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Fishing with Zach Rambo 4/4/2021
As usual, I woke up 15 minutes before the alarm was set to go off at 4am, so I got up and made some coffee to start the day. I checked my phone to get the latest wind forecast for the morning, poured a cup of coffee, and headed out the back door to stand on the deck, while the dog did his business. That allows me to get a sense of how to dress for the morning, or a determination of how many layers of clothing I'll need for the trip. I always say, "I'd rather have to take layers off, than to want them, and not have them"....being warmer is always better than being cold.
I had brought the boat home yesterday, from the building, so I didn't have to go get it this morning. That allowed me to spend a little more time here, before I had to head out.
I left the house at 6am, even though I was meeting Zach at Mazurik's at 7am. Sunrise was at 7:13 this morning, so an earlier launch was needed in order to get that sunrise shot from the lake. :)
I wanted to get there early, so I could get in the get ready lane before it got too busy. Zach must have had the same line of thinking, because he was already there and texting me at 6:37. lol He came over and introduced himself, and we got ready to launch. The ETEC was warming up while he parked the truck and trailer, and by the time he got back she was ready to go.
We headed east out of Mazurik's, along with a plethora of other boats headed that way too. We fished the east side of Kelly's in 38 feet of water for a few hours, and caught 6 fish there.
Bandits were running from 45-100 back first thing in the morning, but were eventually brought up to between 42 and 65 back.
Blue Chrome and Buck Fever (Purple back/Silver Chrome sides and belly) Bandits did the best for us. The Perch and Black/Gold Spro Madeye 120's caught at 45 back.
After we made a few circles in the first area, we picked everything up to move and find another spot with less boat traffic on it. So, we headed to the north side of Kelly's to check out the water conditions and see if the Helix would show us some good marks that would interest us enough to set up there.
There was a big pack of boats close to Kelly's, so I headed north. I didn't feel like being around other boats, and hoped that one of my favorite spots might have fish there now that some of the fish are post spawn and moving east already.
Well, they were, but they were moving fast. We got a few fish on the first pass, and thought we had something going, but the marks on the Helix ran out, the further east we went, so we turned around and headed back over the same line and all those marks were already gone.
I turned the Ulterra to the south and went through the area at a different angle...then north again at another angle, and it suddenly became a steady bite.
Blue/Chrome at 65 back and Buck Fever at 42 back caught the most. Margarita (I think?) caught two, a DHJ12 run 50/18 with 2oz took one right away, but then did nothing for the next 1/2 hour, so we took that one off.
Spro Golden Perch at 45 back took one nice one too.
I had another Bandit that took two fish at 45 back, but I don't know what it's called....it's got a purple back, pink belly, chrome sides with three or four small dots on the sides. It's the first time I ran that color, but I think it's a winner. I need to find more of that one.
Water temp on the east side of Kelly's was 44.9 and north of Kelly's was 46.4 degrees.
Speed was interesting today....
Zach had brought along a FishHawk (Fish Hawk X2 Trolling System | FishUSA), so we set it up when we were trolling, so we could see what the difference in speed was between the surface water and the water down below.
It didn't surprise me that there was a difference in the speed, due to current, but it did surprise me by how much.
In one spot we had to do 1.8mph SOG to reach a speed down below of 1.3mph. I'm still not sold on the fact that I should buy one (at 700.00 each), but I am sold on the fact that when I'm playing with speed, even in the cold water, that I need to up my speeds more than I usually do, if needed.
We caught 17 walleye this morning, and threw 5 fatties back. The larger ones are still swimming, since Zach forgot his cooler and said he didn't need any fish today, so we kept them for the "Back to the Wild" rehabilitation center over in Castalia, OH.
The folks working over there were grateful for the food for the Eagles and other fish eating critters that are there. Zach was given an offer to take a tour of the place, so I thanked him for the day, and was going to head home to put the boat away. But, before I could leave, he pulled an "Easter Bucket" out of his truck and handed it to me, saying, "Happy Easter". It was full of the traditional Easter treats we all grew up with, so it was a nice surprise. Thanks, Zach! :)
I have tomorrow scheduled off, but will be out fishing with my good friend, Scotty Bogen, on his boat. We used to fish together a lot before he got a job promotion and had to move to the Red Wing, MN area for a handful of years. He got another promotion and the company sent him back to OH again....Yay!
He's a hell of a fisherman, and we always have fun together. Capt Jenn will be going with us too, if she isn't too beat from a late day of fishing today. We shall see.
My next trip is scheduled for Tuesday with Joe Hoppe and his crew, which I think is his wife, if I remember correctly. He was scheduled for last year, but it blew and he had to reschedule to this season.
Stay tuned....
Capt Juls
