My nephew and his son are coming to Ohio to fish Walleye. My nephew will of course buy a license. His boy is just under 10 years old. Do I understand correctly that he can fish and can keep up to 6 walleye in addition to those that his dad and I catch?
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Fishing with Gary, Denny, and Gina….6/18/2024
The family went back to Wisconsin on Monday, so I had my normal morning routine, of taking the dogs out on the back deck with my cup of coffee, and my phone. I check the weather and wind apps for the morning’s forecasts, and figure out my game plan for the day’s trip, while the dogs eat their morning treat, and carry stuffed animals around, to show each other.
I liked heading out at 4am the day before, so I did it again, and after hitting the gas station for ice, I headed for Huron. The parking lot was empty, and so it was quiet. It was already a warm 75 degrees at 4:30, and the wind was light out of the SE. The app said it was supposed to be SW, but it was definitely coming out of the SE.
Gary, and his Nephew, Denny, and Denny’s wife, Gina were driving over from Norwalk, and showed up at 5am…15 minutes early.
I told them, “We can launch, but I’ll go real slow on the way out of the river…I need for it to lighten up a bit, so I can see out there”.
(I don’t know where nets are being set out there, but I have seen the commercial fisheries boat headed out of the river, each morning.)
We were out of the mouth of the river around 5:20. The Vexus got on plane and headed NNE. I had no where in particular I was headed to, because there are fish all over out there, right now. I just wanted to get to a little deeper water, like 43-44 feet, before I slowed down, to start looking at the fish marks.
It didn’t take long, to just say, “Let’s just start here”, because I had been marking fish the entire way out, and why leave fish, to go find fish. 😉
The FishHawk was deployed, and the speed set with the Terrova, and the baby Merc, before setting lines. This time, I decided to get the Off Shore boards out there first, because trying to get boards out, when the dipsies keep going off…can be frustrating.
I still have the same three Bill Lewis PWC Lites running behind the boards with 2oz Guppie weights, that I have been running the past 5 trips, or so…”Green Tiger”, “Emerald Shiner”, and “Barbie.
Green Tiger ran at 50/80, EShiner at 50/50, and Barbie at 50/27 at a speed of 2.5mph. These ran on the starboard side.
(For those new to this fishing speak… it means, 50 feet of line out…add the weight…let another 80 feet of line out, and attach the board).
Bandits ran on the port side at 120 (outside) 100 (middle) and 80 (inside), unassisted, (which means no weights).
The cranks were getting hit right away, so it took a while before we could get the dipsies out, but when we did, it was the same program I have been running for two weeks, over deep water.
The zero settings were running at 50 and 60. The two setting was at 65, and the three setting was at 55 back. Scorpion spoons and Yeck D-11s were chosen. “Confusion” was a hot one, so we ran two of those., Another one was one I don’t know the name of, but I got it at Hi Way bait, from the suggestion of DJ (DJ Customs), who was working the day that I stopped in. All I can tell you is that it’s copper, with a bit of red, and a black dot…and the back, or belly as I call it, was painted blue.
The wind app was wrong this morning, and the wind it was showing never showed up, so the lake was beautiful, and had a 6 inch chop. There was enough wind that the bugs that tormented us yesterday, were no where to be found today. What a relief!
Denny and Gina are from Arkansas, and had never fished for walleye before, so Denny was hands on learning, this morning, and worked hard to learn as much as he could. They had all caught their limits, and I reeled in three of mine, before Denny said, “If we have a limit, we can go in…I have to clean all these myself”. To which I replied, “Okay, if you’re all good, we’ll head back in, my dogs will be very happy to have me home early”. They all agreed.
They said they had a great time, and would like to come back again next June…and, that makes me happy! 🙂
I’m off tomorrow, to take the new pup to the vet for a check up, some shots, and a chip.
I’ll be back out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
I liked heading out at 4am the day before, so I did it again, and after hitting the gas station for ice, I headed for Huron. The parking lot was empty, and so it was quiet. It was already a warm 75 degrees at 4:30, and the wind was light out of the SE. The app said it was supposed to be SW, but it was definitely coming out of the SE.
Gary, and his Nephew, Denny, and Denny’s wife, Gina were driving over from Norwalk, and showed up at 5am…15 minutes early.
I told them, “We can launch, but I’ll go real slow on the way out of the river…I need for it to lighten up a bit, so I can see out there”.
(I don’t know where nets are being set out there, but I have seen the commercial fisheries boat headed out of the river, each morning.)
We were out of the mouth of the river around 5:20. The Vexus got on plane and headed NNE. I had no where in particular I was headed to, because there are fish all over out there, right now. I just wanted to get to a little deeper water, like 43-44 feet, before I slowed down, to start looking at the fish marks.
It didn’t take long, to just say, “Let’s just start here”, because I had been marking fish the entire way out, and why leave fish, to go find fish. 😉
The FishHawk was deployed, and the speed set with the Terrova, and the baby Merc, before setting lines. This time, I decided to get the Off Shore boards out there first, because trying to get boards out, when the dipsies keep going off…can be frustrating.
I still have the same three Bill Lewis PWC Lites running behind the boards with 2oz Guppie weights, that I have been running the past 5 trips, or so…”Green Tiger”, “Emerald Shiner”, and “Barbie.
Green Tiger ran at 50/80, EShiner at 50/50, and Barbie at 50/27 at a speed of 2.5mph. These ran on the starboard side.
(For those new to this fishing speak… it means, 50 feet of line out…add the weight…let another 80 feet of line out, and attach the board).
Bandits ran on the port side at 120 (outside) 100 (middle) and 80 (inside), unassisted, (which means no weights).
The cranks were getting hit right away, so it took a while before we could get the dipsies out, but when we did, it was the same program I have been running for two weeks, over deep water.
The zero settings were running at 50 and 60. The two setting was at 65, and the three setting was at 55 back. Scorpion spoons and Yeck D-11s were chosen. “Confusion” was a hot one, so we ran two of those., Another one was one I don’t know the name of, but I got it at Hi Way bait, from the suggestion of DJ (DJ Customs), who was working the day that I stopped in. All I can tell you is that it’s copper, with a bit of red, and a black dot…and the back, or belly as I call it, was painted blue.
The wind app was wrong this morning, and the wind it was showing never showed up, so the lake was beautiful, and had a 6 inch chop. There was enough wind that the bugs that tormented us yesterday, were no where to be found today. What a relief!
Denny and Gina are from Arkansas, and had never fished for walleye before, so Denny was hands on learning, this morning, and worked hard to learn as much as he could. They had all caught their limits, and I reeled in three of mine, before Denny said, “If we have a limit, we can go in…I have to clean all these myself”. To which I replied, “Okay, if you’re all good, we’ll head back in, my dogs will be very happy to have me home early”. They all agreed.
They said they had a great time, and would like to come back again next June…and, that makes me happy! 🙂
I’m off tomorrow, to take the new pup to the vet for a check up, some shots, and a chip.
I’ll be back out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Attached Images
Walleye west of west sister
Thinking about going out today and trying to get onto some walleye, I’m in the ottawa river and though about making a run out to sputnik and heading east towards west sister, is the action still happening there tight lines
Fishing Day 3 of 3 with Bob, Tom, and Dave…6/17/2024
Sorry, I forgot to post this trip’s report, due to family staying with me over the weekend.
Day 2 we didn’t go. When we got to the launch it was blowing over 20mph out of the SW, and we all agreed that the next day would be better, so no “Day 2”.
Day 3, we launched out of Huron, but ran back to the area we fished on day one, when we launched out of Vermilion.
Same program, speed, and baits.
Unfortunately, life got in the way of this story, but they are planning on coming back next year, so I’ll get a story done then.
Day 2 we didn’t go. When we got to the launch it was blowing over 20mph out of the SW, and we all agreed that the next day would be better, so no “Day 2”.
Day 3, we launched out of Huron, but ran back to the area we fished on day one, when we launched out of Vermilion.
Same program, speed, and baits.
Unfortunately, life got in the way of this story, but they are planning on coming back next year, so I’ll get a story done then.
I just wanted to post some of their pictures…:)
Capt Juls
Attached Images
Fishing with Vito…6/17/2024
I was off over the weekend, while family was here, so I was back to work this morning. The morning routine was disrupted, due to sleeping siblings, and me trying to keep two rambunctious dogs quiet, before I had to leave.
I decided to leave really early (4AM), so they would just go lay down and be quiet. I don’t know if that worked, because I was gone, but it was nice and quiet for me. lol
I hit the gas station to gas up the Vexus, and get some ice for the coolers, and headed back to Huron, where I would meet up with Vito at 5:15. But, when I got there at 4:45, the parking lot was empty, except for one vehicle, which just so happened to be Vito’s. 🙂
“What are you doing here so early?”, I asked. “Dad was sleeping, and I didn’t have anything to do in our room, so I thought I would just come early”, he said.
“Well, it’s still dark, so we have time”, I said. Vito hails from my home state of Wisconsin, fishes with me a couple times a year, and also bought my 2017 Ranger 621, so we had lots to talk about.
We launched, and headed out of the river around 5:15, and marked fish from the mouth of the river all the way out to 39 feet of water. We set up in the 39 feet, and pointed the boat on an ENE troll at a speed of 2.3-2.5mph. (Water temp is up to 71 degrees now).
We could only run 6 rods, because his 90 year old dad didn’t come along this morning. He fished with Vito yesterday, and that wore him out. We ran 4 dipsies with my usual program…two on each back corner. The inside rods were on the zero settings, and the two outside rods ran on the two and three settings.
Zero settings were catching best from 50-60 back, and the two setting was run at 65 back, while the three setting ran at the usual 55 back. Scorpion spoons, and Yeck spoons (D-11s) were non-stop catchers.
Two Bill Lewis PWC Lites ran behind the Off Shore boards with 2oz Guppie weights at 50/80 and 50/50, but the 50/80 caught more sheep than anything, so it was switched up to 50/50, because that one was catching nicer walleye.
A big pack of boats began to stack up, straight out of Vermilion, so we stayed south of them, and just kept going over the same fish. We sorted through about 25-30 fish to catch our 12 that went in the cooler, before heading back in at 7:45.
The Midge Fly hatch was brutal this morning, and covered everything in the boat, and us. The kind, where they get in your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears if you don’t cover up. It kind of pissed me off, because I had just detailed the boat yesterday, to get it back to showroom clean, and it’s not clean anymore….stupid flies. But, they are feeding the fish, so I can’t get too mad, when I see fat little bellies on our walleye here.
I’m headed back to Huron in the morning, to meet up with Gary Ebinger, his nephew, and his nephew’s wife at 5:15, to put some more fish in the cooler. 🙂
I hope the flies are less than they were this morning, but I did warn my customers, in case they are just as bad.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
I decided to leave really early (4AM), so they would just go lay down and be quiet. I don’t know if that worked, because I was gone, but it was nice and quiet for me. lol
I hit the gas station to gas up the Vexus, and get some ice for the coolers, and headed back to Huron, where I would meet up with Vito at 5:15. But, when I got there at 4:45, the parking lot was empty, except for one vehicle, which just so happened to be Vito’s. 🙂
“What are you doing here so early?”, I asked. “Dad was sleeping, and I didn’t have anything to do in our room, so I thought I would just come early”, he said.
“Well, it’s still dark, so we have time”, I said. Vito hails from my home state of Wisconsin, fishes with me a couple times a year, and also bought my 2017 Ranger 621, so we had lots to talk about.
We launched, and headed out of the river around 5:15, and marked fish from the mouth of the river all the way out to 39 feet of water. We set up in the 39 feet, and pointed the boat on an ENE troll at a speed of 2.3-2.5mph. (Water temp is up to 71 degrees now).
We could only run 6 rods, because his 90 year old dad didn’t come along this morning. He fished with Vito yesterday, and that wore him out. We ran 4 dipsies with my usual program…two on each back corner. The inside rods were on the zero settings, and the two outside rods ran on the two and three settings.
Zero settings were catching best from 50-60 back, and the two setting was run at 65 back, while the three setting ran at the usual 55 back. Scorpion spoons, and Yeck spoons (D-11s) were non-stop catchers.
Two Bill Lewis PWC Lites ran behind the Off Shore boards with 2oz Guppie weights at 50/80 and 50/50, but the 50/80 caught more sheep than anything, so it was switched up to 50/50, because that one was catching nicer walleye.
A big pack of boats began to stack up, straight out of Vermilion, so we stayed south of them, and just kept going over the same fish. We sorted through about 25-30 fish to catch our 12 that went in the cooler, before heading back in at 7:45.
The Midge Fly hatch was brutal this morning, and covered everything in the boat, and us. The kind, where they get in your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears if you don’t cover up. It kind of pissed me off, because I had just detailed the boat yesterday, to get it back to showroom clean, and it’s not clean anymore….stupid flies. But, they are feeding the fish, so I can’t get too mad, when I see fat little bellies on our walleye here.
I’m headed back to Huron in the morning, to meet up with Gary Ebinger, his nephew, and his nephew’s wife at 5:15, to put some more fish in the cooler. 🙂
I hope the flies are less than they were this morning, but I did warn my customers, in case they are just as bad.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Attached Images
Kelley’s
Coming up during the heat this week. Any fish around Kelley’s right now? TIA
Mayflies
How is the current mayfly problem on this western basin ? Was out a week ago and the bottom was covered about 4 ft from bottom. Any relief yet ?? Thanks in advance..
6/14-6/15
Came up Friday afternoon. Started about 5:00 pm. Fished between rattlesnake, and middle bass pulling harnesses target speed was 2mph. The wind however made a constant speed unattainable. The bite was actually pretty good, but lots of shorts. Sheep, and cats mixed in to keep me busy. The wind forced me off the water by 8:00pm ended up with 4 keepers all 16-18 nothing big.
Saturday I was waiting for the wind to die down, so I didn’t get out till 10:30. Fought wind, and waves all day. Stated same spot as yesterday. Water was horrible with the blow. Fish finder was almost useless with everything suspended in the water. Looked like a full screen bait ball! Tried everything. Harnesses, spoons, cranks. Moved all over, but still nothing. Finally moved the east point of middle bass. Not comfortable when I got there with the north wind, and running east to west along the shoal. Around 5:00 the wind was down, the lake laid down, and the fish turned on. Btw much cleaner water over there. Back to harness. I had not put anything in the box by 4:00pm. 4:00-6:00 got a limit of better fish 18-22 with one barely legal that swallowed. A bunch of shorts. A couple farm, and cat. Also caught my best walleye of the season! I had to squeeze the tail a bit, but got across the 29” line. He got to swim another day. Heading out now Sunday morning. Might be a short day. Weather buoy showing bigger waves than yesterday, but supposed to calm down until noon then pick back up.
Big boards VS Small boards
I went on a charter Friday out of Wild Wings and it was a beautiful day, we headed east and finally found some fish. The captain set up the big boards and showed us how to set the lines, this was a first for me, I have always used the small boards but never the big ones and it was a great adventure. I was just wonder what the pros and cons are using big boards because it seemed rather easy but I was only out for 6 hours so there might be some big disadvantages to them that we didn’t encounter. There was three adults and two young boys 10 & 12 and they were setting the lines but not connecting the rubber bands and clips. We ended the day with 27 in the cooler. I was just curious about the boards but I am sure it just boils down to personal preference.
Midges. What to do?
I’ve had my boat infested with midges. Is there anything to do to minimize. Going up to Erie next week with high temps and humidity and low winds. Fans, leaf blower, any ideas? Change spots?