First Trip This Winter.

Fished with Doug Sowa. We fished out of Metro Park on Lake St. Clair, straight out from the flag pole in 7 feet of water. The temp was in the upper 20s with a slight wind out of the Southwest. The ice is 5 inches thick but around the shore line there is a lot of open water. The water was a little dirty from all the run off this past week. We used shiners and spikes but the shiners were by far the best bait. The fish were not very active today and the bite was very lite. We caught about 30 perch but we only had 10 keepers with the largest one measuring 10 1/2 inches. The bite was slow but we both had a good time.

Dock Fishing

Fished with Daryl after we voted. Decided to head down to TBM and fish off the docks. The temperature was in the middle 60s and the wind was out of the Southwest 10 knots. Just a beautiful day to be fishing.

We tried to buy some minnows but the only store open did not have any so we had to use wax worms. After 10 minutes of fishing we were told by one of the workers that we could not fish because there is no fishing off the docks. Things were not going very well today. Daryl went and talked to Chuck (one of the bosses) and he gave us the OK to fish so we headed back out to the docks and went fishing. The only problem now was that we were catching a lot of small fish. For every five fish that was caught, only one was a keeper. We fished for 1 1/2 hours and decided to clean the fish and head up to Trappers and have fresh fish for lunch. We kept 21 bluegill. A nice way to end a good day of fishing off the docks.

Last Trip For The Bird's Nest

Fished with Daryl. The temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and by the time we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the Southeast 5 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees.

We started fishing right in front of the harbor in 13 feet of water. We were marking fish but the water is still dirty. Moved out by the S Buoy but the water was still dirty. Saw a pack of boats North of the Toledo Light House and made a pass through them and they were not catching anything. Went out to the shipping channel and fished for a few minutes and still nothing so I said the hell with it so we went for a boat ride and headed out to our spot. The catching was pretty good today and the fish were a lot larger. We had a lot of fish over 10 inches. Kept 57 perch for the day.

River Fishing

Fished with Captain Joe and his friend Ron. Temperature this afternoon was in the upper 50s and the wind was out of the East 15 to 20 knots. The River had a light chop and at the mouth of the River the waves were about one foot. The water temp is 57 degrees. The water had a lot of weeds floating which made the fishing difficult.

Our first stop was at Stony Island where we caught a Gobie and a very small bass. From there we went to the South side of Hickory Island without any luck. Made a move to the channel of the Ford Yacht Club and again nothing. Moved again out in front of Lake Erie Metro Park and we caught a couple of small perch and Ron caught a nice walleye off his perch rig. Joe tried 3 times to knock it off Ron's pole but they finally landed the fish. The walleye was 27 inches long and 7.4 lbs. We made one more move and fished the North side of Grassy Island and then we called it a night. Kept two small perch and one nice walleye and had a beautiful boat ride up the Detroit River.

No More Being Late For Work.

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was 40 degrees with a Northeast wind 15 to 20 knots. The waves were 2 feet for the ride out and after an hour the wind quit blowing and the lake laid down. The water temp is 66 degrees.

We headed back out to our spot that we have been fishing all year. The fishing was slow and we moved a couple of times but it did not seem to help. For every four fish we caught we would keep one. Since the day turned out so nice we just stayed put and sorted through the small fish. The lake is starting to finally clean up but the season is coming to an end. Just one more week to fish. We kept 38 perch today.

Perchin' Joe, Happy Again.

Fished with Joe. The temperature was in the upper 50s when we started fishing and by the time we quit it was in the upper 60s. The wind was out of the Northeast at 15 knots when we headed out, which made for a bumpy boat ride, and about 10:00 AM the wind started to lay down. Waves were 3 footers on the ride out and on the ride back to port they were about 1 foot. The water temp is 71 degrees.

We made a pass through the second dumping grounds by McDonald's on the way out because I had a report that they were catching some perch in the area. We did not mark any fish so we headed out to the honey hole. The fishing was slow and we were catching a lot of small perch ( 6 to 7 inches ) so we moved a couple hundred feet and started to catch some bigger fish, but not a whole lot. We were about to move again, had the rods out of the water and getting ready to pull the anchor but the fish finder was full of fish, so we decided to stay put. Good choice. The fish started biting again. Kept 33 perch for the day and then we went to Trappers and had them fry up a couple of perch dinners.

Fishing After Ike.

Fished with Captain Daryl. The winds were less than 10 knots out of the Northwest. Waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 70 degrees. The lake is in good shape after the storms we had this last weekend from the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

We started fishing in our hot spot without much luck so we made a move to the South about 1/2 mile and caught a couple of perch, not enough to keep us there so we started heading back to the original area. Found a spot with a few fish and that was where we stayed the rest of the morning. The average size of the fish were in the 8 inch range but at least we caught some fish before I headed to work. Kept 33 perch for the day. After we got done cleaning the fish I left all my cleaning supplies in the cleaning station. Thanks to Mike, the Hi Lo driver, he retrieved it and placed it back in the boat. Thanks Mike.

Late For Work!!!

Fished with Daryl and Dale. Temperature was in the lower 60s when we started fishing and by the time we quit it was in the middle 70s. The wind was light out of the Northeast with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 73 degrees.

Started fishing in our hot spot without any luck so we headed towards a pack of boats about 3/4 mile to the west. Did not mark any fish and did not catch any fish so we headed back to the original spot. It took a while but we started to catch a few fish. The catching was slow and the talk on the radio was that people were just not catching any fish today. When I got home I checked the weather report and the barometer was on a steady decline during the time we were fishing. Our game plan was to catch some perch and go to Trappers and have them fry the perch for dinner. Well, we had to stay out fishing a little longer than we should have to catch enough for dinner so that made me a little late for work. We kept 28 perch for dinner.

Labor Day Weekend

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was 58 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80s. The wind was light out of the Northeast with waves less than a foot. Just a great day to be fishing.
Started fishing where we left off on Friday and the fish are still there. The size of the fish were a little smaller but they are plentiful. After 1 1/2 hours of fishing Captain Dan wanted to try by the pack of boats by the Turnaround Buoy so we headed there. We drove through the pack of boats and did not see a whole lot of action but we anchored anyways. Fished for about 20 minutes and caught 1 keeper and a couple of dinks so we headed back to our honey hole and finished out the morning there. We kept 42 perch between 8 and 11 inches with most of them in the 9 inch range. After we cleaned the fish we went to Trappers and had them fry up a nice mess of perch. A good way to end a great fishing trip.

Perch Season Again.

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature was in the lower 60s with a little sprinkle when we started and the rest of the day was overcast with temps in the middle 70s. The wind was light out of the South with waves less than a foot.
We were going to start at the E-Buoy but the water was dirty so we went 1 mile east of the E-Buoy and fished for 20 minutes with out any bites. Decided to go back to our hot spot from last year 41 51 900 / 083 11 070 and we started to catch some fish. The only problem was that we caught Sheephead ( a couple close to 10 lbs ), white perch, silver bass and smallmouth bass. The perch that we caught were nice size so we just stayed at this location. Another problem is the weather is making it hard to get shiners so the ones that we had were pretty large for perch jerking, but at least we had shiners. Kept 44 perch between 8 and 11 inches for the day.

Salmon Fever !!!

Fished Manistee from 8-16 through 8-23 with Joe and John H. We also had Captain Daryl's boat, the Lucky Strike with Dwayne and Mark, Captain John's boat, the Laura Cristina with Gale, Pete, Pat and Little John. The weather cooperated for most of the week except for Friday night and Saturday morning which had high winds and thunderstorms.
We fished the whole area, from the skinny water of 10 feet to the shelf and beyond out to 175 feet. Most of the fish were caught in water of 20 feet or less running J-Plugs off the in line boards and off the downriggers from 2 to 4 feet down. This year the best J-plugs were the Superman and the Gray Ghost. The fishing was tough for the first couple of days because the lake was changing over but once we had the East wind, fishing started to pick up. Our biggest fish was 18 pounds with the average around 14 pounds. The best trip only produced 4 fish, not very good for this time of year. Every one had a great time even though we did not get very much sleep. The plan was to update the blog every day but the motels WiFi did not work, maybe next year. We kept 24 salmon for the week.

On Our Merry Way

The boat is ready and the fishermen are ready! John and I are leaving on 08-16-08 and Joe will meet us on 08-17-08. We will be fishing Manistee again this year, staying at the same location as last year. We will be coming home on 08-23-08.

Almost Time For Salmon!

No trips planned on Lake Erie this week. I'll be bringing the boat home from Toledo Beach Marina on Saturday, August 9, to get it ready for salmon fishing on Lake Michigan.

Plan on leaving for Manistee on August 16, 2008.

ONE HAPPY CREW.

Fished with Captain Eddie and first mate Ryan aboard the Fish On II. Our crew consisted of Jake, Chad, Neil, Sydney and Deb Barson. Temperature was in the lower 70s when we started fishing and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80s. The wind was out of the Southwest about 7 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 79 degrees.

Started fishing where we left off Tuesday 41 49 400 / 083 18 250. We ran jet 40s 60 feet back on one side of the boat and 70 feet back on the other side, I don't think it made much of a difference because both sides caught fish. The pod of fish in this area is not very large so the fish would come in spurts. We worked the general area all morning and kept 24 walleye between 17 and 22 inches. Lure color did not seem to matter. Every one had a great time fishing and then we went to Trappers and had them cook the fish up for us. This is an annual trip put on by Joe Barson and MDFA (Metro Detroit Flower Growers Association) that had 8 charter boats for the day that caught 176 walleye. Joe, you did a great job organizing everything and I appreciate being invited! Thanks Again!

Should Have, Could Have.

Fished with Daryl. The temperature was in the lower 70s in the morning and by the time we quit fishing it was in the upper 80s. The wind was light out of the southeast and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp was 80 degrees.

We started fishing at 41 48 980 / 083 18 190 which is 5 miles from port on the Michigan/Ohio boarder using crawlers and bottom bouncers set 75 to 80 feet back. Within 5 minutes we had the first fish on and Daryl was bringing it in and right behind the boat the fish spit the hook. The hook ended up in my right temple about one inch from my eye. We tried to push the hook through but we could not get it far enough past the barb to get a good grip on the tip of the it with the pliers so we pulled lines and headed for the hospital. It took a couple of hours and I felt OK so we went back out fishing, just a little hook shy.

We trolled with crawlers for 45 minutes and picked up a couple of walleye and then we switched over to Jet Divers set at 55 feet back and Dipsy's set at 75 feet back. The dipsy's were the most productive so we switched over to all dipsy's. Now we were fishing in the heat of the day and the fishing started to slow down. We kept 7 walleye between 18 and 20 inches, 1 perch and one cut hook from the doctor. We should have caught our limit and we could have caught our limit, but we had to take a time out.

Perch/Walleye Combo

Fished with Joe and John H. Temperature was in the upper 70s to the lower 80s. The wind was out of the West / Southwest 10 to 15 knots. The waves were 1 to 3 feet on the ride out and by the time we quit fishing the lake laid down to less than 2 foot waves.

Our game plan was to perch jerk for awhile until we caught enough perch and then start fishing for walleye. Well, the plan worked today. We perch fished about 1/2 mile East of Sputnik and we caught 62 perch between 7 3/4 and 11 inches with most of the fish in the 8 inch range. While we were perch jerking we noticed that the boats fishing for walleye were just about 1/2 mile South of us (41 49 000 / 083 08 500). After we were done perch jerking we started to troll with crawlers towards the pack of boats. We long lined 4 poles with 2 ounce weights from 80 to 140 back. We picked up a couple walleye running this program so we fished for about another 30 minutes and caught 2 more walleye. Had we used the planer boards we would have caught more fish. The total tally for the day is 62 perch and 4 walleye.

Next Planned Trip: Sometime this week with Daryl

Good Day Finally

Fished with Captain Daryl. The temperature was in the middle 80s a light wind less than 5 knots out of the Southwest. The waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 76 degrees.

We got a late start because Daryl had a dentist appointment but the weather was nice all day so it did not matter. We started fishing at 41 48 350 / 083 07 520 and started catching fish right away. We ran 20 jets 105 feet back on one side and 40 jets 75 feet back on the other side. The best color spoon was the blueberry muffin and anything with purple or pink. The 20 jets started catching most of the fish so we put 20 jets on both sides. The only problem was that we caught 14 walleye that were less than 10 inches, if you want to call that a problem. We kept 12 walleye between 17 and 21 inches and 2 perch that were 9 inches. Now that the Mayfly hatch is over the fish are a little more aggressive.

Next Planned Trip: Wednesday 7/16-Friday 7/18 At Bev's in Carp Lake

Walleye,Perch Trip.

Fished with Daryl. Temperature was in the lower 70s when we started and the upper 70s when we quit fishing. The wind was out of the North/Northwest 10 to 15 knots. Waves were 2 to 3 feet and the water temp is 74 degrees.

Our game plan was to troll for walleye for a while and then switch over and start perch jerking. Started fishing at McDonald's and trolled towards Sputnik with divers and spoons, all we caught were sheephead. When we got close to Sputnik we went about 3/4 mile east of it and started perch jerking. Had to move 3 or 4 times and we caught some fish but nothing very large. Made a move to our hot spot from last year and we caught only one keeper so we called it a day. Kept 18 perch between 7 3/4 and 9 inches.

Next Planned Trip: Tuesday July 15, Late trip with Daryl

Another Tough One.

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and by the time we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was out of the North/Northeast about 15 knots. The waves were 2 to 4 feet which made for a very long boat ride out. It took 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Sputnik. On the ride out the antenna mount broke when we hit a large wave so we had no communication. The water temp is 73 degrees.

We started fishing at the Turnaround Buoy drifting with crawlers because it was too rough to troll with spoons. We made 4 or 5 passes and caught a couple of walleye and a few perch so we decided to perch jerk for a while. Picked up 26 perch between 7 1/2 and 9 inches but most of them were around 8 inches. We trolled towards the harbor the last 45 minutes and caught one more walleye. It makes for a tough day of fishing when the conditions are that bad. At least the lake started to lay down for the ride back to port. Kept 3 walleye and 26 perch for the day.

Skunked!!

Fished with Sherrill, Kevin and John H. Temperature was in the upper 60s with the wind out of the South/Southwest around 15 knots. The waves were 1 to 2 feet and the water temp is 78 degrees.

Because of the wind and the crew we had today we decided to just stay in the swamp and try our luck. Trolled with warts and crayfish for 45 minutes and then we switched over to crawlers and trolled with them for another 45 minutes without even a hit. Tried drifting with the crawlers and Sherrill caught 2 sheephead. Decided to try some perch jerking and after moving 3 times without any fish we called it a day. Not a very good day in the swamp. I heard some reports that the fish are being caught by Sputnik and the Water Intake.

Another Slow One

Fished with Daryl and Dale. Temperature was in the upper 60s with a slight breeze out of the South. The waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 72 degrees in the lake and 75 degrees in the swamp. The weather made for beautiful boat ride on the way out and a nice and laid back boat ride on the way back in.

Started fishing by a pack of boats just North of Sputnik. Trolled around for about a half hour without any fish so we pulled lines and headed to where we fished last week. 41 47 700 / 083 09 000. Set lines and we had a double in the first 5 minutes (lost one of them) and it just went down hill from there. We tried trolling with crawlers, then switched to jet diver's but nothing seemed to work. Picked up three more walleye and a few garbage fish. Made a move into the swamp and tried fishing there for a half hour and all we caught were two 8 inch walleye. Saw the storm coming so we pulled lines and headed to port. Just got to the gas dock and it started to storm. We waited that storm out, put some fuel in the boat ($54.00) and headed to the rack and launch. The wind was starting to blow pretty good and another storm was approaching but we timed everything just right and missed that storm also. The mayfly hatch is going pretty good right now and that could account for some of the slow fishing.

Next planned trip: 6-29-08 With John, Sherrill and both Kevin's.

Nice day fishing.

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature was in the upper 60s to the lower 70s. The wind was out of the South/Southwest 3 knots. The waves were less than 6 inches. Just a nice day on the water.

Started fishing by the Water Intake trolling with spoons with out any luck so we switched over to crawlers. Started catching sheephead and silver bass and one walleye so we decided to move to the North side of West Sister Island. 41 47 700 / 083 09 000. We set the dipsy's back 80 and 90 feet and caught a couple of walleye real quick and then it just died. Trolled around for another 1 1/2 hours and called it a day. Kept 5 walleye between 18 and 21 inches. Marked a lot of fish on the bottom but we had very few takers.

A.W.W.T.

Fished with Joe and John Hiltz in the 8th annual A.W.W.T. The temperature was in the upper 60s to the lower 70s. The wind was out of the South/Southwest from 12 to 22 knots. As the day progressed the wind speed picked up. The waves were 1 to 2 feet when we started and were building pretty fast. The water temp is 72 degrees.
It seemed nobody knew where they wanted to fish as everyone went different directions from the harbor. Some boats went to Stoney Point, some went to the Toledo Light House, some stayed by the E- Buoy and we went to the Water Intake. The fishing was tough and the weather conditions made it even worse. As we were talking on the radio every so often a boat would catch a fish. We tried trolling with spoons for the first hour and then we switched over to trolling with crawlers and that seemed to work for us. We started to catch some fish and then the waves got too be to much so we called it quits. We kept 8 walleye for the day. The official results for the A.W.W.T. are as follows.

1st place - Team Bird's Nest - 63 6/8 inches
2nd place - Team Walley Wide Track - 59 2/8 inches
3rd place - Team Lucky Strike - 57 6/8 inches
4th place - Team Scotty Bowman - 17 4/8 inches
5th place - Team StarFish - No Fish
Big fish was caught by Team Bird's Nest - 21 6/8 inches

I want to thank everyone who fished today's event and to let you know the weather man owes us a nice day for next year.

Nice Catch

Fished with Daryl. Temperature was in in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was light out of the South/Southwest 5 knots with waves less than a foot. The water is starting to clear up again but now the female cottonwood trees are starting to drop their seeds. Time to put the beads back on the main lines.

Started fishing where we left off yesterday and we kind of hung in that general area. 41 49 400 / 083 18 120. We trolled with spoons set at 65 feet back for the first hour and we caught 5 walleye. The bite was kind of slow so we went to the crawlers for the rest of the trip. We ran the crawler rigs back 75 feet using 2 ounce bottom bouncers and slowed the troll to 1.5 MPH. Caught the remaining fish this way. The purple harness was by far the most productive. We had one walleye that was 14.5 inches that we put back. Kept 12 walleye between 18 and 20 inches.

Next Planned Trip: Tuesday, June 17, for the 8th Annual A.W.W.T. 8:00 a.m. Start Time

Bumpy Ride Today.

Fished with the famous Wally Widetrack (Booth Purkey). Temperature was in the lower 60s with the wind out of the North/Northwest 13 to 20 knots. Waves were 2 to 3 feet which made the fishing very difficult. The water was a little dirty but there was a mud line out where we were fishing. Water temp is 62 degrees.

Started fishing where we left off last week trolling with spoons 65 to 70 feet back. Caught our first walleye at the 65 foot range so we set all the poles to 65 feet. We trolled for 1 1/2 hours and it just was too much to do so we tried to drift with crawlers for a while. After drifting for 15 minutes we caught one silver bass and it was getting pretty bouncy so we called it a day. Kept 5 walleye between 18 and 21 inches. The weather man was a little off today!!! Best spoon was the Monica Lewinsky.

Next planned trip: 06-02-08 with Daryl.

Short on Bait!!!!!

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature was in the middle 50s for most of the day. The wind was out of the West/Southwest with waves less than a foot. The water was a little stained and the water temp is 61 degrees.

Started fishing the other side of the dumping grounds trolling to the south with spoons and dipsy's set at 40 and 60 feet behind the boards. Caught two walleye but we were marking a lot of fish so we put on some crawlers with bottom bouncers and put them back 70 feet. Started catching some more fish but we ran out of worms. I grabbed two containers this morning from the fridge with out checking them and one of them was empty. Not a good thing when your out 5 miles on the lake. We decided to call it a day. Kept 7 walleye between 18 and 20 inches. We caught the fish at 41 49 250 / 083 17 610.

Nice 3 Days of Fishing.

Fished with Captain Dan Black. We trailered his boat to Toledo Beach Marina and launched from there. The temperature was in the upper 50s to the lower 60s. The wind was out of the South/Southwest about 5 knots with waves less than a foot. Don't have a water temp because the Captain forgot his graph.

Started fishing where we left off yesterday trolling with crawlers/bottom bouncers and we caught 3 walleye in the first 1/2 hour and from there it went all down hill. Switched to wiggle warts for a while and then spoons behind jet divers without any luck so we went back to the crawlers. We ended up fishing 1 mile Southeast of where we started. Boats were catching fish around us so we were fishing the right area but we just did not run the right program today. We kept 5 walleye between 17 and 22 inches and one perch. All of our walleye were caught trolling with crawlers.

Good Catch

Fished with Joe and John H. Temperature was in the lower 50s in the morning and by the time we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s, kind of cold for this time of year. The wind was out of the North 10 to 15 knots in the morning with waves around 2 feet and then it calmed down to 5 knots out of the North and started switching towards the East. The water is not as clear and the water temp is still 60 degrees.

Started fishing where we left off yesterday trolling with crawlers and the wind made it very difficult to control the planer boards so after an hour we started casting and drifting. We caught two fish this way and then we went back to trolling with spoons and dipsys for the rest of the day. We stopped using crawlers because we caught too many white perch.The dipsys were set at 60 feet back on one side and 70 on the other side and the 60 feet back caught the most fish. The hottest spoons were the Monica Lewinsky and the red with a copper back. Kept 11 walleye between 15 and 23 inches and one perch. We caught most of the fish 1/2 mile Southwest of where we started.

Next Planned Trip: Sunday, May 25 with Captain Dan

Start of a Good Weekend

Fished with Captain Doug Sowa. Temperature was in the middle 50s for the day and the wind was out of the East 5 to 8 knots. Waves were less than a foot. Water temp is 61 degrees and is still clear.

Started fishing the dumping grounds trolling crawlers. We caught a couple of walleye and a lot of junk fish so we pulled lines and headed back to where we were fishing last Tuesday and started catching mostly walleye. Kept 8 walleye between 18 and 22 inches.

Next planned trip: 05-24-08. Fishing with Joe and John H.

Nice Catch

Fished with Daryl and Doug S. Temperature was from 50 degrees to the middle 50s. The wind was out of the Northwest and switching to the South with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees and the lake is very clean, probably from all the west winds the last 3 days.

Started fishing where we left off last week (41 49 125 / 083 18 680 ) which is 5 miles out and 130 degrees from the harbor. We ran spoons 65 feet back on one side and crawlers 60 feet back with 2 oz. weights on the other side. Caught one walleye off a spoon and two off the crawlers so we put worms on both sides of the boat. Just stayed in the general area trolling about 1.5 mph. We caught 15 walleye between 17 1/2 and 22 inches, 3 perch between 8 and 10 inches and one silver bass. I think the spoons would have worked but we were trolling too slow and on the turn the spoons would drop down deeper and pick up zebra mussels. Most of the fish we marked were on the bottom. It's hard to believe that we only caught one garbage fish and that came off the spoon!

Next planned trip: 05-23-08 with Doug S. and Louie.

Still Tough Fishing!!!

Fished with Doug S. and Ken W. Temperature was in the lower 50s in the morning and it made it up to 60 degrees by the time we quit fishing. The wind was out of the NW 12 knots and was switching to the South less than 5 knots. Waves were less than a foot and as the wind started switching the lake laid down. Water temp is 59 degrees and is still a little dirty in front of the harbor.

Started jigging with minnows in front of the harbor on the Southwest corner of the dumping grounds and we caught a lot of sheep head and white perch. Doug caught one walleye using a green jig and minnow. Made a move to the East about 2 miles and started trolling with body baits with out much luck so we changed over to all spoons. We were running the mini divers 60 feet back using mostly green and orange spoons. Caught a lot of silver bass and white perch and an occasional walleye. Kept 5 walleye between 20 and 21 inches. The further east we went the cleaner the water was.

One Is The Lonliest Number

05-13-08. Fished with Captain Daryl, Dale was a no show today. Temp was in the middle 50s for the day with clear skies and an ESE wind around 10 knots. The waves were 1 to 2 feet and the water temp is 55 degrees.

We decided to drift today so Daryl left the trolling poles in the truck. Started fishing in the dumping grounds by the E-Buoy without any luck so we moved further out to 23 feet of water and started drifting with crawlers and we only caught white perch. Made a move to a small pack of boats in front of TBM (2.5 miles from the harbor) and started drifting there. We started catching only white perch again until we put on some shiners and Daryl finally caught a walleye. We had a few other good hits but no hook-ups so we only caught one walleye 22 inches long for the morning.

From the reports on the radio the fishing was pretty slow on Lake Erie today. I talked to the first mate Matt when we got back to the harbor and they only had two fish for the day. When I got home Louie called and said they limited out on the Detroit River this morning fishing the Canadian side of the River. I think it's time to bring out the trolling gear.

Nexted planned trip: 05-16-08. With big Doug and Ken(Starfish).

Tagged Fish

Fished with Captain Daryl and Tim, Tony Bell's grandson. Temps were in the mid 40s to the lower 50s. The wind was west/southwest 5 to 10 knots with hardly any waves and the water is still dirty.

Started fishing in the dumping grounds by the S Buoy jigging and blading without any luck so we made the move towards Turtle Island and fished in 10 feet of water (41 46 020 / 083 21 510). It took us a while to get the first fish but once we figured everything out we did OK. We tried jigging with minnows, drifting with crawlers and blade baits and the jigs caught 90% of the fish with the blue jig being the most productive. We also caught a lot of sheephead and white perch today, first time this year. Kept 12 walleye between 19 and 21 inches and one perch that was 11 1/2 inches. We caught one walleye with a tag in the upper jaw that was released in Michigan. When I get the information back from the DNR I will post the details.

Next Planned trip: 05-06-08 with Daryl before work. Daryl cancelled todays trip.

The Fish Are There

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temps were in the lower to mid 40s with a southeast wind 10 to 15 knots. Waves were less than 2 feet. The water is still on the dirty side but it always seems to be this time of year.

We fished just south of the Radar Buoy in 6 feet of water. We tried jigging with minnows, drifting with crawlers and blading. Four of the fish were caught jigging and one was caught drifting with a crawler harness. We kept 5 walleye between 19 and 20 inches and we lost 5 other fish. Need to start using stinger hooks on all the jigs. The only other thing we should have done was put out the drift sock when the wind started blowing a little harder.

Next planned trip: 05-04-08. Fishing with Daryl and Tim.

Opening Day Trout in Grayling, MI

This is Doug's Big Fish so far, 17.5. We left Friday morning for Grayling. The fire they had in Grayling Thursday has been put out. The fire affected over 1000 acres, but was East of town. We are about 15 minutes West of town.

The weather is absolutely crummy! It was 55 Degrees when we got up for the morning fishing but by 10:00 am, it was already down to 42 Degrees. It is cold with gusting winds - very tough weather for fishing. We only caught three fish today.

Weekend over view: We have been fishing on opening day now for 30 years and this was by far the worst we have ever had. We were able to have our traditional Opening Day trout dinner but we had to go into town on Sunday to get dinner, the first time ever. The fishing was so bad we decided to cut our trip short by one day and come home. The last night night there (Sunday) the temp was 24 degrees and they were calling for temps in the upper teens for Monday night, just too cold to fish when the fish are not biting. We kept four Brown Trout between 12 and 17.5 inches for the weekend. I won big fish for the two days and big fish for the weekend.

Slow Morning

Fished with Daryl before he went to work, I'm still on a layoff. Temp was in the middle 50s with an east wind 10 to 15 knots. The waves were about a foot and the water temp is 55 degrees.

We fished the same area as Sunday but we were not having any luck. Thought of moving to the Radar Buoy where their was a small pack of boats but we just stayed in the general area. It was a good choice that we stayed because the pack of boats by the Radar Buoy all left. Saw one boat catching fish by us and the only thing different was they had no drift sock. We pulled in the drift sock and we started catching some fish, the only problem was we were running out of time. Kept 5 walleye between 18 and 24 inches. All the fish came off hair jigs tipped with a minnow.

Next planned trip: Opening day of trout fishing in Grayling for 5 days with Joe and John

First Limit This Year

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temp was in the lower 50s all morning and the wind was out of the Southwest less than 10 knots. Waves were less than a foot, just a nice day to be on the Lake Erie. The water is starting to clear up finally and the water temp is 54 degrees.

Started fishing by Turtle Island (41 46 104/083 21 605) in 10 feet of water. Joe and Daryl started off using blade baits and I was using a purple jig tipped with a minnow. I hooked a fish and we lost it at the net and I started thinking of the last trip where the same thing happened and the fishing went down hill after that. Daryl then switched to a blue hair jig and minnow and he started to catch some fish. Finally Joe put on a jig and he started catching some fish. We kept working that same area and we caught or limit of walleye. Kept 12 males between 19 and 22 inches. The fish are starting to stack up pretty good in this area now so the fishing should be good for the next couple of weeks. On the way back to the marina there was a pack of boats in front of Otter Creek, so they must be catching some fish there too.

Next planned trip: Tuesday with Daryl and Dale

Tried, But No Luck!

Fished with Louie. Temp in the morning was in the upper 40s and when we quit it was in the mid 50s. The wind was out of the SSW 10 to 15 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water is still very dirty and the water temp is 51 degrees.

Started fishing the same location as Tuesday, between Turtle Island and the Toledo Light House. After 15 minutes of jigging I had a fish on and we lost it right at the net, so we thought the fishing was looking pretty good for the day. That would be the last fish on for the day. Louie had a couple of quick hits but no fish. I jigged with the blades all morning and he used the blades and a purple jig tipped with a green plastic worm, which he had the two hits on. Saw a few boats netting fish and as we were getting ready to leave the boat behind us hooked 3 fish real fast. I have reports of people catching fish but we just cannot get them to go yet.

Next planned trip: Sunday with Joe and Daryl.

First trip on the Birds Nest for 2008

Fished with Daryl and Dale. Temperature for the day was between the lower and mid 40s. The wind was out of the southwest 5 to 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp was in the upper 40s and the lake is very dirty.

Started fishing by Turtle Island and we did not catch anything so we made a move towards a pack of boats by the Radar Buoy. Fished here for an hour with out a hit so we moved back towards Turtle Island and spent the rest of the morning there. Dale caught his first walleye using a blade bait and now he is a believer.

The catching was slow for us all day and we only saw a few boats net fish. We were 3 for 6 and Dale caught 2 of the fish. The walleye were males between 19 and 22 inches. All the fish were caught using the blue blade baits. I tried a purple jig with a minnow for a while and never had a hit.

Next palnned trips: Thursday with Louie and Sunday with Joe.

Last of Dock Fishing

Fished with Doug Sowa on Grosse Ile and the Detroit River at Belanger Park. Temps were in the middle 30s with a ENE wind 15 to 20 knots. Kind of cold for this time of year.

We stopped and dipped for minnows at Smitty's on Grosse Ile before we went perch fishing. Started fishing on the Trenton Channel and Doug began catching fish right away. Fished here for a hour and Doug had 3 nice perch and I only had 1 so we headed to Belanger Park.

When we got to the park the wind was blowing right in our faces and it was brutal. With the wind and the cold temps we only lasted a hour and we called it quits for the day. Kept 6 perch between 7 1/2 and 12 1/2 inches. That will be all the dock fishing for this spring, we can get to our boats this Tuesday and will start fishing Lake Erie for walleye.

First Trip of 2008 on Lake Erie

Fished with Captain Booth and his friend Tim. Temperature at 9:00 AM when we started fishing was in the middle 30s and the warmest it got was the upper 40s. The wind was out of the SW in the morning and rotating to the SE. Waves were less than a foot all day. Surface water temperature was 41 Degrees.

Started fishing at the S buoy and headed towards the dumping grounds trolling smithwicks, bombers and deep diving thunder stick juniors. Stayed in this area for a couple of hours without any luck so we decided to head towards the Light House. On the way to the Light House the water started getting dirty and the further we traveled the dirtier the water was getting.

Made it to the Light House and the water looked like chocolate milk so we turned and headed towards the swamp. The water was still dirty there so we made our way back in front of TBM and started trolling in 12 feet of water heading towards Otter Creek. Fished this area for an hour and then we headed back to where we started. Stayed out there until 4:00 PM and then we decided to call it a day. All this fishing and we had only one hit. The first trip was not very successful but everyone had a great time and it was a beautiful day on the lake.

We did not mark very many fish today and the radio talk was a few boats had a couple of fish that were jigging. We only saw one fish caught.

Welcome Spring!!

It's finally beginning to feel like Spring! This is one of our frogs trying to fatten up. He caught the bird and held it under the water, then must have decided it was too large for him to eat! He certainly looks proud of his trophy catch. Karen heard the bird flapping around in the pond and went to get a net to fish it out, assuming it just fell in the water. She saw the frog holding it under the water and grabbed the camera. After the bird stopped moving the frog hopped up onto the stones surrounding the pond.

Planning on fishing Lake Erie out of Toledo Beach Marina tomorrow. Booth is bring his boat in from Flint. Got a report they are marking a lot of fish, but the water is dirty and they are not easy to catch. Thanks Stan, for this info.

Good Luck on Last Ice!!!!!

Got a call from Doug Esch and he invited me out to a lake north of Chelsea, said he has been doing very well on it. Fished with Doug, his cousin Ted and his friend Lou. Temp this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing at 10:00 AM it was in the upper 40s with lots of sunshine and no wind, another great day on the ice.

Doug likes to start early and we did, he calls it O Dark Thirty. We were on the ice and fishing at 6:45 this morning, over an hour before sunrise! Picked up a crappie after 15 minutes fishing and then as the horizon started to get some light the gills started to bite. That bite lasted for less than a hour and things started to slow down. We did some hole hopping and that seemed to help quite a bit as we would pick up an occasional fish. I was using wax worms and those guys were using mousies. We kept 52 gills between 7 1/4 and 8 1/2 inches and one crappie 10 inches.

I took some pictures of the guys fishing on the ice today but when I got home I noticed that there was no memory card in the camera, my mistake. I wanted to post a photo, so when I got home, I took a picture of some of the fish we caught. Lou had a rough time catching fish today so Ted and I gave him some fish to have for dinner tonight. The ice is 10 inches thick and the shore ice is still good. Those guys should have 3 or 4 days of excellent fishing yet.

Last Ice?

Did some running around this morning and I was all done at 3:00 PM so I decided to go ice fishing at Airport Bay. Temps were in the lower 40s with lots of sunshine and a slight wind out of the southwest, which made for a beautiful day.

When I got to the canal to Round Island the 2 by 12 plank was moved to the last possible spot to cross, and the ice was deteriorating pretty fast. Once I was able to get on the canal I noticed that the canal was not in very good shape either. I figured that I would only fish for 3 hours and call it quits because of the bad ice conditions. Once on the bay I talked to 3 fishermen that had been out all morning and they said the fishing was terrible. Fished five feet of water and it was cloudy today, could only see the lure for the first two feet. I fished 5 or 6 holes without a bite so I decided to leave because the crossing at the canal had me worried.

Stopped and fished the Trenton Channel at a couple of places and did not even get a bite so I called it quits for the evening. That should be the last ice fishing trip for the year, now it's fishing off the docks until we can get the boats in mid April. No fish caught today.

Got a report from Louie tonight that he and Kenny did very good on Lake St. Clair today fishing at Compau Bay in front of Candles. He also said the ice is getting bad there.

Next Planned Trip: Friday with Doug E & Ted, in Chelsea

A Foggy Start

Fished Airport Bay on Grosse Ile with Doug Sowa. Temp this morning was in the upper teens and by lunch time it made it to the middle 30s. There was no wind at all today and when we arrived at the bay the fog was so thick you could only see about 100 feet. After an hour of fishing the sun started to break through the fog and it turned into a perfect day for fishing. We started fishing 150 yards east of Round Island in 3 feet of water and we caught nothing. Moved another 50 yards to the east and we started to catch some perch. The fishing was very good for 10 minutes and then the bite just quit. Doug saw one of his fishing buddies, Dale, at the bait store who said the fishing was pretty good yesterday but after 8:30 AM the fished just quit biting. I'll be damed if the same thing happened again today. I looked at my watch, it was 8:40 and we hadn't had a bite for 10 minutes. We thought about moving towards the pack of people by the point and as we watched them they were just standing around not doing very much so we decided to stay put. We would catch a fish every so often but the fishing just shut right down. We kept 20 perch between 7 1/2 and 10 inches.

When we got to the canal to cross over to the Bay someone had put a 2 by 12 that was 10 feet long over the broken ice so you could get across to the canal. When we came back from fishing the weather was warming up and the crossing was getting worse. It might only last a couple more days. If we decide to go back, it just might be a little earlier in the morning. The ice on the bay today was 9 inches thick.

Next Planned Trip: Don't know yet, maybe Wednesday morning since I'm off this week.

Sunrise on Lake St. Clair

Fished with Joe on Lake St. Clair today. Went back to our favorite spot on the Salt River access. Temperature this morning was 13 Degrees and by noon it was in the lower 30's. Wind was WSW 10 knots with lots of sunshine which made for a beautiful day on Lake St. Clair.

We started fishing in front of the yellow seawall in 4 ft. of water. The ice was around 15 inches thick. Stayed here for an hour, then moved 200 ft. towards Cotton Road and fished in about 5 ft. of water. Visibility was pretty good, you could see the bottom and the fish coming towards the bait. Although there weren't many fish they were quite aggressive. I had a large pike (28 inches?) staring at the minnow, but after 30 seconds he moved on. Also had a large bass come in to look at the same minnow, no interest from him either. Joe caught most of the fish today by using a wax worm and a green glow jig. I ran mostly rapalas tipped with mousies and minnows on jigs. We kept 9 perch between 7.5 and 10 inches, 6 of which were over 8.5 inches, enough for Karen and I to have a very tasty fresh perch dinner tonight!

Next Planned Trip: Tomorrow with Doug Sowa at Airport Bay, Grosse Isle

Snow Day

When I got done clearing the 7 inches of snow from three houses we built Shiloh a Snow Bunny. She seemed to like it.

Too much work before going to work!

Sardines Again?

Fished with John this afternoon. Temperature was in lower 30's with lots of sunshine. The wind was out of the west 15 knots, but because we fished in the canals, it did not affect us.

Planned on fishing the Salt River area but I had bad reports from Doug Sowa, who was out there this morning, and John had bad reports from his friends at work who were fishing Selfridge. We drove by Campau Bay where there were only around a dozen people fishing in the middle of the bay. There didn't seem to be any activity when I checked it out through the binoculars. No one was fishing by the flagpole at Candles, which is where we usually fish. Drove by one of the canals we fish on South River Road and it was pretty crowded so we stopped to see what was going on. Talked to a few guys who were catching some fish, so we decided to spend the afternoon here. The ice here was 14 inches thick. You could barely see the bait on the bottom or the fish hitting it.

Today's bait was minnows, waxworms, spikes, wigglers and mousies. Every bait of choice for ice fishing. Caught a couple of perch right off the get-go and thought we had hit into a lucky spot. Things came to a quick stop so John decided to experiment again with his can of sardines. His fishing pole stunk, his hands stunk, the shanty stunk, and when he went for the potato chips, I grabbed them first. After twenty minutes of smelling sardines we moved the shanty twenty feet away so we wouldn't have a smelly, oily hole in the shanty.

Caught quite a few small fish, but we only had five keepers between 7 & 8 inches. We gave them to a person we met on the ice today so he would have enough for a fish dinner tonight.

Minnows seemed to work the best today even though we didn't catch very many fish.

Next Planned Trip: Next weekend with Joe

New Auger Adapter

The IceMaster Drill Adapter works just fine! Drilled 12 holes today through a foot of ice and still had a good charge left. The video shows holes 9 through 12 being drilled. Four (foot deep) holes in 40 Seconds! You should have seen the ice and slush flying around with the first 4 holes that were drilled!

Enjoyable Day, But No Fish

Fished with Joe Pennebaker at Lake St. Clair. Temp this morning was in the upper teens and as the day progressed it made it up to the lower thirties. A breeze out of the southwest of 5 knots with lots of sunshine made for a perfect day of ice fishing.

The ice was over a foot thick. Started fishing around a mile out from the Salt River in approximately 8 ft of water. We decided on this spot because when we arrived it was daybreak and there were already about 25 people here. Visibility was around 4 feet and we only picked up a few small fish. Decided to move so we headed back towards the Salt River a half mile and fished in 6 ft. of water. Visibility was still not very good. Didn't pick up any fish, so we headed towards the yellow seawall and started fishing 500 feet from shore, in 4 ft. of water. Visibility here was excellent and we could see the fish on the bottom. Fishing wasn't hot and heavy but the fish were agressive on the bait. Minnows were the preferred choice, although after an hour the fish were totally disinterested in our offerings. Fishing is a lot more fun when you can see the fish in the hole.

We kept 7 perch between 7.5 and 9.5 inches. I did catch a large rock bass and Joe lost a largemouth bass of at least 18 inches at the hole. Talked to several other fishermen on the ice, one of whom had a couple perch over 14 inches fishing in the shallow water. Guess we shouldn't just follow the crowds.