Walleye Fishing at It's Best

Fished with Joe, Rick and Walleye Willy. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was switching between north and north east any where between 7 and 15 knots. Waves were between 1 and 2 feet. The water temp is 73 degrees. Started fishing 1 1/2 miles northeast of the E-Buoy in 18 feet of water trolling towards the E-Buoy with wiggle warts set at 75 feet back on both sides of the boat and large dipsy's and spoons set at 24 feet back. Started catching walleye right out of the gate and it never slowed down. Made 3 passes and we were done fishing for the day. It did not matter what color lure we used because every lure caught fish. Kept 24 walleye and we had some happy fishermen on the boat. Only bad thing was we lost 3 wiggle warts.

Weather Was Perfect

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the southwest around 7 knots. Just enough breeze to keep the bugs away and make for a nice walleye chop. The water temp is 72 degrees. Started fishing in the same location as the last couple of trips trolling with wiggle warts set at 80 and 85 feet behind the boards. We found a small pod of fish(41 49 820 / 083 18 125) that we kept working. We caught most of the fish on a south troll. The majority of the walleye were between 15 and 16 inches, easy to clean and nice eaters. Had the usual small walleye and we also had a couple of walleye that were just under 15 inches that we put back. Kept 18 walleye and again we caught very few junk fish.

Spur of the Moment Trip

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Sitting at my Mom's house around 10:30 AM and decided to go fishing. Made a few phone calls and had a crew together. The temp when we started fishing was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the East 8 to 14 knots with waves less than 2 feet. Started fishing at the northeast side of the dumping grounds trolling with wiggle warts set at 83 feet on one side of the boat and 75 feet on the other side of the boat. Started catching some walleye off the 83 foot set up so we switched the other side to 90 feet back. Caught most of our fish on a 140 degree troll. When we turned around and headed back over our fishing spot we would not catch a fish. Ended up catching most of the fish on the east side of the dumping grounds on a south east troll. Kept 18 walleye and again, we had a lot of the small nine inch walleye that we put back. The trip did not start out too well. Went to put the trolling motor in gear and it would not go. Figured out the shift cable broke. Put the trolling motor in gear manually and away we went. Lost two of the first three walleye right behind the boat but things only got better from there.

The Algae Bloom Has Started

Fished with Daryl. We thought we would go out for a quick trip. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was out of the southeast 8 to 14 knots with waves about 1 1/2 feet before the storm. Started fishing in the same location as the last trip trolling with mini disks and spoons set at 60 feet back on one side of the boat and wiggle warts set at 70 feet back on the other side of the boat.Started picking away at the walleye fishing by the mud line but once we got too far away from the mud line the bite shut down. By the time we got turned around and back on the fish, the sky was looking pretty ugly off shore. The wind switched to the southwest 20 to 25 knots and the sky was dark so we pulled lines and headed for port. We missed all the rain and made it back to shore nice and dry. The dark clouds blew over and the rain never did show up but the winds were blowing pretty strong. Kept 10 walleye and put back a lot of little walleye. Not sure what is going on, but we have been catching very few white perch and very few silver bass the last couple of weeks. One thought is that there are so many small walleye that they might have pushed the garbage fish out of the area.

Day Two

Fished with Joe and Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was very light out of the south with no waves. We had the gnats again today but the wind picked up just enough around 9:00 AM to blow them away. Started fishing in the same spot as yesterday with jet 40's and spoons set at 55 feet behind the boards and mini disk and spoons set at 75 feet back. Before we had the lines set we had two walleye in the boat, everyone thought it was going to be a banner day. Well, the catching just quit and we would catch a walleye every once in a while. Started changing lead lengths and putting on wiggle warts set at 85 feet back but nothing seemed to help. We shortened up the lead length on the mini dipsy to 60 feet and that seemed to help so we switched both sides to mini disk. Started to get a slow and steady pick of walleye but at least we were catching some. Kept 18 walleye and had at least a dozen walleye at nine inches that we put back. Also caught some monster sheep head.

Fishing In Close Again

Fished with Captain Daryl and Chris. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. There was no wind this morning and we had lot's of gnats. Around 10:30 the wind started to blow very light out of the east, just enough to blow the gnats away. The water temp is 69 Degrees. Started trolling by the E-Buoy and going through the dumping grounds with jet 40's set at 50 and 60 feet behind the boards. Started to catch a few fish off the 50 foot set up, so we put that on both sides of the boat.When things slowed down we put a couple of wiggle warts out set at 85 feet back and that caught one walleye. There were some weeds in the area but we only had to clean the lines a couple of times. Ended up fishing the Northeast side of the dumping grounds (41 48 125 / 083 19 850) where the water was stained. Kept 15 walleye and we lost a couple right behind the boat. Caught 7 nine-inch walleye that we put back.

Fishing After the Big Storm

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the west 10 to 15 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 67 Degrees. After the storms we knew the water was going to be dirty so we took some night crawlers with us. Started fishing just past the E-Buoy trolling with the crawlers set anywhere between 40 and 60 feet behind the boards. There were a few weeds floating and the water was stained, but clean enough to fish in. Trolled on an east pass and we only caught one silver bass and had another fish on that we lost. Pulled lines and headed toward McDonald's but the closer we got to McDonald's the worse the water conditions were. A lot of debris floating and also some large logs. Made the turn and headed to Brest Bay. The water was pretty clean and there were not very many weeds floating so we set up with jet 40's and spoons set at 60 to 70 feet back and mini dipsy's and spoons set at 80 feet back. We were marking fish but not hooking up so we started to change the lead lengths. Finally caught a walleye off the dipsy set up and then nothing again. Started trolling towards shore (41 54 670 / 083 17 540) and we started marking more fish. Caught a lot of sheep head and a few silver bass and one more walleye. Only kept two walleye. We had to dodge a few large logs floating in the water which made for an interesting ride. The storm really tore up the lake.

Deja Vu

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. In the morning the wind was out of the east northeast around 10 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet and by the time we quit fishing the wind was out of the east northeast 15 to 20 knots with waves 3 to 5 feet. The water temp is 62 Degrees. Started fishing in front of Brest Bay (41 54 250 / 083 13 500) trolling jet 40's and spoons set at 60 and 65 feet behind the boards. Had the first walleye on pretty quick but we lost it behind the boat and everything went down hill from there. Started trolling with the waves and then we found the floating weeds. Messed around this area for a little while and then we pulled lines and headed towards Sputnik. Well, the lake was too rough to travel that far so we stopped short and started trolling towards McDonald's. We were out of the weeds, but with the waves we were not going to make McDonald's so we headed towards the Michigan/Ohio border. Once we got to walleye alley we started to mark some fish. We picked up a couple of walleye and had two 14 inch walleye throw backs and two nine inch walleye that we put back. By this time we were close to the harbor so we pulled lines and called it a day. Kept two walleye for another long day of fishing.

Weeds, Mayfly Casings and Biting Flies

Fished with Joe and Norm. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the south less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 68 Degrees. On the way out to the fishing spot we stopped short and set a few lines just this side of McDonald's. Marked a few fish but we only caught 1 silver bass so we pulled lines and headed further out into the lake. We set up at 41 47 450 / 083 12 100 with jet 40's and spoons set at 75 feet back on one side of the boat and large mini disks and spoons set at 85 feet back. We had three types of water that we were fishing in. Very clean water (with a lot of weeds), stained water (with a few weeds and a lot of mayfly casings), and very dirty water. We marked a lot of fish in the dirty water but could not catch them. The objective was to fish on the mud line but that was hard to do. The lake went from clean water to dirty water in a very short area. Once you got into the weeds, you had to pull all the lines and clean the weeds off them. A major pain in the butt because we had to do this about four times. Once the wind laid down, the biting flies came out, another pain in the butt. This area is holding fish but it is just too hard to fish for them. Kept nine walleye and we put back two that were 14 1/2 inches and about 7 little walleye that were about nine inches.

Oh What a Day!

Fished with Captain Daryl, Jake and Jim. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. Kind of cool for this time of year. The wind was out of the east northeast 10 to 15 knots with waves 2 to 4 feet with the occasional 5 footer. Plus, we had rain for the first couple of hours. The water temp is 65 Degrees. Started fishing the other side of McDonald's (41 47 300 / 083 13 600) trolling into the waves. We ran jet 40's and spoons 65 feet back on one side of the boat and 75 feet back on the other side of the boat. Picked up a couple of walleye off the 75 feet setup so we switched both sides to 75 feet back. We also ran two large dipsy's set at 40 feet back off the stern and they caught a couple of walleye.  It was tough fishing and very tough just trying to stand up in the boat. We had our fair share of tangles and that will always happen when the lake is that bumpy. Kept 13 walleye and both Jake and Jim were troopers today. No complaining and they said they had fun. There is still a lot of debris floating in the water which makes for an interesting ride to the fishing grounds.

Major Mess Today

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots with waves a foot or less. The water temp is 69 Degrees. The mayfly hatch is in full bloom and the casings are floating all over the lake. Started fishing in Brest Bay at 41 53 280 / 083 15 150 trolling jet 40's and spoons set at 70 feet behind the boards and large mini disks and spoons set at 60 feet behind the boards. Caught the first couple of walleye pretty quick, we only had four lines in the water. Kept on trolling with this set up and I went down to the cuddy to get my shorts and the next thing I know there is a boat trolling right in front of us. We tangled planer board lines so I stopped the motor and the next thing I know all the fishing lines were in front of the boat and the planer board line was wrapped around the prop. The line was wrapped around the prop so bad the motor stopped running. We spent a lot of time just trying to straighten everything out and then we had to retie all the fishing lines and one planer board line. Lost a good 1 1/2 hours of fishing time. The good news is no equipment was lost, hard to believe. Once we got everything in order we just stayed put and picked away at the walleye. Kept 10 walleye and only had one walleye that was under size. Caught a few sheep head and about a dozen silver bass that we put back.

Fishing With the Family

Fished with Dan, Sherrill and John. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was out of the southwest between 10 and 15 knots when we started fishing and around 11:00 am it started to lay down. The waves were about 2 feet in the morning and when the wind laid down so did the waves. The water temp is 67 Degrees. When I woke up it was raining and on the ride down to the boat it was just hogging dow rain. About 20 miles before we arrived at the marina the rain quit. We had a little sprinkle early in the morning when we were fishing and then a very light sprinkle on the boat ride back to the marina. On the car ride back home it just started to hog down again. The trip was perfect as far as the weather went. When we got back home most of the roads were flooded. How we squeezed this trip in, I don't know. The mayfly hatch is in full bloom and the casings are starting to build up on the fishing line when we were trolling. Started fishing just the other side of McDonald's trolling with mini disk set at 100 feet back and large mini disk set at 80 feet back. Started to catch some fish off the large dipsy's so we took off the small mini dipsy's and put out jet 40's and spoons set at 70 feet. We were catching fish, but not enough keeper walleye. We stayed in this area and picked through the junk fish hoping to get our limit, which did not happen. Kept 15 walleye and put back 4 walleye that were 14 inches and about a dozen walleye that were nine inches. We also caught about three dozen silver bass that we put back!

A Little on the Bumpy Side

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's when we started fishing and it was in the middle 70's when we quit fishing. The wind was out of the west at 18 knots when we started with waves 2 to 3 feet. Around 11:00 am the wind started to lay down and so did the waves. The water temp is 61 Degrees. Made the ride back out to Ohio waters because the water is still dirty on the Michigan side of Lake Erie. Started fishing at 41 49 200 / 083 11 400 trolling spoons behind jet 40 divers. We ran the port side set at 50 feet behind the boards and the starboard side set at 60 feet behind the boards. Caught the first walleye pretty quick and then the catching was few and far between. We ended up fishing at 41 49 300 / 083 07 250 trolling with the jets set at 70 feet behind the boards. We did not mark very many fish and most of the fish we were marking were on the bottom of the lake. It was just a slow pick today and we only had one little walleye that we put back. All the large logs and dock poles that we had to dodge on the way out last trip are now in Ohio waters where we were fishing. Kept 13 walleye and lost one behind the boat.

The Mayfly Hatch is Starting

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the east less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 66 degrees. We knew the lake was going to be dirty from all the storms we had last weekend so we went out past the shipping channel and fished at 41 48 400 / 083 09 299. On the ride out the lake was full of large logs and debris. It made for an interesting ride there and back. We set up with mini dipsy's and spoons set at 110 feet back on one side of the boat and wiggle warts set at 80 feet back on the other side. Started to catch some walleye off the spoons so we switched the other side to spoons and dipsy's set at 100 feet back. The catching was pretty good and we caught very few silver bass. We made 3 or 4 passes in this area and we were done fishing. Kept 18 walleye and we put back 3 walleye that were 14 inches. Where we fished the water was very clean. The mayfly hatch is just starting so the fishing will be interesting for the next couple of weeks.

The Silver Bass Won Today

Fished with Joe and Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots when we started fishing and then it switched to the east about 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 65 Degrees. Started fishing by the S Buoy trolling towards Turtle Island with Junior Thundersticks set at 70 feet back. Right out of the gate we were catching silver bass. After catching a lot of silver bass we finally caught a walleye. We just kept going between the island and the S Buoy. Got a report that they were catching some walleye by the water intake in Ohio so we pulled lines and headed there. When we arrived at the intake there was only one boat fishing so we set up with Junior Thundersticks set at 90 feet back and Wiggle Warts set at 70 feet back. We were marking a lot of fish but we only caught two walleye and two silver bass. We did a lot of changing lure depths and color changes and were not catching very many fish so we pulled lines and headed back to where we were fishing, the silver bass honey hole. We finally got tired of catching silver bass so we decided to call it a day. Kept eight small walleye and put back 5 walleye that were nine inches long and three walleye that were fourteen inches long.

A Lot of Silvers Today

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind in the morning was out of the southwest around 10 knots with hardly any waves. About 10:30 am, the wind died down and the bugs came out. They were pretty bad for a couple of hours until the wind started to blow out of the east. Started fishing by the S Buoy trolling towards Turtle Island with Junior Thundersticks set at 60 feet back on one side of the boat and 70 feet on the other side of the boat. The catching was very slow. Caught a couple of walleye off the 60 foot side so we switched up so both sides were around 60 feet back. We started catching a lot of silver bass but every once in a while we would catch a walleye. We put on Wiggle Warts set at 50 feet back for awhile and they caught a few fish. We sure had to work hard to catch a walleye. On our last pass we went through the dumping grounds and then trolled towards the marina. Once we were out of the dumping grounds we started to catch a few more walleye with the Junior Thundersticks set at 68 feet back. Kept 16 walleye and put back a lot of silver bass.

Rainy Day of Fishing

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The wind was out of the southwest less than 10 knots and there were no waves. The water temp is 60 Degrees. When I woke up it was starting to rain and on the ride to the boat it was raining. We fished the first two hours in a light rain but at least it was warm out. Started fishing in front of the Toledo Beach Marina in 16 feet of water trolling Junior Thunder sticks set at 30 feet behind the boards on one side of the boat and 40 feet on the other side of the boat. We were trolling about 2 mph. We were catching a lot of silver bass so we started to pull lines and head towards Little Cedar Point when we caught the first walleye. Decided to stay put and just troll in this area. Started to catch some walleye off the 40 foot setup so we switched the other side of the boat to 40 feet back. Caught a few walleye and lost a couple but then the catching just stopped. Switched one side of the boat to 50 feet back and that did not help so we put some wiggle warts on set at 40 feet back and we caught a few more fish. Blue and silver and metallic green were the best colors today. Kept 7 walleye for the trip.

Another Tough Day

Fished with Captain Daryl and Joe. Temperature when we started fishing was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60's. The wind was out of the northeast less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 54 Degrees. Started fishing by the S Buoy where we found a little stained water and were marking a few fish so we set up with crawlers on one side of the boat and deep diving thunder sticks on the other side of the boat. Made a few passes in this area and we only caught a nice perch so we started trolling through the dumping grounds heading towards the E Buoy. Did not catch any fish so we pulled lines and headed to walleye alley. We just cruised through here and did not mark any fish so we went back to the south side of the S Buoy and made a pass through there. Marked some fish but we only caught a few silver bass so we pulled lines and went to Little Stony Point and set lines again. Caught the first walleye off a night crawler set at 30 feet back so we switched all the baits to crawler harnesses. It was slow catching but we managed to catch 2 more walleye before we called it a day. When we got off the lake the temp was 64 Degrees because of the northeast wind blowing across the lake. When we got home it was 85 Degrees outside!

Worm Trolling

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was light out of the north and there were no waves, just a light chop on the water. The water temp is 49 Degrees and the water is very clean. Just another nice day to be on Lake Erie. Started fishing by the S Buoy trolling up the south side of the dumping grounds with crawlers set anywhere between 30 and 50 feet behind the boards. Caught the first walleye pretty quick and then nothing for about 45 minutes. Went on a search mission heading towards the E Buoy and we kept on heading that direction until we were on the south side of Brest Bay. Every so often we would slow down and look for marks on the graph, but we didn't see any. Headed back towards the E Buoy and stopped short about 1 mile and set lines again. Caught another walleye but that was it. Pulled lines again and headed towards Turtle Island looking for some dirty water. Finally found some dirty water so we set up again with the crawlers. Started to mark a lot of fish and they sure looked like walleye marks but all that we caught were silver bass. Stayed here for about 45 minutes catching silver bass and then we called it a day. Kept 2 walleye for the trip.

Trout Fishing 2015

2015 Trout King

Headed up north with Joe and John on 4-23-2015 for our annual trout camp on the Boardman River. On the ride up north we ran into quite a few snow squalls but the snow was not sticking to the ground.The river was in excellent shape when we arrived to set up camp, the lowest we have ever seen it. Spent Friday looking for new spots to fish on the Boardman River not too far from our camp and we found a couple of spots. The game plan was to go to bed early on Friday night and get an early start for opening morning. I woke up around midnight and the furnace had gone out in the camper. I worked on that for a while and could not get it going so I went and got the back up heater. Haven't used the back up heater for a while and as I was putting it together there were some spot welds that broke so we could not use it. The game plan was to let the Coleman lantern run for as long as it could. The temp outside was 20 Degrees and inside it was in the lower 40's. We got dressed in a hurry and left camp wide awake and ready to fish. John fished his honey hole and Joe and I went down river to fish. We came back for breakfast to find out that John had a great morning while the two of us had no fish. The good news was we had a enough fish for a trout dinner on Saturday night and it was awesome!

Hockey Night at Camp

The catching was tough for the rest of the weekend but we had a lot of fun trying to catch some more trout. We caught most of the fish using minnows and only a couple off the night crawlers. John caught 1 fish using a #9 Panther Martin. We caught enough fish to have a trout dinner again on Monday and we brought some fish home with us. We kept 10 trout for the trip and I won Big Fish this year with a Brown Trout measuring 16.875. The weather was great for the whole trip, no rain and temps averaging around 50 Degrees during the day and in the low to upper 20's for the night. We burned a lot of wood, told a few fish tails and had a few adult beverages. We all came home Tuesday happy and tired.

Slow fishing day

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature when we started to fish was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was light and variable with hardly any waves. The water temp is 49 degrees. Just a beautiful day to be on the lake. Started out fishing just short of the dumping grounds trolling worms on one side of the boat and junior thunder sticks on the other side. Caught the first walleye off the thunder stick pretty quick so the game plan was to just work this area. We were not marking any fish and the debris on the water made it tough to fish. Wasted too much time here but we finally moved towards the S buoy and set up with the same program. The water was stained and we were marking some fish so things were looking better. Lost a hog right at the net (would have put it back any way) because it was to large for the net. Picked up two more walleye and then we called it a day. Kept 3 walleye for the trip. Most of the fish we caught were on the worms. There is a lot of large and small logs floating in the water.

Maiden Voyage 2015

 Fished with Daryl and Norm. Temperature when we started fishing was in the middle 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50's. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots until 11:00 AM, when it was like someone flipped a switch and it started coming out of the east less than 10 knots, then the temperature started to drop. The waves were less than a foot and the water temp is 49 Degrees. Went to Turtle Island and Daryl and I started out with the blade baits while Norm used a jig tipped with a minnow. Daryl had the first fish on but we lost it at the boat. After that, everything went down hill. We caught one walleye and one perch drifting with the blade baits and had six other hits that we lost. Decided to give trolling a try, so we went to the dumping grounds and set up with junior thunder sticks set at 50 feet back and deep diving thunder sticks set at 45 feet back trolling at 1.2 to 1.4 MPH. Caught a small mouth bass that we put back and when we started to pull lines we had a nice walleye on that we lost behind the boat. The catching was not very good but a least the boat ran great. We saw one boat doing pretty good with the blade baits out by Turtle Island.

First Trip of the Year

Fished with Captain Norm. We went fishing after my doctor's appointment. Temperature when we started fishing was 42 Degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 50's. The wind was light out of the southwest and the lake was almost calm. The conditions were perfect for walleye fishing, overcast skies and a little chop on the water. The water temp was 39 Degrees. Started fishing in front of Toledo Beach Marina in 16 feet of water and trolling towards the swamp at a speed of 1.7 to 1.9 mph. We were running bombers set at 50 feet back with a 3/8 ounce rubber sinker 6 feet in front of the lures and junior thunder sticks set at 30 feet back. Made the pass into the swamp without any hits, so we pulled lines and headed to Turtle Island and started to jig with hair jigs tipped with a minnow. Made about 5 drifts here and we only had one hit so we called it a day. The fish are there but we just did not have the right combination today. Even though we did not catch any fish it felt great to be back on the Great Lakes again. Norm's boat ran great for the first trip out so I know he was happy.

Bluegill Fishing

Fished a small lake in Bridge Water with Doug E. and his friend Jack. We went out for the evening fish and fished until a little after dark. Temperature when we started to fish was 45 Degrees and when we quit fishing it was 35 Degrees. The wind was out of the southwest about 10 knots and the sun was out, which made for a beautiful evening of fishing. The ice is about 20 inches thick and there is very little snow on it, which makes for easy walking. We fished anywhere from 10 feet of water to 16 feet of water. The fishing started out very slow. After the first 2 hours we only had 6 perch on the ice that were caught in the shallow water. Both Doug and Jack had their fish finders with them and they were marking very few fish. Right around 7:00 PM, the fish finders started to light up and the fishing got hot. For the next 1 1/2 hours the catching was almost non stop. When it was all said and done we kept 76 fish. All but the perch were caught in 16 feet of water. 61 Bluegill, 9 Crappie and 6 Perch. We used mostly wax worms on small jigs until after dark, when Doug and Jack went with plastic on jigs. It was ice fishing at it's finest!

Thames River

The end of ice fishing is almost here so I decided to try the Thames River one more time. I went further up river towards Chatham, Ontario and fished by the monument. When I arrived there were about a dozen guys fishing so that was a little encouraging. Temperature when I started fishing was 15 Degrees and when I quit fishing it was 9 Degrees. There was just a little breeze and the sun was out so it felt pretty good on the ice. Once on the river I headed down stream about 1/4 mile and set up in 12 ft. of water.. The river looks just like the land, it has a frozen sheen of ice on top of the snow, pretty cool looking. Anyway, the ice is about 18 inches thick and the current is very light. I spent the evening jigging a #5 Rapala tipped with a minnow and a purple hair jig tipped a minnow on the dead stick. Watching the fish finder I never marked a fish and I never had a bite. This makes the third time fishing the Thames River and not having a bite. Heard of one walleye caught down river from me and that was it for all the guys fishing in this area. I had a couple of guys inquire about my ice auger laying on the ice, so I gave them a demonstration on how easy it works. Let one of the guys try it and he was amazed at how fast it can drill a hole through that much ice. If I had some of the Ice Master Drill Adapters with me I could have sold them all!

Thames River, Canada

The sun was out and the wind was not blowing too hard, so I decided to go walleye fishing for the evening bite on the Thames River in Canada. Temperature when I started fishing was 13 Degrees and when I quit fishing it was 8 Degrees. Once the sun went down it started to get pretty cold. The wind was less than 10 knots out of the east so there was a little wind chill factor. Went by the church and there was no one fishing so I went to the government drain and fished. When I got there no one else was fishing but around 4:30 pm, 4 other guys showed up. There is about two inches of snow on the ice which made for easy walking. It is a very short walk from the car to the river. The ice is about 18 inches thick and the current was slow. Set up fishing a number 5 rapala tipped with a minnow and a Williams spoon tipped with a minnow. Fished for 2 1/2 hours and I never had a bite. The guys fishing around me never had a bite. Tough and cold day fishing but I'm glad I went. The extended forecast is for temps in the upper 20's and lower 30's for another week so the ice is not going any where.

Thames River

Heard some reports that they were catching walleye on the Thames River in Canada, so I gave it a try. I went for the evening fish to do some scouting of the old areas that we used to fish. I found most of the old spots but the place has changed a lot since the late 80's. After talking to a few fisherman coming off the ice, the game plan was to fish by the church for the last 3 hours of the day. When I started fishing the temp was in the upper teens and when I quit fishing it was still in the upper teens. The wind was out of the north about 10 knots. The ice is 8 inches thick and there was very little current in the river. There is about 2 inches of snow covering the ice which made walking very easy. I tried fishing a little East of the church in 15 feet of water jigging a Rapala tipped with a minnow and a Williams spoon tipped with a minnow on a dead rod. I never had a bite and I fished until dark. Some fishermen that were fishing in front of me stopped by to talk and they said the fishing was pretty good about 2 weeks ago but that it has slowed down since then. Most of the people left about 5:30 PM so I started hole hopping the last 1/2 hour. There were no fish caught by the church on Tuesday evening but I know of 1 fish caught that morning. I plan on going back in a week or so to give it one more try. Just to give some perspective, that bank is approximately 10-12 feet high.

Lake Simcoe, Day 2

Day 2 of fishing Lake Simcoe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 30's and it was raining. It rained most of the day and the temperature stayed in the mid 30's all day. The rain and warm temps was making water puddles on the lake but the lake is still in great shape, the cars and trucks are still driving on the ice.Today we fished the huts closer to shore in about 10 feet of water. The water is still very clear so we were still able to sight fish. Being a little closer to shore there was a lot more traffic around the huts. Every time a machine or vehicle went by the fish would scatter. We used the same set up as yesterday and that seemed to work again. The only problem was we saw a lot less fish today. I tried banging the perch call off the bottom a few more times today without much success. The fishing was OK for the first couple of hours and then it just died off. Right before dark we had a little flurry but overall it was a slow day of fishing. The fish were not as large as yesterday and we caught fewer of them. We kept 34 perch between the two huts and the largest perch was just over 12 inches. Canadian law requires that a portion of the skin remains on the fish for identification so once we get home we can remove the skins and vacuum pack them. Over all we had a good trip, met a lot of great people and brought home a few fish for the fryer.

Lake Simcoe, Day 1

Fished Lake Simcoe with Dwayne, Fred and Dan. We stayed at Whispering Pines bed and breakfast in Sutton, Ontario. Temperature in the morning was -7 degrees and when we quit fishing it was around 10 degrees. The wind was blowing out of the east about 10 to 15 knots and the wind chill was very cold. We fished with Ice Fishing Outfitters out of Virginia Beach, Ontario. We fished in the huts furthest out in about 14 feet of water, about 3/4 miles from shore. The ice is 12 inches thick and it is a good black ice. The water was gin clear so we were able to sight fish all day, which is a lot of fun. We had small perch in the hole most of the day and eventually a larger fish would show up. The first couple of hours we had a tough time hooking up with the larger fish. I finally put on a Slab Grabber spoon tipped with a minnow head and Dan put on a silver and gold Williams spoon tipped with a piece of a minnow. That seemed to attract more fish and our catching improved. We kept 39 fish between the two huts with the largest perch around 12 inches. It was a tough day fishing but it was only our first day.

It's Officially Over

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

Almost a Cooler Full

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

Cooler Full

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

The End Has Arrived

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

Same Spot Different Results

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

Jumbo's Today

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

Big Fish Little Fish

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

I'm Getting Worse at This

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

No Perch Yet

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

Lunch at Trapper's

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

Caught a Few

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

Still Slow Perchin'

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

Same Old Story

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

Here We Go Again

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

Tough Perch Fishing Again

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

Perch Fishing at it's Worst

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

First Perch Fishing Trip of the Year

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

Salmon Fishing 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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