Fishing the Swamp

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 60's. The cold front was just starting to come through when we quit fishing. The wind was very light out of the northwest and we had no waves. We had to fish in a little drizzle a couple of times and one time it rained for about 15 minutes but besides that the weather was pretty nice.The water temp is 71 degrees. Started fishing in the swamp in 10 feet of water about a quarter mile off Woodtick Peninsula ( 41 46 950 / 083 26 350) and we never moved. Had to sort through a lot of fish but we kept some nice perch. Kept 63 perch between 8 and 10 1/2 inches and we also caught 3 walleye from this years hatch that were almost 7 inches. Looks like the rest of the perch fishing will be in the swamp.

A Tough One Today

Fished with Catfish Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. Hard to believe for this time of year. The wind in the morning was out of the south around 12 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet and by the time we quit fishing it was not even blowing. The water temp is 71 degrees. Started fishing where we have been and we caught a whole lot of small perch, we call them smerch. Made a couple of moves around here and the catching never got better. Made the move out to Sputnik and we started to catch some perch but the catching was very slow. Made a move to the turn around buoy and we had the same results. Made a few more moves in this area and then we called it quits. Put a lot of miles on the boat for just a few fish. Kept 22 perch between 7 3/4 and 11 inches. Oh, did I mention that Joe caught 3 catfish today, his personal best.

The Perch are Still There

Fished with Captain Daryl and Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was out of the East 10 to 17 knots. The waves when we started fishing were about 2 feet and by the time we were done fishing they were 2 to 4 feet. The water temp is 68 Degrees. We picked up our bait at Anglers Landing because they had a truck load of emerald shiners shipped in from Wisconsin. Why we cannot get shiners from around here I don't know. We went back to the same place we fished yesterday and had the same results. We kept 71 perch and all but one of them were between 8 and 10 inches. The largest one was 11 inches. Joe also caught a 7 inch walleye. Speaking of walleye, the Ohio DNR finished their summer trawls on the western basin on Lake Erie and it's good news. This will be the best walleye hatch since 2003.

Perch in the Bay

Fished with Captain Daryl, Mark and Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's when we started fishing and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. Just great weather for this time of year. The wind was out of the northeast 8 to 12 knots with waves around a foot. The water temp is 68 Degrees. We bought our bait at Anglers Point and we got the last that they had. Started fishing out of Brest Bay (41 52 860 / 083 13 480 ) in 26 feet of water and we never had to move, which makes for a great perch trip. The bite was not steady but just good enough to keep us put. We caught mostly perch that we had to sort through and we caught just a few junk fish. Kept 109 perch between 8 and 10 inches. After we cleaned the fish Joe and I went to Trappers for a fresh perch dinner. That's the best way to end a fishing trip.

Still Struggling

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 50's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower lower 70's. The water temp is 68 Degrees. The wind was out of the northeast 5 to 10 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The lake was bumpy because of the east winds yesterday and last night. Started fishing on the west side of the W Buoy and we only caught a couple of small perch. Made one move here and we still had no luck. Started heading East hoping to find some clean water and we saw a pack of boats in front of Bolles Harbor. Stopped to fish here and we caught a couple of small perch. Made the long run to the turn around buoy and we started to catch some perch. The catching was slow and the fish were not very large but at least we were keeping some perch. After catching enough small perch we decided to try and find some larger fish knowing that you should never leave fish to find fish. We stopped by Sputnik and fished for a while with no luck so we headed towards a pack of boats by buoys 5 and 6. We were watching the boats around us and they were not catching any fish. We only caught a few small perch so we moved towards an old perch way point from 2013 and set up. Again we only caught throw back perch so we called it a day. Kept 38 perch and most of them were around 8 inches.

Perch Fishing

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. Stopped at Joe's Bait store and bought our minnows. They had shiners but they were very small ones, actually too small for perch fishing.  The wind was out of the south southwest 12 to 17 knots with waves 1 to 3 feet. Because of the lake conditions we decided to head south and fish Maumee Bay. We started fishing just the other side of buoys 23 and 24 in 14 feet of water. We were on the fish right our of the gate but they were all small fish. Made 4 moves in this area and we could not get away from the small perch. We would catch a few keepers but not enough to stay put. Made another move to the radar buoy and we caught a couple of keepers but again, a lot of small perch. Decided to run out to the gravel pit and we only caught small perch. Made a move into the swamp and again we caught small perch. Made 3 more moves in the swamp and then we called it quits for the day. Kept 16 perch and we had no large ones. Around 10:00 am the wind started to lay down and the waves were less than a foot.

The Start of Perch Season

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. When we got back to shore the temp was in the upper 80's. We had a nasty storm come out of the west and when it hit Lake Erie it went south and followed the shore line so we missed the storm but we had the wind effects. The wind was out of the southwest 5 to 15 knots with waves between 1 and 2 feet. The water temp is 75 degrees. Started fishing by the number 1 Buoy off the River Raisin Channel. We were catching some perch but not enough to keep us happy. Started moving towards Brest Bay and we had no luck. After 3 or 4 moves we went back to the River Raisin Buoys. The catching was slow but at least we were on some perch. We were fishing and watching the storm knowing it was going around us. Kept 47 perch and most of them were around 8 inches with the largest measuring 11 inches. We went to Lake Erie Party Store but they were not open so we bought our bait at Rose Harbor Marina and they had golden shiners. Not the best shiner but better than most of the other bait stores in the area.

The Return From Salmon Fishing

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature when we started fishing was in the middle 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the north 10 to 14 knots with waves 1 to 2 feet. The water temp is 75 Degrees. We were taking the boat back to Toledo Beach Marina after our return from salmon fishing in Manistee, Mi. The boat had been sitting in my driveway for 5 days while I did some minor work on it and it was time to take it back to the marina. I heard a report that they were catching some walleye by the E Buoy so I figured we would try walleye fishing one last time. We set up just short of the E Buoy trolling wiggle warts set at 90 feet back and junior thunder sticks set at 70 feet back. We were marking some fish close to the bottom but we had no takers. After trolling around for a little bit we noticed that there were some weeds on the lures. Started pulling lines and all the poles had weeds on them. It was still early so we made the move towards Sputnik. Set up trolling wiggle warts set at 120 feet back. Again, we were marking fish but now they were too deep for the wiggle warts. Fished here for just a little while and we called it quits. We did not catch a fish today. Packed up all the walleye gear and now we are set up for perch fishing.

Salmon Fishing in Manistee, Michigan 2015

Fished with Joe and John. We left Saturday morning and picked up the boat in Hart, MI,  where we left it after we were done fishing in Pentwater. This year will be remembered because of the very strong winds we had on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday morning. Of all the years of salmon fishing this was our worst for weather. We were able to fish 8 of the possible 13 trips and one of those was cut short and another was in four foot seas. We were never skunked on any trip but we never caught more than 3 fish on any trip. Our largest salmon was 18 lbs, and our smallest was 14 lbs. One day we would get all our bites on meat rigs and the next day all the bites would be on J plugs. Very hard to figure out. The last couple of years it seems that you have one good day to catch a lot of fish and this year it was Tuesday morning. Boats were netting fish all around us but we came back with only one salmon. We switched lures, changed the depth on the baits and changed the speed we were trolling, but nothing worked. We kept 12 salmon for the entire trip and caught one lake trout that we put back.

Fishing at Pentwater

Fished with Joe and Daryl out of the Port of Pentwater. We headed up Sunday morning and came home on Wednesday. We docked the boat at the Municipal Marina and we stayed at the Pine Motel (not recommended ).Tuesday was the only bad day we had for fishing. We quit fishing at 7:30 in the morning and we did not make it out for the evening fish because of the small craft warnings. We fished one evening in front of the harbor because of the wind and waves. The rest of the trip we were fishing south of the harbor in front of the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, about a 10 mile boat ride. The majority of the fishing was in waters 90 to 150 feet deep, fishing anywhere from 40 to 90 feet down with the bait. Cut bait rigs caught most of the fish and one fish came off the Scar Pace lure. We had a couple of nice fish on that we lost. One straightened the split ring that is on the snap swivel and the other one straightened the clip on the snap swivel. We kept 6 king salmon and 5 steelhead and put back two lake trout. The largest king was about 14 pounds and the largest steelhead was just over 13 pounds. It was nice fishing out of Pentwater but it's always hard fishing a new port for the first time.

The Wind Was Blowing Pretty Good

 Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80's. The wind was out of the west northwest 15 to 20 knots when we started fishing.  About 9:00 am it laid down to 8 to 12 knots. Around 10:30 am it started to blow again 14 to 18 knots. The waves were anywhere from 2 feet to about a foot but the wind made for tough fishing. The water temp is 76 Degrees. Started fishing just short of the S-Buoy trolling wiggle warts set at 75 feet back and large dipsy's and spoons set at 30 feet back. We were on the fish right out of the gate but the crew was not ready. We lost 3 of the first 4 walleye we had on. Not a good start for a windy day. We trolled mostly between the S-Buoy and the C-Buoy. We caught more junk fish today than we have in the last two weeks and we even caught some white perch. The catching was good up until 10:30 am, after that, we could not catch a keeper walleye. We spent at least 1 1/2 hours trying to catch the last couple of walleye but it was not going to happen. Kept 16 walleye and 2 perch.

Had to Work for Them

Fished with Captain Daryl, Mark and Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the northeast 7 to 13 knots with waves less than 2 feet. The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing right in front of the harbor in 14 feet of water trolling wiggle warts set at 35 feet behind the boards. Caught a couple of walleye but we also caught a lot of junk fish so we started trolling towards deeper water. Ended up by the S-Buoy trolling with wiggle warts set at 65 feet back on one side of the boat and 75 feet back on the other side of the boat. Eventually both sides were set to 75 feet back. We also ran a couple of large dipsy's set at 30 and 35 feet back and they caught a few walleye. Had a lot of tangles today, don't know if it was the wind or the waves or something else. Kept 24 walleye and we lost quite a few walleye behind the boat.

Quick Trip Today

Fished with Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was out of the northwest less than 8 knots with a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing in the same location with the same program and the walleye are still there. We were on and off the lake very quick today. Kept 12 walleye on an easy day of fishing.

Tried For a Combo Today

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was light and variable with no waves. The water temp is 74 degrees. Don't know why but we had no flies and no gnats today. Started perch fishing by the W-Buoy and we picked up a couple of small ones so after 45 minutes of perch fishing we went walleye fishing. We set up by the S Buoy trolling towards the C-Buoy (41 48 250 / 083 21 500) in 16 feet of water with wiggle warts set at 75 feet behind the boards. We were on the fish right out of the gate and the catching never slowed down. We decided to put back the small keeper fish (15 to 16 inches) and only keep the good size eaters. It did not take long and we were back to perch fishing. Tried perch fishing by the C-Buoy and we only caught one small perch. Moved to an old way point from two years ago in the dumping grounds and we only caught small perch. Made one more move back to the W-Buoy and we only caught a couple of small perch so we called it a day. We cleaned up the fish and went to Trapper's for a walleye/perch lunch and it was awesome. Kept 12 walleye and 7 small perch. Decided that doing a perch/walleye combo is just too much, so it might not happen again.

Still Good Walleye Fishing

Fished with Joe. Temperature when we started fishing was in the middle 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 70's. The wind was out of the north 5 to 10 knots with waves about a foot.The water temp is 74 degrees. Started fishing 1 1/2 miles northeast of the E-Buoy trolling towards the E-Buoy in 18 feet of water with wiggle warts set at 75 feet back on both sides of the boat. The catching started out slow but then it picked up. We made one long pass and we caught our 12 walleye. Caught only a couple of junk fish. This was one of the quickest walleye trips that we have had in a long time.

Walleye Fishing at It's Best

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

Weather Was Perfect

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

Spur of the Moment Trip

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

The Algae Bloom Has Started

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

Day Two

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