Fishing with Jim Renaldo...6/29/2026

Started the morning off at 1a.m., because the dogs felt that I had had enough sleep and decided it should be time to go out on the back deck. I had gone to sleep an hour earlier than normal, so I guess their internal clock was keeping track. So much for that extra hour of sleep I wanted. lol

We went out on the back deck after I made some coffee, grabbed a couple of dog treats, and some cat food for my "back porch kitty". I checked the apps for the morning's forecast and found it would be warm, humid, and no wind. The lake would be calm.

Originally, Jim set this trip up for his son and an exchange student from France, but they had other plans, and the student went home to France, I think. Then, Jim asked two of his church friends to come, but they bailed at the last minute, too, so it would just be Jim.

Jim is a local (Akron area) and has had his own boats, but he sold both of them recently. He often fished out of Vermilion, and would text me his reports if he got into some fish, and I would text him back with my reports of where I was fishing and how I was doing where I was. I've communicated with him for years, and fished with him a couple of times.

So, we went from having to get a 4-person limit down to a 2-person limit. I decided to put the trolling rods away and just use the 4 dipsey rods, so we wouldn't get done in a half hour. lol

We launched at Huron at 5:15 and took a slow idle down the river, because it was still pretty dark out, and I wanted it lighter by the time we got to where I wanted to start. It wouldn't take us long to get to where we were starting, because I was only headed out to 35' of water.

It was close enough to "light enough" to remove the navigation light in the back and turn the rest off. It was a Monday, and I knew the traffic was going to be low, so there was no danger of anyone hitting us this morning.
The sunrise was beautiful, because of the thick humid air, I think. It was definitely different than the clear air sunrises.

The Garmin was marking fish from 25' all the way out, so I stopped over 28 feet of water to set up. The Ulterra and baby Merc worked together to keep a speed of 2.5 on the FishHawk, and the iPilot was keeping us on a course from the south to the north....out to deeper water.

As the Vexus moved over deeper water, the dipsey settings were adjusted to what I was using the past two weeks.

The zero settings were set at 25 and 30 to start and eventually adjusted to 33 and 47 back.

The three settings were initially set at 50 and 60 back, but would be set to 64 and 72, like I had been using in my previous reports.

Yeck and Scorpion spoons started taking fish right away.

I did eventually cave and put two Off Shore boards out, pulling the Bill Lewis PWC Lites in the "Green Tiger" and "Purple Tiger" colors with a 2oz Guppie weight attached at the 50 mar and the boards put on at 97 and 83 back. Both took multiple fish right away.

The bugs found us early on. Lots of them. Caddis Flies, Muffleheads, and Midges...all the ticklely kind. They covered us head to toe and all over the boat. And, because the boat was damp from dew, they stuck to everything once they landed.

It was a fast bite this morning, and we had our 12 good eaters by 7:10. We played catch and release after that, but not for too long, because Jim had to get home to meet an electrician who was coming to install something on their new swimming pool, so the decision was left up to him on how long he wanted to stay out.

The air temp was already up to 81 degrees at 8am, and it was only going to get hotter, so he called it, and we went in.

He didn't want to keep any of the fish, because he already has a freezer full, so he gave them to me. I didn't have any left in mine. Thanks, Jim! I appreciate it!

I'll be out again between the 1st and 3rd fishing with a friend out of his boat. I don't know if we are walleye fishing or perch fishing yet. Then, on the 5th, I'm going to take my neighbors, Dave and Danielle, out fishing, as a thank-you for letting me use his truck while mine is incapacitated. I'll be getting mine fixed on Monday the 6th.

I have a lot of open dates available in July, right now. I usually have half the month booked, but the economy is weak, obviously, and people aren't scheduling trips like they normally do. It's scary. :(

Anyway....As I get out, I'll report....But I don't see a lot of reporting happening in July right now.

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls