Fishing with Bill and Glen...4/17/2026

Woke up a little before 2am, grabbed my cup of coffee, some dog treats, and hit the back deck with the dogs. The forecast for the day was calling for some fog in the morning, which would burn off by 11am. But it wasn't foggy at 2am. The sky was clear, and the stars were shining. The wind was light out of the west and would switch to the east at about 5am. That's when the fog rolled in.

I picked up Bill and Glen at the Whitecaps Motel at 6am, and we headed into town to hit the gas station for some ice, and then headed to Mazurik's to launch. There were already a lot of boats ahead of us, but it wasn't bad. Everyone was quick at the docks, so everyone was able to launch at a steady pace.

I was kind of annoyed by how many didn't have their navigation lights on, since it was so foggy, and reminded a few that they should turn them on. One got annoyed that I was telling him to turn them on. lol Common sense isn't so common anymore, I think.

Anyway....

We headed north and fished between the islands. It was slow going at first, but there were areas that had better visibility, so we were able to get going faster until visibility diminished again, and then we would slow down. As soon as I started marking some fish, we stopped to set up.

I was generously given some WalleyeX crankbaits by Justin Sieverding to try out, so I put 4 "Renegade" colors on the starboard side. Bandits would run on the port side. All would run behind the Off Shore boards.

Since it was so calm this morning, Bill and Glen were able to stand up in the boat this time. Last time it was rough, and they didn't stay vertical for very long, so I ended up setting all the lines for them. This time, Bill wanted to learn how to do it, so I had him set lines on the port side, after showing him how to attach the boards properly on the first one. He did great and caught on very quickly.

The Bandits were unassisted and set at 100 back on the outside board, 80 back on the next one, then 60 back, and 50 back on the inside boards.
From outside to inside, the colors were:
"Whiskey and Water" (SlimShadyCustom)
"RC Crush" (DJ CustomEyeLures)
Blue/Chrome
Khaki

The WalleyeX lures ran both assisted and unassisted:
"Craw" was 81 back unassisted on the outside board
"Chrom Tiger" was run 50/15 with 2oz (total line out 65)
"Horizon" was 50/17 2oz
"Goblin" was 50/40 2oz

The water temp on the surface was 47.5 and 49 degrees at 18 feet down.

The FishHawk was reading 1.9mph, while the SOG was 2.2-2.3mph. I kept the speed at 1.9 all morning, and we went 18 for 21 fish by 9:30.
We worked about a 3/4 mile stretch before turning around and going over the same line again. We would make 4 passes over that line, and then we would be done.

It was a fun morning, and Bill and Glen couldn't have been happier with our catch. They kept talking about the size of the walleye here, compared to lakes they normally fish, and were thrilled with the "Good Eaters" we put in the cooler. :)

It felt good to get back on the lake today, since I had cancelled the three-day trip earlier in the week, due to the forecast. I'm kind of kicking myself for that one, but it was iffy, so it is what it is. It happens.

My next crew is coming in for a three-day trip, Monday through Wednesday. Monday morning is supposed to have a low of 27 degrees and a high of 47 with light NW winds....brrrrr! It was showing gusty NW winds earlier, but changed, so we'll see if it changes again. Tuesday is showing gusty S winds from 20-35, and wednesday is showing ENE 16-18mph. But this is Ohio, and it's going to change daily, so we'll see what happens. I call them and let them know what's up...I'm not sure how far they are coming from.

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls