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Fishing with Francisco, Lonny, and Ted.. 5/12/2023

Guess what….I woke up early today…(sheepish grin)…made some coffee, fed the cats, got the dogs outside, and checked the weather.

It was going to be another fantastic day to be on the water. No rain, light wind, clear to partly cloudy skies, and an air temp in the low 50s to start. It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?


We launched out of Mazurik’s a little before 6am and headed to the north side of Kelly’s to start. Water temp on the surface was 54 degrees, but it was only 52 degrees down at 15′ in the water column, according to the Fish Hawk.


We set up with white bodied Bandits behind the Off Shore boards, running 90, 80, 70, and 60 on the port side and 80, 70, 60, and 50 on the starboard side.


Speed on the GPS was 1.9-2.0 to get a lure speed of 1.6-1.7mph.


Fish came on the 70, 80, and 90 foot leads, but it was a slow bite. The early bite was best, but it slowed way down for us around 8:30, so at 9am we picked up and ran to the west side of the bass islands, to try near Niagara. We stayed east of the pack that was there, and set a course back to Greene Island. We managed to pick up three more for a total of 10 for the day. We only lost three fish today, too, so it wasn’t a stellar bite for us, today.


My crew stayed positive, and enjoyed the morning. “Cisco” was making me very hungry with his talk of culinary experiments, that were successful. He built a brick oven in his backyard, for making pizzas, and showed me a picture of it. Oh, how I wish I had that in my backyard! It’s amazing! He said if I could ever stay awake late enough, that he would make me one. So, I guess that means I’m never getting a pizza. 😉


They had a good time, and learned a lot. They have boats, and wanted to learn the trolling game with the inline boards. They did a great job, and I have every confidence that they can now go run boards successfully from their own boats.
They also told me, they would like to make it an annual tradition, so that makes me very happy!



Tomorrow’s crew, which is a fella from MN, and his Mom and Sister, who live here in Lima, OH were notified of the NE winds, and chance of rain showers, tomorrow, and how it will cut down on the areas I can take them, to fish safely, and gave them the opportunity to back out, but they still want to go. It’s Mother’s Day weekend, so he told me, “I’ll be fishing all month, so if we catch fish, great. If not, it’s no big deal. I just want to spend time with my Mom and sister on the water”. So, we’ll give it a go…. we will be launching out of Catawba and seeing what we can find on the protected side of the island.


Stay tuned…


Capt Juls

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Thanks for the advice regarding jigging…

I finished a men’s conference at Parkside Church in Charagin Falls, Ohio about noon on Wednesday and headed over to the Port Clinton area with my 16′ boat. The weather could not have been any more perfect and I got on the water about 3pm. I launched out of Fenwick and went out front in 13-14′ of water. I bounced 3/4 oz purple hair jigs and caught only drum. I decided to troll a bit and caught one 18″ walleye in 17′ of water just west of where Fenwick launch puts you into the lake. As I was coming in at dark, there were a couple of smaller boats casting and most likely dragging jigs and I saw the nets go down a couple of times. I tried for a while but was just out of energy. I stayed the night at White Caps and can tell you the room was great with all you need. The room was clean and the price was very competitive. I was on the water this morning at about 5:30 and went out to 13′ of water as was suggested on this site. The first hour, I had 4 walleyes simply casting out and bouncing back a 3/4 oz purple hair jig/stinger. After about an hour with nothing, I got antsy and headed out to deeper water where all the other boats were over in the locust reef area. I managed to jig up a 17″ fish and a few drum. I needed to head home at about 11 so I settled for 5 nice walleye and appreciate the advice I received from this site. If I would have had a little more energy and had remembered my head light, I think you could do well jigging right at dark and for a period of time after dark. I was just too tired and wanted to hit it early this morning. Again thanks and my family and friends will enjoy the fillets…
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Fishing with Jerry and Mark, May 10, 2023

I woke up 20 minutes before the alarm was set to go off this morning, so I just got up and started the morning off with a good cup of coffee. The dogs were eager to get outside, so we went out on the back deck to check the weather. It was going to be a beautiful day, today. Yay!

I picked my crew up at the White Caps Motel at 5:15 and headed into town for the routine gas and ice stop at the gas station, and headed to Catawba to launch by 6am.


It was a clear sky this morning, and brighter than previous days, at the same time, so I felt like I was late, or something, but we weren’t. We hit the water a little before 6am, and while the 400 warmed herself up, I opened the rod locker and pulled out 8 rods, that were already baited up with Bandits, and put them in the rod holders, for the ride out.


The air temp was around 48 degrees, and there was no wind at all. The lake was like glass this morning. The only ripples on the water came from boat wakes, from boats that got out there before us. 🙂


We started in the same place I left off on Monday, which was west of the islands and east of the cans, in 30′ of water. Bandits ran on both sides of the boat, behind Off Shore Tackle boards, anywhere from 117 back to 40 back. Leads that caught the best today were 65, 70, 80, and 90′.


Best colors were white bodied baits again. The Red Headed Wonder Bread caught the most, then the full white one with the big black dot on the sides, that I don’t know the name of or who painted it… was second best, with RC Crush, Green Clown, Chrome Barbie, Chrome Black Headed Wonder Bread, and Blue Shiner all taking a fish or two.
We had three pullbacks that never hooked up, and lost two on the way to the boat. Most were lightly hooked, so they were definitely were not trying to inhale them, like they are known to do, from time to time.
The all white, no named Bandit, was out with a 2oz snap weight….first, at 50/27 (total 77′) and took one fish. Then, I set it at 30/30 with the 2oz, and it took two fish at that depth.



Speed was 2.0-2.2 (GPS) and 1.8-1.9 (Fish Hawk)


Water temp today was 53.7 degrees, but I’m sure by this afternoon it has gone up a notch or two.


Jerry and Mark did well learning the trolling game, and had a good time, while enjoying the gorgeous weather Mother Nature finally decided to bless us with. I hope she stays in a good mood for a while. I’m ready to start going barefoot in the boat! lol


I’m off tomorrow, to finish my gardens, but am scheduled the rest of the month with only two days scheduled off for the rest of the month…unless “Mother” decides to make it blow again.


Stay tuned….


Capt Juls

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5/8 Morning

Went out with my wife today. We fished about 2 hours and caught 4 keepers and a short. Jigging with purple 3/4 ounce. We were about a mile due north of the exit from Wild Wings marina in 16 – 17 feet of water. Had a very nice breeze for drifting. Got 3 of them in the first half hour and the bite slowed down. Water is 51 degrees there.
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Fishing with Dick and Brad, May 8, 2023

I got up early, made some coffee, and went out to the back deck with the dogs, to check the weather apps, and find out what was in store for my crew this morning.

The wind was gusting out of the north, but after a double check on the iWindSurf app, it was showing that it would slow down by launch time, which would be 6am out of Catawba.


I didn’t have to pick my crew up today, since one lives in Toledo, and the other right here on Catawba Island. They said they would just meet me there. So, Dick drove in from the west, and picked Brad up on the way to the ramp. We were in the water a little after 6am.


I was surprised to see the marine forecast calling for heavy fog, since there was still some wind, and usually with wind, there is no fog. Then, the wind stopped. It would still be a couple of hours before the fog rolled in, though….and at around 8:30 it rolled in pretty heavy.


We were fishing the west side of the islands, with Bandits, behind Off Shore boards, over 30 feet of water.


The port side ran RC Crush (DJ Custom color), Red Headed Wonder Bread (Domka Outdoors Custom color), Sea Sick Frog (pretty sure that’s a DJ’s Custom Eye Lures color, too), and one I don’t know who painted it…it’s all white, with just a big black dot on both sides.


The starboard side ran a Red Headed WB, (2) Wild Thing (JT custom color at FishUSA), and a Humble Bee w/Blk Stripes. All baits were run unassisted (no weights)….anywhere from 40 to 110 back. The best leads for us this morning were 70, 80, and 90. Fish were also caught at 110, 100, 57, and 77.


The hottest colors were the Red Headed WB, Wild Thing, the white one with the black dot, and RC Crush.


We started at a speed of 1.8-2.0 (GPS), which was 1.5-1.6mph on the Fish Hawk (speed at the lure), but struggled to catch early on. A tip from Capt Sam Downing said to speed it up, so we did 2.0-2.2 (GPS) which was 1.8-1.9 on the Fish Hawk, and we started catching much quicker. Thanks, Sam! 🙂


We put Dick and Brad’s 12 walleye in the cooler, and Brad decided he was ready to go in. They were under dressed for the outing, thinking it wasn’t going to be as chilly as it was. I’m still wearing my winter gear out there, right now, because I don’t like to be cold, and I can always take it off.
When we only had 8 fish, I gave Dick my warm Blackfish Storm Skin jacket, and gave Brad my AFTCO rain jacket, that I keep in my boat at all times, so they could stay out longer, to get their last 4 fish.


That helped, but Brad was still ready to go in after they got their 12, so we went in. It made my pups very happy…lol


Water temp, was 51.6 degrees where we were this morning.


Dick just sent me a picture of some fried walleye cheeks they were making for lunch…I’m jealous. 🙂


I’m off tomorrow, but will be back out on Wednesday.


Stay tuned….


Capt Juls

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5/7 report

After the rain passed through it was an absolutely beautiful day today. I actually got hot for the first time this year without running the boat heater. The lake was flat with just a slight ripple.

We were purposely targeting eaters. So we fished the same program as yesterday but moved even shallower into the 20 foot range. Water temp was 49. The Jacks did not disappoint and we had a limit of nice 16 to 20 inchers. While still cloudy Taco Salad was the best color 110 back. When the sun came out the fish came up and switched to Blue Chrome and anything white 60 to 80 back. The best speed was 1.6.

It is going to be a fantastic week but we needed to schedule some down time to catch up on some things as we are slammed non stop the next two weeks. So we will keep you posted when we get back on the water after Mother’s Day.

Good luck to all and try to share a little on here to help everyone keep catching.

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Jigging… Is afternoon/evening as productive as morning…

I have very limited experience jigging for walleyes on lake Erie. It seems as if the early bite is good and perhaps the best jig bite of the day. I am not able to get on the water until about 3 on Wednesday and am wondering if there is an evening jig bite or if I’m better off trolling. Every lake has its patterns and I live a bit too far away to know of the jig bite pattern on Erie. Any advice is appreciated…
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Be safe out there – boat on the rocks

Happened to see this yesterday while checking some Lake webcams. Boat on the rocks at the Marblehead Lighthouse.

Let’s make sure we check our boats out thoroughly and have all the required safety equipment before we start our season. And make sure we know what to do if a problem arises. It’s a sad sight to see this, especially knowing that most likely it could have been avoided. It is still there this morning, but in worse shape. You have to feel sad for the owner.

Cropped photo so you can see the boat easier. It’s at the left bottom of the Lighthouse.

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Fishing Two Days with Jeff, Kevin, and Dan May 4/5, 2023

I’m not going to write much about yesterday, because I would rather forget it. We only caught 2 walleye north of Lucy’s, up on the line. The marks were there, but the fish were mostly in a negative mood. I know some people caught them up there, and good for them, but they didn’t want what we had to offer, and that was Bandits, Reapers, Bill Lewis PWCs, and Crawler Harnesses.

We caught one on a Bandit and one on a crawler harness, so no pattern, and no more bites. I felt so bad, that Jeff, Kevin, and Dan had come all the way from MN for our Lake Erie walleye bite, and I couldn’t produce it for them. They didn’t complain though, and said “We’re fishermen, so we know that’s how it sometimes goes”.


I still felt awful though, so I went to bed earlier than usual, and got up with a new attitude and plan, after looking at the satellite picture from yesterday afternoon.


After deciding where I wanted to go, I talked to two people that confirmed my suspicions, and gave me a boost to my confidence that I needed. Thanks guys, you know who you are. 🙂


I picked my crew up at 5:15 from their VRBO rental, and proceeded to the Speedway on the other side of town, for gas and ice. We hit Catawba while it was still dark, but the huge full moon to the west was shining so brightly across the surface of the water, that it didn’t feel dark.


We launched a little before 6am, and let the 400 warm up before heading north. The sun was just starting to lighten the sky to the east with a warm palette of oranges, yellows, and reds. The sky was clear, the air temp around 50 degrees, and just a whisper of a wind, that put little ripples on an otherwise flat lake.


The 8 mile ride took no time at all, and was smooth as could be. I love mornings, like this morning! I wish they could all be like this….perfection. (Well, I could do without the full moon, but you get it).


We set up in 30′ of water and set all Bandits behind the Off Shore boards with longer leads of 120, 97, 80, and 70 on the port side, and 120, 93, 83, and 65 on the starboard side.


Colors that caught today were:
Wild Thing (JT Custom through FISH USA) Had 3 of these running out there
Blue Shiner (Stock Color) Had 2 running out there
Whiskey and Water (Slim Shady Custom)
Green Lantern (Slim Shady Custom)
Blue Chrome (stock color, of course)


All the leads took fish, but the 80 and 83 back, took the most fish.


Speed was 1.8-2.0 on the GPS but 1.5-1.6 on the Fish Hawk.


Water temp went from 49.8 to 52.3 in the 6 hours we were out there.


We managed to catch our 4-person limit of 24 fish, so I was much happier with today’s outcome, than yesterday, and I’m sure my crew was too! Ha!


They have another charter tomorrow, where they will go jigging, with another captain. I am off tomorrow, and have some things getting done around the home front this weekend, so I’ll be back out on Monday.


Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂


Stay tuned….


Capt Juls

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