Fishing with Matt, Renee, and Papa Fred 6/12/16

[Capt Juls]

The morning was blowing hard out of the north, but would lay down at noon, so I told my crew, "Since I have the day off on Monday for a doctor's appointment, we can do an afternoon trip, and head out at noon".

They met me at Mazurik's ramp at 11:30, and we waited to launch until closer to noon, as we watched the lake lay down a little more. It went from white capping waves to no white caps, but was still bumpy as we made our run up to the area above C can, near the Canadian line.

Matt said they really wanted to learn how to run the Off Shore boards, because they had just bought inline boards for their boat, but really didn't know how they work. So, my goal was to teach him and his Dad Fred all the ins and outs of running inline planers, so they could take that info and run them confidently on their boat.

We started out with the crawler harnesses, and picked up two fish in the first pass. The wind went from north to southwest, as if someone just hit a light switch, so I don't know if that affected the bite, but we didn't get another in the second pass.

After about 15 minutes of no action, I told them to check the crawlers on the starboard side of the boat. Sure enough, all of them had been attacked, but only ripped the crawlers in half. Were they walleye doing that, or whites? I don't know, but I decided to switch the baits out, back to my Bandits, so I could run faster and cover more ground.

We picked up a nice 4 pound walleye on a blue/chrome Bandit at 65 back...speed was 2.0mph. I asked Matt, "Would you like a picture?" He replied, "Yes". So I handed off the fish to him. As I reached for my camera, it wiggled and he dropped it on the floor. He picked it up, but didn't have his finger in the gill to get a good grip on it, and it wiggled again, and he dropped it on the lid of the Ranger's live well. He couldn't reach down fast enough, and it "swam" off the top of the lid and into the splash well...then, out the back of the boat.

I couldn't help, but laugh, because the whole scene was pretty comical. I felt bad that he lost the fish, but it was pretty darn funny. Oh well....that was a lucky fish, who fought hard to live another day, and succeeded.

We left that area and moved over to the north side of North Bass, and picked up one more walleye, and a few sheepshead. Then, with an hour and a half to go, we moved down to the west side of Gull Island Shoal, to see if those fish were still in the area, where I left them last. All we caught were a handful of shorts...and, then, ran out of time.

So, it was a successful day in that they learned how to run the inline planer boards well enough that they could do it with more confidence in their own boat. The catching was not as successful, but we all had fun, and that's all that matters.

My Tuesday trip has rescheduled for August and September, for reasons known to them. So, I'm off Monday and Tuesday, and will be back out on Wednesday with a previous customer, Andy Takos, and his friend.

Stay tuned...

Capt Juls

[perchjerk]

That is why I tell people to never pose with fish held out by the side of the boat. Trust me I've learned that lesson the hard way. Bet that Walleye picked up lots of street cred when he told the other fish in the school about his near death experiance

[iHunter]

I have a friend who has the measuring tape on top of the gunnel, I have told him I refuse to measure a fish in his boat, I think for xmas I'll get him a proper measuring device (I think its called the "judge" - I'm not sure...)

[Capt Juls]

I have a friend who has the measuring tape on top of the gunnel, I have told him I refuse to measure a fish in his boat, I think for xmas I'll get him a proper measuring device (I think its called the "judge" - I'm not sure...)

"The Judge" is what all the tournament anglers use. I have one in my boat too.

[Dr.Ed]

The first thing we do when the netted fish is in the boat is put them to sleep with our tallywacker (wooden club). No one gets bitten or ends up with a treble hook in their hand. I also believe the fish taste better if they don't release adrenalin while flopping in the cooler until they expire. And not one fish has complained about having his picture taken or attempted to abandon ship for any number of reasons.

[Slughose]

Just want to thank Capt. Jules for replying back on the radio Friday about keeper size limits. Not only does she work her butt off for her clients, she takes the time to help out others on the water. Thanks Jules, I have learned more from your post reports than anywhere else. Class act all the way around, we are all lucky to have you on the forum.
Slughose

[Fishonphil]

Just want to thank Capt. Jules for replying back on the radio Friday about keeper size limits. Not only does she work her butt off for her clients, she takes the time to help out others on the water. Thanks Jules, I have learned more from your post reports than anywhere else. Class act all the way around, we are all lucky to have you on the forum.
Slughose

I'll second what Slughose said
She also makes some killer brownies

[Capt Juls]

Just want to thank Capt. Jules for replying back on the radio Friday about keeper size limits. Not only does she work her butt off for her clients, she takes the time to help out others on the water. Thanks Jules, I have learned more from your post reports than anywhere else. Class act all the way around, we are all lucky to have you on the forum.
Slughose

Thanks for the kind words....you're very welcome.