On Friday afternoon the Lake had surprisingly settled down to provide a very comfortable, fishable trip. The strong North winds that had diminished immensely a few hours prior left some decent rollers and a cooling breeze that was welcomed by all on board.
We ventured just North of the line and set up in 120`, trolling out to 150`, as far as 42°33` N. The winds had the fish scattered and there was no particular bait that had the best bite. The #1 wire dipseys with chrome/white and smoke Lil` boy blue out 150`-180` took some fish as well as the `riggers down 45`-70` with the Smurf, Hot Lobster and Stinger Kevorkian helping fill the cooler I ran a variety of magnum spoons finding the Green dolphin to be the best on the lead. This was the second installment of the group that heads out to "Bob Chinn`s" and again they figured they had enough in the cooler to suit their needs coming in a little early.
This is the biggest brown I`ve had on my boat to date weighing in at 17 #`s.
The above pic doesn`t do the brown justice you can see it in the middle of the rack below surrounded by Kings. The dinks on the ends were dragged for a while on the lead, as the conditions weren`t the best for detecting slight hits. We ended up 13 for 20 or so.
On Saturday morning we once again ventured North in hopes of staying away from the armada that was just South of the line. It was still quite crowded and almost resembled street traffic as just about all the boats were heading in opposite directions fishing in the 90`- 120` range along the hill. The 4 yr. olds were still out in good numbers along with some yearlings that have no problems going after magnum spoons. The lead was good with a Hot Lobster and Green Dolphin. The #1 wire dipseys out 180` and #3 superline out 140` with white/white and white/green worked well with the higher ones taking the coho. The `riggers were down from 45`-75` with an array of spoons and dodger flie combos. We ended up 16/22 or so with a few dinks and couple lightly hooked ones we threw back.
For the afternoon I was once again just North of the border between 120`-150`, with a group from the Plano /Sandwich area. These guys weren`t used to fighting fish for more than a few minutes and had some sore arms and hands by the end of the trip. We had a great time with most of the fish taking the lead and 200` dipseys. The #3 superline dipsey with chrome / white accounted for the coho. The fish were scattered in cooler pockets of water. We`d go for a while, then we`d have a couple of quick hits, then another dry spell. All in all the action was good with just enough time to hear some stories and have some laughs broken up by the rods bending with fish tugging away. We ended up 17 for 25, again leaving a few dinks to come back in 2010.
On Sunday morning I had a returning group of students that will finish off their school to venture elsewhere in the chiropractic field. Good Luck guys!
Two years ago we had a great morning bite and lost a few in the first 15 minutes to break offs,bringing in my biggest fish of the season at 25#`s. Last year it was one of the hottest days to be out, and this year was once again different. It was cool, there was no real good early bite, and we had more of a mixed bag that years past. We still managed a couple of 4 yr. olds but most were in the 10-12 # range. I found the 115`-125` depths three miles North of the line to be our best spot. But we were only able to get the fish to bite while I was heading North, so I was circling around with down time to the South. I didn`t want to change baits around as we had plenty of action and I didn`t want to ruin a good thing. We ended up with a mixed bag of 18 in the box with 3 lakers, 3 `Bo`s, 2 coho and 10 Kings. The same dipseys took the coho, and the best rod for the Kings was a 65` `rigger with a Stinger Kevorkian back 25`.
On Sunday afternoon I had a great fisherman that has fished all over the world and a group of his buddies that are in the film industry. (They mentioned they may post a video of the trip) Hopefully they will as when we weren`t fighting fish we were all busy laughing. I set up North of the line in the 120` range I left off from the morning trip. The winds had shifted to the Southeast and I pointed the boat that way. As soon as we reached the 135` range the screen started to light up with marks and we had action all the way out to 155`, it slowed at 160` and I turned it back and we had action to 140`. It appeared the fish were moving deeper with each pass and we followed them. The lead was again good with a Smurf and Hot Lobster leading the way. Bringing in fish a football field away often leads to remarks and jokes that...well you`ll have to use your imagination. We also had a 4 yr. old take a #1 wire dipsey initially back 180` out to 460` when it got itself tangled up. This alone was worth the price of admission, I think it took almost 1/2 hour to get the fish in. We had a late start and came in around 8:30 with a hefty rack of 23 fish consisting of 1 `Bo, 5 Lakers, 4 Coho and 13 Kings.
I stayed North of the line in the morning mostly to avoid the traffic. I went back in the afternoon since I was trying to stay with the fish. There are plenty of fish on the Illinois side and great catches are made there as well. If you`ve been out with me you`ll notice I`m always changing baits, so unless one particular pattern is producing well, it`s off when there are fish on the screen and no action. I do have confidence in a few particular set-ups and will run them religiously. Again I was successful running baits that on other boats couldn`t catch a cold, and vice versa.
Again if there are marks on the screen, and fish being caught around you start changing things up. This might not mean baits, but speed and direction. I found that with these winds constantly changing around that direction is becoming a vital role in getting the fish to bite. Take note in the boats around you that are dipping their nets and use it to your advantage.
"Wet Nets"
Captain Jim
North Point 7/20-7/22 Great Weekend!
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