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.