My wife and I were out this morning doing some jigging. We started at toussaint reef but the water was pretty dirty. No good there. Water was 47 degrees. Clarity improved significantly before we got to niagara. We picked up 5 in a little over an hour. I didn’t do much to help the cooler filling though. She caught 4 and lost one right at the boat. Fished a total of 3 hours. We used purple 3/4 ounce jigs. The vast majority of fish we marked were on the bottom. Maybe with some sunshine the water will warm enough to start the fish taking a spinner with worms…
Category: Uncategorized
Muddy and 180 degree wind… round two.
Well much of the Lake is all muddied up again. Don’t need a satelitte photo, web cams show it. Except the east sides of the Islands. Water temperature has dropped over 4 degrees. Tomorrow (Thursday) is good, light winds. Then the NE wind comes in for three days over the weekend. Mostly moderate, so fishable, but after the big stir-up W / NW winds you have to wonder what this will all do to the fishing right when we should be entering the best time of the year (warmer weather and plenty of close feeding walleye). Seem like deja vu? Round two.
🙁
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Free Fishing Trip
To promote and grow our new Facebook Page we will be doing a drawing for 2 nights stay in the Tiger’s Lair and a full days fishing on Fishing Tiger.
For a chance to win follow and like us on Facebook. Already following – you can share posts for additional chances.
Fishing Tiger Charters | Lakeside Marblehead OH
Besides we will be posting pictures there.
Don’t worry, reports will still be uploaded here also.
Drawing will be on or about May 12.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!
Teaming up?
Looking to come up for a few days with my nephew and his friend so want to do my best to keep them on fish so was wanting to see if people would like to network together and share information to help us all be more successful. Hopefully lake won’t be too roughed up after blow. We are going to fish this Friday through Sunday which is the 5th-7th of May. Was wanting to fish around islands but if it’s muddy I will push east to huron or lorain. If anyone is interested I could start a group text?
Sams Pro Release
Does anybody use the Sams Pro Release / or Amish Outfitters? If so do you use them with the split ring or do you secure the release wit a bolt and nut. I want to try them but would greatly value opinions from anyone that has used them. Thanks in advance
4/29 report
The afternoon wind forecast I was hoping for came through. It was a beautiful afternoon on the lake today and the fish cooperated too.
We worked the area near the line NW of Kelly’s. We had 5 in the boat before we could get the entire spread out. We caught 21 and brought the smallest 12 in for the freezer/fryer. We fished from 1:00 to 5:00.
The program that worked was Bandits unassisted 90 to 110 back at 1.2 mph. And the riggers oscillating 25 to 30. We had mostly post spawn females but there were a few males mixed in. It looks like there staging to put on the feed. Hopefully this next blow won’t mess them up. We were fishing slower and deeper than what had been working. There was allot of radio chatter singing the blues and why we adjusted right out.
We had 3 over 27 with one fish Ohio all on a chartreuse/orange Long A. Once again it was oscillating 25 to 30. This was the clear winner and accounted for 6 of our biggest fish. We had 2 on a gold supper rogue on riggers also.
The best Bandit colors was Taco Salad, Orange Crush, Sun Spot, and a Blue with chartreus belly I can’t find the name (I only have one but will pick up a few if I can find them, as it has been a stead producer lately).
I will be land locked until after the next blow. Good luck to everyone going out tomorrow!
Fishing Day 4 with Ed, Dennis, and Jay 4/27/2023
Yesterday morning, we weren’t sure we were going to get to fish today, because the forecast was showing some gusty east winds, but by yesterday afternoon it showed lower wind speeds, so we made plans to fish this morning.
I picked my crew up at the White Caps Motel at 5:30, and we headed to the gas station on the other side of town, for the usual, before heading to Catawba to launch. We were in the water by 6:15 and headed north.
The sky was clear, the air was cool and crisp, and the wind was barely moving the flag hanging on the tall pole on the pier at the launch. The lake was like glass on the protected side of the island, and rolling a little more and more as we ventured further away from land towards Niagara Reef and C Can.
We set up on the north side of Niagara, when a few fish were marked on the Helix, and a WNW heading was set on the iPilot, while I fired up the baby Merc, to push us at a speed of 1.9-2.1mph (Fish Hawk speed was 1.4-1.6mph). For those that don’t know what a Fish Hawk X2 is, it’s a probe that is lowered into the water at a desired depth (I like 15-20 feet), and a transducer slides down the line, so it can transfer the water temp and speed info to the unit in the boat. When currents slow, or speed up the lures, the Fish Hawk can give you that info, to help you dial in a speed easier.
Water temp was 47.3 on the surface and 47.9 down below at 15 feet.
We set up with Bandits behind Off Shore boards on both sides of the boat, first thing. I said to Jay, “Go ahead and pick some numbers…you know what we have been doing the past three days, I trust you”. My side ran at 71, 61, 51, and 35.
After he was all done setting the boards out, I asked, “What numbers did you pick?” He replied, “74, 64, 54, and 39”. I laughed and said, “I like odd numbers”. Laughing, he said, “Oh, I thought you just meant you didn’t want it at 70, 60, 50, and 40”. “That’s okay, let’s see what happens”, I said. And, sure enough, his 74 and 54 both went back at the same time. We started the morning with a double. 🙂
The colors on his side were Buck Fever, RC Crush, Red Headed Wonder Bread, and …I can’t remember the 4th one.
My side ran Chrome Marvin, Blue Chrome, and two other chrome custom colors I don’t know the names of anymore…sorry.
Fish were caught on all lead lengths, with a few going off twice.
The wind was picking up and the waves were 2-3s with an occasional 4 footer thrown in for good measure. Ed and Dennis are older gents (Dennis is Jay’s Dad), and both are late 70s and/or early 80s, so I wanted to make sure they were comfortable, and decided it was best to head back towards more protected waters to fish. We left that area with 11 nice fish in the cooler, and headed back towards Catawba, to fish off the point with the hour and a 1/2 we had left. This time of year, there is usually some fish in that area.
We took our time, so the ride didn’t bust anyone’s butts, or the boat, and set up off Catawba. Jay was working on setting his third bait, and before he could get the board on he exclaimed, “I got a fish! I didn’t even get the board on, yet!”. It was a nice one too…I’m guessing 25 or 26 inches. I didn’t measure it.
I asked him, “What does that tell you, when that happens?” He said, “It had to be up very high, because I had just stopped the bait, so it was just starting to dive”. “Yes, that’s correct. What did you just set that bait at?” “40 back”, he said. “Do you want me to bring it back in and make it a shorter lead?”, he asked.
I said, “Let’s see what happens, since you have it out already, you can always change it. That might have just been a suicidal fish, and not a pattern”.
I had gone to the bow for something and looked down in the water and there was a fish (Jay thought it was a bass, but I saw a sheephead) swimming in the top 8″ of water, and then we watched it slowly swim out of sight as the boat passed by. So, I thought….hmmmmm….his fish was caught high, and this fish is up high, so let’s put some baits out up high and see if they are being weird today.
I changed out the Bandits on my side to DHJ12’s and put the shortest leads on the outside this time, running at 15, 25, 35, and 45. Long story short….nada. That was a fail. Hey, but at least we tried. lol
We caught one more on the Red Headed WB at 50 back, and that was it for the Catawba area. It was time to go home.
Ed, Dennis, and Jay learned a lot about trolling with Off Shore boards and now have the confidence to go use what they learned in my boat, to use in their boats. Each day, they got better and better, and I have every confidence that they can successfully run planer boards with fewer problems and tangles, than they had before.
They said they had a great time, and that makes me happy. 🙂
Tomorrow, would have been their 5th day, but with the crappy weather and gusty NE winds forecasted, it was an easy decision for them to travel back to Wisconsin and Minnesota tomorrow.
My crew for Saturday, sent me a text the other day, to cancel, due to the forecast they saw, so I offered them a chance to reschedule for another time. They accepted that offer. Hey, I don’t like fishing in crappy weather, either! lol
It’s looking like I’m going to have a lot of days off here, the next several days. Next week is looking bad with lots of wind and rain. So, don’t look for a report from me until at least, Thursday.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
I picked my crew up at the White Caps Motel at 5:30, and we headed to the gas station on the other side of town, for the usual, before heading to Catawba to launch. We were in the water by 6:15 and headed north.
The sky was clear, the air was cool and crisp, and the wind was barely moving the flag hanging on the tall pole on the pier at the launch. The lake was like glass on the protected side of the island, and rolling a little more and more as we ventured further away from land towards Niagara Reef and C Can.
We set up on the north side of Niagara, when a few fish were marked on the Helix, and a WNW heading was set on the iPilot, while I fired up the baby Merc, to push us at a speed of 1.9-2.1mph (Fish Hawk speed was 1.4-1.6mph). For those that don’t know what a Fish Hawk X2 is, it’s a probe that is lowered into the water at a desired depth (I like 15-20 feet), and a transducer slides down the line, so it can transfer the water temp and speed info to the unit in the boat. When currents slow, or speed up the lures, the Fish Hawk can give you that info, to help you dial in a speed easier.
Water temp was 47.3 on the surface and 47.9 down below at 15 feet.
We set up with Bandits behind Off Shore boards on both sides of the boat, first thing. I said to Jay, “Go ahead and pick some numbers…you know what we have been doing the past three days, I trust you”. My side ran at 71, 61, 51, and 35.
After he was all done setting the boards out, I asked, “What numbers did you pick?” He replied, “74, 64, 54, and 39”. I laughed and said, “I like odd numbers”. Laughing, he said, “Oh, I thought you just meant you didn’t want it at 70, 60, 50, and 40”. “That’s okay, let’s see what happens”, I said. And, sure enough, his 74 and 54 both went back at the same time. We started the morning with a double. 🙂
The colors on his side were Buck Fever, RC Crush, Red Headed Wonder Bread, and …I can’t remember the 4th one.
My side ran Chrome Marvin, Blue Chrome, and two other chrome custom colors I don’t know the names of anymore…sorry.
Fish were caught on all lead lengths, with a few going off twice.
The wind was picking up and the waves were 2-3s with an occasional 4 footer thrown in for good measure. Ed and Dennis are older gents (Dennis is Jay’s Dad), and both are late 70s and/or early 80s, so I wanted to make sure they were comfortable, and decided it was best to head back towards more protected waters to fish. We left that area with 11 nice fish in the cooler, and headed back towards Catawba, to fish off the point with the hour and a 1/2 we had left. This time of year, there is usually some fish in that area.
We took our time, so the ride didn’t bust anyone’s butts, or the boat, and set up off Catawba. Jay was working on setting his third bait, and before he could get the board on he exclaimed, “I got a fish! I didn’t even get the board on, yet!”. It was a nice one too…I’m guessing 25 or 26 inches. I didn’t measure it.
I asked him, “What does that tell you, when that happens?” He said, “It had to be up very high, because I had just stopped the bait, so it was just starting to dive”. “Yes, that’s correct. What did you just set that bait at?” “40 back”, he said. “Do you want me to bring it back in and make it a shorter lead?”, he asked.
I said, “Let’s see what happens, since you have it out already, you can always change it. That might have just been a suicidal fish, and not a pattern”.
I had gone to the bow for something and looked down in the water and there was a fish (Jay thought it was a bass, but I saw a sheephead) swimming in the top 8″ of water, and then we watched it slowly swim out of sight as the boat passed by. So, I thought….hmmmmm….his fish was caught high, and this fish is up high, so let’s put some baits out up high and see if they are being weird today.
I changed out the Bandits on my side to DHJ12’s and put the shortest leads on the outside this time, running at 15, 25, 35, and 45. Long story short….nada. That was a fail. Hey, but at least we tried. lol
We caught one more on the Red Headed WB at 50 back, and that was it for the Catawba area. It was time to go home.
Ed, Dennis, and Jay learned a lot about trolling with Off Shore boards and now have the confidence to go use what they learned in my boat, to use in their boats. Each day, they got better and better, and I have every confidence that they can successfully run planer boards with fewer problems and tangles, than they had before.
They said they had a great time, and that makes me happy. 🙂
Tomorrow, would have been their 5th day, but with the crappy weather and gusty NE winds forecasted, it was an easy decision for them to travel back to Wisconsin and Minnesota tomorrow.
My crew for Saturday, sent me a text the other day, to cancel, due to the forecast they saw, so I offered them a chance to reschedule for another time. They accepted that offer. Hey, I don’t like fishing in crappy weather, either! lol
It’s looking like I’m going to have a lot of days off here, the next several days. Next week is looking bad with lots of wind and rain. So, don’t look for a report from me until at least, Thursday.
Stay tuned….
Capt Juls
Attached Images
Mazurek’s is back open
As of 1:30 workers were gone and everything looked open.
Advice on Trolling from a 30 Footer?
Moving up this season from a 23′ center console outboard to a 30′ twin inboard cruiser. Wife wanted more creature comforts. SeaRay Amberjack 290 to be exact.
I had success trolling the center console boat on the big engine with trolling bags and autopilot, down to about 1.5mph on the GPS. Not sure what to expect with the new boat at 3x the weight and 3x the horsepower. I have purchased the Amish Outfitters large bags as a first guess.
Appreciate input from any of you guys that have been trolling with a similar setup.
Thanks,
Are we still jigging?
Good evening… I have a men’s conference in 10 days just southeast of Cleveland. I will probably take my boat along and on the way home stop in the Crane Creek area and fish for walleyes. Is jigging still productive? I have not seen much regarding jigging recently and was curious. Thanks…