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Planning an early Oct trip over to Huron area. Any advice for walleye or perch? There have been few reports lately. We fish the reefs complex every year in May but occasionally get a fall trip in. Any advice for walleye or perch much appreciated.

I have some visitors coming to fish perch on the big pond the first weekend of October. I?m based in Foxhaven on Catawba. Perching has been slow lately. If we don?t get any perch action going has anyone had any luck with Walleye around the islands? Capt Juls makes great reports and lately has been talking about Vermilion to Lorain. I?m not going to run that far east. Appreciate any insight!

This report is a day late, due to a gremlin that keeps tormenting me with mechanical issues. Yesterday, when we took our fish to PC Fish to have cleaned, my truck’s radiator fluid puddled up on the road. The reservoir was half empty, too. I’m glad we made it back from Vermilion without issue, though, because stopping on the side of the highway with a boat in tow is never fun.

The morning started its usual way, with a coffee and dogs out on the back deck. The air temp was 66 degrees, and the sky was partly cloudy. The wind was light from the southerly direction. It was going to be a beautiful day to be on the water.

Walter and Lisa met me at my house again, but they were a little earlier then the other day, due to us driving over to Vermilion this time…it would take longer to get there than going to Huron. They showed up right on time, and off we went.

We hit the gas station for some ice for the coolers and hit the highway. 40 minutes later we were in Vermilion. We were the only ones at the ramp, so launching was fast and easy. We idled out of the river while this couple from Nebraska marveled at the beautiful houses and boats lining the river. Lisa kept saying, “When I hit the Powerball we can do this”. 🙂

The plan was to head to Lorain from Vermilion and hope to run into some good marks to set up on. I stopped once when the screen was full, but I didn’t think they were the right fish, or even the right flavor of fish, so we moved further north… about halfway between Vermilion and Lorain.
The Garmin was marking fish the entire way, but they looked better in this area.

The Ulterra and Baby Merc were deployed and worked in unison to steer us to the NNE at a FishHawk speed of 2.3-2.5 mph. The marks were thick, along with thick schools of forage showing up like big blobs on the screen. The fish were feeding on the schools of minnows or bugs (whatever they were), so the competition would be tough.

The Dipsies went out first. The zero settings were set to 35 and 40 to start, and the two settings were set to 60 and 70 back. BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. Blue/Silver would be the dominant color for the morning.

Since Walter and Lisa fished with me earlier in the week, they already had been trained and knew the routine. Walter was happy to take over checking and setting lines, and I was confident in his abilities that I didn’t need to interfere by nagging him with instructions. I only explained that we were probably going to have to keep checking the lines for itty-bitties that would be hard to see when they are just hanging there.

After the first 5 itty-bitties, the two setting at 60 back on the port side went back aggressively a few times, and Lisa jumped up to get it. Walter was always there to help his 5-foot-tall wife get the rod out of the rod holder, turn off the clicker, and pop the mechanism on the dipsey before handing her the rod. I thought at first it was probably a big sheephead, due to her struggling to reel it in, but it wasn’t acting like a sheephead.

To all of our surprise, it was a 28 1/4″ 8-pound walleye. Luckily, it had almost swallowed the spoon, so the one little hook wasn’t going to let go, and Walter landed Lisa’s big fish in the net. I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath as they were trying to net it until it was in the boat, and I let out a deep sigh. lol

Lisa was so excited to have caught it, and said, “This just made my entire week!” It was only 7:30, so we had all morning to try and catch more like that. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. We caught a lot of fish, but mostly small eyes, white bass, white perch, and sheephead. We would only catch a total of 5 keepers all morning. The best leads were the zero at 45 and 50 back, and the two setting at 60 and 84 back.

One of those keepers was caught on a fast turn, when we had to get out of a ship’s way. We were only two miles out when it came out of the mouth of the river, so it wouldn’t have taken long for the ship to run us over, had we stayed on the same line without noticing them. Good thing I keep my head on a swivel most of the time. Whew!

They both said they had a great two days fishing with me, even though we didn’t limit, and would like to come back again…and that makes me happy!

I had two older men this morning (9/11) that I picked up from the Whitecaps…did the usual stops and hit Catawba. Launched the boat, and the power steering in the steering wheel was making a liquid, squishy-washy sound that wouldn’t stop, so the trip was canceled. I wasn’t going to risk the power steering going out when I’m miles out. They understood and told me to hold their deposit for another time.
We went and grabbed breakfast and had a good chat before taking them back to the Motel.

I don’t know when my next trip is, because I don’t have anything scheduled until the 25th right now. Next week is out, because I have too many vehicle appts to get both my car and truck fixed…and now, I have to get the boat down to Fisherman’s Central to have the line bled, or whatever they need to do to fix this power steering issue. It’s never ending…deep sigh.

Stay tuned….

Capt Juls

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Many of you will remember Capt. Sam Porkchop was a daily poster to this site in past years along with Capt. Jules. I see his new 67 site RV park has begun on Bridge Rd. (I believe that is also State Rt 163) across from the Dog Park and around the corner from Fort Firelands and the Canoe Club restaurant. They have begun the 8 million dollar project with a pole building at the front of the ground. Capt Sam wanted to have a place for all the out of town fishermen to have their boats with them as they camp right next to their boats and equipment.

Finally got out today after plenty of shore duties.
Late start, and to g can, closer to shore not much in the way of waves but out at g can bouncy. two small perch and one small white perch.

Went to h can, noting not bouncy, but no bites.

Went east from h can and again, no bites.

goldies spreaders no bling

so the good is a safe trip, the bad is no yellow gold and the ugly is I will probable back tomorrow!

anyway, I think or hope that once the water starts to cool down the big fish will be back.

be safe,
Water Dog

One baby walleye today, but zero keepers. Just two keeper white bass.

We had our lines in the water before sunrise. Only 10% moon last night. Perfect “walleye chop” today. We tried various colors, depths, speeds, directions. Used only smaller cranks with snap weights, and spoons with divers.

First we tried the 38 fow hump that is 7 miles NW of the harbor – marked a lot of small fish and big blobs there but nothing looked like walleye.

Trolled our way east to the north end of the dump where it was bout 52 fow. Marked very few fish on the way. In the dump, we only marked small fish. However, a half a mile north of it we found a number of walleye-looking marks. A dozen boats were fishing within sight of that area. No biters for us. Maybe crawler harnesses would have worked? Maybe they weren’t even walleyes.

We gave up after half a day, but for the fun of it took a ride out to the weather buoy. Saw some very walleye-looking marks right next to it, but by the time we got our lines in the water they disappeared. Didn’t bother to turn around and try to find them again. Trolled SE from there for half an hour and then headed home.

Three of us went out after perch yesterday. Fished south of Rattlesnake, south of Green, east of the monument, north of D Can, and northeast of Niagara. Slow bite and small fish everywhere. I?m used to perch fishing in October and November. Was it the 90 degree heat and lack of breeze? Water temp related? What brings in the larger and more active perch?

Can someone giv me the address of the Bait shop in Curtice thathas shiners most of the time

The dogs woke me up half an hour early, so I had extra time to spend with them out on the back deck. The coffee was hot and going down well. They cruised the fenceline looking for any critters that might be lurking close. They found none, but came back looking like they had just done their good deed for the day.

The air temp was 73 degrees, the sky was cloudy, and the wind was light and variable out of the SSW. My weather app (NOAA-Clime) notified me that rain would be starting in 2 hours and 45 minutes, so I checked the RadarScope app to see where that rain system was at the time…and to check if it was a heavy rain or just a misty rain. The radar showed it was a misty kind of rain, so even if we got rained on, it wouldn’t be bad or last too long.

I was meeting Melinda, “Mindy”, and her friend Melissa at the Huron ramp at 6:30. I wanted to be launched by 6:45 since sunrise is now 7 a.m., because I like to get a pic of the sunrise out on the water.

I left the house at 5 a.m., and hit the gas station for some gas for the Vexus and some ice for the coolers. Then, hit the highway to Huron. I got there at 5:45, and proceeded to ready the boat. I wanted to get there early, so I had time to clean the boat with a towel and some spray wax, and shine her up. I hadn’t had time to do it yesterday, so I made time this morning.

It was perfect timing…they showed shortly after I was all done. It was 6:15, so they were early, too. The morning was starting out very well…lol
It got even better when I asked a gentleman readying his boat, “Would you be willing to dump us in and park the truck? I have a spare, so you could just lock the keys in the truck. I have two women today that are not comfortable backing me in.” He said, “Sure! Not a problem, just give me a minute”. I didn’t get his name, but I wished I had, so I could thank him here. But if he reads this….he knows who he is. 🙂

We were headed straight out of the river to the north. The Garmin was picking up fish along the way, and when the marks were more plentiful, I shut her down. The Ulttera when down and the Baby Merc was deployed. The Ulterra ran on power level 5, and the iPilot kept the boat on a northerly course.

After the FishHawk went down to 18′, and started registering the speed, I adjusted the Baby Merc’s RPMs with the “iTroll” controller to hit a speed of 2.3-2.5 mph.

The dipsies went out first. The zero settings were set to 25 back and 44 back to start. I normally run a three setting on the two outside dipsies, but today I ran a 2 setting at 53 and 65 back. BadMo, Yeck, and Scorpion spoons were used. Green and slivers did best. The orange one and the blue one I normally use didn’t work today, so they didn’t stay out long.

Bill Lewis PWC Lites with 2oz run behind Off Shore boards caught a handful of walleye. The “Purple Tiger” at 50/47 (total of 97′ of line out behind the board) caught 4, and the “Red Tiger” at 50/24 (74 total) caught 1. The rest were caught on the spoons.

Two kitties hit the net. The first one was maybe 2-3 pounds, and the second one was around 8 pounds. I didn’t weigh it, but it was heavy to lift. Melissa achieved her personal best big fish to date, which was only a 22 incher and caught the catfish, too. She had never caught a catfish before, either, so she kept it.

Melinda is a retired people doctor, and helps a farm rescue (I think…or, it’s something like that), and Melissa has her own dog grooming business. These two friends like to get together and do things from time to time. Today, it was fishing. We had tried a few times earlier this season to get out, but it was either Mother Nature being bitchy, or a runaway adventurous dog that stayed out for 6 nights and 7 days. He finally got reunited with Melissa, and all is well again. 🙂

The weather was perfect, and it never rained on us at all. The wind was SSE out of Huron, and was really nice for a few hours and then picked up a little as the morning went on. I decided to turn the nose of the Vexus around and go into the waves as we made our way back to shallower water. The Garmin was showing fewer marks over 45′ of water than it did over 35-40′ water.

It just dawned on me that I never looked at the water temperature, so I can’t tell you what it was. I’m sure it’s still in the mid-seventies, though.

It was a grind early, but as the pieces of the puzzle became clearer, we were able to put a program together that gave us 10 nice eaters and one big kitty in the cooler.

Mindy and Melissa both said they had a great time, and want to do it again next spring, and that makes me happy!

I’ve rescheduled tomorrow’s trip to mid-October. It’s going to get hot the next couple of days, and the bite is tough, so I’m okay with that.

I’ll be back out for 4 days next week with three different groups.

Stay tuned….

Capt Juls

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Late yesterday afternoon, I got a call from Dan asking if I had this morning open to go fishing. He didn’t care whether we were chasing walleye or perch, and said he had never gone perch fishing before, so that’s what I chose. Everyone should go perch fishing at least once in their life. It’s relaxing, and can be a blast when the bite is going good!

Dan is here in town with his co-worker, Greg. They fly a private company jet for someone who is here in town taking care of business. Since they had a day to goof off, he called his girlfriend Stephanie to see if she wanted to go fishing, too. She did. She’s a police officer in Chicago and had some vacation days to use up, so she drove the 4-hour trip over to go with us.

I picked them up from the Fairfield Inn at 6 a.m., and we headed to Hi-Way Bait to see if they had any minnows. They did, but they were Goldies…not Emeralds. 🙁
I bought 3 scoops of those, and had about 4-5 scoops of frozen Sand Shiners with us, too.

We launched from Mazurik’s at 6:45(ish) and headed to the east side of Kelly’s. I decided to go that way up to the east side of Middle Island, because the wind was out of the west at 8-10 mph, and the lee side of the island would be a faster and more comfortable ride. I was right. I even got to open up the V-10 for a bit..as it was a 6″ chop for the length of the island.

I would watch the Garmin and hit “Mark” as we passed over some good marks, as we headed up to my original destination. So, if that spot was a bust, we could come back to these areas to try.

We found some good marks up by the east side of Middle Island over 39 feet of water. I got everyone set up with rods and baits. They were using the “Fishing Addiction Flies”, and I had on one of my homemade crappie rigs with chartreuse beads. I hadn’t even gotten my minnows in the water yet, and Dan hooked into a real dandy. That got us all excited, and I thought we hit the jackpot. But, just like a nightmare tournament day…where you catch a fish in the first 5 minutes and then nothing…it was like that. lol
It took a little while before any more were caught, but they were caught close enough together to keep us interested and staying there. The fish were moving in and out of the area.

With Spot-Lock, the lines are usually staying vertical over the side, but the undercurrent was strong up there…from the NE to the SW, and had the lines slanting.

Eventually, we would leave that spot and find the school again…set up, and then catch a few, only to have them leave us again. In total, we hit 6 spots. Three up there and three on the way back down (spots that I had marked earlier)

The bites we did have were both super light and aggressive. The light biters snatched a lot of minnows, but the more aggressive ones took a ride with us, or fed a seagull. We didn’t catch a lot of White Perch, so the seagulls were sad. Small perch went back, mostly no worse for the wear.

The fishing was fun, and the company was great! They are very interesting people, and it was a lot of fun getting to know them. They all said they had a great time, and Dan said he wants to come back next spring and do some trolling for Walleye, and that makes me happy.
He has his own boat, but usually does jigging or drift casting from it.

The weather was absolutely beautiful this morning, and a nice day to be on the water….even if the fish didn’t want to cooperate like we wanted them to.

My next trip is with Melinda Phinney and her friend on Monday the 31st. They want to do walleye, so we’ll probably launch at Vermilion to try our luck.

Stay tuned…

Capt Juls

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