First time walleye Fishing 2/18/20 with my new Texas friend

[Capt Porkchop]

I had the great fortune of taking a new friend out on Lake Erie for his first walleye fishing trip. We checked off that box on the bucket list. It was windy and it was cold but the heated cabin made it doable for my thin blooded southern Texan. I picked him up at his condo at 7 and we launched at Mazurik by 8 and headed north west. That spot was a little muddy and only produced one fish so I made a move to the north east and found a LOT of fish. They would not eat bandits today. I switched everything to p-10's and slowed to .8 to 1 mph (which was difficult with the gusty wind) no motor needed for trolling today just put on the auto pilot with drift socks and mother nature pushed us around. I ran them on 50' leads with 2oz off shore weights down 20 to 35 feet and we caught this nice fellow his first walleye and 5 more to go with it. I filleted them up for him and his wife to try for the first time for dinner. I'm sure they will be hooked. I have two trips this coming weekend and hope for more limits of those fat walleye.

[Lucky Duck]

I cannot imagine how cold it must have been out there. I thought it was pretty rough around Toledo that day? Congrats on finding those fish and showing you customer a great day!

[Capt Juls]

Nice Job, Sam....good luck this weekend. I might make it out Sunday for the shakedown run on the new Ranger.

[fishhawk2700]

To the OP. I like reading posts of success on the lake but with you being a licensed capt you should also include the dangers of winter fishing Lake Erie. These posts may encourage inexperienced, under equipped, unprepared fisherman to attempt these winter trips. I am a retired capt with 40 yrs of pulling hardware in the western basin. I have had my share of assisting in tows, picking people out of the water, and witnessing a recovery. The lake can eat you alive. This time of year you are the only one out there, and Coast Guard response times are longer. I'm not trying to put a damper on your trips but as a pro you should pass these dangers along to those who read your posts.

[Eyezcrazy]

Fishhawk- I don’t think it is his responsibility to post that information, however I do agree with you about the danger and people not really understanding how risky it is. I was out 3 week ago and we saw a man and woman fishing 3-4 miles out of Huron and I swear their boat had maybe 18” sides to water. Me and my buddies were cringing at the thought of them taking a wave and swamping in 32 degree water. Life jacket wouldn’t save them in those temps. To make it worse as it was getting later in the evening they were one of the only boats still out. Crazy!!!!

[itsbob]

I believe the Captains that post on this site are very safe and responsible charter captains.I am thankfull that they do post the days they fished and what they caught and how.They fish early and late into the season and often in cold,dangerous waters.I don't think they need to also post about the dangers of boating in erie.I have read numerous posts of others talking about the dangers of fishing on erie and posts of guys doing reckless things when they fish.Most others also appreciate Capt Juls and Capt Sam posting on this site.But you can't be too cautious fishing on any water,be it cold or hot,things can go wrong fast.

[fishhawk2700]

I believe the Captains that post on this site are very safe and responsible charter captains.I am thankfull that they do post the days they fished and what they caught and how.They fish early and late into the season and often in cold,dangerous waters.I don't think they need to also post about the dangers of boating in erie.I have read numerous posts of others talking about the dangers of fishing on erie and posts of guys doing reckless things when they fish.Most others also appreciate Capt Juls and Capt Sam posting on this site.But you can't be too cautious fishing on any water,be it cold or hot,things can go wrong fast.

I'm sure the captain in this post is a responsible/safe operator, as are 99% of the captains out there. The problem I have is these are public forums and anybody that reads them may be inclined to try what these pros are doing. If Joe Blow posts about this type of winter fishing, I would personally make the dangers known within that post. I'm not saying that the captains are responsible for the actions of other fishermen, but as pros they can make them aware. I know I felt a responsibility when it involved safety and would make anyone aware. I wouldn't expect the captains to do a paragraph on the dangers of winter fishing, but a nice, to the point disclaimer might save a life.