Starting to Get a Little Hot

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80's. The wind was out of the south around 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 77 Degrees. We went towards the s buoy and just motored towards the dump but we did not mark any large fish so we went back to where we fished on our last trip. We set up and we did not mark very many fish but we caught a walleye pretty quick so we just stayed here for the rest of the trip. We ran jet 40's and spoons set at 70 and 75 feet back. Both sides were catching fish and it was just a steady pick. Caught a lot of under size walleye, a few silver bass and Joe had the last laugh, I caught a catfish today. Kept 12 walleye and we beat the heat. Temperature is supposed to be in the upper 90's today.

Nice Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 75 degrees. We headed out towards the River Raisen channel towards the Michigan/Ohio line and set up. We ran jet 40's and spoons at 70 feet back and tru trips and spoons at 50 feet back. Started catching more fish off the jets so we pulled off the tru trips and put on all jet 40's. Had a few weeds to deal with but it was not too bad. Kept 12 walleye and 1 perch.

Tough Fishing Today

Fished with Captain Daryl and Tom. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind in the morning was out of the southeast 15 knots with waves about 2 feet and the wind was switching to the southwest 15 knots with waves less than 2 feet. The water temp is 73 degrees. Yesterday the wind was howling around 30 knots out of the east and it tore up the lake pretty good. We headed out to the dumping grounds and the water was very dirty. We motored for about 5 minutes thru the dump and we did not mark any fish. We headed out to sputnik and we were marking a lot of fish and the water was a little cleaner so we set up to fish. We ran jet 40's back 75 and 80 feet and made one pass up the lake then turned around and headed back towards sputnik. We had no bites so we pulled lines and headed towards West Sister Island. We were fishing the northwest side of the island trolling with jet 40's set at 80 and 90 feet back. We started to catch a few walleye but the mayfly hatch was very bad and it was hard to keep the lines clean. We pulled lines and headed back to port. It was Tom's last walleye trip for the year. Kept 4 walleye. We had a little bit of everything today. Wind, waves, dirty water, mayfly hatch and rain a couple of times.

Few Minor Problems

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 80's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 90's, it was a hot one. The wind was out of the southwest 15 to 20 knots with waves about 2 feet. The water temp is 73 degrees. When we were at the harbor the GPS would not work, I thought I would be able to get it going out on  the lake. Well, I got it working but it took a while and come to find out we were trolling to fast. It was hard to judge the speed because of the wind and waves. Once we figured that out we started to catch some walleye. We started out by the S Buoy and we only caught a couple of walleye and when we moved in towards the C buoy the fishing was better. The best set up was the jet 40's set at 50 feet back. We lost a few walleye right behind the boat, like they were not hooked very good. Kept 12 walleye and 1 perch.

Had to Make a Move Today

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was light out of the east with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 69 Degrees. Started fishing by the River Raisen Buoy #1 trolling with jet 40's set at 50 feet back and tru trips set at 35 feet back. Started to catch some walleye and things were looking good but then the bite just quit for us. Pulled off the tru trips and put on bandits set at 50 feet back, caught one more walleye and that was it. We pulled lines and headed out to where Daryl was fishing and we caught the rest of our fish. Kept 12 walleye and Catfish Joe came through again today.

The Fish Are on the Move

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's when we started fishing and it was in the lower 70's when we quit fishing. The wind was out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots with waves less than 2 feet. The water temp is 71 Degrees. We set up just past Sputnik trolling with the waves, running jet 40's set at 60 feet back and a large dipsy set at 34 feet back. We were on the fish right out of the gate and then the bite slowed down. We pulled lines and made one more pass and we were done fishing. Kept 12 walleye and we put back quite a few short walleye.

A Little on the Rough Side

Fished with Joe and John. 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 northeast about 15 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 70 degrees. We ran a little further out to the east today hoping to make one pass with the waves to catch our fish. On the first pass we only caught 5 walleye. Ran back into the waves and set up again and this time we were on the fish. Used the same set up as the last trip. Kept 18 walleye and we also caught a couple of large sheep head.

Did the Mid Day Fish

Fished with Joe. Temperature at 1:00 PM was in the middle 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was out of the southwest less than 5 knots with just a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 69 degrees. The wind was blowing pretty good this morning so we waited until it laid down before we went out, a smart choice by us. We set up on the back side of the Michigan dump trolling east with jet 40's set at 50 feet back and the tru trips set at 32 feet back. It took a while to catch the first fish but when we did it was game on. We put back 5 keeper walleye and 6 under size walleye. Only caught 2 silver bass. Kept 12 walleye on a nice day on the water.

Steady Pick Today

Fished with Joe and Ed. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60's. The wind was blowing pretty good out of the northeast this morning so we left the dock a little later when the wind started to lay down. When we started fishing the wind was out of the northeast 10 to 13 knots with waves less than 2 feet and then the lake calmed right down. The water temp is 67 degrees.We started fishing where we left off yesterday and the catching was slow. Started trolling towards the east and we started to catch some walleye. We ran jet 40's and spoons set at 50 feet back on one side of the boat and mini disk and spoons set at 80 feet back on the other side. The bite today was steady which made for easy catching. Caught a lot of under size walleye, one was only about 4 inches long. We got the fish cleaned up and went to Trapperz for a fish lunch. Kept 18 walleye and catfish Ed had a good trip.

Fishing is Still Hot

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The wind was out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 66 degrees. Started fishing in the same location as the last trip running the same program and we were on the fish right out of the gate. I did pull off the tru trips and put on the mini disk on one side of the boat set at 80 feet back. Everything caught fish. Kept 12 walleye and 1 perch. Put back a lot of under size walleye and we caught about 6 junk fish. Just another good day on Lake Erie.

Long Day on the Water

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was 70 Degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. By the time we got back to the harbor it was in the middle 80's. The water temp is 64 Degrees. Started fishing just past the c buoy trolling jet 40's and spoons set at 45 feet back. It did not take long and we were into the fish. Daryl wanted to cull the fish today so we were putting back a lot of walleye. After a while we realized that all the fish were about the same size so we just started to keep them. We were done fishing at 8:15 and were heading in when we saw a boat waving an orange flag. We headed over to see what their problem was and it was just a dead battery. We had no jumper cables so Daryl pulled out one of his batteries and was going to give it to them to start their boat. By this time we drifted apart so Daryl went to start his boat and it would not start. The guys we were helping had some oars so they paddled over to us and got the battery and started their boat. Our boat was trying to start but it was like it had no fuel. We borrowed a small cup of fuel from our new friends and when we poured the gas in the throttle body the boat would run for a little while and then quit. Well, as it turned out the guys that we helped ended up towing us back to the marina. Go figure! I rode back in the tow boat with Mickey and his Dad. Got to b/sing with them and as it turned out they were some great guys. Mickey pulled Daryl's boat right up to the dock like he has done it a thousand times before. Just perfect. We could not thank them enough and we met some new friends. Daryl worked on his boat and he believes the fuel pump is bad. Should have it figured out by tomorrow.

Perfect Conditions

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's when we started fishing and it was in the lower 70's when we quit fishing. The wind was out of the southeast less than 6 knots with no waves. The water temp is 62 degrees. We set up fishing where we left off on the last trip and the fish are still there. Ran the same set ups and had the same results. We put back 7 keeper walleye and we caught no junk fish. Kept 12 walleye and 1 perch.

Three Times is a Charm

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the south less than 5 knots with no waves, again. The water temp is 62 degrees. Saw Scott this morning and he told us where he was fishing and doing good and we came to the conclusion that there are fish all over the lake, which is a good thing. We headed straight out of the marina and set up in 20 feet of water with jet 40's set at 60 feet back with spoons and the new jet divers set at 35 feet back with spoons. Another thing that does not matter is the color of the spoons. We started catching fish right out of the gate and it never quit. We started to cull the walleye and we were still done fishing after 45 minutes. The walleye fishing is just on fire. We kept 12 walleye, put back at least 10 walleye and caught no junk fish. We beat the heat today, the temperature outside now is 90 degrees.

Another Nice Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was very light out of the northwest and there were no waves. The water temp is 62 Degrees. Started fishing by the 3 and 4 buoys on the River Raisen trolling jet 40's and spoons set at 60 feet back and the new tru-trip deep divers and spoons set at 40 feet back. Caught a couple of walleye and the new divers were hitting bottom so we put them at 36 feet back. The fishing was excellent and we were done pretty quick.Kept 12 walleye and 1 perch and we put back a couple of short walleye and a couple of junk fish. The water was a little dirty compared to yesterday but the fish are there. Caught most of the fish about 1/2 mile southwest of the channel.

The Water is Starting to Clear Up

Fished With Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots with a little chop on the water. The water temp is 62 Degrees. With the sun shining this morning it made for a pretty comfortable day. Started fishing about 1 mile past the River Raisen channel trolling bandits set at 60 feet back and mini disk and spoons set at 80 feet back. Got a call from Daryl and he said to run jet 40's at 50 feet back. We pulled off the bandits and put on jet 40's set at 60 feet back (we use mono) and we started to catch some walleye. The flurry lasted about 10 minutes and we had 5 quick fish and then the catching just quit. We switched lures and set ups but we were just picking away at the fish. Got another call from Daryl and he was right in front of us and he was into the fish. When we got close to his location it was game on. Ended the day with 12 walleye and 1 perch. Only had 1 small walleye that we put back and just a couple of junk fish.

Long Boat Ride

Fished with Captain Daryl. Our game plan was to maybe fish because we knew the lake was dirty and definitely work on my boat to fix the engine problem. We saw Scott at the marina this morning and he said one of his friends was fishing up by the nuclear power plant and the water was clean. That was all that Daryl needed to hear, so away we went. When we started fishing the temp was in the upper 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60's. The wind was out of the northeast around 13 knots with waves about a foot when we started fishing and then it laid down to nothing. The water temp is 60 Degrees. We set up with bandits set at 60 feet on one side of the boat and mini dipsy's and spoons set at 80 feet on the other side of the boat. Once the spoons started to catch more fish we put both sides to spoons and set the one side to 60 feet back. Kept 12 walleye and we did not lose any fish at the net. Turned out to be a good day, we caught some fish and I figured out the engine problem. 

Fishing Was Hot Today

 Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60's, we quit fishing pretty early. When we were coming home from fishing the temp was in the lower 80's. The wind was very light out of the north and there were no waves. The water temp is 61 degrees. We set up at the C buoy trolling towards the E buoy with bandits set at 50 feet on one side of the boat and 35 feet on the other side of the boat. For the first 1/4 mile the water was a little dirty but we were marking some fish. We caught a fish off the 50 foot set up and then we had another fish off the same set up so we put both sides to 50 feet and it was game on. It took a little over an hour to catch our fish. We only caught a couple of junk fish and we put back 3 walleye that were keepers that were on when we pulled lines. Just a great day on the lake. Had a few boat problems and got most of those fixed but I still have a problem with the kicker motor starting.

The Maiden Voyage

Fished with Joe.Temperature in the morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. For the first couple of hours there was no wind or waves and then the wind started to come out of the east about 10 knots which made a light chop on the water. The water temp is 58 Degrees. Had a few minor problems but that is always expected on the first trip. We set up south of the S buoy trolling through the dump heading towards the E buoy. Trolling speed was 1.8 to 1.9. We had bandits set at 50 feet on one side of the boat and worms and harnesses  set at 45 feet back on the other side. About midway in the dump we caught our first walleye off a purple bandit. Made the turn and went back over the same area and we caught one more walleye off a purple bandit. Picked up one more fish off a crawler and then the catching just quit. We started heading towards the C buoy and we finally started to catch some fish. We switched both sides to bandits and that helped a lot. Kept 10 walleye and we only caught a few junk fish. That's Catfish Joe holding the big fish of the day.

Trout Fishing 2018

Headed up north with Joe and John on Thursday morning to set up camp on the Boardman River. We rented a travel trailer this year to see how it would work out. After 5 nights of camping, it worked out perfect. When we arrived at our camp site there was still a lot of snow on the ground. The river was high and the water was dirty from the snow melt.
Opening morning the temp was in the upper 20's with a little breeze. We all headed to our favorite honey holes with high hopes. When we came back to camp Joe had a couple of Brown Trout and John had one. I came back with a big 0, but we had enough fish for a trout dinner. That would be all the trout that we caught for opening day. Joe won big fish for Saturday with a trout that measured 15 5/8 inches. On Sunday the temperature was 20 Degrees so we waited a little while before we went fishing. Again we went back to our favorite holes. John came back with two Brown Trout and I had one. Joe had the skunk for the morning. We went out for the afternoon fish and we went to different spots. John and I went up river and Joe stayed around the camp. When we came back Joe caught this monster Brown Trout that would win big fish for the day and big fish for the weekend. The trout measured 21 inches, a huge fish for this part of the river. We all had the skunk for fishing on Monday, which was hard to believe. We came home on Tuesday happy and tired. Congratulations to Joe on a beautiful Brown Trout.

Getting Towards the End of the Season

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 40's and when we quit fishing at 11:30 am, it was in the lower 60's. The wind was mostly out of the south less than 10 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 60 Degrees. With the sun shining this morning it made for a pretty comfortable day on the lake. Picked up our bait at Anglers and they had some nice shiners with a good count. Started fishing about 1/2 mile past the River Raisin buoys and we only caught a couple of perch. Made a move a little further out and we were on the fish. Caught a lot of small perch today so we had to do some culling. Kept 86 perch on a beautiful fall day.

Turned Out To Be A Nice Day

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The sun was out and it felt very warm. By 10:00 am we were fishing in our T shirts. The wind was out of the south in the morning less than 10 knots and by the time we quit fishing it was out of the east less than 10 knots. Waves were about a foot and the water temp is 67 Degrees. Started fishing at one of our old spots from last year and we had no luck so we moved east to where we have been fishing. Made a couple of small moves in this area and we were catching some perch but they were on the smaller size. Made a couple more moves without much luck so we headed out to Sputnik. We fished the north side of Sputnik and only caught a couple of fish so we moved to the south side and set up. The bite started off slow but by the time we quit fishing the perch were biting pretty good. Kept 65 perch but we just found them too late in the day.

No Wind, No Bugs and a Few Fish

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was less than 5 knots out of the northeast with no waves. The water temp is 75 Degrees. Just like the last trip, the temp when we got home was in the 90's. Picked up our bait at Jeff's because we were not sure if Anglers Landing had any minnows. Jeff had the pin head shiners which are hard to fish with. Fished the same area we have been fishing and we never had to move. The bite was steady until we had someone blow by us less than 50 feet away and then the catching shut right down. Took almost 20 minutes before we caught another perch. Kept 78 perch on a nice day on Lake Erie.

Another Tough Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. By the time we got home the temps were in the middle 90's. Just too hot for this time of year. The wind was out of the northeast very light, with just a little chop on the lake. Ideal fishing conditions. The water temp is 75 Degrees. Started fishing in our usual location with the plans of not moving too far to find some fish. Well, the fishing was tough and we just could not find a school of perch. We would catch about 4 fish very fast and then it would just shut down for 15 minutes. We stayed and picked away at the fish and then for the last hour of fishing we decided to try the swamp for some perch. The conditions in the swamp were not very good (green water from the algae) but we set up anyways. Dropped the first line down and bam, perch on. We only caught 3 fish here so we called it a day. Kept 36 perch on another tough day of fishing.

Wet, A Little Rough and A Few Fish

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the northeast around 10 knots with waves about 2 feet. The water temp is 69 Degrees. The rain started about 9:30 and it finally quit just before we quit fishing.Started fishing where we were on the last trip and we only caught a couple of fish. Made about 4 moves in this area without any luck so we headed to our hot spot from last year. Only caught one fish here, so we headed towards the Toledo Light House. Set up here and we caught a few dinks so we moved across the channel and fished with a small pack of boats. Caught nothing there, so we made one last move into the swamp and we started to catch some perch. Stayed here and just picked away at the fish until we ran out of time. Kept 45 perch and we put a whole lot of miles on the boat.

Nice Day on the Big Lake

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind in the morning was out of the southeast less than 10 knots and on the ride back to the harbor it was out of the southwest less than 10 knots. The waves were around a foot. The water temp is 66 Degrees because of all the cool temps we have been having at night. We set up 4 miles east of the E buoy and we never had to move, which makes for a good fishing trip. The catching was good but the only problem was it was a short bite. The perch would hit very hard and then it would be gone, you had to pay attention today to catch some fish. Only had about a dozen small perch that we put back and about a dozen white perch that we put back. Kept 88 perch for the trip.

Had Help Counting the Fish Today

Fished with Captain Daryl and Mark. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60's. Pretty cool for this time of year. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 68 Degrees. With the big northeast blow last weekend and the cool temps at night, the algae is starting to dissipate and the lake looked pretty good today. Started fishing about 4 miles east of the E-Buoy and Mark caught the first and only fish right out of the gate. Made a move another 1/2 mile to the east and set up and we were on some fish. We stayed put and enjoyed the day catching some perch. The bite slowed down a little and we decided to call it a day with a nice box of fish. We pulled lines and were heading back to port when we were pulled over by the Ohio DNR. They asked if we had an Ohio fishing license and we said yes. They then asked how many perch we had and Daryl said less than 90. One of the officers boarded the boat and checked our licenses and started counting the perch. When he was getting towards the bottom of the cooler we were starting to get a little worried that we were over the limit. He put the last fish in his bucket, looked at his hand held counter, and said we had 82 perch. Everyone was happy so we each went our own way.  

First Perch Trip of the Year

Fished with 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 northwest less than 10 knots with waves less than 6 inches. The water temp is 73 Degrees. When we left the house this morning the fog was terrible and on the ride to the marina it was pretty bad. We were thinking that we might not make it out fishing in the morning. Once we got to the River Raisin on I-75, the fog was gone. As we headed out of the harbor into the lake there was no fog, lucky us! Started fishing about 2 miles east of the E buoy and we caught 2 perch real quick and then nothing. We were marking some fish,so we pulled anchor and backed up about 100 feet and dropped anchor again. That's all it took and we started to catch some perch. We bought 2 scoops of minnows and we used them all. Kept 91 perch and we had to put back about 4 small perch. We only caught about 8 white perch. Just a nice day to be perch fishing. One of the few trips that I can recall that we did not have to measure any of the perch. The smallest perch we kept was 8 1/2 inches.

Salmon Fishing 2017- Manistee, MI

Fished with Joe and John in Manistee, Mi. from 8-12 to 8-16. The weather forecast was looking good except for the day of our arrival. We did not make it out fishing Saturday but we probably could have. The weather held until Thursday when the winds started to blow. We cancelled our morning trip but we were able to sneak out a trip around 11:00 am for a 1 hour fishing trip and that was our fishing for the week. We came home on Friday because the weather so bad. We tried to pull the boat out Friday morning at the harbor but the wind and waves made it impossible. We were fighting 2 to 3 foot waves at the boat launch. We met some people who told us to take the boat up to Manistee Lake and take the boat out there. That worked out perfect. On the way to Manistee Lake the handle fell off the trailer winch. Luckily a city worker saw it happen. He followed the trailer and gave it to us which made for one happy crew.

On Sunday morning we fished straight out of the harbor at the 13 line and went 3 for 4 with the bloody nose fly and the spin doctor the hottest lure. That evening we fished the same area and went 1 for 2 with the bloody nose fly working again and a black mamba meat rig. Monday morning the lake was flat and we headed north to the 17 line and went 1 for 1 with the bloody nose fly again. For the evening trip we headed out to the 15 line and went 3 for 4 with the meat rig catching a couple of fish. Tuesday we left the dock a little late to let the storm pass by and we fished the 16 line and went 1 for 2 with the gray ghost J plug catching the fish. For the evening trip we went to the 17 line and went 7 for 8 with a little bit bit of every thing working. Tuesday night we got a report that they were catching some fish down at Big Sable Point so I figured we would make the run down there in the morning. Wednesday morning we were heading down the river not knowing if we were going north or south to fish. I made up my mind at the last minute and headed north. As the saying goes, "Don't leave fish to find fish!." We went 6 for 6 with a blue dolphin spoon on the slider catching most of the fish. For the evening we went back to the same area and went 2 for 3. Thursday morning it was blowing pretty good and we thought the day would not be good for fishing, but we had a little window where the wind switched a little bit and the waves were about 3 foot, so out we went. Caught one fish on the 300 copper with a light green silver horde.

 The Tally for the Week

We hooked 32 fish and landed 25 of them, which gave us a catch rate of 78 percent, which is pretty good. One fish broke the leader line on the copper, 3 were just short strikes and the rest just got off. We trolled for 33 hours and landed 25 fish which gave us a catch rate of .76 fish per hour. We would like to average one fish per hour. Of the 13 sessions we could of gone fishing, we made it out 9 times and we came home a day early. The 25 fish weighed 333.5 lbs. for an average weight of 13.34 lbs per fish. The largest fish weighed 23.5 lbs. and the smallest was 4.5 lbs. Six fish weighed over 20 lbs.

Below is a List of Lures That Had Hits

Black Mamba Meat.............................7
Blue Dolphin Spoon............................7
Bloody Nose Fly..................................6
John J Blue Meat.................................4
Gray Ghost Spoon...............................3
Silver Horde Ace High........................2
Gray Ghost J Plug...............................1
Mt Dew Spoon John J.........................1
Silver Horde Light Green....................1

It Was a Windy One Today

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The heat wave is done for a while. The wind was out of the northwest 15 to 25 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 76 Degrees. Our game plan was to troll with the waves, run the back side of the Michigan dump, pull lines and do it all over again. We set up 2 miles east of the E buoy trolling with bandits set at 90 feet back. We were marking a lot of fish but we were also catching a lot of weeds. Once we got close to the E buoy the weeds were gone. The windward side of the boat started catching fish and on the first pass we kept 6 walleye. On the next pass we put the leeward side to 125 feet back and we only picked up 3 more keeper walleye. On the third pass we ran the same set up and we finally got our 12 walleye. Caught around 15 short walleye and we only had a couple of junk fish. A pretty bad storm blew through the area yesterday and a lot of trees were down in the subdivision by the marina. Thought the lake might be full of debris but it was in good shape.

It Was a HOT One Today !!

Fished with Captain Daryl and Duane. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80's. The wind was out of the southwest less than 8 knots with waves less than 6 inches.The last couple hours of fishing it was pretty warm. The water temp is 78 Degrees. Started fishing halfway between Sputnik and West Sister Island trolling storm deep diving thunder sticks set at 110 feet back and 120 feet back. We had a slow and steady pick of the fish but the good news is they were all nice size walleye. We just stayed in this area but the bite started to slow down. The last four walleye we had on we lost and then the catching just shut right down. Kept 13 walleye and we had some pretty nice fish. Only had a handful of short walleye and a few junk fish to contend with. The water is very clean and there were no weeds.

Beautiful Day on the Lake

Fished with Joe. 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 northeast less than 10 knots. The waves were less than 2 feet when we started fishing and after a couple of hours they were less than a foot. We started a little late this morning because the wind was out of the northeast last night up to 20 knots with waves 3 to 4 feet. The water temp is 75 Degrees and the algae bloom is starting. We set up 1 mile east of the E buoy trolling with the waves and we caught a nice walleye right out of the gate. Fished this area for another half hour and caught 1 more walleye but the weeds were too bad for fishing. We moved out to McDonald's and fished the Michigan side of the channel and started to catch a few fish running bandits 110 and 140 feet back. If we got too close to the dumping grounds we were back into the weeds. Kept 11 walleye and had the usual amount of short walleye.

Not Sure Which is Better!!

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was mostly out of the west less than 10 knots. Waves were about a foot when we started fishing and then the lake laid down to less than a foot. The water temp is 76 Degrees. We headed towards Little Cedar Point. The water was clean in Michigan waters and then when we got close to the Toledo Light House the water was very dirty. Once we were by the Light House about 1 1/2 miles the water cleaned up so we set up lines. Started trolling bandits 110 and 125 feet behind the boards and we never switched the program. I think the 110 foot side caught more keeper fish but not sure. Caught our share of short walleye but it was not as bad as the last trip. Did have a triple header of large sheep head on that cost us some fishing time. Kept 12 walleye and 1 perch. It was just one of those great days to be on Lake Erie. Just a side note, catfish Joe did not catch a catfish fish today. One more thing, not sure which is better, fresh walleye or a tomato from our garden today!!

Catfish Joe Strikes Again

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80's. It was even muggy out on the water. The wind was less than 10 knots out of the southwest with just a light chop on the water. The water temp is 76 degrees. Started fishing the other side of the Ohio dump trolling bandits 130 feet behind the boards. Once we got out of the dump area we did not mark any fish. We were catching a few fish so we put spoons and mini disk at 120 feet back on one side. Started catching walleye right away but they were all shorts. We pulled lines and headed back to Michigan waters. Set up at the S buoy trolling towards Turtle Island with wiggle warts set at 70 and 90 feet back. Started to catch fish right out of the gate but again we were catching a lot of short walleye. We just stayed put and sorted through all the small walleye to get our 12 fish. Caught some large sheep head and a few white perch and yes Joe caught another catfish.

Had to Work For Them Today

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was light and variable, less than 7 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 72 Degrees. The small bugs started to show up but thankfully the wind picked up a little bit and they were gone.  We made a pass through the swamp hoping to fish here but we did not mark enough fish to stay so we headed towards the Toledo Water Intake.We had to dodge a lot of large logs floating in the water which made it difficult to stay on course. We set up around Little Cedar Point and started running wiggle warts set at 80 feet back and bandits set at 65 feet back.  For the first 45 minutes we had no fish, then I got a report that they were catching some fish around the turnaround  buoy. We finally caught a keeper walleye so we just stayed put. Started to catch some walleye off the Warts set at 100 feet back, so we put Warts on both sides. We were catching a lot of short walleye so we just sorted through the short fish hoping to catch our limit. We tried spoons and dipsy's without much luck so we went back to the Wiggle Warts. Our best Warts were anything with orange on them. Kept 15 walleye and 2 perch. Also caught a lot of junk fish today. Garbage man came through again today! He caught a another large cat fish that would almost put him into the hall of shame.

It Was a Short Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was mostly out of the south southwest with waves around a foot. The water temp is 71 Degrees. Started fishing at the S- Buoy trolling towards the northeast side of the dumping grounds with bandits set at 55 and 65 feet behind the boards. We were catching a lot of short walleye and we only had 1 keeper. Joe decided to put the mini disk on with spoons set at 90 feet back and we started to catch a few more keeper walleye. We were fishing on the back side of the dumping grounds on the Michigan side of the border. Both the mini disk and the bandits were catching fish but we were catching way too many short walleye. We just stayed in this area and sorted through all the small walleye to try and get our limit. Our biggest problem was, as soon as you put a pole out, there was probably a short walleye on it. Not complaining because that is a good problem to have. We kept our 12 walleye and put back a countless amount of short walleye. Oh, forgot to mention, Joe caught another catfish again today. Starting to call him the garbage man now!

Tough Day Fishing For Us

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was light and variable with waves less than a foot.The water temp is 72 Degrees. Got a report that they were catching some fish by the dumping grounds. We drove by there and looked for fish on the fish finder but it did not look very promising, so we headed to our hot spot. We set up there and we did not even get a hit. Started trolling towards Sputnik with bandits set at 130 feet back and Daryl suggested we put jet 40's with spoons on one side. We put the jets on and the fishing was on fire, too bad most of the fish were under size walleye. At this point, we were about a mile east of Sputnik. We were catching a few keeper walleye so we put both sides to the jet 40's. We worked this area for a while and then we headed for Sputnik where we started to catch a few more keeper walleye. Spent the rest of the trip trolling between Sputnik and the first set of buoys west of Sputnik and then we called it a day. Kept 16 walleye and 2 perch.  We also caught 2 catfish (one weighed around 8 lbs.) and 1 sheep head that went back to the lake.We lost track of how many short walleye we caught, but we were guessing around 35. Today was the perfect day to be fishing on Lake Erie, a light breeze and no bugs.

The Fishing is Still Hot!

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The cooler air felt good for a change. The wind was out of the southwest 10 to 15 knots with waves 2 feet or less. The water temp is 71 Degrees. Set up fishing where we have been the last couple of trips. We were marking some fish and it did not take too long before we had our first walleye running bandits 130 feet behind the boards. We ran one straight troll with the wind to our backs just picking away at the fish. Caught a lot of short walleye and the net man missed a few walleye, but we managed. Kept 12 walleye and we were done around 9:00 am.

Another Good Day!

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was mostly out of the west southwest around 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 73 Degrees. Started fishing where we left off on Tuesday running the same program, bandits set at 130 feet back. We were marking some fish and it did not take too long for the action to begin. We were hoping to catch our fish on one pass but we had to turn around to catch the last couple of fish. Just like Tuesday, we were pulling lines and we had to put some nice fish back. Even though the hi lo driver showed up late to put the boat in the water we were done fishing by 9:30 am. Kept 12 walleye. Only caught 2 sheephead and about 8 short walleye that we put back. The mayfly hatch was bad on shore but on the water we did not see too many carcasses floating on the water.

Daryl Found the Fish Today

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 90's. The heat wave is continuing. When we started fishing the wind was out of the southwest around 10 knots with waves about a foot and after a couple of hours the wind switched and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 72 Degrees. Started fishing in Brest Bay trolling towards Fermi with jet 40's and spoons set at 70 feet back and bandits set at 130 feet back. Trolled this way for about a hour without a bite and things were not looking good. Got a call from Daryl and he was on some walleye about 3 miles north of Sputnik so pulled lines and headed out that way. We set up with the same program and nothing was happening,so we put our jet 40's back to 90 feet. Caught a couple of walleye off the bandits and one walleye off the jets, so we put both sides to bandits at 130 feet. It was game on and we had our fish pretty quick. We actually caught too many keeper walleye when we were done fishing and had to put some back. The mayfly hatch is starting. On the ride back to port we were driving through batches of mayfly carcasses. Our best setup was the bandits set at 130 feet back. When we got back to port most of the boats were using the jet 40's set at 70 feet back and catching their limits. Kept 12 walleye and we only had 4 short walleye that we put back. Did not catch any junk fish today.

After the Catch, Dinner at Trappers

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was light and variable with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 68 Degrees. Started fishing the southeast corner of the dump running bandits set at 100 feet back and spoons and dipsy's set at 95 feet back. Started to catch a few fish and then it just shut right down. We were catching a lot of short walleye, but no keeper walleye. We pulled lines and headed out to the east side of the Ohio dump and set up there with bandits set at 130 feet back and 140 feet back. Started to catch some fish off the 130 setup so we switched both sides to the 130 feet back. We still caught a lot of short walleye but we were catching some nice keepers. Once we moved out to the deeper water we did not catch any junk fish. Kept 12 walleye and put back a whole lot of short walleye. Captain Daryl fished with his friends so we cleaned all the fish together and went to Trappers for a fresh walleye dinner. It doesn't get any better than that!

Cold and Windy Trip

Fished with Captain Daryl and Tom. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The wind was out of the north northeast less than 10 knots when we started fishing with waves around a foot and when we quit fishing it was just under 20 knots with waves 2 to 3 feet. The water temp is 67 degrees. Started trolling east of the Ohio dumping grounds with wiggle warts set at 75 and 85 feet behind the boards. We started catching fish with both setups until the wind started to pick up. Once the wind started blowing we turned and trolled with the wind and waves to our backs. Only caught one keeper walleye on this troll and it was getting hard to stand up so we called it a day. Kept 4 walleye and had the usual short walleye that we put back.

A Nice But Crowded Day on the Lake

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was mostly out of the east less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 67 Degrees. Started fishing where we left off the last trip running the same program. The catching was pretty slow for the first half hour, then we were on some active fish. We were sorting through the walleye and enjoying the day until we got to 10 walleye in the cooler and the catching just shut right off. We were trying different lures and different depths with no results. After a couple of hours we finally caught our last 2 keepers. We had to put the dipsy's and spoons back to 95 feet instead of the 75 feet back. Kept 12 walleye and only caught 3 junk fish. We lost track of how many under size walleye that we put back.

Finally!

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 light out of the north with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 67 Degrees. Started fishing just east of the E-Buoy trolling east with bandits set at 55 and 65 feet back. We were catching a few fish but there were just too many weeds floating on the surface. Started trolling to the south east of the E-Buoy and we switched over to spoons and dipsy's set at 75 feet back and we started to catch some more fish. We only had to make one pass through this area and we had our limit. Kept 18 walleye and we probably put back that many short walleye. Only caught 3 silver bass.

Nice Day on the Lake

Fished with Captain 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 southwest when we started fishing and started switching around 10:00 am to the southeast less than 10 knots. Waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 61 degrees. Started fishing the south side of the dump with junior thunder sticks set at 80 feet back and deep diving thunder sticks set at 55 feet back. We also ran a couple of dipsy's set at 30 to 40 feet back with bombers. We were marking a lot of fish so we just stayed and worked this area. The catching was slow but a least we were catching some walleye. The blue and green thunder sticks seemed to be the best colors. Kept 10 walleye and put back about 10 short walleye and we only caught 2 silver bass.

Nice Day, Bad Results

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60's. The wind was very light and variable with no waves, just a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 58 Degrees. Started fishing around the S-Buoy trolling with junior thunder sticks set at 75 feet back, deep diving bandits set at 50 feet back and dipsy's and bombers set at 28 feet back. We were marking a lot of fish but we had no takers, so after a half hour we took off the thunder sticks and put on crawlers set at 45 feet back. The water was dirty, but clean enough to catch fish. Finally we caught our first walleye and it was a short walleye. Stayed in this area for a while and we landed only one keeper walleye so we started heading to the East. About 15 minutes heading into this direction I started playing with the auto pilot and I put the boat into a 360 Degree spin, not a good thing. I shut down the motor and we were into a major mess. Thanks to all the good work of my crew we did not lose anything, hard to believe. Since all the lines were out of the water we headed for walleye alley. Set up here with the same program and we only caught one keeper walleye. We pulled lines and headed back to the dumping grounds running the same program. When we fished the stained water we started to catch walleye, some keepers and some shorts, but our time was running out. When we got into the dirty water we were catching logs and paper. Kept 7 walleye and put back 8 short walleye. Only caught a few junk fish.

First Trip of the Year

Fished with Joe on the first walleye trip of the year. The weather report was for light northwest winds with waves less than a foot. The day started out with the winds out of the northeast around 10 knots and by 10:00 am the wind was blowing at 15 knots with waves 1 to 3 feet. Not a good start to the year. When we started fishing the temp was in the lower 40's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 50's. The water temp is 52 Degrees. Started trolling at the S buoy heading towards the E buoy with crawler harnesses with 2 ounce weights. One side of the boat was set at 40 feet back and the other side of the boat was set at 50 feet back. We were about half way in the dumping grounds when we caught the first walleye, 14 1/2 inches. We started picking away at the fish until we got to the E buoy and the water started clearing up so we made a pass back where we came from. About this time the wind started blowing and it was tough to control the boat. We fought the wind and waves for about a hour and called it a day. Kept 1 perch and 10 walleye. We put back 14 walleye that were under size.

Trout Fishing 2017

Headed up north with Joe and John on Thursday morning to set up camp on the Boardman River. When we were in Grayling, fueling up, the temps were in the lower 70's and by the time we arrived at camp the temps were in the middle 50's. The river looked to be in good shape for the opener on Saturday, April 29.

Saturday morning the temp was 38 Degrees with a slight breeze and  clear skies, just a beautiful opening morning. We all headed to our favorite spots with high hopes. When we all met back at camp we had the same reports, the fish were biting and we all caught fish. Opening morning produced 12 brown trout from 8 1/2 inches to 14 1/4 inches. What a great start to the trout season! Minnows and worms both caught fish, but the bigger fish came off the minnows. We now had enough fish to have trout dinners for a couple of nights.

Now Mother Nature decided to step in and change the trip. The rain that started Saturday night chased us away from the camp fire and continued into Sunday morning. We had a small window to eat some breakfast and do a little fishing before the next rain storm arrived. We got a couple of hours of fishing in before the rain started. We caught some nice fish, but that was it for fishing on Sunday. The rain quit just in time to have a camp fire but, again, we were chased away from the fire around midnight because of the rain. The forecast was for more rain on Monday morning with a small window of no rain then more rain for the rest of the day and rain on Tuesday. We made the decision to cut our trip short and break camp on Monday morning when the rain quit and head for home, which turned out to be the right choice. We kept 20 brown trout for the weekend with the largest fish measuring 16 inches, that I caught on Sunday, which makes me the Trout King for this year!