Ashtabula 7/10 - 7/12

[DW72]

Hi all. My first trip this year. Had a great trip other then the boat limping badly under power as soon as we left the dock. Horrible vibration and tons of unburned fuel vapor. So... it'll go back to my man who winterized it very soon to see what happened.

Anyway....left the dock at LSP Thursday night at 7pm. Still really shallow there getting out at only 2-3 FOW. Went pretty much straight North and stopped at 45 fow and there were fish everywhere. Fished out to 55 fow. It was flat calm. 2 of us limited in 1.5 hours. The fish as some of you friends here told me were hungry but on the smaller end. 15-18 inches.

Day two we had another guy join us but he didn't show up til late afternoon. We got our 18 in about 3-4 hours combined trips with lines in the water. I was searching new water for bigger fish that day. I started in 55 and we marked pretty consistently all the way to 68 then nothing so turned around. Way better grade of fish. 18 inch up through a 24. One fish Ohio at 29 inches which was thrilling for us! Flat water again.

Yesterday was tougher. We didn't hit the dock until 10 am. Fished 50-68 FOW. Man It was hot as heck the first two days but the truck showed 100 degrees yesterday at 4 pm. Fish the first two days were mostly 30-50 feet down. Yesterday they were higher at 15-35 feet down until the waves kicked up then they dropped back down. It got rough and whitecaps after noon. We struggled more. Tons of fish that weren't biting. New guy was seasick and puking for the last 3 hours. Got our 18 in 5 hours.

Best speeds overall was 2.2 to 2.4 mph SOG with calm waters. On the last day with the 2+ foot waves behind me had to go up to 2.8-3.0 mph.

All bandits. Color really didn't matter. Purple, white, chartreuse painted baits and some multicolored chrome and gold chrome. I caught some fish unassisted at 100 feet back on the last day. Overall though I ran 5 oz snaps at 50 feet and 90-130 feet total line out. The best were 130 and 100.

Hope this helps someone and thank you all that help me. If I forgit to mention anything, just ask.

Tight lines to ya!

[Squatch]

Nice job DW, glad to finally see you got out on the water. Looks like you still got it. Still out there catching walleye with success. Thanks for the report and keep in touch. My brother and I are going back in August, going to take our kids and try to catch some eyes. Going to try new waters. Going to try Vermillion or Lorain, never fished there before so hopefully we can do ok. From all the posts sounds like walleye biting good there and not as far of a drive for us as Ashtabula. Hopefully you get back out to fish some more. Keep in touch!

[DW72]

Hey thanks my friend. Those areas will be good for you then. The thing I like about summer fishing is they don't move around as much as early spring in the shallower waters. Just look for fish from shallow to deep, find them and catch them. Deeper waters seem to generally hold bigger fish on average has beeny experience.

I think the issue on my motor may be the coil. They are cheap and fairly easy to change so I'll get a coil and plugs and give that a try.

All good otherwise. You have my number so shoot me a text anytime. I will be fishing more pretty soon so will keep you posted.

~Don

[Budman118]

Nice report DW. Hoping to hit Geneva this weekend for the first trip. Life has thrown my buddies and I a curve this year and I believe we can finally get away. Usually we have 3 to 4 trips in by now. Things happen. Great info! I’ll post when we make it up.

[pfk]

GREAT JOB DW!!!!!!!!!!!! ugh about the boat. geneva ramps great and lots of water, don't waste my time at Ashtabula unless i go launch up the river. tight lines buddy, CONGRATS!

[DW72]

Thanks Gents!

Hope you and the men are rebounding Budman. I'm certain you'll smack em when you can get out. The boat traffic was nothing unusual.

Thanks again PFK. I appreciated your advice on Geneva last year. I have been looking at the maps for the launch and campground and I will be going there soon. Probably next trip when I have a more seasoned guy along to help me.

I stayed in N. Kingsville this time which was great. That puts me closer than when I was staying in Conneaut. A small Motel that was super convenient, cheap and clean.

The screen was just completely black with fish for many hours. It was awesome. I don't expect they'll go anywhere just push out a bit over the next 60-90 days. The water temp on the surface was 80 degrees.

Kinda glad to have a lot of males between 18 and 22 this time. Much easier to clean the. Those big females. I have 48 iced to do by myself and get in the freezer this morning..... lol

Great hearing from you both as always. Best of luck and safe fishing!!