Fishing with Derric, Brad, and Steve 4/26/18

[Capt Juls]

Well, after a few days off...it was nice to get back in the swing of things!

Yesterday, Derric, Brad, and Steve had driven out from Bismark, ND in ONE DAY, so they were pretty tired this morning. However, their enthusiasm to fish is what motivated them this morning.

I arrived at their hotel a little early, and met two of the three in the parking lot. They needed to get some things from the gas station first, so I offered to drive them over, and give the third guy a chance to get ready and meet us downstairs.

Once we were on the road, I asked them what their level of experience was, so I knew if I was going to have an easy day, or a more "complicated" day. Luckily, two out of the three knew how to run Off Shore boards, and the third one caught on quickly....So, yay me! I got a fun/easy day today.

We launched out of Catawba at 6:45, and headed west first. I didn't mark much there, so after a 1/2 mile pass I decided to move over to the south side of South Bass. The marks there are insane, but they are deep, and the water was still a bit too stained/muddy there for my liking. So, we moved north again.

I ran up the east side of the Bass Islands and marked some fish on the Helix on the way up to another spot I wanted to fish first. We set lines with Bandits running anywhere from 60 back to 60 back with a 2oz snap weight. Speed was 1.7-1.8mph. Huff Daddy at 20/40 w/2oz took the first fish....a nice 29" walleye.

After turning around and going half the distance back to our starting point...I told them, "Let's pull'em...and, move east". In quick form they had it all pulled and ready to move.

We set lines again in the new spot and set a southeasterly course to start. 60, 65, 70, 80, and (2) at 20/402oz, were the leads. "Crown Juls" would take 3 more big fish. I found some that would bite, and just turned on them...round and round...picking off a nice fish each time through.
But, by the time we got to that spot, we didn't have much time left, so the guys ended their day with 4 nice fish in the box and one that was lost at the net at the very end, when it spit the hooks with about 12 inches to go before it hit the net. Ouch!! ....sigh.

Water temp was up to 45-47 in the areas I visited this morning.

The crew had a good time and learned a few things. They will be fishing out of their own boat tomorrow, and Saturday, and will put to use what they learned this morning.

I'm looking forward to hearing how they end up tomorrow. I told them, "That fish you let go is good Karma". It's always good to let one go every now and then, so maybe that will bring them good luck.

Tomorrow I have a couple of regulars...Steve and Jeremy Chapman. I'm sure you know the names if you read my blogs. They've taken many-many trips over the past 7 years with me, and are now more like "family" than customers. So, I'm really looking forward to getting out on the water with them again tomorrow.

I haven't seen any Sheepshead yet, but since Jeremy is fishing tomorrow...I can gusrantee he will catch one. He's the Sheepshead "King"! heheh

Stay tuned....