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Fishing with Jeff and Paul Overs (Perch) 8/17/2020
Sorry, I haven't blogged the past 4 days, because three of those days I rescheduled and yesterday's was cut short, due to the storm that rolled through around 10:30.
Today, I had Jeff and his father Paul for a perch adventure. We were to meet at Catawba park at 6:15 for a 6:30 launch, but when I pulled in at 5:50 they were right behind me. We got on the water at 6:15ish and headed to the G Can area first, but I wasn't marking a whole lot on the Helix, so we tried it for about 20 minutes and then spent 45 minutes searching for something better.
We never really found what I was looking for, marks-wise, so we set up on something that looked "Okay", there on the north side of South Bass Island near the ship house. Goldies is all we can get right now, but the ones I got at the Fisherman's Wharf were a perfect size, if you have to use a Goldie.
"Dollar for the first fish?", I asked. They agreed. I added, "But, it has to be a yellow perch to count". Jeff laughed and said, "You hear that Dad? It has to be a keeper to count". Pops nodded his head and smiled in agreement.
Not to brag or anything....but, I won the dollar. :)
They were nice perch right there, so the fact that they were coming up slow was okay with us...the wait was worth it. Another boat lined up behind us. We were both pretty close to the line the Miller Ferry uses to get to Middle Bass Island. At one point, the ferry left the dock on the island to head back to Catawba and it looked as though it was coming straight for us. I stopped fishing in case I had to make a quick getaway, but I was worried about the boat behind us. They were using a regular anchor, so there was no quick getaway for them if that ferry didn't turn. Luckily, the ferry Capt was paying attention and didn't run us over.
We had 31 perch in the cooler when our bite there seemed to shut off. In hindsight, we probably should have stuck it out there, but Capt Ancy here asked if they wanted to try another spot, and they both did, so we moved.
This time, we moved out to the east side of Ballast. There was a pack of boats there, so we stayed on the outside fringe to look for some on the Helix. Again, the marks were nothing to write home about or get excited about, but we did mark a few, so the Ulterra was deployed and the Spot-Lock engaged again. After 15 minutes without even a nibble....we moved.
I took them to the area where I had my last perch trip and found some good action...(Yes, I know, that was last Wednesday, but I had to look), which was on the east side of the monument in 28-29' of water. Yep, you guessed it, they weren't there. There was a large pack of boats to the south of me though, so we motored through very slowly while we looked for fish to show up on the Helix.
After several spots, I said, "We are running out of time...would you like to try by the Green Can at Catawba, or go back around to the other side of the island and try that spot again? Jeff replied right away and said he wanted to go back to the ship house spot....so, we moved.
And, of course, we searched the area again for the marks that made us stop there the first time, but they were gone....so, we moved around looking for more. Long story shorter....we ended up on the south side of Green Island. We marked some fish, but there were no takers, so our final count for the day was only 32.
They both said they and would like to come back again in May for some walleye and perch action, and that makes me happy.
Tomorrow, I have a new customer, Joe, and his crew. I think we are walleye fishing, but I'll have to confirm that when he calls me shortly.
Tomorrow's winds will be light out of the north for the start of the morning and, then, gradually picking up as the afternoon approaches. Hopefully, the walleye will be in a good mood in the morning and bite!
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
