We left out of Lorain at 730 and headed NW to about 48 ft of water. Set up the terrova and headed northwest at 1.1 to 1.5 on the finder. We ran bandits 120 unassisted,50/40 w/2 oz snaps,and 50/30 w/2 oz snaps on the left. On the right, we ran 110 unassisted,50/35 w/2 oz snaps, and 50/25 w/2 oz snaps. The morning started off quick when our middle board went off and we netted a nice 25″ male. Shortly after that both unassisted lines produced quality fish as well. Most of our bigger fish came on the unassisted rods. Had a two man limit in about 2.5 hours. Orange crush and taco salad were our winning colors today.
Category: Uncategorized
Fishing with Eric Vogel 3/2/2024
After a good 8 hours of sleep, I got up at 2am to have my coffee, check the weather apps, and get the dog outside to relieve himself. The weather apps informed me of a decent morning ahead. It was calling for cloudy, chilly, and damp to start the morning, but the fine mist that was in the air, early this morning, dissipated by the time we headed out of Mazurik’s, at 7am.
Eric drove in from Nebraska yesterday, to today and tomorrow.
We headed east from the launch, and marked fish the entire way, so we didn’t go far. We were over 35 feet of water, and the marks were mostly below 20′, but there were several that were hanging in that 15-20′ range that I like to target, so we broke out the Bandits, and P-10s, to start.
With only 6 lines running behind Off Shore boards, I let Eric run the Bandits on his side, and I put out 3 P-10s with 2oz snap weights. Working off the program that worked for me during the previous trip, I set the outside one at 35/35, the middle one 30/30, and the inside one 25/25. I’m sure I didn’t let them run long enough, but I wasn’t “feeling it”, and took them off. I replaced them with Bill Lewis PWCs at (outside to inside) 70, 53, and 40 back. (The Bill Lewis PWCs run a lot deeper than Bandits, with shorter leads…. example: Bandit at 65 back, is 15′ and the PWC at 65 back, is 20′).
Eric ran the Black Headed Wonderbread at 70, RC Crush at 60, and the Red Headed Wonderbread at 50 back.
Speed was 1.2-1.4 on the FishHawk, and showing 1.7-19 on the Helix’s GPS/SOG…as we went from west to east.
We just kept going around in slightly different circles, as we worked an area that had different groups of fish, moving west. When we would get over good marks, we usually got bit. The more scattered fish marks, were on the move, I think, and their goal was to keep moving west, but I could be wrong….I don’t speak fish, so they couldn’t tell me what their plans were for the day. 🙂
The Black Headed WB was by far the best color this morning, with RC Crush coming in with a close second. A “Slim Shady Custom” called, “Mint Condition” (pictured in the photos) caught the biggest girl of the morning…a nice 28 incher… (Eric released her).
Blue/Chrome at 60 back took one fish, and a Bill Lewis Black Headed WB at 40 back took one, too.
We switched out some colors that weren’t producing and ended up running colors that all had taken a fish or two.
The bite was better earlier in the morning, and slowed down as the morning progressed. It was still a pretty steady bite, just not as fast as we all know it can be on this lake.
The water is still cold….35.5 off of Marblehead
Eric had fun, and is looking forward to fishing again tomorrow, and that makes me happy! 🙂
We will be out again tomorrow…same bat time and same bat channel.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Eric drove in from Nebraska yesterday, to today and tomorrow.
We headed east from the launch, and marked fish the entire way, so we didn’t go far. We were over 35 feet of water, and the marks were mostly below 20′, but there were several that were hanging in that 15-20′ range that I like to target, so we broke out the Bandits, and P-10s, to start.
With only 6 lines running behind Off Shore boards, I let Eric run the Bandits on his side, and I put out 3 P-10s with 2oz snap weights. Working off the program that worked for me during the previous trip, I set the outside one at 35/35, the middle one 30/30, and the inside one 25/25. I’m sure I didn’t let them run long enough, but I wasn’t “feeling it”, and took them off. I replaced them with Bill Lewis PWCs at (outside to inside) 70, 53, and 40 back. (The Bill Lewis PWCs run a lot deeper than Bandits, with shorter leads…. example: Bandit at 65 back, is 15′ and the PWC at 65 back, is 20′).
Eric ran the Black Headed Wonderbread at 70, RC Crush at 60, and the Red Headed Wonderbread at 50 back.
Speed was 1.2-1.4 on the FishHawk, and showing 1.7-19 on the Helix’s GPS/SOG…as we went from west to east.
We just kept going around in slightly different circles, as we worked an area that had different groups of fish, moving west. When we would get over good marks, we usually got bit. The more scattered fish marks, were on the move, I think, and their goal was to keep moving west, but I could be wrong….I don’t speak fish, so they couldn’t tell me what their plans were for the day. 🙂
The Black Headed WB was by far the best color this morning, with RC Crush coming in with a close second. A “Slim Shady Custom” called, “Mint Condition” (pictured in the photos) caught the biggest girl of the morning…a nice 28 incher… (Eric released her).
Blue/Chrome at 60 back took one fish, and a Bill Lewis Black Headed WB at 40 back took one, too.
We switched out some colors that weren’t producing and ended up running colors that all had taken a fish or two.
The bite was better earlier in the morning, and slowed down as the morning progressed. It was still a pretty steady bite, just not as fast as we all know it can be on this lake.
The water is still cold….35.5 off of Marblehead
Eric had fun, and is looking forward to fishing again tomorrow, and that makes me happy! 🙂
We will be out again tomorrow…same bat time and same bat channel.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Attached Images
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Catawba State Park Boat Launch
I’m planning on making the drive from Hartville to Catawba on Monday and was wondering if the docks are in yet? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Paul
Satellite imagery
What’s the best site to find satellite images for Lake Erie
Fishing with Steve and Mick 2/26/2024
My alarm went off this morning, for the first time since last fall, and I woke up startled, wondering why it was going off…then, I remembered…I was going fishing! I jumped out of bed to get my coffee, and make sure the weather was still going to be nice today. To my delight, it was.
Steve called me the other day, asking if he and his friend, Mick, could get out with me today, so I checked the weather and wind forecasts, and told him, “Yes”.
I don’t usually run this early in the season, but with the mild weather upon us, I thought it was a good idea to take advantage of the nice weather, while we have it.
My boat is over in heated storage at the moment, so I left the house at 5:45 to go over to the bldg and grab her. Then, I hit the gas station, to gas up the Vexus and get ice for the coolers, and headed to Huron.
Steve and Mick drove in from MI this morning, and met me at the Huron ramp a little after 7. We were to meet at 7:30, but as usual, I was early. I had time to get everything set up, before they arrived, and was finished by the time they showed up, so we launched a little early.
We headed out of the river, and headed east towards Vermilion…searching water from 38-44′ of water. I wasn’t seeing the kind of marks I wanted to see, since Mick has never caught a walleye over 28″, and was hopeful to do that today, and I figured that the water would be a little cleaner to the east, than what I was seeing out in front of Huron.
I had already used up an hour looking, so I took a friend’s advice, who said he was working “stained” water at Huron, but was loaded with good marks…to go and fish over that way. So, off we went…headed back west.
When we got there, I could clearly see the cavitation plate, and the prop was slightly visible, so I was more positive that fishing would be okay there. The fish marks were all sitting below the 30 line, and not coming up, so I’m guessing with the clear sky last night, and the back end of a full moon, that the fish were feeding heavily overnight, and would get hungry again more towards the afternoon. And, from what I heard on the radio, it sounded like a lot of people were struggling, and asking if anything is working. The responses were few.
We set up with Smithwick P-10s on both sides, running with 2oz snap weights behind the Off Shore boards. We only put 7 nice fish in the box this morning, and lost 5 others, that didn’t hook themselves well enough.
Most of the fish came on a Fire Tiger color at 45/45…(for those new to snap weights…45/45 means, that you put a weight on at the 45 mark, and then let out another 45′ of line (total line out is 90), then, put the board on.
50/45, 45/45, 40/40 all caught.
At one point we took the P-10s off the port side and replaced them with Bandits. The Black Headed Wonder Bread at 120 back (unassisted) took two fish, and lost one . The other colors got changed out and set deeper, but the outside board was the only one to go, each time.
We were running 1.2-1.4 mph, but 1.3 was showing every time we caught a fish.
The FishHawk was showing 1.3, but the GPS was showing 1.7-1.8 mph.
Steve and Mick had a fun day, though, and said they want to come back again, soon, and will be watching the forecast. I’m looking forward to it, because they were a lot of fun to fish with. Both of them had positive attitudes and were just happy to be on the lake, on a nice day, spending time together.
I’m happy to report that everything was working the way it should be, after sitting for a couple months. However, I have to do the latest updates on the Humminbirds tomorrow, so fingers are crossed they both update without any issues. 🙂
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Steve called me the other day, asking if he and his friend, Mick, could get out with me today, so I checked the weather and wind forecasts, and told him, “Yes”.
I don’t usually run this early in the season, but with the mild weather upon us, I thought it was a good idea to take advantage of the nice weather, while we have it.
My boat is over in heated storage at the moment, so I left the house at 5:45 to go over to the bldg and grab her. Then, I hit the gas station, to gas up the Vexus and get ice for the coolers, and headed to Huron.
Steve and Mick drove in from MI this morning, and met me at the Huron ramp a little after 7. We were to meet at 7:30, but as usual, I was early. I had time to get everything set up, before they arrived, and was finished by the time they showed up, so we launched a little early.
We headed out of the river, and headed east towards Vermilion…searching water from 38-44′ of water. I wasn’t seeing the kind of marks I wanted to see, since Mick has never caught a walleye over 28″, and was hopeful to do that today, and I figured that the water would be a little cleaner to the east, than what I was seeing out in front of Huron.
I had already used up an hour looking, so I took a friend’s advice, who said he was working “stained” water at Huron, but was loaded with good marks…to go and fish over that way. So, off we went…headed back west.
When we got there, I could clearly see the cavitation plate, and the prop was slightly visible, so I was more positive that fishing would be okay there. The fish marks were all sitting below the 30 line, and not coming up, so I’m guessing with the clear sky last night, and the back end of a full moon, that the fish were feeding heavily overnight, and would get hungry again more towards the afternoon. And, from what I heard on the radio, it sounded like a lot of people were struggling, and asking if anything is working. The responses were few.
We set up with Smithwick P-10s on both sides, running with 2oz snap weights behind the Off Shore boards. We only put 7 nice fish in the box this morning, and lost 5 others, that didn’t hook themselves well enough.
Most of the fish came on a Fire Tiger color at 45/45…(for those new to snap weights…45/45 means, that you put a weight on at the 45 mark, and then let out another 45′ of line (total line out is 90), then, put the board on.
50/45, 45/45, 40/40 all caught.
At one point we took the P-10s off the port side and replaced them with Bandits. The Black Headed Wonder Bread at 120 back (unassisted) took two fish, and lost one . The other colors got changed out and set deeper, but the outside board was the only one to go, each time.
We were running 1.2-1.4 mph, but 1.3 was showing every time we caught a fish.
The FishHawk was showing 1.3, but the GPS was showing 1.7-1.8 mph.
Steve and Mick had a fun day, though, and said they want to come back again, soon, and will be watching the forecast. I’m looking forward to it, because they were a lot of fun to fish with. Both of them had positive attitudes and were just happy to be on the lake, on a nice day, spending time together.
I’m happy to report that everything was working the way it should be, after sitting for a couple months. However, I have to do the latest updates on the Humminbirds tomorrow, so fingers are crossed they both update without any issues. 🙂
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Attached Images
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2/26 PB Report
Got to take a friend along with me today and had a really great day on beautiful Lake Erie. We launched out of Vermilion just before sunrise and got out on the lake in time to see the sun rise over the calm waters. Headed northeast until we got to 42 fow and started checking for good marks. It wasn’t until we got out to about 47 fow that I started see the kind of marks that I liked. We pulled mostly P10’s and DDHJ’s. For the first couple hours we had a pretty consistent bite and within about 3 hours we had our limit. Speed was 1.2 to 1.6 but it seemed like change in speed triggered the bite as much or more than just a constant speed. About the time we had around 8 or 9 in the boat I noticed my outside board going off. I was running a Livingston EBS Walleye 136 in Tequila Sunrise on that board. I think it was set at 40/20. After releasing the board and letting it drift to the back of the boat I began to slowly reel it in. I wish I could say that it pulled as hard as any walleye I ever caught, but it definitely did not. In fact compared to the other ones that I caught that morning, this one came in as easy as any of them. All I can figure is that it must have been swimming towards the boat most of the time because when I was able to see it I was quite shocked at the size. My net man got the net caught on the boat on his first attempt to land her, but then was successful on his second attempt. Whew!!! It was definitely the fattest walleye I ever caught and she weighed in at 9.67 lbs. I know most of you have probably caught bigger eyes than that, but for me it was my PB!
I want to thank you all for all your input on this forum. I know for myself I wouldn’t be nearly as successful without people sharing the things they have learned, and a special thanks to Capt. Juls. So I guess in a small way this post is to give back to you all for all that I have benefitted.
Good luck to all and God Bless!
I want to thank you all for all your input on this forum. I know for myself I wouldn’t be nearly as successful without people sharing the things they have learned, and a special thanks to Capt. Juls. So I guess in a small way this post is to give back to you all for all that I have benefitted.
Good luck to all and God Bless!
Ramp’s
Does anyone know if Catawba or Mazurick ramps have the docks in yet.
Detroit River
Has anyone ventured out on the Detroit River lately? I’m curious what the water temp is? Or if there is a website to get that information. Thanks!
Maumee River Walleye in February
Just took a look at the Maumee Tackle river fishing report. Wow. Some walleye, and not small ones, were caught back around February 10-11. Not just a few, as in a two or three people. Several photos posted of people with two or three fish. Now these probably are not staging Lake spawners, but who knows. I have never heard of anyone catching walleye in the Maumee river in early February. The river fishery may be changing enough that there is now a pretty decent size resident population. Or, the mild winter and lack of ice may have brought a few fish in real early, staging for the actual spawn run coming up. Seems people are fishing a lot earlier now, including the river. Lake Erie boat fishing when there is no ice is now done in the winter, and not just a few boats. Will be interesting to see if any non-traditional areas and times of year start producing catches as people branch out and try new places and fish more in the “off season”.
Favorite trolling spoons
Looking to see what are your favorite trolling spoons for walleyes. (manufacturer, size, colors would be appreciated) Also would like to know the time frame when spoons become more effective. Heading to the lake the second week of May and will invest in more spoons if that time frame will produce on that style bait.