Juls WFA Blog
It Felt Good to be Back On The Water!!
by Capt Juls on 05/05/14After many days of blowing winds, cooler temps, and big waves, we were able to get back on the water today. Yay!
The forecast was for winds from the east, that were supposed to be less than 10mph. But, after getting up to the north side of North Bass Island, it picked up over 10mph....waves were 1-3' with an occasional 4 thrown in.
We made one pass up there and boated 4 out of 8 fish. All of them were just nice "eaters" around 3-4 pounds.
Since my crew were not seasoned anglers and their sea legs were not working very well yet, I decided to move down between Rattlesnake and Green where Middle Bass Island would block the wind and give us calmer waters. I was hoping one of my favorite trolling spots would be full of fish about now, but that wasn't the case. We hardly marked any fish inside the "triangle", but we did pick up one nice eater.
As we trolled out to the west of Rattle and Green we started marking more, but I had already told them that we would be moving, so we did.
We moved over to the SW corner of South Bass Island, near the ferry dock, and turned the boat to head NW towards the SW corner of Green. We started marking a lot more fish in there, and the marks were a lot bigger too.
We picked up 5 more fish there, and the biggest was a nice 8 1/2 pound walleye.
All in all we boated 10 of the 18 fish we had on today, so everyone was happy happy happy. :)
Two fish were caught on the Purple Glass Husky 47 back, and the biggest fish was caught on the Black/Gold Husky 60 back.
All the other fish hit on crawlers with 1oz inline weights set 40 back and #2 Tadpoles 25 & 27 back (more fish on Tadpoles than inlines)... Blades with chartreuse undersides were best today.
Speed was between 1.1 and 1.3 mph
My next charter isn't until the end of the week, so it looks like a little gardening is in order for the next couple of days. :)
Capt Juls
This Past Weekend was Rescheduled...Fishing Tomorrow...
by Capt Juls on 05/04/14Not much to say about the weekend, other than they blew today's forecast...sigh.
I'll be out tomorrow, so I can post a report tomorrow afternoon.
Went morel mushroom hunting yesterday for about a half hour and found 13. Just enough to go with last night's dinner. :)
They were the grays, and pretty small yet, so the best is yet to come!
Capt Juls
Rough Conditions and a Tough Bite Today...
by Capt Juls on 05/01/14Launched from Mazurik's at 6:30am this morning with a single customer. We were the first boat out from that ramp today. I wondered if everyone else knew something I didn't about the weather, but it turned out they were just sleeping in.
Sam and I headed to the NW corner of Kelly's to start trolling. We put out two crawler harnesses and two DHJ12's to let the fish tell us what they wanted, and after two fish came on the Purple Glass at 47 back, we switched out one of the crawler harnesses for a second PG on that side of the boat. After a third fish came on the PG, we took the other crawler harness off the other side and tried another color DHJ. No other colors caught a fish.
It was strange. All the fish came on the starboard side of the boat today. We moved back up to make another pass through the area, but the winds were picking up and I decided it would be a better idea to move in towards the mainland and try to get into better water conditions.
We moved over to an area between Mazurik's and the Lighthouse and found water that was more dirty than out by Kelly's. We could see the cavitation plate, but the prop was just barely visible. I remembered the Deep Rattle'n Rogues in the storage compartment and thought that it would be better to have a lure out there that made some noise. After looking up the dive curve chart for it, we saw that it would need too much line out to get to the desired depth.
Then, I remembered seeing a video by Mark Romanack on using the OST Tadpoles as snap weights, so I pulled a number 2 Tadpole out and we set it 25 feet in front of the Rogue and then let it out to 60 and put the board on. Sam had picked the color and chose Firetiger. (I usually hate Firetiger, and didn't have a lot of confidence in it, but didn't say anything..lol)
Just as I was thinking that it was just not going to be our day, that Off Shore board went back with a good tug. "Fish On"! Woot! Woot! It was a nice fish too! Sam set that bait back out and I pulled in a DHJ from the other side and duplicated our set up, but instead of putting it 25' ahead of the bait, we put it 15' ahead of the bait. At one point we saw a pull back, but thought it got off....to make a long story short, we were pulling a little white bass around for a good hour. D'Oh! I got lazy and didn't check it, because I wasn't using crawlers. (Lesson learned!).
We finished out the day with 7 nice walleye. (Pics are on page 7 of the photo gallery).
Thanks Sam for a great time on the water! You were fun to fish with and I even learned a thing or two from our conversation today. :)
The weather conditions today were all over the place. Lots of wind out of the SW, Sun..then clouds..then Sun...then clouds..then drizzle...then Sun...then clouds...all day long! lol
Water temp was at 48 degrees and the air temp was maybe 50 degrees...waves were anywhere from 1- 2's...then 1-3's...2-4's...back to 1-3's...up and down all day...sigh.
Next charters are Saturday and Sunday if the weather allows. I'll keep ya posted.
Capt Juls
Heading out Tomorrow...5/1
by Capt Juls on 04/30/14Just finished getting the boat ready for tomorrow's trip. We'll be launching out of Mazurik's at 7am and heading towards Kelly's for the first pass.
My plan of attack is to run both DHJ12's and Crawler Harnesses at the same time to see if they want the crawlers more yet.
There will only be two of us, so we can only run 4 lines.
Tomorrow the limit goes up to 6 walleye per person from the previous 4 fish limit we've had in April.
I'm hoping some perch trips start getting scheduled, because I'm jones'n to do some jerk'n!! lol
The weather forecast looks favorable for tomorrow and should be a fun day. Sam, my customer, is a well seasoned angler, so it will be an easy day for me, and I'm guessing a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to it. :)
Capt Juls
Sorry, not much to report over the weekend....
by Capt Juls on 04/28/14My trips this past Friday through Sunday were rescheduled for better conditions, and today's trip was cancelled.
Sometimes we call them right and sometimes we call them wrong, but all we have to go on is the forecast in front of us. With customers traveling in from out of state, the call needs to be made before they travel, so it doesn't cause any inconvenience or wasted costs on their part.
While the conditions were less than favorable for a good walleye bite, it was fishable. But, when my customers and I talked about the forecast and what they wanted to do, it was decided that better weather conditions would be more fun, so we rescheduled those three trips.
So, with that said, my next charter is this coming Thursday. We are expecting rain and warmer temps the next couple of days, but should be drying up towards the weekend.
This sure is a goofy spring, but not one that is unexpected. It's acting just like normal spring weather. We get spoiled when it's above average and think it should be like that all the time, when in all actuality normal is what we are experiencing right now, I think.
So, I'll be updating this blog Thursday afternoon with any information that may help you. Please check back again (this is going to be a very busy month if I can get all the booked trips in!)....Thanks!
Capt Juls
Cold Front Conditions....Brrrr!
by Capt Juls on 04/24/14The same crew I had Monday and Tuesday were with me again today. We didn't go yesterday, because of a strong NW wind. This morning was very chilly and was only in the mid 40's when we hit Catawba launch at 6:15.
We were headed over towards Green Island by 6:30. We started our troll a couple miles west from the South Bass Island Ferry dock and headed towards the SW corner of Green.
Deep Husky Jerks were the lure of choice once again and Pink Lemonade and Purple Glass took most of our fish today. Clown and Pink Panties each took one too. We pulled them anywhere from 35 to 85 back and the ones at 55 and 73 back took the most fish today.
The bite was much better very early this morning, and seemed to slow way down after 10am. We ended up 10 for 13 today, and the boys went home very happy with their days catch.
Brian was bummed since he lost a big fish right at the end of their trip, because we had gone so long without a bite, and this would have made his day. Oh well, it happens to the best of them from time to time. I'm sure everyone knows how he felt. It just came unbuttoned behind the boat, and we never even saw it. We only knew it was a big one from the way the board was coming in and the bend in the rod after the board was off.
The East wind picked up in the afternoon just about the time we headed in, so I don't know how bad the conditions got later in the day. They were 1 foot or less when we left the dock and probably 1-3's when we got back in.
Tomorrow's trip has been rescheduled for a nicer day.
Saturday and Sunday's trips are waiting to see what the forecast does. Right now they are still scheduled to go.
Same Crew as Yesterday...Same Amount of Fun!
by Capt Juls on 04/22/14Originally, I thought it was going to be too windy to go out today, but when I woke up this morning and didn't hear the wind chimes singing out of my bedroom window, I knew I should check the wind forecast again. When I saw that it was going to be fishable I immediately called my crew from yesterday to tell them the good news. We could fish. They were happy to hear that and met me at my house in record time. Only this time, they were missing Aaron. He had to go to a sales meeting in southern Ohio for the day....poor guy. :(
We hit the ramp at 7:30 this morning and headed to Kelly's Island again. We picked up two fish in one pass, and decided it was probably better someplace else.
After a quick phone call to my friend, Captain Keith Unkefer of "Pooh Bear Charters", he let me know that he was on a good bite, and told me to get over there. (Again, because it wasn't a spot I found on my own, I do not feel comfortable giving that information out without his permission).
When I arrived he was already done and gone from the area. The waves were 2 foot or less when I arrived, but the wind was building. As I got the boat going in the direction with the waves that was most beneficial for the speed I wanted, Brian and Jason set the lines. They didn't have all the lines out before we got the first fish on. Then, immediately we got a second fish on the other side of the boat. It's a good thing there were two nets on board, because we needed both of them! They were the smallest two fish of the day, but still very respectable fish in any other part of the country. Here we call them "good eaters".
After all the lines were back in the water we went about 5 minutes when another Off Shore board went back, letting us know that a big fish was on this time. Jason reeled in a beautiful 31 inch walleye. And, then another 5 mintues and another board goes back. This time it's Brian's turn, and his fish was a nice 29 incher.
The wind was picking up and the lake was now building to 2-4 foot waves. We picked up the lines and ran up for another pass, thinking we could pick up the last 6 fish in one pass, but it wasn't mean to be. The sun had come out and the bite slowed down. We picked up a fish here and there until we had a total of 10 fish in the box, but we couldn't get the last two fish for the day before our time ran out on the trip.
At one point the wind had died down and the lake went back to being 2 foot or less, so we ran up to make on last pass, but we had no luck.
We could see white caps forming on the lake to the west of us, which was heading towards us, so we decided to head back in before it got nasty again. We loaded the boat out and talked about how much fun it was today on the ride back to my house.
We are planning on going back out on Thursday, if the forecast remains the same or better for that day.
I'll keep you posted...:)
Capt Juls
Pictures are posted on page 6 of my photo album here on my site. Please check them out!
Working it out...:)
by Capt Juls on 04/22/14One of my regular customers had to cancel his trip yesterday, due to personal uncontrollable circumstances on his end, so I was going to tag along and fun fish with my friend Scott Bogen who was in town prefishing for the NWT out of the Detroit River this coming weekend. Another friend, John, would also be fishing with us.
We hit the water at 7:30, and trolled a couple areas in the morning, and had 13 walleye by 10:30 when I received a phone call from a MN area code.
Two brothers and their friend (all originally from Wisconsin with one still living there), were in Ohio for the week for some fishing fun and their boat broke down after the first night here. They were looking for a charter to get them out on the water. Being a Wisco gal myself, I felt obligated to help them out.
But, what could I do? My boat was attached to my truck and sitting in the driveway at home, and I was sitting out in the middle of Lake Erie.
I didn't tell them, "No" though, and asked them if they would be willing to stop and pick up my truck and boat and drive it over to the launch that was closest to where we were fishing at the time, and they said, "Yes". After some instruction, about a 1/2 hour later they said they had picked up the boat and were on their way to the launch. Scotty drove me in and dropped me off, and about 2 minutes later they pulled in. It was perfect timing, and I thought everything was going to go smoothly and we would be on the water fishing in just a few minutes.. I was wrong.
As I readied the boat at the launch, I plugged the trolling motor in and remembered that I had taken the remote for the trolling motor out of the glove box and put it on my desk for safe keeping since the next trip wasn't for a few more days. Ugh!! I explained that we couldn't go anywhere without that remote, and I would have to drive back home and get it. They were very understanding and the brothers, Brian and Aaron, said they would hang out at the launch and eat their Subway sandwiches they bought on the way to the ramp, and Jason would go for a ride with me.
We picked up the remote and headed back to the ramp. We launched at 11:45am and headed out to the last spot I was with with Scotty. Since he's fishing a tournament, I am not giving out his spot information, but I can say, for anyone that knows this lake, it's pretty common for this time of year, and no secret.
After picking up a few fish there, we headed towards the west side of Green Island where I had taken the previous day's crew, and set out trolling DHJ12's 35-60 back. The previous day they jumped all over the Pink Lemonad and Blue Glass colors, but yesterday they wanted the Glass Clown. That color took most of the fish over there.
I had switched out a Blue Glass for a Halloween, and told the guys, "Okay, I always like to make it a little interesting and have you each pick a bait/board that you think is going to catch a fish next". Jason picked the middle board on the Port Side, and Brian picked the middle board on the starboard side. We waited for Aaron to pick one, and he finally pointed to the board that had the new Halloween color on it and it wasn't two seconds later that that board went shooting back with a the biggest fish of the day on it! We all laughed and hooped and hollered while he reeled it in. It was 30 inches long, but I don't have a scaled in the boat to get any weights, so we guess it to be close to 10 pounds. She had a big head and some big shoulders on her, but her belly is still pretty skinny after the spawn.
They are just starting to put the feed bag on and it will be a good week before we see those bellies getting full and tight again.
We ended up with 9 fish between 25 and 30 inches for the day. The bite seemed better in the morning than it was in the afternoon yesterday.
We met Scotty and John at the mexican restaurant for dinner and headed home to drop the crew off with their fish, and put the boat to bed. I was whooped and didn't get this blog done until this morning.
The same crew wants to go this morning, so I have to make this short!
We'll be launching out of Mazurik's at 8am. I'll report back later!
Capt. Juls
Another Awesome Day on Lake Erie!
by Capt Juls on 04/20/14Hit the launch at 7:15 this morning and was setting lines by 7:30. Today I was fishing with Alan Thompson from Indiana and his friend, Jim, who lives a few hours south of Port Clinton in Ohio.
We boated our first two walleye around E can. The water looked good, and I'm sure the bite would have picked up if we would have stayed, but I got a tip to another location and moved over there. It wasn't "my" spot, so I am not at liberty to give that information out. What I can say is that the presentation was deeper than my first spot. The E can area where we caught our first two walleye was 35-37 back on the Pink Lemonade deep diving husky jerk again, and the second spot was 85-110 back with Pinks and blues.
We had one fish to go to fill out their two limits when I decided the action had slowed down too much. We took a little boat ride up to the west side of Green Island to look at the water there. There were a lot of boats in the area, trolling, so we picked a path of least resistance and set our baits in the water. We didn't have all six lines in the water before we got the first fish there. It was a nice 8 pound eye. That filled their limit, and since we had 45 minutes to go, we set out after my limit.
It wasn't long before we had another fish on. This time it was a 7 pound fish. Another 10 mintues goes by and we have another fish on. This time it's the biggest fish of the day with a nice 30 incher! That one made me twenty bucks, because Alan said earlier in the day, "If you get me a 30 incher I'll give you twenty bucks". lol
Time had run out for their charter, so I told them, "The next fish or 15 minutes, whichever comes first, then we have to leave...time is up".
Luckily, it was the fish that came first and again, it was another cookie cutter 7 pound walleye to finish off the day with.
Pink Lemonade, Pink Glass, and Blue Glass took all the fish today. We ran them 37 to 110 back, so that tells you they are all over the water column right now, and they are hungry!
Good luck to everyone fishing tomorrow. I'll be back out with a couple of my regular customers for another go at it. Being a Monday though, I'm hoping I get the spot all to myself. hehehe
Capt Juls
What an Absolutely Fantastically Fun Day!!
by Capt Juls on 04/18/14I woke up at 3:30am and cursed my luck. I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep in time to take advantage of the last half hour before my alarm clock went off, so I got up and put the coffee on.
After checking the weather, wind, and marine forecast for the day, I settled into my routine of checking my favorite websites for an hour while I sipped my morning brew.
Took a shower, dressed, and loaded up the Ranger's cooler with goodies for lunch.
I met my crew at the bait shop across from their hotel, because I needed ice and they needed fishing licenses. We hit the launch at 7am and headed towards Niagra Reef first.
When we got there the water was really too clean for my liking and I wasn't marking any fish on the H'Bird, so we reeled in the lines and headed back south towards F can, where the water looked a little more stained.
We stopped short between F can and E can and set lines. After a quick instruction on how to put the Off Shore boards out my crew became pretty efficient, so I let them have all the fun, while I just gave instructions and netted the fish. They did an awesome job. :)
Deep Husky Jerks in Pink Lemonade, Halloween, and Black/Gold up high in the water column did the job. 35-55 back took all the fish. Others were getting them deeper in other areas, as I was told they were running 90-110 back. But, since we were catching, I didn't change a thing!
It was a perfect day on the water. Barely a breeze on the water again today, and the sun was out most of the time, which was a nice surprise since the forecast was calling for mostly cloudy all day. The clouds did show up around 12:30, along with a light 5 mph breeze from the ENE (when our bite turned off). We headed in at 1pm with 14 walleye that ended up weighing 89+ pounds at the cleaners. The boys were very happy, and kept telling me how much fun they had when we got in. That is what keeps me going, and makes it all worth it. :)
I'm waiting on a call about tomorrow's charter. We might be rescheduling due to temperatures and wind direction for a little better day for them. If not, we'll be out there again tomorrow doing the same thing with minor adjustments if needed.
I'll let you know...:)
Capt Juls
With a Heavy Heart....
by Capt Juls on 04/17/14
As I ready the Ranger for her charters tomorrow through Monday, I am heartbroken for the family and friends of fellow Lake Erie anglers who tragically did not make it home yesterday.
Bryan Huff and the love of his life, and tournament partner, Amy Santus, along with Amy's Niece and Bryan's friend had an unknown accident that left their boat capsized on Toussaint Reef. The boat was found this morning by the USCG, and so far the two women have been recovered. Both had life jackets on.
Bryan and his friend are still missing at this point in time, and I am hoping they are found soon, so their families can bring some closure to this unfortunate accident.
Bryan was an experienced Lake Erie angler, and a cautious boater, so whatever happened should be a reminder to all of us that bad things can happen very fast out there, and we should never take this lake for granted.
My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to their family and friends, and I pray they find some peace to help them through this.
Life must go on....
I promise to give my clients the best of me tomorrow, and show them a good time on the water. The forecast looks good and the bite is on, and the plan of attack is already made. :)
Great Day on the Water Today! Finally!! :)
by Capt Juls on 04/12/14It was a great day on the water today. The weather couldn't have been better. Light South winds putting a 1' chop on the lake made the bite a lot better than it had been my last two trips out.
Bob Luellen, Susie, and Sharon met me at my house this morning. We jumped in the truck and headed to a local restaurant for breakfast before heading to Catawba ramp to launch.
We launched at approximately 9am and headed to F Can. There were a ton of boats out there, due to a local tournament and it being the first really nice Saturday of the spring season. I taught the ladies how to use the line counter reels, and why we use them. Then, they learned how to attach the off shore boards and set them out. They were fast learners, because although they have never trolled before, they have been fishing all their lives. I thought to myself..."Boy, I'm going to have an easy day today". And, I was right. After they got the hang of it, all I had to do was steer the boat clear of all the other boats going every which way out there. lol
Bob was their net man as they took turns reeling in the day's catch. It wasn't fast and furious, but it was busy enough that they never got bored of watching the boards.
We ended up with only 8 fish and lost two fish, one of which was a real pig that I would have loved to see one of them holding up.
Both caught their biggest walleye to date, and that made everyone very happy.
The fish were very high in the water column and our best leads were 25 and 35 back with Deep Husky Jerks (12) pulled at 1.0 mph. Our best colors were Pink Lemonade, Halloween, Purplescent, and Fire Tiger.
The water was stained, but not muddy, and not too clean. The sun was out most of the day and then about 1pm the sky got cloudy and the wind picked up out of the Southeast. It got a little bumpy for a while, but the biggest fish of the day eased their minds about the lake conditions and we trolled on until about 2:45. Then, it was time to head in.
Overall, I can't say enough how happy it made me to finally put some fish in the boat. After the first two trips out this year, and zeroing, I was beginning to wonder if I could still catch them. ;)
All but one fish was spawned out. So, I think we might start to see some better catch rates in the near future, as the fish start to put the feedbag on again after this spawn. I sure hope Mother Nature is kind this year and lets us have conditions needed for a great hatch, but I won't get my hopes too high, because some crappy weather is headed this way tomorrow through Tuesday.
Tomorrow's charter is going to reschedule due to the wind advisory, so I'll be taking an unexpected day off to play with the dogs. I'm sure they will be very happy about that.:)
Pictures from today's catch can be found on page 6 of the photo album on my site...hope you enjoy them!
Capt Juls
Unfortunate Circumstances....Just a bad day.
by Capt Juls on 04/11/14The morning started out with high hopes and excitement, as I greeted Steve Champman and his son Jeremy at Catawba State Park. Steve and Jeremy have fished with me several times last year, and we always did really well. Jeremy said, "I've caught more fish with you in the past couple of trips than I have in all the charters I've fished on Lake Erie in my lifetime". That made me smile, and I was really looking forward to the day with them. It's always fun.
The original plan was to meet them for breakfast before heading to the ramp, but they were behind schedule, and I had heard the watercraft officers were at the park doing boat inspections. As I sat in the parking lot of the restaurant waiting for them, I thought it would be a better idea to go down to the park and get in line for the inspection and get that out of the way. They could stop and eat, or just get something on the way over, and I would just wait for them at the park. They opted to stop at Micky D's on the way.
I got down to the park and there was only one boat ahead of me getting their inspection done, so it only took about 10 minutes to get my sticker, showing I passed the inspection. Woot! Woot!
I called my guys and they were just turning into the park. "Great", I thought. "We'll be on the water by 9".
They pulled in and we got ready to launch....no problems there. It went smooth as ever. I idled out of the no wake zone and got her up on plane and headed towards G Can. There were a lot of boats over there, so when I got off plane I started looking for fish on the H'Bird.
At that moment Steve's phone rang, it was bad news. His older brother had had a severe crippling stroke early this morning and was life flighted to the hospital. I asked what they wanted to do, and they didn't know. On one hand they wanted to go home, but on the other hand, they wanted to stay and fish, because there was nothing they could do, and they were already here.
So, to shorten up this story, we made a move to D Can when I didn't mark any fish by G Can and didn't see any nets being used, so we moved up there. We made a pass from D Can to Niagra and marked only marginal fish here and there. Nothing to write home about. We didn't even get a pull back there. In the meantime, they were getting call after call about his brother, and Steve was concerned and torn. He definitely was in turmoil and it showed.
I got a call from a friend to go out to B Can, so I asked them if they wanted to stay and fish or go home. "We can stay and fish", they said. So, we made the run out to B Can. I marked good marks out there, but before we set any lines, the phone rang again and this time Steve's oldest brother asked that they come home. So, we ran back in to Catawba.
BUT, just before we got to the launch the phone rang again, and this time it was someone else saying, "just stay there, there's nothing you can do right now anyway. We'll let you know if anything changes". So, I suggested we go over to Starve where I was last weekend (and died), but it was close the ramp, and I knew there were fish there. Maybe they would go today. They liked the idea and we headed over there...set lines out, and made a long pass around the "hole".
My buddy Capt Kevin showed up in the afternoon and again was able to pick at them and said he was getting them at 50-75 back on the DHJ's. He had a hot custom color that I didn't have in the box, so I worked with what I had.
I don't get it...hundreds of baits and only one freak'n color works???? The rest of our program was the same...leads, speed, etc. Grrrrrrrrrr!
We had one pull back and lost it before we even got the rod out of the rod holder.
After another phone call, they decided to cut the day short and go home to be with family. I felt really bad for them. I could only imagine what they were feeling today.
I was hoping to get them on some fish to help ease the pain, but it wasn't meant to be.
It was flat calm out there today, but it was a beautiful day. I even had the flip flops on, but was still wearing my Guidewear...lol
We all agreed the next time we go out it would be a much better time. :)
So, there ya have it. It was a tough day fishing and emotionally. I'm whooped!
The boat is cleaned and ready to go tomorrow. The forecast looks really good, with a bit of wind, so that should help the bite tremendously.
Oh, and I did go to the baitshop and buy that "Hot Bait"....just in case. lol
Capt Juls
Mother Nature is Being Kind....
by Capt Juls on 04/08/14Weather forecast is looking good for my trips Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Thank you Mother Nature for allowing us some good weather days when it counts!
Mid to high 60's, waves less than 3 feet....perfect. Friday morning will be much like this past Sunday with little to no wind in the morning, but I don't think we'll have to deal with any skim ice this time.
Hopefully, Thursday night will be too mild for ice to form again.
And, all the muddy water that we had to deal with Sunday will be cleared up in most areas. The fishing should be very good.
And, all the muddy water that we had to deal with Sunday will be cleared up in most areas. The fishing should be very good.
The program that is working for most people are the Deep Husky Jerks trolled 80-100 back at 1.0 mph.
Good luck to everyone going out this weekend.
My boat's radio won't be installed until next weekend, when my friend Scott comes to stay here while prefishing for an NWT tournament on the Detroit River. He used to rig all my electronics before he moved out of state last year. And, the radio showed up too late to get it down to Ranger to have them install it. So, if you have my number, you can call or text me on the water, but otherwise, I will report after I get off the water each day.
Capt Juls
Great day fishing, but a disappointing day "catching"...Sorry, no pictures today. :(
by Capt Juls on 04/06/14
Sorry no pictures today.
The good news is, it was a great day to be on the water. The bad news is, we didn't get any fish. Marked a ton of them, but couldn't find one that wanted to bite.
There was no wind this morning, so there was skim ice everywhere. As it melted we started fishing off of Catawba Point. Marked some big fish, but nothing.
Headed over to Starve Island, where I had seen cleaner water from a drive around the point from my car the night before. There was too much ice, so I called up my buddy Gary Zart, and he said he had just sat down at Niagra and put two in the boat. He said the ice wasn't bad on the reef, water color was better, and there were only two boats there.
So, we headed over there, cutting through skim ice the entire way... and by the time we got over there there were already 7 or 8 boats trolling the area. We set in and put the lines out (only two of us in the boat, so we could only run four baits).
We made one pass and didn't mark much, so I headed back to Starve thinking that the higher sun might have melted the ice. It did, and the area was fishable, so we set the baits out again.
We trolled for hours over there marking fish from about 15 foot down to 42 foot down. We were targeting the higher fish. Nada!!
Ugh...thank goodness I had good company in the boat, because it made the disappointment bearable. lol
Looks like we have light winds for the rest of the week, so this mud will dissipate by the weekend.
The next charter is Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and all I can say is, I'd better start catching some fish!!
It was extremely frustrating today, but at least the cobwebs are being dusted out of my head.
The new Ranger ran like a dream with the ETEC on the back and I'm very very pleased with it. My HBirds need some tweaking, and some wiring looked at, but were not the reason we didn't catch any fish. lol
It was just one of those days.....deep sigh.
We'll get them next time.
Ramp Update...
by Capt Juls on 04/04/14As of today, docks are in at the ramps at Wild Wings, Turtle Creek, and Catawba State Park. Mazurik's is finally ice free, and I suspect the docks will go in soon there too.
Right now, as I type this, it's raining cats and dogs outside, and the wind is out of the south, but not blowing too hard though. The lake looked pretty nice when I drove through town earlier, and I couldn't see any ice for as far as I could see.
It's shaping up to be a great weekend to hit the water. I'm really looking forward to shaking the cobwebs off my brain and getting back to the business of entertaining and teaching folks how to troll for walleye. :)
Woot! Woot! Let the fun begin!!!!
Capt Juls
First Trip of the Season is Set For Sunday! Woot! Woot!
by Capt Juls on 04/03/14The marine forecast for tomorrow through Sunday...
.FRIDAY...EAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS BECOMING SOUTHWEST AND INCREASING TO 30 KNOTS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS. A CHANCE OF RAIN LATE. WAVES 1 TO 3 FEET. .FRIDAY NIGHT...SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 30 KNOTS BECOMING WEST GALES TO 35 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. WAVES 4 TO 6 FEET BUILDING TO 7 TO 10 FEET. .SATURDAY...WEST GALES TO 30 KNOTS DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 20 KNOTS IN THE AFTERNOON. WAVES 7 TO 10 FEET SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 5 FEET. .SATURDAY NIGHT...WEST WINDS 5 TO 15 KNOTS DIMINISHING TO LESS THAN 10 KNOTS. WAVES 2 TO 4 FEET SUBSIDING TO 1 FOOT OR LESS. .SUNDAY...SOUTH WINDS 10 KNOTS OR LESS BECOMING EAST. WAVES 1 FOOT OR LESS.
It's supposed to be sunny and mid to high 50's. But, of course, the temperature will be much colder on the water, since the water temp is only in the high 30's to low 40's right now.
I'm not sure we'll catch anything after all this wind, but I need to get the boat out for its maiden voyage, and Sunday looks like a good day to do that.
She's loaded up and gassed up...ready to go.
I drove through town this afternoon and didn't see any visible ice out in front of Port Clinton, and I think Catawba launch is open now, so we'll be launching there around 10am.
Good luck to anyone else going out this weekend!
I won't have the radio on, since it isn't installed in the boat yet.
Looking forward to getting back in the groove and putting some fish slime in the livewell. :)
Capt Juls
The Day Has Finally Arrived...Woot! Woot!
by Capt Juls on 03/31/14After a long hard winter, the day has finally...I'm going to go pick up the new Ranger from my dealer. In my book, it's the official day of spring for me. :)
My first charter is scheduled for this coming weekend, but wind forecasts, and late ice might keep us off the lake. I'll know by Wednesday and will let him know. I'm not going to push it though, because we have all season to fish. As anxious as I am to go fishing, here's no need to take unnecessary chances this early.
Last night's satellite picture shows the ice has made great strides disappearing.
http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/webdata/cwops/html/modis/modis.php?region=e&page=1&template=sub&image=a1.14089.1835.LakeErie.143.250m.jpg
The forecast for today is for light east winds, sunny, and a 62 degree temp. And, tomorrow's winds are going to be strong out of the South with more warm temps.
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?siteID=849&Isection=Forecast+Graphs®ionID=95
Cooler temperatures are expected towards the weekend, but are not so cold that we couldn't go fishing. It's the wind direction that concerns me most since there is floating ice out there. Once day it's pushed to this side of the lake and then the next it's on the other side. I wouldn't want to leave the ramp in the morning only to find that later in the day the floating ice moved in and blocked us from the ramp. That would be bad.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/port-clinton-oh/43452/daily-weather-forecast/1169
It's supposed to be sunny today, so I'm hoping we get to see another satellite picture this afternoon.
I'll post pictures of the new rig on Facebook later today. Have a great day everyone!
Capt Juls
10 More Days till the First Day of Spring!
by Capt Juls on 03/10/14It's the 10th of March, and I'm anxiously awaiting the 17th when my new Ranger boat will be finished. Hopefully, it will be in my driveway by the end of the month. I can hardly wait to have it here, so I can load it up and get her ready for fishing. I'm practicing patience, but it's getting more and more difficult. lol
This is always an exciting time of year.
Now, we just have to wait for the ice to go away. It's going to be warm today with strong SW winds, so maybe that will start to deteriorate the ice a bit (sorry ice fishermen!)
The ice fishermen have been doing very well this season. Many big fish are being caught, and I think they are making up for the lack of ice the past few years.
By Wednesday night we are expected to have an fresh 3-6 inches of a wintery mix on the ground....ugh. On the bright side though, the temps will rise again towards the end of the week, so that shouldn't stick around too long.
It's beginning to feel like winter is breaking and spring is on its way. We can only hope so. :)
Capt Juls
Random Thoughts...:)
by Capt Juls on 03/04/14Don't forget to set your clocks ahead on march 9th...spring is only 16 days away now! Woot! Woot!
Reservations are steadily coming in and I am looking forward to a fun season of fishing with each and every one of you. I appreciate the fact that many are return customers. That tells me I must be doing something right, and that just feels pretty darn GOOD! :)
I am expecting/hoping that my new boat will be sitting in the driveway by the end of the month and that Momma Nature will decide to stop having hissy fits, gets her act together, and brings us warmer weather soon. This winter has been too long!! It's time to change seasons already....deep sigh.
I am keeping an eye on the ice conditions and will let my first charter of the season (April 5th) know at least a week in advance whether or not it will be doable.
Come April 1st, If the ramps are open, and there is open water out there, it will be a "go". If there is still too much ice on the lake, then it would be a "no go" situation. I'll keep you posted.
There are a couple new lures I am excited to try out this year. One is the new "Skinny Stick" from Reef Runner, that is supposed to give the early season favorite, the Deep Husky Jerk, a run for its money. And, a new spinner from Mepp's that might have some good results. I'll be looking forward to experimenting with both lures to see how they perform for us.
Anyway, stay warm and stay safe! See you soon! :)
Capt Juls
