Baby it's Cold Outside

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 40s. The wind was out of the south 10 to 15 knots( which made for a wind chill) with waves around a foot. The water temp is 50 degrees. We had a report that some fish were caught by the dumping grounds yesterday so that is where we headed, (41 48 150 / 083 20 850). We dropped the hook and fished for 30 minutes without a bite so we pulled anchor and moved about 200 feet. The bite started off very slow (maybe the fish were cold too) and then the catching started to pick up. It never got to be steady action but we caught enough fish to keep us here and we also caught some of the biggest perch so far this year. Kept 46 perch.

Fishing Season is Almost Over

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the southwest about 10 knots for the first 3 hours and then it switched to the south 15 to 17 knots. The waves were not to bad early and then they started to build to 2 to 3 footers. The water temp is 51 degrees. We went to leave the dock and the engine quit. We drifted to the other side of the marina and the boat would not go into gear without stalling the engine. We made our way back to the ramp and the mechanic (Steve) checked it out and fixed everything and a way we went. Started fishing by the W Buoy and we only caught 1 small perch so we started moving further out. After several more stops and no fish we made a move into the swamp. The water was very dirty here so we headed towards the mansion and fished in 10 feet of water. Still nothing so we moved into 8 feet of water and still nothing. We finally pulled out the GPS and we headed out to one of our hot spots which is 1 3/4 miles east of the E Buoy. We started to catch some fish but now it was late in the day and the lake was starting to get rough. Caught 20 fish and then we called it a day.

WOW, What Great Weather

Fished with Uncle Dan. 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 east less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees. What a week of beautiful weather, perfect temps and low winds. Started fishing 1 3/4 miles due east of the E Buoy and we never had to move. We started off catching perch 8 to 9 inches so I told Dan we would stay here for a while and then move into the swamp for some bigger fish. Well, after a while the bigger fish came in so we just stayed put. We caught mostly perch but we had to sort through them to keep 8 1/2 inch fish and up. Kept 84 perch and you could not ask for a better trip.

Could Not Find the Fish Today

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The great weather continues. The wind was out of the southeast 10 to 15 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees. Started fishing by McDonald's because we had a good report from last night. Caught only 1 keeper so we left the pack of boats and went to Sputnik. Fished 3 miles northeast of Sputnik and we started to catch some fish, even though they were on the small side. Fished here close to an hour and then the bite slowed down so we then went to our hot spot, 52/08 numbers. Caught only 1 small fish here so on the way back to the marina we stopped at another hot spot from 3 years ago, and again nothing. Decided to go back to where we wanted to start fishing which was 1 1/2 miles east of the E-Buoy and we started to catch some bigger fish but the action was still slow. Finished out the day here and we kept 41 perch.

Slow Pickings Today

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the southeast less than 10 knots with rolling waves around a foot. The water temp is 62 degrees. Got a report from Huey that he caught some nice fish by the W-Buoy on Wednesday so that is where we started off fishing. We started catching some fish so we just stayed put. The catching was pretty steady until 10:15 AM and it was like some one turned off the switch because the fish just quit biting. Made a couple of moves in this area and we only caught 1 more fish. Went to Trappers for another fish dinner and, as usual, it was good. Kept 33 perch today and it was another beautiful day on the water.

Summer is Back, at Least for a Week

Fished with uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 62 degrees. It was just a beautiful day on the water. Started fishing by the W Buoy and we had no hits so we moved about 3/4 mile south of the E Buoy and we started to get some bites. Stayed put here and we waited out the fish. The water was dirty but we were on some fish. Had one 20 minute flurry about 10:45 AM where all the fish were over 10 inches and then it went back to catching the 8 and 9 inchers. Kept 63 perch.

One of Those Tough Days of Fishing

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60s. The wind was out of the southwest 15 to 20 knots with waves from 1 foot in close and 2 to 3 feet out by the E Buoy. The water temp is 63 degrees. Started fishing where we caught our fish yesterday and we only caught 2 perch. We made about 3 or 4 moves in this area and it did not produce any fish. Made a move out to the 48/18 line where we have been fishing and we caught no fish and it was pretty rough. Came back to the dumping grounds and tried a few spots there and we picked up a few fish. Made a move to the S Buoy and caught a couple of fish so we decided to make one last move back to the W Buoy and again we caught no fish. Kept 7 perch. I heard a report that they caught some perch in front of the mansion in 8 feet of water.

Almost a Skunk

Fished with Mike. The temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the southeast 12 to 17 knots with waves 1 to 3 feet. The water temp is 63 degrees. The weatherman called for on and off showers but we had no rain. Started fishing where we left off on our last trip and we had no bites. We marked a lot of fish on the bottom but the water was very dirty from the barge dumping the dredging from the Maumee Channel about 1/2 mile to the southeast of us. We moved about a mile to the east and the water cleaned up but we only caught 1 large sheephead. Made a move towards the E-Buoy and again no fish. Made another move about 1/4 mile east of the E-Buoy and still nothing. On the way back to the marina we said we would try to fish by the W-Buoy for one last try and that is where we found the fish. Most of the fish we caught were perch and only 2 of them had to be thrown back. Only got to fish here for a little over a hour but it saved our day. Kept 49 perch.

Fall is Here

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. The wind was out of the east southeast around 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 64 degrees. We started fishing just outside the harbor by the W Buoy and picked up 3 perch. The catching was slow so we made a move to our old spot 1/2 mile southeast of the E Buoy. We did not mark any fish so we headed towards a pack of boats about 1/2 mile to the east. Dropped the hook and we started to catch some fish until a boat blew by us and the anchor broke lose. We moved back about 50 feet to our spot and started to catch some fish, but after a while the fish moved out. About 20 minutes with out a perch we moved to the south (41 48 760 / 083 18 100) and started to catch some fish. It was slow fishing but we were catching all perch and most of them were keepers. Kept 49 perch. We cleaned the fish and then we went to Trappers to watch the Michigan game and have a fresh perch dinner, fries, onion rings and some Turtle soup.

Nice Day to Be on the Water

Fished with Norm. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind this morning was out of the northwest around 10 knots and then it started to slow down to less than 5 knots. The fog was pretty bad leaving the harbor this morning but we found an opening about 400 feet wide where you could see all the way out to the fishing grounds, which made it kind of nice. There were no waves today and the water temp is 64 degrees. Started fishing southeast of the E-Buoy and we never moved. Caught a lot of junk fish again and the perch were not very large but at least we were on some fish. About 10:00 AM the catching slowed down but we stayed put and picked away at the fish. Kept 48 perch. The weather was perfect for fishing.

Check, Check and Check Again

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and it was raining when we left the house. About half way to the marina the rain quit and we never saw it again. When we quit fishing the temp was in the lower 70s. There was no wind today so we had no waves. It was so calm that we floated around the anchor most of the trip. Started fishing where we left off on the last trip and we had no bites. We watched the boats around us and they were not catching anything so we moved out to 41 52 450 / 083 08 300. The catching was not fast and furious but we were on some perch. We caught a lot of nice perch and only caught 4 junk fish, 3 sheep head and 1 silver bass. Around noon the Ohio DNR came by and checked us for our licenses and asked how the fishing was. We showed them our licenses and told them we had 52 perch. They asked how accurate our count was and we said very close. We talked for awhile and again they asked about our fish count. We caught one more fish when they showed up and again they asked about our fish count and we said it was very close. Just before they left they asked again about our count and told us that we were almost done for the day. Kept 60 perch and 24 of them were over 10 inches. Just a great day on the water.

Just Missed the Heat!!!

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it hit 90. It is supposed to get to the upper 90s today, too hot for September. The wind was out of the southeast about 10 knots and then it started to switch to the southwest just over 10 knots so we had a nice breeze the whole time we were fishing. Started fishing 1 mile southeast of the E Buoy (47 49 100 / 083 18 440) and we never had to move. We really had to sort through the fish. We caught sheep head, perch, white perch and silver bass. It was not uncommon to have a triple header of silver bass. We just stayed put, caught a lot of fish and enjoyed the day. We quit fishing at 10:45 AM and started cleaning Daryl's boat to get it ready for winterizing. Kept 64 perch that weighed 17.5 lbs. and after we cleaned them the fillets weighed 7.1 lbs.

A Very Bad Day of Perching

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was very light so we had no waves. We headed out towards the Toledo Light House but we did not mark any fish. Started to move up the channel stopping at every buoy looking for fish and the fish finder showed no marks. When we arrived at McDonald's we marked a few fish on the Michigan side of the channel. Dropped the hook and we started to fish. Only caught some white perch so we moved to the other side of McDonald's. Started to mark some fish so we dropped the hook again and we started to catch some small perch. The action was very slow and the perch were not very large but at least we were on some perch. We caught some of the largest sheep head that I have ever seen. Stayed here for about 45 minutes and then we decided to head toward the gravel pits where we saw some boats fishing. It was a waste of time fishing here so we pulled lines and headed home. We only caught 17 perch for the day.

Final Tally for 2011

This year the report is not as accurate because when we got into fish it was fast and furious so we were not sure what set up some of the fish came off.  We hooked 63 fish and landed 44 of them which gave us a 70% catch rate. We caught a mix of Steelhead, Lake Trout, Coho and King Salmon. We caught 28 fish in the morning and 16 fish in the evening. Of the 13 sessions we could have made it out fishing we made it out 10 times, which is very good. We totaled 40.5 hours of fishing and landed 44 fish for an average of 1.1 fish per hour. The 44 fished weighed 547.1 lbs. for an average of 12.4 lbs per fish. The largest fish was 23.5 lbs and the smallest that we kept weighed 3.5 lbs. We put back 2 Lake Trout and 3 small Salmon, so we kep 39 fish for the trip. The best setup was the Black Mamba Meat rig with a red head off the dipsy divers. We caught fish from 20 feet of water all the way out to 450 feet of water. Below is a list of lures that caught fish and the set ups used to catch them.

Black Mamba Meat Rig with a Red Head.................14 hits
J Plug Meat Rig.........................................................11 hits
Green Splatter Back Silver Horde...............................5 hits
White Spin Doctor with a Red Meat Head...................4 hits
SUV Meat Rig.............................................................4 hits
Blue Dolphin Spoon....................................................4 hits
Green Ladder Back J Plug...........................................3 hits
Moonshine Happy Meal...............................................2 hits
White Spin Doctor and Blue Sparkle Fly......................1 hit
Green Spin Doctor with Blue Glow Fly.........................1 hit
Green Spin Doctor with Glow Frog Squid....................1 hit
White Spin Doctor with Blue Meat ..............................1 hit
Water Melon Spoon.....................................................1 hit


The Dipsy's had 27 hits.
The lead core had 14 hits.
The planner boards had 8 hits.
The copper line had 1 hit.

Down Rigger # 1 had 2 hits.
Down Rigger # 2 had 6 hits.
Down Rigger # 3 had 2 hits.
Down Rigger #4 had 3 hits.

Double,Double

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was light out of the south with waves less than a foot. The action last night was fantastic so we thought the fishing would be great today. Well, the water temp is now at 70 feet and when we started this week it was at 20 feet. We ran south to the 08 line and set lines in 80 feet of water. Caught a few fish early and then it shut down. We moved out to deeper water and raised our bait up to the 40 foot area and we started to hit some fish. Again our best bait was the meat rigs. We ended up 6 for 11 and threw 1 lake trout back. Todays Blog Title is due to landing two double hits. When I get home I will tally up the results for this years trip.

Another Good Weather Day for Fishing

Fished with Joe and John, Daryl had to go home. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 knots or less. The waves were 1 to 3 feet but most were left over from last night. We ran down to the 9 line and set lines. Our plan was like last night to troll north with the waves to our back. Started fishing in 100 feet of water with a temp break at 40 feet down. Hit fish pretty quick but we could not hook them up. Our catch rate was pretty poor. We finally started to net some fish with the best set up being the dipsy's set at 100 to 125 feet back with meat rigs. The hottest was the black mamba with a red head. Went 5 for 10 this morning with the largest fish at 21 pounds.

Another Flat Day

Fished with Joe, John and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. There was no wind again today so we had no waves. Started fishing in close where we left off last night and we had only one hit. Made a move to the south, back to the 11 line and trolled around here for a while without a hit. Things were not looking good. Started trolling out to deep water and we hit a fish at 25 feet down off a rigger in 450 feet of water. We went through a little flurry of hits and went 5 for 6 with 2 throw backs. All the fish came in the top 20 foot of water except one that came off a meat rig with the dipsy set at 3 1/2 at 90 feet back.

Flat as a Pancake

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in  the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. There was no wind this morning so the lake was flat. Started fishing south of the harbor in 40 to70 feet of water. Had a few releases, but no fish. Made a move out to deeper water (100 to140) and we started to catch some fish. The water temp is in the top 15 feet of the water, so everything we are catching is in the top of the water column. We went 3 for 5 this morning. This afternoon Daryl showed up and fished with us. Started fishing north of the harbor in shallow. Had no hits so we moved out to the deeper water. After a hour of fishing we moved back into the shallows. Started to catch some fish long lining silver hordes 100 feet behind the boards. Went 4 for 5 with the largest king of the day weighing 23.5 lbs.

Rough and Tough

Made it out fishing this afternoon. The temperature was in the lower 70s and the wind was out of the northeast 10 to 20 knots. The waves were 2 to 4 feet when we started and after a half hour of fishing the waves were building 3 to 5 feet. We set up south of the harbor in 150 feet of water fishing at the 11 line.The water temp was 52 degrees at 48 feet down. Caught 1 king off the downrigger 42 feet down using a hoochi and a blue fly. The waves got to be to tough so after 45 minutes of fishing we had enough. We pulled lines and had a hour ride back to port in very rough seas. Went 1 for 1 last night. There will be no fishing today because of the weather.

Manistee Salmon Day 1

Left home at 7:30 a.m. with John and Joe for our annual Salmon Fishing Trip in Manistee, MI. It doesn't sound like the weather will be very good this weekend. Hoping to get in an afternoon/evening trip on the lake today. Will keep you posted.

Half of What We Wanted

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was out of the east 10 to 15 knots with waves around 2 feet. The water temp is 81 degrees. Our game plan was to perch fish but after we arrived at the marina Daryl changed his mind and we started off walleye fishing. Started fishing at 41 48 300 /083 17 500. We trolled with wiggle warts set at 100 feet on one side of the boat and headed into the waves. After 45 minutes of fishing and not marking any fish we pulled lines and headed east to the turn around bouy. We slowed down to try and mark some fish and we marked a large school of perch. It was too weedy to walleye fish so we tried to perch fish. Only caught a few small perch so we pulled the hook and headed to the Toledo Light House. We fished east of the light house at the first set of buoys. Started to catch some fish right out of the gate so we just stayed put. We had to sort through the fish but at least we had some keepers. Kept 58 perch with the largest at 10 1/2 inches but most of the fish were around 8 inches. When we got back to the harbor we heard that the walleye turned on at the location we were at.

Could be the Last Trip for Walleye

Fished with Joe, Booth and Uncle Dan could not make it. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 90s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots for most of the trip with waves less than 2 feet. The water temp is 82 degrees and the majority of the algae has moved out. We started fishing on the edge of the dumping grounds and we caught only silver bass so we made a move to the turn around buoy. We stayed in this area going between the turn around and Sputnik buoys. We trolled with wiggle warts set at 110 feet back on one side of the boat and jet 40s set at 55 feet back on the other side. The jets started to catch some walleye so we put jets on both sides of the boat. I could not find all my jet 40s so we had to mix some jet 30s with some jet 40s. The catching was slow and it was hot but we just picked away at the fish. Kept 9 walleye and we had 2 throw back walleye.

Found the Fish Too Late

Fished with Daryl and Chico. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The water temp is 81 degrees. The west wind the last few days pushed out most of the algae. The wind was out of the west today 10 to 15 knots and after a couple of hours it started to lay down. The waves were about 2 feet. Around 12:30 the wind started blowing up to 25 knots which made the fishing terrible. Started fishing at 41 51 200 / 083 17 000 trolling east with the waves to our back. Picked up 2 walleye right out of the gate and then it went down hill from there. Trolled for about 3 miles without any fish so we pulled lines and made the same troll again but we went a little further to the west to start our troll. Set lines and this time we put jet 40s set at 50 feet back on one side and  wiggle warts set at 90 feet back on the other side. Trolled for 3 miles again with out any walleye. Pulled lines and headed to the northeast corner of the dumping grounds and set the troll to the east again. Started to catch some fish at 41 48 240 / 083 18 450 and then the wind picked up. We were on some active fish but the wind was just too much to troll so we called it quits for the day. Kept 7 walleye and 1 perch.

The Heat is Still On

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 90s. The heat wave continues. The wind was variable less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 81 degrees. The west wind we had the last few days pushed most of the algae out to deeper water but we still had to fish in some light algae. Started fishing just past the E buoy and we caught 1 walleye right out of the gate but after 45 minutes of fishing that was all that we had. Made a move to 41 51 300 / 083 14 625, which is front of the 2 stacks in 22 feet of water and we started to catch some fish. We ran wiggle warts 100 feet behind the boards and the best colors were the metallic. We trolled in and out from the 12 line to the 14 line and just picked away at the fish. Kept 18 walleye and we had 2 throw back walleye.

Hot Days of Summer

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 90s. The wind was out of the south less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The algae is blooming but there are no weeds. Started fishing at 41 51 220 / 083 11 450 and we stayed in this general area. Started off with jet 20s set at 60 feet back and wiggle warts set at 70 feet back. We also ran the large dipsy's set on number 3 at 30 to 40 feet back and they pulled a few fish. After a while of fishing the warts were catching more walleye so we put out warts on both sides set at 100 feet back. Caught a lot of fish so we had to sort through them and it kept everyone busy. Kept 13 walleye and we had 3 small walleye that we put back.

Just Pecked Away

Fished with Daryl and Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 90s. The wind was out of the southwest less than 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 78 degrees. Had another late start today because we had to wait 50 minutes for a hilo driver, second time this year. The lake was in very good shape, no weeds and no mayflies.  Our game plan was to start trolling at the C buoy heading east with wiggle warts set at 70 feet behind the planer boards. After 45 minutes and only one fish we pulled lines and headed towards the swamp. Only saw a few boats there so we went back towards the E buoy and started fishing 1 mile past the buoy running the same program. Started to catch some walleye at 41 52 040 / 083 16 360. We just worked this area for the rest of the trip and caught mostly walleye. The catching was pretty slow but the majority of the fish we caught were walleye.  Best warts were anything with metallic paint on them. Kept 12 walleye for the day.

Bumpy and Weedy

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the northeast 16 to 19 knots with waves 2 to 4 feet. After 3 hours of fishing the wind started to lay down and so did the waves. The water temp is 76 degrees. Started fishing in front of the two stacks heading into the waves. We ran jet 20s at 55 and 65 feet back. With the wind and the waves it was hard to set lines but we managed. Picked up about four fish and then we turned around and went with the waves to our backs. Picked up some more fish this way, so we made the turn and headed back into the waves. Picked up most of the fish around 41 52 040 / 083 16 360. The next thing we knew the weeds started arriving and the fishing went down hill. At one point every line had some weeds on it. Once that happened we called it a day. Kept 9 walleye.

Another Tough One

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind this morning was out of the north 10 to 14 knots with waves around 2 feet. As the day went on the wind died down and started to switch so the lake laid down. The water temp is 72 degrees. The mayfly hatch is starting to wind down but there is still some larvae on the surface of the water. We started fishing at 41 08 250 / 083 07 400. Caught a lot of sheephead and silver bass but no walleye. Started trolling towards Middle sister Island and we still had no fish so we pulled lines and made the run in between the islands. Started trolling again and now we were catching small silver bass, just a pain in the butt. We caught a walleye off the jet 30s set at 85 feet back and that was just by luck. Fished around here for a couple of hours and then we headed towards Stoney Point. Found a lot of weeds and debris floating around so we called it a day. On the way out to our fishing spot this morning the engine quit a couple of times and then it was alright. On the way back to the harbor it started acting up again 6 miles from port. We limped our way back but we did make it. Sounds like a carburetor problem so I picked up a filter on the way home and will install it tomorrow. Kept 1 walleye for a long day of fishing.

Finally, a Nice Day for Fishing

Fished with Uncle Dan and Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was variable less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 71 degrees. The mayfly hatch is happening and that made the catching tough for us. We had to check the lines a lot for mayfly larva building up on the jet divers. We started fishing at 41 45 240 / 083 14 175, which is off of Stoney Point. We ran jet 30s set at 60 feet back and jet 40s set at 50 feet back. As we were setting lines we got the first fish and we thought we were in for a great day. After an hour of fishing with only the one fish we pulled lines and headed to 41 48 170 / 083 09 350. Again, we just got the lines set and we caught a walleye. Well, we trolled around here for a while picking up a fish or two and that was how our day was. We left the pack of boats and started trolling towards port and that is when we caught the steelhead. Kept 8 walleye and 1 steelhead.

Made the Right Choice Today

Fished with John and Doug E. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60s, and it's the end of June. The wind was out of the west 20 to 25 knots and because we fished in close for perch the waves were about a foot. The water temp is 71 degrees. Started fishing where we left off yesterday and it produced no fish. We made some moves further into the swamp and we would catch an occasional keeper perch but the catching was very slow. After 4 or 5 moves in the swamp we went to the W buoy and started to catch some fish. We were fishing about 1000 feet south of the W buoy. Caught most of our fish here and after an hour we pulled lines because Doug had to go home. Kept 24 perch and most of them were pretty nice fish. We made a good call by not going walleye fishing. When the charter boats came in they said the waves were just like yesterday.

Wind, Rain, Waves but a good running Kicker

Fished with Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was still in the upper 60s. It would rain every once in a while which just made the trip that much worse. The wind was out of the southwest 20 to 26 knots and when we got to the fishing spot the waves were 3 to 5 feet. The water temp is 71 degrees. The wind report this morning was bad so the game plan was to perch fish in close to shore. We bought some shiners and headed out. Well, with the offshore wind the lake was not too bad so we made the decision to go walleye fishing out to 41 51 200 / 083 11 200, an 11 mile boat ride. We stopped a mile short of these way points and tried to set lines with the waves to our backs. After a hard time of setting lines and fighting the waves we decided to call it quits and go perch fishing. We caught 2 walleye using the jet 30s set at 65 feet back off the CJ Special spoon. The walleye are there but it was just too rough too fish in my boat. After a long ride back we started to perch fish in the swamp (41 48 170 / 083 24 630) where the waves were about a foot but the wind was still blowing pretty hard. We kept 22 perch and 2 walleye. I put a new carburetor on the kicker motor and that seemed to solve the engine problems, finally.

The Big Bang

Fished with Captain Daryl and his friend Walt. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was less than 10 knots out of the west with waves less than 6 inches. The water temp is 71 degrees. We started fishing at 41 51 250 / 083 11 800. The fishing was kind of slow and as we moved out the catching got better. Caught most of the fish at 41 49 200 / 083 09 100. We ran jet 20s at 70 and 100 feet back. The best spoons were anything with a combination of purple. The weeds were not too much of a problem today but there is still a lot of logs floating around. We actually had the starboard planer board take a dive, luckily it was clam enough to bring it in with no problem. Were not sure, but we think a large log hit the planer board and it started diving into the water. Here we are fishing on a Friday and there must have been at least 300 boats fishing, 11 miles from shore, go figure. We kept 13 walleye and had 1 throw back walleye.

Nothing But Problems

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the the middle 70s. The wind was out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots with gusts over 20 knots and the  waves were 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 70 degrees. We were running jets and spoons set at 70 feet back. The best color spoon was CJ Special, which is mostly purple. The game plan was to fish at 41 51 200 / 083 11 500. So I set up a couple of miles north of these way points and started to troll out to them. Well, the kicker motor has been acting up lately and today it was worse. After wasting an hour getting to our way points without any fish and fighting with the kicker motor we finally arrived and found a lot of weeds. We also found some fish. The kicker motor was so bad that we went with the big motor for the rest of the trip. By this time the wind was picking up and it getting hard to fish so we called it a day. Kept 6 walleye. Bought some fuel today and the price is $4.49 a gallon.

Mark's Big Fish

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the east about 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 71 degrees. Started fishing where we left off yesterday running the same program. We caught most of the fish at 41 52 300 / 083 14 800. Just like yesterday there was small pockets of fish, once you got over them you would catch a walleye. About half way through the trip one of the rods bent over and we knew it was a nice fish. That's the picture of Mark holding a nice musky. Kept 9 walleye and threw back 4 little ones. On the way out to the fishing spot and on the way back to the harbor there was a lot of debris floating around. Some of the logs were half the size of a telephone pole.

Perfect Day for Fishing

Fished with Joe and uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the northeast less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. Just a nice day to be on the water. The water temp is 69 degrees. Started fishing where we left off on the last trip with jets set at 60 feet on one side of the boat and 70 feet on the other. Caught one fish right out of the gate and we thought we were in for a great day but it did not turn out that way. We eventually put the jets at 70 feet on both sides of the boat and that did not help so we went to dipsy's on one side set at 110 feet. That  produced no hits so we went back to all jets. Today we had a couple of problems. One we lost 5 walleye behind the boat and two the boat traffic was horrendous. I'm not sure why we are losing so many fish this year, the hooks are sharp and we are not horsing the fish in, they just shake there head and there off. Today uncle Dan cut his hand on a walleye and then Joe wanted to make sure he left his mark in the boat too so he cut his finger on a walleye. The hot spoons were Hot Rod and CJ Special.  Kept 10 walleye and we had 5 throw backs between 5 and 13 inches, which is always a great sign for the future walleye fishing.

The Dirty Dozen

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots but we had some waves left over from yesterday for the morning fishing. After a couple of hours the lake laid done very nice with waves less than a foot. Started fishing at the northeast corner of the dumping grounds and trolled east. We caught most of the fish at 41 52 000 / 083 15 300, which is straight out from the River Raisin Channel. Setting lines this morning was a choir, with the wind and the waves and the boat not running very good it took all we had to set lines. We ran jet 20s set at 55 feet back on one side of the boat and 70 feet back on the other side of the boat. The 70 feet side started to catch some fish so we set all lines to 70 feet. The best color spoons were metallic with green and orange with an antifreeze backing. Kept 12 walleye.

The Misery Continues

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the west about 10 knots in the morning and then it switched to the east for the last couple of hours. The waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 62 degrees. Started fishing where we left off on the last trip with crawlers and 2 oz. weights set at 70 feet back and dipsy's and spoons set at 75 feet back. Caught the first fish right out of the gate off the dipsy. Fished for another hour and we only caught a catfish so we pulled off the crawlers and put out jet 20s set at 60 feet back. Trolled around for another hour without a hit so pulled off everything and went to all crawlers. Did that and we had a fish within 10 minutes. Trolled this way for the rest of the trip and we only caught silver bass and white perch. Another long day of fishing with very little to show for it. When we got back to the harbor we heard a report that they caught some fish last weekend fishing in the same area using jets and spoons. Maybe the catching will start to pick up. We kept 2 walleye today.

Still Cannot Find the Fish!!!!

Fished with Doug. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was very light so we had no waves. The water temp is 61 degrees. The fishing reports are still bad so we started at the same spot that we fished on the last trip. We ran crawlers with 2 oz. weights set at 90 to 100 back on one side of the boat and 3 oz. weights set at 70 to 75 feet back on the other side of the boat. Started to catch some fish off the 2oz. weights so we put them on both sides of the boat. We caught most of the fish at 41 49 600 / 083 18 400. Our main problem was the white perch, we could not keep them off the lines. We constantly had to check the lines or we would drag white perch around. Doug actually caught 2 white perch off one crawler harness. I think it might be time to go back to fishing with spoons or plugs. We kept 4 walleye, had one throw back walleye (13 inches) and 1 perch about 10 inches. Put some gas in the boat and it is $4.45 a gallon. After we got done fishing we attended the open house at TBM and it turned out very nice, a large crowd, good food and a lot of happy people.

Still Slow Fishing

Fished with Daryl, so that means I finally got the boat in the water. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was light out of the east with no waves. The water temp is 59 degrees and it was very foggy today. We started the trip off in a light rain and while we were fishing it rained a couple of times very light, but over all it turned out to be a nice day. I went through old fishing reports and over the last 4 years we have been catching fish at 41 49 250 / 083 17 610 this time of year, so that was our starting point. We found a spot where the water was dirty and half way clean so we stayed in this area. We trolled crawler harnesses with 2 oz. weights set at 80 to 100 feet back and with 3 oz. weights set 70 to 80 feet back. We kept the trolling speed under 2 miles an hour. We were marking fish but there was not a lot of marks on the screen. We picked up 3 keeper walleye, lost one behind the boat and had 1 throw back that was 13 inches. Only had a few problems with the boat and they will be fixed by Tuesday. The fishing is very slow yet and this year we have dead walleye floating in the marina and no one knows why they are there.

Slowest Spring Walleye Fishing Ever

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and by the time we quit fishing it was in the upper 50s. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 53 degrees. The reports that we heard was that the fishing was very bad and we proved those reports to be true. Started fishing in the dumping grounds where the water was very clean jigging blade baits and hair jigs with shiners. We had no bites so we moved to Turtle Island where the water was dirty. We jigged we for awhile without a hit, so we went to the Michigan/Ohio border and started trolling. We trolled the mud line towards the Toledo Light House without any hits. Pulled lines and headed to the E Buoy where the water is clean and tried jigging there. Again no bites. Made one more move into 14 feet of water in front of Toledo Beach Marina and never had a hit. We marked very few fish for the whole trip. Caught no fish today!

The King in His Chair

Left on Thursday to go trout fishing with Joe, John hurt his back and could not make the trip. The weather has been terrible for the last 3 weeks, rain and very cold temperatures and today was no different. We lost our fishing location in Grayling because politics and special interest groups changed the way we could fish the river. We decided to give the Pine River in Lake County a try this year. When we pulled into camp the river was very high and very dirty. We talked to a local owner of a trout fly shop and she told us that the river is 5 times higher than it's normal height. We thought about going to a different river to fish but it was getting late in the day and raining pretty hard so we just set up camp and thought we would try fishing here anyways. Fishing on Saturday was terrible, high and dirty water on the Little Manistee and the Pine. We only had one bite for the whole day. This was the first time in 32 years we did not have a trout dinner on opening day. We were sitting around the camp on Saturday evening and lo and behold John pulled up. Not sure how he found us but we were glad he made it. The three of us fished the Little Manistee on Sunday morning with no fish caught. Finally on Sunday afternoon we started to catch some fish on the Pine River. By this time the water had dropped 3 feet on the Pine River but the water was still dirty. By Monday morning the Pine River was fish able and we picked up a few more fish so we had our trout dinner. We had to learn a different way of trout fishing than the way we are accustomed to. But as the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". We kept 10 trout for the trip, 9 brown trout and 1 rainbow trout. We have a new Trout King this year. John caught a 16 1/2 inch brown trout to win that title. Go figure, he shows up late with a bad back, leaves early because of a meeting and then he catches the largest fish. We all had a good time and the trip turned out better than we thought it would.

Trout Season Opening Weekend

Left Thursday, April 28, for our annual Camping/Fishing Trout Season Opening Weekend. We left early this year because we are fishing the Pine River instead of the Little Manistee River in Grayling, and we wanted to check out the area a bit before opening day on Saturday. Just Joe and I this year, as John hurt his back. Will be home Tuesday, May 3.

The NEW Rack and Launch

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 30s and when we quit fishing it was only in the upper 40s. The wind was out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 44 degrees and very dirty from all the storms this last week. Toledo Beach is paving the rack and launch area so they have to use the sling to launch the boats for a couple of weeks. We started fishing between Turtle Island and the Light House and we never had a bite. Made a few passes here and then we went to the Radar Buoy. Made one pass here and then we went and fished by the Toledo Light House. Marked a lot of fish but we could not hook any. Made another move to the humps on the Michigan/Ohio border and again no fish. Made one last stop in front of the mansion with the same results, no fish. The day ended with no bites and no fish.

Maiden Voyage

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 30s and by the time we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was light out of the north and the lake was pretty flat. The water temp is 48 degrees. Once we got Daryl's boat ready for the season, away we went fishing. There were a lot of boats in front of the marina in 14 feet of water trolling but we were jigging today with blade baits and hair jigs tipped with a shiner. We started fishing in a pack of boats (close to a hundred) in between Turtle Island and Toledo Light House. The water was a little dirty but that is how we like it for jigging. Daryl started with the hair jigs and I used blade baits. He caught the first walleye so I switched over to hair jigs. The catching was slow for us but as we looked around not a whole lot of nets were moving. Daryl caught one more fish and we had a couple more hits, but that was it for us. Kept 2 walleye on a beautiful day for fishing.

Getting Ready for Boating Season

Finally able to get my boat, so I will be picking it up from Toledo Beach Marina this morning and taking it to Mike's Marine Fiberglass Repair. Mikes Marine Fiberglass Repair Mike will be replacing the floor in the boat.

I already removed the rotted flooring and the gas tank. Gas tank has been repaired and is currently residing in the basement.

Looks like we'll still be trout fishing for the season opener on April 30. Due to placing Gear Restrictions on the Manistee River in Grayling this year we will most likely be fishing another river.

Slip Sliding Away

Fished with Daryl on Woodburn Lake. Temperature this mid morning was 21 degrees with a north wind of 5 to 10 knots. By the time we were done fishing it was a balmy 34 degrees. The sky was blue and the sun was bright and that was a good thing. We launched the boat on Bruin Lake, which was half frozen over, went through a canal to Watson Lake, which was completely froze over, through another canal, which was half frozen over, through Patterson Lake, which had the most ice on it (3/4 inch), through another canal to Woodburn Lake, which was only half frozen over, to the canal we wanted to fish, which was completely froze over. We busted the ice in the canal and started to fish. Don't know if it was all the noise we made or it was too cold but we caught no fish so we moved to another canal. This canal was also frozen over so we went towards the island and dropped anchor there. Fished for half an hour without a bite so we went back to the last canal we were at. Broke some ice in the canal and started to fish but we had no bites. By this time the sun was high in the sky and the ice was starting to melt. Made a move back to our first fishing spot and we had a little more open water to fish and we started to catch some fish. Made a few moves around the canal once the ice started to melt and we were able to get to some of the good fishing spots. We caught a lot of fish but we only kept 7 big bluegill. It was definitely an interesting trip.

This Could be IT!!!!

Fished with Daryl on a small lake in Chelsea. Temperature this morning was in the upper teens and when we quit fishing it was almost 30 degrees. We thought the lake might be in bad shape after all the rain and snow we had Saturday but the water was in great shape and so was the ice. The wind was out of the east less than 5 knots. The sun was shining bright which made for a nice fishing trip.The ice is still 8 inches thick. I will not be able to fish for a week, so this could be my last ice fishing trip this year. We talked to a few fisherman on the way out to our spot and not even one person had a bite, so things were not looking very good. We set up and decided to fish out of the shanty again today. We started catching fish but they were all small ones. After a little while we started to catch some keepers so we just stayed put and sorted through the fish. Kept 17 blue gills and 2 crappie.

Sunny but Windy

Fished with Daryl in Chelsea. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and the temp was dropping throughout the morning. The wind was out of the west 12 to 18 knots so we decided to take the ice shelter with us. The ice is still 8 inches thick and after the last snow melt it was pretty slippery. Set up to close to where we have been fishing and we never moved. The catching was not very fast but we just waited out the fish today. Most of the fish we caught were less than a foot off the bottom. If we were not so selective we could have caught our limit. Kept 25 bluegill and 2 perch. With the cold temps we should have a couple more weeks of ice fishing. Sure glad we had the ice shelter, we stayed warm and cozy all morning.

Sloppy but Fun

Fished with Joe on a small lake in Chelsea, John could not make it because he was getting over the flu. After a couple of hours of fishing Doug S. showed up. Temperature today was in the middle 30s with a southwest wind around 5 knots. We fished in the fog and a drizzle for most of the day. The ice is still 8 inches thick but it is starting to get soft. Walking on the lake was very difficult because of the snow cover and the slush. Started fishing where we left off on the last trip and we never had to move. We caught a lot of fish today but we had to sort through them to have a nice catch. Most of the fish were caught off the bottom but every once in a while there would be fish from the top to the bottom. We kept 37 bluegill. When we arrived back at the vehicle the CO was waiting for us to check our fish count and for our fishing license. Today we both passed with flying colors because I had my license with me this time. The CO tried to give us 11 fish that he just took from another fisherman that did not have a license, but we passed on his offer.

The End is Near

Fished with Daryl at a small lake by the Chelsea prison. The temperature was in the middle 30s with a slight wind out of the northwest. Had to walk through about 5 inches of slush on the lake which made for a tough go. When you drilled a hole the water would start gushing out of it so we fished in a lot of water. At one time I was sitting in 4 inches of water. The ice is 8 inches thick and just last week it was 14 inches thick. We started fishing at the crack of mid morning again. Started fishing in the middle of the lake and we only had a few fish. Started making our way back towards shore and we finally found some fish. The bite was slow but at least we caught some fish and all I wanted was enough fish for dinner. We kept 25 bluegill,1 crappie and 1 perch.

Blue Skies, Upper 40 Temps and Illegal?

Fished with Dale and Daryl on a small lake in Chelsea. Temperature this afternoon was almost 47 degrees with a southwest wind 5 to 10 knots. Just a nice day to be ice fishing. The ice was a little wet on top but we still have 14 inches of ice. We decided to try the mid day fishing (which is not the best time to ice fish) because it worked for Daryl on his last trip. The first spot we tried we only had a couple of keeper gills after an hour of fishing. Made a move towards the center of the lake where there was a group of fisherman and we started to catch some fish. Right about 3:00 PM we started to catch some nice crappie about 3 feet below the ice. Usually crappie are caught right before first light and right after dark. We kept a total of 48 fish, a mix of gills and crappie. O yeah, as we were fishing the CO came out and was checking for over limits of fish and fishing licenses. We were not worried because we had very few fish at that time and we were all legal. Well, I could not find my fishing license. After looking for about 10 minutes I told him I have a license but I don't have it with me. The CO called into his office and verified that I had one so I was good to go. Once he got done checking everyone he passed out quite a few tickets.

Frozen Tundra

Fished with Doug S. Temperature this afternoon was 19 degrees and the temp was dropping as the day went on. The wind was out of the northeast 10 to 20 knots, which made for some cold ice fishing. We decided to do the Grosse Ille tour today. The ice was 10 to 12 inches thick and in spots it was very slippery. We used minnows and spikes trying to catch some perch. Started fishing on the Trenton Channel and all that we caught were some small perch. We drove around the island to all our usual spots and it did not look very promising. Made one more stop on the Detroit River off Church Road and we only had a couple of bites. Decided to call it a day with no fish. We thought about fishing Airport Bay but we were not up for the long walk out to our fishing spot(over a mile).