Fishing with Jim ("Lumpy") and Jacob...4/22/2026

After rescheduling the 3-day trip with some Nebraska fellows that were supposed to fish this past Monday, Tuesday, and today...I was able to pick up a trip for this morning.

Mother Nature has given us a reprieve, and it was supposed to be nice today through Friday, with winds coming back in on Saturday. I'm taking the weekend off, because my sister and brother-in-law are coming down from Wisco for the weekend, and I want to spend all my time with them. :)

The temperature when I went out to the back deck at 2am was in the high 50s, and the wind had settled down to almost nothing out of the WSW. It was looking to be a nice morning on the lake, and I was looking forward to it.

Jacob and his Dad Jim met me at Mazurik's at 6:15, and we were in the water by 6:30. I decided to head to the east side of Kelly's this time, because all the boats that had launched ahead of us were headed north up the middle, or to the north side of Kelly's. I didn't want to play bumper boats with them, so we headed east instead.

As the Vexus approached the SE corner, the Garmin was marking plenty of fish. The sun was still below the horizon, so it was hard to tell what color the water actually was at the time, but the fish were there, and so were we, so I shut her down and deployed the FishHawk, Ulterra, and the baby Merc.

As the kicker and bow-mount worked in tandem...one pushing, and the other steering, a northerly course was set at a speed of 1.9 on the FishHawk. Speed Over Ground (SOG) would show 2.2mph.

Water temp was 49.5 on the surface and 50.7 down 18 feet, where the FH was hanging out.

I started with the program last used, which was the WalleyeX Renegades on the starboard side and Bandits on the port side, running behind Off Shore boards.

The Renegades ran both unassisted and assisted, with a "Craw" color running on the outside board unassisted at 100 back. The next in line was another "Craw" at 80 back.
The assisted Renegades were "Horizon" at 50/17 with 2oz and Blue Chrome at 50/30 2oz. (For those new to snap weights...this lingo means you put the weight on at the 50 mark, and then let out another 17 and 30 feet before putting the boards on. Total line out would be 67 and 80 feet).

The Bandits ran three unassisted and one assisted. Colors that caught were Blue Chrome at 50/27 2oz.
Fruit Dots (black-headed wonder bread) at 80 back
The Bandits were not doing as well as the WalleyeX baits, so eventually, we ended up swapping the Bandits out for more Renegades and put a few more fish in the box from that side of the boat. The program was the same.

It was by no means a fast bite, but we still caught our three limits. They had thrown two keepers back early, because I was sure we could catch more/bigger ones, and we ended up one short of our 3-person limit when we came in. Oops...lol
They didn't mind, though, and were very happy with the day's catch.

It was a very fun and relaxing morning. Those two picked on each other relentlessly, but it was all in good fun. They had driven in from MN and stopped to fish before heading to Maryland, where Jacob is stationed next. He got his Master's in Electrical Engineering through the government, and has been reassigned out there. I can't remember which branch he's in, and I don't want to misrepresent by guessing.

They have their own boat and wanted to learn how to use the inline boards, because they bought some and have all the trolling gear now, but just wanted to gain the knowledge and confidence to run a spread in their own rig. They accomplished that mission, and I have zero doubt that they will do just fine when they attempt it. They both did great with setting the boards out and bringing them in. We had zero tangles this morning, and they did most of the setting. I mostly just watched and gave advice. :)

They both said they learned a lot and had a great time, so my mission was accomplished, too.

Tomorrow, I have long-time customers, Frank Smith and Ray, who usually fish with me one day and then fish out of Frank's boat for a few days following.
Friday, I have my longest customers, Steve and Jeremy Chapman. Steve was my very first customer when I started this venture 15 years ago. They're more like family to me than "customers" after all these years, and I always look forward to fishing with them. :)

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls