Went out with another couple for a couple hours. Fished just east of crib reef where there was a pack of boats. Looked around a little and marked fish all over so set up for a drift away from the pack. We picked up a dozen nice fish casting worm harness with white and red beads and gold hammered blades and 1/2 or 3/4 ounce slip sinkers. The fish were not very aggressive. Everything was on or close to the bottom. We had to slow our retrieve down to get them. Picked up two shorts that went back and a few white perch and sheepshead that also went back.
Category: Uncategorized
Catawba 5/18
Got 18 yesterday straight west of mouse over to F Can. Bandits 55-100 back. Baits with orange and pink bellies with chrome sides were best. All eaters, no big fish. Several shorts. 2.0-2.3 SOG. Headed towards Huron today to try and find a bigger grade of fish.
Tight lines ya’ll
Fishing Day 2 of 3 with Jason, Cindy, and John…5/18/2024
Jason, his bride Cindy, and his father, John, joined me again for another round of walleye fishing. This morning, was really foggy…and, we launched at 5:40, out of Catawba, so it was still a little dark out, too. It was too misty to wear any eyewear on the ride out, because it would just make it impossible to see, without wiping the lenses every 5 seconds, soooooo ….that was fun. (Negatively shaking my head).
We went slow, because of the fog, even though there were only a couple of boats out ahead of us, and the chances of meeting them were slim….but, the fact remained…there was a chance. So, slow and steady…with the navigation lights ON…was the decision.
It took much longer to get to our spot from yesterday, but we got there. We started out with the same set up that caught yesterday, but the bite wasn’t the same as yesterday. It was much slower. We were marking good fish on the ride up there, but as soon as we set up and turned back on them, they were gone.
Spoons didn’t do as well as they did yesterday, either. Bandits behind Off Shore Tackle Company boards from 60 to 97 back…”Barbie at 60 and 70 back was very good, again), Khaki Bandits assisted with 2oz snap weights run 50/18 (weight is put on at the 50 mark, and another 18 feet of line is let out, before the board is attached), and a “Pooh Bear” custom painted color, (by DJ) Flicker Minnow 11s at 120 back, took several, bigger fish, too.
Dipsies were two to a corner…
the inside rod ran on the zero setting anywhere from 25 to 40 back. The outside rod ran on the two setting anywhere from 45 to 60 back. Yeck Spoon, Scorpion Spoons, and BadMo Arrowhead Spoons were run. I tried some shallow diving “Yaleyes” for a bit, but they didn’t pull anything, so I went back to the spoons. The spoons started to light up as our trip was ending late this morning.
Speed was 2.0-2.3 mph on the FishHawk
Water temp was 62.4 degrees
We managed their three limits, and I caught 5 of mine. Like everyone else fishing right now, we had to go through a lot of little fish, to get our keepers. Those little fish are fast, and hungry! But, I’m still happy to see them, kiss their boo-boo, and set them free.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for even thicker fog in the morning, and clearing out mid-morning. I’ll see what it is in the morning….we may hold off on going out until later. The forecast shows it clearing at 10am.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
We went slow, because of the fog, even though there were only a couple of boats out ahead of us, and the chances of meeting them were slim….but, the fact remained…there was a chance. So, slow and steady…with the navigation lights ON…was the decision.
It took much longer to get to our spot from yesterday, but we got there. We started out with the same set up that caught yesterday, but the bite wasn’t the same as yesterday. It was much slower. We were marking good fish on the ride up there, but as soon as we set up and turned back on them, they were gone.
Spoons didn’t do as well as they did yesterday, either. Bandits behind Off Shore Tackle Company boards from 60 to 97 back…”Barbie at 60 and 70 back was very good, again), Khaki Bandits assisted with 2oz snap weights run 50/18 (weight is put on at the 50 mark, and another 18 feet of line is let out, before the board is attached), and a “Pooh Bear” custom painted color, (by DJ) Flicker Minnow 11s at 120 back, took several, bigger fish, too.
Dipsies were two to a corner…
the inside rod ran on the zero setting anywhere from 25 to 40 back. The outside rod ran on the two setting anywhere from 45 to 60 back. Yeck Spoon, Scorpion Spoons, and BadMo Arrowhead Spoons were run. I tried some shallow diving “Yaleyes” for a bit, but they didn’t pull anything, so I went back to the spoons. The spoons started to light up as our trip was ending late this morning.
Speed was 2.0-2.3 mph on the FishHawk
Water temp was 62.4 degrees
We managed their three limits, and I caught 5 of mine. Like everyone else fishing right now, we had to go through a lot of little fish, to get our keepers. Those little fish are fast, and hungry! But, I’m still happy to see them, kiss their boo-boo, and set them free.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for even thicker fog in the morning, and clearing out mid-morning. I’ll see what it is in the morning….we may hold off on going out until later. The forecast shows it clearing at 10am.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Attached Images
Who eats sheepshead?
My buddy says I’m fishing too deep if I’m catching a lot of sheepshead.
I think “sheepshead” are are actually freshwater drum since real sheepshead are a saltwater species.
Well I’m not ashamed to say I love them. They put up a better fight than walleye, and they seem to yield more meat.
We fillet them, sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary, and bake at 350. We bake them a little more well done than we would other species. They have almost no fish taste so my wife doesn’t mind them, and they don’t have the bottom-feeder dirt taste like a catfish. The flesh is firm. If you close your eyes, you think you’re chewing on a chicken breast.
I think “sheepshead” are are actually freshwater drum since real sheepshead are a saltwater species.
Well I’m not ashamed to say I love them. They put up a better fight than walleye, and they seem to yield more meat.
We fillet them, sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary, and bake at 350. We bake them a little more well done than we would other species. They have almost no fish taste so my wife doesn’t mind them, and they don’t have the bottom-feeder dirt taste like a catfish. The flesh is firm. If you close your eyes, you think you’re chewing on a chicken breast.
Are Freshwater Drum Good To Eat? You May Be Surprised! • Panfish Nation
5/17 morning report
About a 7.5 mile ride NNE out of Fenwick to 29 fow. A little misty but it was the first time I’ve seen the lake smooth. It was nice to be able to go full speed out and back. Counted 47 boats within sight.
We tried nothing but bandits behind inline planers, 70-120 feet back. Every depth worked. The fish liked all speeds between 1.6 and 2.3. We caught fish while trolling in every direction.
The hot lure early was dark purple with pink stripes and green head. As the sun started to burn through the clouds, the chartreuse back with red throat and white belly did well. Also caught several on a chrome with blue back, as well as copper greasy chicken wing. The black-headed wonderbreads didn’t work at all, nor any of the other spotted patterns.
Biggest was only 22″. We lost a few, threw back a couple shorts, and kept several that were barely legal. Yet I was thrilled to get our boat limit of 18 for my first time ever – and before 2pm.
I don’t know if it’s because planer boards have more drag than a jig, or if it’s because the fish are a little more awake now than in April, but they seemed to put up a little better fight than what I’m used to.
We tried nothing but bandits behind inline planers, 70-120 feet back. Every depth worked. The fish liked all speeds between 1.6 and 2.3. We caught fish while trolling in every direction.
The hot lure early was dark purple with pink stripes and green head. As the sun started to burn through the clouds, the chartreuse back with red throat and white belly did well. Also caught several on a chrome with blue back, as well as copper greasy chicken wing. The black-headed wonderbreads didn’t work at all, nor any of the other spotted patterns.
Biggest was only 22″. We lost a few, threw back a couple shorts, and kept several that were barely legal. Yet I was thrilled to get our boat limit of 18 for my first time ever – and before 2pm.
I don’t know if it’s because planer boards have more drag than a jig, or if it’s because the fish are a little more awake now than in April, but they seemed to put up a little better fight than what I’m used to.
Evening trip
Made a late decision to do a little night fishing. Left the dock just after 7pm. Planned on starting on touisaint but there was still a few boats on the reef so moved up to crib. Started on the east side, marked tons of fish up high in 24 fow so set bandits 30bk @ 2.0 expecting to get bites as we got up on the shallow stuff, but had 6 fish in the box before we even got to the reef. Pulled 2 monster fish Ohio sheep off the top of reef, then pulled gear and ran back to the east because the wind was a little more than it was supposed to be. Reset lines and had our 18 on the second pass before we got back to to reef and back to the ramp by 9:30…never even got to night fish… maybe Sunday night on touisaint with a SE wind? Huff Daddy seemed to get most of the bites
5/16 American Eagle Shoal
Started drifting and casting about 9am. Very slow drift and quite muddy. Not many marks and no fish went further north to nw of Kelly’s. Deeper cleaner water but nothing in the box. Went back to AES and with a little better drift got a 2 man limit of eaters. Back at dock at 3pm.
Fishing Day 1 of 3 with Jason, Cindy, and John 5/17/2024
This report is going to be short…my face kind of hurts right now, due to a pulled tooth yesterday.
Short story…
Fished over 28-29 feet of water…west of the Bass Islands.
They caught their limits, (I reeled mine in too), using Bandits, and Flicker Minnow 11s, behind Off Shore boards.
Dipsies with spoons…at a speed of 2.2-2.4mph (On the FishHawk)..
Zero setting at 30 and 35 back …
Two setting at 45-50 back…
Three setting at 47…
SOG was similar to the FishHawk, going from west to east.
Red Headed WB, or just a red and white one, with a black dot …was our best spoon…(Scorpions)
“Barbie” Bandit… 70 back was hot…as was the “Purple Glass Perch” Flicker Minnow11 at 120 back. We doubled up on those colors, and leads, and we were done by 9:15.
Nothing really big…a 22 or 23 incher, is the biggest caught this morning….the rest were 16-20” fish….just good eaters.
This lake is going to be some insane fun, in about five years. I’m glad to see all the smaller fish surviving, and getting fatter…
Same crew tomorrow…
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Short story…
Fished over 28-29 feet of water…west of the Bass Islands.
They caught their limits, (I reeled mine in too), using Bandits, and Flicker Minnow 11s, behind Off Shore boards.
Dipsies with spoons…at a speed of 2.2-2.4mph (On the FishHawk)..
Zero setting at 30 and 35 back …
Two setting at 45-50 back…
Three setting at 47…
SOG was similar to the FishHawk, going from west to east.
Red Headed WB, or just a red and white one, with a black dot …was our best spoon…(Scorpions)
“Barbie” Bandit… 70 back was hot…as was the “Purple Glass Perch” Flicker Minnow11 at 120 back. We doubled up on those colors, and leads, and we were done by 9:15.
Nothing really big…a 22 or 23 incher, is the biggest caught this morning….the rest were 16-20” fish….just good eaters.
This lake is going to be some insane fun, in about five years. I’m glad to see all the smaller fish surviving, and getting fatter…
Same crew tomorrow…
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Attached Images
Draggin the Line with John
John and I fished today west of the islands.Even though we had north winds to start the day, the velocity was light and had a comfortable morning on the lake.Took us 4 hours to catch our 12 fish that weighed 29 lbs at cleaners.Finally caught some fish with our dipsey and worm burners.But the bandits caught the majority of fish and definitely the larger fish.What caught best was the green/ copper worm burner on dipsey at a 3 setting at a 40 lead.The bandits that caught the best was IB frozen or gold color on leads of 90,85 and 80.Speed was 2.1 to 2.2 mph.Tried some white colors with no results too.We did throw back about 4 15″ fish and had a couple shorts.
Inline planer question
Working through my second season of using inline boards.
So far have things running pretty well thanks to many tips on this forum and various seminars.
How far do you keep the closet board from the boat?
I normally run 3 to 4 per side. I think I try to keep inside board at least 50 feet from boat.
How big of an effect do you think the boat has on spooking fish?
So far have things running pretty well thanks to many tips on this forum and various seminars.
How far do you keep the closet board from the boat?
I normally run 3 to 4 per side. I think I try to keep inside board at least 50 feet from boat.
How big of an effect do you think the boat has on spooking fish?