Fishing with Jim and Lisa McDougle...4/22/25

Yay! I finally ran my first trip of the season! lol
Sorry, this will be short, due to a later start, and my early bedtime not playing nice together. The dogs are begging for some playtime, too.
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I told Jim and Lisa, who came over here from Syracuse, NY, that I would pick them up at 7:30, since the wind forecast the night before was showing gusts to 20 at 8am (that didn't happen and was around 10-12 out of the wsw this morning).


I had heard the water around the islands was really muddy, and fish were stacked in it, but wouldn't bite, so we headed east to launch out of Huron, instead. It was a good decision. The water close to the river was mud, but it was pretty good further out. I could see the cavitation plate, and make out the prop, which to me is perfect mixing water.


We were trolling Flicker Minnow 11s on the starboard side, and Bandits on the port side. We were over 13-15 feet of water, and not marking a lot, but managed to catch 15 of the 18 that hooked up this morning. The "Slick Purple Bengal" color took every fish on that side, while the Khaki Bandit and RC Crush did their jobs on the other side.


Leads were:
Flickers....35 / 27 / 23
Bandits....35 / 25 / 15
The 35, 27, and 25 leads were best.


Speed was 1.8mph


Water temp was 49.82 degrees


Jim and Lisa had a lot of fun, while I whined about not knowing how to change the iPilot mode on the new "Advanced GPS" remote for the Quest Ulterra. Thankfully, I figured it out after we got off the water.


Let me tell you though....you don't want that in the "Locked Course" mode, because it will have a mind of its own, and you can't take your attention off of it.
I can't imagine why anyone would want to use it in that mode, but I guess there are people that want it, so it's there. It was making me crazy.


Another bummer was that the black wire (one red, one black) on the battery pack that sits inside the FishHawk probe was severed, so I couldn't use it. Weird, how you get used to using something, so when it's not available you really miss it.


I emailed them right away, and got a speedy response with a link to the battery pack replacement, so I ordered one for 14.95 and paid 30.88 to have it delivered here tomorrow. So, I'll have to go one more day without it. I really-really like that little gadget. :)


Other than having to tighten the throttle handle up a little bit, everything is running great. The throttle is too loose and is very touchy, making it harder to drive in wavy conditions....too fast, too slow....you know what I'm saying. :)


Jim and Lisa said they had a great time, and want to come back and do it again, sometime, and that makes me happy!


Tomorrow, I have a new group...I think from Iowa, but don't quote me on that.
There are 6 of them, and they are bringing one boat out here to fish, and I'll be taking half of the group, while the other half follows us out.


We will be launching out of Mazurik's in the morning, since the water where we were this morning will be too clean. You could see the clean water moving further and further in towards shore, with that WSW wind. And, I'm thinking that the mud that was around the islands will be settling some overnight, and might be a perfect mix tomorrow....fingers crossed!


Stay Tuned....


Capt Juls

Great report as usual, and glad to hear the weather cooperated for once.
Question for ya....When running the fishhawk probe do you send it down with a downrigger setup, or can it be ran down to depth with a spare rod?
And a follow up question. Once you know the exact speed the lures are running is it imperative to have an i-troll setup to be able to dial in the troll speed exactly? For example my kicker motor seems to want to be all or nothing... especially when I am trying to troll at slower speeds. I do not feel as if I have much fine control over it. I am assuming that to be more to do with the limitations of the controls and linkages more so then the motor itself.

Great to see you're finally getting out fishing and had a good day.Good luck with the new boat and getting things set up the way you need them.

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Originally Posted by tater140

Great report as usual, and glad to hear the weather cooperated for once.
Question for ya....When running the fishhawk probe do you send it down with a downrigger setup, or can it be ran down to depth with a spare rod?
And a follow up question. Once you know the exact speed the lures are running is it imperative to have an i-troll setup to be able to dial in the troll speed exactly? For example my kicker motor seems to want to be all or nothing... especially when I am trying to troll at slower speeds. I do not feel as if I have much fine control over it. I am assuming that to be more to do with the limitations of the controls and linkages more so than the motor itself.

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I have it on a short rod that they used to offer...not sure if they still offer this shorty rod anymore, though.

I use the iTroll on the kicker, and it certainly helps to dial in the speed easier.