It's Officially Over

Fished with Captain Dan. We launched out of Sterling State Park because with the south wind it would be an easier ride back to the harbor. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50's. The wind was out of the south to southeast 8 to 15 knots. The waves were 1 to 2 feet for most of the trip. The water temp is 46 Degrees. Started fishing where we were on the last two trips and we never got a bite. Made about 6 moves in this area without any luck. Made a move to the 1 and 2 buoys off the Raisin River and not even a hit. Went back to where we were fishing and moved out a little further, nothing. Talked to another fisherman out by us and he only had 2 hits. Started moving into the bay and nothing. Made it over to Stony Point and tried about 3 spots here, again nothing. Tried a couple more spots in the bay and nothing so we said we would try in front of the rock pile by the harbor for our last stop. Nothing. The last trip of the year and not even a bite. That does not happen very often on Lake Erie.

Almost a Cooler Full

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30's so we waited until it warmed up before we went fishing. Temperature when we started fishing was in the lower 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 40's. It's hard to believe but we took off our coats and were just wearing short sleeve shirts. The sun was out for most of the trip and it was beautiful on the lake. The wind was very light and there were no waves. We were just floating around the anchor for most of the trip. This is not good when your perch fishing. The water temp is 52 degrees. Started out fishing where we left off on the last trip and we were catching white perch. Made a move about 200 feet to the northeast and we started to catch some perch. The fish were not as large as the last trip but they were still nice fish. We stayed put and sorted through the fish to keep the larger ones. We thought we had close to a limit of fish but when we got done cleaning them we had 81 perch. It was just a perfect day to be on Lake Erie. At one time there was a pack of 22 boats about a 1/4 of mile east of us, and it's the end of October!

Cooler Full

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30's so we waited for it to warm up before we went fishing. Temperature when we started fishing was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's, pretty nice for this time of year. The wind was out of the southeast 10 to 15 knots when we started to fish and after a couple of hours it switched to the south 10 to 15 knots. On the way out the waves were about 2 feet and when the wind switched the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 51 degrees. Started fishing in front of the harbor with a couple of boats and we caught nothing. Moved out to 1 mile east of the 1 and 2 buoys on the Raisin River and set up. Caught a lot of white perch and silver bass. Made a couple of small moves in this area and we caught the same thing, white perch and silver bass. Dan decided to make one more small move in this area before we made a move to the buoys and it paid off. We were on the perch and it was non stop action. 99 percent of the fish we caught were perch and 95 percent of them were keepers. After a hour of catching perch we called it quits, the cooler was getting full. Kept 85 perch and only 9 of those were about 8 inches, the rest were 9 to 12 1/2 inches.

The End Has Arrived

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 30's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50's. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots with hardly any waves. After a couple hours of fishing we were wearing short sleeve shirts. That is how nice it felt. The water temp is 50 degrees and there is still a trace of algae in the water. Started fishing right in front of the marina with a couple of boats and we only caught small perch. Made a move to the S- Buoy and we caught a couple of small perch. Headed back to where we have been fishing and we started to catch some nice perch. The catching was slow so we would just make small moves in this area. Ended up keeping 40 pretty nice size perch. The boat is all cleaned up and put away for the winter. It's hard to believe how fast the fishing season went. Bought some fuel at the marina and it is still $5.09 a gallon. I paid $2.89 a gallon for fuel around the house yesterday, go figure.

Same Spot Different Results

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60's. The wind was light out of the northwest and there were hardly any waves. Just a nice day to be on the lake. The water temp is 56 Degrees. Went back to where we fished yesterday and we caught some fish but no jumbos. Made a few moves looking for the big fish but we could not find them today. Made a move to Huey's spot and caught nothing so we went back to where we started fishing. We would catch a nice perch every once in a while but the catching was slow. Saw a pack of boats south of the E-Buoy so we headed over there. Made a pass through the pack of boats and we never saw a person catch a fish so we went back to where we started. The catching was slow so after a couple of hours we headed in. Kept 20 perch and the season is coming to an end real soon.

Jumbo's Today

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60's. The wind in the morning was out of the south around 17 knots with waves under 2 feet. After a couple of hours the wind laid down and so did the waves. The water temp is 56 Degrees. Started fishing past the S-Buoy by the Michigan / Ohio border. The catching was slow but we were catching nice fish. Once the waves laid down the catching slowed down. We made a few small moves in this area and we ended up where we started. Saw a storm coming our way so we pulled lines and headed for the barn. Kept 30 perch with 6 of them over 13 inches and three of those were 14 inches. Haven't caught perch this large in 12 years. The big perch made the 11 1/2 inch perch look small! We also caught 3 small mouth bass between 18 and 20 inches. The girth on the bass was amazing.

Big Fish Little Fish

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 50's. The wind was out of the west 10 to 15 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 56 Degrees. It was a little cold in the morning but as the day went on it was pretty nice out. Started fishing by the S-Buoy and we picked up a couple of nice fish and then it shut down. Made a few moves in this area but no action. Made a move out to the Michigan/Ohio border and tried 3 spots there and we caught no fish. Went back to the first location and we caught one keeper perch. Made one last move 1 1/2 miles northeast of the E-Buoy and we started to catch some fish. Caught a lot of little perch but  we stayed put and sorted through them. Kept 26 perch for the trip. Guess who caught the big perch and who caught the little perch?

I'm Getting Worse at This

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50's. The wind was out of the northwest anywhere between 10 to 25 knots. Waves in the swamp were less than a foot and by the E-Buoy they were about 1 1/2 feet. The water temp is 65 degrees. It was drizzling rain for the first 3 hours. Started fishing in the swamp and we only caught small perch. Made 3 moves in this area and we had 4 small perch that we kept. Went out to Turtle island and fished all around it. At one spot we were about 500 feet from the island. When we dropped anchor at the north side of the island we caught 1 big perch and a lot of little ones. After a half hour of fishing we pulled the anchor and headed towards the E-Buoy. About half way to the E-Buoy we stopped and tried fishing, nothing but little perch. We then went to the E-Buoy and tried 3 spots around there and only caught 1 keeper perch so we came back to port and put Daryl's boat to rest for the winter. Kept 6 perch on a rainy day, not good.

No Perch Yet

Fished with Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was light out of the northeast and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 64 Degrees. This string of great weather just continues. The fog was not too bad, visibility was about 1 mile. Started fishing in the swamp and we were catching perch but they were small. Made a couple of moves here and we only had 2 keeper perch. Moved to Huey's old spot and caught nothing. Made the move to the light house and fished the second set of buoy's to the east. Not even a bite. Saw a pack of boats on the gravel pits in Ohio so we headed there. Caught 2 perch about 5 inches and saw no one else catching fish so we moved to the first set of buoys before McDonald's. Not even a bite. Went back into the swamp and set up. We were catching perch but most of them were small. We stayed here and sorted through the fish. Kept 11 perch on a very nice day on the lake. The algae was pretty bad in the swamp from all this east wind. I know if we had stayed in the swamp we would have had more fish.

Lunch at Trapper's

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the northeast less than 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 66 degrees. When we arrived at the marina the fog was thick, as Huey would say it's thicker than pea soup. We motored out very slow to the E-buoy and set up for perch fishing. Not even a bite so pulled anchor and made a small move. Again nothing and the fog was still thick. We decided to head to the spot we fished last time out. It took over an hour to get there. Spent the rest of the trip here. The catching was slow and the size was not very large. We just stayed here and caught enough fish to stop at Trapper's and have a perch dinner. Kept 26 perch. The fog did not lift until 11:30 AM.

Caught a Few

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60's. The wind was out of the southeast in the morning less than 10 knots and when we quit fishing it was out of the east just over 10 knots. The waves were 1 foot early and when we quit fishing they were around 2 feet. The water temp is 64 Degrees. Started fishing by the E-Buoy and the water was a little dirty and we caught no fish. Moved out to the shipping channel between Sputnik and McDonald's and caught nothing. Made a couple of moves around here and caught nothing. We packed up and moved to some old way points off the Raisin River channel and caught no fish. Moved into Breast Bay on the Michigan/Ohio border (41 53 013/ 083 11 650) and we started to catch some perch. We had one flurry where we caught about 12 fish between 10 and 12 1/4 inches. It was slow picking but a least we kept 35 perch.

Still Slow Perchin'

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The wind was out of the west southwest less than 10 knots with waves under a foot. The water temp is 66 Degrees. Started fishing by the number 2 buoy on the River Raisin. We stayed here for quite a while just catching a perch a once in a while. The fish that we caught here were pretty nice. Once the catching quit we moved straight out about 2 miles in a pack of boats. We drove through the pack and only saw a few fish being caught so we moved towards Stoney Point in 25 feet of water. We set up and spent the rest of the trip here catching a few perch that were just keepers. We finished the day with 31 perch. We also caught and released a few small mouth bass and a couple of small walleye. The one walleye was only 5 inches long. We also saw 24 monarch butterflies out on the lake today making their long journey to Mexico.

Same Old Story

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. Kind of cold for this time of year. The wind was out of the southwest around 10 knots with waves about 1 foot. The water temp is 67 Degrees. The game plan was to head to the number 2 buoy and start fishing there. Well, we got a report at the dock before we left that they were catching some perch at McDonald's so that was where we headed. Started fishing on the northwest side of McDonald's and we caught a couple of keeper perch but after an hour we moved to the other side of McDonald's. Caught nothing here so we went back to the other side of McDonald's and caught no perch. Decided to head to the River Raisin Buoy #2 and fish. On the way there we were going by an old perch way point from last year so we tried that. Again nothing. We went to Buoy #2 on the River Raisin channel and set up. We would catch an occasional keeper perch so we stayed put for the rest of the day. Kept 20 perch for the trip. It started to rain when we were by McDonald's and then it quit. It then started to rain again by the number 2 buoy and we had light rain for about an hour.

Here We Go Again

Fished with Captain Daryl and Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the southwest around 10 knots with waves about one foot. The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing on the Michigan/Ohio border with the guys from the marina and we caught only junk fish. Made a move towards the Toledo Lighthouse and set up and we caught little perch and junk fish. Made another move in this area and it did not help. Moved up the channel and fished by the second set of buoys from the Lighthouse and had he same results. Moved again past McDonald's half way to Sputnik and set up and again we had no fish. Went to an old perch spot north of Sputnik and we caught a couple of keeper perch so we moved again. Saw a pack of boats in the bay so we headed there and again small perch and junk fish. Made one last move to the #2 buoy off the Raisin River and we caught a few keeper perch. Fished all morning and made a lot of moves and we kept 11 perch. Something is not right. The season is winding down and we only have a few perch to show for it. We just might try walleye fishing next time out.

Tough Perch Fishing Again

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was light and variable and there were no waves. The water temp is 74 degrees. The plan was to fish at the number 1 buoy off the Raisin River but we changed our plans at the dock. The water was dirty when we left the harbor and when arrived at McDonald's it was still dirty. Caught nothing but small perch at McDonald's so we moved to the north of Sputnik. We would catch an occasional keeper perch but nothing to keep us in this location. Started moving around in this area and the catching did not improve. Made some moves to the east and fished some old perch spots and that did not help. After fishing for 3 1/2 hours we called it a day. Kept 15 perch on a day the lake was like glass.

Perch Fishing at it's Worst

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind in the morning was out of the south southeast 20 to 25 knots with waves 2 to 4 feet with the occasional 5 footer. Around 9:30 am the wind was letting up and the waves were laying down to 2 footers. Not the best day to be perch fishing. The water temp is 75 degrees. With the bad weather we thought we would fish in close by the C-buoy but we did not mark any fish, so we headed to the E-buoy. Dropped anchor here and fished but we only caught little perch and little sheep head. Made another move in this same area and had the same results. By this time the lake was settling down so we made the move out to McDonald's. We set up on the Michigan side and started catching small perch and small sheep head. Made a little move in this area and we caught the same thing, small perch and small sheep head. Moved to the Ohio side of McDonald's and had the same results. Pulled anchor and moved to the Ohio dumping grounds and caught the same thing, small perch and small sheep head. Made one last move to the S-buoy and caught the same thing, little perch and little sheep head. Came home with no fish and I know Daryl will be tired tonight from pulling the anchor so many times in rough water.

First Perch Fishing Trip of the Year

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80s. The wind was out of the southeast less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing at Huey's old spot and we caught nothing so we moved out to McDonalds and fished on the Michigan side. The catching was pretty slow but we just stayed here and picked away at the perch. Not a lot of junk fish but we caught quite a few large sheephead. Called it quits before it got too hot out. Kept 36 perch with the largest one measuring 12 inches. Most of the fish were in the 8 to 8 1/2 inch range.

Salmon Fishing 2014

Salmon fished with Joe and John out of Manistee, Michigan from 8-16 to 8-23. The weather was good for most of the week. Only had rain for 1 trip and that was light and fishable. Temps ranged from the lower 50s to the lower 70s. The lake was calm except for one trip and that day the waves were 1 to 3 feet.

The fishing report was pretty bad so we did not have very high hopes of catching a lot of fish. When we arrived at port on Saturday the waves were 2 to 4 feet so we said we would not go fishing that night. When we came back from the bait store the wind switched and the lake laid down so away we went. We fished the shallow water (30 feet ) north of the harbor and caught the two kings in the picture. We were pumped and ready for the rest of the week.

Sunday the weather was perfect and the lake was flat. We fished both north and south of the harbor and we never had a hit, I can't recall this ever happening before. Monday we caught 2 kings in the morning and that was it. Tuesday we had a rip off the dipsy that we lost and that was it for the day. Things were not looking very good.

Wednesday we went south of the harbor and we caught 5 kings with the largest one weighing 18 lb. Thursday we fished south again and we only caught 3 fish.

Then came Friday, our last day to fish before we headed for home. The day started a little foggy and dark and we fished south again. We set up on a south troll at the 11 line in 80 feet of water and we never left this area. We were on the fish right out of the gate and the catching never quit. We went 10 for 14 in the morning session and when we took the boat out in the afternoon to clean it up and start to put things away we caught 2 more fish. Friday saved our trip.

Over all we caught 24 fish for the trip with the smallest fish weighing 5 lb. and the largest fish weighing 18 lb. We caught 24 fish out of 33 hits. The 24 fish weighed 265 lb. which gave us an average of 11.04 lb. per fish. We never saw a 20 lb. plus fish at any cleaning station, which is not a good sign.

Lots of Weeds Again

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind in the morning was out of the north northeast 14 to 17 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. After a couple of hours the wind laid down and so did the waves. The water temp is 72 degrees. We headed towards Brest Bay (right into the waves) looking for some fish. Once we were past the River Raisin channel the lake was full of floating weeds. We kept heading northeast hoping to get past all the weeds but they were every where. We headed back to the E-Buoy and set lines with wiggle warts and hot and tots set at 75 feet behind the boards. We caught the first fish in the Michigan Dumping grounds. Made another pass through the same area and we caught 1 more walleye. We made one more pass through the same area and caught only a couple of silver bass so we called it a day. Kept 2 walleye.

Lot's of Weeds

Fished with Daryl. 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 southwest in the morning around 10 knots with waves about 1 foot. As the day went on the wind laid down and then there were no waves. We lost our good walleye chop. The water temp is 72 degrees. Started fishing by the water intake (41 43 150 / 083 13 450) trolling with wiggle warts set at 100 feet on one side of the boat and hot and tots set at 115 feet on the other side of the boat. Caught the first walleye off the hot and tot pretty quick and then the weeds started to get on the lures. We spent most of the day cleaning the weeds off the lures. We just stayed in this area catching a few walleye and very few junk fish. When the wind quit blowing and the lake went flat the walleye catching came to a halt. Kept 5 walleye on a weedy day so we were pretty happy.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Fished with Captain Daryl and his brother Dwayne. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was light out of the southwest and there was a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 72 degrees. Started fishing by the water intake with wiggle warts set at 90 and 100 feet behind the boards. The catching was pretty slow but at least we were catching some walleye. After a couple hours of fishing Daryl decided to put hot and tots on one side of the boat set at 115 feet behind the boards. It only took a couple of minutes and we had a fish on. We caught one more walleye off the hot and tot setup so we switched both sides to the hot and tots. That helped us put a few more walleye in the cooler. Kept 14 walleye and 1 perch. The silver bass were not too bad and there were no weeds floating on the water.

A Tough One Today

Fished with Captain Daryl and his brother Dwayne. 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 southwest 8 to 15 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 71 degrees. Started fishing by the water intake trolling with wiggle warts set at 100 feet behind the boards. Trolled around here for 2 1/2 hours and we caught only 1 walleye and a few silver bass. Decided to head towards the Michigan dumping grounds and give that a try. Set up with wiggle warts set at 50 and 70 feet behind the boards. Fished here for a short time and then we pulled lines and headed into the swamp. Set wiggle warts at 25 and 30 feet behind the boards. Trolled around the swamp for a while and we only caught 1 more walleye. After a tough day of fishing we threw in the towel and called it a day. Kept 2 walleye and caught 1 little walleye that we put back.

Fishing is Slowing Down

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was light and there was just a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 75 degrees. The little flies were pretty bad this morning with the light winds. Started fishing in the swamp with wiggle warts set at 30 feet behind the boards. Caught the first walleye right out of the gate so we thought we were in the right spot. After trolling around for 1 1/2 hours and no more fish we decided to pull lines and head towards the water intake. As we were pulling lines we caught a throw back walleye. Set lines by the water intake with wiggle warts set at 100 feet on one side of the boat and mini disk and spoons set at 90 feet back on the other side. Started to catch a few walleye off the wiggle warts so we switched both sides to wiggle warts. The catching was slow but we just stayed here (41 43 125 / 083 15 150) and picked away at the fish. Caught most of the fish on the east troll. Caught quite a few silver bass and 2 very large sheep head. Kept 12 walleye, cleaned them up and went to Trapper's for a walleye dinner.

A Nice Day on the Water

Fished with Joe and Doug. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was light and variable with just a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 75 degrees. No wind, no waves and no bugs-Wow- what a great day to be on the lake. Started fishing in the swamp trolling wiggle warts 30 feet behind the boards. The only thing that we caught were some weeds. Stayed here a while and then we pulled lines and headed back to where we left off on the last trip, just past the light house. Set up on the 18 1/2 line trolling towards the water intake. Did not mark very many fish and did not catch a fish. Got a call from Norm and he was fishing the 46/16 line and had some fish so we headed over there. Set wiggle warts back to 90 feet on the one side of the boat and 120 feet back on the other side. Caught a couple of walleye but we also caught a lot of silver bass and weeds. Decided to head back into the swamp and ran wiggle warts set at 30 feet back and 40 feet back. Started to catch some walleye off the 30 foot setup so we switched everything back to 30 feet. We just trolled around picking away at the walleye. Not very fast action but at least we were catching some fish. Kept 15 walleye and had 2 under size walleye that we put back.

Another Muskie

Fished with Daryl after his therapy session. Temperature when we started fishing was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80s. The wind was out of the west southwest less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 76 degrees. Started fishing right in front of the harbor trolling wiggle warts 28 and 32 feet behind the boards. We set on a troll heading into the swamp and we were marking a lot of fish but not catching anything. Finally caught our first fish and it was a walleye. We stayed in this area for a while and we would catch a walleye but we caught too many silver bass. We also caught another muskie, that makes 2 so far this year. After only 4 walleye in the cooler we moved out just past the Toledo Light House (41 44 200 / 083 14 125) and set up with wiggle warts set at 90 and 100 feet behind the boards. We were on the walleye right out of the gate and the catching was steady until we needed 1 more fish. We trolled around close to an hour trying to catch that last fish, why this happens once in a while I don't know. Finished the day with 12 walleye.

A Little Muskie

Fished with Captain Daryl after his therapy. Temperature when we started fishing was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing ti was in the middle 70s. The wind was out of the west 10 to 15 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 73 degrees. Came out of the harbor and set up in 14 feet of water trolling wiggle warts 45 and 50 feet back. Caught the first walleye pretty fast. We made a few more passes in this area (41 49 250 / 083 23 200) and caught a few more. Trolled a little closer to shore and we only caught 2 more walleye. Had to deal with a lot of small junk fish and quit a few weeds. We stayed busy keeping the lines clear. Kept 6 walleye and caught 1 muskie that was 24 inches that we put back.

Rockin and Rollin

Fished with Daryl after his therapy session. Temperature when we started fishing was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was out of the west 15 to 22 knots and the waves were 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 75 degrees. Started trolling at the S Buoy with wiggle warts heading towards the E Buoy. Did not mark very many fish and caught nothing so we pulled lines and headed past the Toledo Light House and set up at (41 43 450 / 083 17 525) trolling with the waves. Ran wiggle warts set at 85 and 90 feet back. Started catching some walleye off the 90 foot set up. On the first pass we caught 6 walleye and lost one behind the boat so we pulled lines and made another pass. On this pass we only caught 3 walleye so we pulled lines and we figured that this would be are last pass no matter how many fish we caught, it was starting to get pretty bumpy on the lake. Set lines and we caught the last 3 fish real quick. Kept 12 walleye and only caught 1 silver bass. The water was a little stained and there were a few weeds floating but they did not cause any problems.

Algae is Starting to Form

Fished with Captain Daryl and Jim after the therapy session. Temperature when we started fishing was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was out of the northeast less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 75 degrees and the algae is starting to appear on the water. Started fishing at (41 49 250 / 083 23 150) trolling with wiggle warts set at 65 feet back trolling at 3 mph. Started catching walleye right out of the gate and it only slowed down one time for us. Towards the end of the trip we caught the last 6 fish at the 49 / 22 line. This was Jim's first time walleye fishing on the great lakes and he did great and caught a lot of walleye. Kept 18 walleye and only had a few junk fish to deal with.

Just Missed the Storms Again

Fished with Daryl and Mark after the therapy session. Temperature when we started to fish was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the east southeast less than 10 knots most of the day and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 71 degrees. The flies were terrible today. We sprayed with bug spray and 45 minutes later you had to spray yourself again. Started fishing on the northeast side of the dump trolling with wiggle warts set at 75 feet back. Made a pass through here and we caught no fish so we headed towards the Michigan / Ohio border. Nothing but a few junk fish. Switched to dipsy's and spoons set at 60 feet back on one side and that did not help. We were marking some fish but not catching any walleye. Made a swing towards the E- Buoy and we took off the wiggle warts and put on crawlers set at 50 feet back. Finally caught a fish off that set up but then it went dead. Took off the crawlers and put on jet 20s and spoons set at 50 feet back and we started to catch a few walleye. We caught all of the walleye just south of the E- Buoy. The dipsy set up probably caught a few more fish than the jet 20s. A huge storm started to roll in so we pulled lines and headed for port. This time we beat the rain putting the boat away and cleaning the fish but when we went to dump the guts it started to rain. Kept 6 walleye and had 3 walleye that were under size that we put back.

Just Missed the Storms

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark after Daryl's therapy appointment. Temperature when we started fishing was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the south when we started to fish and then it switched to the southeast 6 to 15 knots. The waves were anywhere from 1 to 2 feet and the water temp is 69 degrees. We decided to try and stay in Michigan waters to find some fish. We stopped short of the E-buoy and looked for some fish, then we motored through the Michigan dumping grounds and there were very few marks. We moved towards walleye ally where we marked a few fish so we set lines here (41 49 050 / 083 18 700). We trolled up and down the Michigan / Ohio border fishing in Michigan waters. We set up with wiggle warts set at 75 feet back on one side of the boat and 85 feet back on the other side of the boat. After a while of trolling we caught more fish off the 75 foot set up so we switched all the poles to 75 feet back. The best color wiggle warts were the metallic green or light green with a red bill. We also caught some fish off the large dipsy's set at 30 feet back with purple spoons. We started to troll back down the border when Daryl noticed some dark clouds back by Toledo Beach Marina. It was a good thing that we were only 4 1/2 miles out from the marina. We made a mad dash pulling lines and headed back to port, got the boat put away, cleaned the fish and dumped the guts all before the rain started. Kept 16 walleye and we missed the rain.

Just Too Far to go Walleye Fishing

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was out of the east around 10 knots and then it started to rotate to the north less than 10 knots. The waves in the morning were about a foot and then laid down to less than a foot. The water temp is 68 degrees. We had a major blow yesterday so I was not sure what was going on with the fishing. We headed out to where we fished on the last trip hoping the fish would still be there. We set up about 1 mile short of where we were last trip with dipsy's and spoons set at 90 feet back and jet 40s and spoons set at 65 feet back. Did not mark a lot of fish so we headed northeast hoping to find some fish. Finally started to catch some walleye around the 41 45 325 / 083 04 750 line so we just stayed here and pecked away at the walleye. Caught a few junk fish but it wasn't too bad and Joe caught a couple of plastic bags. One of them had a life vest in it. He would not hold them up for the pictures, that little wimp. Kept 15 walleye and a couple of plastic bags.

The Mayfly Hatch has Started

Fished with Daryl. Been working on the boat with Daryl over the last 9 days and we finally got it all put back together with the help of Derek. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was out of the southwest 12 to 18 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 69 degrees and the mayfly hatch is under way. Started fishing where we left off on the last trip and we caught 2 walleye and a few silver bass. We trolled towards the pack of boats to the northeast of us and when we got there we caught a couple more walleye and some junk fish. We decided to head back to our original location and we only caught a few junk fish. We pulled lines and went back towards the pack of boats (41 45 600 / 083 06 550) and set up with mini disk and spoons set at 90 feet back and jet 40s and spoons set at 70 feet back. Once we did that we were on the fish. We just stayed right in this area and caught our 12 walleye. By this time we had solid 3 foot waves which made for a tough ride back to port.

Close to West Sister

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark after the therapy session which is turning out to be a good thing. This is the third trip that we missed out on the large waves in the morning. Temperature when we started fishing was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was light and variable with no waves. The water temp is 68 degrees. Started fishing by McDonald's trolling wiggle warts. We were marking some fish but we only caught one walleye. Pulled lines and headed to the east and set up in 28 feet of water. Started fishing again with wiggle warts set at 75 and 85 feet back. After a half hour of fishing with out a hit we decided to put mini disk and spoons on one side of the boat. As we were doing that we caught a fish off the wiggle warts. Just got the mini disk in the water and they started to catch some fish. Made the decision to pull the wiggle warts and put jet 40s with spoons out. Once we did that it was game on for us. We caught most of the fish around 41 45 300 / 083 09 000 with the disk set at 90 feet back (which caught most of the fish) and the jet 40s set at 65 feet back. Kept 18 walleye and caught very few junk fish.

Hook Em Mark

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark after Daryl's therapy. Temperature at mid day was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was light out of the east and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 68 degrees. Got a report that the fish were not in the swamp anymore so we headed out to the Michigan dumping grounds and set lines. We had wiggle warts set at 75 feet on one side of the boat and spoons and mini disk set at 65 feet back on the other side of the boat. The wiggle warts started to out produce the spoons so we put wiggle warts on both sides of the boat. We were fishing the Michigan/Ohio border on the Michigan side (41 50 000 / 083 17 500) in 22 feet of water. The catch was not very fast but we just picked away at the fish. Caught very few junk fish and we kept 18 walleye. About half way through the trip Mark put a hook in his finger trying to remove the lure from the fish. We did the fishing line trick to remove it, put on a little peroxide and he was good to go.

Wiggle Warts

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. When we arrived at the marina this morning there were no hi lo drivers. Come to find out Amy scheduled the drivers for 8:00 AM, even though the marina opens at 7:00 AM. The winds were out of the northeast 10 to 15 knots. When we started fishing the waves were about a foot and when we quit fishing they were 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 65 degrees. Started fishing just past the S-Buoy trolling towards Turtle Island. We were running wiggle warts anywhere from 25 to 50 feet behind the boards without much luck. Once we were north of Turtle Island we started to catch some fish with the wiggle warts set at 40 feet back. Caught very few junk fish and we would have had our limit but it started getting pretty rough. Kept 11 walleye for the trip. When I got home they told me it rained all day around here. We never had a drop of rain on the water, go figure.

Last Trip Using Worms

Fished with Joe and Doug. 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 southwest early and then it switched to the southeast.  Waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 64 degrees. We started fishing in 12 feet of water by the N buoy in front of Bolles Harbor and trolled towards the C-buoy. We used crawlers 35 and 40 feet behind the boards. We started setting lines and we had 3 fish on real quick. Decided to pull lines and make another pass through the same area. Picked up a few more walleye but then we ran into silver bass and sheep head. We decided to just stay and work this area and pick away at the walleye and put up with the junk fish. Not sure why but we lost a lot of fish today. Had them on for a while and they would just get off. Kept 13 walleye for the trip.

Ran The Crawlers Again Today

Fished with Daryl after his therapy session. Temperature was in the lower 60s when we started fishing and it was in the upper 60s when we quit. The wind was out of the northwest about 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees. We decided to stay fishing with the night crawlers. We fished the northwest side of the dumping grounds trolling crawlers 40 feet behind the boards with 2 ounce weights. Pink and purple blades worked the best. Trolling speed was around 1.5 MPH. We trolled with the waves and it only took a couple of passes and we were done. Kept 12 walleye and 1 nice perch. Caught about 6 silver bass and 1 large catfish. Just another nice day on the water.

First Trolling Trip

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this afternoon was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. The wind was light and variable with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 59 Degrees. Started fishing at the mud line which was a half mile West of the E buoy. We were trolling worms with 2 ounce weights. One side of the boat was set at 35 feet back and the other side of the boat was set at 50 feet back. The side set at 50 back started to catch more fish so we switched them all to 50 feet back. On the first pass we caught 8 walleye and a few silver bass and on the second pass we caught our other 4 walleye. The best area was 41 49 000 / 083 21 240. We caught all the fish in clean water. Kept 12 walleye and we put back 2 walleye that were 15 inches. Just a nice day on the lake with very little boat traffic.

Felt Like Summer

Fished with Daryl after his therapy appointment.  Temperature midday was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the east at 10 knots when we started fishing and about 1:30 it switched to the south about 10 knots. Waves were around a foot. The water temp is 54 Degrees. When we came out of the harbor there was a pack of boats about 1/2 mile east of the S buoy so we headed out that way. When we got there the water was very dirty and we did not see any action so we headed towards Turtle Island. When we arrived at Turtle Island there were only about 6 boats fishing. The water was a little cleaner but it was still dirty. Caught the first fish in a couple of minutes so that gave us some confidence fishing the dirty water. We had a lot of hits today but we just could not hook them up. Kept 5 walleye and we also caught some white perch. Check out the new link I just added for the wind conditions at Toledo Light.

Maiden Voyage

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this afternoon was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50's. The wind was out of the northeast 10 to 12 knots with waves about 1 foot. The water temp is 52 Degrees. We went fishing after Daryl's therapy appointment. The game plan was to get my boat ready for fishing and hit the lake for a couple of hours and then put the batteries in Daryl's boat. We got my boat ready and the lake did not look too bad so away we went. Headed out to Turtle Island and there were only 3 boats fishing. We set up on some old way points and started drifting. Made a long drift and we had no hits. Made another move towards some more old way points and started another drift. About halfway through the drift Daryl caught the first fish of the year using a blade bait. Went back up for another drift and we caught two more fish off the blade baits. Tried two more drifts and we only had a couple of hits so we called it a day. The water was stained, water temp was good and the wave action was good, so I was surprised that we only caught 3 fish. We planned on fishing tomorrow but the weather is not looking very good.

Trout Fishing 2014

Headed up north with Joe and John on Thursday morning (4/24) to set up camp on the Boardman River. When we arrived the river was just over the bank and flowing pretty good. On Friday we made a trip to the Jorden River to check it out. It was flowing pretty good and the camp site looked nice but we decided to stay and fish the Boardman River.

On Saturday morning the temp was in the lower 30s with a light rain. By the time we got dressed and ready for fishing the rain had quit. Joe fished his hot spot from last year, John fished around the camp and I headed to the closed camp ground. When we all met back at camp we had the same report. No fish and no bites. Not a good start for trout fishing. We had a light breakfast and headed back out. When we came back for dinner we had the same results again. Went back out for the evening fish and John caught 1 Brown Trout, so at least we were not skunked for the opener.

 Sunday we fished Mill Pond and John caught 3 Brown Trout so we had enough fish for a trout dinner. After dinner we headed back out and Joe caught no fish, I caught no fish and John had a nice fish on that he lost.

We made the decision to fish Monday morning, then pack up to head home because the weather forecast called for rain Monday night and Tuesday morning. We headed out Monday morning to our favorite spots. I caught no fish and Joe also caught no fish but John had his best morning ever trout fishing. He caught the fish that he lost on Sunday and then he caught his biggest Brown Trout ever - 19.25 inches. So John wins the trophy and is our Trout King for 2014. Congratulations John! All the fish caught this year came off night crawlers.

Lot's of Ice Yet

Fished with Doug, Dave and Dave. Fished a small lake in Bridge Water. Temperature for most of the day was in the middle 30s with no sunshine. The wind was out of the north 5 to 10 knots. The ice is close to 20 inches thick. Started fishing midday and we caught a few fish but the action was pretty slow. We started moving in and out from the shore line in 14 to 18 feet of water and that did not seem to help either. A couple of the guys had fish finders and they were marking very few fish. We fished until after dark and the catching never did improve, it was just a slow pick all day. Kept 12 crappie and 10 bluegill.

The evening fish

Fished with Doug E. and Jack. Jack showed up for the last hour of fishing. Fished from 1 1/2 hours before sunset to 1 1/12 hours after sunset. Fished in a small lake in Bridge Water. When we started fishing the temp was in the upper 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 20s and starting to snow. The wind was out of the southeast about 10 knots. The walk to the lake was terrible, most of the time we were walking through a foot of snow. Once we got on the lake it was still bad. There was at least 6 inches of snow on the ice and below the snow was about 4 inches of slush. The ice is about 15 inches thick. The bite was slow to start but right before dark the bluegill started hitting. Once the sun went down the crappie started to bite. We were using small jigs tipped with mousies, wax worms and spikes. Kept 24 fish, a mixture of crappies and gills.

2014 Lake Simcoe Fishing Trip

We left Michigan for Lake Simcoe, Ontario on Friday, January 17, 2014. Fished with Dwayne, Fred and Dan. This year we stayed at the Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast in Sutton,Ontario. Cost was $50.00 per person per night and included breakfast and coffee for the thermos. Temperature Saturday morning was in the lower 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 30s, pretty nice for this time of year. It got so hot in the hut that we opened both windows and had the door propped open. We were fishing in 14 feet of water and you could see the fish cruising along the bottom of the lake. It sure makes it fun to sight fish for jumbo perch. Our best setup was jigging a slab grabber about a foot off the bottom. The fishing was slow but we just pecked away at them. Sunday was a different story. The temp in the morning was in the lower teens and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 20s. The wind was blowing 20 to 25 knots and we had a few snow storms during the day. I started off with a slab grabber and Dan used a new jig called a Williams spoon tipped with a Jensen egg. I did not catch a fish off the slab grabber while Dan was doing pretty good using the new spoon. Dwayne was fishing by himself because Fred was sick with the flu. He did real well using a small jig tipped with a plastic body and a spike. For the weekend we kept 102 perch and 2 bluegill. The largest perch was 13 1/2 inches and we caught quit a few jumbos.