The Weather Person Got it Wrong Today

Fished with Norm. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the north northeast 16 to 22 knots with waves over 3 feet. The weather report for today was light winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 73 degrees. Our game plan was to walleye fish for about 2 hours and then perch fish for a couple of hours. When we arrived at the bait store this morning to buy some minnows the wind was blowing pretty good so we decided to go just walleye fishing. We made it out to the E Buoy and trolled with the waves running wiggle warts set at 75 feet back. We had a tough time setting lines with the wind and the waves so after one short pass we called it a day. One of the few trips on Lake Erie that we caught no fish.

Flat as a Pancake

Fished with Norm. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. There was no wind today so we had no waves and surprisingly there were no bugs. The water temp is 75 degrees. Started fishing north of the E Buoy trolling towards the Toledo Light House running wiggle warts 70 and 80 feet behind the boards. When we got to the E Buoy the weeds were very bad. Once we were past the E Buoy by about 1/4 mile there were not very many weeds so we cleaned the lures and kept on fishing. We found a small school of fish and we tried to stay on them but the boat traffic was getting bad. We would try and make some passes to our waypoint, but we could never get back to where we wanted to fish. The boat traffic started to clear out a little so we were able to get back on our spot and pick away at the walleye. Kept 12 walleye on a flat lake fishing on the dumping grounds.

Tough One Today

Fished with Captain Daryl and Joe. Temperature this morning was 51 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s, and yes, it is the end of July. We all wore long pants and coats. The wind was out of the southwest 17 to 24 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 74 degrees. We decided to go fishing because the wind was off shore and the waves would not be too bad. We ran towards the Toledo Light House and made a pass to the E Buoy. We ran wiggle warts 75 and 85 feet behind the boards and 2 large dipsy's set on number 3 - 25 feet back with spoons. The dipsy's caught the first 2 walleye and that was all that they caught. On the first pass we caught 2 walleye and on the second pass we caught 5 walleye. We went and made a 3rd pass and the wind was picking up. It was hard to control the boat with the wind and waves and we only caught 1 walleye so we decided to call it a day. Kept 8 walleye and 1 nice perch. We caught most of the fish by the E Buoy.

Turned Out to be a Nice Day

Fished with Norm. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind in the morning was out of the northwest 12 to 15 knots with waves around 2 feet and about 10:00 AM the wind laid down and so did the waves. The water temp is 78 degrees and the algae bloom is getting worse. Started fishing by the E Buoy trolling with the waves with wiggle warts set at 75 feet back and 80 feet back. The first fish we caught was a muskie 18 inches long. It jumped out of the water as soon as it was hooked and then it jumped about 3 more times. With the 2 foot waves we would troll with the waves through the dump, pull the lines and run back into the waves and make that same pass again. On the second pass we changed all the leads to 80 feet back. The plan worked good until the lake calmed down and all the boats came out, then we had to dodge all the boats. Kept 12 walleye and only caught a few junk fish. The weed problem is starting to get a little worse but it is still fishable. Just need to check the lines frequently.

Still Having Boat Problems!!!

Fished with Willie, Mike and Rick. 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 south 10 to 18 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 78 degrees. I started the kicker motor and was doing other things to get ready for the trip and the kicker motor quit running. When I would prime the bulb the motor would run for a couple of minutes and then quit. Tried to work on it for a while with no luck so I figured we would use the main motor for trolling today. Well, the main motor would not start. I went a got a can of starting fluid and gave it a squirt and it started right up, so away we went. Started fishing in the dumping grounds trolling wiggle warts 75 feet back and we were on fish pretty fast. Around 9:00 AM a huge storm was on shore heading to the north. The wind picked up and we got a little rain and then it finally moved on. The walleye were in small schools so we would just ride around and pick away at them. Kept 15 walleye and we lost about 5 other walleye. When we got back to port I worked on the kicker motor and found a split gas line where it was connected to the fuel filter. Hopefully this will solve all my problems.

Fishing in Close Yet

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80's. The wind was light and variable with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 82 Degrees and an algae bloom is beginning. The last hour of the fishing trip it began to get pretty warm. Started fishing just this side of the E Buoy trolling wiggle warts 75 feet behind the boards. We stayed in this area for the whole trip. After a couple of passes we switched one side of the boat to mini disks with spoons set at 65 feet back. Both sides were catching walleye but we also caught a lot of junk fish. We stayed busy the whole trip. As we were pulling lines Daryl caught this 20 inch small mouth bass. Kept 12 walleye and only had 1 walleye that was under size that we put back.

Still Good Fishing

Fished with Daryl and Chris. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the southwest 13 to 18 knots with waves around 2 feet. The water temp is 73 degrees. Started fishing where we left off yesterday and we had the same results. Ran wiggle warts with any kind of orange on it back 75 feet. Only caught a few junk fish and we only lost a few walleye behind the boat. The water was a lot cleaner than yesterday and there were very few weeds. With the southwest winds predicted for the next couple of days the fish should stay here for a while. Kept 18 walleye and only had 1 throwback walleye.

Still Having Boat Problems

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was out of the south less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 72 degrees. We were trying to figure out where to fish, make the long run to the 04s or just stay out in front of the marina. As we pulled away from the dock the motor quit. Got it running again, adjusted the throttle screw and away we went. When we made it to the lake we decided to fish in close because of the motor problems. We only went about 3 miles and the motor acted up 4 times. Started fishing the south end of the dumping grounds trolling crawlers set at 50 feet back and wiggle warts set at 75 feet back. Picked up the first walleye off the night crawler and the next fish came off the wiggle wart. Made the change to all wiggle warts, bumped up the speed to 2.8 MPH and that seemed to help. We were fishing by ourselves at (41 47 800 / 083 20 100) which is right on the Michigan/Ohio border. We made about 3 passes trolling with the wind then we would pull lines and head back to our starting spot. Every time we would run back using the big motor it ran great. We got done fishing and ran back to port and it ran great, so I do not have a clue as to what is wrong with the motor. Maybe I will figure out something tomorrow. Kept 12 walleye, lost 7 behind the boat and had 2 under size walleye that we put back. Only caught a few junk fish. The best color wiggle warts were anything with orange.

Fast and Furious

Fished with Norm. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was light out of the west and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing by the E Buoy trolling southwest with wiggle warts set at 70 and 75 feet behind the boards. We were on the fish in a hurry and were done fishing in a hurry. All that we caught were walleye. Kept 12 walleye and lost 5 walleye behind the boat.  

The Boy Had a Ball

Fished with Captain Daryl, Randy and Spencer. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was light out of the south with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing at (41 49 300 / 083 20 120) trolling to the southwest. We ran wiggle warts set at 70 and 75 feet back. There are a few weeds in the area but they were not too bad. Started catching fish right out of the gate and Randy and Spencer were non stop catching fish. Made a couple of passes in this area but the catching started to slow down. We figured we would fish for one more hour and call it a day. About that time the coast guard pulled up along side of us and wanted to check everything out. We had to pull all the fishing lines and the planer boards in so they could board the boat. They took our driver license's to run checks on them and proceeded to check for all the required equipment on the boat. The Captain had everything that was needed so they gave us back our license's and they were on their way. Since we had all the lines pulled we decided to call it a day and head back to port. Spencer drove the boat all the way back to port without a problem. I'm not sure if we should call him Captain Spencer or Walleye Spencer since he caught most of the walleye. Kept 15 walleye and we put back 2 under size walleye.

It Was a Hot One

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80s and it was hot. The morning started with a brief rain shower that actually felt pretty good. The wind was out of the south southwest 12 to 17 knots in the morning and about 10:30 AM it laid down to less than 10 knots. The waves in the morning were 1 to 2 feet and then the lake laid down to waves less than a foot. The water temp is 72 degrees. Started fishing at the south end of the Ohio dumping grounds ( 41 47 250 / 083 18 100) trolling towards the Toledo Light House. We ran jet 40s set at 35 feet back and mini disk set at 45 feet back. Started to catch some walleye off the mini disk so we put them on both sides of the boat. We messed around trying to figure the correct depth and we finally figured out that 45 to 60 feet back was the best setup. We started to catch some fish at 41 46 300 / 083 19 220 so we just stayed in this area. We caught some junk fish but it was not too bad. Kept 18 walleye and we put back 8 walleye that were under size.

Different Day Same Results

Fished with Dwayne and Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind in the morning was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots with waves around 2 feet and by 11:00 AM the wind started to come out of the south less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 69 degrees and the mayfly hatch is starting. Started fishing at 41 45 125 / 083 12 450 trolling with jet 40s set at 30 and 35 feet back. After a while we put the small dipsy's on one side of the boat set at 80 feet back and that caught 1 walleye. The water was pretty bumpy and the mayfly larva floating on the surface of the water made setting the lines difficult. We fished around here until 10:30 AM and only had 3 walleye so we pulled lines and ran out to 41 49 100 / 083 07 300. Set up here with jet 40s set at 80 and 85 feet back and the catching was still pretty slow so we put out the small dipsy's on one side of the boat set at 110 feet back. That started to catch some walleye but now it was getting late in the fishing trip so we pulled lines and came home. Kept 7 walleye for the trip. On the way back to the harbor the boat quit running 2 miles from shore and it would not start again. We started the kicker motor and started to come in with that until we got the main motor to run again. We made it back to the harbor and I was heading to the fuel dock to fill up and the motor quit running again when we were about 25 feet from the dock. Made a crash landing at the fuel dock and put some nice scratches in the boat. Put some gas in the boat and got the main motor to start again and we made it back to the rack and launch without another accident. Now I need to figure out what the problem is.

Still Tough Fishing For Us

Fished with captain 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 northwest 15 to 20 knots in the morning and around 10:30 AM the wind died down to less than 10 knots. The waves in the morning were 2 to 3 feet and when the wind laid down the waves were less than a foot. We caught most of our fish in the rough water. The water temp is 68 degrees. We started fishing at 41 48 750 / 083 09 125 trolling with jet 20s set at 70 feet back and jet 40s set at 75 feet back. Most of the fish came off the jet 40s and we were fishing at 41 49 600 / 083 07 500 trolling into the waves. The best spoon was the cat dog on the 40 jets. Most of the fish we caught were pretty nice size and we had 3 throwbacks that were under 15 inches. Kept 7 walleye and caught very few junk fish for the trip.

The Weather Was Great

Fished with John, Sherrill and Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper60s. The wind was light and variable and the lake was pretty flat. The water temp is 64 degrees. Was not sure where to start fishing so we headed out across the lake. We set up at (41 09 250 / 083 09 800) trolling with jet 40s set at 65 feet back on one side of the boat and 75 feet back on the other side. The catching was very slow so we moved the shorter side back to 80 feet back. Nothing seemed to work and most of the reports we had were not very good. We caught most of our fish on the 07 line and even then it was slow pickings. We kept 7 walleye and everyone seemed to have a good trip.  Again the best report was around the McDonald's area.

Rough and Long Ride

Fished with Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60s. The wind was out of the north 10 to 15 knots and the waves were 2 to 4 feet. Around 10:00 AM the lake laid down to 2 foot waves. The water temp is 63 degrees. The water is dirty in Michigan so we had to cross the channel to fish. We set up at 41 47 100 / 083 10 250 and trolled with the waves using jet 40s set at 75 feet back. We caught 1 fish right out of the gate but then it slowed down. We ended up fishing at 41 46 200 / 083 06 500 which is too far to go for walleye. We could not troll into the waves so we would pull lines and run back into the waves and set up with another downwind troll. Kept 6 walleye and we only caught a few silver bass. Hopefully the lake will clear up by tomorrow so we can fish closer to port. We added a new buoy report on the blog which is located just this side of McDonald's, called it the Bolles Harbor Weather Buoy. It has some very useful info.

Cold and Chilly Start

Fished with Captain Daryl and Captain Ron. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots this morning with waves 1 to 2 feet and after a couple of hours of fishing the wind started to lay down and so did the waves. It was a pretty cold start this morning with the wind chill factor. Started fishing just the other side of the dumping grounds in 19 to 20 feet of water trolling jet 40s set at 50 feet back and jet 20s set at 60 feet back. We only caught a couple of walleye and a lot of silver bass so we pulled lines and went back to the location we have been fishing the last 2 trips. We set the jet 40s at 65 feet back and the jet 20s at 80 to 90 feet back and we started to catch some walleye and less silver bass. Kept 9 walleye and 3 perch and we put back 5 under size walleye. It turned out to be a nice day on the water.

Lots of Silver Bass

Fished with Daryl. 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 south around 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 63 degrees. About 10:00 AM it started to get pretty warm. Started fishing 1 mile west of where we left off on Sunday trolling jet 40s set at 60 feet back. We were on fish right out of the gate and had three in the box within the first 15 minutes. Don' t know what happened but the walleye catching just slowed down. We worked the same area the whole morning just pecking away at the walleye and catching a lot of silver bass. The fuzzies from the cotton wood trees were a little bit of a problem today. We kept 9 walleye and returned 5 small ones, one which was only 8 inches.

Working Hard to Catch Fish

Fished with Joe and Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was light and variable and the lake was pretty flat. The water temp is 60 degrees. Started fishing by Stony Point (41 54 600 / 083 15 500) with jet 40s set at 40 feet back on one side of the boat and 50 feet back on the other side. We were consistently catching fish but most of them were silver bass. We stayed here for 1 1/2 hours and we only had 2 walleye in the cooler so we moved towards the River Raisin (41 52 580 / 083 14 150) and started to catch some walleye. We set the jet 40s at 60 feet back with spoons that had copper on the back and that seemed to do the trick. We were still catching some silver bass but at least we were putting some walleye in the cooler. Kept 16 walleye, 1 jumbo perch and we put back 4 walleye that were under size. When we were in the fish cleaning station we heard a report that they caught some walleye off the dumping grounds with body baits.

The Detroit River Again

Fished with Captain Dwayne on the Detroit River. We launched out of Belanger Park and fished the Canadian side of the river in front of the power plant. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was light and the river was flat, another nice day on the river. The Silver Bass are starting to show up in the river so that means we caught quite a few Silver Bass for every Walleye that we caught. We used the Wyandotte worm with 5/8 ounce and and 3/4 ounce jigs fishing in 35 feet of water. Kept 7 walleye for the trip.

It Was a Bumpy One

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind was out of the southwest 15 to 20 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 59 degrees. Started fishing at the S Buoy (41 48 000 / 083 21 850) trolling towards the E Buoy. We ran crawlers on 2 oz. bottom bouncers set at 60 feet back. Our first pass through the dumping grounds we caught 5 walleye. Pulled lines and ran the same pass again and we only caught 1 walleye along with a few junk fish. The 3rd pass we ran jet 40s set at 32 feet back and jet 20s set at 55 feet back. All that we caught were junk fish. By this time it was hard to control the boat and we called it a day. Kept 6 walleye for the trip.

Trolling with Crawlers

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s (we had a frost) and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 50s. The wind in the morning was out of the northwest 15 to 20 knots and after a couple of ours of fishing the wind was blowing less than 10 knots. Waves were less than 2 feet and the water temp is 59 degrees. Started fishing 1/2 mile northwest of the E Buoy (41 49 800 / 083 21 450) in 16 feet of water trolling with the wind. Daryl setup with crawlers set at 55 back on 2 ounce weights and I set up with  junior thundersticks set at 75 feet back. Daryl started catching some walleye with his setup so I switched over to the same program. We would troll just past the E Buoy, pull lines and head back to our starting spot and make the same troll again. That worked fine until the lake laid down and then we started to catch a lot of junk fish. We were running low on crawlers so we went to gulp worms and they caught some fish. Kept 11 walleye and 3 perch and released 3 walleye that were undersize.

Detroit River

Fished with Captain Dwayne on the Detroit River. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. There was hardly any wind and there where no waves. Just a great day to be on the water. We started fishing on the Canadian side of the river in front of the power plant. We caught most of the walleye there and then we moved up the river about 1/4 of a mile and caught the rest of the fish. We caught about half a dozen small mouth bass, only a couple of silver bass and 9 walleye. Two of the walleye were small so we put them back. All we used today was a Wyandotte Worm on a jig with a stinger hook. Dwayne had to work today so when we got to the dock we gave the fish away. That's the lucky fisherman holding his new catch in the picture. It sure made his day. Dwayne made some improvements to his boat this spring and it made for a better fishing machine.

Tough Day at the Turtle

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 50s. It was much colder by the water today because of the northeast winds. The winds were out of the northeast 10 to 15 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet with the occasional 3 footer. Oh, did I mention, the weather man called for light and variable winds today!!. The water temp is 59 degrees and from the picture you can see it is very dirty, from all the east winds this past week. Started fishing by Turtle Island in a pack of 2 boats. We made 3 drifts in this area and decided it was too dirty and we had no bites so we moved to the dumping grounds by the E Buoy. The water was just as dirty here so we made one drift and called it a day. Had no hits for the whole trip. We cancelled the trip for tomorrow.

Turtle Island

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the east southeast 10 to 15 knots with waves around a foot. The water is a little dirty (visibility is 12 to 16 inches) and the water temp is 55 Degrees. Started fishing by the Toledo Light House in a large pack of boats and caught nothing. Once we got halfway between the Light House and Turtle Island in 12 feet of water we started to catch some fish. All the fish came off the blade baits with the white one the hottest. We caught walleye, perch and quite a few white perch. It was hard to believe a small white perch could get hooked by a blade bait. Kept 2 perch, 4 walleye and had 3 other walleye on that got off.

Sunday Morning Catch



On Sunday the temp in the morning was in the lower 40s and by mid day it was in the upper 70s. Very hot for this time of year but there was still snow on the ground! We tried fishing new parts on the river today and our luck did not improve. With the water still very high we did most of our fishing from shore or the very edge of the river. Kept 3 fish today so we had enough brown trout for a fish dinner, which was very good. We talked to some locals and they agreed the fishing was very tough on Boardman River this year. We fished hard and we all found some very nice fishing holes so we made up our minds to come back here next year. We fished all day on Monday and no one caught a keeper. We caught 7 fish and kept 6 of them and I caught big fish for the year, a 14 1/2 inch brown trout.

2013 Trout Opener

Fished opening day of Trout Season with Joe and John. Temperature in the morning was in the middle 40s and by mid day it was in the middle 70s. Our plan was to fish the Pine River but we had a problem there so we headed up to the Boardman River. The river was very high and flowing over the banks for opening morning which made for difficult fishing. We caught 3 fish on opening day so we did not have a trout dinner on opening day. All the fish were caught using minnows. It was a disappointing day but we were fishing a new river and we had to learn how to fish it. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

Too Muddy to Fish

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 50s. The wind was out of the southeast 10 to 15 knots in the morning and by 9:00 AM it was 5 to 10 knots. The waves were 1 to 2 feet and the water temp is 45 degrees. The lake was very dirty from all the rain and high winds this past week which made for very difficult fishing conditions. We started fishing by the Toledo Light House because there was a small pack of 5 boats and they were the only boats in the area. Made a drift in this area and had no hits so we went back to where we fished last week, about half way between Turtle Island and the Toledo Light House. I was using a white blade bait and Daryl had a fire tiger blade bait. We were marking some fish but the water was very dirty, visibility was about two inches. After a couple of drifts Daryl switched to a hair jig with a minnow. We fished from 9:00 to 11:00 AM and caught no fish so we called it a day. There were only 11 boats fishing in this area, which is not very many for this time of year.

2013 Maiden Voyage

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the southeast this morning about 10 knots and after an hour of fishing it switched to the south and started to blow around 15 to 20 knots with waves around 2 feet. The water is a little dirty which is good for blade baiting and the water temp is 42 degrees. We arrived at the marina this morning and they had to move 2 boats to get to my boat so that wasted about 45 minutes and then the engine would not start (it helps to open the gas line to the engine). Got the motor running but it was making a hell of a racket which turned out to be a baffle in the heat riser. After about 15 minutes the baffle loosened up and away we went. Started fishing by Turtle Island in 12 feet of water. I was using a white blade bait and Daryl had a hair jig tipped with a minnow. I caught a couple of fish so Daryl also switched over to a blade bait. The fishing was pretty steady until the wind started to blow and then it was hard to keep the bait vertical. After a couple of drifts fighting the wind we called it a day. Kept 6 walleye and did not lose any.

Lake St. Clair Perching

 

Had some free time today so I went fishing out of Gino's on Lake St. Clair. Temperature this morning was in the upper 20s and when I quit fishing it was in the lower 30s. There was hardly any wind. The ice is about 8 inches thick. Started in front of Gino's in 5 feet of water and only caught dink perch. Kept popping holes and moving out to deeper water until I was in 7 to 8 feet of water and was still only catching small perch. Started moving towards Metro Beach popping holes and fishing and finally caught one keeper. Fished for about another hour and only caught dink fish so I called it a day. I used the slab grabber with a red bead for most of the trip. On the way back in I gave the perch to some other fisherman, which gave them a total of 1 perch.

Lake Simcoe, Day Two

Fished with Fred and Dwayne off Virginia Beach, Ontario Canada.  Temperature this morning was in the lower single digits and when we quit fishing it was in the middle teens. It snowed 4 to 5 inches last night and the wind was blowing 10 to 15 knots. We fished with the same ice fishing outfitter but we fished in different huts today. I don't think that made any difference because the fishing huts are in the same general area. The water was still cloudy which made it difficult to sight fish again. Fred and I just pecked away at the perch today but Dwayne had a pretty good day. He used a large rapala (orange) as a decoy to bring the fish off the bottom of the lake to where he could see them and then would catch the jumbo perch with his small jig. I lost mt slab grabber midday so I went to a jig and minnow setup fishing the way Dwayne was. We kept around 60 perch today which gave us a total of around 130 perch for the trip. We cleaned all the perch on the bathroom counter top at the Holiday Inn where we stayed, if only they knew!!! Mike, the ice fishing outfitter did a great job of taking good care of us. He made sure we had heat, minnows and that we were catching fish. Great time had by all fishing Lake Simcoe.

Lake Simcoe Perching

Fished the Virginia Beach area on Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada with Dwayne and Fred. The ice was 5 to 6 inches thick. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle teens. The wind was howling out of the northwest around 50 MPH. It rained, sleeted, hailed and snowed so it was a good thing that we had a rented fishing hut. I poked my head outside the fishing hut one time and could only see about 20 feet. We fished in 7 to 8 feet of water to the right of Virginia Beach. The water was very clean in the morning and then it started to cloud up around lunch time. We figured the high winds and all the open water caused the water to get dirty. We constantly had fish in the holes so we had to pick out the jumbos that we wanted to catch. Once the water got dirty we would try and bring a pod of fish up off the bottom to where we could see them and hope there would be a jumbo perch in the group that we could catch. My best set up was a large slab grabber and Fred used mostly minnows on a red hook. Dwayne was using a small jig with a red plastic tail tipped with a spike. It sure makes it a lot of fun to sight fish for jumbo perch. We kept around 70 perch today.

Beautiful Day for Ice Fishing

Fished with Dale and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 30s. The wind was light and variable and the sun was shining which made for a great day of ice fishing. We fished Mud Bay off Big Portage Lake. The ice is about 5 inches thick. We started to catch fish right out of the gate but they were all very small gills. Started to move around a little and we caught some bigger fish but we still had to sort through them. Only fished for about 3 hours and we gave Dale a nice pile of fish to take home.Used spikes and wax worms on small jigs fishing just off the bottom and we kept bluegill, crappie and sunfish. As we drove by Portage Lake a lot of it was open water. The forecast is for rain and temps in the lower 50's this weekend so that is going to put a damper on the ice fishing for a while.

First Ice Fishing Trip of the Year

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 30s. The wind was out of the west 10 to 15 knots. We fished a small lake in Stockbridge and the ice is 3 to 4 inches thick, plenty thick to fish on. The catching was slow but the fish that we caught were very nice. We caught sunfish, bluegill, large mouth bass and crappie. We had spikes and wax worms for bait and most of the fish came about 1 foot off the bottom. I decided to do some exploring and as I was walking up a small creek that fed the lake I fell through up to my knee with my left foot. I did not get very wet but it sure was mucky. When I got out of the water there was black muck all over everything. Daryl caught this nice 13.5 inch crappie.

Getting Towards the End

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and very foggy.
When we quit fishing it was in the lower 50s with sunshine. The wind was out of the east northeast around 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 43 degrees. Started fishing in our hot spot and again it did not pay off. We heard a report at the bait shop this morning that they caught some fish out by Sputnik so that was where we headed. Started catching fish right out of the gate but they were all 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 inches. Made a small move here to find some larger perch but we had the same results so we headed towards the buoys 1 and 2 on the River Raisin. Dropped the anchor here and we only caught 1 keeper perch so we made another move and fished right by buoy #1 and we were on some fish. Spent the rest of the trip here and we caught some nice fish. On the way back to the harbor we beached the boat on a sand bar, not good. It took us a while to get back to deeper water but we managed and there was no damage to the boat. Because it was getting late in the day we took the perch to Joe's bait store and had them cleaned. We kept 71 perch that weighed 23 1/2 lbs and cost $37.60 to have them fillet with the skins on.

Long Boat Ride

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 40s. The wind was light and variable so that means we had no waves. The water temp is 43 degrees. Our game plan was to perch fish for a while and then troll for some walleye. When we arrived at the bait store this morning it was closed so we went down the road to another bait store. It was also closed. We met some other fisherman there and we were trying to figure out what to do when Joe showed up at his bait store so we all headed there. We started fishing just south of Bolles Harbor and we had no luck so pulled the anchor and headed to our hot spot. Made 4 moves in this area and we caught no fish but Dan did have a bite. Made a move to the # 1 buoy off the Raisin River and still no fish. We decided to join the pack of boats in Brest Bay that were walleye fishing. We trolled around here for a hour without a bite. It was just to weedy to troll so we started perch fishing again. We fished in front of the two stacks, the E buoy, just west of the E buoy, in front of the mansion and then we called it a day. I cannot remember any time that we fished Lake Erie all day and never caught a fish. At least we had nice weather for a boat ride.

Cold, Cloudy and Cold

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 30s, it was cold. The wind was out of the south east around 10 knots and the waves on the ride out were 1 to 2 feet. After an hour the waves started to lay down. The water temp is 45 degrees.We got to launch out of the new Bolles Harbor and I have to admit they did a very poor job of updating the harbor. More on that later. We decided to head right back to our hot spot even though the lake was pretty rough. We dropped the anchor and never had to move for the rest of the trip. The only problem we had (besides being cold) was we were catching to many small perch, fish around the 8 inch size. We stayed put and sorted through the fish and tried to keep our hands warm. Kept 63 perch for the trip. Bolles Harbor- Removed 4 pit toilets and put in 2 new pit toilets-Removed 1/5 of the asphalt in the parking lot and replaced it with lake friendly asphalt-Added a water retention pond. What a big waste of money.

Felt Like Summer

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. WOW! The wind was out of the southeast less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 54 degrees. Started fishing by the 1 and 2 buoys on the River Raisin and we only caught 1 small perch. Made a move to our hot spot (41 50 905 / 083 14 976) and we started to catch some fish. We made one little move (about 100 feet) because the catching slowed down and we were on fish again. We caught a lot of perch but we were not keeping anything under 8 1/2 inches. The fish would come through in schools and we had 4 triple headers of perch. Kept 57 perch on a summer like day. We tried to clean the fish at Sterling State Park but the electricity was not working so we cleaned them at home.

One For the Pond

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the southwest 12 to 15 knots this morning with waves 1 to 2 feet and after a couple of hours the wind became variable with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 53 degrees. We are still fishing out of Sterling State Park because Bolles Harbor is closed. Started fishing by buoys # 1 and 2 off the Raisin River. We made four moves in this area with out a fish so we went back to the spot we have been fishing the last 3 weeks, which is 2 miles southeast of buoys 1 and 2. We started to catch fish right out of the gate but we had to sort threw them. Our goal was to keep nothing smaller than 8 1/2 inches. We stayed here and put up with the slow times. Kept 53 perch and we took them to the bait store to get cleaned. The catch weighed 16 lbs. and cost $24 to fillet. About half way through the trip one of my fishing poles fell off the engine cover and into the drink. I spent about 45 minutes trying to snag it it but had no luck. Sh@&$#t  happens but I still had a great time fishing.

Getting Towards the End of the Season

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. The wind was light and variable and there were no waves on the lake. The water temp is 54 degrees. We have to fish out of Sterling State Park because Bolles Harbor is still closed for construction. Started fishing by the 1 and 2 buoys off the River Raisin. Made about 4 moves in this area without any luck so we headed back to where we fished last weekend, about 2 miles southeast of buoys 1 and 2. Started to catch some perch so we stayed put for the rest of the trip. The bite was very erratic, they would hit OK for about 10 minutes and then quit for 10 minutes. Ended up with 36 perch for the trip.

The Fish Fry Crew

Fished with John, Dan and Sherrill. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 40s. Everyone stayed half way warm and no one complained. The wind was out of the northwest very light and there were no waves. The water temp is 56 degrees. Started fishing south of the E-Buoy and we were on some nice fish but the bite was very slow. Stayed here about 45 minutes and then we made a move to the west about 500 feet where we caught no fish. Got a call over the radio from Uncle Dan that they found some fish east of Buoys # 1 and 2 off the Raisen River so that was where we headed. The bite was good and everyone was catching fish so everyone was happy. The wind was starting to pick up out of the southwest so we called it a day before it got too bad. Kept 87 perch for the trip and I think John was having a perch fry tonight, he will sleep good tonight. Thanks Uncle Dan for the tip. 

Windy but Fishable

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind this morning was out of the south 15 to 20 knots and about 10:00 AM it switched to the southwest 15 to 20 knots. On the boat ride out the waves were 2 feet and were building until the wind switched and the lake laid down to waves less than 2 feet. The water temp is 60 degrees. Started fishing just east of the E-Buoy and we only caught white perch. Made one move in this area and still caught only white perch. Made another move 3/4 mile south of the E-Buoy and we found some perch. The catching was pretty fast and steady. Caught mostly perch but we caught a lot of rock bass today. Never have done that before on Lake Erie. Kept 60 perch and the cleaning station is still open.

Almost a Skunk!!

The weather looked pretty good this morning so I went fishing. There was an accident on 275 this morning so it took for ever to get to the boat, finally got to the marina at 8:50 AM.. The temp this morning was in the upper 50s and when I quit fishing it was in the middle 60s. The wind was out of the south very light early and then it switched to the southwest 5 to 12 knots. The lake was flat in the morning and the waves were about a foot when I quit fishing. The water temp is still 60 degrees. Had a report that they were catching perch just past the Toledo Light House so that was the starting spot. Made about 4 moves in this area and only caught 1 perch. Things were not looking good. Made a move to the south of the E-Buoy and finally started to catch some perch. Kept 34 perch and while I was cleaning the fish they were starting to tear down the fish cleaning station.

Lot's of Driven and Few Perch

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60s. The wind was out of the north less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees and from the storm yesterday there is a lot of weeds floating on the water. Started fishing just south of the E- Buoy and we had no bites so we moved to the east of the E-Buoy. Started to catch some nice fish but that only lasted for about a half hour. Made a few moves in this area with out any luck so we went to the Raisin River buoy # 1. Caught a few small perch at the first spot and made several moves in this area and only caught a couple of fish so we headed about 1 mile to the southeast of where we were fishing. Caught a few perch and made some moves in this area and then we went back to buoy # 1. Caught a couple of fish here and then we went back to the E-Buoy. Stayed here only about 15 minutes and we called it a day. The weeds were very bad by the Raisin River and were pretty bad by the E-Buoy. Only caught 28 perch today. Only two weeks left to fish from my boat!!

Nice Day on the Water

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was light and variable with hardly any waves. The water temp is 60 degrees. Started fishing just east of buoys 3 and 4 on the River Raisin. Fished here for about 15 minutes without a bite so we made a move up to buoys 1 and 2. Fished about 1/4 mile east of them (41 52 480 / 083 16 410). Dan had a nice fish right out of the gate and I had a double so we thought we were in for a great day of fishing. The catching slowed down but we were on enough fish to keep us here. Around 11:30 AM it was like someone turned off the switch and the fish stopped biting. I pulled out the binoculars and took a look around and every boat I looked at was doing nothing. When I got home and checked out the buoy reports the barometer dropped .08 within 15 minutes, so that could have been our problem. Kept 40 perch for the day.

Nice Day, Slow Fishing

Fished with Walleye Willie and Rick. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was light and variable with no waves on the lake. The water temp is 60 degrees. Went to Joe's to buy some bait this morning and he was not open so I had to go down the road to Matthews and buy the minnows. All that they had were golden shiners, which is OK. Started fishing just past the E- Buoy and we started catching some nice perch. The action was steady for about 1 1/2 hours and then it quit. Started moving around this area looking for some fish without much luck. Made one last move to the E-Buoy and we were on some nice fish but the catching was slow. Finished out the day fishing here and we kept 58 perch for the day.  

It's Perch Jerking Time

Fished with Captain Daryl before he went to work. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60s. The wind was out of the south southwest 10 to 12 knots with waves around a foot. The water is very clear every place we stopped to fish and the water temp is 64 degrees.  Stopped at Lake Erie Party Store to buy shiners and I was his the first customer. I got the last of the minnows, a combination of shiners and mud minnows. Started fishing by buoy # 14 and did not catch a fish. Made a move  to buoys 9 and 10 and caught 1 perch. Made another move to the dumping grounds just west of McDonald's and caught 2 perch. Moved again to McDonald's and caught gobies. Stopped on the way back to the E buoy and caught 1 little perch. Made our last stop 1/2 mile south east of the E buoy and we started to catch some perch, not very fast catching but at least we were on some perch. Well, time ran out and Daryl had to head to work so we pulled the hook and made our way to port. Kept 19 perch.  

That's it for Walleye

Fished with Joe and Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was out of the south southwest 15 to 20 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The weather report was for light winds out of the southwest. The water temp is 67 degrees. Because of the waves we went into the dumping grounds and made a long troll towards our fishing spot running wiggle warts set at 70 feet on one side of the boat and 90 feet on the other side. The wind and waves were blowing the planer boards all over the place so the lures were not running very accurate. We were marking a lot of fish on the graph but they all had lock jaw. Made 3 or 4 passes but it was very difficult to control the boat.  We needed some fish because we wanted to go to Trappers and have a fish dinner. Well we got lucky and caught a couple of walleye that were pretty nice size so we had enough fish for dinner. Also caught 2 small walleye and 1 sheep head. Tough day of fishing but it paid off with a great walleye dinner. This will be it for walleye fishing this year.

Still Walleye Fishing

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind was out of the north 5 to 10 knots with hardly and waves. The water temp is 72 degrees. Wasn't sure how the walleye fishing would be after the blow over the weekend so we stopped and bought 1 scoop of minnows just in case. On the positive side I was hoping to limit out on walleye and do some perch jerking. Started trolling where we left off on the last trip running wiggle warts at 100 feet back on one side of the boat and 70 feet on the other side. Had some very good marks on the fish finder but could not hook up any fish. Made some passes at different angles and we finally caught a walleye off the 100 foot set up so we put both sides at 100 feet back. Made some more passes on the same line and we would catch a walleye, not great fishing but just enough to keep us in the area. Started to run out of time so we made a troll towards port and we started to catch some fish. Caught most of the walleye just east of the E Buoy. Kept 11 walleye, lost 2 behind the boat, had 1 small walleye that was released and only caught a couple of junk fish. Just another nice day on the water. While we were fishing today a mayfly landed on the bow of the boat, never saw one in September before!

Another Rough Ride

Fished with Uncle Dan. We waited a few hours this morning before we went fishing to let the wind and waves calm down. 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 northeast 12 to 17 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing where we left off on Saturday running the same setups and we only caught a couple of walleye. The water was dirty from all the northeast winds that have been blowing the last 3 days. We trolled into the waves and finally found some clean water and some fish (41 50 100 / 083 18 740) but by now it was getting late. Made a couple of passes in this area and then we called it a day. Kept 8 walleye and caught 7 small walleye that we released. Marked a lot of fish but the catching was slow.

It Was a Bumpy One

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80s. The wind this morning was out of the northeast 17 to 20 knots with waves 2 to 4 feet and after a couple of hours the wind started to switch from the east northeast less than 10 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 76 degrees. Started fishing where we were on Tuesday running the same program. The only difference is the storm front was to the south of us and you could see it on the horizon. This slowed down the catching a lot today along with the large waves. The wiggle warts produced a little bit better than the spoons and we caught a lot more junk fish today. Kept 12 walleye and put back 8 walleye that were under size. Looks like the fishing should be good for a while.