Fishing with Shane, April, and Scout 7/13/19

That's it...I'm buying a regular alarm clock! I can't trust my phone anymore. I know I set the alarm last night before bed, and when I woke up this morning, I thought I had woken up before my alarm...which I do quite often, but when I looked at my phone it was showing a time of 3:43. I set the alarm for 2:45....now, I only had 15 minutes to feed the dogs, have a cup of coffee, and brush my teeth before grabbing my boat bag and heading out the door to go get my crew, who would be waiting for me at East Harbor Campground's welcome shack at 4:30am (with a 7 year old!).

I stopped to get gas and ice on my way to meet them, and was only 5 minutes late. I really didn't like how the day was starting...it was rushed, I had no shower, and quite frankly, I was worried about my bowels, since I didn't get to do my normal routine that takes care of that business....deep sigh.


Shane and April had brought their Grand Niece along with them. Seven-year-old, "Scout". She was awake and very talkative for the ride over to Big Bopper's, which is very unusual. Most kids I meet very early in the morning, don't say a word unless they are asked a question directly, and then give an answer with a sleepy delivery.
Scout didn't have that problem, she was alert and talking...non-stop. lol


I asked Shane, who was riding shotgun, "Have you ever used dipsies before?" He replied, "We've never trolled for walleye, so this will be our first time with dipsies and off shore boards". April agreed... from the back seat. I smiled while looking in the rearview mirror.....(and, inside)...:)
"Well, that's okay", I said. "We will probably just run the 4 dipsies then...those are easy to use".
Teaching "Newbies" how to troll is favorable...here's why. It takes a good hour of instruction, but eventually, they will start relaxing, getting their sea legs, and able to listen and understand what I'm asking or telling them. Sooner or later, I don't have to say anything and they will be working all the rods like seasoned anglers. Today's crew was no exception...they did a great job, and put some fish in the cooler for their fish fry.


At 8:30, we had 19 of our 24 fish limit when the wind decided to kick up a little, which turned Shane a little green, so April decided that the cooler had enough fish in it for an upcoming fish fry and they could go in. Shane didn't argue and was ready to go in. I put everything away and stowed the Ulterra and Baby E-TEC, and off to homeport we went.


There was a ton of bait balls in the area we were fishing today, which I believe slowed the bite down a little bit. The walleye that we did catch were spitting up tiny shiners all over the place. And, I couldn't be happier! It's been years since we had a great shiner hatch (which happens the first week of June, I think?). With all the young walleye to feed, the shiner hatchlings are going to be a great food source for them. It will help our perch population too.


I set a heading, going with the waves to the NNE, from the NW corner of the Huron dump this morning, at a whopping speed of 2.3-2.5mph. We ran two dipsies on each side of the boat and two Off Shore boards with different cranks. Okay....okay....I know I said we would only run 4 dipsies, but I'm a woman and changing my mind is my prerogative. Ha!


The port side ran my go-to color Bandits 42 and 55 back (blue/chrome and Buck Fever for those that don't keep up or are new to my reports). And the starboard side ran Yozuri's at 45 and 65 back.


The port side dipsies were run 35 back on the zero setting and 65 back on the three settings. A spoon and a Ripplin Redfin sported those lines.
The starboard side settings were 0/41 and 3/55 and also running one Ripplin and one spoon. All four dipsies were catching fish, but not as fast as the past several trips, and it had me assume that the bait balls showing on the Helix might have something to do with that.


Anyway...it was slower, but not bad. It was a steady bite. There have been previous years where I would have been thrilled with this morning's action.


Even though I was slightly disappointed in the action...my crew had a great time, and that's all that matters. :)


Tomorrow's wind will once again be out of the NE....sigh. That means downtown Port Clinton's roads, on the river side, will be flooded again, along with all the businesses situated there.


I have an all female crew tomorrow consisting of Cheryl Stimpson and Diane Leeson. We might have a slightly later start in the morning, if the forecast remains the same as it is showing right now, so.....


Stay tuned....


Capt Juls