Deep Sigh...I Made a Bad Call...(But with the best of intentions!) Fishing with Keith 11/14/2025

I had a scheduled trip for yesterday (Friday), but had cancelled it, due to report from friends who said the lake was trashed, and that there was zero visibility. The satellite pic confirmed the massive amounts of mud out there. So, I told my customers that "It would probably be just an expensive boat ride", and that they should probably save their money.

I guess I was also feeling less confident, because my previous trips out, while fun fishing, resulted in the Garmin marking a lot of fish, but we couldn't get them to bite. So, after a three day blow that muddied up the water...I thought I was making the right decision for them. (Woke up early, so I've seen all the reports of the lake miraculously cleaning up overnight, and the bite was vert good for most fishing over by Lorain, yesterday.) So, clearly, I made the wrong decision.

It was a husband and wife from PA, and I wanted it to be fun. They understood, and said they would contact me again in the future.

I wanted to get on the water though, because it was going to be a nice day. It didn't matter if we caught any fish. Just being on the water...with its sights, smells, and calming effects just makes life better. :)

My friend, Keith, (who was able to get the day off from work on short notice) and I, took the Vexus out of Mazurik's at 10am. Originally, Keith wanted to take his boat, to run some gas (with winter storage additive) through the motor, but his Ranger's battery charger is complaining, and not working, so we took mine. This time of year is not the time to have boat troubles out there.

I wanted to hit the hole by Starve Island, first. It's usually pretty good this time of year. We stopped short, on the east side of it, so we could get set up before hitting the contour I wanted to follow.
(I like the 35-42 edge on the south side of the "hole".)

The Uterra and the baby Merc were deployed, and set to a speed of 1.5-1.7mph showing on the "Fish Hawk". The SOG was showing 2.1mph and the Fish Hawk was showing 1.6mph.

I started with Bandits behind the Off Shore boards on the starboard side, and Keith ran P-10s and a Jointed DHJ12 on the port side.

The P-10s ran with 2oz snap weights at 25/25 and 50/30. Colors were blue/chrome and Marvin...the Rapala (blue/white/orange belly) was also running at 50/30... (if you don't know what these numbers represent, the first number shows where you put the snap weight on, and the second number refers to how much more line you let out before putting the board on).

The Bandits started at 105, 80, and 67 back (unassisted). Colors were Taco, Beetle Juice, and Pink Squirrel. The Garmin was marking scattered fish from 12 to 35 foot down, so I put a snap weight on the inside board and ran it 50/30, which put it at 27 feet down.

Keith caught one pretty quick on the blue/chrome P-10 set on the 25/25, but that one small suicidal walleye would be the only fish caught in that area.

The water clarity wasn't the best. I could make out the cavitation plate on the big motor, but it wasn't great. I decided to make a move to the north side of Kelly's Island to see if the water looked any better over there. Luckily, it did...so, we set up on a SW to NE troll.

After putting pieces of the puzzle together, we changed things up and started putting fish in the cooler. It wasn't fast by any means, but steady enough to keep us entertained.

I changed out "Pink Squirrel" for "Purple Mist" and put it out at 145 back, unassisted. It caught several fish.
I changed out Bettle Juice for a Blue/Chrome, and added a 2oz snap weight. It caught fish at 50/30. Same with the Blue/Chrome P-10 I added to my side. It was out at 50/30 and caught fish.

Keith ran two Blue/Chrome P-10s, and kept the Jointed DHJ12 on. All caught fish at one point or the other.

Speed was best between 1.7 and 1.9mph. I was running the south side of Gull Island Shoal, and then out oand over the two humps between KI Shoal and Gull.

Water temp on the surface was 42.7 and 44.2 degrees at 18 feet down. (That's where I was running my Fish Hawk).

We ended with 11 nice eaters, so now I at least have my freezer stocked with my winter's supply of walleye. I love to make chowder with it...nothing better on a snowy winter's day. :)

I feel bad that I made a wrong decision with my customers, but hindsight is 20/20, and at the time, I thought I was making the right decision. Who would have guessed it would clean up that much overnight. That's not usual...at all.

Anyway...
I might have a trip on Tuesday or Wednesday...that's not confirmed yet. I have scheduled trip on Friday, but the forecast is looking bad for Friday...lots of wind and rain....again. He asked that I touch base with him on Wednesday, to make a decision. Deep Sigh...

Stay tuned...

Capt Juls