First ever fishing report and big THANK YOU

I’ve been reading these post for the last couple years but have never posted one of my fishing reports so I’m finally going to do my part and share. I’m not an experienced Lake Erie fisherman but this forum has done a great job of educating me on how to get started.

I spend several hours one night this winter reading over a month of last year’s reports for this time of year and writing down lure types, distances, water temps, speeds, etc. A HUGE “thank you” to all of you who post here but a special thanks to Capt Jules, Skipper9 and Wakina. The information you share is nothing short of amazing. I went out and bought an assortment of gear, lures and put a 9.9 kicker on my 18’ Crestliner.

Saturday my oldest son, a buddy and I went out for our first trolling attempt. What an awesome day! We limited out in a little less than 5 hours with an average fish size of 6.8 lbs. On Sunday, I took the wife and all three kids (14, 12 & 8 – not listing wife’s age) and we did really well, catching 11 in 3.5 hours with an average weight of 6.7 lbs. I had never caught a fish Ohio before this weekend and we ended the weekend with 9 of them with the longest being a little over 31”.

Perfect 10’s at 20/20 to 30/30 were the ticket and a green lantern RR. Had some luck with Husky Jerk’s too but I was running them too deep based on the other reports here. Started out around 1.3 mph but things heated up when I moved up to 1.6-1.8 mph.

Thanks again for all your helpful posts!

Hope to make it out this weekend!

Guess I should add we launched at Fenwick and fished primarily between Crane and B can.

That's AWESOME!! Great job on teaching yourself and getting the job done! Well done, Sir!

Thanks for the report too...I have a huge...HUGE smile on my face right now. :)

Capt Juls

I love to hear great reports like this. Great job!! I am so glad that i may of helped a tiny bit. If you ever need any help please feel free to call me. Jim

Humbled & Blessed:


Welcome aboard. Nice to know that some of the things that I post is useful! Thank you for bringing a smile to my face with your kind words. Tight lines and full coolers.

That is a nice report! It sounds like you know who to trust....first class people you listed there!

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Originally Posted by Humbled & Blessed

I’ve been reading these post for the last couple years but have never posted one of my fishing reports so I’m finally going to do my part and share. I’m not an experienced Lake Erie fisherman but this forum has done a great job of educating me on how to get started.

I spend several hours one night this winter reading over a month of last year’s reports for this time of year and writing down lure types, distances, water temps, speeds, etc. A HUGE “thank you” to all of you who post here but a special thanks to Capt Jules, Skipper9 and Wakina. The information you share is nothing short of amazing. I went out and bought an assortment of gear, lures and put a 9.9 kicker on my 18’ Crestliner.

Saturday my oldest son, a buddy and I went out for our first trolling attempt. What an awesome day! We limited out in a little less than 5 hours with an average fish size of 6.8 lbs. On Sunday, I took the wife and all three kids (14, 12 & 8 – not listing wife’s age) and we did really well, catching 11 in 3.5 hours with an average weight of 6.7 lbs. I had never caught a fish Ohio before this weekend and we ended the weekend with 9 of them with the longest being a little over 31”.

Perfect 10’s at 20/20 to 30/30 were the ticket and a green lantern RR. Had some luck with Husky Jerk’s too but I was running them too deep based on the other reports here. Started out around 1.3 mph but things heated up when I moved up to 1.6-1.8 mph.

Thanks again for all your helpful posts!

Hope to make it out this weekend!

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You stole the words out of my mouth!!!!!

Congrats! Catching fish is great, but catching them on your own, and with your entire family to boot, it doesn't get any better.

Now that you have the trolling gear, you should spend a few bucks and many hours tying up some crawler harnesses on the weeknights. It sure is special to pull a limit using lures you've made, and it can be fun for the kids to make them too!

Also, I've got a huge smile on my face as well. I love hearing that there's still people in this world that take the time to introduce their kids to the outdoors. We're few and far between these days. Keep it up!

Thanks for all the nice replies. I do have a question and don't mind hijacking my own thread.

I'm planning on getting out on Sunday morning this weekend. Last weekend it was flat out there but I see they are calling for 1-3 footers on Sunday. I'm pulling inline boards. Anything I should do different or be prepared to change?

Most likely you will not have a need to send your boards out as far. General rule is that the rougher it is the less spooked the fish are by the boat. The program for enticing them to bite is of course up to you to figure out as it changes daily and sometimes even quicker than that. Just be prepared to and don't be afraid to try something different if what worked last week fails this week.

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Originally Posted by Humbled & Blessed

Thanks for all the nice replies. I do have a question and don't mind hijacking my own thread.

I'm planning on getting out on Sunday morning this weekend. Last weekend it was flat out there but I see they are calling for 1-3 footers on Sunday. I'm pulling inline boards. Anything I should do different or be prepared to change?

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Here is a link to wind conditions for the lake at Marblehead but it is usually accurate for the entire western basin. If the forcast for Sunday is correct it may be to choppy for your 18 ft boat. It has been my experience that a steady 15mph wind from the NE will produce steady 3Ft to 4ft waves and that is not including the wind gust into the equation or the occasional rouge wave. This could change by then so use good judgement and be safe. Another thing about the wave forcast is the NOAA sites do not take into consideration the valleys in the waves but measure from the low water datum or the current average water depth, so the wave can and will be 1/3 larger than stated when actually on the water and in the valley's of the waves.

If you rely solely on the NOAA Weather station reports you will be disapointed more often than not. It will end up being calm on days that they have forcast as windy and windy on days that they forecast as being calm, so be aware of this.

http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwher...orecast+Graphs