Fishing with Ken and Jeff....6/13/2026

I beat the alarm clock again and got up at 1:45, due to my Golden Retriever pacing the floor, because he wanted me to get up. My alarm is set for 2am. I said to the maniac, "I guess it's time to get up, eh? Okay, you win...only because it's only 15 minutes".

The back deck was calm, dry, and warm. The forecast was calling for sunshine and winds out of the SW at 5-13mph, so I knew it was going to be a good day. I left the house at 4:40 and went to the Whitecaps Motel to pick up my guys, who had a 5am pickup. I wanted a few minutes to wipe down the trailer. I did the boat yesterday, but forgot to do the trailer, so it was bugging me.

I sent a text to Ken to let them know I was there, that I was early, and there was no hurry. They walked out at 4:50 and jumped in the truck. We only had to pick up ice for the fish-cooler and a couple of snacks, so we made a quick stop at the Speedway in town. Apparently, the lights were not turned off last night, so the entire place was covered in a thick layer of Mayflies. While they can be bothersome, it's always great to see them, because it's a clear sign of a healthy lake.

We got in the water at Mazurik's at 5:30, and after the big motor was warmed up to 140 degrees, we set off. The Vexus was pointed to the east, instead of north this time, and we just drove until we got out of the river channel (more wind in the channel). I was marking good fish marks on the Garmin, so we stopped. We set up over 28' of water, and kept the boat pointing east for our trolling pass.

The Ulterra gets deployed first and set to a power level of 5, with the iPilot taking control. The baby Merc goes next, and is powered up enough to get the FishHawk to read 2.3-2.5mph on its graph. For those reading these reports for the first time, the FishHawk is a probe that runs down below in the undercurrent. It tells me the speed and temp down there. The surface current and the undercurrent are very seldom the same, so it's good to know how fast your baits are actually swimming down below.

Ken and Jeff were not old gents like I thought they were in my last report, so it was a pleasant surprise to see these two walk up to the truck. I knew they would have no issues standing up in the boat. They told me they wanted to learn, so I showed them how dipsies work, and how the boards work, and then showed them how to set all of them out.

It took a few tries, but they picked it up pretty quick and were setting lines and netting fish in no time.

Dipsies were set out first. You know the settings....a zero and a three on each side of the boat.
The zero settings started out at 28 and 35 when we were over 28' of water.
The three settings started out at 50 and 72.
Yeck and BadMo Arrow spoons were used.

The dipsies definitely outfished the cranks, but the crank fish were consistently bigger.

As we got out to 43' of water, the dipsies were adjusted to:
Zero settings were 54 and 47, and the three settings were 64 and 72.

The Off Shore boards pulled Bandits behind them...two on each side.
The port side ran one at 67 and 57 back, early, and then at 97 and 67 as the sun got higher.
The starboard side ran them at 100 and 80.

Colors that caught were:
"Halographic Natural Shad" (Slim Shady Custom) <----best one for cranks today!
"Whiskey and Water" (Slim Shady Custom)
"Psycho Killer" (Slim Shady)
"SunSpot" (stock color)

Water temp on the surface was 69.6, and the temp down below was 71.

Ken and Jeff did a great job after getting the hang of it and were running the back of the boat by themselves. I just reeled in my fish, and let them set lines. I believe they will now be able to do the same in their own boats.

They said they had a great time and learned a lot, so that makes me happy! Mission accomplished...:)

I'm off tomorrow, and then I have a 4-day trip starting on Monday. Monday and Tuesday look good, but Wednesday and Thursday are iffy, right now. Hopefully, it changes for the better. My guys are coming all the way from Wyoming, so I want them to get all 4 days in while they are here. Fingers crossed!

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls