Enjoy Karen's Current Favorite Song

Good bye boat

Winterized the boat today with Joe's help. Temp this morning was in the mid 30s but the sun came out and it warmed up to the middle 50's with a light breeze out of the southwest. Changed the oil in main motor and the kicker motor and the lower units of both motors. Greased the steering on the main drive and the lower unit of the main motor. Also ran 3 1/2 gallons of red pop through the main engine. Next year I need a new gasket for the engine oil drain plug for the kicker motor and I also found a leak on the reservoir for the trim taps that has to be fixed before launch. Next fishing trip will be off the docks.

Last Boat Trip of the Season

Took the day off work and fished with Joe and John H. Today's temp only made it to the lower 50s. The wind was out of the Northwest about 15 knots with waves about 2 feet.

Started fishing by the S buoy and caught a few small perch so we decided to head out to our honey hole. I followed the shoreline up the lake before we headed out to deeper water and the ride was not too bad. Started to catch some nice perch and then the white perch moved in and that was all that we were catching so we moved about a 100 feet. Same thing happened again so we picked up and moved. Same thing happened again so we called it a day. The perch were there, just the white perch were more aggressive.

Kept 29 perch between 7 3/4 and 11 inches for the last trip of the season. Will winterize the boat Sunday.

Summer in October

Fished with Captain Daryl and his friend Dale before work. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and by mid-day, it broke the record with a high of 90.

Winds were light out of the Southwest with no waves again today. With high expectations, we headed to the same spot we fished yesterday. Fishing was slow compared to yesterday. We moved three times in the same general area, trying to find some fish. Kept 48 perch between 7 3/4 and 10 inches. Not the catch we were hoping for, but at least we caught something!

Next Planned Trip: Friday 10/12/07 with John H. and Joe P.

99 Yellow Perch on the Table!

Fished with Joe. John H. could not make it fishing today. Temp this morning was in the upper 60s and by the time we quit fishing it was in the mid 80s, and it's October!

Tried to buy our bait at Lake Erie Party Store but he lost power last night and all of his bait died so he sent us to Matthew's Bait, just down the road. They had shiner's but the count was not as good as Lake Erie Party store.

There was no wind today so we had no waves, and I do mean it was flat. Most of the lake had a major algae bloom because of the warm temps and the flat water.

Went to the S buoy and tried fishing there for awhile without any luck, so we decided to head out to our hot spot that we have been fishing the past three weeks ( 41 51 900 / 083 11 070 ) and boy was it hot! The past few weeks we've been catching as many white perch as yellow perch but today we caught mostly yellow perch. The fish we caught today were between 8 and 12 inches and most of them were around 9 inches. We Kept 99 perch for the day. Too bad we only have 1 more week to fish from the boat.

Next Planned Trip: Monday 10/08/07, with Daryl before work.

Another Nice Catch!

Fished with Daryl this morning before work. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and by mid-day it was in the upper 70's. The wind was light out of the Southeast with waves less than a foot.

We went back to the spot we have fished the past several times, and the fish are still there. Still caught a lot of white perch but the average size of the yellow perch has increased. Action was steady all morning. Kept 74 perch between 8 and 11 1/2 inches, with over 2/3 of the fish over 9 inches.

Received a report that they are starting to catch fish at the S Buoy but haven't checked it out yet. Plan on doing so Sunday.

Next Planned Trip: Sunday 10/07/07 with John H. and Joe.

Daryl's Birthday Catch!!

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the mid to lower 40's and it warmed up to the 60's. Winds were variable out of the East and South 5-10 knots. Waves were about 1 foot.

Fished the same spot we fished Monday and Thursday and another spot about 50 feet away. Even though we were catching so many white perch, we didn't want to leave the area because the yellow perch were so nice. We caught as many white perch as we did yellow perch. I don't know why we caught so many white perch today.

The fish were a bit larger today than what we had been catching. The average size today was approximately 9 inches. We kept 60 perch between 8 inches and 10 1/2 inches. Lake Erie Party Store had really nice shiners again today.

Next Planned Trip: Thursday 10/04/07 With Daryl before work.

Fun Before Work

Fished with Daryl today before work. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's and by the time we quit fishing it was only in the upper 60's. The wind was out of the Northwest around 10 knots with waves about 1 foot. Picked up our shiners at Lake Erie Party Store as they still had nice ones.

Headed out to where we had fished Sunday and Monday ( 41 51 900 / 083 11 070 ). Started catching fish immediately and never had to move. Kept 70 fish today between 7 3/4 and 11 1/2 inches. It seemed like a summer day including a mayfly hatch and being bitten by mosquitoes as we cleaned the fish.

Only two more weeks to get in some fishing before we have to winterize the boats and the marina closes for the season.

Next Planned Trip: Saturday, 09/29/07 with Daryl.

The Dirty Dozen

Fished with Daryl before work today - oops! Went on strike today.

Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and by the time we quit at 1:00 pm, it was in the lower 80's. Wind was light out of the Southeast with waves less than a foot.

Started fishing where we left off at yesterday, thinking we would do as well today. We caught nothing at that spot today. Moved around the area 4 or 5 times and picked up one fish. Saw a pack of boats North of McDonalds, so we headed over there. Nobody was catching any fish and neither did we. We headed off to the Northeast about 4 miles and fished some old waypoints - still nothing. Went back to the first spot.

Ended up with a grand total of twelve fish between 8 and 10 1/2 inches. Still haven't figured out why the fish turned off today, although some of them were full of wigglers.

Next Planned Trip: Maybe Friday, 09/28/07.

First Day of Fall

Fished with Joe today. Doug S. decided to fish with his Dad. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40's and by the time we quit, it was in the lower 70's. Wind was out of the Northeast 10-12 knots, with waves 1-2 ft.

On the way to the water intake we stopped at Buoy 17 and 18 to fish without any luck. Continued on to the water intake. Moved around the area about three times and decided to head toward Sputnik. Fished a mile southeast and only caught a few small fish. We decided to head a half mile north of Sputnik where there was a small pack of boats - Still Nothing! Made a move to the northeast about 4 miles where we fished a couple weeks ago as there was a large pack of boats there - Again Nothing! On the way back to the marina we stopped at one of the waypoints we had fished last year ( 41 51 900 / 083 11 070 ) and finally started catching fish. Fished there for a little over an hour and kept 60 perch, between 7 3/4 and 10 1/2 inches.

Next Planned Trip: Monday 09/24/07 before work with Daryl.

A Tough (and Rough) Day Fishing

Perch fished with Daryl before work. Temp in the morning was in the lower forties and it warmed up to the lower seventies. Winds were out of the southeast 15-18 knots, with waves 2-3 ft.

Fished a mile southeast of Sputnik ( 41 48 800 / 083 12 500 ), which is about 300 yards off Buoy 3. Even out this far, the water was slightly stained. We were catching a few fish until the last hour, when they just shut off. We kept 19 perch for the between 7 3/4 and 9 3/4 inches.

On the way back in we saw the Coastguard, so I flipped on Channel 16. There was a request for all boaters to help in a Search and Rescue for a boater who had fallen overboard two hundred yards offshore, between TBM and South Otter Creek. We participated in the search until we had to leave for work. As far as I know, according to a news report, the boater was still missing when they called off the search due to darkness.

Next Planned Trip: Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007 with Joe P. and Doug S.

A Good Day Perch Fishing!

Perch fished with Daryl before work today. Temperature was in the lower 60's this morning and the wind was blowing out of the Northeast 10-12 knots. Waves were around 2 feet. Weather improved greatly as we were fishing, the sun came out, the wind and waves died down and it warmed up to the mid-seventies.

Made a pass to the E buoy but the water was dirty so we headed out to Sputnik. Tried a few spots around Sputnik without any luck, so we headed out to where we were fishing last weekend ( 41 52 570/083 08 330 ), and we started catching fish. Nothing real big, but enough to keep us in that spot. We kept 50 perch between 7 3/4 and 10 inches, with most of the fish around 8 1/2 inches.

Next Planned Trip: Monday, 09/17/07, Fishing with Daryl before work.

Nice Bass!!!

Not what we were originally fishing for, but this large smallmouth bass was a lot of fun to catch! Thought it was a sheephead at first. The other bass was about 5 inches larger than the fish pictured.

Perch fished with Joe and John H. The temperature in the morning was in the upper 50's and by noon it was in the middle 80's. The wind was out of the WSW 10 to 15 knots with waves 2 - 3 feet, but it laid down by the time we quit fishing.

We fished 3.5 miles Northeast of Sputnik (41 51 825 / 083 08 750). Had to move several times before we found some fish and the bite was pretty good until we caught 2 large smallmouth bass, then the fishing slowed down. Made a few more moves, then called it quits for the day. Kept 47 perch between 8 and 10 inches, with most of them around 9 inches. Picked up our bait at Lake Erie Party Store, a mixture of chubs and shiners. Next trip we will stop at the harbor on the way to our marina for bait.

Next Planned Trip: Monday, 09/10/07 Fishing with Daryl before work.

This One's A Keeper!

Saturday Morning

The morning temperature was in the low 60's. Winds were out of the North 10-15. Waves 3-4 ft.

JPlugs were the lure of the day. We picked up our limit of 6 King Salmon.

Thank you John, for the posting and the very nice photo of Doug and an 18# King!

UPDATE: Saturday Evening - First trip out that we've gotten nothing at all. Same for Daryl.

Next Planned Trip: Monday 09/03/07 Perch Fishing with Joe and John?

Friday Morning Catch

No, this isn't something they caught in Lake Michigan. The guys didn't send a photo today, so instead, I posted one of my fish.

This mornings catch was 4 King Salmon and 1 Steelhead. The winds were light and out of the West, lake was calm. Not catching anything until we changed the hootchies from the inside setting to the outside setting. (Thank you Daryl for the good tip!)

Happy Fishermen

This post was guest written by John.

Thursday Morning: Winds were out of the southwest 5-10 mph. Waves were 1-2 ft. with a morning temperature that was in the upper 60's. The best bait was Glow Squids and Green Dipsy Divers. The Kings came in a flurry, up to 3 at a time!

Thank you Capt. Doug for picking the RIGHT SPOT!!!

Bird's Nest and Lucky Strike

Doug's boat (Bird's Nest) and Daryl's boat (Lucky Strike) in their slips at the motel's marina. It's around a 6 minute ride down the river to Lake Michigan.

Wednesday Morning's Catch

Here is this mornings catch, 6 for 12. It was a nice day with winds out of the East, 5-10 mph.

Looks like the rain has stopped and it warmed up a bit.

If you click on the photo you can enlarge it for a better view.

Fish Guts and Beer Gut?

Well, here is the photo the guys emailed today.

Since they just emailed the photo with no explanation, and didn't call and leave a phone message, I'll just have to guess that this is today's catch, and from the looks of it, this must be the cleaning station. (Looks like blood and other nasty stuff on the table)

Come on guys, your photo

composition needs some improvement.

Oh well, at least you can catch fish!

Wet Start to Fishing Trip

It's wet and cool in Manistee. Have 7 King Salmon so far. (2 for 6 Saturday p.m., 4 for 4 Sunday a.m., and 1 for 3 Sunday p.m.) Nice fish ranging 8 - 14 lbs. We have been using Dipsy's and JPlugs. The motel is very nice. Coming into the harbor is not nice - it's like 100 boats coming into the harbor at once with very poor lighting. Also a challenge getting my boat into the slip at the motel, with a fast current and not much room. By the time the boat is in the slip I have about 6 inches on each side of the boat!

John H. was at the cottage in Rogers City over the weekend and they were unable to get out because of the wind.

Time for bed, as we'll be up at 4:00 am to fish again!

On the Road Again!!! (for Salmon)

Finally!! Heading up to Manistee, Michigan, for salmon fishing on Lake Michigan. John and I brought the boat home last Saturday to get it ready for salmon fishing. Joe, John and I worked on it Saturday and Sunday. I continued working on it this week.

We'll be staying at the Manistee Inn and Marina. The motel is right on the river with its own marina. About a 6 minute boat ride to Lake Michigan. We plan on returning home August 26 or 27.

Looks like the fishing should be good. I'll try to update the blog from Manistee.

McDonald's

Fished with Daryl before work. Temp in the morning was in the lower 70s and by noon it was in the mid 80s. The wind was out of the west less than 5 knots with hardly any waves. We started trolling for walleyes by the Toledo Water Intake without any luck. We were marking a lot of fish but no takers. Moved to McDonald's and started perch fishing and we only caught a couple of fish there so we headed to the E buoy. Made a couple of moves there and then we went to the S buoy. Started to catch some perch and then it was time to leave. Kept 22 perch for the day. John H. is going to help me bring the boat home on 08-11-07 to get it ready for salmon fishing.

Lucky Strike

Fished with Captain Daryl before work aboard the Lucky Strike. Temp in the morning was in the lower 60s and by noon it was in the lower 80s. The wind was out of the northeast 10 to 15 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. We started fishing north of the Toledo Water Intake trolling wiggle warts 100 feet back on one side and spoons 60 and 65 feet back on the other side. The lake was full of weeds floating on the water which made the fishing very difficult. We spent more time taking weeds off the lures than fishing. Caught 2 walleye off the wiggle warts and 1 walleye off the spoon. We should have went perch jerking today!!

Next Planned Trip: 08-06-07. Fishing with Daryl before work.

Toledo Harbor Lighthouse

Fished with Daryl before work. Temp in the morning was in the mid 50s and by noon it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the east northeast 10 to 15 knots with waves around 2 feet. We started fishing where we left off on Sunday by the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse and we only caught a few small perch. Made four moves around there trying to find some fish with no luck so we headed towards the E buoy. Moved a couple times there without anything so we went to the S buoy and caught a few small perch. Decided to long line some wiggle warts and head for the swamp for half an hour and we picked up 1 walleye 65 feet back. Kept 1 walleye and 3 perch for the day.

Next planned trip: Monday 07/30/07 with Daryl before work.

Joe Fishing the Wrong Side of the Boat

Fished with Joe and John H. Temp in the morning was in the lower 60's and by noon it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the northeast less than 10 knots with waves around a foot. We decided to go perch fishing because the walleye fishing is starting to slow down. Went to the Toledo Harbor Light to fish and we never had to move. We were fishing about 1/4 mile north of the lighthouse in 18 feet of water. Kept 45 perch between 7 3/4 and 9 inches. Not the biggest perch but just big enough to keep us there. Fished with shiners off the bottom that we picked up at Lake Erie Party Store.

Next Planned Trip: Monday 7/23/07 with Daryl before work.

Daryl Cleaning the Catch

Fished with Captain Daryl before work. Temp was in the low 70s with a little breeze out of the south. Waves were less than 6 inches. We headed out to the northeast corner of the dumping grounds and did not see the boats we were looking for but Daryl decided to stay put because we were marking fish ( 41 47 750 / 083 18 600 ). Put out wiggle warts ( purple and hot pink ) 80 feet behind the boards and we started to catch some fish. There were some weeds in the area but not enough to cause any problems. We worked that one area and picked up our limit of 12 walleye for the day. Stopped at Trapper's and had them cook up 8 fillets of walleye, fries, onion rings and a bowl of turtle soup for lunch and then we headed to work.

Next Planned Trips: Sunday, July 22 with Joe & John H.

Daryl and John H.

Fished with Daryl and John H. Temps in the morning were in the middle 50's and by the time we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was blowing out of the northwest 5 to 10 knots. Waves were around 1 foot. We headed back out to the northeast corner of the dumping grounds (41 48 700 / 083 19 750) and started trolling with wiggle warts set 90 feet behind the boards. Started to catch some fish but the weeds were terrible. We stayed in that area to catch our fish but we just had to deal with the weed problem. Put out a purple wiggle warts and that was what they wanted. Kept 15 walleye for the day. Our 21st Annual Fish Fry is tommorrow. Hope the weather holds!

Next Planned Trip: Monday, July 16 with Daryl, before work.

Captain Daryl

Fished with Captain Daryl, His friend Ron backed out this morning. Temp in the morning was in the middle 70s and by the time we quit fishing it was in the lower 90s. The wind was out of the southwest about 15 knots with waves less than 2 feet. We made a pass through the swamp and caught only silver bass so we headed out to the northeast corner of the dumping grounds (41 48 175 / 083 19 400). We were running parallel with the Michigan/Ohio border. Set the lines with dipsys and spoons at 75 feet on one side and 70 on the other, picked up a fish real fast and then nothing. Reset the lines to 50 and 55 feet and we started to catch fish. Kept our 12 fish and we gave a couple to Bob the hi-lo driver.

Next Planned Trips, July 13 with Daryl and John H.

Leopard Frogs

Left Thursday July 5, at 3:00 am so I could be at the Manistee River in Grayling for the morning fishing. Started fishing and about 15 minutes later a big thunderstorm started coming through so I got off the river, waited 45 minutes for the storm to pass and continued fishing. By then it was too late in the day, the sun was up too high and the fish quit biting! Caught 1/2 dozen small browns and 1 keeper that was 14 inches.

Fished off the docks at Paradise Lake and helped Alyssa and Amy catch some small perch and bluegills. Bev and I trolled along the north shore for awhile and we had one very large fish on that unfortunately jumped and threw the hook. It looked like a walleye. The girls caught 5 leopard frogs for our ponds at home. Came back home Saturday evening.

Next Planned Fishing Trip: Fishing with Daryl 7/10/07.

Fished with Dan (Faygo) and John L. Temps in the morning were in the upper 40's and it did get up to the lower 70's. The wind was out of the northeast about 15 knots with waves 2 to 4 feet. We headed towards the International Buoy and it took about 1 1/2 hours to get there. Started fishing by the buoy with no luck so we trolled to the south and set the lines further back (110 feet) and we started to catch a few fish. The wind started to lay down a little and it turned out to be pretty nice. We had to quit early because John had to return a pig roaster he rented. Kept 10 walleye for the day between 15 and 22 inches.

Next planned Trip: July 5, 2007 Heading up north to fish Paradise Lake.

Fished with Joe. Temps were in the mid 80's with a southwest wind of 10 knots. Waves were about 1 foot. Started fishing in the swamp and we only caught garbage fish so we decided to move into Breast Bay. We were just starting to set lines when a huge storm came our way so we headed back to port and called it a day. Once the storm blew over it turned out to be a nice day.

Next Planned Trip: 6/21/07 Fishing with Daryl before work.

Went down to the boat today and gave her a good wax job. Talking to the fishermen, the catching was pretty slow today. Most of the boats were going out 18 miles to find the fish and they were coming back without limits, some of the drifters and casters only had a couple of fish because of the light winds. The forecast for Tuesday is Southwest winds 20 to 30 knots. I watched the local news and on the internet and they both agree that the winds will be blowing on Tuesday. Because of this, the A.W.W.T. is cancelled, if you are interested in a makeup day let me know ASAP.

Nice Catch Jack!!

Fished with John H. and his son, Jack. Temp in the morning was in the lower 40's and by noon it was in the upper 60's. There was no wind or waves. Started blading about 2 1/2 miles south of the harbor in 17 ft. of water and we only caught two walleye. We were fishing too deep of water for the blades and there was no wave action, so we decided to troll. Ran wiggle warts (rainbow was the hottest) 50 ft. behind the boards. Picked up 10 more and called it a day. The fish were between 19 and 26 inches. On the way out of the harbor we must have picked up some trash because the engine started to overheat. Stopped and checked everything, but found nothing and we never had any more problems. The trolling motor is still in the shop. We could have used it today.

Next Planned Trips:

• 4/22/07 Fishing with Captain Daryl
• 4/27 thru 5/01/07 Heading to Grayling to fish opening weekend of trout fishing with Joe and John.