Juls WFA Blog
Fishing with Craig, Scott, and Joe....11/24/2024
by Capt Juls on 11/24/24Craig won this trip at the South Shore Marine Charity Event, this past April. We initially had a spring date set, but good old Mother Nature decided to blow, so we rescheduled. It would happen one more time, on the alternate date they had picked in early summer, so we waited until Fall. The first fall date was a blow day, too. We were scheduled to go yesterday, but again...it blew. I told Craig that today was the only option left. I told him, "Due to the weather coming in, I'm not running any later this season.
I need to clean up my Vexus, and get her on the market. I'm only cleaning it to showroom clean, once, so I'm done for this season.
I got to Mazurik's 45 minutes early, this morning. I asked them to meet me there at 7:15, since sunrise is at 7:32. But, while I was getting the boat ready, I realized my FishHawk was back at home, in the "Fishing Room". Aaarrrgghh!
I had cleaned the house last week, and moved it from its seasonal home on my desk, to the room.
I sent Craig a text, telling him that I was at the ramp, but had to run home, and would be back asap. I made it back at 7:17, so there was still plenty of time before we launched, so I got the boat ready again.
We headed towards the SE corner of Kelly's, where I had seen loads of walleye this past Friday, while perch fishing. The wind was out of the WSW at around 9mph, when we launched, but would pick up after we set up. The waves were 1-3s all morning.
The water temp was 48.7 degrees with mud, tight inside. We didn't have to go far offshore to find cleaner water. The marks were decent, so the FishHawk, Terrova and Baby Merc were deployed, and set on a course to the ENE at 2.0mph.
These three friends all fish together, and know how to troll already. They also use Off Shore boards and dipsies, so my job was quite easy today....and, that made me happy! :)
The dipsies were targeting 18-24 feet down in the water column, running two spoons and two Yaleye shallow divers in the "Baby Walleye" color, on each side. The walleye hit the cranks twice, and the spoons, once. The rest of the fish came on Bandits, a Dead Eye, and Bill Lewis PWCs (big ones), behind the Off Shore boards. I had smaller profile baits on for a while and they did nothing, so they came off.
I don't know the names of the colors other than the Red Headed Wonder Bread (Dead Eye), but the hot color was a Bandit with three sections/two colors....the head and tail were Chartreuse, and the middle was dark purple, with two dots on the side. (I think there's a picture of it in the post) 120 back unassisted was best. Other leads that caught were 110, 100, and 90.
The starboard side was slow, while the port side caught most of the fish. The starboard side caught only two...maybe, three.
We only ended up with 17 walleye and one big sheephead, for our efforts in that area. But, they really didn't need the fish...Craig said he wanted to learn some tips and tricks, but I don't know if I taught him anything, because they all seemed quite adept, and fished pretty much like I do. :)
It was a good day on the lake, and a good day to end my season. The cold weather is coming in by the end of the week. For those of you still going out....good luck and be safe! No one wants to lose a family member during the holidays.
Happy Thanksgiving! ;)
Capt Juls
More Thoughts on Another Cold Day...11/22/2024
by Capt Juls on 11/22/24It should go without saying, that there is no perfect boat set up, for trolling, because what works for one boat owner, might not work best for another. After 24 years of working out of a boat, I have had the experiences, to help me know what I like, and wanted to add to my boat. I'm sharing these thoughts, in case it helps someone else.
I do know, I like to keep things simple. I'm sure you've all heard the acronym "KISS"...meaning, "Keep It Simple Stupid", right? Well, that's how I like to do it.
The least mentioned, but probably the most important add on, that I would never want missing on my trailer, is the EZEEStep system. These steps have made my job of loading and unloading, so much easier, safer, and faster. I can't even imagine going back to a boat/trailer without these steps.
They have nice grippy non-slip steps, (but, don't do them barefoot!), and can hold up to 450 pounds. They are easy to install, too. They are custom fit to each individual boat/trailer, and boat owner's preferences...check them out, if you haven't already.
We all know why a bow mount trolling motor with iPilot or Autopilot is a necessity, and how it works, so I don't need to explain that one. It's a good'n! :)
The "Baby Merc", as I call it, is responsible for providing power, while the bow mount controls the course. I keep the bow mount on power level 4 to 5, and adjust the kicker's RPMs, to dial in the speed, so the bow mount's batteries can last all day. (I do increase the power level to help get through turns, quicker).
I used the iTroll product, for the first time three years ago, when I ran one in a previous boat. I liked it, so I put one in the Vexus, too, and relied on it a lot these past two seasons. I've already received the new iTroll for the 2025 boat, too. But, the new one is an upgrade, and has the wireless capabilities, which will be nice.
I have mine mounted under the throttle, so when a customer was sitting in that seat, I always had to say, "Excuse me", as I reached down to turn the dial. Then, I would have to reassure them that, "No", they are not in the way...lol
Now, I'll be able to keep the remote on my person, and make adjustments from anywhere in the boat.
"How do I know what speed I want to dial in?", brings us to the next add-on that I'm really happy I added. It's the FishHawk speed/temp probe. I use the X-2 model, and run it the same way Mark Romanack is running it in his YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nofjc147Yl8&t=21s
It has shown me how different the surface and under currents can be from each other, here on Lake Erie's Western Basin. Adjusting my speed to what the FishHawk is showing me, has helped me catch more fish, and understand the lake's currents, better. The speed at the bait, is what is important, and the FishHawk just makes that easier.
When I wasn't using one, I would get the SOG to what I thought it should be, and then drop a bait over the side to see the action of it, in the water. If a speed adjustment was needed, it would be made. The FishHawk just takes all that guesswork away, and tells me what speed my baits are running at....all the time.
(This is where adjusting the RPMs on the kicker comes into play). I base my speed off the FishHawk, and not the GPS's SOG. I'll try different speeds until I find one the fish like best. Then, mostly keep it there, but also speed up and slow down using "S-Turns", from time to time....just to keep them honest.
Everyone has their favorite rod holders, too. I like the Cisco rod holders, on their long track system. Vexus improved their gunnel strength to accommodate the track, by putting a metal plate along the underside of the gunnel. Allowing the Cisco tracks to screw down tightly to the gunnel. I have never found a screw coming out, like I did when the tracks were only fastened to fiberglass. I also don't have to worry about customers using the rod holders for balance purposes anymore, since I know they can't do any damage. I used to have to say, "Please don't lean on the rod holders". :)
I used Cisco's hybrid tube rod holders for the past two seasons, and really like them. The main reason being, due to their design, the reel is always facing inside the boat. It's a little thing...but, it's my thing.
SmoothMove Seats were add-ons, too, and worth mentioning. I have the "Air-Ride" on the passenger's side, and the manual seat on the driver's side. I have them that way, because once you set the manual one, for the weight sitting on it, you don't have to adjust it again. I also keep my seat firmer, so that I can feel what the boat is feeling, when running on rougher days.
I have found that the Air Ride will lose air, especially if it's cold out, so pumping it up can be done easily with the 12V plug-in, that they provide.
So, for the comfort of your passenger...look down and make sure they have enough air in their pedestal, when the boat is running across the lake. :)
I can't think of anymore add-ons at the moment....so, as you can see, I keep it pretty simple.... Find fish....fish for fish....and, hopefully, catch those fish, using the tools I have at my disposal. :)
Capt Juls
Running Off Shore Boards Set to Release...11/21/2024
by Capt Juls on 11/21/24For years, I ran my Off Shore inline planer boards so that both releases were attached to the line on their way in. This past year, I tried running them the way I learned on Mark Romanack's YouTube Channel, "Fishing 411".
I've always ran mine with the OR-16 (red release with the pin in the center of the pad), on the back, and the Snapper release on the front arm.
Mark runs his with the OR-19 (orange release that is the same tension as the OR-16, but doesn't have a pin in it), and the Snapper on the back.
The idea is to make 4-5 twists in the line via a little loop around the setter's finger, and then clip the OR-19 on the twisted part. Then, attach the Snapper on the back, with the closing lever pushed forward (away from the board), so that the pin falls in front of the line, keeping the board from detaching on its own.
This allows the angler to detach the front release with a flick of the wrist...(if a fish hits, but it doesn't disengage the front arm on its own, you'll need to manually detach it), and bring the board in, with more ease.
Just point the rod tip straight at the board, tighten down the line, and give it a flick of the wrist. That's usually enough to pop the line from the release.
The main advantage to having the front arm release, and stay attached to the rear end, is so that the board can flip around, and come in without resistance. It won't cross all the other lines inside of it...and diminishes the chances of tangling on the way in.
The board will float back, and out of line...then, it centers up behind the boat...allowing a person to bring that fish in, tangle free.
It's definitely making my life easier out there, so I hope this helps someone else, too.
I was running Sunline Supernatural 20# test, for years, but had to switch it out, to use the release method. It didn't hold up, and would break. A friend told me to try the Trilene Big Game 20# test, that he had been using for over a year, and really liked it. I trusted his judgement, and bought a 7800yd spool, to spool up 10 trolling reels, for the season. I didn't know when I bought it, how long this line holds up, compared to the Sunline. I didn't have to respool as often as I did with the Sunline.
Even though the Sunline was closer in diameter to the line used in the Precision Trolling Data, the Trilene Big Game is close enough for me. I don't try and do math in my head when I'm out there, to get within inches. The regular settings do just fine getting me in the strike zone, so I don't worry about it.
One note for those that have never used a Snapper Release. It can close two ways, and only one way is acceptable in this application....for good reason.
The Snapper has a lever type closure, and can be pushed forward, or backwards. In the backwards position (lever facing the board), it can release from the line, but in the forward position, it puts the line behind a pin, so it can't come off the line.
Since we are already releasing the front arm, we do not want the back to be set to release.
Losing a board is a pain in the butt. If the board comes off, you would need to pick everything up very quickly, and then go and try to find a little 12 inch board, that floated a 1/2 mile away from you. It's not fun. Especially, when you assign someone to keep an eye on it, while the rest of us pick up lines, and you look over to see him looking at us, instead of where the board is. I lost two boards last season, and even with my name and phone number on the boards, they were never returned.
Another note, of what I learned using this method is, that the loop should be kept small, so it can't catch on the locknut holding the release on, or the spring on the Tattle Flag. Larger loops tend to do that more, making it so it can't release. This is easy to keep from happening, by just keeping the loop no bigger than the tip of your finger.
It's simple fix to those struggling with bringing boards in, that are still attached to the front arm, like I used to do. It's a game changer, for sure!
Give it a try. The boards come with the OR-19 on the front arm and the OR-16 on the back, so they are set up right out of the box, to run like this. The only reason I do not use the OR-16 on the back, is because I let customers set lines too, and sometimes they are not the best at making sure the line gets behind the pin. The Snapper is much easier for my customers to use.
Hope this helps....:)
Capt Juls
As This Season Ends...11/21/2024
by Capt Juls on 11/21/24My last trip, which was an attempted perch trip, this past Friday, resulted in the power steering going out on the 400, so the trip was cut short. Luckily, we made it back to the dock and loaded out, but it was definitely getting close to completely going out. I knew what it was, because it had done the same thing back in late October. Dubbert's found the PS fluid reservoir low and filled it back up. It was working fine for the next couple of trips, but then...went out again.
(Dubbert's has had the boat since Friday, waiting on a part from Mercury. I'm told it's some little control-pump-thingy in the steering wheel area, that controls it, that went bad.)
As soon as I experienced the trouble, I knew I wouldn't be able to run the walleye trip the next day, so I called Capt Ryan Pettry, asking if he was available. I had seen a Facebook post by him, saying he had availability for the weekend. He said he was available to take my crew. I called my customer, and explained the situation, and that I found a great Capt for them. He was thankful, that they were still going to be able to get out fishing.
Capt Ryan didn't disappoint...I sent a text to my client asking, "Was it a good trip?" He responded with, "Great trip! got our 18 eyes in less than two hours. Then we caught over 20 jumbo perch." So, even though I couldn't run that trip, I'm happy that they were still able to have a great experience, here on Lake Erie.
So, in a nutshell, my season is pretty much over, unless the weather turns nice again.
I only have one more scheduled trip....but, it's scheduled for this Saturday. The weather this week, is forecast to be really crappy. Saturday is calling for winds 9-17 with gusts to 32...out of the WNW. That's a definite "No-Go". They are opting to go the following weekend, if the weather allows.
I should have my boat back by today, or tomorrow. Then, I need to get her cleaned up, (showroom clean), because she's going to be listed, "For Sale", through Fisherman's Central, pretty soon.
If there's room, the boat will be put inside the PC store's showroom... to be shown, and ready to go to her new home....wherever that may be.
I want to take pictures after it's all cleaned up, so a buyer will know exactly what they are coming to take a look at. I won't post pictures from when it was brand new.
The new Vexus DVX22 will be going into production in the next week, or two. And, since this boat probably won't be here until late December, or early January, I'm going to put it in over at Fisherman's Central, here in Port Clinton, to use as a display....until it's time to start fishing again...which is when the lake opens up in the spring, and the ramps are not iced in.
That's the plan anyway....;)
My next blog entry, will be about my first season running the Off Shore Planer Boards, opposite from the way I have run them forever, and finding it to be far more superior, to the way I ran them before.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Justin, Doug, and Jim...11/3/2024
by Capt Juls on 11/03/24Justin is someone I met at a launch one morning, a couple of years ago. He is from MN, and has a Vexus DVX22, just like me, so we struck up a conversation, and chatted about the boats, fishing Lake Erie, and other small talk. He said he wanted to hire me, to learn some things, and after a reschedule or two, we finally made it out, this morning.
I picked them up at Bay's Edge Condos, at 5:30, and we headed to Vermilion to launch. It was still dark when we arrived, but by the time I got the boat ready to go, and everyone hit the bathrooms, the sky was lightening enough to head out.
After we got passed the two bridges, I put the antenna up and got the trolling rods out of storage. I had Bill Lewis PWC Lites set up on the starboard side, and they're bigger counterparts on the port side. The Lites would be run with 2 oz snap weights, and all would run behind Off Shore boards.
On some info given to me last night, I headed towards the 31/11 line, to see what we could find. There were good marks there, so we set up with the dipsies first.
The zero settings were run at 50 and 55 to start, and the three settings were set at 75 and 85 back.
The PWC Lites ran at 50/75 (weight on at the 50 mark, and then another 47 feet of line out, before putting the board on)...
50/47, and 50/24.
Colors were Purple Tiger, Barbie, and Huff and Puff.
The PWCs ran at 97, 75, and 57 back.
Colors were BH Wonderbread on White, Barbie, and Sunspot.
Water temp in 43' of water was 58.7 degrees. The Vermilion River was running at 56 degrees.
The FishHawk was set up and the speed was set to 2.3-2.5mph.
Waves were mostly 2 feet or less, but there were enough 3s out there to say it was 1-3s most of the morning.
The wind was out of the ENE at 8-16mph, the sky was mostly clear, and the air temp was 46 degrees.
We made a 5 mile pass to the west and ended it at the 31/16 line, before picking up and heading back to the east, where there were more marks on the electronics.
Capt Gary Carpenter was heard on the radio, saying that they slayed them from the 06 to 08 line...anywhere from the 30 to 33 line, and caught most of their fish on dipsies anywhere from 45-100 back (he didn't say what setting), so we took a ride back over to the 07 line, before turning the boat around to troll with the waves. We only needed another 13 fish to finish out our 4-person limit, and I figured that would happen before we got to our initial starting point from our first pass.
The bite was better to the east, like he said....so, "Thank you, Capt Gary, for the info this morning". I liked when you said, "They will bitch at you, if you give info over the radio, and they will bitch at you, if you don't share info...you can't win". lol So, true. But, I'm thankful you felt like sharing...it was helpful.
We set up again, and had three fish in 5 minutes...then, it was back to just a steady pick until we finished out with 24 in the cooler...three shorts thrown back, and a couple of White Bass that wanted to play, too. I'm guessing though, that if I had gone another mile east, and started back west...the bite would have been faster, like the first 5 minutes was. :)
Justin, his dad Doug, and Justin's friend, Jim, had a great time, and learned a lot. They are staying for the week, and hope to get out fishing on their own, with their new knowledge of running dipsies, but the wind looks iffy the next two days, so we'll see.
I gave them some of the Crappie Rigs that I tie up, so they could try perch fishing around the lee side of Marblehead, during the blow the next couple of days, if the walleye fishing doesn't look promising.
I don't have anything scheduled now until the weekend of the 16th and 17th, so if the weather allows, I may get out to do some perch'n with friends. I need to get some more to take up to the family in Wisco for Christmas.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Frank and Ray....10/27/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/27/24Frank and Ray are staying at the Plantation Motel for the week, so I asked them to meet me at the Huron ramp at 7:30, so we could be launched by 7:45. However, I got there at 6:45, because I expected the get ready lanes to be jammed up, and I wanted to make it to the front of the line, before they got there. But, to my surprise, it really wasn't that busy that early, and I was able to get one of the front spots right away. So, I sent Frank a text, and told him I was there, and that whenever they were ready, they should head over. They made it there by 7:15, and we were headed out of the river just as the sky started to paint itself with colors of oranges and yellows, at 7:30.
The wind forecast was predicted to be less than 10mph out of the SSE, which it was... when we left the harbor, and made it out to 40 feet of water, south of Vermilion.
As the morning progressed though, the wind picked up to around 10-15, making the waves go from 1 foot or less, to 1-3's. We had trolled out to 43 feet of water, and caught 8 fish, before deciding to head over closer to Vermilion. Reason being, Frank and Ray would be using their boat for the rest of the week, and I wanted to see if we could find some fish closer to shore for them. They don't like it rough, and the wind is supposed to be up the next several days...but, an offshore wind, so they should be able to fish closer to shore.
It was a good call, because I marked fish on the Helix all the way in from 42' to 35 feet, where we shut down and turned the Vexus around to make a pass from east to west, over the fish I had marked on the way in. There were a lot of fish, but a slow bite. The fish we did catch in that area were a little fatter than the fish we caught earlier, too, so that made Frank and Ray happy.
We ran dipsies with spoons, and Bandits and baby Spros behind Off Shore boards, but the dipsies did most of the work today. We only caught two fish on the cranks (and, we changed them out a couple of times...with and without 2oz snap weights).
While the dipsey depths were changed often, the best leads were the zero setting at 54 and the three setting at 85.
We caught 18, but lost one at the boat, so we only put 17 in the cooler this morning. Frank and Ray said they had a great time, so that makes me happy!
I don't have anything scheduled until November 3rd now, so it's time to get some garden work and housework done, before it gets cold.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Sherman and Nancy...10/25/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/26/24Nancy had bought this trip for her husband Sherman, for his birthday present. He is a follower on Walleye.com, and uses my info to help them when hey travel up from the Cincinnati area, to fish Lake Erie. :)
I had internet problems in the morning, so I didn't get to watch the news, to see what the weather was supposed to be. Last I had heard, was that we were not supposed to get any rain. So, I had left the house, to go gas up the Vexus and the truck, and grab ice, before picking them up at the Holiday Inn Express, on the other side of town. I was sitting in the parking lot of the hotel, at 6:45, when I thought I would check the app RadarScope, to see if there was any rain coming for the morning. And, to my surprise, there was a big band of heavy rain headed right for us, and showing lightning in it.
I texted Nancy to let her know that I was there, but would be headed home to put the boat back under the carport, until it passed. Lighting was a no-go. It was moving fast, so I didn't think it would delay us for too long. I was right...I was back at their hotel a little over an hour later, and we were driving to Huron in a light rain. (So much for my clean boat!)
We launched, and were headed out the river at 8:45...and the rain turned into just a drizzle. The wind forecast was calling for 10-20 out of the SSE, so the plan was to stay closer to shore, and work the area around "The Castle" and "Cranberry Creek".
We started in 28' of water with dipsies set on the zero setting at 30 and 40 back, and the three setting at 55 and 60 back.
The Off Shore boards were pulling Bill Lewis PWC Lites on the starboard side with 2oz snap weights at 50/50 and 50/24 back. On the port side we ran two Bandits at 100 and 65 back.
As we moved out to deeper water, when the wind diminished a bit, the settings on the dipsies were run a little deeper.
The dipsies with spoons caught most of the fish, as only three fish came on the crank baits. Two fish came on the black/gold Ripplin Red Fin on the zero setting dipsies at 54 back, but the orange Yeck spoon caught the majority of our fish.
We didn't catch any big fish, but the fish we did catch were nice eaters, and would make for some great fish fries. We ended up with their two limits and two of mine, before it was time to head in.
Talking with friends out there that were fishing, too, said it was a slow bite for them, too, but Sherman and Nancy said they enjoyed the trip, even though it was a little slow, and that makes me happy.
I changed my Monday trip to Sunday, because Sunday is going to be a nice day, wind-wise, and should be waves that will be 1' or less. Monday is going to be 1-3s. My crew is older, and I thought it would be better to go on the nicer day. Luckily, they can switch days. So, fingers crossed, that the forecast holds.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dick and Brad....10/22/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/22/24Dick and Brad are two of my regulars, that I have been fishing with for many years now. They have their own boats, but like to hire me to get a refresher course, on how to run boards and dipsies, from time to time. So, today, we were going after some walleye.
They drove in from Maumee, and met me at my house at 7:15. We drove to the gas station...filled up, got ice, and my usual...powdered donuts, and headed over to Mazurik's to launch.
My plan was to hit the area around Cedar Point, since I had marked some walleye in that area the last time I was out perch'n. We set up there first, and went for about 20 minutes, with nothing, before I decided that the wind forecast was favorable for a ride out to deeper water to the east. "You guys want to make a run?", I asked. "How far you thinking, Captain?" Dick asked. "From here it's about 12 more miles", I replied. "I'm game", he said. Brad nodded his head in agreement. So, we packed it all up, and took a ride out to the NE.
Once we were in 45 feet of water, and started seeing some good walleye marks on the Helix, we stopped, and I deployed the Terrova and the baby Merc. The course was set, to continue to the NE, at a speed of 2.3mph, on the FishHawk.
The dipsies went out first, and were set as follows (I use the size 1 with ring):
Zero setting....63 back on the port side and 55 back on the starboard side. (Both would eventually be set at 65 back).
Three setting started at 85 back and remained at 85.
The two setting was eventually set to a three setting, and also running at 85 back.
Spoons were the Yeck D-11s, BadMo Arrows, and Scorpions.
Bill Lewis PWC Lites ran on the starboard side with 2 oz snap weights behind the Off Shore boards at 97 and 81 back (weights put on at the 50 mark).
Purple Tiger and Black Headed Wonder Bread both caught fish.
On the port side, we ran two Bandits at 120 back and 90 back. Colors were RC Crush and that white one with the black dot, that I can never remember the name of...I've reported it before. It's a custom color....sorry...some names just don't stick with me. lol
Both of those caught a fish, too, but the spoons did 80% of the work this morning.
While clearing lines, Dick brought a fish in without a net, and ended up getting a hook in his finger, but he was able to push it through, and I cut the tip and barb off, so he could pull it back out. Luckily, it was a PWC bait, so the hooks were smaller than what are used on the Bandits....whew!
We had a pretty steady bite, while trolling to the NE, but when we turned to go back the other way.....nada. So, we turned and went NE again, and started catching again. There was a pretty strong under-current out there today. The FishHawk read 2.2, while the SOG was reading 2.6-2.7mph.
Our biggest fish, came, while I was trying to get out of someone's way, and sped up to 3.5mph, for about 3 minutes. So, don't think you have to stay slower to catch these fish. Do "S-Turns", or just bump your speed up with the bow mount controller every now and then, to see what happens. :)
Dick and Brad said they had a good time, and will be back again next season, and that makes me happy!
I'm off tomorrow....and watching the wind forecast for Thursday and Friday...hoping to get my Friday trip in either Thursday or Friday. Right now, Saturday looks like crap....again.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Matt and Mattox...10/20/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/22/24I met Matt and his son Mattox in Huron at 7:45. Capt Tim Joseph offered to dump us in at the launch, so we could just head out...thanks Tim! :)
I went to the area that was so good the day before, but the fish had moved. Since I had a dad that doesn't fish, (he's a hunter), and only booked the trip for his 10 year old son, who loves to fish, but has never been on a boat before, I opted to move back inside, rather than further out. A friend of mine was further out, and had texted that it was slow out there too, so it made my decision to move back in easier.
We found some fish out in front of the white condos, using the same program as the day before (so for the sake of time, just read that report...lol).
We managed to put 10 nice eaters in the cooler, and lost three, before it was time to head in. Both said they had a fun time, and want to come back again next year, and that makes me happy!
I'm writing this two days late, and had yesterday off, but I'm back out this morning with a couple of my regulars...Dick and Brad. They are older gents, so I'm thinking we will be launching out of Mazurik's and targeting some fish on the SE side of Kelly's. There were good walleye marks in the area, my last time out, perch fishing.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Logan and Danielle...10/19/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/19/24I wanted to sleep until 4am this morning, but Ella, my little piggy Pit Bull, decided that 2:30 was a better time for me to get up, and was relentless, so I gave in, and got up. We headed out to the back deck with dog treats and my much needed coffee, and was greeted with a warmer morning than the past two previous mornings.
The air temp was in the low 40s, the sky was clear, and the wind was calm. The plan today was to put the perch rods away, and head out of Huron for some Walleye. It's been over a month since I had chased the toothy critters, and thought it best to head to Huron, for the best chance at finding some willing to eat.
I picked Logan and Danielle up at the Whitecaps Motel at 6:45, and we headed into town, to hit the gas station for the usual staples, and then headed over to Huron to launch. We were on the water by 7:30. The ramp was pretty busy, but not crazy busy, so it was easy.
My plan was to use the last program I used when I was in Huron last, and just go out and find some marks on the Helix...set up...and start trolling. It worked...lol
Dipsies set on the zero setting started out at 40 back on the port side, and 50 on the starboard side, but eventually were dialed in at 43 on both sides. The two setting was set at 65 initially, but dialed in at 57, and the three setting was at 70 back the entire time.
We were fishing over 42 feet of water to start, and we were headed north, but the marks dried up as we went north, so we turned around and headed back south. Then, when I had to change course for another boat, and headed west, and we started catching pretty fast, so we stayed on that course, over 40 feet of water....until, we were forced to change direction again...and, headed east over the same line. The fish liked the other direction better though, so when we were able, we turned around and did that line again.
The Bill Lewis PWC Lites, behind the Off Shore boards, did the job.
The PWCs were running with 2 oz snap weights (weights on at the 50 mark) at 74, 80, 97, and 100 back.
Speed was 2.3-2.7mph on the FishHawk.
Logan and Danielle had never trolled with planer boards or dipsies before, so after a quick tutorial, Logan was helping set lines like he's done it before. I was pretty impressed with his level of common sense. I thought to myself, "This young man will go far in life". :)
We had one that broke the line at the tip of the rod, but luckily I had my hand on the line, to take the board off, when it happened, so we were able to handline it into the net. I think it was the biggest fish of the morning, too. I have to replace that rod, because I think there is a knick in the tip's eye, that caused that. That happens when people don't stop reeling and reel the snap, and bait up, tight into the eye....usually done out of excitement.
We managed to circle around that area, and stay out of the pack to the west of us, and had our 18 nice eaters by 10:21. Logan and Danielle said they had fun, and learned a lot, and that makes me happy!
Tomorrow, I have a father and his young boy wanting walleye, so we will be meeting at Huron, in the morning.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Day Two Fishing with Bob and Bruce...10/18/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/18/24Long story short, because it's been a really long day, and I have to get to bed soon.
We started out near the same spot we fished yesterday, but only had 18 perch in 2 1/2 hours. It started out slow yesterday, too, but this felt different, so I made the decision to move.
We left and went up around the east side of Kelly's to the NE buoy on the shoal, and found no marks that looked "Perchy", so I kept going and headed towards Middle Island and Gull Island Shoal. However, as I passed over 44' of water between the two points, the Helix lit up with marks that looked like what we were looking for, so we stopped to check it out.
It turned out to be a very good spot, and we managed to put another 57 in the cooler, in 3 hours, for a total of 75 perch. Bob and his brother Bruce were very happy with today's trip....especially, when we found a spot where there wasn't another boat in sight (other than an occasional boat, trolling for walleye, off in the distance). :)
The water temp today was 58 degrees on the east side of the lighthouse, but I forgot to look when we were in the other two spots.
Since I'm fishing for walleye the next two days...I'll give up the spot. It's 1.4 miles east of middle and a 1/2 mile south of the Canadian line, in 44' of water. Good luck if you get up there. There's a bunch up there, but the full moon has many of them pretty moody. :)
Tomorrow and Sunday, I have walleye trips scheduled.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob and Bruce...10/17/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/17/24It was cold this morning, when I took my coffee and dogs out on the back deck. The low was 37 degrees. I told Bob and Bruce it would be a later start, due to the air temp, and would pick them up at the Whitecaps Motel at 9:15. The plan was for a 10am launch. But, as the morning progressed, I texted them to tell them I would be picking them up at 8:15, instead. It was still chilly out, but I didn't think there would be any ice on the ramps, from boats launching ahead of us.
I showed up early, as usual, and they were ready at 8am. We headed to Hi Way Bait to pick up some Emerald Shiners and ice, before going over to Mazurik's to launch.
I was surprised Hi Way had a supply, because of the full moon and wind last night, but somehow they had some....whew! I was expecting Goldies, so I had brought along some of my frozen shiners, just in case.
We launched at 8:30 and headed north to Kelly's, to search for some gold. I figured it would be a little too murky near the lighthouse, due to the wind yesterday. We tried on the west side first, but only caught a couple of small ones in a half an hour, so we moved to the south side, and ended up staying in our third spot on that side. We were east of the ferry lane, by about 50 yards. Everyone else was on the west side of it. We were set up over 23 feet of water.
The water clarity was pretty good. I could see my prop. The bite was super light, and more than a few times, I never felt a bite, but knew there was a fish, when I would go to pop it off the bottom, and there was weight there, so I would set the hook.
I forgot to look at the water temp today...sorry. I'll look tomorrow. :)
We managed to catch 60 of our allotted 90, and they weighed in at 20 pounds at the cleaner's.
I have Bob and Bruce again in the morning, but we will be looking at other areas to try. We will be launching at 8am tomorrow.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Paul and Donna Maynard......10/11/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/12/24Paul's son and daughter had bought him an adventure for Father's Day, and he chose a perch trip. :)
I left the house 45 minutes early, even though they were staying a mile down the road from me. Now, that the sun is coming up at 7:40-7:45, I didn't have to pick them up until 7am, but I knew that Wozniak's Sunoco, was just down the road from the Whitecaps Motel, and opens at 6. They have their own "Minnow Boat", which means, on the nights the conditions allow, they go out and catch their own Emerald Shiners. Several other places in town do that also....Jeanette's Bait, A-N-J Bait, annnnnd...(I can't think of anymore off the top of my head at the moment...sorry).
Anyway, I stopped to get 20 bucks worth of minnows, before heading back to the Whitecaps to pick up Paul and Donna. The shiners were around 2 1/2-3 inch minnows. The perfect size for splitting in two, to use on the hooks.
They were ready to go at 7, so we headed to town for gas and ice.
We launched out of Mazurik's. The wind forecast was for a southwest wind at 10-20mph. The air temp was around 54 degrees, but was expected to get to 77 by the afternoon. The sky was clear, and the sun was just kissing the horizon as we headed out.
The water temp at the launch was 59 degrees, but the water temp on the lake was a touch over 63.
We headed to the Marblehead Lighthouse area, and tried a spot in the rocks in 23-24 feet of water, but only caught Gobies, White Perch, and Sheephead, so we moved.
It would be a total of two moves before we would stay in one spot, for the rest of the trip. The electronics were showing decent marks moving in and out of the area, over 28' of water, so we patiently waited for them to find us. We were the only boat east of the pack, and had around 3/4 mile between us.
It started out slow, but every time I would think about moving again, we would catch another one, so we stayed put. (The bottom was on the softer side...it wasn't a hard bottom, but it wasn't too squishy, either.)
It paid off...the bite picked up, and the Paul and Donna were enjoying themselves.
We were using some two hook crappie rigs I make, with white beads or chartreuse beads, and using split shiners.
We managed to catch 60, before we had to head in. Those 60 perch went 20 pounds at Port Clinton Fish Co. (So, an average of 3 to a pound).
My Saturday trip has been rescheduled...and, so has Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, thanks to the weather. I hope to be back out for trips, Wednesday through Sunday, though....fingers crossed!
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Lisa...10/5/2024
by Capt Juls on 10/05/24This is going to be a long one, which is not usual for my perch fishing reports...sorry, not sorry. :)
This morning, I was really looking forward to fishing with Lisa again. She and two of her friends were here back in April, for the total solar eclipse, and wanted to get some walleye fishing in. Lisa has a bucket list of fish she wants to catch, and walleye and perch were two of the freshwater fish she hadn't caught, yet. We did very well on the walleye that day, and she was happy.
She came all the way over from West Virginia, with her dog "Max", to fish for perch, this time. (This afternoon, I got to meet Max, and he is a real sweetheart! I wanted to keep him.)
I cleaned the boat up yesterday, and left the house 45 minutes early, this morning, even though the Air-BNB where she is staying is only a mile and a half down the road from me. I stopped off at Wozniak's Sunoco, on Lakeshore Dr, for some Emerald Shiners and ice, first. The shiners were the perfect 2-2 1/2" inch size, that I like to use. They are perfect for splitting in half. I also had some frozen shiners in Wintergreen Rubbing Alcohol along for the ride, too.
I drove through the Portage River Boat Access's parking lot...to the DNR road between the boat ramp and Vacation Wonderland, or whatever it's called over there, and drove down the road. It's the road where I walk my dogs most days, so I know it well. There was a problem though....
At the other end, the road just outside the gates were filled with piles of stone and dirt. Someone had dumped it there, so I vehicle couldn't pass through, and I had to try and make a tight turn, where I would come within inches of hitting my truck on a telephone pole. "I'm fucked", I thought...starting to panic a little.
I couldn't make the turn. The truck made it, but the boat was going to hit the upright post of the fence that is around the end of the road, on the port side. I had 4" of space before I stopped trying to make the turn.
Then, Lisa showed up, and I told her "I might be screwed here... I'm stuck. I have a pole up here and a fence back there, let me think about this a second." I got in the truck, and started backing up...making sure I didn't hit the telephone pole, or the boat, and once I made it past the pole, I was able to make a three point turn with the trailer, and go back down the way I came in.
(So, thanks to whoever put the piles of stone and dirt in the middle of the road...you made my adrenal levels skyrocket. lol)
We had everything we needed, and headed to Catawba to launch. The wind was forecast, out of the east at 14-18mph, so that was going to be bumpy. Starting out of the launch, we headed over to the green buoy to start looking for some gold. We didn't find any good marks on the sonar, so we kept moving and looking.
The Davis Besse smoke stack wasn't too bent over, so I didn't think it was that bad out, and headed to G Can. But, when we got over there, the waves were 2-3s with some 4s thrown in for good measure...and, the water was pretty dirty, so I said we were going to head back to the lee side of Catawba. I looked over by Clinton Reef...marked some, and Lisa caught one. It was a dandy for her first one, and she was able to check a perch off her bucket list. We didn't stay more than a 1/2 hour, and moved towards the point of Catawba.
Lisa caught a couple more, but the marks were bleak, so I said, "I don't think the wind is supposed to get any worse, so we should drive up to the islands...we can ride the trough up, so it shouldn't be too bad of a ride. The water will probably be cleaner up there, too." Lisa was game, so off we went.
I was right about the ride...it was a little wet, because of the cross-wind, but it wasn't bad. I pointed the Vexus to Middle Bass Island, once we rounded the corner of South Bass, and stopped on the north end of the island, near the underwater "wall", as I call it....(the one between Middle Bass and Rattlesnake).
We were in 29' of water.
It was slow, but then we started getting bites. Then, I looked up and saw a bunch of sailboats come out of Put-in-Bay...like a club race event. The first 15 minutes they stayed over by South Bass, but then they started coming closer. A horn sounded, and the first flight headed north...we were sitting directly north of them. "Ugh", I thought..."This should be fun".
Sure enough, three flights of sailboats went between us, and two other boats that were between me and land, and on the outside of us. Several of them, were as close as 20 feet from our boat....when they had a ton of open water to the west of me. I was the outside boat of the three of us that were perching there. I don't have to tell you that our bite died.
But, it did start picking up again after the third flight disappeared to the north side of North Bass, so we stuck it out.
We didn't limit, but Lisa was having a great time, and said she will be back again next year, with her girlfriends to try and get walleye and perch in the same trip....and, that makes me happy!
Lisa is staying in Port Clinton until Monday, so after dropping my boat off at home, I headed over to the place she staying at, because I wanted to see the VRBO she rented.
It's a very old (but, very well maintained), and charming house on the Portage River, owned by Mark and Tammy Collins. (Tammy, if you're reading this...those old wood floors in that house are stunning!)
That's when I got to meet Max....and, I was starving, so I asked if she wanted to go for Mexican, and she said, "Yes". Lunch was great, as usual.
Tomorrow's trip is rescheduled to next Sunday (13th), due to the wind forecast of low to mid 30s out of the SW. And, Monday's trip is rescheduled to Friday the 11th, due to a gusty NW wind in the forecast.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Robby and Carson....9/22/2024
by Capt Juls on 09/22/24Robbi and his boy Carson came up from KY to fish with me, on a recommendation from a previous customer, who is friends with him. They wanted to fish for walleye, so we were headed to Huron, this morning.
I picked them up from their motel at 6am, and headed into town for the usual order of ice and powdered donuts, and off we went.
The air temp was 61 degrees, the wind calm, and the sky was clear. It was just starting to lighten in the east, so by the time we launched, idled up the river, and hit the lake, we didn't need the navigation lights on anymore.
I wanted to try inside, before heading back out to where I was two days ago, and made one pass to the west, and then one pass to the east...we caught 4 fish. But, the floating grass was bad, and it was making me crazy, so I said, "Let's finish this pass, and then we'll head out there...(pointing to the north, with an out-stretched arm). Let's see if those fish are still out there...there's no grass out there".
Luckily for us, they were, but they were a better size grade than two days ago. I think today's cooler probably doubled the weight of Friday's cooler.
Carson had never caught a walleye, but is a very good little angler. He's joined the Bass Team at his school, and has his first tournament next weekend. Robbi, knows what he's doing in the boat, too, so it was a very pleasant and easy day for me.
They had never used dipsies before, but it didn't take long for them to get used to retrieving and setting the lines on their own. The dipsey program was kept simple...
Two inside rods were run on the zero setting, and the two outside rods were on the 3 setting. Zero, at 55, and the 3 setting at 90 was our best leads.
Bandits ran behind the Off Shore boards at 115 and 100 back, with no weights, and caught two of the bigger fish on the 115 lead, with a "Green Lantern" (Slim Shady Custom). I changed out the two bandits on the port side with more Green Lanterns, but those were the only two fish that would be caught on cranks this morning. The rest were steady-hitting the spoons.
Color didn't seem to matter too much.
Speed was 2.5 on the FishHawk.
We kept circling on a 1/2 mile area, over 43 feet of water, straight out of Huron, and had fun with some wet toothy critters for a few hours.
Robbi and Carson said they had a lot of fun, and learned a lot. We all caught our limits, and headed back in. I took a slow ride in, because it was just one of those end of summer days, you don't want to forget. The lake was perfect for running, the weather warm, and the company... better than par. :)
I am not scheduled until next weekend, but I may have a trip this Thursday, I don't know yet.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Tom, PJ, and Zach...9/21/2024
by Capt Juls on 09/22/24
Quick report...
We managed 87 of our 120 limit today. Same area as the other day…between E and D, west of the can line, in 24’-25’ of water. Jeanette’s Bait, had a good mix of emeralds and Goldie’s, this morning. Crappie rigs, with a line below the weight, caught most of them.
Tom, PJ, and Zach did a great job on a very light bite!
Stay tuned…
Capt Juls
Fishing with Dan and Ed....9/20/2024
by Capt Juls on 09/20/24Yesterday, I got a text from Dan Ireland. He's a previous customer, from back in May...he and his friend were staying here all week. They bring Dan's little boat over from Missouri.
"Do you have any openings the next couple of days?", he asked.
I replied, "Tomorrow or Sunday...I'm perch'n right now". He said, "Perching is kind of slow for us...we only 6. How about you?" I replied, "We're only at 21...I'm by E Can...northwest of it, actually, between E and D Cans. Were you at?"
He said, "We are just south of D Can..we will take tomorrow, if you're good with that. We want to walleye fish". "Okay, are you staying at the White Caps?" I asked. "Yes", he said. "Okay, cool...I'll pick you two up at 6am".
Later that morning, he was driving his boat down from D can towards us, so I waved him over, and told him to set up right next to us, since he has Spot-Loc on his boat, and didn't need to throw an anchor...(that would disturb our bite).
We only needed 9 more for our 60 fish limit, and it didn't take long to catch them.
Dan and Ed didn't have any Emeralds, so I gave them what I had left of my frozen ones, and two of the crappie rigs that I designed, and make for myself and my customers, and told them to rip the minnows in half, to use. When we left, they slipped right in over where we were sitting, and managed to add to their count and ended up with 52 nice perch, before they ran out of minnows and the bite died. (The bead colors on the rigs we were using were chartreuse or white).
They decided to head back in.
This morning, I picked them up at their motel at 5:45. I had told them 6AM, but they were ready to go, and waiting outside by Dan's truck, when I arrived.
We hit the gas station for ice, then headed towards Huron.
The sky was just starting to get light, when we got to the get ready lanes at the Huron ramp. After chatting a bit with other early morning launchers, we hit the water at 6:45. I only had a clue of where I was going to look first, and that was NE of the Huron Dumping Grounds. The Helix wasn't showing many marks from the mouth of the river, out to 43 feet, but when we hit 43 feet, they showed up.
The bow mount was deployed, as was the baby Merc, and their speed set to 2.5mph on the FishHawk (for those that don't know what that is...its gadget that runs below the surface, to get the undercurrent speed, and temp readings).
We set a course to the north, and marked fish for about 1 1/2 miles, before turning around to go over them again.
The programs that worked this morning were:
Dipsey on the zero setting at 55 back (had two of these out)
Dipsey on the three setting at 80 back
Dipsey on the two setting at 70 back
Bandits behind the Off Shore Boards at 120, 100, and 97 back caught fish.
"IB Infected" (custom color by DJ Custom Eye Lures...Hi Way Bait) Had two of these out, and they both caught one.
"Green Lantern" (Slim Shady Custom) caught one.
The dipsies and spoons far out fished the cranks behind boards, this morning.
We had our 3-person limit by 10:20, and had around 8 throw backs, too. No junk fish today.
They were only good eaters....nothing big, yet.
Dan and Ed had a great morning, they said, and want to go again. Dan was grateful, that I took them to a new launch, instead of back to Vermilion, where I had first taken them...so, they could learn more areas. (I hope they come back, when there are more fish back on the west side, so we can use Mazurik's or Catawba...it's a lot closer to home). ;)
I have another perch trip tomorrow, so my fingers are crossed that we have another successful catch. But, this time, there will be four of us, so we'll need 120 perch to fill our tickets.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Eric and Mike...9/19/2024
by Capt Juls on 09/20/24Just a quick report...
After rescheduling Eric and his brother Mike 5 times since May, due to wind, we finally got out yesterday. Eric was gifted this trip through Fisherman's Central, for buying a new Vexus, and since he lives close, rescheduling wasn't an issue for them.
We decided to do some perch fishing, and headed out of Catawba at 7am. We tried 4 spots, and the 4th spot was the right one. It was west of the cans between D and E.
Frozen Emerald's in Wintergreen rubbing alcohol was preferred by the perch over the live Goldies, and we we using crappie rigs that I make myself. The bite got better as the morning progressed and turned on around 10:30. By noon we had our limits.
I'm headed out this morning to go walleye fishing with some previous customers...Dan and Ed, from Missouri. We will be launching out of Huron this morning, to see what we can do over there.
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Fishing with Keith....9/13/2024
by Capt Juls on 09/14/24Went 'fun fishing' with Keith, to try and catch some perch for my freezer. Christmas is coming, and I like to take family members in Wisco some perch.
We launched out of Catawba at 8:45 and didn't go far. I was headed towards E can, when I drove over what the Helix showed as a big school of fish in the area, so we stopped and dropped some frozen Emeralds and live Goldies over the side. The fish down there were perch...yay!
It was a light bite, and we missed a lot, but we managed our 2-person limit in 5 hours. I think we may have thrown back around a dozen little ones, fed the seagulls some small white perch, and only one sheephead.
The wind was out of the southeast to start, but around 11:30 it changed to the east...then, around 2pm it turned more NE. The bite improved in the afternoon hours.
My next trip is scheduled for the 19th....going for walleye.
So, I have available dates open as long as the winds behave. :)
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
Fishing with Bob 9/10-11/2024
by Capt Juls on 09/14/24Just a quick report of our two days of perch'n....
Day one:
We left out of Mazurik's and stopped out in front of Lakeside, first. It wasn't happening, so we headed north to Kelly Island Shoal, where he and I had fished last year, close to this time, and did well on jumbo perch.
We caught 11 in our first spot. It wasn't fast, but the fish were impressive in size, so Bob was happy. We would eventually move around to 4 other spots, and pick up 2 more. It was slow, but it was a beautiful day, and Bob was just happy to be fishing, according to him.
A Facebook friend loaded out behind us at the ramp, and asked if we wanted their 7 perch, because he didn't want to go get them cleaned, since there were only 7...Bob was happy to take them. The 20 fish went 10 pounds at the cleaners.
Day two was worse, so there's no report...lol We cut the day early and went and enjoyed a nice lunch in town.
I have fished with Bob and his brother for many years now, and they will be back for four days in a couple weeks. :)
