Baby it's Cold Outside

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 40s. The wind was out of the south 10 to 15 knots( which made for a wind chill) with waves around a foot. The water temp is 50 degrees. We had a report that some fish were caught by the dumping grounds yesterday so that is where we headed, (41 48 150 / 083 20 850). We dropped the hook and fished for 30 minutes without a bite so we pulled anchor and moved about 200 feet. The bite started off very slow (maybe the fish were cold too) and then the catching started to pick up. It never got to be steady action but we caught enough fish to keep us here and we also caught some of the biggest perch so far this year. Kept 46 perch.

Fishing Season is Almost Over

Fished with Captain Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the southwest about 10 knots for the first 3 hours and then it switched to the south 15 to 17 knots. The waves were not to bad early and then they started to build to 2 to 3 footers. The water temp is 51 degrees. We went to leave the dock and the engine quit. We drifted to the other side of the marina and the boat would not go into gear without stalling the engine. We made our way back to the ramp and the mechanic (Steve) checked it out and fixed everything and a way we went. Started fishing by the W Buoy and we only caught 1 small perch so we started moving further out. After several more stops and no fish we made a move into the swamp. The water was very dirty here so we headed towards the mansion and fished in 10 feet of water. Still nothing so we moved into 8 feet of water and still nothing. We finally pulled out the GPS and we headed out to one of our hot spots which is 1 3/4 miles east of the E Buoy. We started to catch some fish but now it was late in the day and the lake was starting to get rough. Caught 20 fish and then we called it a day.

WOW, What Great Weather

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was out of the east less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees. What a week of beautiful weather, perfect temps and low winds. Started fishing 1 3/4 miles due east of the E Buoy and we never had to move. We started off catching perch 8 to 9 inches so I told Dan we would stay here for a while and then move into the swamp for some bigger fish. Well, after a while the bigger fish came in so we just stayed put. We caught mostly perch but we had to sort through them to keep 8 1/2 inch fish and up. Kept 84 perch and you could not ask for a better trip.

Could Not Find the Fish Today

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The great weather continues. The wind was out of the southeast 10 to 15 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 60 degrees. Started fishing by McDonald's because we had a good report from last night. Caught only 1 keeper so we left the pack of boats and went to Sputnik. Fished 3 miles northeast of Sputnik and we started to catch some fish, even though they were on the small side. Fished here close to an hour and then the bite slowed down so we then went to our hot spot, 52/08 numbers. Caught only 1 small fish here so on the way back to the marina we stopped at another hot spot from 3 years ago, and again nothing. Decided to go back to where we wanted to start fishing which was 1 1/2 miles east of the E-Buoy and we started to catch some bigger fish but the action was still slow. Finished out the day here and we kept 41 perch.

Slow Pickings Today

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the southeast less than 10 knots with rolling waves around a foot. The water temp is 62 degrees. Got a report from Huey that he caught some nice fish by the W-Buoy on Wednesday so that is where we started off fishing. We started catching some fish so we just stayed put. The catching was pretty steady until 10:15 AM and it was like some one turned off the switch because the fish just quit biting. Made a couple of moves in this area and we only caught 1 more fish. Went to Trappers for another fish dinner and, as usual, it was good. Kept 33 perch today and it was another beautiful day on the water.

Summer is Back, at Least for a Week

Fished with uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the lower 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70s. The wind was out of the northwest less than 10 knots and the waves were less than a foot. The water temp is 62 degrees. It was just a beautiful day on the water. Started fishing by the W Buoy and we had no hits so we moved about 3/4 mile south of the E Buoy and we started to get some bites. Stayed put here and we waited out the fish. The water was dirty but we were on some fish. Had one 20 minute flurry about 10:45 AM where all the fish were over 10 inches and then it went back to catching the 8 and 9 inchers. Kept 63 perch.

One of Those Tough Days of Fishing

Fished with Uncle Dan. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 60s. The wind was out of the southwest 15 to 20 knots with waves from 1 foot in close and 2 to 3 feet out by the E Buoy. The water temp is 63 degrees. Started fishing where we caught our fish yesterday and we only caught 2 perch. We made about 3 or 4 moves in this area and it did not produce any fish. Made a move out to the 48/18 line where we have been fishing and we caught no fish and it was pretty rough. Came back to the dumping grounds and tried a few spots there and we picked up a few fish. Made a move to the S Buoy and caught a couple of fish so we decided to make one last move back to the W Buoy and again we caught no fish. Kept 7 perch. I heard a report that they caught some perch in front of the mansion in 8 feet of water.

Almost a Skunk

Fished with Mike. The temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 60s. The wind was out of the southeast 12 to 17 knots with waves 1 to 3 feet. The water temp is 63 degrees. The weatherman called for on and off showers but we had no rain. Started fishing where we left off on our last trip and we had no bites. We marked a lot of fish on the bottom but the water was very dirty from the barge dumping the dredging from the Maumee Channel about 1/2 mile to the southeast of us. We moved about a mile to the east and the water cleaned up but we only caught 1 large sheephead. Made a move towards the E-Buoy and again no fish. Made another move about 1/4 mile east of the E-Buoy and still nothing. On the way back to the marina we said we would try to fish by the W-Buoy for one last try and that is where we found the fish. Most of the fish we caught were perch and only 2 of them had to be thrown back. Only got to fish here for a little over a hour but it saved our day. Kept 49 perch.

Fall is Here

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 40s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 50s. The wind was out of the east southeast around 10 knots with waves about a foot. The water temp is 64 degrees. We started fishing just outside the harbor by the W Buoy and picked up 3 perch. The catching was slow so we made a move to our old spot 1/2 mile southeast of the E Buoy. We did not mark any fish so we headed towards a pack of boats about 1/2 mile to the east. Dropped the hook and we started to catch some fish until a boat blew by us and the anchor broke lose. We moved back about 50 feet to our spot and started to catch some fish, but after a while the fish moved out. About 20 minutes with out a perch we moved to the south (41 48 760 / 083 18 100) and started to catch some fish. It was slow fishing but we were catching all perch and most of them were keepers. Kept 49 perch. We cleaned the fish and then we went to Trappers to watch the Michigan game and have a fresh perch dinner, fries, onion rings and some Turtle soup.

Nice Day to Be on the Water

Fished with Norm. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60s. The wind this morning was out of the northwest around 10 knots and then it started to slow down to less than 5 knots. The fog was pretty bad leaving the harbor this morning but we found an opening about 400 feet wide where you could see all the way out to the fishing grounds, which made it kind of nice. There were no waves today and the water temp is 64 degrees. Started fishing southeast of the E-Buoy and we never moved. Caught a lot of junk fish again and the perch were not very large but at least we were on some fish. About 10:00 AM the catching slowed down but we stayed put and picked away at the fish. Kept 48 perch. The weather was perfect for fishing.

Check, Check and Check Again

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and it was raining when we left the house. About half way to the marina the rain quit and we never saw it again. When we quit fishing the temp was in the lower 70s. There was no wind today so we had no waves. It was so calm that we floated around the anchor most of the trip. Started fishing where we left off on the last trip and we had no bites. We watched the boats around us and they were not catching anything so we moved out to 41 52 450 / 083 08 300. The catching was not fast and furious but we were on some perch. We caught a lot of nice perch and only caught 4 junk fish, 3 sheep head and 1 silver bass. Around noon the Ohio DNR came by and checked us for our licenses and asked how the fishing was. We showed them our licenses and told them we had 52 perch. They asked how accurate our count was and we said very close. We talked for awhile and again they asked about our fish count. We caught one more fish when they showed up and again they asked about our fish count and we said it was very close. Just before they left they asked again about our count and told us that we were almost done for the day. Kept 60 perch and 24 of them were over 10 inches. Just a great day on the water.

Just Missed the Heat!!!

Fished with Captain Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70s and when we quit fishing it hit 90. It is supposed to get to the upper 90s today, too hot for September. The wind was out of the southeast about 10 knots and then it started to switch to the southwest just over 10 knots so we had a nice breeze the whole time we were fishing. Started fishing 1 mile southeast of the E Buoy (47 49 100 / 083 18 440) and we never had to move. We really had to sort through the fish. We caught sheep head, perch, white perch and silver bass. It was not uncommon to have a triple header of silver bass. We just stayed put, caught a lot of fish and enjoyed the day. We quit fishing at 10:45 AM and started cleaning Daryl's boat to get it ready for winterizing. Kept 64 perch that weighed 17.5 lbs. and after we cleaned them the fillets weighed 7.1 lbs.

A Very Bad Day of Perching

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. The wind was very light so we had no waves. We headed out towards the Toledo Light House but we did not mark any fish. Started to move up the channel stopping at every buoy looking for fish and the fish finder showed no marks. When we arrived at McDonald's we marked a few fish on the Michigan side of the channel. Dropped the hook and we started to fish. Only caught some white perch so we moved to the other side of McDonald's. Started to mark some fish so we dropped the hook again and we started to catch some small perch. The action was very slow and the perch were not very large but at least we were on some perch. We caught some of the largest sheep head that I have ever seen. Stayed here for about 45 minutes and then we decided to head toward the gravel pits where we saw some boats fishing. It was a waste of time fishing here so we pulled lines and headed home. We only caught 17 perch for the day.

Final Tally for 2011

This year the report is not as accurate because when we got into fish it was fast and furious so we were not sure what set up some of the fish came off.  We hooked 63 fish and landed 44 of them which gave us a 70% catch rate. We caught a mix of Steelhead, Lake Trout, Coho and King Salmon. We caught 28 fish in the morning and 16 fish in the evening. Of the 13 sessions we could have made it out fishing we made it out 10 times, which is very good. We totaled 40.5 hours of fishing and landed 44 fish for an average of 1.1 fish per hour. The 44 fished weighed 547.1 lbs. for an average of 12.4 lbs per fish. The largest fish was 23.5 lbs and the smallest that we kept weighed 3.5 lbs. We put back 2 Lake Trout and 3 small Salmon, so we kep 39 fish for the trip. The best setup was the Black Mamba Meat rig with a red head off the dipsy divers. We caught fish from 20 feet of water all the way out to 450 feet of water. Below is a list of lures that caught fish and the set ups used to catch them.

Black Mamba Meat Rig with a Red Head.................14 hits
J Plug Meat Rig.........................................................11 hits
Green Splatter Back Silver Horde...............................5 hits
White Spin Doctor with a Red Meat Head...................4 hits
SUV Meat Rig.............................................................4 hits
Blue Dolphin Spoon....................................................4 hits
Green Ladder Back J Plug...........................................3 hits
Moonshine Happy Meal...............................................2 hits
White Spin Doctor and Blue Sparkle Fly......................1 hit
Green Spin Doctor with Blue Glow Fly.........................1 hit
Green Spin Doctor with Glow Frog Squid....................1 hit
White Spin Doctor with Blue Meat ..............................1 hit
Water Melon Spoon.....................................................1 hit


The Dipsy's had 27 hits.
The lead core had 14 hits.
The planner boards had 8 hits.
The copper line had 1 hit.

Down Rigger # 1 had 2 hits.
Down Rigger # 2 had 6 hits.
Down Rigger # 3 had 2 hits.
Down Rigger #4 had 3 hits.

Double,Double

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was light out of the south with waves less than a foot. The action last night was fantastic so we thought the fishing would be great today. Well, the water temp is now at 70 feet and when we started this week it was at 20 feet. We ran south to the 08 line and set lines in 80 feet of water. Caught a few fish early and then it shut down. We moved out to deeper water and raised our bait up to the 40 foot area and we started to hit some fish. Again our best bait was the meat rigs. We ended up 6 for 11 and threw 1 lake trout back. Todays Blog Title is due to landing two double hits. When I get home I will tally up the results for this years trip.

Another Good Weather Day for Fishing

Fished with Joe and John, Daryl had to go home. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70s. The wind was out of the southwest 10 knots or less. The waves were 1 to 3 feet but most were left over from last night. We ran down to the 9 line and set lines. Our plan was like last night to troll north with the waves to our back. Started fishing in 100 feet of water with a temp break at 40 feet down. Hit fish pretty quick but we could not hook them up. Our catch rate was pretty poor. We finally started to net some fish with the best set up being the dipsy's set at 100 to 125 feet back with meat rigs. The hottest was the black mamba with a red head. Went 5 for 10 this morning with the largest fish at 21 pounds.

Another Flat Day

Fished with Joe, John and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 50s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. There was no wind again today so we had no waves. Started fishing in close where we left off last night and we had only one hit. Made a move to the south, back to the 11 line and trolled around here for a while without a hit. Things were not looking good. Started trolling out to deep water and we hit a fish at 25 feet down off a rigger in 450 feet of water. We went through a little flurry of hits and went 5 for 6 with 2 throw backs. All the fish came in the top 20 foot of water except one that came off a meat rig with the dipsy set at 3 1/2 at 90 feet back.

Flat as a Pancake

Fished with Joe and John. Temperature this morning was in  the lower 60s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70s. There was no wind this morning so the lake was flat. Started fishing south of the harbor in 40 to70 feet of water. Had a few releases, but no fish. Made a move out to deeper water (100 to140) and we started to catch some fish. The water temp is in the top 15 feet of the water, so everything we are catching is in the top of the water column. We went 3 for 5 this morning. This afternoon Daryl showed up and fished with us. Started fishing north of the harbor in shallow. Had no hits so we moved out to the deeper water. After a hour of fishing we moved back into the shallows. Started to catch some fish long lining silver hordes 100 feet behind the boards. Went 4 for 5 with the largest king of the day weighing 23.5 lbs.

Rough and Tough

Made it out fishing this afternoon. The temperature was in the lower 70s and the wind was out of the northeast 10 to 20 knots. The waves were 2 to 4 feet when we started and after a half hour of fishing the waves were building 3 to 5 feet. We set up south of the harbor in 150 feet of water fishing at the 11 line.The water temp was 52 degrees at 48 feet down. Caught 1 king off the downrigger 42 feet down using a hoochi and a blue fly. The waves got to be to tough so after 45 minutes of fishing we had enough. We pulled lines and had a hour ride back to port in very rough seas. Went 1 for 1 last night. There will be no fishing today because of the weather.

Manistee Salmon Day 1

Left home at 7:30 a.m. with John and Joe for our annual Salmon Fishing Trip in Manistee, MI. It doesn't sound like the weather will be very good this weekend. Hoping to get in an afternoon/evening trip on the lake today. Will keep you posted.