Fishing with Steve and Frank 6/24/2022

Sorry for the long delay in reports, but I was not out this past week. My Monday was cancelled, due to one of my customers having a shoulder injury, and a surgery coming up, and my Tues. through Thursday was a 3-day trip for a couple of my regulars from Wisconsin, who are older and don't like it rough....or, as hot as it was, so they rescheduled to a 4-day trip next month. Fingers crossed we get those 4 days in.


This morning, I had a repeat customer from Illinois, that came to fish with me for the first time, this past spring. Steve Giannini, brought his friend, Frank along, to show him how much fun this lake can be. It did not disappoint!


They showed up at Mazurik's a little before 5am, and I had already gotten everything ready, so we hit the water, and looked for the cool planet alignment that was supposed to be happening this morning, 45 minutes before sunrise. We could see a few of them, but there were some Cirrus clouds that moved in, and blocked the view of a couple of the planets, so it really didn't look all that cool....to me, anyway. Had it been clear, we would have seen 5 or 6 planets, all in an arched line across the sky.


We headed NE out of Mazurik's, and up to the line. The Mayfly hatch that happened overnight had the surface of the lake covered in Mayfly husks, that I knew was going to be a pain in the butt, trying to keep the lines and baits clean while trolling. However, the buggy situation wasn't as bad up north, as it was behind us.


We set up over 41 feet of water, and the Ulterra and baby Merc had us on a course from east to west, at a speed of 2.3-2.5mph.


Dipsies were set on the zero and two settings, as usual. The zero settings started out at 30 and 35 back, and the two settings were at 40 and 50 back. We ran spoons on the dipsies this morning.


Four Bandits ran behind the Off Shore boards...2 on each side of the boat. We started out with the port side running high and the starboard side running with 2oz Guppie weights, down deeper.


The port side ran a Carrot Top and a Blue Chrome at 65 and 40 back, unassisted. The starboard side ran a Carrot Top and Big Bad Bob with the 2oz, at 50/70 (total of 120 back) and 50/65 (total of 115 back). The chrome baits did better than the painted, so Big Bad Bob cam off and a chrome perch Bandit replaced it.


The crankbaits caught bigger fish, but more fish were caught with the spoons.


The bite was very good early, and then slowed way down as the Sun got higher in the sky....moving the fish, deeper.


We changed the leads up a bit, and finished out our 3-person limit. The zero setting took fish at 54 and 60 back later on, and the two settings were anywhere from 50-70 back.


I had those two working hard this morning, because of the Mayfly skins getting all over the lines, boards, and baits, so we had to keep clearing them.
Eventually, we turned and headed east again, when it was obvious to us that the Mayflies were getting worse, the further west we went. It was cleaner to the east. But, like anything that floats out there, the current will take them east with it, so it won't always be cleaner. ;)


It was a beautiful morning on the lake, until it got warm and the wind died. The boat got covered in Midges, and so did we. It was hard to even talk without getting a couple in the mouth...they were so bad. But, like all things...there's a silver lining...they don't bite! I'd rather put up with them, than a biting black fly, any day!


They both said they had a great time, and learned a lot. Neither had run a dipsey before, but caught on pretty quick for not having much sleep the night before. Steve said the drive in from Chicago was delayed, due to a lot of construction along the way, and they didn't get in town last night until around 11:30pm. Uffda! I would have been useless if I had to stay up that late, and get up as early as I want them to, too. lol They were troopers, for sure!


Tomorrow, I have a three-person trip, and I'll be launching out of Huron, or Vermilion...I'm not sure which one yet. The Mayflies are just too thick over by the islands, right now. And, it's the weekend...I prefer not to be near the islands on a weekend... too many drunks. ;)


Stay tuned....


Capt Juls

Great report as aways Captain! Thank you.

Great report thanks for your time and help.

Do you run braid or mono on your dipsies? And what size dipsies are preferred for Erie?

On Lake Michigan for salmon we run snubbers, do you use them for walleye? I would think they might inhibit tripping with smaller fish?