Fishing with Steve and Mick 2/26/2024

My alarm went off this morning, for the first time since last fall, and I woke up startled, wondering why it was going off...then, I remembered...I was going fishing! I jumped out of bed to get my coffee, and make sure the weather was still going to be nice today. To my delight, it was.

Steve called me the other day, asking if he and his friend, Mick, could get out with me today, so I checked the weather and wind forecasts, and told him, "Yes".


I don't usually run this early in the season, but with the mild weather upon us, I thought it was a good idea to take advantage of the nice weather, while we have it.
My boat is over in heated storage at the moment, so I left the house at 5:45 to go over to the bldg and grab her. Then, I hit the gas station, to gas up the Vexus and get ice for the coolers, and headed to Huron.


Steve and Mick drove in from MI this morning, and met me at the Huron ramp a little after 7. We were to meet at 7:30, but as usual, I was early. I had time to get everything set up, before they arrived, and was finished by the time they showed up, so we launched a little early.


We headed out of the river, and headed east towards Vermilion...searching water from 38-44' of water. I wasn't seeing the kind of marks I wanted to see, since Mick has never caught a walleye over 28", and was hopeful to do that today, and I figured that the water would be a little cleaner to the east, than what I was seeing out in front of Huron.


I had already used up an hour looking, so I took a friend's advice, who said he was working "stained" water at Huron, but was loaded with good marks...to go and fish over that way. So, off we went...headed back west.


When we got there, I could clearly see the cavitation plate, and the prop was slightly visible, so I was more positive that fishing would be okay there. The fish marks were all sitting below the 30 line, and not coming up, so I'm guessing with the clear sky last night, and the back end of a full moon, that the fish were feeding heavily overnight, and would get hungry again more towards the afternoon. And, from what I heard on the radio, it sounded like a lot of people were struggling, and asking if anything is working. The responses were few.


We set up with Smithwick P-10s on both sides, running with 2oz snap weights behind the Off Shore boards. We only put 7 nice fish in the box this morning, and lost 5 others, that didn't hook themselves well enough.


Most of the fish came on a Fire Tiger color at 45/45...(for those new to snap weights...45/45 means, that you put a weight on at the 45 mark, and then let out another 45' of line (total line out is 90), then, put the board on.
50/45, 45/45, 40/40 all caught.


At one point we took the P-10s off the port side and replaced them with Bandits. The Black Headed Wonder Bread at 120 back (unassisted) took two fish, and lost one . The other colors got changed out and set deeper, but the outside board was the only one to go, each time.


We were running 1.2-1.4 mph, but 1.3 was showing every time we caught a fish.
The FishHawk was showing 1.3, but the GPS was showing 1.7-1.8 mph.


Steve and Mick had a fun day, though, and said they want to come back again, soon, and will be watching the forecast. I'm looking forward to it, because they were a lot of fun to fish with. Both of them had positive attitudes and were just happy to be on the lake, on a nice day, spending time together.


I'm happy to report that everything was working the way it should be, after sitting for a couple months. However, I have to do the latest updates on the Humminbirds tomorrow, so fingers are crossed they both update without any issues. :)


Stay tuned....


Capt Juls

Nice report Jules. Are the docks in at Huron. Might try somewhere Sunday or the first of next week.

Thanks again for the report Captain! I was probably 7 miles further east than you and the water was just slightly stained which I liked. We got most of our fish from 7:30 to 11 and then it came to a halt for about 3 hours. Around 2 we started getting a few but the bite was very slow and the winds had picked up from the east. Even though it wasn't the greatest day for you, these kind of reports can be just as helpful as someone that has a super good day. Thanks again and best of luck to you!

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Originally Posted by badboards

Nice report Jules. Are the docks in at Huron. Might try somewhere Sunday or the first of next week.

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Just one so far...no courtesy dock either

Thank you.

Hey Jules, been following your reports for years, great info for those newbies out there. Do you think there will be some fishable waters(clarity) by saturday afternoon. Thinking of coming up from chicago area..Very flexible. Can and will fish anywhere from toledo to lorain. Looks like nice weather..Just finished washing boat and now hoping can do some fishing this weekend. Thanks for the info.. Chris

Chris I’ll be heading out Saturday morning with a couple friends. Going to be in the A and B can area. Wind is supposed to switch to SSW Thursday night and stay that way all day Friday. Will definitely be some fishable water. We will start where i said and go further out as needed. Remember stained water is your friend.

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Originally Posted by Gsehntr1226

Hey Jules, been following your reports for years, great info for those newbies out there. Do you think there will be some fishable waters(clarity) by saturday afternoon. Thinking of coming up from chicago area..Very flexible. Can and will fish anywhere from toledo to lorain. Looks like nice weather..Just finished washing boat and now hoping can do some fishing this weekend. Thanks for the info.. Chris

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There should be a satellite picture this afternoon. The forecast is for a clear/sunny sky...fingers crossed that it stays cloud free, so we can get a good pic.

Definitely fingers crossed for a good pic or two today. We'll be out and hopefully on the water around noon tomorrow. Going home Monday. Will have 2 boats fishing. Will report results and am happy to share with anyone via text during the trip. Per previous posts from Juls and Lynn, I think I'll go out of Huron for the first day and search around. Earlier I saw a good size patch of cleaner water North of Kelley's. Do they hang there this time of year or not too much? We'll stay in PC so are also mobile to launches and fish anywhere from the cans over to Vermillion. Thanks and good luck to all!

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Originally Posted by DW72

Definitely fingers crossed for a good pic or two today. We'll be out and hopefully on the water around noon tomorrow. Going home Monday. Will have 2 boats fishing. Will report results and am happy to share with anyone via text during the trip. Per previous posts from Juls and Lynn, I think I'll go out of Huron for the first day and search around. Earlier I saw a good size patch of cleaner water North of Kelley's. Do they hang there this time of year or not too much? We'll stay in PC so are also mobile to launches and fish anywhere from the cans over to Vermillion. Thanks and good luck to all!

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Typically, I'm not usually out this early, but by the end of March there are certainly fish on the north side of Kelly's. Another friend was up there last week, and caught some. It's worth checking out, if you have the time and inclination to do so. :)

Also, after a blow, there's usually cleaner water up there between the islands.

Juls. Thank you very much as usual for sharing. Pretty rare for an accomplished captain to share knowledge. I'll post everything we learn.

Respectfully,
Don

Satellite image today looks better than I expected. With the south winds tonight and all day tomorrow that will help out a bunch for the weekend!

Thanks everybody, DW72 I will share also, just looking to get my cousin and his kid some fish, I dont know if i can put my number on here, Ill check back tomorrow see if I can
Chris

My cell is 607-857-4628

That is what I'm talking about. Beautiful fish and Juls thanks for your posts, if you ever need a deck hand sub, just give me a couple days notice! I supply my own circus music when I net the motor, but good at calming down the guests once the fish is flopping in the boat. Haha

DW72 When are you going out?

Fished yesterday afternoon and will leave Monday.

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Originally Posted by The Vexilar Kid

That is what I'm talking about. Beautiful fish and Juls thanks for your posts, if you ever need a deck hand sub, just give me a couple days notice! I supply my own circus music when I net the motor, but good at calming down the guests once the fish is flopping in the boat. Haha

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Thanks for the offer, but I don't run a big 6-pack boat, so I don't have room for a first mate/deck hand...sorry... :)