Fishin with Chad and Tiffany 6/25/2020

My last two days were "blow days" and my customers rescheduled to the fall, so no report.

This morning, the winds were better. At 5:30 they were light out of the WSW, and waves were 1foot or less (but, were 1-3's the further east we went).


The air temp was 62 degrees and the sky was clear to partly cloudy, but mostly clear.


We headed NE out of the launch and went up to the Canadian line...set up...and took it East at a speed of 2.2-2.4mph.


If you go east of Kelly's (out about 6-8 miles) watch out of the perch nets...they're all over the place and all the way up to the line.


For those visiting Lake Erie and don't know about the perch nets....Know this: they have to set them running south to north, so the single flag is on the south end of the trap net and the double flag is on the north end. You can pass below the single or above the double, but it's best not to pass through them, especially if you're trolling! That's an expensive mess you don't want. ;)


What worked for us today were Bandits with a 2oz snap weight at 50/75, and a 3oz weight rigged 30/80 (ie: let 30' of line out...add the snap weight and let another 80' of line out, for a total of 110, and then attach the Off Shore board).


Reef Runner Mag 44 in the Bare Naked Perch at 75 back (unassisted)


Dipsies on the 1 setting at 54 back and the 3 setting at 65 back. Spoon colors were Red Headed Wonder Bread, Blueberry Muffin, and a hammered copper one with one side green with black stripes over the green.


I am fishing with this fun couple again tomorrow. They did a great job today, and picked up the dipsey program pretty quickly for never having run them before. :)


Tomorrow's winds should be lighter than today's, so it's going to be an enjoyable morning!


Stay tuned...


Capt Juls

Nice report again, Juls, and thanks for the info about the perch netting. Good reminder for all of us.

Hey Juls.We also fished same area today and did well.Our dipsey leads were about same as yours and caught majority of fish.3 setting @65 and 70 and 1 setting @45 and 50.We ran two unassisted bandits at 70 and 80 that caught a few fish.Question,putting weights on those cranks,worried they might catch those dipsey.We just drift board and crank straight back between dipseys when we set them out.Anything special you do differently when adding weight to cranks?

Thanks for a nice report. Hope you are killing it this morning also, or done already.

I know I've heard other people running stickbaits 50 feet behind a weight, like you describe. What advantage is there to running the weight that far back? I usually just run a 6 foot leader between weight and bait.

thank you,
Rickerd

Use the lures natural diving depth at the desired feet back first, then add the needed weight to reach the depth you want to target. We used this system back many years ago, when people said "you did what".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by itsbob

Question,putting weights on those cranks,worried they might catch those dipsey.We just drift board and crank straight back between dipseys when we set them out.Anything special you do differently when adding weight to cranks?

---

I don't do anything special. I go straight out the back when I'm putting them out. The dipsies are not near the motors, or center of the transome, so going straight out the back keeps them from tangling. Just pay attention to where everything is in the water and you shouldn't have any issues.

If you want the board to go straight back for a distance first, simply take the tension off and let it freespool straight back. By then, the dipsies are not even close to the boards or their line/lures.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ret.Capt

Use the lures natural diving depth at the desired feet back first, then add the needed weight to reach the depth you want to target. We used this system back many years ago, when people said "you did what".

---

You need to elaborate on how much more depth each ounce of weight will get them with a length of line out. Most don't know. ;)
And, there are those that know, and talk with others... and, then, can't agree on what is correct. Been there done that. I was taught one way by an older charter Capt, and I have friends that were taught another. Who's right? lol

I use the Precision Trolling Data App. They have the 2oz snapweight option for the most popular Lake Erie cranks, and then I know for sure where my bait is.

But, then again, sometimes I use that info from old "Bigfoot" LaCourse, who I think was one of the best of the Lake Erie trollers. ;)

What size Dipseys do you run and do you use the rings?

So first off back in the early to mid 1990s, there wasn't many other charter captains to compare notes with. As a matter of fact, I didn't know of any. It was frowned upon to troll at all in Michigan at that time and if you pulled those big orange boards in Ohio... Well lets just say keep your eyes open well. Back then you started spring off with hot-n-tots, then to say deep jr. thundersticks, then on to mag warts late. Then one day at a captains assoc. fishing show I met the man at off shore tackle, as we talked, he introduced me into the world of snap weights. Jump ahead to fishing, I now found out I could fish my favorite (deep jr. thunderstick) at any depth I needed, and this was a game changer. Back in the day as the lake cleared up from the ugly mess it was noted for, light penetrated and often sent the walleye deep. Back then there was not one data source to go to, I had a precision trolling guide for lure depth and a off shore snap weight guide for weight depth, then eventually made my own format combining those two guides into one. I mainly used 3/4, 1, 1 1/2, & 2 oz. weights as anything over 2 oz. was seldom ever needed in the depths I normally fished. I could run my deep jr. thundersticks down to 30' or so if I needed to. My point is, do some research, learn the depth for the lure you use. Pull up the data for your preferred lures and pull up a off shore snap weight guide, combining these two will give you a much more accurate plan than just pulling up a precision trolling lure using a 2 oz. weight. Lure type, weight, line type and troll speed will all effect the depth. Combine this info for your trip, find the walleye depth, check your new guides you printed, adjust your weight and fish. You will find that you do NOT need to have every lure in the tackle shop, but rather some good lures, good color combos, and snap weights. Hint: use a different weight on each side to start, say 1 oz. port and 2 oz. starboard for example, when one hits best, switch the other side to match.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dunn782

What size Dipseys do you run and do you use the rings?

---

Size 1 with the ring. They come in different colors, but I don't know if color matters....mine have always been black ones, so I can't compare results.

Capt Juls, your posts are fantastic. Thank you for sharing so much info. Really helpful to this older beginner. I went out last evening for a couple hours. Got skunked except for a couple sheep head. Was about 4 miles east of Kelleys and a couple miles south of the Canadian line pulling 3 bandits. Im going to try a dipsy And spoon tomorrow morning. Am I far enough East and North? Thanks again for posting all your trips!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mapleshade

Capt Juls, your posts are fantastic. Thank you for sharing so much info. Really helpful to this older beginner. I went out last evening for a couple hours. Got skunked except for a couple sheep head. Was about 4 miles east of Kelleys and a couple miles south of the Canadian line pulling 3 bandits. Im going to try a dipsy And spoon tomorrow morning. Am I far enough East and North? Thanks again for posting all your trips!

---

It changes from day to day....but, in my report(s) that you're referencing, I was further north and further east of where you said you were.

I just go until I mark some fish on my Helix...then, set up on them and try to catch them. :)

Thanks Juls on the heads up on getting our bandits deeper.Right after I asked about putting the weighted crank out with dipsey,realized we ran them last season with no issues.Was carefully to let the bandit and weight between the dipsey lines and making sure there was no strikes on the dipsey when letting out.The bandits with weights caught much better friday, than when we ran them unassisted Thursday.
We fished both Thursday and Friday east of kellies right on the line.We were running 2.5mph and dipsey the same both days.Had 3 setting @ 65 and 70.The 1 setting @ 45 and 50.Thursday the dipsey were catching quick enough that when the unassisted bandits were slow to catch,did not mind.Caught several at 70 and 80 leads.On Friday the dipsey were catching slower so the bandits picked up the slack.Had a blue chrome and RC crush bandit out at 50/50 and 50/75 with 2oz weight.Had SW wind both days so trolled east both days.We were sorting at 20" both days.Caught zero shorts thur and 6 on Friday.One white bass Friday.Threw back 8 keepers Thursday and 6 on Friday.Took us 2hrs thur and 2.5hrs Fri.Our 12 fish weight 37lbs on thur and 41lbs on Friday.Highlight of trip was Friday when had a board go back hard.Was bringing it in when a dipsey fired on same side.Brought dipsey fish in first then got back to reeling in board when other board went back hard too.Finally got both boards in.Put fish #9,10 and 11 in box.They were 22,24 and 25 inches.Got some of the biggest fish in over several years those two days.Great weather and lake conditions to boot.