day one memorial day,arrived at little teds around 1230 got boat in water around 130 headed out to north west corner kellys island started in 30 ft water heading northeast started catching around 38 ft water 40jet divers set around 35 to 50 ,dipsey divers set on 2.5 out 40.started catching fish on kickin chickin uv,poo bear chartruse and dirty whiteboy and a bait i made i call miss america which has been killing it for years.i take a scorpion stinger rainbow trout paint the back a kelime color.lights out every year mostly a sunny day spoon.limited out by 430 ,18 fish.day 2 started where i left off in 40 ft water same baits few diffrent on the ones that werent producing.one thing that was most important was speed 2,4 to 2.5 was key.anything under 2.2 nothing over 2.6 nothing.got out day 2 7 am back by 1030.the farther east bigger the fish.day 3 started half way across kellys island north side 45 ft water heading east limited out by noon bigger fish slower bite.another 18.day 4 dad an brother showed up now need 30 for limit.started little farther east ended up past the north east kellys school past the green boyes heading east 45 to 49 ft water.same spoons all week got our 30 by 1230 .same thing on friday ony back by 1030 30 fish.dipseys back 50 ,jets back 45.great trip.not many junk fish.one big cat few sheephead couple white bass.cant wait till nexr year
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Perch Season?
Wife and I would like to schedule a couple of perch charters out of Port Clinton this year and was wondering when would be the best time to do it? We are both retired so and time will work. Any help is deeply appreciated.
6/3 Report
We got our guest from Southern Ohio’s second day in this morning. He was supposed to fish today and Sunday, but we scrambled to get him a trip yesterday afternoon and again this morning. We have fished with him before and he understands Erie winds and was very flexible and appreciative to get his days in.
We worked the same area as the last few days west of Rattlesnake. We got our limit early and played some catch and release before scooting back before the winds.
The area is still holding fish but the quality is steadily deteriorating and the sheep are steadily getting worse. This was probably our last trip over there for the year and we will start moving east. I am surprised it held up this long.
See our previous report for the program we are using as it has not changed.
We hope to get one more trip in Monday before some scheduled time off for family festivities will keep us ashore for a few days.
Long Boat Ride with John 6/1
Was planning to fish Thursday with John and our classmate Phil.We all had Canadian licenses and John and Phil were fishing Wednesday for bass and…
Fishing Day 2 with Jim and Harold Nelson… June 3, 2023
I’m always a little more relaxed when I have the same crew as the previous day, because I know they have already learned the basics, and the second day lets them refine their skills a little more, without all my constant instruction. 🙂
The dogs were happy I got up early, because they needed to go pee. We went out to the backyard, and they did their business, while I checked the wind forecast for the day. iWindSurf was showing 14 out of the north at Put-in-Bay at 2:30AM, but by 3AM it had subsided to only 9mph. I checked the BoatUS app, and they had a small craft advisory starting at noon today, and going through to tomorrow morning.
I figured it would be a decent morning, and we would get our fish relatively quickly, and get off the water before the winds starting gusting.
I told my crew I would pick them up at 5:00, but I showed up at 4:45. They were in the lobby ready to go, so when they saw me pull up, they came out. Jim said, “I read your blogs, so I know you’re always early”. I could only giggle at that.
We hit the gas station for the usual, and headed back over to Catawba to launch. I had a new area to fish east of the Bass islands, but figured if the NE wind came earlier than expected, I could scoot back over to the west side of them and then down the protected side, to get back.
We launched just before 5:30…or, tried to. I forgot to unhook the bow strap, so it wasn’t as fast as it normally is. lol I had to pee when we got to Catawba, and got out of my routine of readying the boat. Oops! Thanks, Jim, for getting your feet all wet, to get us off the trailer!
We got to the east side of the islands and set up over 35 feet of water, doing a north to south trolling pass. The waves were 2 foot or less on that side of the islands (hardly any waves on the west side of them), so it was a nice morning.
We didn’t use any dipsies this morning, and set up with all Bandits. And, before I forget to mention it…for those that read my report yesterday, the “Eriegardless Custom Color, “Bagger”, that I thought was a Bill Lewis PWC color was in fact, a Bandit. 🙂
We ran both sides pretty similar in depths. The port side ran a Blue Shiner (stock color) on the outside board at 70, Green Clown (stock) at 60, IB Infected (DJ Custom Eye Lure color) at 50, and Bagger (Eriegardless) at 40.
The starboard side ran the Blue Shiner at 75, IB Infected at 65, Blue Shiner at 55, and Bagger at 45.
Every single one of them caught fish.
Speed was 2.1-2.3 GPS and 2.0-2.1 on the Fish Hawk. Water temps are getting close to 70 now.
At one point, we had to pick everything up to go get a board that either had a fish, a snag, or a dead body that was spooling the reel. Ugh… luckily, it was just a stupid sheephead hooked sideways, that was getting the better of Harold. But, we needed to pick up and run back up to make another pass anyway, so we grabbed it, and the fish, on the way up.
We had a much better grade of fish today, than we had yesterday on the west side, and only two sheephead. There were only two shorts too. Everything else was a good eater. I think, the smallest one was 18″, and the biggest was 23-24″. (I didn’t bother to measure it).
Jim was working the port side of the boat like a champ today, and the Off Shore boards were in line, marching like good little soldiers, and he even got the clicker down today….clicker on, going out….clicker off, coming in. I didn’t have to tell him to turn it off, at all. He must have gone to bed thinking about that before he fell asleep, so it would be in his subconscious this morning. 😉
Harold had an easier day, since we let him sit while reeling in the fish. He’s got some bad knees, and it was a bit too rough for him to be able to stand. But, he managed well, and got his limit…as did Jim, and me.
As I type this, the wind has picked up, and will be blowing all night. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for sustained NE wind at 23 with gusts to 30mph. I’m sure that small craft advisory will be adjusted and will not end at 8am tomorrow morning, like they are saying right now.
I’m off Monday, for my birthday, and Tuesday was a reschedule, so I won’t be back out until Wednesday.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
The dogs were happy I got up early, because they needed to go pee. We went out to the backyard, and they did their business, while I checked the wind forecast for the day. iWindSurf was showing 14 out of the north at Put-in-Bay at 2:30AM, but by 3AM it had subsided to only 9mph. I checked the BoatUS app, and they had a small craft advisory starting at noon today, and going through to tomorrow morning.
I figured it would be a decent morning, and we would get our fish relatively quickly, and get off the water before the winds starting gusting.
I told my crew I would pick them up at 5:00, but I showed up at 4:45. They were in the lobby ready to go, so when they saw me pull up, they came out. Jim said, “I read your blogs, so I know you’re always early”. I could only giggle at that.
We hit the gas station for the usual, and headed back over to Catawba to launch. I had a new area to fish east of the Bass islands, but figured if the NE wind came earlier than expected, I could scoot back over to the west side of them and then down the protected side, to get back.
We launched just before 5:30…or, tried to. I forgot to unhook the bow strap, so it wasn’t as fast as it normally is. lol I had to pee when we got to Catawba, and got out of my routine of readying the boat. Oops! Thanks, Jim, for getting your feet all wet, to get us off the trailer!
We got to the east side of the islands and set up over 35 feet of water, doing a north to south trolling pass. The waves were 2 foot or less on that side of the islands (hardly any waves on the west side of them), so it was a nice morning.
We didn’t use any dipsies this morning, and set up with all Bandits. And, before I forget to mention it…for those that read my report yesterday, the “Eriegardless Custom Color, “Bagger”, that I thought was a Bill Lewis PWC color was in fact, a Bandit. 🙂
We ran both sides pretty similar in depths. The port side ran a Blue Shiner (stock color) on the outside board at 70, Green Clown (stock) at 60, IB Infected (DJ Custom Eye Lure color) at 50, and Bagger (Eriegardless) at 40.
The starboard side ran the Blue Shiner at 75, IB Infected at 65, Blue Shiner at 55, and Bagger at 45.
Every single one of them caught fish.
Speed was 2.1-2.3 GPS and 2.0-2.1 on the Fish Hawk. Water temps are getting close to 70 now.
At one point, we had to pick everything up to go get a board that either had a fish, a snag, or a dead body that was spooling the reel. Ugh… luckily, it was just a stupid sheephead hooked sideways, that was getting the better of Harold. But, we needed to pick up and run back up to make another pass anyway, so we grabbed it, and the fish, on the way up.
We had a much better grade of fish today, than we had yesterday on the west side, and only two sheephead. There were only two shorts too. Everything else was a good eater. I think, the smallest one was 18″, and the biggest was 23-24″. (I didn’t bother to measure it).
Jim was working the port side of the boat like a champ today, and the Off Shore boards were in line, marching like good little soldiers, and he even got the clicker down today….clicker on, going out….clicker off, coming in. I didn’t have to tell him to turn it off, at all. He must have gone to bed thinking about that before he fell asleep, so it would be in his subconscious this morning. 😉
Harold had an easier day, since we let him sit while reeling in the fish. He’s got some bad knees, and it was a bit too rough for him to be able to stand. But, he managed well, and got his limit…as did Jim, and me.
As I type this, the wind has picked up, and will be blowing all night. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for sustained NE wind at 23 with gusts to 30mph. I’m sure that small craft advisory will be adjusted and will not end at 8am tomorrow morning, like they are saying right now.
I’m off Monday, for my birthday, and Tuesday was a reschedule, so I won’t be back out until Wednesday.
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
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Casting Erie Dearies 6/2/23
Headed out from West Harbor late afternoon towards AE Shoal. Stopped in 30 FOW between PIB and Kelley’s, closer to Kelley’s. First line in the water at 4:15. First fish was a 17 incher on the 4th cast and it was on. Ended up with 8 nice eaters in about 3 hours, the biggest being 21″
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Finally some good spinner fishing
Fished 2 1/2 hours late Friday 6/2 about a mile east of toussaint reef. Got 4 into the net, lost one at the boat and probably 3 more further back. Unfortunately my wife got skunked. She drifted a bottom bouncer and we just were not moving fast enough.
The ones I caught were on a green and white beaded spinner with gold fish scale type blade and a 1/2 ounce sinker. The water was 21 – 22 feet deep and very clear. 73 degrees at the surface. I was using a count of 8 to 10 and working it back to the boat. I would guess the fish were down 12 to 15 feet or so
6/2 Report
We did what we try to never do. We ran 2 trips today. Our weekend trip needed to be rescheduled due to the coming wind but he was already here so we made it work.
This morning we went out at 7:00 with 3 guests from Tennessee. We went where we finished yesterday West of the Islands in 32 feet of water. We trolled at 2.5 mph pulling Bandits on port and spros on Stbd, both unassisted. The Bandits were 100 back and Spros 80. The best colors were anything with green. Sea sick frog both the white and chrome version produced well along with Parrot Head, green clown, and Gold Perch.
The downriggers were 17 to 24 down running Perch Stingers. The largest fish came on the downriggers.
We caught their 18 and was back by noon.
The second trip was with a guest from southern Ohio. We left the dock at 4:00 and was back at 9:00 with another 18. His and our limits. We ran the same program as earlier at the same place.
We were having trouble with sheep and why the faster speed. It reduced the sheep a little but they were still a nuisance.
Fishing with Jim and Harold… June 2, 2023
I thought I was going to be late picking my crew up at 5AM, since I had to water my gardens before leaving, since we haven’t had any rain for a couple of weeks now, but I made it two minutes before I had to be there, whew!
Jim and his Dad Harold drove in from Iowa for a two day trip with me, and luckily, the weather is perfect for it. This morning, the skies were clear, the air temp was 67 degrees, and the wind was pretty much nonexistent. The lake was flat. We put in at Catawba at 5:30 and headed north again.
As a beautiful sunrise began, we set up over 31 feet of water on the west side of the islands. The Terrova steered us northwest, as the baby Merc putted along at a speed of 2.2-2.3mph. The Fish Hawk was reading a water temp of 67 degrees and a speed of 2.0mph, down below at 15 feet. The Helix was reading 69 degrees on the surface.
There was a lot of switching up on depths and colors, so I’m only going to mention what worked for us today, and save myself a lot of typing.
Bandits behind the Off Shore boards on the port side ran at 65, 45, and 35 back. Colors were “Buck Fever” (a Domka Outdoors color), and a color by Eriegardless Custom Lures called, “Bagger”.
EDIT: After looking up the color on Kelly Schmidt’s shop page, I think I was actually running two Bill Lewis PWCs, because the “Bagger” color for the PWCs is different than the one with the same name for the Bandit. The Bagger Bandit has a pink belly, and the Bagger PWC has a chartreuse belly. The one we used today had the chartreuse belly. It was a hot bait this morning…running at 35 and 45 back.
On the starboard side we ran two Bandits. The “IB Infected” (DJ Custom Eye Lure color) at 70 back and “Green Clown” (stock color) at 75 back. Each of those took several fish, too.
The dipsies/spoons were not as productive today as the cranks were, so we might just run a couple more boards tomorrow, and take out the dipsies on the three settings. They each might have caught one today. The zero setting at 30 and 36 did okay…not great, but good enough to use them again. The most productive spoon was a blue/silver/hammered Scorpion.
Jim and “Dad”, as I called him, are learning how this trolling gig works, and are liking it. We’re still working on the “turn the clicker off when reeling in” part, but other than that, they are doing a great job. They will get more practice tomorrow. 🙂
I haven’t decided if I want to launch out of Catawba or Mazurik’s yet. I’ll decide by morning.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Jim and his Dad Harold drove in from Iowa for a two day trip with me, and luckily, the weather is perfect for it. This morning, the skies were clear, the air temp was 67 degrees, and the wind was pretty much nonexistent. The lake was flat. We put in at Catawba at 5:30 and headed north again.
As a beautiful sunrise began, we set up over 31 feet of water on the west side of the islands. The Terrova steered us northwest, as the baby Merc putted along at a speed of 2.2-2.3mph. The Fish Hawk was reading a water temp of 67 degrees and a speed of 2.0mph, down below at 15 feet. The Helix was reading 69 degrees on the surface.
There was a lot of switching up on depths and colors, so I’m only going to mention what worked for us today, and save myself a lot of typing.
Bandits behind the Off Shore boards on the port side ran at 65, 45, and 35 back. Colors were “Buck Fever” (a Domka Outdoors color), and a color by Eriegardless Custom Lures called, “Bagger”.
EDIT: After looking up the color on Kelly Schmidt’s shop page, I think I was actually running two Bill Lewis PWCs, because the “Bagger” color for the PWCs is different than the one with the same name for the Bandit. The Bagger Bandit has a pink belly, and the Bagger PWC has a chartreuse belly. The one we used today had the chartreuse belly. It was a hot bait this morning…running at 35 and 45 back.
On the starboard side we ran two Bandits. The “IB Infected” (DJ Custom Eye Lure color) at 70 back and “Green Clown” (stock color) at 75 back. Each of those took several fish, too.
The dipsies/spoons were not as productive today as the cranks were, so we might just run a couple more boards tomorrow, and take out the dipsies on the three settings. They each might have caught one today. The zero setting at 30 and 36 did okay…not great, but good enough to use them again. The most productive spoon was a blue/silver/hammered Scorpion.
Jim and “Dad”, as I called him, are learning how this trolling gig works, and are liking it. We’re still working on the “turn the clicker off when reeling in” part, but other than that, they are doing a great job. They will get more practice tomorrow. 🙂
I haven’t decided if I want to launch out of Catawba or Mazurik’s yet. I’ll decide by morning.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
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6-1
Dropped lines North of Kelley’s at 6am. Was almost nonstop until 4 man limit. Had to work a bit for the last 6. Harnesses 20 to 40 back. Gold and chartreuse. 1.2 to 1.5