it would be packed up there. My crew from the other day were still in town and decided to go back up there, rather than search out a new area, so I kept tabs on what was happening up there. They said it started out slow, but when I called them at noon, they had 20 in the box and had 4 more to go. Nice....:)
I, on the other hand, opted to go east between Kelly's and Vermilion.
Mornings like this though, I wished it was cloudy, as the sun was blinding me going that direction. I'm sorry, but since someone else gave me the numbers, and asked that I not publish the area in my blog, I have to respect their wishes.
What I can tell you, is that I was trolling with the double willow leaf harnesses that Larry Lambert made up for me last year behind #2 Tadpoles and Off Shore boards 60-90 back. 60 and 65 were the best, if I remember correctly.
I also had my trusty bottom bouncer off the corner, but switched out the 4oz weight for the 6oz weight, and used a single blade crawler harness. My speed was kept between 1.5-1.7mph. (The BB caught 3 walleye)
I was forced to do a lot of turning, due to the amount of boats in the area, and all the fish told me was that some liked it faster and some liked it slower...they hit on both sides of turn...lol
We had their two man limit with in 2 1/2 hours. I would have said three, but it took a 1/2 hour to get there. There were a few small ones in the mix, but most were really nice chunky eaters...along with one nice piggy.
I had a fun day with Ray Stintsman and his friend Ed this morning. Lots of fun with Ed, but Ray was like that big brother that purposely does stuff to irritate you and get a rise out of you until you want to yell, "Mommmmmmmm! Make him STOP!!" lol But, it was all in fun, and we got the job done. That's all that matters. :)
Tomorrow is going to be another fun day, because I finally get to go Perch fishing again, and this time with a good friend, and his two friends. Looking forward to it.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
"How Many More Minutes?"....:)
by Capt Juls on 06/27/14Today I took Patrick Young and his 7 year old daughter, Ava, and his 5 year old son, Cooper, out fishing today.
We planned on 4 hours and would see how it went from there. I didn't expect the kids to like trolling and thought they would get bored, but Dad made sure they were always part of everything we were doing. Patrick and I set the lines, but the kids would hand us night crawlers to bait the harnesses with. It was slow in the morning up on the west side of North Bass for walleye, but the giant sheephead were plentiful.
When we would get a fish on Patrick would help the kids by holding the rod while they reeled the fish in...and, I net it.
My crew from yesterday were up there too and they said they were having a slow morning too. It picked up for them and they radioed to tell me to get back to where we were yesterday, and that they were picking them up at a faster pace now. They mentioned that they had downsized their blades, and were using #4 colorado blades, so I downsized mine to #5 Bugsy's Bait blades and started picking up walleye.
Ava and Cooper both caught their first ever walleye today...yay!
When four hours were up, I asked Patrick if he thought they wanted to go another hour. He asked the kids and they both said yes...kind of reluctantly, because...well, they are little kids and trolling for them is kind of boring. lol
At the end of the 5th hour, Ava kept asking, "How many more minutes?" She was ready to go in. But, it was shortly after the 10th or 11th time of asking, that the Off Shore board on the port side went back....we all thought it was another monster sheephead and didn't realize it was a monster walleye until it hit the surface.
After the fish was in the live well, she asked, "was that another sheephead?" Her dad explained that it was a walleye bigger than he's ever caught, and you should have seen her smile. With the option of fishing for a 6th hour on the table, Patrick asked the kids if the wanted to keep fishing or go in. Ava was the first to say, "Yes! Let's go another hour". LOL
The kids kept busy by playing with the night crawlers in the wash bucket, and eating and drinking all kinds of things their Mom had packed for them. They did an awesome job for their young ages today, and it was a real pleasure having them in my boat today. They were very well behaved and reeled in all but a few fish. Patrick had his turn every now and then too. :)
We were only running two boards per side and one bottom bouncer off the corner simply to keep it easy and simple for my crew, and it worked out well. We finished the day with 13 Walleye, one catfish (they kept it), and a 12 inch perch that hit a harness up high in the water column.
Patrick is a chef, so I can only imagine how many yummy dinners their family will enjoy from their catch today.
I have a crew of three tomorrow, but will be heading east of the islands this time. It's time to find new area, I think.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing 6/26/14 with Cliff and Jeff Mattson, Mike Sr., & Mike Jr...:)
by Capt Juls on 06/26/14First, let me say, "What an AWESOME day"!
Not because the fishing was on fire, but because my crew was absolutely outstanding!
They arrived in Port Clinton this morning at 3:30, after traveling all night. I get up at 3:30...lol
They were traveling in a 40' RV with their boat towed behind it. Cliff and Mike Sr. would be fishing out of his boat, and I would take their two sons, Jeff and Mike Jr.
I went over the program with the Cliff and Mike, so they knew what to use and told them just to follow me. Launching their boat behind that beast of an RV was a challenge at Catawba State Park, due to the funny angle of the launch and the massive room it needs to maneuver, but they did it! Luckily, the launch wasn't too busy when we got there. Whew!
We started out by Rattle Snake Island and worked the inside area between the islands....not good. We picked up one, and the other boat picked up two there, I think.
We picked up lines and headed up to the west side of North Bass and trolled a pass I made the other day, and picked up a fish right away. The other boat radioed that they had just picked up a hog, and were delighted.
We worked that area east of the pack and ended up with a total of 9 walleye in my boat and 9 or 10 walleye in the other boat. So, like I said, it wasn't a great bite...and, it seemed to die off around 11am when the wind disappeared and the sun was high in the sky.
Same program...#2 Tadpoles 27-35 back and 1oz inlines 41-63 back. Speed was 1.5-1.8 with the current and 1.4-1.6 against the current, so not much of a difference there.
The reason I said my crew was outstanding is, because even though they were working on no sleep at all, I only had to show these guys once how to rig the crawlers and set lines. They had it after that like they had been doing it all their lives. These guys are good fishermen, and fish Lake Michigan for Salmon quite often, but didn't do the walleye thing very often.
They will be fishing out of their boat the rest of the weekend, and I have no doubt what-so-ever that they will be successful.
I marked a map for them, showing them where the walleye and perch spots were that I thought would produce for them, so I hope it pans out for them. I have a feeling though, that I will see them tomorrow in the same spot, since there's no reason to leave fish to find fish, right? :)
It was a really fun day for me, and it was nice spending the day with some folks from my home state of Wisconsin!
Good luck tomorrow guys! See you out there!
Capt Juls
To Answer a Question that was submitted tonight....Perch fishing...
by Capt Juls on 06/25/14
Hey Capt Juls!Since u have a little free time(lol).I have a couple ?s,if u dont
mind.What are ur favorite months to perch fish?Can u catch the same quality
perch on the U.S. side,as I have heard about the jumbos around Pelee Island?
Thanks.Good luck on ur next adventure!!!
My favorite months to perch fish are.........All of them! lol
Quality on this side is a smaller grade than Canada on average. I prefer the 8-10 inchers myself....two to three bite fillets. :)
I heard they are getting some nice jumbo perch up around Sheridan Point right now. However, I can't confirm it from personal experience yet.
I've marked perch around the islands while doing walleye charters in the hopes that they are still there when I do get to go perch'n. This Sunday is a perch trip, so I'll let you know if my waypoints pan out, or not. ;)
Sorry I don't have more info yet. Everyone wants to walleye fish right now. I'm dying to go perch'n!! LOVE IT!!!
Wednesday's Trip has been rescheduled now too...
by Capt Juls on 06/24/14I was supposed to have a short 4 hour trip tomorrow (Wednesday 6/23) with a father and young son, but after today's thunderstorms, and a chance for more storms tomorrow, he contacted me and asked if they could reschedule.
So, It looks like I have another day off to get more stuff done at home. My dogs will be happy about that. :)
I also have to tie up some more crawler harnesses, since this past week was a crawler harnesses destroying mission. lol
The next trip is Thursday...stay tuned!
Capt Juls
Day Two with Denny, Dave, and Blake 6/23/14
by Capt Juls on 06/23/14It was another nice morning to go fishing today. The winds were light and variable at 6am when we launched from Catawba, and the waves were calm. We headed up to the west side of Middle Bass, where I had been having success with other charters this past week, but I didn't want to fish there yesterday, with all the Put-in-Bay pleasure boat traffic happening.
We weren't having the bite I had hoped for, (only caught two there and a mess of big sheephead), so we moved up to the west side of North Bass to troll from the north side of West Reef up to the Red Buoy up on the line.We were fishing 32' of water with crawler harnesses behind 1oz inlines 35-45' back and the #2 Tadpoles 27-35 back. Same colors as yesterday. We managed to get 6 more nice walleye up there, and missed a couple. One was a nice "Fish-O" too.
We ended the 6 hour trip with only 8 today, but the guys expressed how much fun they had the past two days, so that made me happy. :)
When I got home I cleaned up the boat and got the grass cut just in time for some storms to move through the area. I hope everyone was off the lake, because winds of 50-60mph were reported with these storms...ugh.
Tomorrow's trip has been rescheduled by the customer for July 2nd, because of a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the forecast, so it looks like I have a day off tomorrow to catch up on some things around here.
So, long story short...I'll be back at it again on Wednesday...stay tuned!
Capt Juls
Day one of a Two Day Charter with Denny, Dave, and Blake 6/22/14
by Capt Juls on 06/22/14Woke up to a nice morning...no wind, and pleasant temperatures. I picked Denny, Dave, and Dave's son, Blake, up at their hotel this morning, and we headed to Hi Way Bait for some ice, and then on to Big Boppers for some breakfast.
We launched at Mazurik's at 7:15 and headed up to Canadian waters on the west side of Pelee Island, where my crew and I from yesterday finished off our afternoon with good success.
I thought it would be a faster bite today, but when the sun came out and the wind died, so did the bite. We managed to boat 16 nice fish with two of them Fish-O's, so today's crew was happy with their results. We kept teasing Denny because he lost two nice fish. The kind that just come off, but his partners made sure that he knew it was HIS fault. (it was funny).
The nice thing about fishing up there is that there are very few junk fish stealing our crawlers. However, when the winds died, those ticklish flies swarmed us. You know, the kind that turn your clothing into bug spattered art...ugh.
Once my crew got the trolling system down, they worked well together, and we weren't tripping over each other anymore. I'm thinking tomorrow will be a lot easier since they already know what they are doing now. :)
We started out with the 1oz 35-45 back and # 2 Tadpoles 27-45 back, but when the sun was high in the sky, and the wind died, Blake was changing up the entire port side, and set his own numbers (much deeper). He ran the outside 1oz 63 back, middle 1oz 73 back, and the #2 Tadpole at 53 back. He picked up a fish on both the 63, and 73 back, so moving them deeper was a good decision. I left the starboard side at the original numbers and we picked up another on the 1oz 41 back. The bottom bouncer we had out caught mostly sheephead, but it did catch one nice walleye, and lost a couple more. (sheephead never come off..lol)
Blades that worked best were blades that had pink, antifreeze, and purple. I didn't have any copper out, but those would have probably worked pretty well too.
Tomorrow we are headed back to the west side of Middle Bass to fish in there. I know there are a lot of fish there, but with all the pleasure boaters on the weekends, I just didn't want to put up with that nonsense today. We made a good decision to go up to Canada. It was a very nice day with very enjoyable company. Heck, they're from my neck of the woods up in Wisco, so of course they are great people! hehehe :)
Time to go clean the boat. The Mayfly husks, and fish slime needs to be cleaned up before tomorrow's trip.
Stay tuned for the next adventure...
Capt Juls
What a Fantastic Day on Lake Erie Today!
by Capt Juls on 06/21/14As a moderator on Walleye Central, it's always a pleasure when I get to meet one of the members, but even more fun when I get to fish with one of them!
Karl Scherer and his nephew, Anthony, met me at Catawba launch this morning at 9am. Because of winds early this morning, we opted for the later launch time.
We headed up to the west side of Middle Bass, where I had success the previous trip out, and a friend had done very well there yesterday too.
Same program as usual (see previous reports)...nothing new there.
After picking away at 7 nice eaters, we picked it all up and headed up towards the west side of North Bass. As I was looking around, Karl reminded me that he and Anthony had their Canadian Licenses. WooooHoooo!! That made me happy, because I had forgotten about that, and I have been wanting to get up there to fish for weeks now!
We headed north, passing through a very large pack of big charter boats that were mostly drift casting on the US side of the line, and headed for the "chicks". I stopped to look at the sonar two or three times and didn't mark anything, so I put the Ranger on plane and headed towards the "Wagon Wheel". There were a few boats trolling the area, so I set in on the outside of them, and we set lines. It wasn't long before the first fish was on and it turned out to be Anthony's biggest walleye of his life. Not huge, but a good sized 5-6 pounder. We caught 11 fish in an hour and a half up there, so it was a lot of fun. Also, there were very few junk fish compared to the US side. Woot! Woot!
I just want to say what a pleasure it was fishing with these two gentlemen. Both have a lot of experience trolling for Salmon, so the trolling gig wasn't new to them, but trolling for walleye was. So, to make a long story short, these guys learned how I do things very quickly, and most of the day all I did was make sure I wasn't going to hit another boat. They did all the line setting, taking the Off Shore boards off for each other, and netting each other's fish. It was a very fun and relaxing day for me, and I know they had a lot of fun too.
We took our time coming back in and loaded out with ease, since there were very few people clogging up the launch at that time. So, in my opinion, today was a fantastic day of fishing on Lake Erie. Can't wait to do it again tomorrow!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing 6/18/14 Day 3 with Kevin, Erich, and Skipper...:)
by Capt Juls on 06/18/14With predicted storms this morning, my crew opted for a 7am pick up, rather than 6am, so as I waited in the parking lot of the condos where they were staying, while they packed their truck with their belongings.
I watched an ominous cloud formation approaching from the west. It was forecast, so I expected it. The lake was calm, and as the cloud got closer, the winds kicked up to what seemed to be 40+ out of the NE...even though the clouds were going the opposite direction.
Instantly, the lake was whipped up into frenzy of white caps and the waves began to build.
I told the guys that it should lay down as soon as it passed, so we should just go gas up the boat and hit the baitshop for more crawlers, and then take a look at it.
As we drove to Hi Way Bait, the tree tops were beginning to settle down again, so at least the forecast was right, and we might still get out this morning.
I decided that since we would be fishing west of the islands, Catawba ramp would be the best starting point, especially with a NE wind. We drove all the way around the point to get to the ramp, so we could take a look at the lake. She was laying down and all was well.
I explained to the guys that it would be their decision, because once the boat hits the water, it's full price, whether we fish for 3 hours or 6 hours. If storms bring us back in I can't prorate it. After a quick affirmative decision by Kevin, we were launching the boat and heading up to the area between Rattlesnake, Green, and Middle Bass.
There was a pack of charter boats to the west and SW of Rattlesnake, but I saw another one of those clouds coming that I watched earlier this morning, and thought that getting in tight to Middle Bass (also one of my favorite spots) would protect us if the NE winds kicked up as they did earlier....and, they did. But, it didn't last nearly quite as long as this mornings winds.
There were fish all over the Humminbird's screen, so we set a trolling pass from the ferry dock to Rattle's rock bar, and started catching fish. We turned around to make another pass through there and they seemed to like that direction a little better. Speed was faster with the current and slower going against it. 1.5-1.6 with the current and 1.3- 1.4 going against it.
They really liked the clear chartreuse and gold bead combo with a gold #5 hammered colorado blade today. That combo took most of the fish, but other colors worked too...the same as in my previous reports all month.
Same leads...39-45 back with a 1oz inline weight, 25-38 back with the 2oz inline weight, and 27-29 back with the #2 Tadpole. The bottom bouncer caught 2 or 3 walleye too. (I think I have to change the reel on that rod...the drag isn't working properly...it's too tight and it won't loosen up, and I think we lost a lot of fish that otherwise might have stayed hooked).
We had a sailboat harassing us for a few hours, but I don't think it was intentional. In fact, it was quit comical in that we came to the conclusion that his sailing skills were on the lower end of the scale and he was just learning....learning with an entire crew of family and friends who also didn't know a dang thing about sailing. lol No mishaps, so no harm no foul. Thanks for the laughs today Mr. Sailboat man! :)
Well, today Kevin, Erich, and Skipper got their limit of nice eater walleye, so they were happy, happy, happy. They said they had more fish than they needed, and asked me if I wanted some of them. Of course I said, "Yes!" to that generous offer. Thanks again guys!
I had a great time these past three days fishing with them, and it really makes my job the best one on the planet when everyone goes home happy, and telling me they had a good time and that they learned a lot. I can't ask for more than that. Life is good. :)
I have the next two days off, so I'll be walking the dogs, cleaning the boat, cutting the grass, and doing a little grocery shopping...oh, and cleaning the house......again (sigh).
The next scheduled trip is Saturday Karl Scherer and his crew. So, I won't be blogging until Saturday. I need the break...thank for reading it!
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing 6/17/14 Day 2 with Kevin, Erich, and Skip
by Capt Juls on 06/17/14What a beautiful day it was today! It was a lot nicer on the water than it was on land, that's for sure!
I picked my crew up this morning at 5:15 for the second day of our three day adventure. We hit Hi Way Bait for more crawlers and ice and then the gas station to top off the truck and boat.
We headed to Vermilion to launch, and I was hoping I hadn't forgotten how to get to that launch, because since they put that new fancy launch in at Huron, we never launched at Vermilion anymore. I had no problem remembering how to get to it. I forgot how easy it is to get there. :)
I'm glad we used Vermilion's launch, because the ride back at the end of their trip would have taken forever to get back, because the lake was flat when we went out, but it was churning up good 3-5's out where we were.
We started out at the Vermilion Dumping Grounds and picked up a few, but no monsters like I was hoping for...sigh. They were still a little better grade of walleye than we had caught yesterday, so it was cool.
We only caught 12 fish today, but they weighed the same as the 14 we had yesterday. We also caught one big catfish and a gazillion whites.
No flies today!! Yay! lol
One more day with these fun guys, and I think if the weather lets us go we will be west of North Bass tomorrow, or SSW of Rattlesnake. I'm still looking for their big fish of the trip, since we didn't get lucky today.
I have promoted Skip to "First Mate", since he's very helpful and did all fish bleeding today. I hate doing that, but I know it's best to do that, and throw them on ice. What can I say? It makes me kind of sad to do it. I know, I know...I'm a wuss. But, I didn't say I wouldn't do it, I just said, "It makes me sad". So, Skip volunteered to do it for me today. Thanks Skip!! Much appreciated! :)
Still pulling crawlers, so there's nothing new in that part of the report...same old same old.
Since I hadn't fished over that way in forever, I was happy they caught as many as they did. Also, knowing what the wind was going to do, I wasn't about to go out to the sandbar, or weather buoy, so don't even go there. lol
Well, time to go relax....that 3:30 alarm is going to be going off soon.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing 6/16/14 with Kevin, Erich, and Skip...(3 day charter)
by Capt Juls on 06/16/14Yesterday I fun fished with a friend and we just goofed off for a few hours...I napped on the bow, and when we got off the water we grilled out, so no report from yesterday...(well, I guess this sort of was...lol) Sorry!
Today was a fun day on the water with a threesome from out of town. Kevin Milliron set this three day charter up, to spend some time with his friends, Erich and Skip, who are brothers.
We got a late start, since they got into town late last night and wanted to sleep in a little bit. I picked them up at their condo at 8:45 am this morning and we stopped for their fishing licenses at Hi Way Bait.
Launched out of Mazruik's at 9:15 and headed for the NE side of Kelly Island Shoal. I stopped SE of the old international C can and headed for it on a NW troll.
We ran the usual spinner program that I have been running, and experimented with other depths with a few of the spinners.
But, wouldn't you know it? 41 back on a 1 oz was the fish catcher again today.
We did have one bottom bouncer out to keep them honest, and it caught one nice walleye and a few bite offs, along with a couple white perch.
I put a RR 800 out towards the end, when the wind died, and a gigantic sheephead sunk the board on a Grape Ape.
Then, for some reason for which I can' t explain, we got some tangles that put 3 boards and the bottom bouncer out of commission until I could cut everything off and put new harnesses on. What a mess. I don't think I've seen tangles I couldn't get out before, but these were doozies and I didn't even want to try! 15 minutes later we had all four rods in the water again...no harm, no foul. :)
We ended the day 4 short of their three man limit, but they were happy and were looking forward to a fresh walleye dinner tonight. Yumm!
The water temp out that way was 68.5 degrees, which is a little cooler than the west side of the islands. From what I heard on the radio, some did very well getting their limits on the west side, while others struggled badly.
It was a scorcher out there today after the wind disappeared, it was hot, hot, hot, and the black flies were after blood. I had scrubbed my boat with bleach this morning to ward them off, but a few dropped fish, and fish slime dripping off the net, and our sweaty bodies, made it inevitable that they would find us.
I had bought some spray online that claimed they had the best solution, so I bought it. It smells good, but it doesn't do diddly on these Lake Erie vampires. I then put on some Coppertone Sport 50 (the cream kind) and that stopped them.....for about 1/2 hour. Then, they started eating my flesh again....grrrrr...Ow!!
The only complaint was about the biting flies. We all agreed that after this horribly cold winter we had, none of us were going to complain about being hot. But, I have to admit, getting home and washing the boat again, and then dousing myself with super cold hose water, it was just what the doctor ordered. ;)
The weather forecast for tomorrow is different, depending on where you look. The news forecast is calling for 10-20 out of the SW with gusts to 30mph. www.iwindsurf.com, which is what I pay most attention to, says less than 15 out of the SSW. So, to play it safe, I'm headed to Huron with the crew tomorrow. I got a good report from a friend that said they were catching some big ones over there, so we'll give it a try. That way, if it does get crappy, we can run back in, with a shorter distance to go.
Well, that's all for tonight....time to hit the hay here. 3:30 comes early.
I'm picking them up at 5:15 and hope to launch by 6:30 at the latest.
Stay tuned....:)
Capt Juls
Fishing 6/14/14 with Jessie and Dan Neideffer
by Capt Juls on 06/14/14Last night the wind forecast for this morning was for 15+ out of the NW, but would be diminishing as the morning went on. I called my crew and told them to sleep in a little bit, and that I would pick them up at 7am and we would go to breakfast first, so the lake had a little time to lay down. They were agreeable to that.
We hit Hi Way Bait for my crawlers and ice, and then Big Boppers for breakfast, on the way to Mazurik's. We launched at 8am, and headed to the same area I have been fishing for the past month. There was something different this weekend, in that there were a ton of the big charter boats out there now, and I no longer had it all to myself....sigh. I knew it couldn't last forever, so it was fun while it lasted!
We made one pass heading north, to get my guys used to the waves and how to set lines. They did great with the instruction, but were having a hard time reading the boards in the waves. So, we picked up and headed up to the can at Lucy's and set a course to the SE to go with the waves. This was easier on them, not only for their sea legs, but also to make it easier for them to read the boards.
We caught one nice walleye and a catfish on that short pass. We also lost a lot of worms to short strikes or whities...not sure...we never saw them.
I had received a couple of phone calls from my friend Joe Whitten who was fishing another area about 5 miles away..(since it was his info, I'm not at liberty to publish it this time), and we picked up again and headed over to where he was.
What I can tell you is that the same dang program that I have been using this entire month...(crawler harnesses behind a 1oz inline 39-41 back) was what caught all our fish today. That means those fish were high in the water column again.
Jessie and Dan caught their limit, and had gotten pretty good at setting lines without me nagging them with instructions. Woot! Woot! That is a great day in my opinion. :)
The weather was really nice by mid day with light NW winds, waves 2 foot or less, and lots of sunshine. Water temperatures where we were are 69.7 degrees.
Since they were staying at the "Island House" in downtown Port Clinton, we took their fish over to PC Fish, Co. to have them cleaned, so it would be convenient for them to go pick them up.
They both said they had a great time and learned a lot. I can't ask for anything more than that. It felt great to be back on the water after having four days off, and I'll be back at it again tomorrow, but this time fun fishing with a close friend that doesn't get to get out on the water as much as he would like to. The weather looks terrific for tomorrow, so it should be another fun day.
I think we might go to Canada...I'm not sure yet. :)
Capt Juls
Sorry for the late blog...
by Capt Juls on 06/11/14Went perch'n with Frank Smith and his wife Janie on Monday, but I had so much to do that afternoon, that I didn't get to my blog when I got home, like I should have. Then, yesterday, for some reason, I was so exhausted that I didn't do very much at all, (energy was just drained from my body) and was in bed by 5:30pm.
Anyway, excuses aside, it was a fun day with Frank and Janie. It was supposed to be a 6 hour trip, but they cut it short to only 4 hours, because Janie needed to go in, due to the hot sun that day and a medication she was on that didn't fair well with the heat.
I had gone to an area a friend had fished a few days prior and did well on big perch, so we fished there. It wasn't a hot spot for us, and I moved one time, but the Humminbird was marking a lot of fish on the bottom, and every time I said, "We should move again", one of us would catch another nice perch, so we would stay thinking they were going to turn on....sigh. They never did "turn on". But, we did get a few nice 12 inchers that got a lot of ooo's and ahhhs...:)
We caught a lot of sheephead, white perch, and white bass there, but it wasn't a one of those spectacular perch trips I have been waiting for since last year.
They both said that they had a lot of fun and went home with enough for a few perch dinners, so it wasn't a total waste of time up there. :)
On a side note...and, this is the second time I have done this this season...I thought I had made sure the plug was in the boat, but when we were setting up Frank asked, "Where is all this water coming from?". I knew right away, and was so relieved...again...that Ranger put the drain plug lever up in the splashwell of the boat, so it's easy to close it. Before it would have meant either going back to the dock to pull the boat out, or me going for a swim to put it in.
So, I closed it and turned on the bilge pump and about 5 minutes later, it was dry again. Whew! Thanks again for the improvement on design Ranger! It certainly helps those of us with "D'oh!!" moments that could ruin the experience for many customers. :)
I don't have another trip until this coming Saturday, so it's nice to have a few days off to catch up on my weedy garden. I have much more energy today, so I should be able to get a lot done between the rain showers and pop up thunderstorms.
The rest of the month will be busy, as I only have 4 more days open...
19th, 20th, 26th, and 28th.
I'm hoping Mother Nature is kind and lets us get all these trips in this month.
Good luck if you get out...be safe! I'll be here cleaning up the homestead for a few days. :)
Capt Juls
Going Perch'n Today...
by Capt Juls on 06/09/14Yesterday's walleye trip was rescheduled by my customers, due to the rain that came through. They didn't want to sit in the rain, and I can't blame them. It was a soaker.
Today's trip is a perch trip, and I'm looking forward to it. First one of the season. Did I ever tell ya I LOVE PERCH FISH'N? ;)
A friend gave me his spot from the other day, so I'm hoping they are still there or near there. Unfortunately, he told me to keep it quiet, so I can't give up the spot. I'm sure you understand.
Have a great day everyone!
Capt Juls
Fishing with Grady, Meghan and Thelma 6/7/14
by Capt Juls on 06/07/14I didn't have a trip scheduled last night (Friday) when I was invited out to dinner, so I ordered a margarita, and planned to have another, but then I got a text...maybe next time...sigh.
Grady asked if I was available on Sunday, because his Mom, Thelma, was coming to town to visit for the weekend. I already had a trip scheduled for Sunday, so I told him Saturday was open, and that the weather was going to be perfect, so he booked it. :)
We met a little later than my normal launch time and hit the water at 7:45. We headed right back to where I was yesterday, set a troll to the SE, and set lines in the water. Same program I've been using now for weeks. (see previous blogs for clues. lol)
There was no wind this morning and the bugs were all over us.....ugh, they tickle! But, about an hour later the winds kicked up just a little bit...just enough to keep those little buggers off of us.
We only got 6 on the pass in that direction, and when we got to the SW corner of Gull Island Shoal and turned around to go back the other direction, it was game on!
A light wind had started out of the east, so it was behind us now.
I just have to give a shout out to Meghan, who was a natural, and took to my instructions without any hesitations or mistakes, and was very helpful in the boat today. Thank you Meghan! Also, she was rewarded with the biggest fish of the day! Woot! Woot! :)
It's not very often I get clients who take to it with ease. Especially, when I forget, and start talking fishing lingo, forgetting most people don't have a clue as to what the heck I am talking about...and, I'm sure it doesn't even sound like English to the novice troller....my bad. lol
Grady and his Mom did a great job too and Grady was rewarded with the largest Sheephead of the day. Ha!
We limited out with their 18 fish just short of our 6 hour trip, so everyone was very happy. I was hoping we would limit sooner than we did, so we could then go perch'n for a couple of hours, but we ran out of time. :(
I'll be heading to Canadian waters tomorrow with a couple of my regulars, and hoping we can get some perch'n in tomorrow. Fingers crossed...
Well, time to clean the boat, and get something to eat.
Capt Juls
6/6/14 Report...Fishing with Kevin and Jeff
by Capt Juls on 06/06/14I met up with Kevin Bolish and his friend, Jeff, at Mazurik's at 5:45am this morning and we launched just before 6am.
Once again, I headed to the area I have been fishing for the past few weeks and once again had it to myself. We made one long pass the opposite direction as I did yesterday, and we landed 12 nice eaters in two hours. We also caught some HUGE sheephead, but very few white bass and white perch, so it was nice to keep my crawlers on the hooks for a change.
Kevin and Jeff were fast learners, but the bites were coming too fast, so I kept the spread to only 4 boards instead of 6.
I only used crawlers behind the 1oz inlines today at 39 and 41 back on each side, and it didn't take long for the boards to go back once they were in the water.
After they got their limit they were given the choice of whether they wanted to keep fishing, but release everything they caught from there on out, or go back in and get the fish cleaned and head home. They chose the later. But, first we put everything away, turned the trolling motor off, and just floated around on the water while we munched on some Wisconsin venison sausage, cheese curds, and crackers. They also popped a couple beers to wash it down.
After a nice chat, we headed back in at a nice easy speed.
It was a wonderful morning to be on the water today, and the company was enjoyable too. :)
I have day open tomorrow, so unless it gets filled in the next few hours, I'll be having a nice day off.
Capt Juls
Fishing on my Birthday...:)
by Capt Juls on 06/05/14Today did not go as planned, but it turned out to be a fantastic day in the end.
I picked up Buz Trusso at 5:30 this morning and we were to meet up with Kelly and Avery at Mazurik's at 6am.
When we got there the north winds were blowing the water into the break wall enough to make the water splash higher than it. The waves were definitely 2-4's but, probably more like 3-5's. The wind forecast was showing that the winds were going to pick up for the next few hours and then start to diminish beginning at 10am, so I asked if they could meet me back there at 11am to go out.
Kelly and Avery were in, but Buz had to catch a flight back to San Diego, so he wouldn't be joining the three of us.
After getting back to the launch, Kelly and Avery were ready to go. We headed out and the waves had calmed down considerably. It was an easy going ride out to Lucy's Point, where we set up to do our first pass in a SE direction.
After showing them how to hook the crawlers the way I like them hooked, showing them how the line counters work, and how to attach the Off Shore boards, the first line was in the water. We didn't have the second board on the line before the first board was going back with a fish on it.
Kelly was first up, and after talking her through the process of moving back between the seats and putting the rod tip over my shoulder, so I could remove the board, and then where to stand when reeling in the fish, so I could net it, she landed a nice eater sized walleye.
We didn't get all the lines in the water at the same time before we had 4 fish in the live well! The trip was starting out great...and, the winds were continually getting lighter. The water conditions were perfect and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day compared to what the morning started out like.
To make a long story shorter, because I'm whooped and need to go to bed....we ended up with their two person limit in three hours, with 4 nice big fish that had all of us pretty happy with the day's catch. The biggest walleye hit the bait and took that board under just like a big old Sheephead, so I was very surprised to see that big walleye come swimming up. Woot! Woot!
Kelly and Avery did an awesome job learning how to run planer boards and were helping each other with removing boards and netting fish. They wanted to learn, so they could do it on their boat, and the best way to learn is to do it hands on. We only lost a couple that didn't hook up very well, but it wasn't because of anything they did wrong. Kudos to the both of them for a job well done!
Their cooler wasn't going to be big enough for all the fish in their whole form, so I offered to drive the fish over to Bay's Edge where they could have them cleaned. Then, they would fit in their cooler.
After some pictures and our goodbyes, I came home to clean the boat for tomorrow's trip.
Again, and I can't really believe this....but, the program is still the same thing, as it has been for a month now!
Crawler harnesses behind 1oz inlines 25 back when it was windy, and 41 back when it calmed down, took most of the fish today. One or two were caught on the #2 Tadpoles 25-29 back. Speed was again, 1.5mph.
Tomorrow's weather looks fantastic, and I plan on leaving Mazurik's at 6am and heading right back to my spot again. I'm not leaving there until those fish leave. :)
Capt Juls
6/4/14 Fishing Report
by Capt Juls on 06/04/14Started the morning out of Mazurik's with Buz Trusso from San Diego at 6am.
We headed to the SE corner of Kelly's to start a troll towards Airport Reef. We picked up one small fish and decided to move up to the NE side of Kelly's Shoal, up on the line.
Running 1oz inlines on the outside boards at 25 and 41 back and #2 Tadpoles 25-30 back on the inside boards.... at 1.5mph.
Today the 1oz inlines took all the walleye....up high! After a few fish, I came to the conclusion they wanted the 1oz inlines at 25-27 back. After we figured that out we put a two man limit in the boat pretty quickly.
With one fish to go, I decided to pick up and move to the SW corner of Gull Island Shoal and set a course towards Lucy's Point. I got my first line in the water, and as the Off Shore board was going out, a fish hit it...I tripped the bail and it was Fish On! I told a friend who was out today too about it, and he told me when they were done that they got their 3 man limit in the same area.
So, guess where I'm starting tomorrow! :) (as long as those north winds they are predicting don't make it too rough).
Buz will be fishing again, but this time an older couple will be joining us to split the trip with him.
I've assigned him the duties of "First Mate" since he has had a chance to get his sea legs under him and has a pretty good clue now about how my system works.
I'm hoping we can get out there and catch them. Nothing worse than telling a customer it's a "no go" due to conditions.
Stay tuned.....:)
Capt Juls
Fishing 6/2/14 with the Lutz Family
by Capt Juls on 06/02/14Duane, his Son, Tanner, and his Father in Law Dell arrived at my house this morning at 5:15...right on time, and after maneuvering his boat to the dedicated location they piled in my truck; we were off.
Since the boat was already gassed, oiled, cleaned, all we had to do was stop for some crawlers and ice at Hi Way bait before heading to Mazurik's.
We launched a little before 6am and headed to the East side of Kelly's Island.
After setting in on a line in 38' of water, we headed North at 1.5-1.7mph pulling double willow leaf crawler harnesses behind #2 Tadpoles and 1 oz inlines anywhere from 8-16 feet down.
We caught 6 nice eaters in the first hour, and then it got tougher. The wind had picked up and the marks were less and less. So, we picked up and made another pass in closer to the shoal in 32 foot of water, but they weren't there. Caught a few whites and picked up again to head back down to set in again where we started.
After a panic attack, because my iPilot remote wasn't seeing my Terrova...even though the green light was lit on the Terrova, and removing/replacing the battery from the remote didn't help, Dell suggested I unplug the trolling motor up front and plug it back in again. I could see as soon as I approached it that it wasn't tight in the plug, which was probably due to the bouncy ride the waves were causing. I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it worked...whew! Problem averted.
You don't realize how dependent you become on that "captain" driving your boat while you're busy working. lol
I could have done it the old fashioned way with the kicker motor, but I really wasn't looking forward to having to do that. How spoiled we become, eh? :)
Anyway, a little later I received a text from a friend that said that the sky was black by Maumee and the wind really kicked up, so thinking that it was coming our way, I relayed the message to my crew and the decision was made to move over to the lighthouse on the lee side. From some of the comments, I could tell they were not all that comfortable in the waves that were building to 2-4's, so it was an easy decision to move.
There were marks galore over there and many looked like walleye, so we set lines. We didn't catch any walleye, but we had a good show with a big ship coming to port and kept busy with some whites and sheephead.
The wind switched from SE to SW and did kick up, so that part of the report was right, but the darkened skies must have stayed to the south.
With customers, I always like to err to the side of caution, than not.
Those 6 walleye were the only eyes caught by us today, but they had a good time anyway. And, let me tell you, they were a joy to have in the boat today. They had run lines on mast systems, but never with inlines, and they had it down pat with only the first instruction. I got to really relax and just enjoy the morning while they set lines, took boards off, netted fish, and got the fish out of the net. I didn't have to do anything but drive the boat...woot! woot! :)
After we got off the water at noon, we went over to Bay's Edge to get the fish cleaned. Being the first ones there, they were done in only 10 minutes. Then, they took me to lunch at Casa Las Palmas before heading back here to the house to pick up their truck and head over to South Bass Island for the rest of the week. I gave them all the fishing info I had for them, and they should do very well staying out there.
I'll have to check the forecast, but earlier when I looked, it was supposed to blow harder than it was today, so I'm not sure my trip will be a go or not. I'll keep ya posted.
Capt Juls
