Fishing 6/16/14 with Kevin, Eric, and Skip
Yesterday I fun fished with a friend and we just goofed off for a few hours...I napped on the bow, and when we got off the water we grilled out, so no report from yesterday...(well, I guess this sort of was...lol) Sorry!
Today was a fun day on the water with a threesome from out of town. Kevin Milliron set this three day charter up, to spend some time with his friends, Eric and Skip, who are brothers.
We got a late start, since they got into town late last night and wanted to sleep in a little bit. I picked them up at their condo at 8:45 am this morning and we stopped for their fishing licenses at Hi Way Bait.
Launched out of Mazruik's at 9:15 and headed for the NE side of Kelly Island Shoal. I stopped SE of the old international C can and headed for it on a NW troll.
We ran the usual spinner program that I have been running, and experimented with other depths with a few of the spinners.
But, wouldn't you know it? 41 back on a 1 oz was the fish catcher again today.
We did have one bottom bouncer out to keep them honest, and it caught one nice walleye and a few bite offs, along with a couple white perch.
I put a RR 800 out towards the end, when the wind died, and a gigantic sheephead sunk the board on a Grape Ape.
Then, for some reason for which I can' t explain, we got some tangles that put 3 boards and the bottom bouncer out of commission until I could cut everything off and put new harnesses on. What a mess. I don't think I've seen tangles I couldn't get out before, but these were doozies and I didn't even want to try! 15 minutes later we had all four rods in the water again...no harm, no foul. :)
We ended the day 4 short of their three man limit, but they were happy and were looking forward to a fresh walleye dinner tonight. Yumm!
The water temp out that way was 68.5 degrees, which is a little cooler than the west side of the islands. From what I heard on the radio, some did very well getting their limits on the west side, while others struggled badly.
It was a scorcher out there today after the wind disappeared, it was hot, hot, hot, and the black flies were after blood. I had scrubbed my boat with bleach this morning to ward them off, but a few dropped fish, and fish slime dripping off the net, and our sweaty bodies, made it inevitable that they would find us.
I had bought some spray online that claimed they had the best solution, so I bought it. It smells good, but it doesn't do diddly on these Lake Erie vampires. I then put on some Coppertone Sport 50 (the cream kind) and that stopped them.....for about 1/2 hour. Then, they started eating my flesh again....grrrrr...Ow!!
The only complaint was about the biting flies. We all agreed that after this horribly cold winter we had, none of us were going to complain about being hot. But, I have to admit, getting home and washing the boat again, and then dousing myself with super cold hose water, it was just what the doctor ordered. ;)
The weather forecast for tomorrow is different, depending on where you look. The news forecast is calling for 10-20 out of the SW with gusts to 30mph. www.iwindsurf.com, which is what I pay most attention to, says less than 15 out of the SSW. So, to play it safe, I'm headed to Huron with the crew tomorrow. I got a good report from a friend that said they were catching some big ones over there, so we'll give it a try. That way, if it does get crappy, we can run back in, with a shorter distance to go.
Well, that's all for tonight....time to hit the hay here. 3:30 comes early.
I'm picking them up at 5:15 and hope to launch by 6:30 at the latest.
Stay tuned....:)
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Day two of a three day Adventure....:)
What a beautiful day it was today! It was a lot nicer on the water than it was on land, that's for sure!
I picked my crew up this morning at 5:15 for the second day of our three day adventure. We hit Hi Way Bait for more crawlers and ice and then the gas station to top off the truck and boat.
We headed to Vermilion to launch, and I was hoping I hadn't forgotten how to get to that launch, because since they put that new fancy launch in at Huron, we never launched at Vermilion anymore. I had no problem remembering how to get to it. I forgot how easy it is to get there. :)
I'm glad we used Vermilion's launch, because the ride back at the end of their trip would have taken forever to get back, because the lake was flat when we went out, but it was churning up good 3-5's out where we were.
We started out at the Vermilion Dumping Grounds and picked up a few, but no monsters like I was hoping for...sigh. They were still a little better grade of walleye than we had caught yesterday, so it was cool.
We only caught 12 fish today, but they weighed the same as the 14 we had yesterday. We also caught one big catfish and a gazillion whites.
No flies today!! Yay! lol
One more day with these fun guys, and I think if the weather lets us go we will be west of North Bass tomorrow, or SSW of Rattlesnake. I'm still looking for their big fish of the trip, since we didn't get lucky today.
I have promoted Skip to "First Mate", since he's very helpful and did all fish bleeding today. I hate doing that, but I know it's best to do that, and throw them on ice. What can I say? It makes me kind of sad to do it. I know, I know...I'm a wuss. But, I didn't say I wouldn't do it, I just said, "It makes me sad". So, Skip volunteered to do it for me today. Thanks Skip!! Much appreciated! :)
Still pulling crawlers, so there's nothing new in that part of the report...same old same old.
Since I hadn't fished over that way in forever, I was happy they caught as many as they did. Also, knowing what the wind was going to do, I wasn't about to go out to the sandbar, or weather buoy, so don't even go there. lol
Well, time to go relax....that 3:30 alarm is going to be going off soon.
Stay tuned....
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Day three of the three day trip...:)
With predicted storms this morning, my crew opted for a 7am pick up, rather than 6am, so as I waited in the parking lot of the condos where they were staying, while they packed their truck with their belongings.
I watched an ominous cloud formation approaching from the west. It was forecast, so I expected it. The lake was calm, and as the cloud got closer, the winds kicked up to what seemed to be 40+ out of the NE...even though the clouds were going the opposite direction.
Instantly, the lake was whipped up into frenzy of white caps and the waves began to build.
I told the guys that it should lay down as soon as it passed, so we should just go gas up the boat and hit the baitshop for more crawlers, and then take a look at it.
As we drove to Hi Way Bait, the tree tops were beginning to settle down again, so at least the forecast was right, and we might still get out this morning.
I decided that since we would be fishing west of the islands, Catawba ramp would be the best starting point, especially with a NE wind. We drove all the way around the point to get to the ramp, so we could take a look at the lake. She was laying down and all was well.
I explained to the guys that it would be their decision, because once the boat hits the water, it's full price, whether we fish for 3 hours or 6 hours. If storms bring us back in I can't prorate it. After a quick affirmative decision by Kevin, we were launching the boat and heading up to the area between Rattlesnake, Green, and Middle Bass.
There was a pack of charter boats to the west and SW of Rattlesnake, but I saw another one of those clouds coming that I watched earlier this morning, and thought that getting in tight to Middle Bass (also one of my favorite spots) would protect us if the NE winds kicked up as they did earlier....and, they did. But, it didn't last nearly quite as long as this mornings winds.
There were fish all over the Humminbird's screen, so we set a trolling pass from the ferry dock to Rattle's rock bar, and started catching fish. We turned around to make another pass through there and they seemed to like that direction a little better. Speed was faster with the current and slower going against it. 1.5-1.6 with the current and 1.3- 1.4 going against it.
They really liked the clear chartreuse and gold bead combo with a gold #5 hammered colorado blade today. That combo took most of the fish, but other colors worked too...the same as in my previous reports all month.
Same leads...39-45 back with a 1oz inline weight, 25-38 back with the 2oz inline weight, and 27-29 back with the #2 Tadpole. The bottom bouncer caught 2 or 3 walleye too. (I think I have to change the reel on that rod...the drag isn't working properly...it's too tight and it won't loosen up, and I think we lost a lot of fish that otherwise might have stayed hooked).
We had a sailboat harassing us for a few hours, but I don't think it was intentional. In fact, it was quit comical in that we came to the conclusion that his sailing skills were on the lower end of the scale and he was just learning....learning with an entire crew of family and friends who also didn't know a dang thing about sailing. lol No mishaps, so no harm no foul. Thanks for the laughs today Mr. Sailboat man! :)
Well, today Kevin, Erich, and Skipper got their limit of nice eater walleye, so they were happy, happy, happy. They said they had more fish than they needed, and asked me if I wanted some of them. Of course I said, "Yes!" to that generous offer. Thanks again guys!
I had a great time these past three days fishing with them, and it really makes my job the best one on the planet when everyone goes home happy, and telling me they had a good time and that they learned a lot. I can't ask for more than that. Life is good. :)
I have the next two days off, so I'll be walking the dogs, cleaning the boat, cutting the grass, and doing a little grocery shopping...oh, and cleaning the house......again (sigh).
Here is a little video of my crew catching their last fish of the day/trip today...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11kT29ETdkI
Stay tuned...
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