Juls WFA Blog
Today's Trip was Rescheduled...
by Capt Juls on 05/15/13The alarm went off at 4:30 and I got up to check the weather. The conditions weren't positive, but I readied the boat anyway. I showed up at my customer's hotel a half hour early, with boat in tow, to find out if they still wanted to go. After discussing their options, they decided it was best to leave the deposit with me and reschedule for another date either in June or September.
Yesterday they fished with Captain Mike Knippenberg, who luckily had the day off to take them out since I had another charter already scheduled. Mike impressed them with his laid back and easy going style and put them on some fish. Thanks Mike for taking such good care of my new Wisconsin friends!
As I right this, it's 8:30 in the morning and it's the second thunderstorm to roll through. More are expected throughout the day, so it was a good call to stay on shore today. The winds are stronger than yesterday, so it has to be pretty rough out there...even though from shore it looks pretty calm. :)
They said it was a very positive experience and were looking forward to coming back.
FYI: My next charter is Sunday and Monday, so there won't be anymore blog updates until Sunday night.
Capt Juls
Fun day today...
by Capt Juls on 05/14/13I waited at Mazurik's launch this morning for my Father and Son charter of Steve and Jeremy Champman. They were running on schedule, but got delayed by a train and a school bus, that made many stops to pick up children. So, they were about 15 minutes late.
We launched and headed to the SE corner of Kelly's Island, but the "slop chute" was pretty rough, so I decided to change course and head up the west side of Kelly's to get around to the North side.
I hadn't been out for about 5 days due to my work schedule, and it being Mother's Day weekend, so we would be hunting for them and figuring out a program that would work today.
After setting up by the "Carpenter's Dock", we trolled a line to the East, staying in about 32 foot of water. After about a mile, I checked my facebook messages and found one from Zak Jobes telling me that he was in North Bay and there were nice "eaters" in there (3-5 pounds), and they were protected from the wind there. So, we pulled our lines and moved about a mile up from where we were trolling. Thanks Zak! :)
We set lines again with 1 oz inlines 30 back and 2oz Tadpoles 28 back. We were using purples and pinks with blades that had either chartreuse or pink antifreeze colors on the underside of the blades. Both of those leads/combos worked well today. Our speed was kept at 1.0-1.3mph.
We went 9 for 13 fish today and had a blast.
This was Jeremy's birthday present from his Dad, and he said he had the best time he's ever had on Lake Erie, and that he would be coming back with his wife. Saying, "she would love this, this is so much fun!"
Temps were chilly this morning, but it improved all day and was 74 when we got off the water. Tomorrow is supposed to be nearing the low 80's, so hopefully that will also improve the bite tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the winds are predicted to be even stronger tomorrow, and out of the West. Today they were out of the SSW.
There was a flotilla of boats trolling the shoal area, and some out by Gull Island Shoal too. I don't think anyone had a hot and heavy bite going on but I'm pretty sure everyone out there today caught a few fish. There is also an MWC tournament this weekend that a lot of my friends are fishing in, so I know they won't be talking much.
Time to play with the dogs and then hit the hay...I'll be back at it again tomorrow with two nice fellas from my home state....Wisconsin! :)
Good luck to all who get out tomorrow. Be safe!
Capt Juls
Wind the Past Two Days....
by Capt Juls on 05/13/13
Well, it blew for the past two days out of the Northwest and the lake is very muddy today. It's muddy, but it's not "chocolate milk". There wasn't a good satellite picture yesterday, due to the clouds, so I can't see where the good water is, but I would suspect it's in and around the islands.
You can usually find somewhere to fish after a blow like this.
I had a trip planned for 1pm-7pm this afternoon. But, the person who scheduled the trip, said his Father didn't want to fish today, because of the muddy water and cold temperature.
Unfortunately, the temps were at a chilly 32 degrees this morning and will rise to only a high of 57 by 3pm today. By Wednesday of this week it should be near 80 degrees.
I have a charter tomorrow morning and Wednesday morning, along with next Sunday and Monday, so today I will catch up on housework, lawn care, and exercising the dogs.
Sorry I do not have and fishing information for you today.
Enjoy your day...smile. :)
Capt Juls
Delayed Blog....Sorry! May 5th and 9th Fishing Trips...:)
by Capt Juls on 05/09/13It's been a hectic week and a half, so I haven't had time to keep up with my blog. I apologize for that. I didn't realize so many were reading it!
Between work at my night job, my Sister and Brother in Law visiting, and getting my gardens ready for the season, I only have been out twice since April 30th.
May 5th: John Butts, a Canadian professional angler who I've known for several years, came down to deliver a boat in Michigan and then took a trip out with myself and Bob Luellen (My boat insurance man from World Wide Marine).
We had a great time, but the wind was from the east and the bite was tough for everyone. At least that's what it was sounding like on the radio.
We managed to catch a couple fish and moved around to several spots trying to locate a bigger pod of fish. They just don't seem to be in the numbers that Lake Erie is known for anymore.
We ran the usual spinner program with pinks and purples and whites...same blades as my other trips (blogs) too.
________________________
May 9th: Today I fun fished with a facebook friend that answered my request for someone to fish with. We ran out of Catawba and headed up to the North side of Rattlesnake Island. We only marked a fish here and a fish there, and didn't get a bite, so we moved over to the area between Sugar Island and West Reef and didn't mark anything there either.
We set a line for the white house on the ferry dock on North Bass and gave up when we witnessed the only three other boats there getting on plane and leaving that area. That's never a good sign!
We then ran out to the line between North Bass and Middle Island and the water was super clear there. And, again, we didn't mark any fish there, so we just kept heading East to the East side of Middle Island.
We set up and trolled for awhile, but gave that up when all we caught were little white perch stealing our crawlers.
Next stop was Kelly Island Shoal. Again, really clear water and only a mark here and a mark there. We trolled for an hour and nothing but a white bass...sigh.
Another phone call and we found out my next stop at Starve Island was void of fish too! What the heck? All these fish couldn't have left the area yet. What's going on?
So, I decided to go see what was happening up by Green Island. After another long run (thank goodness the lake was like glass today), we found a pack of about 75 boats all fighting for position in one small area on the North side of Green Island. I was fun fishing today, so I decided not to play bumper boats with the crowd and kept heading West out to D Can. We marked a few more fish than we had anytime previously, and we set our crawler harnesses out.
1 oz inline 33' back took a nice 4 pounder and a 2oz Tadpole 30 back took a nice 6 or 7 pound fish. Our speed most of the day was at 1.0 but I decided to bump it up to 1.3mph and that's when we got our hits.
Our time was up too fast it seemed, and my dog's bladders needed to be relieved, so we packed it in and headed back to the launch.
It was a gorgeous day to be on the water today, but we could have used just a little more wind to help things along.
Thank you to John W. Thompson III for going fishing with me today. Your company was enjoyable. :)
So much to do and so little time it seems...I'll be out again this Saturday (fun fishing before work), but I have to work the Mother's Day Brunch at the CIC on Sunday. :(
I have a charter on Monday and Tuesday next week, so I hope to have better info for you then.
Capt. Juls
April 30th Fishing Report
by Capt Juls on 04/30/13
Steve Chapman and his buddy Mike arrived at my house at 8am this morning. I was already sitting in my truck waiting on them to arrive, so all they had to do was transfer their coats and personal items to my truck and jump in.
We launched out of Catawba State Park at 8:20am and headed for the East side of Rattlesnake Island.
The program was the same as yesterday:
Crawler harnesses with 1 oz inline weights 20-30' back.
#5 and #6 blades that had chartreuse or pink metallic undersides were the hot colors. My bead combos that were most popular were the Pink Lemonade combo and the purple/chartreuse combo.
Speed was 1.0.
Conditions today: Sunny, 70's, light SSW winds, water clarity in the Rattlesnake area was perfect today. Not too dirty and not too clean. :)
After I showed them how I like to have the crawlers hooked on the harnesses, how to operate the line counter reels, and put the Off Shore planer boards on the lines, we got our 6 lines out and were fishing by 8:45. We made a South to North trolling pass over 30' of water.
It wasn't long before we had a nice "eater" sized 5 pound fish on the line.
Mike was first up and reeling the fish in, and when we got it in the boat, they were both very excited at the size of it. I never get tired of hearing that...:)
After a few pictures and resetting the line, it wasn't long before there was another fish on an outside board.
Now, things get a little more exciting since neither one has ever trolled with inline boards before, and I had to quickly explain about clearing the two inside lines and what to do with them while the third person reeled in the outside board.
Both of them listened and did a great job...we netted a nice 8 pound fish. Now, they were really excited about trolling.
You have to understand...I fished with Steve and his brother Chuck last spring and they told me they only liked to jig, so we went jigging that day. This spring, I told Steve when he called that the jigging bite was over and that he would have to go trolling with me. He didn't mind, but didn't sound to excited about it either.
After that second big fish, he was converted and said, "I like trolling, this is a lot less work and the fish are bigger". (A lot less work for HIM that is..I just make it look easy...heheh)
After a turn and making a North to South pass over the fish, we didn't catch a thing, so I told them to bring the lines in and we would run up to the starting point again and reset the lines.
Once we were fishing again, we went a little ways and had a board go back, but it got off. A little further and I see a board go back and the fish let go right away, so I figured it just grabbed the crawler's butt end and I quickly grabbed the reel to let the line out about 5 feet, and then engaged the spool again. It worked...the fish grabbed it and this time it was hooked pretty good.
They were both impressed with that little trick and we netted a nice 6 or 7 pound walleye.
A little further in our pass and we hit a quad...four fish hooked up, but we only managed to get 3 in the boat.
Two fish to go and we tried the other direction again and caught one on the turn (fast side) on the inside board.
One fish to go...(or, should have been)
All three of us miscounted them as they went in the livewell and we finished with one fish short of a two man limit. They didn't even care, because that was more walleye meat in the cooler than either of them has ever had before. :)
Note to self....start using the perch counter to count fish as they go in the livewell. D'Oh!
It was a super fun day and the weather was perfect. It's going to be nice throughout the weekend, so I hope everyone gets a chance to go fishing and experience some of the fun we have been having.
Good luck to you all!
Capt Juls
April 29th Fishing Report...
by Capt Juls on 04/29/13With a little nudge from Gary Zart, I opted to run crawler harnesses today instead of crankbaits. It turned out to be a great decision. :)
I picked up Dan, Eric, and Dan's two Golden Retrievers this morning at 7am from the Holiday Village Resort, and we headed over to the Catawba State Park ramp to launch.
It was warmer than the day before, and the rains had finally stopped, but it was pea soup fog on the lake. No worries though, since we have the latest Humminbird GPS and Sonar technology packed into a 10" screen in my dash. We got up on plane, but took it real slow, because we only had a 1/4 mile visibility (if that).
With the boat headed for Rattlesnake Island, we just chatted a bit and I found out that Eric is a musky fisherman, but had never caught a walleye before.
As soon as we came off plane, a black bird landed on my Terrova. It was obviously tired and lost, since it was too foggy to see any land, and needed to rest for a bit. I told it that it could have 5 minutes, as I needed my trolling motor to start fishing. Shortly after, it flew off. Unfortunately, I saw one bird dead in the water. The poor thing had run out of gas before it could find one of the islands. :(
The pressure was on now. I had to do everything possible to make sure Dan and Eric could experience Lake Erie when she's in a good mood. I wasn't to be disappointed. She produced in a good way.
We were running 1 oz inline weights 20-30 back...with 27 being a "magic" number for some reason. That number caught the most fish. Speed was .9-1.0
The color blade that worked best for us was "Monica" (dark purple with chartreuse dots on the outside and the underside was painted chartreuse.
Their two man limit was in the boat by 11:20.
Dan asked Eric, "So, do you like walleye fishing now?" Eric replied, "It's righteous...it's pretty bad ass!". We all laughed and agreed.
When the fog lifted and we could see the islands we were fishing by, it made their day. Dan and Eric enjoyed themselves immensely and said they would be back for more.
I look forward to fishing with these two gentlemen again. They were a lot of fun, and Dan's dogs were so well behaved, I forgot they were even in the boat! :)
Well, that's all for now. Time to hit the hay and do it again tomorrow.
April 28th Fishing Report
by Capt Juls on 04/28/13Fished the area just South of Green in the rain today with a brisk 15mph ESE wind...between Green and the Ferry Dock on Southbass Island. We pulled 5 nice walleye on Reef Runners 45-50 back at 1.5 mph. One came on a custom color Deep Husky Jerk back 60. Purple Demon and Pink Lemonade were our best colors today.
It rained pretty much all day long. There was one hour in the early afternoon where it had stopped. But, as I type this, I can hear the rain hitting the roof of my house. I sure hope it stops before tomorrow's charter. My rain gear is almost dry and I would like to keep it that way.
Mike, Sabrina, and Dion were terrific. Unfortunately, Dion and Sabrina didn't bring any rain gear with them, so they ultimately were soaked to the bone pretty fast. I don't know how they did it, but they wanted to stay out fishing and catch fish. So, we did.
They lasted the entire 6 hours and went home with a pile of fish that will make for a great fish fry with their family and friends.
Mike, who brought them down from MI with him said,
So that made my day. It's always nice to hear your efforts are appreciated. So, thank YOU Sabrina, Mike, and Dion for a great day on the water today. I can't wait to go fishing with the three of you again one day soon. I just hope it's warm and sunny for you next time. :)
Capt Juls
April 26th Fishing Report...
by Capt Juls on 04/28/13Sorry, not much to report on this day....other than fishing with two of the most entertaining fellas on the planet, the "catching" stunk for us.
We marked fish just about everywhere we went on Friday.
We started at Starve Island, then hit Kelly's, Gull, and West Reef. We slipped on down to Rattle and Green and then down to G-Can. Nothing! We just couldn't get them to bite on our offerings. The chatter on the radio, or the lack there of, was telling that other boats were not fairing well either.
We caught one white bass and that was it. I blame it on the full moon and the clear skies the night before....sigh. But, we all know that there is always someplace where the fish are biting on something. I just didn't figure out the where and what in time.
Gary Zart, of Blue Dolphin Fishing Charters, managed a limit using crawler harnesses. Leave it to Gary to be the first one on the lake to pull out the crawlers. Well done Mr. Zart! :)
Thanks Steve and Ron (Vetspet and Footdoc from Walleye Central.com) for a fantastic day of "fishing".
The flowers were a very nice surprise at the end of the day too!
I'll never forget that. :)
Capt Juls
Tuesday April 23, 2013 Fishing Report
by Capt Juls on 04/24/13Yesterday morning I was up at 4:30 making sure I had everything I needed for the days charter. My fishing partners for the day would be, Mark, James, and John. James and John drove in from Pittsburgh, I think.
I was in the Catawba parking lot at 6:30 and my guys showed up at 6:45am, as promised. We launched at 7am and headed straight out of Catawba to the spot I ended the day on Monday in. With the South winds blowing at 15mph it would be a South to North troll for us.
After a brief explanation on how to use the OST planer boards, my crew had the lines set and we were trolling. The 1198 marked some nice fish and we proceeded to troll over marks/icons from the day before. The fish hadn't moved...thankfully.
I have to learn to keep better notes, because I'm finding as I get older the details are harder to keep track of....especially, when we are having a great time! So, I'll just give you the most memorable moments and the program we used instead of a fish by fish blow by blow.
The program was the same as the day before:
Speed was 1.3-1.5mph.
Fish came on Deep Husky Jerks at 45-50 back in Purpledescent, Clown, Sunfish(?), Pink Glass, and Blue/Chrome.
Rogues were 85-90 back and run on the outside boards since they ran the highest in the water column. Blue/Chrome and Black/Chrome both took fish.
The same as the day before with one little exception...
Do you know how when you run a Deep Rattl'n Rogue at 85-90 back it's still running higher than a Deep Husky Jerk at 50 back?
Well, I always run my Rogues on the outside boards, because they are the highest running baits.
Anyway, at some point, James, who was becoming very adept at running the boards, setting lines, and paying attention to little details, decided that he wanted that blue/chrome Rogue on the inside, because it kept firing and it was much easier to bring the inside board in than the outside board. I felt I didn't need to watch his every move any longer, so I didn't pay attention when he did this little switch. And, I'm glad I didn't.
When the outside board fired again, he laughed and said, "That figures! I put the blue ones on the inside, so I wouldn't have to get that outside board again". It was the largest fish of the day, and I gave him a high five for it. As I set the line out again, I asked him how far back he had had it, expecting him to say, "50", and he said, "85". I chuckled to myself and said, "well done" after giving him a little ribbing about line distances and lure designs. :)
Chatter on the radio that morning was all 45-50 back on DHJs, so I announced that my novice troller accidentally came upon a new depth to try. After that, several announcements of fish being caught on Clown DHJ's 80 back came across the radio from other trollers. That made James smile.
We ended our 6 hour trip going 9 for 12 and three fish short of a three man limit. It seemed like when the wind died down around 12:30, the bite slowed down too. But, my guys were very happy with the day on the water that they had. They said they learned a lot, and had a lot of fun, and had 66+ pounds of fish to share between them. I'd say a 7 pound average was a pretty good day.
Oh, and before I forget, a friend had called me when I was getting off the water and told me that when the wind died down they started making sharp turns and getting fish to trigger on the slow side, when the baits would stall... then start moving again. So, the next time the bite seems to die with the wind, give that a try. It just might work for you too. I'm certainly going to try it. I don't think my turns were big enough... :)
Thanks Mark, James, and John...it was a genuine pleasure fishing with the three of you, and I hope to be able to do it again some day!
Monday April 22, 2013 Fishing Report
by Capt Juls on 04/24/13After attending the LEWT weigh in this past Sunday, I was almost discouraged about what kind of bite it would be for Monday and Tuesday. Some of the best sticks on the lake had zeroed and others struggled to get one or two fish in the boat.
It was a strong East wind on Sunday, and wasn't much better than the blow day they had cancelled on Saturday. Most complained about all the mud that was out there, but did say it looked like it was cleaning up pretty fast. That was hopeful news.
The forecast for Monday showed the winds diminishing by half, but would still be coming from the East at 10-14mph by the afternoon.
Monday morning arrived and the boat was hooked up and ready to go. My guys were coming from MI and we wouldn't be heading out until 10am. That was fine with me, because it allowed the air to warm up a bit.
Scott, Bill, and Jumbo were three very nice men who have never trolled before, let alone use Off Shore planer boards. I offered to do all the line setting, and they agreed to just reel in the fish.
They laughed and joked all day, so they made it a lot of fun for me.
At the end of the day they found that their three man limit would not fit in the tiny little cooler they had brought with them.
I suggested that they just put the walleye in standing on their heads, with the tails up, and hit up one of the many fish cleaning businesses in town.
That way, the fish would be cleaned and in a couple of bags, which would then fit in their cooler for the ride back to MI.
The program for Monday was pretty simple:
Straight out of Catawba about a 1/2 mile and a westward troll at 1/3-1.5mph.
Fish came on Deep Husky Jerks at 45-50 back in Purpledescent, Clown, Sunfish(?), Pink Glass, and Blue/Chrome.
Rogues were 85-90 back and run on the outside boards since they ran the highest in the water column. Blue/Chrome and Black/Chrome both took fish.
When the East wind picked up, along with the waves, the fish seemed to skedaddle from the line I was trolling, so I went one way and Pooh Bear (a popular capt on Lake Erie who I was chatting with all day) went the other way.
I went shallower and more west, and he went North and a little deeper. Luckily the fish had gone shallower, so I called Pooh over by me. We both finished out with our crews limits and had a very fun day on the water.
Thanks Scott, Bill, and Jumbo! :)
Capt Juls
Blog will be updated Wednesday morning...
by Capt Juls on 04/22/13Hi all,
I'm sorry I haven't been blogging, but I am dog sitting for a friend that is in MN fishing the NWT tourney on the Mississippi River in Red Wing.
I can't blog from my phone, and he doesn't have internet access at his house (I KNOW, right?) lol Just kidding Scotty!!
Anyway, long story short, it was a great day of fishing today, and I have another charter tomorrow morning, so I will be sure to get back home Wednesday morning to get on my computer to write the report.
I apologize for the delay, but have you ever tried to type a long report from an iPhone? It doesn't work. :)
I was able to get a couple pics on the site (page 4 of the photos) from today, so at least there is that.
Talk to you Wednesday! ;)
Capt Juls
Little Expectations Result in a Great Day!
by Capt Juls on 04/14/13Very early this morning, when I let the dogs out, I was pleasantly surprised to find the wind was calm to non existent. I knew I was up before my guests, who were staying in a very nice RV in my driveway, so I made sure not to wake them as I uncovered the boat and started my morning ritual of getting the boat ready for fishing.
Once they were up and about, we decided that launching a little earlier than we had decided would probably be the best bet, since an East wind was supposed to pick up in the early afternoon. We launched at 7:30 am out of Catawba State Park. It wasn't busy yet, so that was a relief. Easy launching and no wait for a change.
Without a satellite picture for over a week, and big winds from just about every direction, along with a lot of rain, my hopes of finding clean water were nil. I had explained to them that it might be a very tough bite today if we can't find any good water to fish. I really thought it would be a mud hole everywhere today.
I set a course for Green Island. I figured the water around the islands usually cleans up first, but as I got closer I saw two boats pick up and shoot out of there, so I figured there were either no marks, or the water was too dirty. "Hmmmm...well, I guess I don't have to keep going straight", I thought to myself....the question was, "Which way do I go?".
Knowing there were a lot of marks the last time I was out to the west of the islands, something in me kept turning my attention to the right, so I turned East. It's a good thing I did, because the water was the perfect color of "mixing" that I'm always looking for, and there were many good marks on the Humminbird too. It was loaded!
I asked my guests, Jim and Renee McEwen, if they had ever used in line planer boards before, and they said, "No, we usually just long line crawler harnesses out of the back of the boat". So, this was an opportunity to show them how to use the line counter reels and attach Off Shore boards to the lines, and set them out in "marching soldier" fashion.
They were very fast learners and I only had to show them once how to do it. Yay!
Now that they were all set up and ready to sit back and wait, I said, "Okay, we have pull them all back in now, so we can move up again and get where I want to be, and then we'll set them all back out again. Are you up for that?" (Of course they were)
After getting in line with a pass I wanted to make, they got their lines set pretty fast, and we were trolling again. It was about an hour and 15 minutes before we got the first fish on. It would turn out to be a nice fat 6 pounder caught on a Deep Husky Jerk 65 back. Best colors were the Pink/White glass, the Iridescent one (not sure of the name), and the Purple Perch.
Speed was dependent on whether we were going with the current, or against the current, and I was constantly changing it. So, I can't really give any set speed. I had just tested a lure at the side of the boat, going in both directions, and figured out what it needed to be to make the baits move in the "action" they were designed to make.
To make a long story short....this was a 4 hour trip, and we ended up with 6 nice walleye with the largest two going 30 inches and right in that high 10 pound to low 11 pound range.
Photos have been added to the photo album here on page 3, if you care to see them. :)
Conditions today were:
light South winds and cloud cover until about 10:45am. Then, an East wind at about 10mph started blowing and the bite slowed down. As we headed in at 11:15 it started to drizzle.
Waves were 1-2 feet
I'm hoping this warm weather this week helps get things going even more. I just hope the winds have decided to stop blowing for awhile. That would be nice.
I would like to thank Jim and Renee McEwen for a fantastically fun day on the water. I had an absolute blast fishing with you two today. :)
Capt. Juls
Back on the water...report back later today..:)
by Capt Juls on 04/14/13The wind and rain have finally stopped...for a day.
Jim and Renee McEwen want to give it a shot on the water today and see if we can find a few fish willing to eat in this dirty water.
Either way, I know it will be a fun day with these two good natured folks. Jim is a taxidermist on the side and we're hoping Renee lands a "fish Ohio" for him to mount for her.
All we can do is try out best...fingers crossed.
I made no promises of a "good bite", knowing all too well how tough it's going to be after a blow like we had this past week. But, they just want to get out and have some fun...........I can do that. :)
Have a great day everyone!
It was a Tough Bite Yesterday 4.6.13
by Capt Juls on 04/07/13
Well, I wish I had a better report for everyone, but it was a tough day of fishing for us yesterday, and for everyone else I think, if the chatter on the radio was true.
However, a group from Wisconsin that we met up with at a local eatery at the end of the day said that they lit up out by B can in the afternoon at around 3:30pm.
Unfortunately, my charter was over at 3pm and it was about 12 miles away from where we launched. Doh! lol
We only had one small "eater" that we got in the first half hour we were out yesterday morning... around 8am.
I texted Gary Zart, who was fishing somewhere close by, and told him what we caught it on, and how far back, and his clients caught nice 9 pounder on the same, a little while later. Then, he said he had to go in, because his clients were seasick. (ouch)
We searched all over for some active fish. We went from between G can and F can to over by Green...then took a swing by to see if the water was "good" by starved island....not.
Then, shot up to Northbass to see if there was good water and marks by West reef...not...
Started a troll NW of Rattlesnake towards C can....water was really muddy, but there were good marks...no takers...
Shot back down towards Green (clean water) and started a NW troll towards dirtier water....no "good" marks...looked more like perch (note to self ;)) and no biters.
Headed back to G can...to 20' of water (South of the muddy water) and trolled west.....nothing....sigh
Got a phone call and got some numbers to try....headed there and set up....trolled for the last half hour......nothing.
Jeff and Luke let their one fish go in ceremonial fashion and we headed in.
We had a great time on the water, even though we didn't get into them, and an even better time at dinner....lots of laughs. So, I was told by these two fun guys that the day was a total success for them. And, that made me feel better.
I'm happy they had a great time yesterday, but I really wish I would have gotten them on some big fish "biters'.
Well, like they said, if it was that easy, it would be called "catching" and not fishing. And, luckily, they know all to well, how it goes on the water sometimes, since they are well seasoned walleye anglers themselves, from Traverse City, MI.
So, it was a good day despite the lack of fish yesterday.
The wind was chilly most of the day and then it warmed up a bit when the sun came out and the winds subsided a little.
Then, out of the blue, and unpredicted, it switched and came out of the NNE around 2:30pm. That was a chilly wind again. We finished up at 3pm and went to get something to eat.
I'm hoping the weather becomes more stable really soon so the fish will be more cooperative the next time out. :)
What an AWESOME Weekend!!
by Capt Juls on 04/01/13Saturday, March 30th my friend, Scott Bogen, and I fished a tournament he was signed up for with his Dad.
His Dad couldn't fish it, so I filled in. We used my boat, since another friend of ours that was fishing the tournament hadn't taken delivery of his new boat yet, and he used Scott's boat instead.
Anyhooo....Friday we prefished all day and only caught a handful of 6-7 pound fish. We also lost a bunch of fish that just wouldn't stay hooked up.
We knew come tournament day that we had to find bigger fish to compete against a field of 50 teams that are all locals and hot sticks on Lake Erie.
It was a nice day Friday, and the forecast was looking even better for tournament day with a West wind of less than 5mph and becoming light and variable around noon. A lot of sunshine was expected too. Thank goodness the forecast was correct, because it was the best day on the water since last year.
The morning of take off, we knew where our number one spot was going to be, and we headed there.
The lake was calm and it made running easy, and it was one of the very few days on this lake where you can test out your wide open throttle.
When we neared our first location, close to Southbass Island, I said, "Geez, the lake looks calm", and Scott replied with, "I've never seen it look like a pond before". But, after we entered that "calm" water, we realized it wasn't "calm like glass" as we thought, but skimmed over with a layer of ice!
We slowed the boat and decided we had better move to plan B, as the planer boards would have a hard time moving through the ice field and the lines would most assuredly be damaged or cut.
We decided to wait until the hot sun coming up melted the ice, so we moved back towards F and G cans and set up our first trolling pass.
We hadn't gone a 1/2 mile and we hooked into one. She was a healthy 7 pound fish that we managed to get into the boat. While it took the skunk out of the livewell, we knew it wasn't a winning type of fish. We had to catch bigger ones to compete with this field of anglers.
After putting a nice 9 pound fish in the boat on the second pass, we did the one thing most tournament anglers never do..."Leave fish to find fish".
However, we knew what was in our first choice of a spot if the water conditions were good, so we pulled our lines and headed over there. Luckily it was only a 5 minute boat ride from where we were. So, if the conditions were not to our liking, or we didn't mark any fish there, we could always run back and not lose that much time in the process.
When we got to our original spot and set the lines, neither one of us was feeling all that confident in the conditions, but neither one of us had said anything. We were marking fish, so that encouraged us a little more, but the water clarity was cleaner, and the water temps colder, than where we were before.
After trolling for about 20-30 minutes with nothing, we hooked up with the third fish of the day and it was another pig. It was just shy of 10 pounds, so we put her in the livewell too.
Now we just needed two more to make a limit and one more to upgrade that 7 pound fish we caught early on.
After catching another big fish, we were talking and found out that neither one of us had good feelings about the spot when we originally got there, but that feeling had now changed. We both laughed.
The next fish would come unbottoned half way in, and the next one would be another fish just under 10 pounds. We now had our limit of 5 fish to weigh in and now we just needed to upgrade that smaller fish.
We still had a lot of time to fish, and ended up catching that upgrade a 1/2 hour before we had to head back to the launch site.
That would end up being our last fish of the day.
Unfortunately for the fellas in Scott's boat, who were fishing by us all day, they would end the day with zero fish, making it a very long day for them.
They had us scratching our heads, because they were doing the exact same program as Scott and I.
And, anyone that has ever spent an entire day watching other people catch fish, when you're not, know exactly how they felt.
And, anyone that has ever spent an entire day watching other people catch fish, when you're not, know exactly how they felt.
Scott and I finished in 6th place out of 50 teams and were only one of 12 limits brought to the scales that day. Our program was running deep husky jerks (size 12's) in the "Sexy Shad" and "Blue/Chrome/Orange belly" colors 60-90 back.
After we got back to my house to put the boat to bed and take some pictures of the big fishies, we celebrated with a couple of steaks on the grill and a couple of cold beers to end a spectacular day of fishing for us.
Thanks Scotty for asking me to fish this event with you! I had an absolutely fantastic time, and the memory of that day will stay with me forever. :)
April 6th is my first official charter of the season, and I hope the weather is fishable, because I love fishing with these two gentlemen who fished with me last year, and I want to put them on fish like we had this past weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed that Momma Nature stays in a good mood! :)
First Time On The Water 2013!!!
by Capt Juls on 03/24/13Well, after cancelling last weekend's fishing trip due to unfavorable NE winds and cold water temps, we were finally able to get the new Ranger on the water yesterday for a few hours. She ran like a champ. I just need to tweak a few things and she'll be ready to go for the season.
We set out yesterday morning, with frost on the windshield, in search of some cleaner water. Northwest winds that blew earlier in the week had churned up the water near shore, turning it a muddy brown color, and too muddy for a good bite.
As we traveled out a few miles, the water started to clean up, and we stopped to check the sonar reading on the Humminbird to see if there were any fish below us. There wasn't. We concluded the water was too clean where we stopped, and the water temps were colder than the fish wanted, so we moved back in towards the mixing water, where it wasn't too clean and it wasn't too dirty, and found a pod of fish stacked up there. Now, we just had to see if they were biting.
After setting lines and trolling for about 20 minutes, we hooked into our first walleye of the season. She was a nice fat 8 pound female full of eggs. After taking a few pictures of her we let her go back in the water to live on and spawn. We would catch one more for the day and lose one big one.
We were only out for a few hours, because I had to work in the afternoon and we were hungry and decided to go have some Mexican food for lunch. :)
I cannot give you any of the information yet, since my fishing partner and I are fishing the LEWT event out of Fenwick next Saturday and I have been sworn to keep my mouth shut until the event is over. Ha! That's easier said than done, but I will bite my tongue until then.
It was a great feeling getting back on the water again. The sun was warm and shining most of the day, and the north wind stayed below 10mph. It was a perfect day to get the cobwebs and cabin fever removed from my head. :)
The next report will come after the tournament on Saturday March 30th, so stay tuned....and, wish us luck!!
Capt Juls
Maiden Voyage was a No Go....
by Capt Juls on 03/18/13Had the guys over for a homemade breakfast of fresh buttermilk biscuits warm from the oven with yummy sausage gravy.
We talked about the NE wind that was blowing and the chilly temps and decided that it was better to hold off for another week and try again this coming Saturday.
Spent the day instead making crawler harnesses for the upcoming season.
So, sorry, there is nothing to report yet, but stay tuned! Hopefully, there will be a report Saturday afternoon. :)
Maiden Voyage Planned for Sunday 3/17/13
by Capt Juls on 03/14/13The sun is shining today and I am getting excited to get on the water this coming Sunday. The winds are predicted to be less than 10 out of the north, which isn't the best after a big blow out of the NW, but we'll give it a whirl.
The water is a bit muddy, but there will be some clean water in different areas around the Western Basin.
I'm hoping to see a satellite picture this afternoon, if the clouds stay away long enough for a picture to be produced. That will tell us where the best place to start fishing is.
We will be looking for the mixing water that is not to clean and not too dirty. The dirtier the water the more lockjaw the fish will tend to have.
The mixing water will be warmer than the clean water and will be holding the most active fish, or at least that is the rule of thumb we go by. While there will be fish caught jigging on the reefs, we are planning on running cranks off of Off Shore Tackle's in line planer boards to search out the big females who are staging outside of the reefs, and will venture onto them when the water is a bit warmer (42-46*).
The females will be greeted by the male of the species that anxiously await their arrival. The males will beat them up with their tales to make the females drop their precious cargo (eggs).
We can only hope for a good spawn this spring, as last year's was just over a normal spawn average, and while that is good, it doesn't load the lake up with big populations like we have had in the past.
Momma Nature needs to give us a break for a change...:)
So, keep your fingers crossed for clear skies this afternoon and decent weather on Sunday.
I'll report back with a fishing report Sunday night...good or bad.
Capt Juls
The Days Are Getting Warmer!
by Capt Juls on 03/07/13It's March 7th, 2013.... there is still some ice along the southern shores of Lake Erie. Ice is blocking the channel between the mainland and the Bass Islands too, but the lake is pretty much opened up to the west, north, and east.
The weather this weekend is supposed to warm up into the high 40's and low 50's. A good south wind is expected on Sunday and will help push that ice out, and help start opening up some ramps around here.
I received a message the other day that they are already starting to fish on the very western end of the lake where it is ice free now, and they are catching fish.
It won't be long until we can start posting some fishing reports here, so stay tuned!
She's Ready to Catch Some Fish!
by Capt Juls on 02/25/13Well, the boat is rigged and ready to fish thanks to the help of my friend, Scott Bogen, who whipped my boat into shape with the plethora of new toys that needed to be installed.
There are still a few items that need to be installed yet, but as far as being able to efficiently catch fish, she's ready to go.
I still need to add the tracks for the Bert's Trolling Trees, and the tracks and power ports for the Cannon Down Riggers, but it won't be long until that is all done too.
It was a beautiful day today, and the sun was shining warmly on my skin while I puttered around and did some odds and ends in the boat.. Tomorrow, we are expecting a mix of rain turning to snow with a total accumulation of 6 inches by Thursday....sigh. I'm so ready to be done with winter now. Ya hear that Momma Nature? I'm done with it already!!
Come on Spring!!! :)
