Juls WFA Blog
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
The Birthday Boy and his Sons got Their Limits Today...:)
by Capt Juls on 05/31/14Jim Bracken's wife had bought a gift certificate for a 6 hour charter way back in March, and the first date he had picked was nasty weather, so he rescheduled for today, and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful. Well, it could have been a better wind direction, but it didn't seem to bother the fish much today. they were hungry!!
We launched out of Catawba at 9am since they had a 3 hour drive up here. Headed to my spot up by Lucy's and set in on a SW trolling pass. Caught 7 on the first pass, and 5 on the second pass. Three of them were fish-O's.
Same program/numbers/speed as the past two weeks!
When the wind picked up, we headed to the SW corner of Green, and didn't even have the second board out before we picked up our first one over there. All nice little eaters by Green, but nothing big there.
Jim had a great time, as did his boys. They are bass fishermen, so it was a little tougher teaching them how to troll, but eventually I had them setting all the lines on their own. They ran into trouble when it was time to bring a fish in on the outside board though...lol In the excitement of a fish on, they would forget that the inside two boards needed to be moved either back or in, so they wouldn't tangle all the lines...sigh. No bad tangles today, so they did GREAT!!
I'm also happy to report, I didn't knock any fish off with the net. Woot! Woot!
I love this job! It's always different, and always fun!
Tomorrow's trip is only a 4 hour quickie with a husband and wife, and his sister, who want to learn the board game and catch a few walleye. So, we'll be heading out of Catawba at 8am and heading to the SW side of Green for some eaters and a training session.
Stay tuned!
Capt Juls
Fishing 5/30/14 with Bob and Rob Merrill and Dave...:)
by Capt Juls on 05/30/14Bob Merrill and his son, Rob, and his friend, Dave came down to do two days of trolling with me. Yesterday was a little rough and we decided it was best to just wait until better conditions today, to go fishing.
I picked them up at the Holiday Village Resort at 6am and we launched out of Mazurik's at 6:30.
After they got on the water this morning, they said they were happy that they didn't go yesterday, due to the 2-4 foots waves, because as Bob said, "We would have had a rough time just standing up".;)
There really isn't anything new in my report, since I headed right back to where I have been heading each morning this past week and a half (up at Ballast and Lucy's). Still the same program, and speeds.
They hooked up with approximately 22 walleye, but only got 14 in the boat. One of them was my fault, as I accidentally knocked it off with my spectacular netting skills...ugh. It was a nice one too. Rob didn't seem to mind, and said, "It was a freebie anyway, so that's kind of fair". (Freebie, because he caught it while he was letting line out before the Off Shore board was attached). :)
After we ran out of time, I took them and their fish over to Bay's Edge to have their fish cleaned. We waited for them, because it wasn't going to take them very long to finish them, and I drove them back to their hotel. We said our good byes and they said I should expect another call in about 10 days, because they wanted to come back and do it again. I can't ask for anything more than that. Woot! Woot!
Heading out tomorrow with Jim Bracken and his son, and friend at 9am. A little later start since he's driving from 3 hours away, and I told him he could pick the time that suits him, because it's his birthday present from his wife.
Stay tuned!
Capt Juls
Fishing with the Meek Boys 5/27/14
by Capt Juls on 05/27/14Took Brad Meek and his two boys Shane and Christian out fishing for a few hours this afternoon.
Brad is the man who designed my logo a couple years ago, and he brought me some t-shirts today that look pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!
We caught 9 walleye and about 30+ white bass/white perch, and one catfish before we saw the storms building and decided to call it a day. In the one photo you can see the darkened sky behind the boys.
We hit the dock and the wind kicked up to 25+ and the lake turned to white caps in an instant. Whew! That was great timing!
Got the boat home and under the carport when the first rain drops began to fall... and, fall they did. It was another deluge of a downpour, but it didn't last long and the sun is out, shining again.
It was a fun afternoon, and I'm happy to say that the boys caught their first walleye with me, and had a lot of fun learning how we troll.
Nothing new to report...same area and exact same program as yesterday. :)
I've got a day off tomorrow, so I'll be reporting again starting Thursday. Looks like the weather is going to be nice again for this coming weekend. Yay!
Capt Juls
Memorial Day Fishing Report
by Capt Juls on 05/26/14Okay, since I have a couple days off, I'll give up the spot that's been so good to me this past week. Even though I've told many people about it, I was up there each day with only a couple other boats there.
Jim and Renee McEwen met me at the launch early this morning, and we were on the water by 6am. We headed to "the spot" up by Ballast Island and Lucy's Point, and had an 18 fish limit by 9:45 with one of them being a nice 30 incher caught by Renee. Jim's a great taxidermist, so that big girl will grace their wall to remember their fun day forever. :)
Today's weather couldn't have been nicer. A 10mph wind from the SW with morning temps in the high 60's to low 70's. The high today was 85 degrees.
They wanted to come in after their limit, because Renee had just gotten back from a business trip in Paris, and had some jet lag. That was okay with me, because I had "fishing lag"! I'm not a napper, but after getting home from lunch with them, I thought I would close my eyes for just a minute before starting on the messy house, and when I woke up, it was 3 hours later!
The program is still the same. I've been running (4) 1oz inlines at 39 and 41 back and (2) #2 Tadpoles at 27 & 29 back. Speed was 1.5-1.6 with the current and 1.3 against the current. Best blade colors were Pink Panties and Monica, and a Bugsy's Baits blade with the purple underside with three orange dots. Larry Lambert's double willow leaf harnesses took quite a few fish too.
I have a quick trip tomorrow afternoon for a few hours, but otherwise I don't have another charter until Thursday-Sunday, so it's time to clean up the messy house that's been neglected for a couple weeks now. Ugh....lol
Good luck fishing and be safe out there tomorrow....pop up thunderstorms are expected.
Capt Juls
What a Day!!
by Capt Juls on 05/25/14Since Mazurik's was a zoo yesterday, I called my husband and wife crew of Lisa and Joe Wailand of PA to meet me at the ramp a little earlier than yesterday. It was the right call, because it was an easy launch. We were on our way by 6:15.
They had scheduled an 8 hour trip, but we had caught their limit by 8:30am, so we went fun fishing and played catch and release for the rest of the day, away from my "hot spot". I think we probably boated close to 40-50 walleye today and three times that many white bass and white perch. Oh, and two catfish, and three or four sheephead. :)
Same program that I have been running for the past week. Same numbers as yesterday too. After we left our first spot early this morning, we headed to the east side of Kelly's where a friend was fishing and said I should check it out. Well, he obviously did better than we did over there, because while he was catching nice big walleye, we were only catching eaters on the same pass. The only difference I can think of is that he was using hatchet blades and I was using Colorado blades...??? Everything else was the same...speed, direction, depth, etc. The only difference was the blade.
Joe wanted this trip to learn how to run the Off Shore boards and get some practice, and practice is what he got! A lot of it. I had him and Lisa moving all day long. He did great, as did Lisa, and they are planning another trip up here in the next month or two to do a walleye/smallmouth combo trip up in Canada. I can't wait! That will be a lot of fun.
Well, it was a long day, and I have lots to do before tomorrow's trip, so I have to keep this short. I'll report back tomorrow when I get home.
Weather today: Beautiful! Light SW winds, 80 degrees, bright sunshine.
Water temps are in the high 60's in most spots in the western basin right now.
Capt Juls
It was a Fast Morning!
by Capt Juls on 05/24/14Let me first say that since it's the Holiday weekend and there are a gazillion boats out there, I'm not giving up my spot that I and one other boat had to ourselves today! I don't want to play dodge boat for the next two days. lol
I will tell you that it was a fun day with Charlene and Eldon Jackson and their friend Jim. Charlene and Eldon had fished with me last year on a not so nice day, but we got them, and they returned for another trip this year. Today's weather was MUCH better than their trip last year, so we were already ahead of the game even before we started fishing. We caught their limit of 18 and lost about 10 or so.
Launched at Mazurik's....what a zoo! lol Glad I got there early, as there were no parking spaces left by 11am when we returned to the dock with a limit.
Same program as yesterday...1oz inlines 35-41 back and the #2 Tadpoles 27 & 29 back. Pink or Chartreuse underbellies of the blades worked best again at 1.6 with the current and 1.2-1.3 against the current.
The fish were in a small area, and that's why I'm not sharing the spot online...at least until this weekend's trips are over. Sorry!!! I have customers to make happy. :)
Back at it again tomorrow....stay tuned!
Capt Juls
Fun with Lee Ann and Bob Johnson 5/23/14
by Capt Juls on 05/23/14Started the morning off by picking up Bob and Lee Ann Johnson up at their hotel in town at 6:15. As is normal, I stopped off at Hi Way Bait to pick up some fresh crawlers and some ice for the cooler.
We hit the ramp at Mazurik's at 6:45 and headed to Scott's Point. There were already a bunch of boats on top of that spot by the time we got there, so we set up northwest of them and headed SE, but stayed to the outside of them. We picked up two fish there, and moved to get away from all the boats. I headed north to make a pass from the mid point between Starve and American Eagle and we set lines.
Today was super easy, since Lee Ann and Bob are avid anglers, but fish mostly for Salmon, so they knew the lingo and were comfortable in the boat.
The wind was down when we launched, but it kept picking up as the morning went on. By the time we finished that second pass the waves were easily 2-4's with the occasional 5 thrown in for good measure.
Looking at my wind app, I assured them that the winds would be dying down as the day went on, and lucky for us they started dying before they were shown to. Yay! It turned out to be a gorgeous day on the water, and we enjoyed it very much.
We ended up with their limit and a few fish for my walleye chowder and it was time to go in.
1oz inlines 39-41 back and the #2 Tadpoles 25-27 back was best.
Pink Panties, Monica, and Bugsy's gold blade with the lavendar underside with the three orange dots did most of the catching. Larry Lambert's double willow leaf harnesses did some damage too. Speed was 1.4-1.7mph.
Took their fish to Bomba's, and then took them to my favorite food truck, "Sumpthing Fishy" over in Marblehead to get some perch tacos while we waited for their fish to be cleaned. I took them back to get their fish, and was surprised to learn that Bomba's is charging .80 cents a pound to clean walleye, while most other places in town are only charging .50 cents. Sigh...I can't win with these fish cleaners...lol
Next time, no fooling around, I'm going to Bay's Edge with the fish.
They were very happy with their adventure today and want to come back again next year.....and, that made me very happy. :)
Well, I'll be back at it for the next three days...so, stay tuned!
Capt Juls
The Last Three days....
by Capt Juls on 05/21/14Well, it's been a fun three days of fishing with Tim and Nick Becker from Kaukauna, WI.
Monday, May 19th, was the first day of their trip. Woke up at 4am to make them fresh brownies for the day.
I showed up at their hotel 15 minutes early and waited only a short time for them to come out and meet me. We loaded up their belongings and jumped in the truck.
We hit Hi Way Bait and picked up some ice and crawlers for the day. Launched at Mazurik's by 7am.
On day one, we headed up to an area between Kelly's Island and Gull Island Shoal and set a heading to the north towards the Canadian line. We didn't mark a lot of fish and caught two fish in the first hour, so we picked up and headed towards the west side of the line, near the green can by Lucy's, and set a heading towards Middle Island.
We didn't mark much there either, and didn't waste much time moving back towards Gull when Tim's friend, who was also on vacation and fishing the area, gave him some information about being by the red can at Gull. ( I never did see them...cough cough) We made one pass through where we thought they were talking about and caught one fish.
I decided to move back over to the east side of Kelly's where I had been fishing the previous two days with decent success.
It was a beautiful day for a boat ride, and with the calm water, we were able to go WOT on the way over. Woot! Woot! It's not often I get to open up the Ranger like that, and it was FUN! :)
We set up on my trolling pass from the previous trips and we weren't marking much there either...sigh Grrrrrrrrrrr! "Okay, this isn't working like I thought it would, so let's not waste anymore time here", I said. So, we picked up and moved back to the north side of Kellys. This time we set up on the NW corner of the island and headed NE towards the red can on Gull. We pulled a couple fish going that direction, but when we turned around and headed to the SW it was game on. I had kept them out an extra hour and we ended up one short of their limit.
I drove them over to "Marblehead Fish Cleaning" and we dropped off their fish. I asked the manager there, "Will their fish be okay for three days if they leave them on ice in a cooler?" She said, "Well, if you want, we can keep them here in the refrigerator until you're ready to go home". I said, "Really? You'll do that? That's a great service"! Tim took her up on that offer and they were really happy about that. They had 38 pounds for 11 fish on day one, which isn't great, but not bad either. A lot of good eaters.
I dropped them off at their hotel again and said I would see them in the morning. I told them it would probably rain, so they should bring their rain gear.
Weather was gorgeous! Sunny, warm, light SW wind less than 10mph.
Program: The same as the previous two days. (see blog)
Day Two:
I picked them up at their hotel again, but this time I was a 1/2 hour early due to some errands I had to run before we headed out, and mis-timed how long it would take me. They came out early when he said he saw me from out their window (didn't mean to make them rush...sigh) and we hit the bait shop for the usual.
I had talked to Captain Keith Unkefer of "Pooh Bear Charters" that morning and he said they had a good day the day before between Starve and Scott's Point.
That was the plan. We launched and headed towards Scott's Point and set a troll towards the ferry dock on South Bass. We picked up two small fish right away, but as we got further and further away from Scott's Point the marks on the graph were less and less. So, we picked up and moved to adjust our trolling direction to work with the building SE winds, which were at that time, probably 1-3's.
Stopped in an area between American Eagle Shoal and Starve and set a pass towards Starve. The waves were building and we rode the trough. Picked up two nice fish and decided to use Kelly's as a wind break and headed up that way.
We set in on the west side of North Bay and headed Northwest with the waves on the corner of the transom, trying to keep the speed at 1.4mph.
We picked up a fish or two on that pass and as the seas built to 2-4's we picked up and headed back towards the island where it was less windy.
Setting down on the mid point of the island we headed to the SW this time.
GAME ON! We picked up the last of their limit in the area from the mid point to the red can on the NW corner.
Still the same program of crawler harnesses with blades with pink underbellies, chartreuse underbellies, and the best one of all one of "Bugsy's Baits" #5 blades with the gold hammered back, with the lavender underbelly with three orange dots. That blade took the majority of the fish on day two and today.
1oz inlines 25-40 backand and #2 Tadpoles 27-35 back.
The winds had died down for our ride back in and it was actually a nice day again.
After loading out, I took them over to the fish cleaners to add another 54 pounds to their stash. After some Casa Las Palmas for lunch, I dropped them back off at their hotel.
Today (Day 3):
After a 1/2 hour delay in picking them up due to thunderstorms passing through, we were launched and on the water by 7:30. It was a downpour while I readied the boat, and I said, "Let's get in the truck and wait this out for a few minutes". And, that's about all it was too. The rain let up to just a light drizzle and we were off.
We headed to the same spot where we ended yesterday, but the fish weren't biting. We marked them, but they weren't interested in playing with us.
Again, Tim's friend told him they had a good bite up on the line a mile west of Middle, so we headed up there again. We didn't get anything for the first probably the first hour, and then we picked up 5 nice fish. No Fish-O's, but nice fish none the least.
I texted my "Big Brother", Keith, and asked him how he was doing today and he said he was fishing between Scott's Point and American Eagle Shoal. Which isn't far from where we started this morning, so we picked up and headed down, since we were running out of time and I figured we could spend more time there if I didn't have as far to run to get back to the launch.
We picked up three more fish and dropped three or four there and then it was time to go in.
Again, I took them to the fish cleaners and they added another 34 pounds to the tally, and drove them back to their hotel. They would go back to pick up all the fish once the last batch was cleaned and they got some ice in their cooler.
After I got home, I got a text from Tim informing me that Marblehead Fish Cleaning had a major @%#$ up with their fish. Apparently, they had the first day's catch and today's catch, but the big 54 pound bag from yesterday was missing!!!
The explanation was that the owner's son had come in and was helping out and gave our fish to another customer that had only brought in 24 pounds.
I drove over to make sure they were going to be taken care of to their satisfaction, and to find out why this happened, since they use a ticket system to keep orders separate. "Oh, he misread the ticket and gave the wrong one out". Really? You've got to be kidding me? How hard is that job? LOL
She points to her spiral bound notebook where the other person's weight was recorded and the price he paid. 24 pounds/$12.00.
"Okay", I said, keeping my cool...."What about the sheet that everyone that brings fish into you is supposed to sign? Let's just look at that and see who got his fish and we can call them and get them back from him".
Guess what....they don't seem to make sure everyone signs that sheet. There wasn't a 24 pound weight for walleye recorded.
I said, "We signed it, just like that big sign on your wall behind you, with big red letters says to".
ATTENTION
FISH PROCESSORS ARE REQUIRED BY STATE LAW TO KEEP ACCURATE DAILY RECORDS OF FISH PROCESSED.
THESE RECORDS REQUIRE THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE OWNER OR PERSON FROM WHOM THE PROCESSOR RECEIVES THE FISH, THE SPECIES, WEIGHT, AND DATE.
I got the deer in the headlights look from her....and, silence.
Then, she went on to say how they were trying to fix it by finding them some frozen fish to take home.
Well, after calling all the commercial sellers and coming up empty, they found some. Her brother had a 50 pound bag of fillets frozen in water. I couldn't tell if they were walleye or sheephead to tell you the truth. I was pissed! As I'm sure my customer was too.
But, they added some frozen perch and a 10# bag of walleye cheeks, and my customer seemed to be satisfied with that deal. However, he was still very disappointed not to be taking home the fish he knows were fresh caught yesterday and not frozen in an ice block of ice since who knows when.
So, if you get your fish cleaned at Marblehead fish cleaning, I suggest you pick them up asap, so this never happens to you. I will never spend any money there again.
Capt Juls
5/19-5/21
by Capt Juls on 05/20/14I've added pictures, but I'll be writing the blog after the end of Tim and Ben's 3 day charter. :)
Capt Juls
Another Fun Day on the Water
by Capt Juls on 05/18/14This is going to be short and sweet as far as program and area....same exact thing as yesterday! Please see the previous blog for that information.
Greg Companion set up this trip, so his two friends, Todd and Ben, could learn how to troll with planer boards. Being avid anglers themselves, it was an easy lesson. By mid morning they were doing all the line setting and I didn't have to nag them with instructions anymore. lol
They did great and learned what they came to learn. We even caught a few walleye in the process (see pics on pg 7 of the photo album.
It was a little slower than yesterday for us, and the north/south pull didn't pull a fish today, even though it was the best direction yesterday. Everything came on a south to north pull.
We moved from the east side of Kelly's to the north side and picked up two more fish for a total of 11 for 18. So, not a limit, but still a successful trip. They will be back again before the season ends.
Greg was pouting a little bit, because he really wanted to perch fish, but the two voted that down this morning. Dang it...I really wanted to perch fish too. But, Greg has a deposit down to come back to do a perch only trip with me, and I can't wait! Did I ever tell you, "I LOVE TO PERCH FISH"? ;)
Well, like I said, short and sweet today...I have to go walk the dogs and get ready for tomorrow's charter after I get something to eat.
Thanks for reading my blog!
Capt Juls
