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).

Rough Ride to the Lake

Fished with John and Joe. We fished a small lake in Chelsea out by the prison. Temperature this morning was 26 degrees and it was snowing and raining on the way out to our fishing spot. The ride out to Chelsea was terrible, the roads were snow covered and the windshield kept freezing over from the rain and snow which made for a difficult ride to the lake. Once we got there safe and sound we had to walk through about 6 inches of snow to get to our fishing spot, which was not that bad because we built up a lot of heat on the way out. The only good news is that it quit snowing when we got there. Drilled 3 holes for fishing (about 12 inches of ice) and we never had to move, which is always a good thing. We were fishing in about 8 feet of water using small jigs tipped with mousies. Started catching fish right away but we had to sort through them. Stayed there for about 3 hours and we kept 47 fish. 43 bluegill, 3 sunfish and 1 crappie. We all had a great time and the weather was not that bad once we arrived at the lake.

Evening Gill Fishing

Fished with Doug Esch on a small lake in Bridgewater. Temperature this afternoon was 29 degrees and the wind was very light out of the north. The ice is 10 inches thick. We were fishing for gills and crappie using mousies and wax worms. The bite was steady and as the daylight was starting to fade the crappie started to bite. We were fishing in 16 feet of water jigging about a foot off the bottom. The lake has some nice gills and crappie in it and today did not let us down. Kept 15 gills and 3 crappie on a beautiful night for fishing.

Mr. Bow Fin

Fished with Daryl and Dale on a small lake in Chelsea by the prison. Temperature this afternoon was 22 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper teens. The wind was light out of the east and the ice is 9 inches thick. Finally we have some snow on the ice so it makes the walking out to the fishing spot a lot easier. Our goal was to catch some bluegills and maybe some pike. We were using spikes and wax worms for the gills and very large shiners for the pike. Well, we caught some gills and the bite got real hot just before dark for the gills but Dale also caught 2 bow fin, the largest measured 28 inches. We also caught a bass, some perch and some crappie. Kept 31 bluegills, 1 perch and 1 crappie.

Bowfin (Amia calve)

The bowfin is a primitive fish that lives in muddy bottomed lakes and marshes. Sometimes called "dogfish," bowfins are often seen gulping air at the surface. They can grow to over 3 feet long. The males guard the eggs in a circular nest hidden among water plants, and also protect the young after hatching, as shown in this poster. These fish are predatory, feeding on other fish and crayfish. They are not highly regarded as a food or game fish. (This info comes from the Michigan DNR site)

Bolles Harbor

Fished with big Doug at Bolles Harbor. Temperature this morning was 29 degrees and when we quit fishing it was 31 degrees. The wind was out of the southwest at 10 knots. The ice is 9 inches thick and very slippery. The water was a little dirty from all the melting snow and rain we had last week. The fishing report was not very good but we decided to try Bolles Harbor anyways. When we got to the harbor 1 fisherman was leaving the ice already because he caught nothing, and it was only 8:00 AM. We went fishing anyways and did not do much better. After an hour of fishing we caught 1 little perch, so we left there and went to Sterling State Park. We drove around in the truck and checked out all the lagoons and no one was fishing so we just came home. So far this year Bolles Harbor has been a bust.

Bluegill Fishing

Fished with Daryl on Mud Bay, which is part of Portage Lake. Temperature this morning was 32 degrees with a light drizzle and when we quit fishing it was 39 degrees with the wind blowing about 5 knots out of the southwest. The ice is 9 inches thick. The roads on the way out to Dexter this morning were terrible. There was a thin layer of ice on them and M14 east bound was completely shut down because of all the semi trucks jack knifed and in the ditch. Once I got to Dexter the roads were not too bad. We used spikes and small teardrops fishing just off the bottom to catch all the fish. We caught a small perch and put that on a tip up to try for some pike but it did not work. Most of the time while we were out fishing there was a drizzle of rain which kept us in the shanty. We started fishing at Bay Point and caught mostly dinks. Made a move out to the mouth of the bay and we started to catch some nicer fish. Caught a lot of fish today but we only had 11 keepers with the largest measuring 8 1/2 inches. Just enough fish for a good bluegill dinner.

Pan Fishing Today

Fished with Doug Esch and John Hiltz (Lou) on a small lake in Chelsea. Temperature this morning was in the lower 20s and when we quit fishing it was 19 degrees and very foggy. There was very little wind. The ice is about 8 inches thick but with all the rain forecast for this weekend it might put a hurt on the ice fishing for a while. We used Rat Finkies and small jigs tipped with mousies and spikes. We started fishing at O Dark Thirty (6:30 AM) and I do mean it was dark. We were dropping lines in the water 1 1/2 hours before sunrise hoping to catch some crappie. Well, that did not happen but right at day break the fish turned on and we picked up a few crappie. The bite was slow but at least we picked up an occasional fish. We only fished to 9:00 AM and then we had to quit. Could not ask for a better day for fishing weather wise and if we had a little more time we would have caught some more fish, this is just a great lake to fish in the winter. Kept 18 blue gills (largest was 9 inches) and 5 crappie (largest 11 1/2 inches). I did not know this but this was John's first time fishing for pan fish on the ice!

First Trip of the Season

Fished with Doug Sowa out of Bolles Harbor. Temperature this morning was 10 degrees with a wind chill of minus 4 degrees and when we quit fishing it was 15 degrees. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 20 knots. The ice is 6 to 8 inches thick. We used spikes and shiners. Started fishing in front of Trout's and we did not catch anything. I made several moves up the harbor and never had a hit. Doug came and joined me up the river and he caught a couple of small bluegill and 1 eight inch perch. Fished for 3 hours and then we called it a day. Talking to some other fishermen as we were leaving and no one had any fish. Some of the guys had their cameras down and they said there were a lot of shiners, a few perch and some bass on the screen.

Happy Holidays !

Just wanted to wish everyone Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Finally started to work on repairing the basement after the sewage damage from the flood on June 4, 2010. Since the boat is put away, I have had time to work on the basement.

With the arctic temperatures we're having I hope to be ice fishing soon!!!

It's Official, I'm Done Fishing From the Boat

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was 30 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 40s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 20 knots with waves 2 feet with an occasional 3 footer. The water temp is 46 degrees. This is one day we should have stayed home. The coldness, the wind blowing hard and the water splashing over the boat made for a terrible day, not to mention we had motor problems. We headed out to the dumping grounds where we have been fishing and had no bites. Moved to the west about a half mile and we caught 1 keeper perch. Moved in front of Toledo Beach in 14 feet of water and we caught one throw back perch. Went to move again into the swamp and the boat would not stay running when we put it in gear. Tried about 20 times with out any luck. Pulled off the flame arrestor to check the carburetor and everything looked OK. Left the flame arrestor off and ran the boat for 10 to 15 minutes and it seemed to be OK. Tried one more spot in the dumping grounds without a hit so we called it a day, and I know we were both happy to call it quits. Kept one perch for the trip.

Chilly Willy

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was 27 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 40s. The wind was out of the northeast 10 to 15 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 49 degrees. Once we scraped the frost off the windshield away we went. Today was definitely a cold one on the lake. Started fishing in the dumping grounds in 14 feet of water and we never had to move, which always makes for a great trip. The bite was pretty steady until the wind switched and came out of the south around 10 knots for at least a half an hour. We had the waves pushing from the northeast and the wind blowing from the south. The boat did not know which way it wanted to go so we did a lot of floating around the anchor. Once everything got back to normal we started to catch some fish again. We only caught perch today and we kept 60 of them. The season is coming to an end just when the fishing is at it's best.

Felt Like the Deadliest Catch

Fished with Captain Daryl, the last trip of the year on the boats. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. The wind was out of the north at 18 to 22 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet with the occasional 4 footer. I had to wear my raincoat because when the waves came over the stearn we would get at least 10 gallons of water in the boat with each large wave - it actually looked and felt like the deadliest catch! I was sopping wet for most of the trip and it took all I had to stand up. Started fishing on the south side of the dumping grounds and we only caught 3 fish. Made some moves in this area and it did not help our fishing. Moved to the humps and we picked up one more fish. Made the move out to the Toledo Light House (further out into the lake) and we tried 3 spots out there where we only caught a couple of fish. The weather was not getting any better so we moved back into shallower water. Caught a few keeper perch and then we called it a day. Boy was I happy, after pulling the anchor in rough water about 9 times I was getting beat up and had enough. Kept 13 perch and that was not how we wanted to finish the year. Could have been the nasty weather or all the hard work we had trying to catch them, but we had the perch for dinner tonight and it was some of the best fish we had all year. It was a very tough finish to a pretty good year of fishing. Tomorrow we put the boats to rest for the winter. I have some major work to do on the boat but that will be another story. I plan on fishing off the docks until the water freezes over.

And Then There Was One

Fished with Daryl and Mike. Temperature this morning was 41 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 50s. The wind was out of the southeast at 10 knots when we started fishing and then it switched to the south at 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 67 degrees. Started fishing in our old hot spot and it did not produce. Made a move to the Toledo Light House and we started to catch some fish. Stayed there for most of the trip and then Daryl wanted to look around for another spot for Friday. Moved to the east side of the light house and caught nothing. Moved to the south side of the dumping grounds and we caught some very nice fish. Kept 72 perch and we finally caught some fish when we took Mike out fishing. We have one more trip planned and then we put the boats to rest for the winter.

Back to Back Nice Days

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s, another great day on the water. The wind was light (less than 5 knots) out of the west and there were no waves. Started fishing on the south side of the dumping grounds and we caught a few perch but we decided to move back to the our old hot spot and give that a try. The fish were a lot larger here but the catching was slow. After a couple of hours Daryl could not stand the slow action so we headed out to McDonald's and fished on the north side of the channel in small pack of boats. Everybody was catching fish but they were all 7 to 9 inches, just to small for us. Stayed there for a while and only put a few small perch in the cooler and then we called it a day. Kept 32 perch for the trip.

Beautiful October Day on Lake Erie

Fished with Joe, Daryl and Chris. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was 5 to 10 knots out of the west with very little waves, just a great day to be on the water. The water temp is 60 degrees. Started fishing on the south side of the dumping grounds and we caught some fish but the action was pretty slow. Made a move to our original hot spot on the humps and we only picked up a few more fish. Saw a pack of boats by the Toledo Light House so we headed out there. Made a pass through the pack of boats and saw no one catch a fish so we went back to the dumping grounds. We stayed there and just picked away at the fish. On the way back in we stopped by the S Buoy without any luck and then we made a ride into the swamp. Talked to John who was fishing the swamp and they had no bites so we just called it a day. Kept 30 perch and we all enjoyed the sunshine. We also caught 1 walleye about 5 inches long. Only 5 more days to fish!!

Saved by the Kicker

Fished with Captain Doug and Daryl. Temperature this morning was 49 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the west northwest 20 to 23 knots with waves over 2 feet, and it was very cold this morning. We could not program Doug's GPS to fish our way points so we had to guess where we were on the water. Started fishing at the first location and we caught some fish but the guys were not happy so we moved to our old location from the previous weeks (Doug had that stored in the GPS). Only caught 2 perch here so we went back to our last spot. Started catching some fish, they were not very large, but at least we were on fish. Between Daryl and I working with the GPS, one of the boat batteries went dead. Doug put the switch on battery #2 and it was dead, not a good thing when you're 4 miles out on the lake. We waited about a half an hour and tried to start the motor again. It turned over very slow but would not start. We decided to wait a little while longer and start the kicker motor. Got the kicker to start so we let it run for 45 minutes to charge the battery and then we tried the big motor. It would turn over but would not start, it was flooded. We pulled anchor and started to head in with the kicker when we tried the big motor again, low and behold, it started. Kept 69 perch and we had a very interesting trip.

They're Back!!

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was 42 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the north northwest 15 to 20 knots with waves around 2 feet. With the wind and the cold temp it was pretty cold this morning. The water temp is 55 degrees. Started fishing in our usual spot and we caught some nice fish but the catching was slow. Moved a couple hundred feet and we caught a few more fish but it was not steady action. Made a move into the dumping grounds (41 47 617 / 083 20 913) where the water was dirty from all the wind lately and we started to catch some fish. Stayed here for the rest of the trip. Kept 64 perch (22 lbs. 2oz) with the largest measuring 13 inches.

What's Up With the Perch Fishing

Fished with Joe Barson, Chad, Neil and Steve. Temperature this morning was 47 degrees and when quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the northwest 18 to 21 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. Later on in the day the wind started to switch and the lake laid down to 1 to 2 foot waves. Started fishing in our usual spot and we had no bites! Don't know what's up with that but things are not looking good. Made a small move in this area and still no bites. Made a move to the northeast side of the dumping grounds and we started to catch some fish, just not very fast. Stayed there about an hour and then we went into the swamp. Made a couple of moves there and caught a couple of small perch and decided to move back to the original spot. Dropped anchor and fished for 30 minutes with out a bite so we made one last move to the W Buoy. Fished there about 15 minutes without any perch and called it a day. Kept 13 perch, which now makes this our worst trip of the year for catching perch.

Made the Wrong Move

Fished with Captain Daryl, Dale and the Hi-Lo driver Mike. Temperature this morning was 48 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was out of the southwest around 5 knots with waves less than a foot. Started fishing in the same spot that we have been fishing and we were on some fish but then the catching just quit. We decided to make a move to one of our hot spots from the previous years that was 10 miles away, so away we went. There was a large pack of boats when we pulled up to the spot so we thought we would be on the fish again. All that we caught were dink perch. Made some moves around this area without any luck and tried one more spot in front of the 2 stacks and we decided to head back to the original area. By the time we got back to this spot the fishing shut down, we caught only 2 more perch. Kept 21 perch, our worst trip of the year.

Cold September Morning

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was 47 degrees and when we quit fishing it was only in the upper 50s. The wind was out of the north 5 to 12 knots with waves from 1 1/2 feet to less than a foot. With the wind chill it almost felt like winter. After a couple of hours the sun came out and it actually got pretty nice out. The water temp is 64 degrees. After all the high winds this last week the lake is in very good shape. Started fishing in the same area as the last couple of trips and just like the previous trips the catching was just steady enough to keep us here. We caught some nice fish but they were not as large as the last trips. After we cleaned the fish we went to trappers and had a perch dinner and watched the lions lose, again. Kept 79 perch with the largest being 13 inches.

Warm Day for Late September

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was 68 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the south west 10 to 15 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 65 degrees. Had a little bit of rain this morning but it quit after 45 minutes. Started fishing in the same spot as the last few trips but this time we had to make a couple of moves to find some fish. I had a rough time trying to get us anchored on the hump, I kept missing the spot by at least 30 feet the first couple of tries. Once we got hooked up in 13 feet of water we started to catch some fish. The bite was steady enough to keep us there and the size of the fish also helped keep us in this spot. About 10:30 the wind picked up and the fishing slowed down for us. When the wind started to lay down the fish started to bite again. Kept 60 perch and today we caught a couple of hogs.

Back to Reality

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 this morning was out of the southeast 10 to 20 knots with waves around 2 feet. After an hour of fishing the wind picked up and the waves were building to 3 footers. Started fishing in the same area as the last 2 trips. Stayed in the first spot for 45 minutes and we caught a few fish but nothing very large. Made a move about 200 feet and we started to catch some nice fish. The catching was getting better and the fish were getting larger and then around 9:30 AM the catching just stopped. Over the next 2 hours we might of put 8 fish in the cooler. Not sure what really happened but the wind switched and then it laid down and then it started to blow again. Just a strange weather day on the lake. After we cleaned the fish we went to Bolles Harbor and had a perch dinner and watched the Michigan game. Kept 44 perch, which is a nice catch but we were expecting a much better day.

Whack em and Stack em

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s and the skies were overcast. The wind was out of the northwest at 15 to 18 knots with waves just over a foot. After about an hour the wind started to die down to less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. Started fishing where we were on the last trip and we never had to move. When we started fishing we caught some nice fish but not very fast, but we decided to stay put because we were on some nice fish. After about 20 minutes the catching picked up and so did the size of the fish. I actually thought we were going to run out of minnows because we caught so many little white perch so we started to use some cut bait. Daryl also caught 2 nice smallmouth bass, one well over 5 lbs. Well, we had enough minnows and we had a cooler full of perch so we called it a day. Kept 100 perch (we had no idea we had this many) and this has to be one of the best perch fishing trips in a very long time. When we got to the cleaning station to clean the fish everyone could not believe the size of the fish and how many we caught. Just a GREAT day perching.

The Power Train Crew

Fished with Jim and Chico. 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 5 to 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot, just a beautiful morning on the lake. Started fishing in the swamp at an old way point from last year and had no hits. Made a move towards shore to another old way point and we caught some fish but they were not very large. Got a call from Huey and he was doing pretty good 4 1/2 miles in front of the marina(41 46 933 / 083 20 942), so that is where we ended up. The catching was not very fast but at least we were on some bigger fish. Kept 48 perch and I think the guys had a great time.

Just Like the Good Old Days

Fished with Uncle Dan and Dwayne, Joe cancelled last night. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was 72 degrees. The wind was out of the west northwest at 15 knots and the waves were 2 to 3 feet, pretty bumpy but not too bad.) On August 28, when we got back from salmon fishing the guys took the GPS and the fish finder out of the boat and I did not know this. Went down to the boat today and we had no electronics to help us find fish and fish locations, just like fishing in the 80s. Started fishing 2 miles east of the E buoy (I think) and we only caught some small perch. Made the move out to Sputnik and we fished on the south side of it. Started to catch some fish- they were not very large, but at least we caught some fish. Stayed there for the rest of the trip because of the wind and waves. Kept 58 perch, they were not very large, but at least we caught some fish. Back at the cleaning station Dave came back with a pretty nice catch of perch that he caught in the swamp. From here on out we will be fishing in the swamp.

The Trip is Over.

Fished last night in perfect weather. The lake was flat for the whole trip and the moon rise was gorgeous. We fished 6 miles south of the harbor in 60 to 100 feet of water. Had a good report that there were some nice fish in the area but we had a hard time catching them. Picked up 2 fish right at sunset off the meat rigs and that was it for us. We stayed out fishing until 10:00 PM because it so nice out. We made it out fishing this morning in very rough and windy weather. The temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots with waves 2 to 5 feet. We went back to fishing the shelf in the 80 to 120 foot range, which was a bad choice on my part. The temperature break last night was at 30 feet down and this morning it was at 85 feet down. We tried to set lines but with the wind and the waves it made it very tough. Fished out there for a couple of hours without a hit so we started trolling back into shallower water. After another hour of not catching any fish we called it quits and we knew that we were done fishing for the rest of our trip. The forecast was small craft warnings for the next 2 days. This years fishing was very disappointing. We had a lot of blow days and the water temp was 71 degrees for the whole week. Very few fish were in the river, which is unusual for this time of year.

2010 Results

We hooked 29 fish and landed 21 of them which gave us a 72 % catch rate. All the fish were King Salmon. We caught 17 fish in the morning and 4 fish in the evening. Of the 14 sessions we could have made it out fishing we only made it out 8 times. We totaled 31 hours of fishing and landed 21 fish for an average of .68 fish per hour. The 21 fish weighed 256.75 lbs. for an average of 12.23 lbs. per fish. The largest fish was 17.11 lbs. and the smallest was 3.5 lbs. The best setup was the regular dipsy set at 1 1/2 with a large Spin Doctor and a red meat head with red teasers. We lost 4 fish off the magnum Dipsy, 2 fish off the regular Dipsy and 2 fish off down rigger #2. Below is a list of lures that caught fish and the set ups used to catch them:

Large Spin Doctor with Red Meat Head..................12 hits
John J Rig..................................................................... 5 hits
Green Splatter Back-Ace High.................................. 4 hits
Large Spin Doctor with Glow Squid.......................... 4 hits
Silver Streak Black and White Glow Spoon............. 1 hit
Moo Moo Meat Rig...................................................... 1 hit
Large Spin Doctor with Frog Squid........................... 1 hit
Black Mamba Meat Rig............................................... 1 hit

Down Rigger #1 had 2 hits
Down Rigger #2 had 4 hits
Down Rigger #3 had 4 hits
Down Rigger #4 had 1 hit
The Regular Dipsy had 11 hits
The Magnum Dipsy had 7 hits

Fast and Furious

So far the weather has been terrible. Yesterday was a total waste, waves 4 to 6 feet and no end in site for better weather. Woke up this morning and the forecast was for strong winds out of the northwest, well they were wrong again. The 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 north at 10 knots and by the time we quit fishing it was out of the west at 5 knots. We ran meat rigs off the dipsy's set at 125 to 185 back and flashers and squids off the riggers anywhere between 50 and 75 down. Caught one fish off a splatter back (green) at 55 feet down and 40 feet back. The fishing was very good for about 1 hour and then the bite just shut down. Went 5 for 5 today and all the fish were kings.

Catching is Slowing Down

Last night the wind started to come out of the North 10 to 15 knots with waves around 3 feet. We fished in the same area and only caught 1 fish. This morning the temp was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots with waves 3 feet or less. Trolled the shelf back and forth running the same lures and we went 2 for 4. Very few fish are being cleaned at the cleaning stations, so it's not just us. Some of the boats are running south to fish and they are bringing back smaller fish, and only a couple per boat.

Day Two of Fishing

Finally had a nice morning for fishing. The wind was out of the east at 5 to 10 knots with waves less than a foot. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. Started fishing the same area and program as yesterday. Our best setup was running meat off the dipsy's set anywhere between 125 and 185 back. Caught 1 fish off a green spatter back ace high. With the calmer water we were able to stay in one general area. Went 7 for 10 with all the fish being kings.

Off to a Rough Start

Salmon fishing with Joe and John. We now have a wi fi hook up so I plan to update every day. Saturday afternoon we tried to go fishing in 3 to 5 foot waves. After 20 minutes of beating ourselves up we called it a day. No hook ups and no fish. The report for Sunday morning was light east winds. When we got to the lake in the boat the wind was out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots with waves 2 to 4 feet. We went fishing anyways.

Started fishing north of the harbor in water 80 to 100 feet deep. Had a hard time trying to set lines because of the wind and waves, kept getting lines tangled. Finally got 3 lines set when the first rod went off, down rigger #2 set 80 feet down with a green silver horde. Before that fish was in the boat down rigger #3 went off, set 75 feet down with a glow black and white spoon. Had the first fish in the net, Joe was fighting the second fish and the #1 dipsy set on a number 1 1/2 setting at 110 feet back went off. Got Joe's fish in the net and the only pole in the water was the one with a fish on. Got that fish in the net and then the fishing slowed up. Had one more hook up off a meat rig that we lost.

The trip ended with 3 kings that weighed between 11 and 16.12 lbs. We got back to the docks and were unloading the boat when I fell off the dock and into the boat. Right now my knee is very sore and it's packed on ice. In a couple more hours I will try to walk on it and see what happens.

Nice Cooler of Perch

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was 75 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots with waves 1 to 3 feet. The water temp is 77 degrees. Started fishing 1 mile west of the Turn Around buoy and we only caught some small perch. Made a move to 1 /2 mile southeast of the Turn Around Buoy and we started to catch some fish. The fish were not a large as the last trip but at least we were on some fish, besides it was too rough to keep on looking for larger fish. There were very few boats out fishing today, 2 boats fishing in the area that we were in and only 6 trailers at Bolles Harbor. Kept 42 perch today.

Few Bugs, Very Few Waves and a Few Perch

Fished with Joe and Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was 66 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. There was very little wind which made for no waves but we had a bug problem for about 30 minutes before a little breeze started. The water temp is 79 degrees. Picked up our bait at Lake Erie Party Store and they had a combination of shiners and mud minnows, which was OK. Started fishing in our old spot from last year(41 51 900 / 083 11 070) and we caught no fish, marked a lot of fish but could not get them to go. Made a move 1/2 mile east of the Turn Around Buoy and we started to catch some fish. Had a lot of throw backs and caught about 12 sheep head so we stayed busy. The bite slowed down after a freighter went by so we moved to McDonald's. Fished here for about 20 minutes and caught no fish so we called it a day. Kept 58 perch.

6th Annual Greenhouse Bash

Fished with Captain Russ and crew, Jennie, Deb, Richard, Julie and Mark. Temperature this morning was 66 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the northeast 10 to 15 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet and as the day progressed the wind switched to the north 5 to 10 knots and the waves laid down to about a foot. The wind the last few days cleared out all the algae. Started fishing northwest of the Toledo Water Intake in 22 feet of water running wiggle warts 85 feet back. The catching was slow but the report was bad from all the other boats in the party. We stayed in this area for the whole trip and would pick up an occasional walleye. Again we caught very few junk fish. After the fish were cleaned we went to the Harbor Inn restaurant in Bolles Harbor and had a great walleye dinner. Kept 7 walleye for the trip and everyone had a great time.

Jim's Maiden Voyage

Fished with Daryl and Jim. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80s. There was no wind so there were no waves. The lake was so flat that it felt like we were riding in a new car on a new road. There was a small mayfly hatch last night. Started fishing by the Toledo Water Intake (41 41 800 / 083 17 000) in 20 feet of water trolling wiggle warts 100 feet behind the boards. We marked a few fish but the catching was slow. We tried putting the warts back at 120 feet on one side of the boat and that caught a few fish but not enough fish to have both sides at 120 feet back. Best color wiggle wart was the purple and I only have one left. After picking up a few walleye we tried perch fishing. Hit one spot inside the Toledo Light House and only caught 1 keeper and then we moved to the east side of the Light House, without any luck. We should have stayed walleye fishing. Kept 6 walleye and lost 2 behind the boat and kept 2 perch.

Just A Hand Full

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was 74 degrees and when we quit fishing it was 72 degrees. The weatherman called for a nice day with low humidity. When Joe came to pick me up this morning it was raining cats and dogs with a lot of lightning. As we drove towards the marina the rain was coming down harder. We stopped and bought some shiner's at the bait store(very small one's) just in case the walleye fishing was slow. We sat around the marina for about 45 minutes and then it started to clear up so away we went fishing. Headed towards the area that we fished on the last trip. Set lines 75 feet back with wiggle warts and trolled towards the Toledo Water Intake. After 30 minutes of no fish and the weather looking worse we pulled lines and went perch fishing by buoy 17 on the shipping channel. Started to catch a few perch and then the wind started blowing out of the northeast at 20 knots. It started to rain again and the waves were building to 3 feet so we decided to call it a day. It was a tough day right from the get go. Kept 6 perch and when it was all said and done we were glad to be back on shore.

Still Hot Fishing

Fished with Daryl and Norm. Temperature this morning was 70 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80s, another hot July day. The wind was out of the west southwest 10 to 15 knots and the lake was pretty calm. Started fishing about 3 miles the other side of the Toledo Light House in 18 feet of water. Marked very few fish and we did not start catching any until we hit 15 to 16 feet of water (41 42 600 / 083 17 400). We were running wiggle warts 75 feet back on both sides of the boat. Best colors were anything with chrome (blue, red and purple) and the best was chrome and orange. The catching was not fast and furious but enough fish to keep us in this area. Only caught 1 sheephead and about 10 white perch, which made for an enjoyable day on the water. Kept 18 walleye and we lost 5 behind the boat.

Slow But Nice Day On The Water

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80s. The wind was out of the west around 10 knots and the waves were about a foot. The surface water temp is 82 degrees. With all the west wind lately the lake is in great shape. We started fishing in the same area that we have been fishing (41 48 800 / 083 19 900) running wiggle warts set at 75 feet back. The catching was slow for us today so we put on dipsy's and spoons set at 80 feet back. Caught a few fish off this setup but not worth putting on both sides of the boat. We marked a lot of fish but we had very few takers, even the junk fishing was very slow. The fish are still in this area but we just had a bad day of fishing. Kept 6 walleye and we only had 2 throw backs(1 and 8 inches and 1 at 14 inches). Mark is holding the big fish of the year, it measured 28 inches and the fish in it's mouth is 17 inches. You won't see a picture like this again, it was very hard to get the small fish out of the mouth of the larger fish.

Good to the Last Clip

Fished with Daryl and Doug S. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was out of the northeast at 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 80 degrees. The sky was over cast and it sprinkled a few times. Just a nice day to be on the water. Started fishing in the same spot as the last trip 41 48 300 / 083 19 600 running wiggle warts 75 feet back on both sides of the boat. The catching was great and we caught bigger walleye and fewer junk fish today. Only had to make 3 passes today and we had our limit. Caught 4 walleye that were under size and 1 pike that was just under size. We were running out of releases and we caught our last fish with no more releases left, perfect timing. Kept 18 walleye today.

Dan's Maiden Voyage

Fished with John, Dan and Doug E. Temperature this morning was in the mid 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was light and again there were no waves. The water temp is 81 degrees. Started fishing between the E buoy and the Mich/Ohio border trolling wiggle warts set a 75 feet back. The fishing was great right out of the gate but as the sun got higher the fishing slowed down. Caught a lot of sheep head and white perch. Tried running dipsy's and spoons and they caught a lot of small fish. It got to the point that if we did not catch any fish we would check the lines and they all would have little fish on them, so we stayed busy tending the lines today. Kept 22 walleye and 3 perch. Had at least 10 small walleye that we put back, any where between 8 and 14 1/2 inches.

Hot Fishing in July

Fished with captain Daryl, Mark and Doug S. Temperature this morning was in the middle 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 90s. The wind was light at 5 knots out of the southwest and there were no waves. The captain turned on his wash down hose and set it on a fine mist and put it in the rocket launcher, that way we had a fine mist on us all day, which sure did help. Started fishing at 41 47 900 / 083 06 900 and we never left the area. We set jet 20s at 95 feet on one side of the boat and 100 feet on the other side. The fishing started off pretty slow but as the day progressed the catch rate picked up. Had to weed through a lot of sheep head and white perch but that just kept everyone busy. We also ran some of the big dipsy's set at 1 1/2 and back 49 feet off the side of the boat and they caught a few walleye. Caught 26 walleye and had only one throw back that was 14 1/2 inches.

Happy Fourth of July Fishing

Fished with Daryl and Joe. Temperature this morning was in the mid 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. This morning the wind was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots with waves around 2 feet and by 11:00 AM the wind laid down to less than 5 knots with very little waves. When the wind laid down the bugs started to show up, the first time this year for us. The water temp is 75 degrees and the algae bloom is getting larger. Another mayfly hatch occurred last night. Started fishing 2 miles northwest of Sputnik trolling with jet 20s set 70 to 85 feet back and we only caught 1 walleye. After we wasted over a hour fishing here we pulled lines and ran to 41 49 100 / 083 09 400 and set lines with jet 20s set at 90 feet back and dipsy's set at 120 feet back. Started to catch some fish so we just worked this area until the catching stopped. We then trolled towards the turn around buoy (41 50 120 / 083 10 100) and picked up our last 5 fish. Again Cat Dog was very hot and also a new spoon with orange/black and chartreuse was very good. Kept 18 walleye and we caught very few junk fish.

Black Wednesday

Fished with Uncle Dan, Dwayne and Larry. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind in the morning was out of the north 10 to 15 knots and then it switched to the northwest at 7 to 10 knots. The water temp is 74 degrees. Got a report that the fish were in close to the harbor in 14 feet of water so that is where we started fishing and that was a good thing because out in deeper water the waves were pretty high. Ran wiggle warts set at 45 feet back. Trolled around this area for a while and we caught 3 walleye of which 2 of them were under size and a few silver bass. After a couple of hours the lake laid down so we headed out past Sputnik. We set up with jet 20s on both sides of the boat set at 90 feet back. The fishing was very slow for us, we would catch an occasional walleye with some junk fish, just enough action to keep everyone busy. Kept 7 walleye and we lost at least 3 walleye at the net. When we were setting up the boat this morning Larry lost his shoe in the drink and we had to net it - that's Dwayne proudly holding it up for the picture.