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Fished N and E of KI yesterday (10 til 3) trolling boards / bandits, tipsy / spoons, harnesses etc with no fish. mayflies on the surface everywhere....no boats either. Hot and lots of bugs....Tried various speeds, depths etc....surprised no fish at all.
OUCH!! Those types of days can be frustrating but thanks for posting that report. No doubt the fishing will be influenced by the mayfly hatch. Did you have good marks in that area?
Baha299
Enough marks at 25-30ft to get interested ... and lots of clusters (light black) of bait/mayflies? in the top third. not one bite.
Fished from off West Harbor in the South Passage to between SB and Kelleys to north of Kelleys and then Gull Island Shoal last Sunday. Real late start - 3:30pm to 7:30. Same. Very few walleye marks and not much else. Drift fishing. Only caught a few white perch, two sheepshead, two catfish, and two small walleye one a keeper, for three guys 5 hours. My underwater camera caught a group of sheepshead. We went over some groups of heavy marks on the bottom just west of the shoal and immediately caught the two catfish, nice size. Those marks were probably all or mostly catfish, as it's their spawning season.
One note was the water was green from 5-6 feet down all the way to the bottom. I usually don't see that until July. My guess is the water in those areas isn't preferable to walleye (lower O2?) so for the most part they were not there.
That's crazy. That area is usually awesome about now. I had issues on Saturday on the MI side as well. Tons of marks, but only managed 4 keepers. Lost a few near the boat. Tons of mayfly husks everywhere. I think when there are some around it can be good, because it gets them feeding. But when there's too many, I think they have no reason to chase our stuff. That day, the guys that fished away from the slicks did better, that's for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by FourDees
I fished 3 miles north of west sister last Saturday & Sunday. Casting. 3 man limits both days. Fish are high feeding on the hatch. I was casting harnesses with smaller blades # 2 s. With only 2 beads for a smaller bait to better match the Mayfly’s. 5/8 oz sinkers on Saturday at 2 -3 count. Sunday 3/4 oz as there was more wind same count I typically use # 3 blades & 4-5 beads on my harnessesQuote:
Originally Posted by slimshady
Fished Tuesday north of Sandusky got my limit in 40 fw but the only thing biting Wednesday was the house flies or what ever they are. Literally drawling blood.
Sounds like fun. I love catching them casting. It makes sense with the smaller profile. We ended up getting quick 2-man limits on Friday and Sunday over in MI waters (near Fermi) pulling harnesses. I had newbies with me, so we trolled. But I would like to do some casting soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeBaited
Regarding the biting flies, the only thing that I have found that consistently works on those light wind days is to wear light fishing pants that cover my ankles. I get mine from Bass Pro. They are light and airy, so they keep me cool, even on those super hot days. It also helps to keep the fish slime off the floor, if possible. I bring along an old cooler with the lid removed that we use as a "staging cooler". When we bring in a fish, it goes in that cooler while we remove the hooks, etc. Then I move it to the big cooler if we are going to keep it. When the staging cooler gets nasty, I just dip it in the lake to rinse it. That certainly helps keep them to a minimum, but the pants are the only way to keep them from biting you once they show up.
For the biting flies use a repellant that contains picardin. Deet is a waste of money for them. Walmart usually has some brands with it.