Fishing with Rob and Marical Greenwood...5/1/2026

We went from summer temps earlier this week to winter temps this morning. The back deck visit in the early hours wasn't as pleasant as it had been, and the forecast for the day wasn't looking like it was going to be a fun one. Temps in the low to mid 40s during the morning fishing hours, and rain. At least the wind was going to be light out of the north, so we wouldn't have to deal with that, like we did yesterday. Yay...I guess that's the bright side of the crappy weather report we had to look forward to.

Rob and Marical came over from Iowa with their boat, and wanted to fish with me to learn a few things about running Off Shore inline planer boards, and then would be fishing the next few days on their own.

I picked them up from the Best Western hotel at 6am, and after hitting the gas station for some ice for the cooler, we headed to Mazuruik's to launch. The ramp wasn't busy this time, so I got the boat ready, and we launched at 6:30.

It was light enough to see, but I still put the navigation lights on, due to the heavy cloud cover and relentless drizzle/rain that was falling. The lake was maybe a 6" chop, if that. We headed north, up the west side of Kelly's, towards the line. But, as we neared, I could see the water was very clean, and a lot colder than by Kelly's. The water temp up there was 47.1 degrees and 51 down by Kelly's. The fish marks were not there either, so we turned around and headed back down.

We stopped NW of the island and set up. The baby Merc went down first to get started and warmed up. Then, the Ulterra was deployed, set on a course to the south, and the autopilot engaged. The FishHawk went down, and when it reached a speed of 1.9mph, we started setting lines.

I showed Rob how to attach the boards with the loop/twist on the front arm and the Snapper on the back. He picked it up right away and was setting his side on his own in no time at all. I looked up to see the island wasn't where it was supposed to be, and found the Ulterra's iPilot wasn't working as it should....ugh!

I stowed it and redeployed it, changed the batteries in the remote, and it still wouldn't hold its course. The iPilot mode was in "Course Heading", which means it uses the compass and should go where I initially point it. If it gets off course, it's supposed to correct itself and get the boat back on course. It wasn't going to work. I would have to be paying attention the entire trip, which was a pain in the butt. One truly doesn't know how spoiled one gets with an iPilot working for you. lol

We ran 7 Bandits and 2 dipsies. The port side was running 4 boards, and the starboard side ran the 2 dipsies and 3 boards.

On the Port side, the Bandits were:
Khaki on the outside at 100 back (stock color)
Electri Zebra at 90 Back (stock color)
Flare at 70 back (stock color)
An orangey one painted by Matt Maynard (M&M Customs), but I can't find it on his site to give you a name....sorry. That one ran at 60 back.

The dipsies were the usual zero and three settings. The zero ran at 40 back, and the three ran at 50 back. Both caught fish with spoons.

The Bandits on the starboard side were:
Khaki at 100 back
Fruit Dots at 97 back (stock color)
Electric Zebra at 80 back

Speed was funny....I sped up at one point to get out of a situation I saw coming, and was doing 3.2mph when a fish hit the Fruit Dots Bandit. So, we caught anywhere from 1.9mph, 2.5mph, and 3.2mph. How do you like them apples? :)

It was a cold and wet morning, but Rob and Marical were very positive and upbeat, which kept my attitude in check and on the positive side, too. My hands were numb, my face was numb, and everything in the boat was soaked. Not my idea of a good time, but they were a good time, and I enjoyed their company immensely. I don't mind rain when it's 80-90 degrees out, but when it's cold out...that's another story.

They came to learn, and learn they did. I am confident they can now successfully run more than two Off Shore boards per side, if they wanted to. They did great!
They said they learned a lot and had a great time, and I'll just have to take their word for it, because my Ulterra issue kind of had me pissed off. It worked perfectly yesterday, so what happened in 18 hours to make it not work today? Grrrrr.

I called Minn-kota, and they advised I first update the software, if needed. BUT, the only way to do that is through the One Boat Network app, or a Humminbird unit. I no longer run Humminbirds, so I have to use the app. Well, guess what...it won't let me pair my phone to the motor through Bluetooth right now. I did have to register the motor through the app, so maybe it just needs time to catch up. I'll try it again in the morning. Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow and Sunday's trip, with Tim McGlothlin, has been rescheduled, due to the temps. He's a warm-weather fisherman (lives in Florida), and says he doesn't even own clothes to keep warm in 40-degree weather, so I'll get him out when Mother Nature comes to her senses and warms it back up here.

My next scheduled trip isn't until Thursday, the 7th. That should give me enough time to make sure my Ulterra is back and working as it should.

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls