Short on Bait!!!!!

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature was in the middle 50s for most of the day. The wind was out of the West/Southwest with waves less than a foot. The water was a little stained and the water temp is 61 degrees.

Started fishing the other side of the dumping grounds trolling to the south with spoons and dipsy's set at 40 and 60 feet behind the boards. Caught two walleye but we were marking a lot of fish so we put on some crawlers with bottom bouncers and put them back 70 feet. Started catching some more fish but we ran out of worms. I grabbed two containers this morning from the fridge with out checking them and one of them was empty. Not a good thing when your out 5 miles on the lake. We decided to call it a day. Kept 7 walleye between 18 and 20 inches. We caught the fish at 41 49 250 / 083 17 610.

Nice 3 Days of Fishing.

Fished with Captain Dan Black. We trailered his boat to Toledo Beach Marina and launched from there. The temperature was in the upper 50s to the lower 60s. The wind was out of the South/Southwest about 5 knots with waves less than a foot. Don't have a water temp because the Captain forgot his graph.

Started fishing where we left off yesterday trolling with crawlers/bottom bouncers and we caught 3 walleye in the first 1/2 hour and from there it went all down hill. Switched to wiggle warts for a while and then spoons behind jet divers without any luck so we went back to the crawlers. We ended up fishing 1 mile Southeast of where we started. Boats were catching fish around us so we were fishing the right area but we just did not run the right program today. We kept 5 walleye between 17 and 22 inches and one perch. All of our walleye were caught trolling with crawlers.

Good Catch

Fished with Joe and John H. Temperature was in the lower 50s in the morning and by the time we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s, kind of cold for this time of year. The wind was out of the North 10 to 15 knots in the morning with waves around 2 feet and then it calmed down to 5 knots out of the North and started switching towards the East. The water is not as clear and the water temp is still 60 degrees.

Started fishing where we left off yesterday trolling with crawlers and the wind made it very difficult to control the planer boards so after an hour we started casting and drifting. We caught two fish this way and then we went back to trolling with spoons and dipsys for the rest of the day. We stopped using crawlers because we caught too many white perch.The dipsys were set at 60 feet back on one side and 70 on the other side and the 60 feet back caught the most fish. The hottest spoons were the Monica Lewinsky and the red with a copper back. Kept 11 walleye between 15 and 23 inches and one perch. We caught most of the fish 1/2 mile Southwest of where we started.

Next Planned Trip: Sunday, May 25 with Captain Dan

Start of a Good Weekend

Fished with Captain Doug Sowa. Temperature was in the middle 50s for the day and the wind was out of the East 5 to 8 knots. Waves were less than a foot. Water temp is 61 degrees and is still clear.

Started fishing the dumping grounds trolling crawlers. We caught a couple of walleye and a lot of junk fish so we pulled lines and headed back to where we were fishing last Tuesday and started catching mostly walleye. Kept 8 walleye between 18 and 22 inches.

Next planned trip: 05-24-08. Fishing with Joe and John H.

Nice Catch

Fished with Daryl and Doug S. Temperature was from 50 degrees to the middle 50s. The wind was out of the Northwest and switching to the South with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees and the lake is very clean, probably from all the west winds the last 3 days.

Started fishing where we left off last week (41 49 125 / 083 18 680 ) which is 5 miles out and 130 degrees from the harbor. We ran spoons 65 feet back on one side and crawlers 60 feet back with 2 oz. weights on the other side. Caught one walleye off a spoon and two off the crawlers so we put worms on both sides of the boat. Just stayed in the general area trolling about 1.5 mph. We caught 15 walleye between 17 1/2 and 22 inches, 3 perch between 8 and 10 inches and one silver bass. I think the spoons would have worked but we were trolling too slow and on the turn the spoons would drop down deeper and pick up zebra mussels. Most of the fish we marked were on the bottom. It's hard to believe that we only caught one garbage fish and that came off the spoon!

Next planned trip: 05-23-08 with Doug S. and Louie.

Still Tough Fishing!!!

Fished with Doug S. and Ken W. Temperature was in the lower 50s in the morning and it made it up to 60 degrees by the time we quit fishing. The wind was out of the NW 12 knots and was switching to the South less than 5 knots. Waves were less than a foot and as the wind started switching the lake laid down. Water temp is 59 degrees and is still a little dirty in front of the harbor.

Started jigging with minnows in front of the harbor on the Southwest corner of the dumping grounds and we caught a lot of sheep head and white perch. Doug caught one walleye using a green jig and minnow. Made a move to the East about 2 miles and started trolling with body baits with out much luck so we changed over to all spoons. We were running the mini divers 60 feet back using mostly green and orange spoons. Caught a lot of silver bass and white perch and an occasional walleye. Kept 5 walleye between 20 and 21 inches. The further east we went the cleaner the water was.

One Is The Lonliest Number

05-13-08. Fished with Captain Daryl, Dale was a no show today. Temp was in the middle 50s for the day with clear skies and an ESE wind around 10 knots. The waves were 1 to 2 feet and the water temp is 55 degrees.

We decided to drift today so Daryl left the trolling poles in the truck. Started fishing in the dumping grounds by the E-Buoy without any luck so we moved further out to 23 feet of water and started drifting with crawlers and we only caught white perch. Made a move to a small pack of boats in front of TBM (2.5 miles from the harbor) and started drifting there. We started catching only white perch again until we put on some shiners and Daryl finally caught a walleye. We had a few other good hits but no hook-ups so we only caught one walleye 22 inches long for the morning.

From the reports on the radio the fishing was pretty slow on Lake Erie today. I talked to the first mate Matt when we got back to the harbor and they only had two fish for the day. When I got home Louie called and said they limited out on the Detroit River this morning fishing the Canadian side of the River. I think it's time to bring out the trolling gear.

Nexted planned trip: 05-16-08. With big Doug and Ken(Starfish).

Tagged Fish

Fished with Captain Daryl and Tim, Tony Bell's grandson. Temps were in the mid 40s to the lower 50s. The wind was west/southwest 5 to 10 knots with hardly any waves and the water is still dirty.

Started fishing in the dumping grounds by the S Buoy jigging and blading without any luck so we made the move towards Turtle Island and fished in 10 feet of water (41 46 020 / 083 21 510). It took us a while to get the first fish but once we figured everything out we did OK. We tried jigging with minnows, drifting with crawlers and blade baits and the jigs caught 90% of the fish with the blue jig being the most productive. We also caught a lot of sheephead and white perch today, first time this year. Kept 12 walleye between 19 and 21 inches and one perch that was 11 1/2 inches. We caught one walleye with a tag in the upper jaw that was released in Michigan. When I get the information back from the DNR I will post the details.

Next Planned trip: 05-06-08 with Daryl before work. Daryl cancelled todays trip.

The Fish Are There

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temps were in the lower to mid 40s with a southeast wind 10 to 15 knots. Waves were less than 2 feet. The water is still on the dirty side but it always seems to be this time of year.

We fished just south of the Radar Buoy in 6 feet of water. We tried jigging with minnows, drifting with crawlers and blading. Four of the fish were caught jigging and one was caught drifting with a crawler harness. We kept 5 walleye between 19 and 20 inches and we lost 5 other fish. Need to start using stinger hooks on all the jigs. The only other thing we should have done was put out the drift sock when the wind started blowing a little harder.

Next planned trip: 05-04-08. Fishing with Daryl and Tim.

Opening Day Trout in Grayling, MI

This is Doug's Big Fish so far, 17.5. We left Friday morning for Grayling. The fire they had in Grayling Thursday has been put out. The fire affected over 1000 acres, but was East of town. We are about 15 minutes West of town.

The weather is absolutely crummy! It was 55 Degrees when we got up for the morning fishing but by 10:00 am, it was already down to 42 Degrees. It is cold with gusting winds - very tough weather for fishing. We only caught three fish today.

Weekend over view: We have been fishing on opening day now for 30 years and this was by far the worst we have ever had. We were able to have our traditional Opening Day trout dinner but we had to go into town on Sunday to get dinner, the first time ever. The fishing was so bad we decided to cut our trip short by one day and come home. The last night night there (Sunday) the temp was 24 degrees and they were calling for temps in the upper teens for Monday night, just too cold to fish when the fish are not biting. We kept four Brown Trout between 12 and 17.5 inches for the weekend. I won big fish for the two days and big fish for the weekend.

Slow Morning

Fished with Daryl before he went to work, I'm still on a layoff. Temp was in the middle 50s with an east wind 10 to 15 knots. The waves were about a foot and the water temp is 55 degrees.

We fished the same area as Sunday but we were not having any luck. Thought of moving to the Radar Buoy where their was a small pack of boats but we just stayed in the general area. It was a good choice that we stayed because the pack of boats by the Radar Buoy all left. Saw one boat catching fish by us and the only thing different was they had no drift sock. We pulled in the drift sock and we started catching some fish, the only problem was we were running out of time. Kept 5 walleye between 18 and 24 inches. All the fish came off hair jigs tipped with a minnow.

Next planned trip: Opening day of trout fishing in Grayling for 5 days with Joe and John

First Limit This Year

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temp was in the lower 50s all morning and the wind was out of the Southwest less than 10 knots. Waves were less than a foot, just a nice day to be on the Lake Erie. The water is starting to clear up finally and the water temp is 54 degrees.

Started fishing by Turtle Island (41 46 104/083 21 605) in 10 feet of water. Joe and Daryl started off using blade baits and I was using a purple jig tipped with a minnow. I hooked a fish and we lost it at the net and I started thinking of the last trip where the same thing happened and the fishing went down hill after that. Daryl then switched to a blue hair jig and minnow and he started to catch some fish. Finally Joe put on a jig and he started catching some fish. We kept working that same area and we caught or limit of walleye. Kept 12 males between 19 and 22 inches. The fish are starting to stack up pretty good in this area now so the fishing should be good for the next couple of weeks. On the way back to the marina there was a pack of boats in front of Otter Creek, so they must be catching some fish there too.

Next planned trip: Tuesday with Daryl and Dale

Tried, But No Luck!

Fished with Louie. Temp in the morning was in the upper 40s and when we quit it was in the mid 50s. The wind was out of the SSW 10 to 15 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water is still very dirty and the water temp is 51 degrees.

Started fishing the same location as Tuesday, between Turtle Island and the Toledo Light House. After 15 minutes of jigging I had a fish on and we lost it right at the net, so we thought the fishing was looking pretty good for the day. That would be the last fish on for the day. Louie had a couple of quick hits but no fish. I jigged with the blades all morning and he used the blades and a purple jig tipped with a green plastic worm, which he had the two hits on. Saw a few boats netting fish and as we were getting ready to leave the boat behind us hooked 3 fish real fast. I have reports of people catching fish but we just cannot get them to go yet.

Next planned trip: Sunday with Joe and Daryl.

First trip on the Birds Nest for 2008

Fished with Daryl and Dale. Temperature for the day was between the lower and mid 40s. The wind was out of the southwest 5 to 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp was in the upper 40s and the lake is very dirty.

Started fishing by Turtle Island and we did not catch anything so we made a move towards a pack of boats by the Radar Buoy. Fished here for an hour with out a hit so we moved back towards Turtle Island and spent the rest of the morning there. Dale caught his first walleye using a blade bait and now he is a believer.

The catching was slow for us all day and we only saw a few boats net fish. We were 3 for 6 and Dale caught 2 of the fish. The walleye were males between 19 and 22 inches. All the fish were caught using the blue blade baits. I tried a purple jig with a minnow for a while and never had a hit.

Next palnned trips: Thursday with Louie and Sunday with Joe.

Last of Dock Fishing

Fished with Doug Sowa on Grosse Ile and the Detroit River at Belanger Park. Temps were in the middle 30s with a ENE wind 15 to 20 knots. Kind of cold for this time of year.

We stopped and dipped for minnows at Smitty's on Grosse Ile before we went perch fishing. Started fishing on the Trenton Channel and Doug began catching fish right away. Fished here for a hour and Doug had 3 nice perch and I only had 1 so we headed to Belanger Park.

When we got to the park the wind was blowing right in our faces and it was brutal. With the wind and the cold temps we only lasted a hour and we called it quits for the day. Kept 6 perch between 7 1/2 and 12 1/2 inches. That will be all the dock fishing for this spring, we can get to our boats this Tuesday and will start fishing Lake Erie for walleye.

First Trip of 2008 on Lake Erie

Fished with Captain Booth and his friend Tim. Temperature at 9:00 AM when we started fishing was in the middle 30s and the warmest it got was the upper 40s. The wind was out of the SW in the morning and rotating to the SE. Waves were less than a foot all day. Surface water temperature was 41 Degrees.

Started fishing at the S buoy and headed towards the dumping grounds trolling smithwicks, bombers and deep diving thunder stick juniors. Stayed in this area for a couple of hours without any luck so we decided to head towards the Light House. On the way to the Light House the water started getting dirty and the further we traveled the dirtier the water was getting.

Made it to the Light House and the water looked like chocolate milk so we turned and headed towards the swamp. The water was still dirty there so we made our way back in front of TBM and started trolling in 12 feet of water heading towards Otter Creek. Fished this area for an hour and then we headed back to where we started. Stayed out there until 4:00 PM and then we decided to call it a day. All this fishing and we had only one hit. The first trip was not very successful but everyone had a great time and it was a beautiful day on the lake.

We did not mark very many fish today and the radio talk was a few boats had a couple of fish that were jigging. We only saw one fish caught.

Welcome Spring!!

It's finally beginning to feel like Spring! This is one of our frogs trying to fatten up. He caught the bird and held it under the water, then must have decided it was too large for him to eat! He certainly looks proud of his trophy catch. Karen heard the bird flapping around in the pond and went to get a net to fish it out, assuming it just fell in the water. She saw the frog holding it under the water and grabbed the camera. After the bird stopped moving the frog hopped up onto the stones surrounding the pond.

Planning on fishing Lake Erie out of Toledo Beach Marina tomorrow. Booth is bring his boat in from Flint. Got a report they are marking a lot of fish, but the water is dirty and they are not easy to catch. Thanks Stan, for this info.

Good Luck on Last Ice!!!!!

Got a call from Doug Esch and he invited me out to a lake north of Chelsea, said he has been doing very well on it. Fished with Doug, his cousin Ted and his friend Lou. Temp this morning was in the lower 40s and when we quit fishing at 10:00 AM it was in the upper 40s with lots of sunshine and no wind, another great day on the ice.

Doug likes to start early and we did, he calls it O Dark Thirty. We were on the ice and fishing at 6:45 this morning, over an hour before sunrise! Picked up a crappie after 15 minutes fishing and then as the horizon started to get some light the gills started to bite. That bite lasted for less than a hour and things started to slow down. We did some hole hopping and that seemed to help quite a bit as we would pick up an occasional fish. I was using wax worms and those guys were using mousies. We kept 52 gills between 7 1/4 and 8 1/2 inches and one crappie 10 inches.

I took some pictures of the guys fishing on the ice today but when I got home I noticed that there was no memory card in the camera, my mistake. I wanted to post a photo, so when I got home, I took a picture of some of the fish we caught. Lou had a rough time catching fish today so Ted and I gave him some fish to have for dinner tonight. The ice is 10 inches thick and the shore ice is still good. Those guys should have 3 or 4 days of excellent fishing yet.

Last Ice?

Did some running around this morning and I was all done at 3:00 PM so I decided to go ice fishing at Airport Bay. Temps were in the lower 40s with lots of sunshine and a slight wind out of the southwest, which made for a beautiful day.

When I got to the canal to Round Island the 2 by 12 plank was moved to the last possible spot to cross, and the ice was deteriorating pretty fast. Once I was able to get on the canal I noticed that the canal was not in very good shape either. I figured that I would only fish for 3 hours and call it quits because of the bad ice conditions. Once on the bay I talked to 3 fishermen that had been out all morning and they said the fishing was terrible. Fished five feet of water and it was cloudy today, could only see the lure for the first two feet. I fished 5 or 6 holes without a bite so I decided to leave because the crossing at the canal had me worried.

Stopped and fished the Trenton Channel at a couple of places and did not even get a bite so I called it quits for the evening. That should be the last ice fishing trip for the year, now it's fishing off the docks until we can get the boats in mid April. No fish caught today.

Got a report from Louie tonight that he and Kenny did very good on Lake St. Clair today fishing at Compau Bay in front of Candles. He also said the ice is getting bad there.

Next Planned Trip: Friday with Doug E & Ted, in Chelsea

A Foggy Start

Fished Airport Bay on Grosse Ile with Doug Sowa. Temp this morning was in the upper teens and by lunch time it made it to the middle 30s. There was no wind at all today and when we arrived at the bay the fog was so thick you could only see about 100 feet. After an hour of fishing the sun started to break through the fog and it turned into a perfect day for fishing. We started fishing 150 yards east of Round Island in 3 feet of water and we caught nothing. Moved another 50 yards to the east and we started to catch some perch. The fishing was very good for 10 minutes and then the bite just quit. Doug saw one of his fishing buddies, Dale, at the bait store who said the fishing was pretty good yesterday but after 8:30 AM the fished just quit biting. I'll be damed if the same thing happened again today. I looked at my watch, it was 8:40 and we hadn't had a bite for 10 minutes. We thought about moving towards the pack of people by the point and as we watched them they were just standing around not doing very much so we decided to stay put. We would catch a fish every so often but the fishing just shut right down. We kept 20 perch between 7 1/2 and 10 inches.

When we got to the canal to cross over to the Bay someone had put a 2 by 12 that was 10 feet long over the broken ice so you could get across to the canal. When we came back from fishing the weather was warming up and the crossing was getting worse. It might only last a couple more days. If we decide to go back, it just might be a little earlier in the morning. The ice on the bay today was 9 inches thick.

Next Planned Trip: Don't know yet, maybe Wednesday morning since I'm off this week.