Nothing but Fog

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 40s. The fog was so thick that the visibility was only 50 feet for the whole day. We heard that it was a nice day on land (sunny and in the upper 50s). The wind was out of the east northeast 10 to 14 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 48 degrees. We started fishing just out side of Bolles Harbor in 14 feet of water, just wasting time waiting for the fog to lift. Caught a few small perch and we realized the fog was going to hang around for a while so we decided to head for the E buoy area. Fished there for 15 to 20 minutes without a bite so we made some moves into shallower water, without any luck. By this time we were close to the swamp so that is where we ended up for the day. The bite was slow but at least we caught some nice fish. Kept 16 perch for the day. The fog made for an interesting ride back to port and after a few attempts we made it back OK. This should be the last trip from a boat for this year.

Slooow Day on the Water

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the southwest 5 to 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 48 degrees. We started out fishing in the swamp where we have been fishing the last couple of weeks. Made 7 moves in there and we caught some fish but not enough to keep us there. From there we headed out to the Toledo Light House where we found dirty water so we made a move towards the E buoy. Did not do any good in this area so we moved into shallower water in front of Toledo Beach Marina. Nothing to report from there so we moved in front of Bolles Harbor and caught nothing, again. Kept 5 perch for the day.

This Is It

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the mid 40s and when we quit it was in the upper 40s. The wind was out of the northwest 20 to 25 knots and the waves were less than a foot. It sure is nice fishing close to shore. We fished in 10 feet of water in front of the marina. We started catching some nice fish but after an hour the bite just quit. We stayed there a little while and then we moved to the point at Toledo Beach Marina in 10 ft. of water and finished out the day there. Kept 50 perch for our last trip of the year. The largest fish was 11 1/2 inches and we had 21 over 10 inches. Another nice catch and a great way to finish off the fishing season. We now have to winterize the boats and wait for next year. After it's all said and done, we had a pretty good year on the water. Now it's a matter of fishing off docks or hard water, unless I can find a small boat to use for a couple of weeks.

The October Chill

Fished with Daryl and John H. Temperature this morning was 31 degrees and by the time we quit fishing it was in the middle 40s, it felt like December weather. The wind was out of the west northwest at 10 knots (which made for a wind chill) and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 54 degrees. Fished the same area that we have been fishing. The bite was steady but the only problem was keeping our hands warm, one of the coldest perch fishing trips from a boat that I can ever remember. We kept 90 perch today with the largest being 12 1/2 inches. It was cold even in the fish cleaning station.

Doug's Birthday Trip

Fished with Captain Doug Sowa and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 50s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots and the waves were 1 to 2 feet. Started fishing where we left off Tuesday and we caught some fish but the anchor would not hold. After a hour of fighting the anchor we decided to head back to marina and get the anchor off Daryl's boat, that did the trick. Went back to where we left off and were catching some nice fish but not very many so we made a move closer into shore. Fished in 7 feet of water for a half hour and only caught one fish so we made another move towards deeper water. That did not work out so we moved to where we fished 10 days ago. Very few fish there so we went back to our original spot, the spot that we should have never left. The catching was good but not what we expected. Kept 53 perch between 7 1/2 inches and 12 1/2 inches.

Cold and Windy Again

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. The wind was out of the south 10 to 15 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 57 degrees. Started fishing where we left off yesterday. Caught a lot of fish but we had to sort through them today and they were not as large as yesterday. As long as we were catching fish I was not going to move. Never leave fish to try and catch larger fish. Kept 60 perch between 8 and 11 1/2 inches but only 4 of them were over 10 inches.

Best Catch of the Year

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40s and by the time we quit fishing it was in the upper 50s. The wind was out of the west around 15 knots with waves less than a foot because we were less than a mile off shore. When we arrived at Toledo Beach Marina this morning there was no hi-lo driver to put the boat in the water. We had to wait 1 1/2 hours for someone to show up so we were off to a slow start. Once we were on our way we headed back to where we fished yesterday. Today the fish were a little bit larger and a lot more aggressive. Every time I would start the motor and let it run the fish would just turn on and it was non stop action. We both had a lot of fun today. Kept 97 perch between 8 and 11 1/2 inches.

Cold and Windy Again

Fished with Joe. John H. could not make it today. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 50s. The wind was out of the west southwest around 20 knots. Because we were fishing only a mile off shore the waves were around a foot. Fished close to where we were the last trip but only a little closer to shore, in 9 feet of water. The water was a little dirty from all the high winds from this last week. Caught a lot of fish but we had to sort through them today. Kept 52 perch between 7 3/4 and 11 1/2 inches.

Felt Like Winter

Fished with Captain Daryl and Dale. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the west southwest around 10 knots with waves less than a foot. With the cool temps and the wind it made for a very cold morning. Started fishing right out in front of the beach. We caught a few fish but not enough to keep us in this area. After a few moves here we headed out to our hot spot, which is a 10 mile ride. When we arrived there the water was very dirty. After half an hour and only 1 perch we decided to head back to the beach and finish out the day. Got a report from a good friend that they were catching fish on the Michigan side of Turtle Island so we headed out there. The fishing was steady and the fish were all about the same size so it made for an enjoyable day on the water. Kept 79 perch between 8 and 10 1/2 inches with most of the fish around 8 1/2 inches.

We Lost Our Touch

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind in the morning was out of the northeast at 15 knots which meant we had 3 foot waves for the ride out to the Turn Around Buoy( 11 mile ride ). About 10:00 AM the wind laid down to 5 knots and so did the waves. We just dropped the lines and the first fish was a 11 inch perch and we thought we were in for a good day. Well, it was all down hill from there. We moved a couple of times in this area without much more luck so we went to the north side of Sputnik and only caught a few more fish. Decided to go back to our hot spot and we caught a lot of white perch, sheepshead and 4 more perch. It was getting late so we called it a day. Kept 17 perch between 8 and 11 inches.

First Day of Autumn

Fished with Mike (Hi-Lo driver from the beach ). Temperature this morning was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the west southwest about 10 knots with waves around 1 foot. The water temp is 68 degrees. Started fishing 1/4 mile southwest of the Turn Around buoy. We never left this spot but maybe we should have. The catching was just good enough to keep us there and then about 10:00 AM the bite just quit for us. Took about half an hour for it to start again so maybe we should have moved. Kept 30 perch between 8 and 10 inches but most of them were about 8 1/2 inches.

Last Day of Summer

Fished with Big Booth. Temperature this morning was 70 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s, summer time weather. The wind was out of the southeast less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 68 degrees. Started fishing by the N buoy and only caught one small perch so we moved out to the number 13 buoy. Had a few bites but no keepers so we headed out to our hot spot from last year. For the second trip in a row we caught no fish there. Moved 4 miles to the northwest and started to catch some fish. The catching was slow and the size was not very large but at least we were catching some fish and not riding around the lake. Talked to Daryl on the radio and they were fishing just west of the Turn Around Buoy and they had 35 keepers and they were still fishing. On the ride back to port we were hammered by a rain storm but by the time we arrived at port the storm was over. We kept 25 perch between 7 3/4 and 10 inches.

Super Slow Day

Fished with Daryl and Dave(from TBM). Dave was going to go fishing by himself so we invited him to ride along with us. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was out of the northwest in the morning at 10 knots with waves just over a foot and by the time we quit fishing the wind was out of the west at 5 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 72 degrees. Started fishing at our hot spot and only caught a few dinks. Made 3 moves in this area and nothing else happened so we moved into Breast Bay( middle numbers 53/ 13 ). Caught some fish but they were not very large so we headed out to buoy number 5 on the shipping channel. Only caught some dinks there so we went to buoy number 13 on the channel. Had some bites and caught a few small fish but the catching was very slow so we called it a day. Kept 9 perch between 8 and 8 1/2 inches.

09-11-09, Busy Day On The Water

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the southeast rotating to the east less than 7 knots. The waves were less than 6 inches and the water temp is 69 degrees. The algae bloom was pretty bad within the first 4 miles leaving the harbor but we were heading out to our hot spot so it did not matter for us. Our fishing spot is 2 1/2 miles north of the shipping channel. We were just fishing having a good time when we noticed this ship coming towards us. We were way out of the channel so we thought we were OK. As the ship was approaching us we noticed she left the channel and was taking a short cut to the Raisin River Channel and we were in her way. Most of the boats left the area because they were in its path but we stayed put. I cannot believe that this ship was going to drive through a small pack of boats perch fishing to make her route a little bit shorter but she sure did. The ship passed within 75 feet of us, close enough to throw a rock and hit it. Unbelievable. After it passed you could see where it was churning up the bottom from all the muddy water behind it. Anyways, we were fishing and the catching was pretty slow. Made 4 moves but we stayed in the general area. The talk on the radio was that fishing was very slow, so we did not bother to move too far. On the way back to the harbor we were pulled over by the United States Border Patrol. They were just wondering where we were headed and where we came from, must of been 9-11 related. Talked to them for about 5 minutes and away we went. Kept 35 perch today between 8 and 13 inches but most of the fish were 8 1/2 inches.

Larbor Day Weekend, Monday

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was only in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the northeast around 10 knots and the waves were any where between 1 to 2 foot. The water temp is 68 degrees. The weather report called for light rain all day but we didn't see any of it. When we got to the bait store they were out of shiners but Joe (the owner), said that the minnow truck was on it's way. We only had to wait 5 minutes and we had some fresh bait so it was worth the wait. We headed out to the same spot that we fished on Saturday and we never had to move. The fish were not as large as we had hoped for but at least we caught some nice keepers. Kept 67 perch between 8 and 11 inches.

Labor Day Weekend, Saturday

Fished with Captain Doug Sowa. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was out of the north less than 5 knots with no waves at all on the lake and just enough breeze to keep the bugs away. Water temp is 69 degrees. On the way out to our fishing spot we saw a pack of boats halfway between Turtle Island and the Toledo Light House so we went over there to give it a try. Stayed there about 20 minutes and only caught a couple of small perch so we went out to the number 13 buoy on the shipping channel. Spent about 45 minutes there with only some small perch so we made the move to our hot spot from last year (41 51 900 / 083 11 070). Started catching fish right away - we still had to sort through them to keep what we had, but at least we caught some nice perch. Kept 42 perch between 8 and 11 inches. Our only problem was that once we found the fish we just ran out of time to fish for them. Today was just another beautiful day to be on the water.

Labor Day Weekend Fishing

Fished by myself today. It was just to nice to stay around the house. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when I quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the northeast at 5 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 69 degrees. Started fishing by the number 13 buoy on the shipping channel and I never had to move. The perch today were all about the same size, just over 8 inches. Only a few were over 9 inches. Kept 30 perch and called it a day. Sure was a beautiful day on the water.

Day Three of Perch Jerkin

Fished with Uncle Dan. The temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was out of the northeast 5 to 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 70 degrees. We headed back to the number 11 buoy because we did so well there yesterday. Today the fishing was not as good, could have been the water( little more cloudy) or that the bait store had smaller shiners. We caught a lot of fish but the size was a lot smaller. I made the decision that since we were catching fish and some of them were keepers that we were not going to move. We kept 50 perch between 8 and 11 1/2 inches and the majority of them were 8 inches. Talked to a couple of boats that were fishing in close and they came back with very few perch and the ones that they caught were small.

The Making For a Great Perch Year

Fished with captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. Just another nice day on the lake. The wind was out of the northeast 5 to 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is still 70 degrees. We started fishing by the Toledo Light House and made 3 moves in that area with out any luck, only caught some small perch. Made a move out to the number 11 buoy and fished the south side of the buoy and we never had to move again. Once we were on the fish it was non stop action, but again we had to sort through the fish. Today we caught a lot more white perch, silver bass and sheep head, but we also caught larger perch. Kept 67 perch between 8 and 11 1/2 inches.

Perch Season 2009

Fished with Doug Sowa. Temperature this morning was 46 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60s. The wind was out of the northeast 5 to 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 70 degrees. Started fishing by the Toledo Light House on this side of the ditch and we never had to move. We caught a lot of fish and had to sort through them to keep what we did, but it made for a fun day of perch fishing. Kept 45 perch between 8 and 10 inches with most of them in the 8 inch range. We picked up our bait at Lake Erie Party Store and Joe had some nice shiners, which are now $3.50 per scoop.