A Rough and Tough Day

Fished with Joe and Daryl. 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 east around 15 knots when we started fishing with waves about 2 feet. As the day went on the wind picked up and the waves were 3 to 4 feet when we quit fishing, too rough to perch fish. The water temp is 70 degrees. We started fishing right out in front of the marina and we had no luck. We moved just passed the Michigan dump and over the border into Ohio water. We set up here and the bite was slow but at least we were catching some perch. While we were fishing we were watching the waves build until we finally had enough and called it quits. Kept 58 perch on a terrible day on the lake.

Another Slow Day

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80's, very hot for this time of year. The wind was light and variable with no waves. The water temp is 72 degrees. Picked up our bait at Anglers and they had large shiners again. Started fishing right out in front by the w buoy and we caught a few perch but it just wasn't fast enough. Moved into the swamp and all the fish that were there moved out. Headed to the c buoy and nothing. Made a move east of the e buoy and we picked up a few fish. Decided to head back to where we started fishing to finish the day. Kept 31 perch and we caught six 4 inch walleye.

Slow Day of Fishing

Fished with Daryl. 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 with just a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 70 degrees. Picked up our bait at Angler's Marina and they had shiners a little on the large size. Started fishing at one our favorite spots and we only caught one 4 inch walleye. Moved on out to where we fished on the last trip and we caught one sheep head. Since we were close to Sputnik we headed out there. Set up and nothing. Made a little move and we caught one 4 inch walleye. Moved a couple more times and no fish so we headed for the swamp. When we got to the swamp the water was very dirty and weedy. We set up anyways and we started to catch some perch. It was a slow bite but we were catching some fish. Kept 24 perch.

First Perch Trip of the Year

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 80's. The wind was out of the southeast less than 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 77 degrees. Started fishing where we caught most of our perch last year. We were marking some fish but not catching anything. Made a small move in this area and nothing. Decided to head out to Sputnik and try our luck. On the way out to Sputnik we drove by an old perch spot so we stopped and gave it a try. Started to catch some perch so we just stayed put. The bite was sporadic but at least we were catching some fish. We had shiners for bait but they were way to large, wound up cutting them in half. Kept 47 perch between 8 and 11 inches with most of the fish around 9 inches.

Salmon Fishing 2018-Manistee, MI.

Fished with Joe and John in Manistee, Mi. from 8-11 to 8-18. The weather looked good for the week and the report held true. We made it out fishing for every trip. We had a couple of the evening trips where the lake was a little bumpy but we managed. This years trip will be known for the large salmon. We heard a lot of reports of 30 lb plus fish caught and we had a few of them at our marina. We did not catch any fish over 30 lb. We lost more equipment this year than usual because of the large fish. Had a few minor boat problems but there was nothing that could not be fixed up north.



Saturday evening we went straight out and we were skunked, not a good way to start the week. One good thing was we spent some time setting up the salmon fishing gear and working all the kinks out. Sunday morning we went to the 16 line and trolled south and went 1 for 1, fish came off the bloody nose fly and spin doctor. Sunday evening we went to the 17 line and trolled south. We went 2 for 3 or 2 for 2. We ran a dipsy with a 25 foot leader with a meat rig that caught a fish. When we got the dipsy to the boat Joe went to grab the leader line to pull the fish in and the line snapped and we lost everything. A few seconds later the copper went off and when we brought that line in it had the meat rig and fish wrapped around the copper. With a little luck we landed everything, so I would say we went 2 for 2. Monday morning we went back to the 17 line and went 1 for 2 with the fish coming off a black mamba meat rig off the dipsy. Monday evening we went to the 12 line and trolled south and went 1 for 2 with the bloody nose fly working. Tuesday morning we went to the 14 line and trolled north and went 2 for 2 with the meat rig and the bloody nose fly catching fish. Tuesday evening the skunk found our cooler again for the last time. Wednesday morning we went to the 14 line and trolled north and we went 4 for 4 and caught our biggest fish of the trip, a 27 lb king off the bloody nose fly. The meat rig and ace high green splatter back also caught fish. For the evening we went to the 17 line and trolled south and went 1 for 2 with the green splatter back ace high catching the fish. Thursday morning we set up at the 17 line and trolled south and went 3 for 3 with the fish coming off the ace high light green splatter back and bloody nose fly combo. For the evening we went to the 19 line ( bad choice on my part ) and we trolled north and went 1 for 1 with the green splatter back . Friday morning we set up at the 17 line and trolled south and went 4 for 6. Caught fish off the ghost buster spoon, bloody nose set up, black mamba meat rig and Kevin's girlfriend with a meat rig.

                              The Tally for the Week

We hooked 25 fish and landed 20 of them, which gives us a catch rate of 80 percent, which is pretty good. A couple of the fish just came unbuttoned and a couple were just short strikes.We trolled for 39 hours and landed 20 fish which gave us a catch rate of .51 fish per hour. This is not very good, we would like to average 1 fish per hour. Of the 12 sessions we could have gone fishing we made it out 12 times, perfect, even though the guys like a blow day once in a while. The two times that we were skunked was my fault, I left fish to find fish. The 20 fished weighed 413 lbs. for an average weight of 20.65 lb. This is our highest average ever. The largest fish weighed 27 lbs. and the smallest fish weighed 14 lbs. 14 fish weighed over 20 lbs.




           Below is a List of Lures That had Hits

Bloody Nose Fly and Spin Doctor ..................7
Ace High Green Splatter Back.......................7
Black Mamba Meat Rig..................................4
Ghost Buster Spoon.......................................2
JJ Meat Rig...................................................2
Blue Meat Rig................................................1
Mister Green Jeans Spoon..............................1
Kevin's Girlfriend with Lime Green Meat Rig....1

No Wind, No Waves and No Bugs

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. There was no wind and there were no waves. There was a nice cloud cover which helped the fishing. The water temp is 78 degrees. Started fishing by the C buoy trolling wiggle warts set at 80 feet back. Made a pass by the buoy and we caught one walleye so we turned around and headed back. We picked up a couple more walleye so we decided to go back to where we fished on the last trip. We trolled our way out there and when we were close to the back side of the dump we started to catch some fish. Once we figured out that anything with orange on was catching fish we put orange on all the poles. Made a pass down and we only needed three more walleye so we turned around and caught the rest of the fish. Kept 12 walleye, 1 perch, released 5 short walleye and we lost 4 walleye behind the boat. Just a beautiful day on the lake.

Slow Go Today

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 northwest at 15 knots when we started fishing and it laid down to less than 5 knots by the time we were done fishing. Waves were around 2 feet when we started and by the time we quit fishing there were no waves. The water temp is 77 degrees. Started fishing about 2 miles past the Toledo Light House heading towards the Water intake. We ran wiggle warts set at 80 and 90 feet back. Only caught 1 short walleye and 1 keeper so we put on bandits set at 65 feet back. Caught 1 walleye off that set up and that was it. Made a move to the back side of the Michigan dump and set up with bandits set at 65 feet back. Started to catch a few walleye but we also had a few weeds to deal with. Made 3 short passes and then we called it a day. The fish are there, it was just a combination of weeds messing up the lures and the calm water. Kept 7 walleye and 1 perch.

Broken Equipment

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 70's. The wind was out of the southeast around 12 knots with waves about 2 feet. The weatherman called for light south winds. The water temp is 80 Degrees. We set up close to Turtle Island trolling with the waves heading towards the S buoy running wiggle warts set at 75 feet back. We were not marking very many fish and the catching was slow. When we got close to the S buoy we caught a couple of walleye. We pulled lines and headed towards Turtle Island again but this time we trolled through the swamp with the warts set at 60 feet back. Picked up two quick walleye and then we only caught one more in the swamp so we starting trolling towards the C buoy. When we were getting close to the C buoy we started to catch some walleye. Things were looking good and then the planer board line snapped on the starboard side. We marked a way point and then we started to pull lines to go and retrieve the planner board. As we were getting close to the way point there was a large boat coming from Toledo Beach Marina heading right towards our way point. With the 2 foot waves I don't think the captain saw the planer board floating and he just missed it, probably by 5 feet. We picked up the planner board and decided to call it a day. Learned a lesson from this. The clip that attaches to the planer board broke so from now on I will replace the clip every two years.

A Little Tougher Fishing Today

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the southwest around 10 knots with waves less than a foot. The water temp is 81 Degrees. We set up in the swamp trolling with wiggle warts set at 65 feet back and we only caught a few junk fish. Started trolling towards the dump and we were catching a few walleye but we also caught some large sheep head. When we got to deeper water we set the lines back to 75 feet and when we got close to the S buoy we started to catch some walleye. Kept 12 walleye, released a couple of keeper walleye, caught 4 short walleye and about a dozen throw back fish.

Another Great Morning on the Lake

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's, it was a very short trip. The wind was out of the southwest around 15 knots with a little chop on the lake. We fished the same area as yesterday running the same set up and the fishing was fantastic. Not much to report except Joe is having a tough time displaying the fish in different arrangements, but he is doing a good job!

Just a Beautiful Day on the Lake

Fished with Joe and Daryl. Temperature this morning was in the middle 60's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 70's. The wind was out of the west around 10 knots with a little chop on the water. The water temp is 79 Degrees. Started fishing in the swamp and we did not have to leave. We set up 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. The 65 feet started to catch some fish so we put the 75 feet side to 60 feet back. It was a steady pick but we did find one pod of fish that we kept trolling over. Kept 18 walleye, put back one keeper walleye, caught 2 short walleye and 2 white perch.

Rain Delay

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the lower 80's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the west around 10 knots with a little chop on the lake. The water temp is 78 Degrees. We set up in the swamp running wiggle warts set at 70 feet back. As we were setting lines Joe saw some lightning on shore and then we received a call from another fisherman about the storm so we both headed back to the marina for our safety. Waited the storm out for about 40 minutes and when the rain quit, away we went. The lake was calm and the fish were hungry. We could not even set lines and the fish were biting. Kept 12 walleye, 1 perch, put back 4 short walleye and only caught 1 silver bass.

Little Bumpy

Fished with Joe and Doug. Temperature this morning was in the lower 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 80's. The wind was out of the east around 15 knots with waves less than 2 feet. The water temp is 73 Degrees. Started fishing in front of the marina in 16 feet of water trolling towards Turtle Island. We ran jet 40's with spoons set at 25 feet back and wiggle warts set at 75 feet back. With the wind and waves we were having a tough time with the jets so we pulled them off and put on wiggle warts. We were catching some walleye but a lot of them were too short. We were just picking away at the fish and we were getting very close to the island. Made a turn and we tried to follow our track but it was difficult with the wind and waves. We finally caught our last fish and when we pulled lines we had a couple more fish on. Kept 18 walleye, caught a few white perch and only one sheep head.

Fishing is Good

Fished with Joe. Temperature this morning was in the upper 70's and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 80's. The wind was out of the southwest about 15 knots in the morning and it laid down very quick. The waves were less than a foot. Fished by Turtle Island trolling jet 40's and spoons set at 25 feet back and Jr. thunder sticks set at 40 feet back. The jet's were catching more fish so we put both sides to the jets. Only caught a few garbage fish and the walleye were just snapping. Kept 12 walleye, released a few keeper walleye and caught about 6 short walleye.

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.