Fishing with Vito....4/12/2026

[Capt Juls]

Vito is a friend and customer from Wisconsin who bought one of my Ranger boats back in 2017. I've been fishing with him for around 10 or 11 years now, and it's always a very relaxed and fun trip with him. He's very chill, and catching fish is just a plus...he just likes to be on the water. He's one of my favorite people to fish with, because there's absolutely no pressure on me. lol

The wind was forecast to be out of the SE and turning S later in the morning, so I decided to launch out of Catawba and head to the west side of the islands, to find out what's happening there, instead of heading out with the pack of boats fishing east of Kelly's. I might not have made that decision had it not been Vito in the boat, but I knew he was game for anything.

We headed north to find cleaner water and ended up west of Middle Bass Island. There was one boat ahead of us when we arrived, but they didn't stay and headed out to the east of the islands, so we had it to ourselves. The Garmin was marking some good fish, so we decided to fish there.

The school of fish was holding to a relatively small area, so we would end up just making circle after circle to keep going over them, and each time we did, we would pick a fish up here and there. It was by no means a fast bite, but the area was peaceful and protected from the wind, so it was a relaxing morning for both of us.
Vito works hard at his job and does a lot of traveling, so he was happy even with the slower bite.
I asked a few times if he preferred moving to try and find a more active bite, but he said he was happy fishing right there.

We pretty much had it to ourselves for a while, but shared the spot when another boat would pass by. I think they had the same mindset we had, and stayed, but we were both able to stay out of each other's way with no problems.

We were fishing over 30-32 feet of water with Bandits and Bill Lewis PWC Lites. The bandits were used unassisted and assisted. Unassisted's best lead was 97 back, and assisted was 50/24 with 2oz...(put the weight on at 50 and then let out another 24' of line and put the Off Shore board on at 74).

Speed, when a fish hit, was always 1.6-1.7 on the FishHawk...SOG was 1.8-1.9mph.

Water temp there was 43.6 on the surface and 45 degrees 18 feet down.

The wind picked up around 11:30, and had gone more SW, which is not good for launching or loading at Catawba, so we called it 15 minutes early to head back before it really started blowing, so loading out wouldn't be too bad. It still was, but we managed to get out without any issues. I never like to use Catawba with a SW wind, because it blows directly into the ramp.

Vito and I went to Fisherman's Central after, so he could see if they had a starting battery for his boat, because they were having their big sale over the weekend, but they didn't have the right one for his Ranger. Then, we went and grabbed some lunch before dropping him back off at the Whitecaps Motel. We were going to drop the fish off at Port Clinton Fish Co., but they were closed at 2pm. I thought they were open on weekends now, but apparently not. I let him take the cooler when I dropped him off, so he could run them out to Bay's Edge to be cleaned, so he didn't have to get his clean cooler all slimy. He then dropped it off at my house when he was finished with it.

Time spent with a good friend in the boat is always a good time! Fish are just a bonus.

I'm off Monday, and my 3-day trip with Jason Carlson and his wife on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday is looking like a no-go. They are traveling down from Wisconsin, and as usual, Mother Nature is throwing a tizzy fit and is blowing hard again. We're supposed to have a big storm come through, due to the very warm/humid temps coming in, too. I'll be watching the forecast and let them know what to expect....they may not be coming down. I don't like to have people travel that far if they are just going to sit on shore the whole time. Gas prices are too high for that kind of nonsense!

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls