Fishing with Steve and John... 8/16/2023

[Capt Juls]

Told my customers, Steve and John, that we would be doing a later start this morning, due to some north winds early this morning, so I picked them up at 9:15, and we headed to Catawba to launch. We were going perch'n.

I had woken up at 4am, got dressed, grabbed the dogs, and headed to Hi Way Bait to grab some Emeralds, before they had a chance to run out. The shiners were on the larger size, so we would be splitting them in half, to use on the hooks. I figured 6 scoops would be enough, and if there were leftovers, I could just freeze them, to use at a later date. (We only used 3 scoops, so I covered them in Wintergreen rubbing alcohol, and they are in the freezer.)


I hadn't been out since July 31st, with my friends, but I kept seeing people on Facebook doing well on the perch, while we were gone, so I was positive we would be able to catch some today.


We launched at 9:45 and were over the spot I was at on July 31st, (SW of Green in 27' of water), and found the Helix showing peachy looking fish marks down below, so I hit the Spot Lock on the Minn-Kota, and let it settle in, while I got Steve and John all situated and set up, to fish. John took the seat in the bow, and Steve took the passenger seat, while I fished out of the back of the boat.


We had a bet on the first yellow to come in the boat, but both John and Steve were set up and fishing, before I even got a line in the water. But, as luck would have it, I managed to catch the first one. Woot! Woot! Neither paid up, but it doesn't matter, I was just happy there were yellows below us.


We had a nice steady bite going, and were at 25, I think, when another smaller boat was passing by, with three fishermen..so, I waved them down, and did the pointing thing, silently telling them that there were fish below us, so they slowed down and set up about 15 yards away. They started catching, too.


We were having fun, and were feeding as many as we were catching, if not more. Boy, they sure are good at stealing minnows!


It took about 2 1/2-3 hours to get our 90 perch...I didn't really keep track of the time, that closely, because it really didn't matter how fast we finished. We were just out having fun.


By the time we left, the other boat was slowly sliding over, closer to our spot, and shouted out a, "Thank you!" when we left. I gave them a silent salute, and a thumbs up, and we headed in.


I called Port Clinton Fish Co, but they were loaded up, with an already 2 1/2 hour wait, with 12 people in line, and there was no guarantee my guys could get their fish before the morning, so they loaded their catch in a cooler, and headed back to Chicago.


Steve will be back at the end of September, and John may be with him, but he had to check his schedule first.


I don't have a lot booked for August yet, but it looks like it's going to blow for the next two days, anyway, so I'll be rendering all the tomatoes my garden grew while I was on vacation, and making some salsa, pizza, and spaghetti sauce tomorrow.


My next scheduled trip isn't until next Wednesday, so I may or may not have trips pop up before that. It all depends on these wacky winds.


Stay tuned....


Capt Juls