So looking forward to 2025, well we’re still here and we’re planning on fishing yet another year. It will be my 39th year of full time chartering. The blown motor in the boat has already been replaced with a brand new engine and fingers crossed that is the end of those mechanical woes. Health wise for about 6 weeks now I’ve been fighting an incredibly painful Sciatica Nerve condition in my lower back, butt and running down the back of my leg. Hopefully by fishing season I’ll have found some relief or I’ll probably be hobbling yet again! Many of you have never seen me on the boat where I was not hobbling or gimping from one thing or another! Lol! Seems like every year I have a new “pain of the year” that I have to work through. One year it was a completely shot hip ending up with a total hip replacement in the off season. Another year it was a torn meniscus in my knee. Another year a bad case of planter fasciitis in my foot. Another year bad carpal tunnel in my hand. And just for fun many bouts of tennis elbow, shoulder and back pains and, well just forget it. You get the idea! Let's put it this way. I’m pretty sure if I were a horse, they would have put me down a long time ago! Lol! I guess taking the daily poundings on Lake Erie’s usually choppy waters takes a toll on your body after 4 long decades of doing so. At least if you run as many trips as we fortunately have been able to do all of these years. And here I am, getting ready to do it all over again! Man I must be nuts! Ha! I look forward to seeing many of you again this coming season for yet another year of “just another day on THE TROPHY” and chasing those pesky Walleyes all around the pond!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

With the helpful guidance of one of my smarter then me mechanic buddies, he quickly reaffirmed what I already knew. There was a huge bulge and shattered oil pan where it meets the block. First guess was that a piston rod had cut loose and went through the block. Hence the massive loss of oil into the bilges. What a horrible mess. After considering my options as I had mentioned in my amendment to my last report, I came to the decision that it just wasn’t worth the trouble and rush to try to get a new motor back into the boat and get it re-splashed in hopes of getting just a couple of handful more trips in. When the motor blew, I was in my last big hurrah with about 7 more trips in a row. I sure wish it would have held off for at least one more week! Ugh. Regardless had I decided to put a frantic engine swap into the works immediately after it happened I was going to loose most if not all of those 7 trips. And as it turned out, a week after that we had yet another big wind event that shut all fishing down Friday through Monday. So even had I got repaired and back in the water, I wouldn’t have been able to fish any of those days anyway.

So the decision was cast and we set out to strip the boat as we do each fall just a few weeks early. We did a deep scrub from top to bottom, inside and out including the bilges which now had about 7 quarts of engine oil spread across a summers worth of grime and slime. What a nasty mess! Arrangements were made for a lift and a good power wash of the bottom and to have the boat set on the boat trailer for the ride back home to Pymatuning for the repairs and a long winters nap. As I write up this report the boat is in her winter home now and we have since already pulled the motor and made arrangement for the new motor. This time around we are going to do a motor build instead of just buying a new one as we have been doing every time we have repowered in past years. The problem with everything new anymore is that everything is frigging JUNK! Junk materials. Shoddy assembly. Nothing is built to last anymore. We now live in a throwaway society. Everything is built to fail so you are forced to buy more! I’ve chosen a proven race shop engine builder to assemble me a brand new motor as bullet proof as humanly possible with enthusiasm on durability and not on building anymore horsepower. We’ll see how this all plays out. Incidentally here is a picture of the carnage that we found in the bottom of the oil pan when we dropped it from the engine! Holy crap! Upon a closer inspection in looks like a piston disintegrated scattering shrapnel through out the engine just destroying everything in it’s path. A hole in the cylinder walls, destroyed heads, oil pan, crankshaft and God knows what else at this point! Holy total destruction Batman!

But enough on the motor and onto what this last report had been primarily supposed to have been about. That is thanking everyone that chose to fish with us again this year. Whether we got out or not! I say every year that I am one of the most very blessed charter captains on the whole lake. I have the most faithful, loyal bunch of guests and friends that just keep coming back year after year after year with me. Some for the entire 38 years I’ve been doing this! We’ve been through a lot together. Deaths in families. Births. We’ve shared laughs and tears together (literally!) Good times and bad. Great weather and then again some that was not so much, lol! Great fishing, good fishing and even some days that I don’t even want to talk about! Not too many of those fortunately however these last few years! Ha! Anyway your friendship and incredible generosity towards me and my wife Joyce both humble and amazes us. Thank you so very, very much! Speaking of Joyce, many of you got to meet her this summer for the first time as she has now been retired for almost a year and has taken on more of a role as a first mate aboard THE TROPHY this past summer helping all of us! Thank you so very much Joyce! We all had tons of fun as we fought it out each day as to who’s “side” was better! “My side... my side!” Just too funny! Finally, as always I want to thank everyone for following along here with my little fishing reports and bi-weekly blogs and sometimes rants. I still enjoy doing them even though sometimes my own content just brings me down! But till we all meet back up again next year be it here in print or actually onboard the boat, I’d like to wish everyone a joyous & safe offseason. And may I be one of the first to wish all of you a warm and happy upcoming holiday season! It will be here before you know it! Take care everybody...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

After a lousy two weeks leading up to my last report, these past two weeks were much more pleasant in the old weather department. We had no blow days that kept us off the water. In fact, it was rather delightful every day! The fishing is still going as strong as it’s has been this whole summer and ever really. We've never seen a year where the Walleye fishing was so easy and consistently good. Limits have been almost guaranteed! Not that I would ever guarantee anything when it comes to fishing but it’s been a pretty safe bet this year. At least thus far that is. I see nothing changing anytime soon out there though. There are just too many fish out there everywhere for all of them to just disappear overnight like sometimes they have later in September in past years. Ok, many years past now. But still, I’ve seen it happen.

So I’m going to change the subject just for a moment. All of my past guests that have fished with me for about the last 4 years here in the Ashtabula Harbor have watched the progress and the building of the new hotel right across the river from where I am docked at River Marine and the lift bridge going across the Ashtabula River. Well, FINALLY... FINALLY the Riverbend Hotel is now officially open for business! They were gracious enough to give Joyce and I a little tour of the brand new facility and I’m telling you it’s BEAUTIFUL! And the views from the upper floors of the hotel overlooking the drawbridge and the river and River Marine where THE TROPHY is docked is simply stunning! This hotel has 43 spacious rooms, a rooftop bar and restaurant and other features that might be attractive to some of my fishermen. I’m sure it will be a little pricier then some of the other choices here in the harbor but to some that aren’t that worried about it, it will give us yet another choice when it comes to lodging.

You can learn more about this brand new hotel by looking up Riverbend Hotel by Wyndham Ashtabula, Ohio. Also by visiting: www.theriverbendhotel.com August rates and opening week rooms were going for a little over $200 bucks but I see rooms in September like Sunday thru Thursday that are under $150 bucks! For the location and the view, I think that is quite good! Also, I’ve reached out to management and I am trying to get a charter fishing special discount going for my guys. Maybe a special promo code that would make this rate even more attractive to some. If I can finagle something I will let everyone know! Maybe a little late for this season but hey, Just like my Cleveland Browns... there's always next year! Ha! So that’s about it for this 1st of September report. Check back again in a couple of weeks when I start to wrap everything up for the year and send out my usual farewell messages and thank-yous. Did I mention, where did this summer go?

*UPDATE! I WROTE THIS REPORT UP LATE IN THE WEEK FOR THIS WEEKENDS POSTING. UNFORTUNATELY THINGS HAVE CHANGED FOR THE WORST FOR US SINCE THEN AS WE HAVE HAD A CATASTROPHIC SEASON ENDING ENGINE FAILURE ABOARD THE TROPHY RUNNING IN AFTER A TRIP. SADLY IT MAKES NO SENSE TO KILL OURSELVES IN PULLING THE BOAT AND TAKING IT HOME TO TRY AND RUSH A ENGINE REPLACEMENT JOB AND RE-LAUNCHING THE BOAT FOR MAYBE A CHANCE AT A COUPLE OF MORE HANDFULS OF TRIPS. THERE ISN’T EVEN ANY GUARANTEE THAT WE WOULD GET OUT A LOT OF THOSE DAYS AS BAD AS THE WEATHER HAS BEEN SCREWING ME THESE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. AND THINGS USUALLY REALLY START GETTING IFFY IN SEPTEMBER WITH WEATHER. THEREFORE I’VE MADE THE SAD DECISION TO CUT MY LOSSES AND JUST CALL IT A YEAR. THIS WILL BE THE EARLIEST THAT I'VE EVER WRAPPED IT UP. I AM TOTALLY BUMMED OUT OVER THIS DEVELOPMENT AND THE EXPENSES TO COME BUT SUCH IS LIFE AND IT COULD ALWAYS BE MUCH WORST. A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ALL OF THIS IN MY FINAL POSTING HERE TO COME IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

A couple or so reports back I had mentioned that we had some very rough days but that after we returned nothing had changed with the water temperatures or the quality of fishing. I also explained how sometimes by late summer and early fall after a sustained big blow that there was always the possibility of the lake “flipping” or “rolling over” as some may call it. Well after the weekend blow of the 10th & 11th, we had a text book example of exactly what I was talking about. New this year we have a weather buoy just west of the Ashtabula Harbor opening that records and charts all kinds of weather data ranging from wind speeds to wave heights to all kinds of water temperature data. Checking the weather data page on Monday the 12th I could not believe my eyes! Now keep in mind that this buoy is only in about 30’ of water but still, we went from a 77 degree surface temperature to a 57 degree reading! The blow which was northeasterly for two hard days and nights had blown in some really cold water! Man, I didn’t even think there was anywhere in the lake even at depth where the water was still that cold! Just so I could believe my eyes later, here is a screenshot from my phone of what I was looking at on their Ashtabula water data page.

These really cold temps were only in close to shore and only for a few days. Offshore water temps dropped in those two days from also around 77 degrees to about 70 degrees. Not as dramatic as in tight to shore but still rather large in nature. And also as I had described a few reports ago, I had mentioned that if the flip was severe enough, there is sometimes a associated fish kill that comes with the quick change in water temperatures. And oh boy did we have a fish kill! Some of you may have even read about it in the news. The whole south shore of Lake Erie was littered with many dead fish. Fortunately most were the undesirable Sheephead or the Fresh Water Drum as is their scientific real name. A few Walleye and White Bass were also noted. Interestingly enough though, it did little if anything to slow the offshore Walleye bite down. Such is the incredible red hot bite this summer that we are all enjoying! Not even the rolling over of the lake can stop this steaming train of incredible fishing this year. Simply amazing!

So this past week we enjoyed water conditions ranging from dead calm to a few days that were just so so. This whole weekend as I write this report is rather iffy with many spotty heavy thunderstorms popping up repeatedly. Many severe in nature. Although most didn’t effect the lake till later in the day, after discussing the options and forecasts with my guests we once again elected to not chance anything and reschedule for a little later in the season and hope for a better day. Even as of now, I have a few open dates still available in September that we can work with. And that’s exactly what we did. No big deal on my part. I want everyone to be comfortable with their decision to come out and enjoy their investment in the fishing trip. So that’s about the latest for me. Another report about lousy weather and the same old story with the Walleye fishing. ON FIRE! Cya back here in another couple of weeks!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I don’t even have much to say about the weather in this report other then that we have finally had the longest stretch of absolutely fabulous weather of the entire summer out over the big lake! For about two and a half weeks now the waves have been forecasted to be only 1 to 2 foot and for the most part that’s about what it has been. A few thunderstorms darted around us or have passed over the lake late in the day but not really affecting any of us morning guys. It’s still been a bit toasty out there by mid day but again with us fishing mostly in the cool of the morning, it’s not even worth harping about. I’ll take it!

It’s been a good while now since we’ve even put the planer boards out. We are strictly on a Dipsy Diver & spoon program. And we can’t even keep them in the water! Like yo yo’s they are back and fourth just about as fast as you can go. You no sooner set one and it’s going off already! Lead lengths have been very forgiving. Pick a number! if a Dipsey gets away from you and goes out too far, no worries. It catches a Walleye! You get busy and stop one way short to do something, it catches a Walleye! All I got to say is pinch me! This has to be a dream!

So it’s August already. Like I mentioned earlier, the days just keep clicking by. In just another week or so the kids will start going back to school. Football camps and practices will be starting up in earnest. Yes, all the signs point towards the fact that the better part of this summer is now in the rear view mirror for us. I mentioned I believe in my last report that a bit of fatigue was setting in for me as per usual by about this time of year. But you know what, with this long stretch of nice weather now and the easy fishing it really isn’t all that bad. The routine and just having to be up everyday at 2:30am is starting to get a bit old but I keep telling myself now hey you got this with not much more then a month to go now. After Labor Day, it’s all down hill! Check back in a couple of weeks for the latest...

Capt Walt
Trophy Charters

And I guess my report wouldn’t seem like it’s mine if I didn’t mention our “weather woes” that we had these past 2 weeks again. For starters, out of the clear blue we all lost yet another 2 days of trips due to a little thing called Hurricane Beryl. Ugh! I find it incredulous to believe that a little storm cell that starts off the coast of friggin Africa can eventually peter out over our heads here in northeast Ohio. But that it did. While no longer a hurricane, it brought along a threat of heavy rains and thunderstorms along with substantial winds. While we dodged a bullet with the heavy rains, it did set off small craft advisories along with the potential for storms thus warranting that the boats stayed tied to the dock again. And just for fun this past week Mother Nature out of the clear blue threw us a scary bad one day blow day. All the weather apps showed that Tuesday was going to be a horrendous wind day. I think everybody took heed and canceled their trips. I slept in myself and was feeling really bad about canceling when I woke up because it really didn’t seem all too bad. Till about a little after 7am that is when it went from a little “breezy” of 15-20 mph to a wall of wind instantly of 54 mph plus! HOLY CRAP! We had one more kinda windy day on Thursday where some fished and some didn’t. It was another blown forecast by the National Weather Service where they were calling for only 1 to 3”s. As always, the crew that you have for the day usually determines whether you go or not.

But that was about it. The lake otherwise was gorgeous everyday before and after the little Beryl event and same as before and after the one day event that I just described here on Tuesday and the marginal day on Thursday. Nothing changed with the fish after these wind events. I think life for them goes on no matter how turbulent or how calm the seas are above their heads on the surface. I figure the bulk of the fish that we are catching now offshore are about 60 foot down so I doubt that they even feel anything of a 7 or 8 foot wave. It’s a little different story late in the summer or early fall when you get the substantial cold fronts that sweep thru along with heavy seas. There is always a threat of the lake then “rolling over” or “flipping”. That’s when the thermocline in the water column gets disturbed and the cold water on the bottom of the lake gets kicked to the surface while the warmer upper half of the water sinks to the bottom. Now this will definitely screw things up for a few days! I see it almost every fall. You can literally smell the stinkier water that has risen along with a significant drop in surface temps. Fish are just everywhere in the water column on the fish finder but quite lethargic and not too eager to hit your lures. If it's a dramatic enough of a flip, there is even a associated fish kill along with it sometimes. I’ve seen that too over the many of years!

Speaking of water temperatures, We are now pushing 80 degrees out here in the Central Basin. I think the official lake temps have been flirting around 76 degrees. That’s just plain crazy! I think if we hold the coarse we will see the rare event of 80 degree water temperatures for sure in Lake Erie next month. August is traditionally our hottest month with the dog days of summer settling in. The 3 H’s... Hot, Humid & Hazy everyday. As if we haven’t had enough of that already this year! Ha! Aboard THE TROPHY we continue to depart the dock every morning between 4:15am and 4:30am at the latest so that we can fish in the cool of the morning. It takes about an hour or so after we pull off the dock anyway to get to the happy fishing grounds plus we for sure want to get our lines in the water and be ready for the first light of dawn when the bite is the very best! All my guys know this routine and really seem to love it but I am still reminding everyone that has an upcoming trip that is what the schedule is unless I tell you otherwise or until further notice. We’re not sceered of the dark! Lol! Dare I say that the upcoming weeks weather looks very nice for all of us. Maybe I’ll finally be able to talk just about the fabulous fishing that’s going on this year and not have to play weatherman. Again... We’ll see! Till then, tight lines everyone.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Many of you know that in season I stay at a campgrounds about a mile upriver from where THE TROPHY is docked. Here is a picture looking off my deck. This campgrounds is also another marina located on the Ashtabula River with many boats docked here. After each of these rain events the rapid rise of water which just didn’t have time to run off as fast as the rain was coming down left everything severely underwater. Trees came toppling down because the roots were washed out. Some docks were destroyed from the strain of the running water pushing onto the docks. Fortunately somehow no boats were sunk or even damaged. We watched in horror as entire trees, railroad ties, stumps and logs along with picnic tables and pieces of busted up docks and everything else got swept down the river at a high rate of speed and swept out to the open lake. All of this leading to nerve racking stressful conditions when we did manage to get out. Man, my eyes are about cross eyed from staring so hard into the water just ahead of us looking for logs as we motored out from the harbor. So much risk hitting some debris and damaging your running gear! Especially in boats such as THE TROPHY which has fixed underwater props, rudders, struts & shafts on the fixed inboards that you can’t lift out of the water.

And just for good measure we also had a couple of associated cold fronts that dropped thru the area these past couple of weeks. This brought much needed relief from the heat wave that we were experiencing but unfortunately also came in with so much wind that again we lost a couple of additional trips because it was just too rough to go. Ugh. It just seemed like we just couldn’t catch a break! But we did get some fishing in with some really nice catches. Most days now are spent 15 miles plus out resulting in some ugly fuel bills now. 15 miles out, troll around all morning and then 15 miles back. Ouch! I knew these days were coming but almost never quite so early in the year. Blame it on the unusually warm water this year that I discussed in my last fishing report. Along with the fish moving out further and further now, as per every year when they move that far offshore the Walleyes are now quite deep in the water column. Aboard THE TROPHY we've made the necessary adjustments and the rods have been just a snapping! Also our friends the Steelhead Trout are finally making their presence known. Rare is the trip now where we don’t wrestle with a few each day. Some make it to the boat, some not so much! Ha!

So unbelievably now, the 4th of July has already come and gone. The unofficial half way point of our season. At least my season anyway. I dare say a little bit of fatigue is starting to set in for me already. Anymore I’m not a real fan of these long offshore rides. Seems like even on the very fishable days the lake is always quite choppy that far offshore. You no longer get any kind of reprieve from the south shore as you do with a stiff south wind or even a southwest or southeast wind. Anything past that magical 5 nautical mile mark offshore is a whole another world. A lot of times not that pretty of a world other than the huge schools of Walleyes that roam around out there that lure boaters with even the tiniest of crafts into making some foolish decisions. But we all go where the fish are and apply all of our tools and knowledge the best that we can to keep everyone safe and happy. I guess I'm the only one that frets about it as I look around at all of the happy faces everyday reeling in Walleye after Walleye out there each day. And as it should be... Here’s hoping that my next report will be more fishing related and not so much of all of this crazy weather nonsense!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I’ve been fishing Lake Erie a long time. 38 years chartering now and a good 10 years prior to that as a private fisherman. People always ask me what was the best year I ever saw on Erie. And without pause, I always answer 1988. My 2nd year of running a full time charter fishing boat out of Ashtabula Harbor. The personal records that I set for myself that year catching Walleyes will never be matched by anyone I do believe in this area. I was young and aggressive and my step son was my first mate and in total tune with the way I operated. He knew the faster we got done each day the sooner he could go home and hang out with his buddies. Back in those days we ran a true “6 pack” boat. We charged one rate for up to 6 people and guess what... that’s all we ever had! 6 people! And with me trying to launch a career doing this, there was no quit in me. I always felt we were not done till we had 48 Walleyes in the box. And 48 is what we had. Day after day after day. And we were still done early everyday! Looking back, I really don’t know how we did it. But for the non believers, put some money on it. I have album after album that I put together back in the day which I took to all of the sport shows back then. Page after page of rack fulls of 48 Walleyes caught each day along with many Steelhead and Coho Salmon which we also had back in those days. All this without starting our season early in Port Clinton or running any doubles either back then. We still caught over 5,000 keeper Walleyes that summer season (May thru September) out of just Ashtabula Harbor alone. Facts!

But my point is, the heat and warm water only drives our fishing out here. Fish pour into this area to seek out the slightly cooler, bait rich waters. And with the warmer water the Walleyes metabolism is off the charts! They just become feeding machines! And we are already experiencing all of this. The fishing is just ridiculous right now. Limits are a easy thing and we are getting done at a very reasonable time of day and on most days we have been able to “beat the heat” because of it. But also unlike 1988, I no longer fish for “48” That ship has sailed a long time ago not saying that we couldn’t do it a lot of days out there now the way they are hitting. Just that at my age and exhaustion level I refuse and frankly can’t work that hard each day. Nowadays most trips are capped at 4 people maximum with the occasional 5 man trip which makes me grunt in the morning, lol! We will never again on my boat see the numbers that I put together in 1988. But the potential is there! The downside is that unlike in the 80’s and 90’s where all the Walleyes were truly huge lunkers, we now have a over abundance of juvenile and smaller keeper Walleyes that we have to deal with each day. So I guess if you're taking all of that into consideration and not just the fish that strictly make it to the brag board each day, we are handling probably even way more fish now then in any point in history. Did I mention I DIDN’T WANT TO WORK THIS HARD in my twilight years of my career! Lol!

So the water is warming up super fast and the fish are already in a late summer pattern moving out further and further with each passing day now. The Walleyes are also super deep already and the Walleyes that we catch each morning have mouthfuls of Smelt and Shiners spewing from their mouths. Something a lot of years we don’t see until August. They are literal eating machines already! It’s been fun out there for everyone. Fortunately for me I have everybody trained for a super early departure time. Most days we cast off the dock at 4am or 4:30 at the very latest. We have a significant ride out to the fishing grounds now and we don’t want to miss out on the cool of the morning fishing and the crazy good bite that takes place each day at the break of dawn. We want to have our travel behind us and all the lines set at the first hint of light each day. Most productive sets for us now have been deep set Dipsy Divers and deep Downriggers. A few days we have dabbled with the wire line and crank bait program but when everything else is working that well why bother with all that cranking, right? 40 Jets and spoons run deep are still pulling some fish as well. When there is as many fish out there as is the situation right now and with them feeding as heavily as they are, it’s a very forgiving environment. Just about everything works and works well. Just get it down deep! Interesting times for sure right now with this record heat wave and with no real relief in sight either. We shall see how it all plays out. I see nothing but monstrous fuel bills in all of our futures with all of this silly warm water. Ugh!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I think you can blame Mother Nature for all of the record huge Walleye hatches that we have been having now year after year these last 6 or 7 years. There are just soooooooo many fish in the lake right now that it is almost ridiculous. And like a pond that has too many Blue Gills, when the population gets so saturated, the average size suffers. I think we are finally there. I think that there is just too many Walleyes in the lake right now. And I can’t help but think that this all may have something to do with the lack of the Yellow Perch that we are coincidently experiencing right now as the Walleye population explodes. All these Walleyes have to eat something. Here is a picture of some Perch inside a Walleye I kept and cleaned for dinner for myself a couple of weeks ago. You can see clearly that they are Perch. But I think the real harm to the Perch population is when they are first hatched and are tiny tiny fish. I think these 100 million plus Walleyes that we have in the lake right now just gorge themselves silly on these little guys. At least that’s my personal theory about it all.

Otherwise things are going very well. We are still on a Tru Trip Jet Diver program off of the big planer boards. I’ve gone to larger spoons off of the Jets to try and discourage some of the smaller fish from grabbing the lures so easily but it really doesn’t seem to make any difference. We are also getting plenty of sub legal throw back Walleyes (under 15” inches) but knock on wood, so far not quite as bad as it was at times last year or the year before. Seems like I’ve been complaining about mass amounts of throw back Walleyes for years now. And again coincidently right along with all of these back to back record Walleye hatches. I guess the future looks very bright for these young captains for years to come but I know this old guy is getting pretty tired of working this hard everyday sorting thru this many small Walleyes. Deep sigh.

So with the progression of summer we will slowly work into a more serious deep water program focusing more on the Dipsy Divers and Downriggers as we continue to go out even further and further. I fully expect to run into larger fish including our friends, the explosive elusive Steelhead Trout. This is the first summer in memory where we have yet to catch our first Trout of the season aboard THE TROPHY. We did have one on and almost had it to the boat but it escaped us just shy of the net. Kind of a weird year as far as that goes but I’m sure they are coming and I’m not really complaining. Ha! Come to think of it, we haven’t really caught much of anything else like the White Bass or Sheephead. Maybe the Walleyes ate all of them too! Lol! I don’t think we’ll be that lucky though! We shall see. Weather so far this summer has been pretty decent thus far for all of us too. Hopefully that trend will continue on as well. All good so far. We get a little more size on these keeper Walleyes, things will teeter to the really good end of the fishing meter for me. One can only hope! Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I actually had my boat in the water back towards the end of April and though I had no paid trips that early, I did get out in April just to scout things out a bit and see if anything was going on. And to my pleasant surprise, the rods were bending immediately! With the first couple of rods that I set on my very first day on the water, they immediately doubled over before I could even get more rods set! Just a fantastic surprise where some springs the Walleye fishing starts out kind of slow in our colder water out east here. And by mid May when I started running my first charters for real for the season 2024, it was on big time and has been going strong ever since.

There has been two bands of fish from what I have been seeing. Some good fish in the extremely shallow “skinny” water tight to the shoreline and again a secondary heavier band of fish a bit further out in 40 to 50 foot of water. This is where we have been doing the best although I’ve been bouncing back and fourth between both areas. When in the shallower water of 10 to 20 foot aboard The Trophy we've been pulling Smithwick Perfect 10’s with good results off the big planer boards. And in the deeper water it’s been a full assault with everything that we have. True Trip Jet Divers on the big boards, Dipsy Divers and we've even caught down rigger fish already! Perhaps that’s why I’m doing better in the deeper water. We’re running double the amount of rods out there with the Dipsys and downrigger rods added to our already big spread.

So another season begins. My 38th year of full time chartering. Rather unbelievable to me but that’s where we are at. Perhaps I will make the big 4-0 after all! Ha! But before I worry about any of that we have a lot of trips that need to be run this summer. Hopefully things will just continue to get better and better from our already good start to the season that we are experiencing . Frankly that’s one of the reasons it’s so darn hard to walk away from this business after so many years. The fishing these last half dozen of years or so has been just so good and downright easy many of the days that it makes me want to stick around for some more. We shall see! Lol! I hope everyone has a successful and safe fishing season this year & Happy Memorial Day to everyone! Fish on!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

As I had already mentioned we finally got some real delightful weather and much calmer seas. Some of the early mornings have been a bit nippy but I’ll take it! We even had some great water spout action all around us as the much cooler air and light northerly breezes sweep across the still warmer water of Lake Erie. Water temps have really gone nowhere still holding strong at around 71 degrees.

And as I had predicted and hoped for, the schools of Walleye are finally moving back towards shore some. Almost overnight the best fishing is now only 10 or 12 miles out. Still a long distance offshore for many smaller boats but a far cry from the daily 20 miles plus that we were all running for much over a month. Add to that the calmer seas where we can really crank it up and we’re fishing in no time now! We are still in 72 plus feet of water but the fish are also showing signs of coming up in the water column besides moving in some. All welcome signs!

And finally, now the the main purpose of this final fishing report for the season of 2023. I want to thank each and everyone of you that fished with me this past summer. It was a year with plenty of highs and lows for myself as always but your unwavering support, business and incredible generosity got me through it again and make me want to return next year for season #38. With the good Lord willing for everyone, I make you a promise. If you all come back again next year, I’ll be here again to provide everyone with “Just another EXCITING day on THE TROPHY”! You guys are all truly my very good friends and special guests and I can’t wait to welcome you all back again next season. OK, one little bit of news yet for this season. With the incredibly good fishing still going on and in hopes that this nice stretch of weather holding, I’ve decided to keep the boat in the water for an extra week or two this year. My last scheduled trip was supposed to be Saturday Sept 23rd with the boat coming out the 25th but now I’m thinking of coming out sometime in October. None of these days are spoken for including a couple of more weekend dates that this opens up so if anyone is interested in pushing the envelope and trying a late season one final fishing trip with me, give me a call or shoot me a text at 216-387-2656. We can even do a very last second trip. If you see some really nice weather coming up and I am still open and you want to jump on it, I’m game! Otherwise I will see most of you again next summer. Oh yeah, and one more final thank you... Thanks to all of you that have been following along with these now bi-weekly fishing reports of mine whether you fish with me or not. I know my website gets about a 1,000 hits a week and I know for a fact that most of that is people that are faithfully reading my silly ramblings. I appreciate all of the interest and devotion! So till next year, I hope everyone stays safe and warm this off-season and that all of the upcoming holidays bring you peace and joy. Over and out one final time for the fishing season 2023!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I've been fishing Lake Erie a long time. 37 years as a full time charter captain and fishing guide. And I fished Lake Erie a good 10 years before I started my own charter service. I can tell you that I truly believe that this past month of August, 2023 was bar none the roughest and windiest August that I can ever remember. I mean, just plain horrible! As I mentioned in my last report, August is usually a month where you pray for a breath of air. Super hot air temperatures, stagnant humid air and buggy to boot. We had absolutely none of that . Most mornings we all had sweatshirts and light jackets on in the gusty cool winds. Super long, hard beating slow rides out to near the Canadian line where the big schools of Walleye have been holding tight for the last 5 or 6 weeks at least now. And with no signs yet of them wanting to move back any closer. What a month it was!

But if and when you got back out there the Walleye fishing has been simply outstanding offshore! The rest of this fishing report as far as catching is concerned you can just go and copy and paste from my previous reports. Fast and furious! As I had mentioned before, most days in the rough water it takes us longer to get out there and then back home again then it does to knock out full limits of Walleyes. Some very nice fish at that! Steelhead Trout continue to evade us now after a strong showing earlier mid summer. People ask about it everyday. Personally it does not break my heart. Most people don’t enjoy eating them anyway and all they do is break crap and tangle lines. If it don’t go on the counter, it may as well be a Sheephead. Speaking of which as they most always do in the late summer and early fall, the big Sheephead are starting to make their presence known. I absolutely hate when they start turning on. Big brute half snagged Sheephead on a long wire rods will make the toughest of muscle men cry like a little girl after trying to winch them in after about 15 minutes or more! And heaven forbid if you don’t have any real strong guys onboard that are willing to put up with that kind of punishment! Don’t look at me! I’ll cut the damn line before I ruin my friggin arms! Lol!

I get people that ask me all the time why are all those Walleye that far out there. In this final picture, you will see the reason why. Smelts! Mountains and mountains of rolling bait towers down super deep and the Walleyes are mixed in right with them just gorging themselves! Believe it or not, this gob of Smelt in this picture was all in one Walleyes mouth when I netted it. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It wasn’t even one of the bigger ones! What a glutton! And almost all the others that are making it to the boat are spewing mouthfuls of bait as well including Emerald Shiners and even some Shad. What a feeding frenzy that is going on out there right now! It’s actually a miracle that with all that forage that’s out there and as full as they are that these fish will still hit a artificial lure. Fortunately they always have room for “just one more” Lol! So it is indeed now September. We’ve put that nasty windy August in the rear view mirror. What will September bring us? Lord only knows. I can’t imagine September being as bad as what we all just went through. Time will tell I guess. This most likely will be my last full bore fishing report for this year. I’ll have a little something for you in two weeks but it will most likely be me signing off for the season as trips begin to dwindle off and my attention will be focusing on winterizing and wrapping things up for another year. Talk to you one more time here in another couple of fast weeks...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

And with the fish still so far offshore and having to practically creep out at a snails pace most mornings this made for really long bumpy boat rides out to the fishing grounds. I had many two hour boat rides out in the early morning darkness. Fished in rough conditions and then long bumpy rides home after still limiting out only to wake up the next day to the same nasty rough ass crap water. With a new and fresh eager crew we would head out again on the days that I thought we could get our trip in safely. But while they were fresh and eager, I was far from it. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this beat up. All my joints hurt from these daily poundings. Every now and then this lake reminds me that this is a young mans game. With me in my 37th season now and myself being 65 years of age I also realize that my career is fast winding down. I just can not continue to take beatings like this summer after summer. We will finish out the remainder of this season and I really intend on being back next year but reality tells me that the end of chartering is nearing more quickly with each passing season now. I am just very tired and hurting as I sit here and try to put my thoughts in print on this Friday evening.

Otherwise we continue to fish most days very close to the Canadian line, some 20 plus miles out. Once out there, fishing is still very good even though the younger undersized Walleyes are still making things quite difficult for us at times. With the very rough water, many days I elected to go with just Dipsy Divers only and we still got all of our fish! Dipsy leads have been longer to compensate for wave heights and that the fact the fish seemingly appear to be as deep as they have been all summer long now. I really believe most of our Walleyes are now down about 65 foot over about 72 plus foot of water. The few days that I ran the big boards I ran my big Thundersticks back about 330 foot with great results. But again, if we can get the job done with the shorter and quicker Dipsy Divers, why would we even want to deal with having to crank back a fish from some 450 to 500 foot back? (330 foot back plus the distance down the planer board line, well away from the boat) Also since we are still cycling through so many throw back fish the shorter Dipsys make the in and out again much more quicker for us. The problem has been many times you don’t even know that you are loaded up with babies. I just non stop keep checking rods anymore if I have a free moment. Again, very exhausting!

So this will be my last report in this month of August. My next report will be posted in September and then the countdown to the end of my season will begin in earnest. I pray that the winds will finally ease and that these fish begin to move back in closer to the south shore, which they should do based on past yearly migration patterns. But this entire season has been far from normal. We never really had a good tight water bite early this season and then the fish moved way offshore much sooner then in past summers. The masses of undersized fish are really beefing up now although still not of legal length. Many now look like “they should make it” till you go and measure them. I’m sure by next summer they will but people will once again have to get used to the idea of much smaller rack fulls of fish. Really great eaters but not the world class huge Walleyes that the Ashtabula area is known for. It is what it is and I’m done speculating because usually what I tell people is going to happen doesn’t anyway. I guess I will just have to rest up this offseason and return next year to find out like everyone else! But first, we still got these next 5 weeks or so that we need to get through!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Other then that, there is not much of anything new to report in this report. Limits are still a daily occurrence. Size remains decent with mostly just good eaters ending up in the box. Monsters are few and far apart this summer. The captains at River Marine again this summer are having their friendly fishing Calcutta tournament amongst the handful of boats that are docked there. As in past years, each captain throws in $50 bucks each week and the biggest Walleye each week wins the pot. But there’s a catch... the Walleye has to be at least a 9 pounder or better to even weigh and be considered. If nobody has a 9 pound or bigger fish, just like the Power Ball, the pot rolls over and everyone throws in another $50 bucks the following week and the pot just keeps growing. Well, I won it way back in June the very first week the contest kicked off this summer with a 9 1/2 pounder. But since then nobody including myself has even had a 9 pounder brought in on their boat to weigh. Some very nice fish but nothing much over 8 pounds. That tells a lot. These guys are all the best of the best at River Marine bringing in daily limits of Walleye, yet nobody is catching any real monsters. Very interesting. Also, after having a good run with the Steelhead Trout here in recent weeks they also have become quite illusive here as of late. Also interesting but honestly, that part doesn’t break my heart one bit! Lol!

Fishing techniques are typical summer deep water set ups. For us aboard THE TROPHY, that means deep billed crank baits on wire fishing line. In my case we use the larger Storm Thundersticks fished back somewhere between 250’ to 300’ feet. Then it’s run out on the planer boards to each side of the boat and run out yet an additional 100’ to 150’ feet of line. Lots of reeling when a rod goes off! Even more frustrating when that fish happens to be one of those undersized throw backs! Ugh! Then 6 Dipsey Diver rods always go out and if we find the time, we throw out the 2 downriggers as well. On the Dipseys and the downriggers the only lure that I ever use any more is the larger sized Contender Spoons. I rarely do any promoting or endorsements of any products that I use but I can not say enough good about these Contender Spoons. They just plain work and work extremely well! Probably 75% of all the fish that we catch and highlight on all of our brag board rack shot pictures are caught on these Contender Spoons! They have a amazing selection of colors that hold their paint well and come with super quality split rings and treble hooks. They are very tough and don’t bend easily. They just plain outshine anything else out there on the market. That from me you can take to the bank whole heartedly!

So it is now August. We are in a time period that is affectionately called “The dog days of summer”. Usually it’s the three H’s. Hot, humid and hazy. While the rest of the country has been blazing in record heat this summer, we have been spared of most of the uncomfortable weather and have been having relatively perfect temperatures. Coolish in the early morning hours and just pleasant by mid morning. Heck, I think we’ve only had like two 90 degree days up here this whole summer! That certainly does not make me mad! This coming week looks to be much of the same. We’ve had more Canadian forest fire smoke haze out there this summer then just the typical summer muggy haze that everyone usually expects this time of year. Now that’s been something else! Some really bizarre shrouded sun rises! That’s about it for this weeks report. We’ll see what these next couple of weeks bring us.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

But it all comes at a cost. And it’s not pretty. A average day now requires 50 miles of travel. And that is no exaggeration. On average, it’s 20 miles out. It requires about another 10 miles of trolling around to get a limit of fish for the day. And then again it’s about another 20 miles home. On average. Some days a tad more, some days a tad less. But definitely right around 50 miles on average. And like clockwork, my daily fuel bills at River Marines fuel prices hovering penny's short of $6 dollars a gallon have been $300 and plus dollars A DAY and around $2,100 plus weekly! Sickening. And along with the grueling long boat rides, engines and machinery wears out like crazy as well. This past week alone I had to replace a alternator, have work done on a distributor which most likely will end up needing replaced as well and do a oil change which is almost a weekly thing now at about $130 for oil and filters for both engines just for one change. Did I mention sickening?

Therefore, this is the first time in 37 years that I have had to change our rates mid season but effective immediately and going forward, ALL CHARTER RATES ARE GOING UP BY $50 DOLLARS a trip. No exceptions! We have always specifically stated on our web site that “all rates are subject to change” With us now having to run incredibly far to the fishing grounds this summer and with marina gas at that dreaded $6 dollars a gallon I have no choice if I want to continue to remain in business. It just is not sustainable without adjusting our rates. And it’s not only just because of the fuel. Everything else has sky rocketed on me this summer as well. Dock rent, commercial insurance, it’s been one thing after another and ridiculously endless. I held off as long as I could...

So that’s that. I think most all of my groups will more then understand. I’ve said it a thousand times before and I believe it with all my heart. I have the most loyal, longest running generous repeat guests that I am so proud to call all my friends. Never a customer! You guys are truly my guests that make this dream possible for me. We have been through a lot together and I am as always humbled by everyone's enthusiasm, loyalty and generosity. I know that you all want the most exiting and productive trip possible and I know that you wouldn’t want me to base my decision everyday where to fish by skimping on the miles that we have to go to get to the very best spots possible just to save on fuel. I promise I will never do that! Now let’s fuel that 200 gallon tank back up and get back out there! It is simply fabulous fishing out there, you know!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Most anywhere you try it now off of Ashtabula there are plenty of Walleyes. Plenty of keepers and even more of the relentless onslaught of juvenile fish that seem to be getting worst and worst with each passing year. I’ve since given up on saying how next year is going to be the banner year with all these undersized fish becoming of legal size the next season. And I’m sure many do, but along comes next season and a even more massive swarm of the little buggers seem to show up just to make everyone's life even more trying. I know it’s taken a lot of the fun out of it for me. Relentless sorting of fish from the first line in to the last line out right now. None stop work with many tangles to deal with caused directly because of these little nuisance fish. Of all the reasons that over the years I have given thought about maybe hanging it up, I never imagined that it would be because there are just too many Walleyes in the lake! It’s simply exhausting work and frankly I’m getting quite tired of dealing with it.

But for now, we battle on everyday and by days end after all of the sorting and cussing, we’ve been handsomely rewarded with massively full fish boxes of “good ones”. Ashtabula will never disappoint. It may try to break your spirit at times but if you suck it up and work as hard as you can the Walleye fishing is still world class and always will be. And I promise you there is nowhere on Earth where you can catch such beautiful fish like we do on a everyday basis day in and day out like we do here in the summer months. It’s simply amazing! And as a bonus, our Steelhead Trout mixed in along with our Walleyes makes it a even more amazing fishery if that is even possible. There are many people that travel super far and spend big money in pursuit of these silver bullets and we catch them all the time incidentally fishing for the Walleyes without even giving them a second thought!

So that’s my bi weekly rant about all the dinky Walleyes that we have to cycle though each day nowadays. I’m still holding out hope that the problem eases some yet this summer but I just don’t know if it will at this point. There are just sooooo many of them out there. At least, that’s not the only thing we’re catching out there. And another positive thing is that the weather for the most part has been behaving very nicely for a change! Some really great summer like days to work with! And that alone makes me very happy! As I look at the various forecasts available to me, it looks like the trend will continue for a good spell to come as well. Double woot woot! By the time I check back in again, July will be about shot leaving about 6 more weeks of the best of the best of our season. Like I said, things are marching along nicely...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

And as I started out saying, fishing is consistently very good now. There seems to be many different bands of Walleyes filling in from wherever they may be coming from out there. I pulled a couple trips off in 30 foot of water, spent a solid week back in the 50 to 60 foot range and the rest of my days well offshore 10 to 14 miles out. Every where I fished we caught good Walleyes. Unfortunately with the influx of new Walleyes spilling into the area, a onslaught of undersized smaller fish have followed them down the lake. Some days, almost unbearable. Going about as fast as we can go most mornings cycling thru keepers and throwbacks becomes exhausting! One for one isn’t too bad but when you start having to deal with 3 or 4 or even worst for every keeper that you get, well it’s time to just get out of Dodge and go looking for greener pastures!

And that’s what I did. We left the ferocious fast and furious inside waters bite and returned back out there to the offshore fishery where bites are fewer and further apart but the quality of fish is better and there is less babies out there. The same place I found the fish two weeks ago but suddenly left them! Why I even left out there and came back to the inside waters and baby Hell, I’m not quite sure. Maybe it’s something to do with the marina fuel price hovering at $6.00 a gallon! And the fact that after much weeding threw, we were still able to pull limits of nice Walleyes a bit closer. But a man can only take so much punishment. When you literally can’t keep the little guys off your lines, it’s time to go back offshore no matter how ugly the fuel bills have already become this early in the summer! But even out there with each passing day we are starting to handle more and more of the dreaded throwbacks. Ugh! ENOUGH WITH THE RECORD WALLEYE HATCHES EACH YEAR MOTHER NATURE! I mean, SERIOUSLY!

So we’ve had a perfect string of limit Walleye catches now since about Memorial Day. Some incredible rack fulls at that. This final picture featured here in my fishing report is from my annual visit of Iowa boys that come for two days and request a second boat each year to keep the party size down on each boat. I really appreciate that! Thank you Matt and Chris Hoopes for being my second boat! You guys did great! We did this same rack full both days with the boys taking home right around 120 Walleyes for the two days that they fished with us! Wow is all I can say! You guys will be eating a lot of tasty Walleye dinners! I rarely give out any names in my fishing reports like others do all the time on social media but I want to give Ron from Wisconsin and his group and Chad from Iowa and all of his guys that came out a special shout out. You guys were a ton of fun to run! I really, really do appreciate all of your friendship, laughs and generosity this year and all of the many, many past years that we’ve fished together. It’s been a heck of a run that we’ve all had! The only thing that I don’t appreciate is all of the threats that no way, no how can I retire till you guys grant me permission to do so! Just too funny and I guess I’ll be seeing you guys next year! Lol!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Unfortunately the fish are not where they would or should be normally in the late spring and early summer. And just a reminder to everyone that summer doesn’t even officially start till June 21st. These fish should still be in the 40 to 50 foot of water range with some days even a good bite happening in the “skinny” water, 20 to 30 foot. None of the skinny water ever paid off for me this year and in hind site, I spent way too much time trying to get it going in there. We had a week or so where we did do the best in the 50 to 60 foot range but that was rather short lived as well. Most of our better catches till now have been in the 65 foot plus of water. And now, well into the 70’s, 10 to 12 miles and even more away from the harbor. Already. Ugh.

And along with mid summer fish locations, we have also had to revert to mid to late summer fishing techniques to catch these offshore deep fish. That includes super deep long leads on Jet Divers, wire line and crank baits along with deep Dipsy Diver set ups and even finally a few downrigger fish! I had in desperation on some past days thrown down the downriggers in just to show 110% effort on my part but never caught anything on them till just a few days ago. Have we all missed these way offshore fish this spring? It’s a million dollar question. Fishing for weeks now by myself, I have had next to no help out there looking everyday with hardly anybody else running trips up until now. There’s a lot of water out there and I have personally been spending most of my time looking where “they are supposed to be”. Something to remember possibly for future years to come if we struggle in the water where “they are supposed to be”! If I’m still in business, Lol!

So besides being happy that we are catching good fish well offshore, I am equally saddened that these long runs are starting up already. This is normally the part of the year where I make the bulk of my profits before everything starts going back into the gas tank. But things at the marina pumps are starting out quite painful already. Every tank of fuel that I have already purchased back at my dock thus far this season has been exactly at the ridiculous price of $6 dollars on the button a gallon! (insert shocked emoji face! Lol!) The only saving grace was I was only fueling up about every 3rd day. Well, that ship has now sailed and I am already burning more gasoline then that in just one trip! YIKES! As always, most of my guys are being super generous at the end of the day and that honestly is what keeps me interested and making these charters feasibly possible. Thank you so much guys! You really don’t want me to retire, do you! Lol! Fish on!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Blame it on our cooler then normal spring. After a unusually mild winter with little to no ice on the big lake, the “mild” winter just kind of dragged on and on into March and then April. May up on the water here in north east Ohio has been no picnic either with constant east winds and plenty of days of much cooler then normal temperatures for this time of year. Water temperatures have struggled to get into the low 50’s which is very cold for this time of year. And every time water temps do start to climb, we get a big easterly big blow that pushes more cold water into the area from the eastern and deeper colder part of the lake. Ugh!

Otherwise, it's been the same old early season techniques and tactics as always for us in May. That means planer boards way out well away from the boat out in the quiet and undisturbed water targeting the higher stealth Walleyes that lurk just outside the watchful eye of the boats sonar systems. And running as many rods as we are legally allowed to run. Not that I really want to work that hard and run that many rods. But when you’re struggling to fill the box and want to give everyone 110% effort, you suck it up and do what you have to do. Tackle used includes rods with braid pulling either Jet Divers and little spoons or a variety of stick baits on braid rods. Same old, same old.

So as I mentioned earlier, my 37th season of full time chartering is well underway now. I’ve now settled into my usual summer routines. Early to bed, up at a ungodly hour and off the dock in the pitch black darkness each morning. Make the run out to the days fishing grounds, get all the lines in the water and watch a incredible sunrise. Now that part of the job never gets old! Hopefully as we flip the calendar now to June already, the weather will break for good with summer like conditions sticking around daily and the fishing really heating up as well. I’m more then ready for those mornings where you can hardly get a rod in the water without a hungry Walleye grabbing it! I just know it will break loose any day now and Happy Days will be here again for the rest of the season! I can’t wait!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Everyone knows how fabulous the Walleye fishing was last summer so there is no need to rehash all of that. In fact, most of you that have fished with me over the
span of the many years knows that over the last few seasons it has never been better for the Walleyes. Limits most days weather permitting have come quickly
and easily. This has been because of the many back to back super record successful Walleye hatches. This past years Walleye hatch statistics are in from the experts that watch that kind of thing and although it was not record smashing as in some of the past 6 or 7 years, it is still considered to be more than excellent!
We’ll take it!

This fun and successful fishing is what is keeping me in the game. Although retirement is beckoning and my body is telling me that it is really time, we are
going to try to squeak out yet another season. 2023 if we make it will mark my 37th year! Man, that’s a long time to do anything no less then to brave Lake Erie’s
punishing waves day in and day out like I’ve been doing for so long now. I’ve said it before that to fish at the level that I’ve been trying to run at you either have to be a young man or just plain nuts. I guess now I know which camp I fall into! Ha! Anyway, I hope everyone continues to stay warm and safe these remaining few months and that your thoughts start to drift towards the warmer days to come and yet another adventure aboard THE TROPHY!

Capt. Walt

As I do at the end of each season, I would like to take this time to thank each and every one of you that fished with me this past summer. I’ve said it before and I believe it with all my heart, I have the very best crews that anybody could ever want on their charter boat. We’ve become great friends over all these years and you guys are the reason that I keep pushing on year after year. It humbles me and amazes everyone else how long so many of you have been fishing with me now. Incredible loyalty! This year was financially troubling with all operating costs sky rocketing. Marina fuel prices were the very worst with gasoline costing more then $7.00 a gallon most of the season back dockside. Ouch! But absolutely every group that I took out dug deep into their pockets at the end of the day to help ease this pain at the pump for me. I just don’t know how to express my sincere gratitude! And we pulled it off! With everyone's generosity it was still a profitable year for me even with all the challenges that we faced. I am proud to announce right here and now that barring anything unforeseen I see no reason to increase any of my rates for next year as so many of my fellow captains keep talking about as this season winds down. You guys are the very best and I know I can count on everybody's generosity in the coming year(s) So with all of that, again I say THANK YOU to all of you and I look forward to seeing everyone back on The Trophy in 2023. Till then, stay warm everyone, stay safe and Happy Holidays!

Capt. Walt & Joyce
Trophy Charters

Fishing is still very strong with perfect scores of full limits on the halfway decent weather days. A bit tougher when you are battling the heavy seas. Aboard The Trophy it’s looking like we will be able to round out our remaining trips doing what we have been doing here for the last month or so. And that is just to run Dipsy Diver rods only. What a pleasant experience that is to be able to focus on just six Dipsy rods rather then those same six rods plus all the additional planer board rods too. I don’t know how I did it so many years before when fishing wasn’t as good running 14 or 16 rods all day long with no first mate to help me most of the time. I guess being much younger helped! But now with the lake literally so polluted with Walleyes and them biting as fast as they do on most days, there really is no need to do so. Unless you’re one of those people that want to catch them as fast as humanly possible and run hot all the way back to the harbor just so you can brag on Facebook or elsewhere how you caught them all in about a hours time. Not me. I’m never in that big a hurry! Lol!

The Walleyes as predicted are starting to move back in pretty good now even though the water temperatures have been reluctant to start dropping. Temps are still holding pretty steady in the 70’s. Pretty warm for almost mid September. We are still catching plenty of Steelhead well offshore also so they don’t seem to be in any rush to head up any streams or rivers any time soon from what I’m seeing. A remarkably quiet hurricane season on the east coast has prevented us from getting any prolonged North Easters here on the great lakes so I don’t see any drastic changes in the Walleye fishing for us any time soon either. In fact the weather looks to be quite stable for at least the next handful of upcoming days. This might end up being one of our nicer Septembers actually. No complaints from me if that holds to be true.

And I’m going to end this report with some incredibly sad news from my little marina, River Marine where The Trophy is docked. One of our fellow and most active captains, Jeff Fisher who now owns and runs the Taylor Made Charters unexpectedly passed away this weekend in his sleep and just did not show up for his charter the next morning. Jeff was truly one of the best of the best and learned so much of what he knew from Captain Taylor Click before Taylor retired from chartering and sold the boat to Jeff. Jeff took the business to new heights and built up a clientele that most captains on Lake Erie could only dream about. He worked very hard at what he did and none of his guests ever left disappointed. He consistently put his guys on fish even when so many others struggled on the tougher days. Jeff always showed mad respect towards my wife Joyce and I and affectionately called us “Mom & Dad” down there! I really struggled with the decision as to whether or not to share this sad news here in my report but so many of you who fish with me all know all the other guys down there. We’ve all visited and partied together year after year as the days catch is being cleaned at the end of the trip. Jeff's boat was the maroon and gray Cherokee identical to mine and was docked the closest to the draw bridge. Here is a fairly recent picture of Captain Jeff (center). I’m sure many of you will recognize him from this photo. He was only in his late 40’s. Rest in peace Captain Jeff. You will be dearly missed but never forgotten. Fish strong my friend.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I was actually going to open up this week's fishing report with a catch phrase that I haven’t used much this year if at all. Gorgeous weather! After the brutal last handful of weeks that we had with high winds, big waves, thunder storms and incredible heat and humidity daily, we FINALLY had a two week prolonged period of nothing but delightful weather. Waves even well off shore were predicted to be one foot or less daily day after day. And most days it was. A few days it was actually just a bit more then that but still very comfortable and easily manageable. A far cry from what we had been dealing with. And temperatures most of these days was a pleasant 70 some degrees also. Oh the luck of the draw when you schedule these trips. It almost isn’t fair how some of my guests almost always happen to land on the really nice days while others seem to always draw the short end of the straw and get stuck fishing in crap weather year after year. Almost uncanny how that seems to work! And this welcome change of nice weather came just in the nick of time. I myself couldn’t take much more of the daily beatings that I was taking. That’s one thing to come up for your yearly fishing trip and getting roughed up a little. It’s another thing to be the captain of the boat with all the stress and responsibility that goes with the job waking up every morning to the same old crap day after day. Simply exhausting!

But as I have have been describing all summer long now whether it be the lake is rough or very nice, the Walleye fishing is simply just fabulous day after day, week after week and month after month. What a fishery that we are blessed with! It just never has been this good as things are now these last few years. And each year these last few years somehow, someway it manages to get better with each passing year then it was the year before. Truly unbelievable! With us leaving super early each morning like we like to do, most days we are amongst the first few boats back each day to the dock. While visiting with my guests each day while they wait to have their fish cleaned, I am simply amazed by the daily onslaught of boats pouring back in and heading south each morning. Done! Like a parade every time the lift bridge goes up another group of boats, mostly all charters are all heading back to their docks further up river. Almost every day I point out to my guys, see all those boats heading that way? Every one of them is limited out no matter how many guys you see on the boat. If they were not, you wouldn’t see them back this early and all heading back up river. And this goes on every day, day after day after day. An amazing amount of Walleyes coming out of the lake each day and this is just one harbor of many! The same thing is going on in every port and harbor up and down the whole south shore of Erie! Like I said, what a fishery!

So another month is practically in the books now. In a couple of more days it will be September. My final month of fishing. Some go longer. By about now though I’ve personally had enough and by the end of September I for sure will be ready for a respite. The fish are already showing signs of coming back to shore some. Hopefully this trend will continue and this nice stretch of weather will continue as well making it easier for my last month. It’s always a good feeling to end my season on a high note rather then be totally beat up and frustrated when I put the boat away. I am to the point of my career now where I really don’t have to be doing this if I don’t want to. I continue to do so each year because I don’t want to let so many of you that I now consider my friends down. I know how much so many of you enjoy fishing with me and being on the super cool tricked out TROPHY! You can all thank the really great and super exciting Walleye fishing that has exploded here in these recent years for me sticking around as long as I have. Otherwise I would have most likely gone into retirement about 6 years ago when I hit my goal of making it 30 years. Man has that ship sailed already! Lol! Oh well. We’ll try to make it this one last month of this year and then get some rest over the winter and set our sites on next year, my 37th season. Yikes! But just like I described the Walleye fishing. It’s now down to one day at a time, one week at a time and one month at a time. And then and only then, one year at a time. We shall see. Talk to you guys again in September...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
* These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

Although this past two week period wasn’t quite as brutal as the prior two weeks before that which I had wrote about in my last report, it was far from a real nice stretch of weather wind wise. I don’t know what it is always this time of year with the strong south west winds but man has it been ever relentless these last few weeks. We did have a few rare delightful days in this last period but only to be greeted the very next day with strong wind and heavy seas. A couple days again where it was just too rough to even go. Seems like so many times my fishing reports are dominated by me talking about all the wind that we have been dealing with but this sport is so weather driven and when we are fishing this heavy offshore it is the single most important thing that we face each day. My day starts each day with me studying the mornings weather and ends with me pouring over all of my sources for tomorrows weather. Wash, rinse and repeat.

And again like a broken record, fishing remains quite excellent. Limit catches are the norm and to be expected. Even fishing in some very difficult conditions. Not much has changed out there. We are still out 15 miles plus most days and the fish are quite deep. Aboard The Trophy, I can’t remember the last time that we used planer boards. Our Dipsy Divers have kept us very busy and and are quick in and quick out. Nobody wants to reel fish in from 400 to 500 foot behind the boards if we don’t have to. So we’ve limited our rod count down significantly and have just concentrated on the Dipsys. Contender large spoons have been very deadly for us behind the Dipsys. I just love those things and apparently the Walleyes do too! On a few days if I have enough time I’ve been dropping the downriggers down to about 60 foot with the same Contender spoons as well and they have contributed nicely also to the days catch. The size of the Walleyes continues to be a very pleasant mixed bag of just keepers to very nice sized Walleyes and everything in between. It has been a real representation of all of the highly successful hatches that we've had these past half dozen years or so. This trend should continue for us for years to come. A real mix of different sizes.

So just like that it’s mid August already. And as I mentioned earlier on it has become a real blur for me by now. Only 6 more weeks of fishing after this weekend left for me. That means only 3 more reports after this one for those of you that enjoy following along online. I sure hope that I have more to talk about in my last few reports other then the dang weather and all this wind! Otherwise, everything is the same ole, same ole. I guess that’s a good thing. Check back soon...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
* These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

And I also happened to mention that the fish weren't that terribly far out yet. YET! Ha! Boy did that seem to change overnight as well. Just in time for the super windy, super rough days to arrive the bigger schools of fish have slipped yet another 7 or 8 miles further out then just two weeks ago. Runs of 15 to 20 miles are now common place. Even under ideal conditions the rides are long and grueling. Wear and tear on machinery is dramatically increased and always a worry with engines turning high RPM’S hours on end not to mention horrific fuel consumptions for these long trips. And the rougher the lake, the more we burn. Although relief on the street with gas prices has been trickling downward here lately, we’ve yet to see any real drop in marina fuel prices sold on the waterfront. I used to really enjoy the adventure of these long offshore trips. But anymore with all my physical aches and pains and the big pain at the pump that we are experiencing this summer, it’s not so much for me this year. Perhaps if the frigging wind would ever back off for a week or so I might feel at least a little more optimistic about it all. It’s just been a tough two weeks!

What hasn’t changed is how good the fishing is once you get to the fishing grounds. The fish could care little how rough the lake is or how expensive the gas is for you to get to them. They are plentiful way out there and they are hungry! Fishing has been more then excellent! And the size continues to be a pleasant mix of all different sized year classes. True monsters have been rare but we are getting a good many 24 to 26 inch fish. Really nice Walleyes! Steelhead continue to be hit or miss even that far out in the cooler deeper water where usually it’s more common to find them. This past week I had a fellow onboard that had fished for them in the Michigan rivers before but told me that his bucket list item was to catch one here in Ohio. Well I made sure he was going to be on the rod should one go off with a silver bullet. And along with a full limit of Walleyes that we caught that day, my guest had his chance with four Steelies that we hooked up with him landing two out of the four. Not a bad average! I don’t think I’ve seen anyone happier in a long time! Lol! Then other days we go all day long and never even hook one up. Weird.

So tomorrow is August already. Another fast month is about in the books. I would imagine these long runs that we’re making is going to go on for a while now. Nothing really new. These Walleyes follow the same patterns year after year. What we can look forward to is that usually when September rolls around they start steadily marching back southward reversing this crazy outbound march as the water temps start to lower. The same thing happens year after year. Hopefully we got our rough water over with for a while now and all we have to worry about is just the hot days as we enter the “Dog Days of Summer”! As if we haven’t really had enough 90 degree plus days this summer! Even with all the gusty strong south west winds that we’ve had these past two weeks, almost everyday these winds ushered in super charged hot air. What a bubble of heat most of this country has been locked in now for weeks. We’ll see how it all plays out going forward. So fishing is really good. River Marine where The Trophy is docked has built us two new fish racks And so I thought it would be only fitting to feature all fish rack shots for this weeks pictures! Enjoy!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
* These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

Aboard The Trophy, most days we are simply using only Dipsey Divers to get the job done. We could just as easily use everything at our disposal including the planer boards and even the downriggers. The question becomes however, how fast do you really want to catch them? Everyone knows you will get your fish no matter what you do. It’s been just that kind of a great season. So why not drag it out some for your guests. And that’s exactly what I have have been trying to do for my guys that choose to fish with me. And even though at times it may seem like we are back rather early ourselves, you have to understand that we equally leave very early each day. Beings the very first ones out, we get to enjoy the spectacular LED light show The Trophy puts on as we travel in the quiet early morning darkness guided by radar and powerful spotlights with not a sole to be seen anywhere. The whole time while the music videos are playing on the boats big screen for your in flight entertainment! Lol! And we never get to miss out on seeing a spectacular sun rising out of the water each and every day and let me tell you, that really never gets old!

And so I have no real big news as far as the fishing goes but there is super HUGE news for the Ashtabula Harbor district area itself that will impact all of us that run charters down here in the harbor and all of you, our loyal guests. We are getting a brand new hotel! It’s being built right next to the well known and beautiful Ashtabula draw bridge where The Trophy is docked. Ground has broke recently for the new Riverbend Hotel & Suites being built on the south west corner of where the bridge is located. It will be a cozy small hotel but will have 30 rooms that are said to will be spacious, comfortable and highly amenitiized. Rooms and suites will all be individually styled so that no two rooms will be the same. And maybe the coolest thing of it all will be a new roof top bar on the very top of this hotel that will overlook the whole harbor area including the lift bridge and River Marine where The Trophy is docked along with breath taking views of both the river and the lake and all of Bridge Street! I see sunset cocktails in our future and all within spitting distance of the boat. This will add to your options of lodging choices while staying in Ashtabula for your future fishing trips. The completion of the new hotel is said to be by next summer but that might be a stretch in my own personal opinion. But we’ll see. For more information, copy and paste this into your browser: https://www.theriverbendhotel.com/home

So that’s about it for yet another couple week fishing time period. Fishing is really good. The size of fish keeps getting much better. Weather has been rather decent and pretty typical of our average north east Ohio summers as well. We’ve only lost a handful or so of trips due to high wind days thus far and I would say that’s better then average as well for us. We all know many years it is so much more worse by now. We’ll see how the rest of the season plays out as we approach the 2022 hurricane season. And yes, we do not get hurricanes on Lake Erie but we do get the wrap around effects when these storms go up the east coast which usually gives us deep low pressure systems over the lake that brings us strong North Easters here on Lake Erie. These systems sometimes shut us down for multiple days at a whack. Fingers crossed that is not the case this year. It’s already been a financially troubling season with the fuel prices and what not. We don’t want to start loosing a whole bunch of scheduled trips on top of all of that. So tight lines for now and fish on!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
* These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

My first picture featured in this weeks report is a beautiful nine and a half pound Walleye we caught a week ago aboard The Trophy that won me the weekly pot in River Marine's little River Marine captains only “Calcutta” tournament. Just for fun and for bragging rights, each week all 7 captains at River Marine throw in $50 bucks and whosever boat brings in the biggest Walleye that week, the captain wins the entire pot! The only catch is that it has to be at least nine pounds to qualify! If nobody has a nine pounder that week to weigh, everybody throws in another $50 bucks and the previous weeks money rolls over and builds the pot. Kind of like a mini Power Ball! Lol! Ironically it was exactly a year ago the very same week that I won a pot that had been building for 3 weeks with a ten pound monster. The pot this time around was only a single weeks worth because the week before my buddy Capt. Rick with the Tricky Rickey Charters also docked at River Marine won it with a nine and a quarter pound beauty. Like I said, there’s still a few big ones around!

After claiming in my last report that things were heating up out in 70 ft. plus of water, strangely enough it seems like the bulk of the fish have shifted again back southward into the much shallower water where they are usually only found in May and early June. Aboard The Trophy this past week we chased the fish into water as shallow as 41 ft. Some nice chunky “eaters” in there and easy limits. But I never commit to just one depth. The wind always dictates where exactly I start. Every week I look at many different water depths. We had several heavy north winds in the past couple weeks where we were forced to start well offshore so we can put them on the tail and troll south with the wind and the waves giving all my guests the most comfortable ride possible. And that’s how I am rather confident that the fish have abruptly shifted their typical slow methodical march northward and actually appear to be holding out in the 50 ft. range. Plus or minus 10 ft. or so depending on the day. The fishing never got good till we got way shallower. Really weird. We should all be fishing in 70 ft. plus everyday now. But at least for now, that is not the case.

So we have now flipped the calendar to July already. Couple more weeks and I’ll have hit the mid point of this fishing season for myself. I still hold out hope that a massive school of larger fish arrives sometime soon. But for now at least we are catching fish and lots of them at that. It could be much, much worst I suppose. Rather then huge Walleye hatches year after year now ever since 2015 we could have had poor to non existent hatches just as easily. I’ve lived through some of those years too and let me tell you, it’s not that fun staring at rods all day praying for a bite either. So far everyone has handled these smaller fish days better then I have and as it should be I suppose. The trip should be all about the outing itself and doing something that you just don’t get to do everyday. Catching fish should always just be a bonus! Although we all know that’s not necessarily the case for some people! Lol! But rest assured, I am trying my very, very hardest to catch everyone whoppers. After all, there’s this little contest... Ha!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
* These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

The fish continue their slow methodical northward trek into the deeper cooler water well north of the harbor just like they do every summer. It’s almost uncanny how repetitious things are out there from one summer to the next. Fishing starts out near shore with the fish high in the water column and as the water warms, just like clockwork they start moving out further and further and dropping deeper and deeper into the same water. We’ve hit what I like to consider an important threshold where the water temps have now reached 70 degrees and a lot of the fish are now in likewise in 70 foot of water. Crossing the “70 & 70”!

We are already in near wire line fishing territory as the month winds down. I may as early as this coming week start to dabble with some wire line and Jr. Thunder Sticks. Just like I have for the past 35 years! Perhaps we can start to find and catch a slightly better grade of fish by doing so. Although fishing has been on fire for us aboard The Trophy, the size of the average fish this summer leaves a lot to be desired. Just as it has been for everyone. Limits have been very common and fast and furious but it’s been next to impossible to get away from yet another invasion of the 16 to 18 inch fish this season. Definitely all great “eaters” but a far cry from the average size from years past and what we have all grown accustomed to fishing back in the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s. It’s been tough though lately with Mother Nature continuously throwing us new record setting hatch year after year since 2015 now. We are all trying our hardest to catch bigger fish for our guests but there is just only so much you can do. It is what it is though. Sometimes you just have to take what the lake gives you and be happy about it! That includes even the captain!

So summer marches on, gas prices at the marina continue to creep upwards each week and dealing with all of these younger Walleyes including tons of undersized throwback fish is all starting to get just a bit old. I guess with having lived through some of the very best Central Basin Walleye fishing that anyone can ever imagine along with dirt cheap fuel prices back in the day, things nowadays look somewhat grim. I often wonder to myself how things will be in the coming years. I hope to still be giving it Hell out there but frankly I am glad that the better part of my career is now in the rear view mirror. So many things are working against us now. Fuel is only just one thing that is concerning. It’s just everything. I just bought five cases of motor oil for the boat the other day which I will easily blow through before this season winds down. Before tax, it was $110 a case! I almost gagged! Can you even imagine? I never thought I would see the day. Oil filters have sky rocketed too. Just everything is nutzso. Again, I am blessed with the very best generous clientele on the entire lake. You guys continue to come through for me. Year after year. Big fish, smaller fish. Fast & furious fishing and tougher days both. You guys are the reason that I am inspired to keep on playing this game. You still make it fun for me and feasible. Excuse my mind wandering here. I usually save all of my sincere thanks to all of you for my very final fishing report of the year but you know what, sometimes it just feels good just to reinforce my genuine gratitude to everyone a little more frequently. Thank you!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
* These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

We have gone from having the lake all to ourselves for nearly a month to now having to watch out for other boats every day that seemingly always decide to fish exactly where I am as soon as I get spotted. The dramatic shift in fishing pressure predictably came right on que with the Memorial Day Weekend that has now come and gone. Almost comical as big as the lake is to see boats run straight up to me and start throwing out their gear. SMH. (shake my head) Some things never change!

And I haven’t been hard to find either. At marina fuel prices just shy of $7.00 dollars a gallon at the marina pumps, I’ve been reluctant to just run way down the lake just to get away from everybody like I’ve always done early in the season in past seasons when the fish are in close like they are now. This relentless nonstop climb in fuel prices each week is very troubling. I’ve weathered many business related crises in my 36 year career (thus far). Will this be the straw that breaks the Camel’s back? With a 200 gallon tank and a very thirsty gas guzzling boat each day, you can see my very real concern! Ugh.

So by not doing weekly reports anymore the problem become which four pictures do I feature from so many trips and fine catches over the span of two weeks. Do I go with all rack shots or do I highlight some of the exceptionally big Walleyes that we manage to catch here and there on an almost daily basis. Tough choices! But every now and then we catch something so out of the norm that it just has to be shown. So for my fourth picture of choice in this week’s report, enjoy this picture of a behemoth Catfish that we landed this past week while trolling for Walleye! What a struggle that was to land against the tow of the boat! Ha! The fish cleaners weighed it at the end of the day and it went exactly 20 pounds! Did I mention frigging BEHEMOTH? Yikes! Lol!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
*These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

This shot of heat that we’ve had this past week has made all the difference in the world. Only a week ago the surface temperatures everywhere that I had ventured was right around 46 degrees. In one weeks time it has shot up by nearly 10 degrees plus! At least on the surface that is. That is huge! And I tell everyone as I always have, when the lake temperature hits a true 60 degrees, not just the surface temperature, it’s GAME ON everywhere up here! We are sooooo close to that now! As I sit here and write this short recap of this past weeks fishing, I see nothing but warm temperatures heading our way in the coming days. I fully expect to report back in two weeks that it’s on like Donkey Kong! Ha!

I personally have not been able to get much going in the real skinny water. I know others that are catching some in there. I guess I’ve always been just destined to fish in the deeper water further out. 50 to 60 ft. has been OK for us. Not a real burn like we would all like, but just OK. As far as I can tell, most all of our fish are being caught in the 20 to 30 ft. below the surface range. Tru Trip Jet divers and little Stinger spoons have been our weapons of choice. No surprise there. Big Contender spoons off of the Dipsys have contributed for a few as well each day. I’ve yet to catch one this year off of a downrigger however. I don’t know why I continue to waste my time on those things other then the fact that I love to fish with them. By far they are our least productive rods regardless of the time of year sadly. But as long as I have the time to do so, I will continue to play with them until I eventually start pulling at least a few on them. And when things are slow, every fish that goes on the counter regardless of how you caught it is very valuable!

So soon I’ll have already been in the water for almost a month. Memorial Day weekend is next weekend already! Just unbelievable! Between now and then, the other boats will really start to show up here in Ashtabula. Recon and data from other skilled anglers will start to pile in more freely. In all honesty it all makes my job easier as I take into consideration what everyone else is doing and where they are catching. There are more then enough fish for everyone to go around and working together is not a bad thing. If I could only convince the other captains up this way to start much sooner! Lol! We’ll see how these next couple of weeks play out. I’m already anxiously awaiting June and a lot of those easier days. But for now we’ll take what the lake gives us this remainder of May and try to be happy about it!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters
* These trips were not priced for this kind of fuel emergency that is facing us right now. Your generous tips will help us survive these tough times that lay ahead! THANK YOU!

I have been very intrigued here lately with the new high tech super glossy Ceramic coatings that have really gotten popular in recent years and is taking the automotive and marine detailing world by storm. The only thing that prevented me from trying it sooner was knowing that all of the surfaces that you want to coat have to be absolutely immaculate and surgically clean! No swirls, scratches, oxidization, old waxes or polishes, dirt or stains. No grease or oils, not even from a thumb or finger print! No soap or cleaning residues of any kind! Did I mention that all surfaces have to be surgically clean? Lol! And even though when we put the boat up last fall we cleaned her like crazy for days, I had my work cut out for me now before I could even start with any kind of fiberglass correction work. Working in small chunks and one panel at a time, every inch of “The Trophy” both inside and out, above the rub rail and below, engine boxes, everything got scrubbed down by hand with micro fiber towels starting out with 409 heavy duty cleaner and degreaser then followed by a pure vinegar bath and finally with 90% isopropyl alcohol. Every panel and every section one at a time. Numerous times over. All that before the real work was even to begin. This process to remove any old wax build ups and stains took me days to do in itself! Yikes! And then it was time to get really serious...

Starting at the rub rail and working my way up both inside and out, every surface, every square inch got wet sanded out by hand to get rid of any oxidization and any fine scratches. Starting with a 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper everything got slowly and meticulously sanded out followed by a thorough wiping down with clean micro fiber towels in-between the sandings. Following the 1000 grit, I started the slow and repetitious job of sanding all over again with a finer and then yet even finer sand paper. I went on to follow up with 1200 grit, 1500, 2000, 2500 and finally a 3000 grit paper. All the time wiping down between coats with those clean fresh micro fiber towels. What a job! Then following all of that sanding it was time to take these same sections to the next level and start with the machine buffing. Starting with a wool pad and a aggressive cutting compound, everything started coming in like a mirror! Following the wool pad, I went to a mid grade foam pad and a less aggressive mid grade rubbing compound. And then FINALLY a ultra smooth foam pad and marine fiberglass polish to bring out an incredible luster and super smooth finish. I thought I would never get done! My shoulders ached like a tooth ach! All of those same buffing steps got done to the huge hull itself, minus all the sanding that I did to everything above the rub rail. Then when everything was 100% done inside and out, bottom and topside and all the corrections to the surfaces were complete, it was time once again to scrub the living heck out of every inch of all my hard work. There can be zero oils or waxes on any of the surfaces for the Ceramic to adhere properly! I spent an entire day scrubbing repeatedly every section, every panel and every bit of the boat using 12 bottles of Dawn Platinum grease cutting dish soap and rinsing repeatedly with enough water to fill a Olympic swimming pool I swear! Do you know how hard it is to rinse away 12 frigging bottles of dish soap? Lol! I thought I would NEVER get rid of all the suds and bubbles that kept weeping out of every nook and cranny no matter how much I rinsed! Then when I was finally satisfied that there was no more suds or water beading of any sort going on on any of the surfaces meaning all the polishes and oils were removed, everything got thoroughly wiped down one final time with clean dry big micro fiber drying towels to eliminate any chance of any water spots remaining on any of the surfaces. Working well into the night, I was completely exhausted that day. I have a whole new level of huge respect for those that detail for a living!

Then FINALLY it was time to move on to the prize! For my coating of choice, I settled on Crystal Serum Light manufactured by Gtechniq followed by two coats of their EXO4 topcoat for a warm sexy glossy look! Application is slow and again very meticulous doing small 2 foot by 2 foot sections at a time at the very most. Working in gloves, you give each section one last quick wipe down with their panel wipe to insure that there is no dust or contaminates of any kind. Then with a small micro fiber applicator you wipe on in a cross hatch pattern a thin layer of product. Giving the product about a minute to sit there and “flash” you then start the multi micro fiber towel process of removing it. The first gentle wipe down is with a special clean new micro fiber towel to the 2 foot by 2 foot section that you just coated and is called “leveling” where you remove the excess material that has flashed off. That wiping is followed by a follow up with yet another clean brand new short nap micro fiber towel. And then one more time polishing hard to a brilliant slick finish. And if you think that is a lot of work, all of it had to be done all over again with two more coats of their top coat which is applied in the very same fashion. Exhausting but very satisfying when you are finally done. And of coarse just like every other big job in life that you want to do right, it ends up snowballing and metastasizes till you think you are going to go crazy! You can’t correct one thing without fixing everything. I ended up doing a lot of little gel coat repairs, replacing striping, removing old worn out decals and logos. It all seemed never ending! I spent two weeks just alone sanding out and polishing the aluminum rub rail that goes all the way around the boat! All that and many more other little “side” jobs! But eventually I did finish and the results are, well, STUNNING and are said to last for years unlike waxes that after 2 months you can hardly tell that you did anything. Although these are not live links that you can click on, for those of you interested I encourage you to copy and paste these into your browser and check out these links to appreciate what all I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzKoP5tLke0 Keep in mind that in this guys video this is all being done to a boat that is already in very pristine condition and did not have to go through all of the sanding and extreme buffing corrections that I had to do to to get it to a flawless mirror like surface. Also, here is a link to Gtechniq and their product line: https://gtechniq.com/ After finishing my coating job I realized that they also have a specific marine line of products but basically both the base coats and the top coats for each do the same exact thing whether it be automotive or marine. So that about does it. Oh, and as always, we did some other fun and cool things to “The Trophy” but you’ll just have to come out to see the rest of everything else in person and to see how fabulous the old girl really came out! And now it’s time to fish.

*If anybody is interested in a weekend date I still have next weekend available, Saturday & Sunday May 14th & 15th. Come spend a fun filled day on THE TROPHY while she still has that new car smell! Lol!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Looking back, 2021 was everything that we expected with the Walleyes on Lake Erie. They were plentiful, good sized and very cooperative. Other then dealing with a onslaught of younger undersized Walleyes (a good thing) and sorting through more junk fish then we have come accustomed to here in the last few years, it was a very good year. This coming season should be no exception. I look for a even larger grade of average fish that we box as the monster record hatches that we had from the years of 2015 thru 2020 continue to mature and grow. This incredible fishing is one of the reasons I continue to hang in there. It’s just too darn good to walk away from right now!

So as we set our sites on this summer, right now is the time for you to confirm or set up your fishing dates with me. I continue to be blessed with a high demand from people for a trip with me and I want to make sure that we can accommodate all of our regulars and the people that have been waiting to get on with us first. In the meanwhile we continue to prepare THE TROPHY for another year of battle. As always, we have some really fun and cool upgrades planned for the boat this off season and I can’t wait for everyone to see it all! Yet another reason it is so hard to hang it up. We just love our boat with all the cool lights and everything that we have done with it and we really enjoy sharing it with all of you! It won’t be long now folks... “Just another day on THE TROPHY!”

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Adding to my frustration was the huge stinking Sheephead that have turned on almost overnight seemingly this month. We went from hardly catching any all summer long to all of a sudden having days where you just couldn’t keep them off your lines! Truly unbelievable! And big ones at that! Way out there, spinning around and around, many all tangled up and half snagged where you could hardly reel them in. I blew up more reels these past couple of weeks then I have in the last couple of summers combined. These junk reels that they build anymore with the plastic gears and other junk materials, they just can’t handle being used as power winches for that kind of dead weight punishment. Double Ugh!

But then again on the brighter side, the Walleye fishing remained most excellent albeit that we had to work extra hard weeding thru all of the junk Sheephead and on certain days still all the dink undersized Walleyes. In fact, I’d go as far to say that we probably had some of our most spectacular catches of the entire year at days end as we probably have had all summer long. Also there around the end of August besides the Walleyes, we had some unbelievable Steelhead trout action all mixed in on a lot of the days as well. Probably more Steelhead showing up in our catches a lot of days this entire summer then I’ve seen in quite a few previous years. I know there’s going to be a whole lot of people smoking some trout this coming fall! Lol! And for those of you that are, don’t forget to check out our ‘bangin smoked trout recipe that we have up on our trophycharters.com website! If you follow the directions as listed there to the letter, I promise you it will be the best darned smoked trout or salmon that you have ever snacked on! Mmmm!

So here comes the part that I really hate. Saying good bye for yet another year to all of my guests and friends that graced my humble little fishing boat. Yes, you are all truly my friends. Hard working, fun loving good generous people that I am so proud to have for my base. Without your continued support and genuine kindness each year I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I have in this very tough business. You guys are the ones that still make it fun for me. Bad weather, good weather, monster Walleyes, dink Walleyes... we all went through it together with many stories and jokes along the way! Once again, Joyce and I thank you all from the very bottom of our hearts for coming out and fishing with us this season. And the fact that almost 100% of you guys have already indicated that you want your very same days again next year, well were extra touched. Blessed would probably be a even better word! So that’s about it then. In less then two weeks from now we’ll have already run our last trip for this year. Then in two weeks from today we’ll be crazy busy as we are each year at this time cleaning, winterizing, and packing everything up in both the camper and the boat and getting ready to haul everything back home. Hence as I mentioned earlier, this will serve as my last actual fishing report of this season. One final big thank you to all of you including all of those that just drop in to follow along with these little fishing blogs of mine every couple of weeks. I love having all you guys here! Finally as in past years when I sign off here, I wish everyone a safe and healthy off season. I am already looking foreword to the fishing season of 2022. Peace and out.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

We saw more days in this last two week period with forecasted waves of 1 foot or less then I remember all summer long. And for the most part and for a pleasant change they were spot on! If we had any weather woes at all to discuss, it would be the extreme heat and humidity that we have been locked in with. It’s been quite brutal if you found yourself fishing much past 9 a.m. or so each day! Even though the official “Dog Days of Summer” has already passed us by, we had more days in the 90’s with extreme humidity this past couple of weeks then I for one care for and that’s for darn sure!

After seeming to slip back in much closer to home here in recent weeks, the larger schools of Walleye that we have been chasing all season have seemingly jumped back well offshore again. 15-20 miles out has been the norm for most charter boats once again trying to stay on the best bite. It just plain sucks. With fuel at my marina just pennies shy of $5 bucks a gallon, that was not the trend that we all wanted to see. And again, this late in the season where the fish should all be moving way back in even more if anything. Perhaps this major heat wave that we have been under here lately is the culprit. Surface temperature's at least on my electronics has been registering at a blistering 79 degrees Fahrenheit here the last few days! Dang, that’s warm for Erie!

So in just a few days now it will be September already. And just like the song by the rock group Europe, it will be the “final countdown” for me and this 2021 fishing season. After this report there will most likely only be one more final report because in the two weeks after that, the boat will already be coming out of the water for the year and I will be way to busy cleaning and winterizing both the boat and the camper to be doing any postings. But in the mean time we still have some fishing to do and I actually have a handful of open dates to offer if anyone is looking for a fall fishing trip in September before it all slips away for another year. Some of my favorite trips of the year are these late season trips. The fishing pressure on the lake drops off dramatically and the fish are as fat as can be after feeding heavily all summer long. The last chance to put some tasty fillets away for the long winter to come! If anybody is interested call or text me at 216-387-2656 and we’ll get you scheduled. Thank you.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Through it all however the Walleye fishing remains rock solid here in Ashtabula. We have had no problems limiting most everyone out with really nice keepers. Even the baby Walleye problem has eased somewhat here a bit lately. We are still getting plenty of throw backs but I would describe the whole situation with them as very manageable right now. The Steelhead Trout on the other hand have been attacking us with vengeance. I’m about sick and tired of them stealing all my frigging Contender Spoons. Man, they seem to really love those things! The down riggers have been really lighting up here lately for us with both those pesky Steelhead and Walleyes with those particular spoons down around 50 ft. or so. Not surprisingly most all of the Walleyes on the riggers seem to make it to the box. The trout on the other hand, well, not so much (insert mad emoji face)! Lol!

The Walleyes right now seem to be on a slow, steady march back in towards the south shore as this summer season winds down for us. Something which happens every year about this time of the year. With fuel costing around $5 bucks a gallon this summer, every mile that we don’t have to go out more then absolutely necessary is a big plus for us. The downside is that the boat traffic really gets stacked up when we stop in closer like that. I’m about tired of everyone spotting me and some of the other better charter boats and immediately putting on the brakes and throwing their gear out. Most times right in our way! It’s like, really? You can’t spread out even just a couple of miles? Somebody needs to tell all these nimrods that there's plenty of fish everywhere out there! Some things never seem to change up here, year after year. Deep sigh.

So it’s mid August already. The days and weeks continue to fly by. Everyday and everything has become just a blur to me at this point. I can not lie. The few days that I had off last week felt really, really good. It made my mind wander about someday down the not so distant road perhaps where this crazy life style that I lead will become just a memory. Will it be next year? Three years from now? Five years from now? Who really knows. I like to keep everybody guessing. Honestly, I’ll probably be the last one to know even myself. Each year I just press on. But it is truly a exhausting job and it’s really starting to catch up with me after 35 years. By this part of the season I’m so tired of dealing with the seemingly never ending daily rough lake conditions, all the different stupid bugs, all the dink Walleyes, all the dumb rude fellow boaters, all the log jams and the debris back in the river and harbor closer to shore after every friggin little rain that seems to fall anymore. It’s just plain exhausting. I have to chuckle every time I hear someone tell me “you have my dream job captain” Lol! Maybe I do. But even after trimming my season back to just a short five months but still getting up at 2:30am everyday it’s been one long ass “dream”! Haha! Well enough for this weeks rant, I mean fishing report! We’ll see what these next couple of weeks brings us...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

We already went thru all of this once already earlier in the season when the only game in town for keeper sized Walleyes was the near shore warmer waters where unfortunately the babies first appeared. But we fought thru it all, managed to get our limits almost everyday aboard The Trophy but it was both frustrating and exhausting. Then for a couple of weeks it was almost too good to be true. The offshore good sized Walleyes appeared and it was just as fast as you could go with hardly any throwbacks. But just like earlier in the summer and seemingly once again almost overnight the billion little fish appeared offshore and has made everything a struggle since. I even think it’s pushed many of the nicer fish completely out of the area. It just isn’t the same out there like it was. There's still plenty of keeper Walleyes out there, but oh the work to get them!

Aboard The Trophy we have been on the hunt each day for a new area that is rich in keeper Walleyes with minimal undersized fish but I am beginning to believe that at this particular time that there is no such place. I’ve been way east, way west. All the way back to the Canadian border and back into the shallows of the south shore. There are small fish everywhere! Enough with the record hatches year after year Mother Nature! Sheeze! But once again we just have to work through it. I guess the good news is that there are still an ample amount of nice sized fish most everywhere out there and we are still limiting out daily. It’s just not as easy as we would all like it.

Contender Spoons continue to do most of the keeper catching for us aboard The Trophy. I’m running them on all 6 Dipsy Diver rods that we run daily as well as both downriggers now. Quick in, quick out. If it hasn’t caught a fish in 5 minutes or so you better check it! Most likely it’s dragging a dink. Off the planer boards I’ve only been running a couple of wire rods with Jr. Thunder Sticks on each side of the boat only because that’s all that I can keep up with. It just takes so long to run out 300 feet of line or more to get down around 50 foot of depth where the Walleyes are hanging out and then another hundred foot plus of line out to the planer board only to have a dink grab it right away. Reel it all the way back in only to do it all over again. The Dipsys are catching plenty of small fish too but we can cycle through them so much quicker then with the long lines. And the biggest of the Walleyes that we are catching are sure liking these Contenders! OK, so it’s officially August now. Only two more months to go for me. The daily routine and the seemingly endless amount of windy and choppy days is starting to wear on me a bit. But I’ll get thru it as I always do. Maybe easier days again are just around the corner. We’ll see what happens here going forward. Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

The offshore fishing that we now have all of a sudden out there is simply almost too good to believe. Where such a humongous school of fish can come from and practically overnight like it happened is one of life's biggest mystery's to me! It seems like now anywhere from 10 to 12 miles out clear to at least the Canadian line and as far east or west as you care to run is just one massive blanket of Walleyes. There are certainly pods of fish within this stretch that are denser then other areas but you never really go very far without seeing continuous fish marks on the fish finder sonar or without the rods bending. It’s finally as good as it gets! If you can’t catch fish out there right now, you really should just take up golf or sunbathing or something! Lol!

The only way it could be any better now is if the darn weather would ever give us a break. Man will it ever quit raining and blowing up here? I bet since I last wrote, I bet we’ve received at least a half a foot of rain and maybe, just maybe so much more! This past week alone I bet it’s rained practically everyday. Several of those days I know the meteorologists have been measuring the rain fall in the inches! If I wasn’t already in a boat, heck I’d be tempted to build me an Ark! Lol! But it’s never the rain that bothers us the most. It’s the rain wrapped winds that seem to accommodate all of that precipitation. Thankfully our days have been productively quick and many of the days we’ve had more travel time involved coming and going then in actual fishing time. But nobody seems to complain that the day is over when the box is plum full and the winds are building and the rain starts to come down!

So the Mother load is indeed finally here. Everybody and I mean everybody is limiting out. It’s been a mad and frantic rush back to the fish cleaners everyday. Our early morning departures continue to pay us big dividends for all of my guests in a multitude of different ways. It’s been just an amazing early morning bite and we’ve been able to get our fish and get back to the dock on most days before everybody else gets buried in the fish cleaning line. I often say I don’t really care if we are the very first ones back but we certainly do not want to be one of the last ones back, and that's for sure!
The weeks continue to click off. The next time I write again it will be August! Meaning only a couple of more months left in my season at that point. Every year it’s been a whirl wind and a blur and with each passing year it seems like it goes even faster then the year before if that is even possible! But in the mean time I’m going to enjoy this easy fishing that has now set in! Happy days are truly here again!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

The weather continues to give us fits. No prolonged periods of stable uniform lake conditions. We continue each week to have a big blow from the north that forces us off shore immediately followed by near gale southerly's that force us tight to the south shore just to get our days in. When we are forced to fish shallow, it’s been dink city with tons of undersized Walleyes in there mixed in along with some really quality fish. Most days you go as fast and nonstop as you can running lines out only to have a dink grab it immediately. One of the most frustrating things I think you can encounter running fishing charters with many multiple rods trying to fill the box for your guests that all have high expectations of nice sized fish.

Technique's which I haven’t talked all that much about this year has been all over the map as well. Aboard The Trophy we carry complete multiple rod set ups for any situation and in the past two weeks we’ve used them all. Straight up braid rods for pulling Bandits and other large crank baits. Another complete set of braid rods set up with Jet Divers and spoons. A set of shallow filled wire line rods along with yet another set of deep filled wire line rods for when the fish go to extreme depths. And oh, I almost forgot. And even yet another complete set of heavy braid Dipsy Diver rods equipped with Dipsys & spoons. I hate having to carry and store so many different rods. Yet every time I have been thrust into having to use a particular set of tackle to match the location that I have been forced to fish and the weather conditions I have been thankful that I didn’t thin any out rods off my boat yet like I normally would have done by early July. Normally when I make the switch to wire line I don’t look back and take home all the braid filled rods and even my shallow wire rods that I use occasionally in June. But that was the key word that I just used. “Normally” This year has been far from normal as far as I am concerned!

Another thing that I normally don’t talk much about is endorsing different fishing products. Unless something is that good and has helped me out so much that I can not help but rave about it. We all rely heavily on spoons in our arsenal of tackle for these central basin Walleyes & Steelhead. And there are many good ones out there. Stinger along with their line of Scorpion spoons do well right out of the package. But the paint job on all of them sucks. You start catching fish on them and the next thing you know the paint is chipping and flat out falling off. Plus they bend so easily after catching some fish on them. Especially the Steelhead! Kranx spoons, another favorite around here does better as far as all of that is concerned but color choices are limited and the company doesn’t seem to care about captains concerns and requests. I’ve recently turned to the new Contender line of spoons and I have been super thrilled with the results! And this didn’t just happen overnight. I ran them heavily last season and they worked amazingly GREAT. They catch fish like crazy and they hold up better then anything else out there as far as I am concerned. I’m not sure where all you can get them but I buy all of mine at River Marine Supply right where I am docked here in Ashtabula Harbor. They have a very nice selection of sizes and colors and they are priced right! Alrighty that wraps it up for another couple of weeks. Perhaps in my next report all I will be talking about is Mom. I mean, the MOTHER LOAD!!! One can only hope...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I would say that things are actually getting tougher for all of us here as of late. My offshore bite has really been drying up on me the last couple of days and this past weekend we really struggled where only days earlier it was so much easier for us. The marks on the sonar for the most part were flat out gone and bites subsequently were few and far between. Though we ended up with a fair amount of fish on both days, my string of perfect limits that again I feel very fortunate to have put together this year came to a screeching end. Saturday we struggled just to get into the double digits, albeit the Walleyes were exceptionally big that day including one big boy that went 8 lbs! Sunday was much better for us as a whole with 19 fish captured in rather short order and a early quit due to the folks wanting to knock off early because of afternoon Fathers Day festivities that they had planned. But still, I don’t think the fish are filling in all that well offshore for us yet. If you hit a nice little pocket out there like we did on Sunday, you do alright. But there is a whole lot of water out there that is completely void of fish as of the time of this writing in my opinion. That could all change tomorrow, the next day, next week or who knows when. It seems like every year right about now we go through a time period where things are very weird for a week or two. It sure seems to me that we are now entering that time period.

As of this weekend, it seems like the only real game in town all of a sudden is back in the real shallow water that always seems to hold some Walleyes. Problem with that is that as the water warms, the dinky undersized baby Walleyes that are in there as well really start to fire making it nearly impossible to have a lure out there long enough to entice a larger fish. And even though there are some really nice sized fish in there, the bulk of the “keepers” in there are not nowhere near as nice as the offshore Walleyes that roam the deep water. There are also scattered very nice Steelhead off shore most days. In the skinny water tight to shore you have Sheephead, White Bass, stupid Catfish and other undesirables to make that experience even more unpleasant. Ugh.

So by the time I write again it will be July. Things will surely have changed once again. Hopefully some larger schools of fish will have arrived and for the summer. The pods of fish that I have been fishing here the last couple of weeks are small and are really on the move right now. Here one day, gone the next. A wise old charter captain told me a long time ago, the problem with fish is that they swim! Lol! We’ll see. The weather this past week didn’t exactly make things easier for us either. We’ve had plenty of fronts and high winds to contend with. What we need is some stable weather so things can gel up out there instead of pushing what fish we do have out there all over the place. Simply exhausting out there right now being a charter captain trying to fill the box every day. It’s going to be even worst if we are forced to fish in the shallows for any extended amount of time. I’m not liking what I’m seeing right now. It’s got to get better, right?

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

But for as fast as it came up on us and for how long it lasted, as soon as it passed it was as if nothing had ever happened. Most all captains on Lake Erie dread the first day back to work after a wind event like that. And perhaps elsewhere on the lake there may have been setbacks. But here out of Ashtabula Ohio if anything, the fishing got even better and certainly got easier for at least me! Go figure! But I’m not complaining! Aboard The Trophy we are back to our winning ways with a perfect string of limit catches daily now along with some really dandy Steelhead mixed in. And although it is never a race, what was taking us close to 8 hours to limit out has now been reduced to mid morning on average with even me reeling in a few extra fish at the end of the day on most days! Lol!

Average size has been running I would say 3 to 4 pounds easy. Earlier in the year I posted a picture of a local seafood market having Walleye fillets selling for $20 bucks a pound. Assuming ball park figure that you have 50% waste cleaning that 4 pound fish, that still leaves you with a $40 dollar value fish that you are taking home! Of coarse not all the fish are 4 pounders and you may not get quite a 50% return but still, you get the idea! And that’s just for one fish! Everybody here lately has been getting their full 6 fish per person. Man I can almost smell that Peanut Oil heating up as I type all of this! Mmmmm!

So now we are well into June. It is no longer lonely out there. Along With the Memorial Day holiday which has come and gone the onslaught of central basin boaters has begun. Word has gotten out that the Walleyes are here. Other charters are starting to get in on the game. Things are really starting to heat up. But I don’t mind it. There are plenty of fish out there to go around! I pretty much do my own thing anyway. Aboard The Trophy we are like the Marines. We get more done by 6am then most people do all day! Haha! Even if it does mean that I have to get up at 2:30am everyday. YIKES! But it works for me and all of my very loyal guests that I have had for many, many years now. Everyone that fishes aboard The Trophy knows the routine. For us it’s kinda like Larry the Cable Guy... “Get er Done!” See you guys back here in a couple of more weeks...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Most days there are next to no boats out there this early. This past week was no exception and it was like a ghost town out there. Just the way we like it! You just barely have to keep a watchful eye out. You can make zig zag trolls at will and make big leisurely turns instead of being forced into sharp panic turns because of other rude, non attentive boaters that all believe that they have the right of way. Yes, it’s a different world out here in May. And I love it!

The weather has been a thing of beauty as well for us. I simply can not describe how incredibly pleasant it was out on the lake this past week. Dead flat seas with just a gentle ripple each day. It’s as if the lake was welcoming me back and easing me back into the game. I know the real Lake Erie is hiding just behind the curtains but at least for now I have been enjoying one of the nicest, longest stretches of absolutely perfect weather out on the water that I can remember. This coming week looks as if we will have some wind to contend with but temperatures look to hold at normal or slightly above normal. Perhaps we are done with the wild temperature swings that we experienced the first half of this month.

So it begins. Year 35 for myself. Just crazy how it seems like we just frigging celebrated my 30th anniversary of chartering. And that’s already been 5 years ago now! Longer then most of these new charters have been in business from this new onslaught of charter captains that have seemingly exploded into the scene on the lake since the Walleye population has multiplied. But I wish them all well. In my mind it was just yesterday that I myself took a chance and jumped in with both feet. But lets see how many of these new guys make 35 years! Lol! OK, enough of this nonsensical musings about myself. Back to the report. Fishing is good and it will only will get better. What more is there to say? See you in June!

Capt. Walt

Though we have been very busy rigging and getting all of our dockside work done since splashing, Joyce and I managed to sneak out for just a little over an hour on Saturday afternoon just to see what’s what. And we managed to hook 5 fish! The Walleyes are obviously here already and apparently they also are ready to go back to work as well! Lol! I think because of our off and on exceptionally warm days that we’ve had already this spring our central basin Walleye fishing is really going to take off early this year!

We have days available for a charter this month and a few still open in June. It’s still not too late to give us a call and spend a super fun filled day catching Walleyes on one of the cleanest most premier charter boats on all of Lake Erie! We went totally crazy this past off season working on the boat with upgrades and other boat improvements. It would literally be easier to list what is not new this year on the boat rather then everything that we did to the old girl! I won’t give anything away, you’ll just have to wait for your fishing trip to see everything for yourself!

Regular fishing reports will resume when I have more to write about and then will be updated thereafter on a biweekly basis as we did last season. That seemed to work out quite well. Or at least for me it did! Lol! Oh and by the way, Joyce and I are now both fully vaccinated and we feel really good about it. I encourage everyone to do the same and get these free shots and let's all put this Covid nightmare finally fully behind us! So who’s ready to go fishing? Let’s do this!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Last year we started the fishing season out with a lock down. Sales of out of state fishing licenses was shut down by Ohio’s Governor and THE TROPHY sat lonely and idle in the water. It was all so very sad. As things started to open up the damage was already done. Whether real or just perceived peoples fears of traveling really hurt all of the charter industry. I know my little business took a big hit. Cancellations started to roll in at a alarming pace. Fortunately by late June things started to level off and we finally got rolling. Through it all the fishing was excellent. The Walleyes were plentiful, much bigger on average then the year before and for those that braved coming out it was great fun as always and “just another day on THE TROPHY”!

With the massive school of Walleyes from the record hatch of 2015 still dominating our daily catches it is amazing to see how much bigger they are each year now! Everyone was taking home really nice big valuable bags of fillets last year after fishing with us. To put things in perspective, check out this picture of what Walleye fillets were selling for last season! I happened to go into a local seafood market in Ashtabula last summer and this really caught my eye. Canadian Lake Erie Walleye for sale at $19 bucks a pound! Keep in mind these are the same Lake Erie Walleyes that we sport fisherman catch with hook and line. But ours is truly fresh as opposed to the Canadian Walleye which drowned in gill nets and were dead in warm water who knows how long before going thru the many stages of processing and showing up in their show case labeled as “fresh caught”!

Here’s a picture of the average 4 mans charter catch that those that chose to have their fish cleaned at the marina took home last year! Truly fresh and skinned fillets unlike the fish markets fish on display. I think it’s safe to say almost everyone took home nearly the value in meat as they spent on the whole charter at those fish market prices! Ha! And if the trend continues, those bags of fillets will be even bigger this year! Mmmmm! Lots of GREAT fish fry's and great fun catching them to boot! So hopefully things will settle down again and this world can return to normal. Time will tell but I plan on fishing and I hope all of you do as well. We can do it very safely being outside in Lake Erie's ever present winds! But till then wear a mask, give everyone lots of room and don’t congregate! And don’t forget to book or confirm your dates with me!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

But as always, the Walleyes could care less how rough the lake is. They are out there, they are plentiful and they are really biting! With the heavy seas, aboard THE TROPHY we’ve fished many days now the last few weeks with just the Dipsy Divers electing not to even put the planer boards out at all. And most days limits have still come easily. With not having the extra work of putting out the boards and running out all the very long leads and the extra long time landing a fish, we’ve been able to concentrate on the Dipsys which are super fast in and equally fast out with a fish. Many times a Dipsy rod or two or three are sitting out of the water just waiting till we land a board line fish or a couple board lines going back out before we can get them back into the water. Not a very good strategy when the Dipsys divers are working so well. And they really have been these last few weeks!

As I predicted a couple of fishing reports back, the Walleyes have been steadily moving back in towards shore. Good catches in recent days have come from under 10 miles out. A far cry from the many days in August where we never dropped lines till we were at least 22 or 23 miles out. I am sure glad that all of that is behind us for yet another year! Especially with the exceptionally choppy seas. It becomes a whole lot more doable when you only have to beat your way out 10 miles as opposed to having to run out clear to the Canadian line. Even though the fish are nicely moving back in they continue to be very deep in the water column. Aboard THE TROPHY we have been targeting fish that are mostly about 65 foot down. The whole lake seems to be rich in Smelt this summer and these bait fish for the Walleyes tend to roam around in cloud like schools close to the bottom. I still find it amazing that the Walleyes will even hit our artificial lures at all as stuffed with Smelt as these fat Walleyes are!

So in a couple of more weeks I’ll be giving it up for this this year. My 34th year. Trips drop off dramatically and everybody is still playing the COVID-19 card this fall. I can hardly keep up with all the cancellations that have again seemed to be rearing it’s ugly head. Some I manage to cover, others go down in the books as yet another loss. It’s been exhausting. This fishing report will also be my last one for this season. Doing them as I have this summer every couple of weeks would put the next one right in the weekend that we will probably be very busy cleaning and winterizing everything. As I always do in my final report of the year I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart all of you that still came out in this crazy year and fished with us this season. I appreciated everybody's extra troubles that everyone went through to travel just to get to us. The wearing of masks, the limited services available. All of it. I know it would have been a lot easier just to blow this year off like some actually did. For still coming out and everyone's super generosity I say again, THANK YOU so very much! Thanks to all of you for following along with these fishing reports as well. With the good Lord willing, we will all meet up again next season under hopefully more normal circumstances. Be it on the boat or just right here via my biweekly musings. And as I always like to sign off in my final report each year Happy Holidays, stay warm, and more then ever, STAY SAFE! See you next year.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

I was going to start this report out by saying “Great fishing, great weather”. We really did have a nice stretch of real summer like weather here lately. We’ve had a few breezy and choppy days here and there but it’s been mostly doable. That stretch of “doable” days came to an end this past week towards weeks end and then the weekend itself. Starting with Thursday we had 20 to near 40 mph winds out of the south, southwest shutting down all thoughts of any fishing for everyone. We managed to sneak Friday in with thunderstorms and heavy rain all around us but Saturday it was back to the same thing with strong winds and heavy rains and thunderstorms. Ugh. As I sit here and write this report Sunday don’t look all that swift either. Such is life on the big lake. You just can’t get thru the entire season without having a bunch of blow days. I don’t care how big your boat is or how bad you want to go. The lake does her own thing and and on days like that you have to respect it.

When we were able to get out, fishing has been pretty much stupid easy. That’s what large numbers of fish below you provides. You don’t have to be precisely dialed in. Just get it somewhere close to the right depth and a hungry Walleye will grab your stuff. It don’t matter if it’s a $20 dollar custom painted bait or the most beat up lure in your tackle box. The Walleyes simply don’t care! I personally lean towards the old veterans that hardly have a lick of paint left on them anywhere. Kinda like me. Beat up but still going strong! Lol! After a slow Dipsy bite earlier in the summer this year they have really started to shine for us. in fact, I got brave enough on several trips where we never put the boards out. Including this past Friday. That’s the last thing I wanted was wire line in the water off the planer boards with thunderstorms in the area! Lol! Seriously though, I really think that if you didn’t mind being one of the last ones back to the dock on some days and being buried in the back of the fish cleaning line that you could probably finish the remaining fishing season off from here on out with just the Dipsys!

Speaking of finishing, the end is now clearly in site for myself. In a couple of days it will be September and next weekend will be Labor Day weekend already. The official ceremonial end of summer. Fishing has finally gotten red hot and here I am talking about the end being near. For me anyway it is. Some charters stay in the water much longer but I’ve played that game long enough over the many years. The weather going into October and even November just becomes way too unpredictable for my likings. Remember when I hit 30 years and I quit going early season to Port Clinton? I said I wanted to round out whatever years I have left in me fishing in just a tee shirt and shorts. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Haha! Anyway, check back here in a couple of weeks. It just might be my last report for this 2020 fishing season!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

It’s a strange environment being that far out. You don’t see land in any direction. Other boats are few and far between. The lake is almost always much rougher out there then near shore. And we are playing in the east/west shipping lanes that the big lake freighters constantly run. Some days it’s a steady parade of big ships traveling in both directions. That adds to yet another element of difficulty in trying to troll with our huge spread out and only able to move slowly out of their way when they come up on you from seemingly nowhere. And some of those ships can really move! It’s unbelievable to see one appear on the horizon and the next thing you know it’s about to run you over! They are very reluctant to deviate from their course even a tiny little bit. Seems like the burden is always on us “little” boats to get the heck out of their way!

But as I mentioned before though, the fishing has been very good out there. In fact, we’ve finally had a few days where we were catching and going just about as fast as we could possibly go. Several days we had much more time invested in traveling then we did actual fishing time! Why those darn fish are that far out is probably directly related to this crazy heat wave that we’ve been having and the near record high water temperatures. Here is a graph of both the surface and bottom water temperatures that a fellow charter captain recently shared with me. The lower picture depicting the bottom temperatures clearly show much cooler water way out northeast of Ashtabula. Exactly where we are fishing! These fish are gorging themselves on Smelt that are obviously out there as well in the cooler water. It’s not unusual to net a Walleye and have it spit out several very fresh Smelts that it had just ate just moments before it hit our lure. It’s a real feeding frenzy out there and I guess this finally qualifies as the “Mother load” that we have all been so eagerly awaiting and searching for all of summer. But why does it always have to be so damn far out when we do find them! Lol!

So just like that it’s mid August. It doesn’t really surprise me that the fish are that far out. I’ve spent many a day in past years fishing along the Canadian line. Most always in the same month of August. But the good news is that they never seem to stay that far out for very long. As the water temperatures start to come down the Walleyes start a steady march back towards shore which is a very good thing for us. In past years I’ve seen it where it’s not unusual for the fish to move a mile or two south in just one 24 hour period. In fact, just in the last couple of days I felt that the fishing was better a little further south then just say a week ago! And the real good news is that starting with this coming week we are supposedly going to be experiencing much cooler weather. Finally! I personally welcome putting the dog days of summer behind us! And it won’t make me mad to not have these insane fuel bills that we have been having here lately if the fish start to move back in. It’s been pretty ugly at the marinas gas pumps is all I can say! Lol! Well that about does it for this one. Stay tuned & stay safe...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

And the heat. We did FINALLY get some relief in these past few days but before that, my God has it been hot out there! That has added to my frustration. I guess I’m not a big fan of a blazing hot sun and insane temperature's coupled with high humidity. Working feverishly in the back of the boat trying to keep lines in the water and everything untangled. After running nothing but Dipsy Divers the last two years in the later part of the summer and catching nothing but keepers as fast as you can go, this isn’t exactly how I thought my 34th year of chartering was going to be! Man and to have to do it all with the sweat pouring down my forehead, fogging my sunglasses and burning my eyes constantly plain sucks. And this stupid heat has really done some weird things to these Walleyes. Water temps have rocketed to almost 80 degrees! I just heard on the Cleveland news that Lake Erie is within a degree or two of a all time record warm water temperature! It has driven the fish super deep, scattered them just about everywhere and for whatever reason the fish are just not acting or hitting things like they normally do. Even though most days we are still hitting charter limits using wire line and Storm Jr. Thundersticks I am amazed how bad our Dipsy Divers have been most of this summer. We get a few fish on them each trip out but for the most part they have been very unproductive. Super disappointing!

But we are catching Walleyes! And some really nice ones too! I don’t want to leave anyone with the impression that fishing is bad. It’s probably just back to normal except for the onslaught of little Walleyes in the lake. And that really is not a bad thing. We’ll get through this year and in a year or two all these youngsters will be legal sized insuring that fishing will be great for many more years to come! We’ve had other years that have been challenging as well. Years where we were exhaustingly sorting through White Bass or plagued with Sheephead. Though I complain about everything because that’s what I do in my old age, I gladly will take having to reel in these dink Walleyes over being inundated with big ass foul hooked Sheephead all the time! Been there, done that! Not fun at all! I still don’t think any massive migrating schools of Walleye have arrived from the west end of the lake but there is plenty of fish in the area. You just have to work harder to consistently fill the fish rack.

Masks. Oh boy things are slipping backwards around here and everywhere. After cases of Covid have supposedly started to rise again, our Governor has joined many other states mandating that masks must be worn in all public locations. What that means for us is that everyone that comes to the marina to fish with us must have a mask with them and should be wearing them while on the marinas property. I am not asking anyone to wear one while fishing nor how could you really do so in this hot weather but you will need them if you plan on entering the marina store or anytime you can’t be 6 foot apart from other people back at the dock. Whether you agree with masks or not, it’s not my call and we have to abide with the orders and the marinas wishes if we have any hope of remaining open. River Marine is being watched by the health department and we don’t want to be the reason anybody gets in trouble. So most of you know how I like to hang out afterwards with everyone back at the marina when we get back Well don’t take it personally if I leave soon after taking care of my boat. I personally can’t stand to have a mask on so I’m not spending any extra time hanging out down there if I don’t have to. I do what I have to and head back to my air conditioned trailer where I can do whatever I want. So the “after parties” are pretty much over with the rest of this year as far as I am concerned. Sorry! But hey, we’ve already been together for 6 or 8 hours! Lol! Crazy times we are living in for sure. We just have to get through it the best that we can this season!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Again by not writing for a while, a lot of things have happened. I’ve covered a lot of ground in search of the mother load. Including two trips right out to the Canadian line. Although the fish were there and we did just fine out there, it was no better out there then the other scattered schools that we have been bouncing back and fourth on so far all of summer. There are fish out about 10 miles also and unbelievably there is still a band of fish right down the shoreline in water as shallow as 25 feet. And I have been in there as well! You want to talk about weird, try fishing one day a mile from shore and then the next day 20 miles from shore and catching the same amount of fish say in the same 6 hours of fishing time. Both areas have their downsides. In close you work your tail off sorting thru undersized fish to get your keepers. Way offshore you take a pounding just to get there and then you have some ugly fuel bills to face at the end of the day. Ugh. Always something!

Well as I threatened to do in my report the last time I wrote, I finally did break out the old wire line rods and have now resorted back to the deep water techniques that I have used chartering up here for over 30 years. This being my 34th year of full time guiding, it was OK by me if I never saw that crap again! The last 2 years we didn’t need it. Fishing was soooo good that once the fish went deeper then our Jet Divers on braid would reach, we just went to a all Dipsy Diver program and literally couldn’t keep a rod in the water the rest of the year. It was that good! So far though, there is no way I don’t think we could knock out daily limits with just our Dipsys. It’s taken everything that I can collectively throw at them and twice the time out there to get the job done on most days. And that now includes dealing with the horribly long leads putting out 300 or more feet of wire fishing line not to mention the amount of line that we have to run down the the tow line to the planer boards. That all has to be reeled back in every time a fish is hooked. Man does that suck after dealing most of the summer with only 100 foot leads on the Jet Divers! I’m sure glad I don’t have to reel those things back in! Haha!

So we have two weeks left in July now. If there are any huge schools of Walleye on the move out there and moving this way, they should be here any day now. That is if they are going to show up at all this year! If they do maybe then we can get back to just using 6 Dipsys to get the job done. But for now, we keep putting out 16 rods each day. We put in fuller days covering many more miles trolling each day but still by the end of the day we still manage to capture nice full racks of fish. I guess I’ve just been spoiled real bad here the last few years with how easy things have been for us. Getting older with more aches and pains each year don’t help any either. But I’ll get thru it. I always do. And after these next 2 weeks, heck I only have 2 more months to go before this season is over with! How hard could that be? Lol! Oh, and by the way I am really liking this writing just every other week. So for those of you that miss my weekly reports like I used to do, I’m sorry. I guess you’re just fortunate that I still manage to do this much at this point of my career. So next time I write again, it will be August. Can you even imagine? Almost August already! What a screwed up year this has been! I’m personally ready to just get this whole year over with. Unless the Walleye fishing gets back to being silly easy that is! Ha!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

All the rumors of the record smashing hatches the last year or so must be true. We have started battling a onslaught of small Walleyes. It really is a beautiful thing to behold but the hungry little dinks are starting to make my and every one else's life super miserable. I mentioned that we were fishing very shallow for a few days and we pulled some awesome racks of Walleyes out of there but I finally just couldn’t take dealing with all the undersize babies that we were handling in there. Sorting thru all of them to get those keepers. As long as they stay in close to shore we can escape them for a while but I fear that it’s going to overtake the whole lake as the offshore water continues to warm. We saw the same thing happen with past monster hatches. I don’t know how many Walleyes Lake Erie can sustain but one thing is for sure. It is super loaded with a unprecedented numbers of fish. When these new fish become of legal size in the next year or so coupled with all the legal sized ones out there now it’s going to go back to stupid fast no matter where or how you fish!

The weather has had it’s share of swings again this last couple of weeks but we have now settled into a drought stricken real heat wave. I’ve lost track of how many 90 degree days that we've had here as of late but I’m about tired of that as well already. In the past couple of years we’ve been beating the heat on most days so it was not that big a deal when it got this hot. But with the more challenging fishing here as of late we have been fishing in sauna like conditions by mid to late morning. And hustling to weed thru all the baby Walleyes leads to tons of sweat constantly pouring down your face, getting into your eyes and burning like crazy mixed with the sun block. It’s like always something out there. Not so bad for my guests that get to hang out under the shade of the hardtop most of the time but not so great for this old captain stuck in the back working all the rods all the time. Did I mention “old”? Lol!

So the 4th of July has come and gone already. It’s well into July now and we are locked into a real heat wave. The dog days of summer has come early this year! Water temps have sky rocketed into the 70’s driving the fish that are offshore down super deep. Most of the Walleyes that we are catching out there now are 50 foot or better below the surface. Although I haven’t felt the need to do so in a couple of years, thoughts of breaking out the old wire line rods has crossed my mind. We’ll see but I am still holding out hope that a strong Dipsy diver bite takes off here real soon squelching any need or thoughts of going back to that torture of those long wire leads. We were so spoiled here the last couple of years! Like I said, we’ll see! This heat should drive some of the usual migrating fish to move east out to our basin here close to the Ohio/ Pennsylvania line. Nothing is more forgiving to dialing in your fishing strategies then just having a ridiculous amount of fish below you! That’s when everybody becomes a rock star! Fingers crossed it happens for all of us here real soon!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

But start we have and fishing is about as good as it can be. I don’t want to dwell on it because I don’t think I can pull it off 3 years in a row but as in the last 2 seasons other then coming up a few fish short of limits on my first charter of the year, every trip there after this year as in the past 2 years has resulted in perfect limits for my guests. Can I do it the rest of the season and make it 3 years straight? I doubt it but it will be fun trying! There are just so many Walleyes out there now that it’s really hard not to for everyone that knows what they are doing and if the weather is half way decent.

Speaking of weather, not writing for a couple weeks we have seen just about every weather pattern come and go up here on the north coast. We had record 90 degree + heat, then a strong cold front and now back to the 90’s on Fathers Day weekend. Big winds which resulted in a couple trips that I had to cancel to so hot and flat that we prayed for a bit of a breeze. In other words, just another typical year on Lake Erie! Lol! Water temperatures have surged to the mid 60’s now and the Walleyes metabolism has kicked into high gear. Interestingly enough we also have had a surge in Steelhead Trout activity mixed in with the Walleye catches on some days. This weekend we couldn’t get away from them when we had days prior to that where we caught none. Fishing is just so weird!

So in a couple weeks it will already be the 4th of July weekend. The Walleyes are already showing signs of moving well offshore. We sure didn’t have much of a stab at them real tight to the shoreline as in other past years. This means fighting much heavier seas probably for the rest of the year further out where it almost always is rougher and certainly much more pain at the pump at the end of the day. But that’s why we run the bigger, safer boats that we do chartering. THE TROPHY is up for the challenge. I’m not quite so sure about her captain but we’ll give it our best shot. Lol! OK I’ll probably stick to this every other week fishing report schedule for a while longer if not for the rest of the year. It kinda feels good not to have to sit down each weekend and scramble to have to come up with a big article like I have been doing all these past years. I guess I’m getting both old and lazy nowadays. Ha! Happy Fathers Day all you Dad’s out there!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Might be one of them years for me. After a brutal start to my season with stay at home orders, cancellations from fearful anglers, and lack of any really new business interest, I start fishing finally and pretty much immediately proceed to smack a submerged log. I’m like, are you frigging kidding me? So out comes the boat with a pricey lift from the local marina and then pay to have the props switched out with my spares which thankfully I do own. I really appreciated the fast service from the marina because they are swamped with yard work that they had to put on hold basically all of April and most of May during the same stay at home orders. Thank you Sutherland Marine! I’ve since run my damaged props to Cleveland, the nearest hi tech prop repair shop to have them fixed ASAP so I once again can have a back up set available should disaster come knocking again. They as well are swamped at the prop shop and really back logged so who knows when I’ll get them back. I did come home with a nice repair estimate however. Just a mere $677 dollars. YIKES what a expensive “bump” at such a inopportune time!

So hopefully things will settle down for me and we can salvage the remainder of the year. As I mentioned before the fish are here. Everything seems on schedule out this way. Water temps have finally cracked the magical 60 degree mark and fishing is really good now. For as much as I’ve been out there, we have caught Walleyes on practically everything I’ve tried. Best techniques still seem to be the deep diving stick crank baits run shallow on braid line off the big planer boards. But soon it will be a all spoon bite. I look forward to that because I’m about sick & tired of dealing with all the multi treble hooks on the crank baits hopelessly tangling in the net each time after we net a fish. What a pain in the butt! OK, this somewhat of a fishing report will be on the shorter side. And at this point, I’m not sure that I’ll be doing weekly reports at least for a while longer. I still have some open dates I need to work through. Between that and loosing the occasional trip to weather which already has happened to me (ugh) there may be some weeks where I’m hurting for material to write about. We’ll see what happens...

Capt. Walt
*Because of the current situation we find ourselves with plenty of open dates to offer to anyone that would love to get out of the house and have a exciting day fishing out on Lake Erie's fresh air and wide openness. Call me for the very latest availability. 216-387-2656 mobile/ text

First of all, I am way ahead of the curve. I cut my party size to 4 people already a long time ago and I’ve had a touch less big Purell foam hand sanitization station on my boat long before it was ever cool! That in itself meets many of the suggested safe guards that we have been asked to try and follow. I’m going to run through a few other things that I am going to do to try and keep everyone safe. Including myself! OK, first of all, party size. 4 is the PERFECT size group. It always has been and is especially now. My boat is big and spacious. If you can’t spread 4 people out on my boat, you can’t on any boat. When traveling out to the fishing grounds and back, I am asking (telling! lol!) everyone that you must remain seated. I have a big roomy dinette up front. We are going to seat only 2 people at this seating arrangement. One in the forward seat and one in the back seat. Although I have yet to receive it because it is back ordered, I have ordered a clear restaurant table style sneeze guard to split the table and that particular area in half. Hopefully it should arrive here soon before I get too busy. The remainder 2 people in my party will be asked to sit and stay put while traveling on the engine box seating out back. One on each side.

Masks: OK, I’m not making anyone to wear a mask while on my boat. I am strongly asking everyone to please bring their own mask along with them however. This will be important for when possibly we can not “social distance”. For example like when we get back to the marina which has their own set of rules that they have been ordered to obey by the health department. Say like multiple charters get back all at the same time. I also encourage everyone to use one when we are forced to be close to each other while fishing. Believe me, I will have one handy at all times myself! Should somebody desire one and they forgot to bring their own, we will have a limited supply of clean commercially made & individually packed masks available on the boat to help keep everyone stay safe. Hand cleaners: As I mentioned earlier, I have a really nice hospital grade touch less hand sanitizing station mounted in my boat. As everybody boards, I’m going to have everyone take several good squirts of foam and rub your hands down good as if you were a surgeon about to go into surgery! Ha!

Besides the mounted hand station there will be many smaller bottles of hand sanitizer within easy reach of anywhere on the boat. I encourage everyone to feel free to take a squirt often and especially if you happen to cough or sneeze. On my end we are going to be wiping all the gear down with Clorox wipes before the trip and after the trip and thru out the day as well. The entire boat will get a thorough cleaning each day also. We need to respect each other with this so called “new normal”. Sadly, no more hand shakes and hugs. We need to give each other as much space as possible at all times. No more standing right next to me when talking. I will be watching and correcting everyone as needed. Please don’t think that I am being rude. But remember, not only am I trying to protect you, I am trying to protect myself as well from a new group of different people fishing with me each and every day. And finally and most importantly of all, if you are not feeling good or you have a cold or something, DO NOT COME! If you have or have had a fever in the last 14 days, again DO NOT COME! I’ve lost so many trips already this year that I really don’t care at this point! (kinda) I only want healthy individuals! But for those of you that do come this year, other then some of these mere inconvenience's fishing should once again be beyond fabulous And in the end, it will still be “Just another day on THE TROPHY’! Stay safe my friends and I still hope to see most of you this coming summer!

Capt. Walt
*Because of the current situation we find ourselves with plenty of open dates to offer to anyone that would love to get out of the house and have a exciting day fishing out on Lake Erie's fresh air and wide openness. Call me for the very latest availability. 216-387-2656 mobile/ text

The bad news is what's happening in the world right now. The Covid-19 virus has virtually affected every person and business in the whole wide world. Unfortunately my little fishing business is no exception. Right now we are under a stay at home order and charters are considered non essential. Although I would really like to be in the water sometime this month, my charters do not start in earnest till the middle of May here in Ashtabula since I no longer go to Port Clinton for the early spring fishing. That’s a month and a half away at this point and much can and most likely will change by then. At this point I hope and fully plan on having another great season and the minute travel restrictions are eased, we’ll be back in the water and ready to show everyone a great time! I will let everyone know what’s up when actual trip dates draw nearer. In the mean time, I hope everyone remains safe and that we can all return to normalcy sooner then later. Take care my friends...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

The daily bag limit for walleye in Ohio waters of Lake Erie is 6 fish per angler. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15 inches.

The daily bag limit for yellow perch is 30 fish per angler in all Ohio waters of Lake Erie.

The trout and salmon daily bag limit is 2 fish (singly or in combination) per angler. The minimum size limit is 12 inches.

Black bass (largemouth and smallmouth bass): The daily bag limit is 5 fish (singly or in combination) per angler with a 14-inch minimum size limit.

Effective January 1, 2020, it is legal to use three rods per angler in the Lake Erie Sportfishing District.

A Lake Erie fishing permit is required for nonresidents from January 1 to April 30, 2020 when fishing Lake Erie and areas immediately upstream in creeks, rivers, and tributaries.

See the Ohio Fishing Regulations for more information.

Lake Erie

Walleye
Where: Limits are being reported in the western basin all the way east to Cleveland. The most popular launches have been the Lucas County Ramp, Mazurik, Catawba, Huron, and Lorain. Anglers are going out trying to find marks, which may come from 18-30 feet in the western basin, and 40-60 feet of water closer to Cleveland. Anglers are advised to use extreme caution with cold water temperatures, and to use lifejackets or float coats at all times.
How: Trolling deep diving crankbaits and stick baits has been the most popular technique at speeds 1.0 to 1.5 mph. Anglers have been experimenting with lures 50-150 feet back without any additional weight, or 20-40 feet back to a 2 oz. weight, and another 20-40 feet back to the lure. Natural colors have been best.

The Lake Erie water temperature off Toledo is 36 degrees, off Cleveland 39 degrees, and off Erie 37 degrees.

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Yellow Perch
Where: A few reports of yellow perch being caught in 30-35’ of water off the East 72nd St. lighthouse in Cleveland. Shore anglers are catching a few fish in the mornings and evenings off the breakwalls in Cleveland.
How: Try minnows on spreaders and crappie rigs near the bottom.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: Best spots have been in 20-30’ of water in the harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits and drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers.

Yellow Perch
Where: There were a few reports of yellow perch being caught off the East 72 Sreet lighthouse in Cleveland in 30 to 35 feet of water. There were also reports of fish being caught off Lakeshore Park in Ashtabula in 47 feet of water.
How: Try minnows on spreaders and crappie rigs near the bottom.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: The best spots have been the harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crankbaits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: The best locations to try are around the harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: The best locations to try are around the harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Yellow Perch
Where: There have been a few reports of anglers catching perch off Conneaut in 30 to 40 feet of water.
How: Anglers are using spreaders and crappie rigs tipped with minnows. Try different depths near the bottom until you locate the fish.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: The best locations to try are around the harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Catfish
Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland, Ashtabula, Conneaut, and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

I thank God everyday that at age 62 (in just a few months, lol) that I can still do this at the crazy level that I do. When I started doing this work I was just a young snot nosed punk 28 year old kid. What an amazing journey this past 33 years has been! I thank God for saving the very best for the twilight years of my career. To witness and be a part of this unreal fishery that we now have in Lake Erie. Nobody has EVER seen anything like it. We are all truly blessed! And special thanks goes out to my wife Joyce that works as hard as she does to help me keep the business going and the boat clean and presentable. Although she works full time Monday thru Friday, there isn’t too many Saturdays or Sundays and Holidays if any where she doesn’t go out with us nowadays to try and give me a bit of relief from the frantic and chaotic action by helping to keep all the rods going. She does a GREAT job and most everyone that is lucky enough to have fished with her have come to love her company and all of the extra help! Thank you Joyce! Finally, I want to thank all of you that have been following along with my weekly stories here. I’ve enjoyed telling my story knowing that most all of my readers are guys that have already fished with us or have trips that are coming up. I hope the action on your fishing trip lived up to all the hype that I seemed to be painting week after week! Lol! So till we all meet back up again in 2020, I wish everyone a safe and warm off-season with many Happy Holidays! You guys are the very BEST! Thanks again. Oh, and by the way, at the last second I decided to throw in one picture from this Saturday's charter with Joyce & I and my crews catch. So I guess this was a fishing report after all! Ha!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Yellow Perch
Where: There have been a few reports of anglers catching perch off Conneaut in 30 to 40 feet of water.
How: Anglers are using spreaders and crappie rigs tipped with minnows. Try different depths near the bottom until you locate the fish.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: The best locations to try are around the harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Catfish
Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland, Ashtabula, Conneaut, and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

Tuesday wasn’t the only day that we got some big Walleyes although that was the most that we got in any one trip last week. We even got a couple few really nice Steelhead thru out the week! The Walleyes continue to slide in a bit shallower with each passing day it seems like and the trout are mixed right in there with them. All the Walleyes we’ve been catching in recent days are just gorging themselves like crazy on good sized Smelt. I suspect the Walleyes and Trout both are chasing the same large schools of bait fish. If they keep eating like they are right now, we are all in for a treat next year! The growth rate has to be simply nuts. At one point I questioned if that many Walleyes in the lake right now all had enough to eat but it sure hasn’t seemed to be a problem here in the last couple of months for them.

The weather this past week was more summer like then fall like. We added several more 90 degree days to the list. Unfortunately, some of those hot days came in with stout south winds. None of it was enough to keep us off the lake and as I had mentioned earlier, may even have contributed to triggering some of the bigger Walleyes into biting! As I look at next weeks forecast and beyond, it seems crazy nice! The local Cleveland weather cast says no rain at all for like 8 days with mostly sunny conditions! Wow! I’ll take it but I’ll believe it when I see it. Hopefully they are indeed right as I got a bit of a run of trips coming up here in my last hurrah. Maybe this is the bang that I was hoping to go out on as my final couple of weeks wind down.

Speaking of which, next weeks fishing report/ blog will be my final one of the 2019 season. Although I will be fishing for yet another week after that one posts, the weekend there after will be a extremely busy one for me as we run our last trips and then bust our butts to get everything on both the boat and camper cleaned up, winterized and closed up. Lots and lots of unloading, moving things around and many other loose ends that will require all of my and my wife's attention. So check back next week for some parting words and a final wrap up of yet another fabulous season. “Just another year aboard THE TROPHY”...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

I have to laugh. The number one thing I hear from practically every group that fishes with me and even the ones that have fished with me for years and years (besides when are you retiring, lol!) is “you must have a freezer full of Walleyes”! How in the heck do I have a “freezer full” when I give all the fish that I catch on a charter to my guests everyday so they can have nice full baggies of fillets when they leave. I could and should keep all MY fish but I don’t! I think most groups do appreciate it when it happens but I think everybody also assumes that I have plenty of fish. I don’t! I always figure that I as a boat owner should be able to sneak out sometime and get a few for myself (although it rarely happens). But for most of my guests, especially the once a year guys this is their one and only chance to take home some fresh Walleye fillets and I want everyone to leave as loaded and happy as possible. But everybody needs to remember that the limit is still only six Walleyes that you are legally allowed to catch and possess and that is what my string of perfect limits is based on. YOUR LIMITS! If I catch a few extras and give them away that’s a BONUS for you but still results in a empty freezer for me! Lol!

So this past weeks weather was quite delightful. The last handful of days have been just about as perfect as it gets. Light winds and a light chop along with very comfortable temperatures and low humidity. Just so nice when you’re not battling the big waves everyday! And on top of that the Walleyes have finally moved back in making it even sweeter for us. The downside is along with the nicer weather and the Walleyes being in much closer all of a sudden especially on the weekends is all the crazy boat traffic! YIKES! I haven’t had to battle all of that since way early this summer. But I’ll take the near shore bite and pleasant weather along with the heavy boat traffic over what we went thru the past 6 weeks or so fishing well offshore. It was one windy August! Hopefully we can keep this nice weather going for the next few weeks.

So that’s about it. Fishing is still excellent and everything is chugging along nicely for everyone. As I mentioned in the beginning of this report and last weeks entry, I myself am coming out of the water at the end of this month. If anybody would still like to get out and fish with me before it’s all over I do still have a few open dates left before I pull. Call, text or email me for a listing of up to the minute availability's. And if they do go unfilled, maybe, just maybe I’ll get out a day or so and do something about that darn empty freezer of mine! It probably will be the first day that I can’t catch any this year! Ha!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Smallmouth Bass
Where: Good fishing reported around harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Catfish
Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

Perhaps October this year will be tranquil and more kinder then most Octobers around here. I mean, the stupid wind has to give us a break sometime, right? It sure wasn’t this past week! Holy Cow! I do believe this past week was the windiest week of this whole season! It was just plain nasty every day. To the point where I ended up cancelling a couple of days, did some weather delays on some other days and just fished in real crap all the rest of the days. It’s weeks like this past week that helped me make up my mind about the boat coming out early this year! In years past when we Perch fished before all the Perch disappeared on us, we fished well into November some years. But that was completely different. We weren't trying to troll well offshore. We went out, anchored the boat and just still fished over the side of the boat. You could literally easily fish in 5-6 footers just a couple miles out and fill the boat with Jumbo Perch where if you had to Walleye fish on those days, there would have been no way. But since that ship has sailed on us and knowing that the real winds are just around the corner, I’m just going to focus on trying to get the remainder of my September trips in and get out of Dodge while the getting is good! Lol!

Although it was a windy, rough week out on the lake especially offshore it sure didn’t slow down the Walleye fishing any. Most days it seemed like it took us longer to get out to the fishing grounds and then back home again then it did to get boat limits of Walleye for everyone! The fishing is still simply FABULOUS! Most of the big winds that we had this past week were southwest winds. A wind direction that don’t seem quite so bad when you first leave the harbor. But then with each passing mile that you get out it just gets rougher and rougher. And you know once you get to where you want to go, you’re going to have to troll even further out with the wind and waves to your back with the lake getting even rougher. Then when you do finish up, the real fun begins! You have to turn around and pound straight into a head sea all the way home. A long, bumpy ride home! Oh, it was so easy back in May and June of this year and even most of July before the fish moved out on us! I kid around with my fellow captains back at the dock all the time telling them if a guy was really smart, he’d only charter May, June and July and QUIT! Ha!

So it is September and it is Labor Day weekend. The unofficial end of summer. It’s only a matter of days now before the leaves will start taking on their fall colors. The days are big time staying dark longer and longer with each passing day now. There already is a bit of a nip in the air in the early mornings. All signs reaffirming what the calendar is already telling us. Fall is upon us. Each fall the Walleyes do tend to start moving their way back in closer to shore as the water begins to cool. We are already down to 71 degrees. Down from a high of 77 degrees. I think once we drop back into the 60’s you’ll notice a significant movement back into shallower water. Or one can only hope! We’ll see. In the mean time we’ll continue to chase them around offshore. Hopefully the heavy wind this whole past week wasn't a precursor of how our remaining weeks are going to go. From what I’m seeing for this coming week it looks nice and like we’ve turned the corner for at least the near term. My body is looking forward to that!! OK, as we get into September I do have a handful of open dates for anyone that may be interested in getting in on some of this great Walleye fishing before it’s too late. I think this coming week I have Tuesday & Wednesday still available. Give me a call for a complete and up to date list of what is available. Happy Labor Day everyone!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Ironically the weather this past week was about identical as the past few weeks as well. Very hot but decent lake conditions to start the week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a cold front with stiff winds on Thursdays and Fridays. This past week it was just like clock work. The cold front arrived early Thursday morning with north winds picking up dramatically as I was setting the boat up dockside for the day in the early morning darkness. By the time we departed and started our way out the lake was churning solid 4 footers. We took it easy on the long run north and it took us an hour and a half just to get to where we wanted to be. Friday morning, same thing. Both days long rides out then turn around and just troll towards home with the wind and waves to our backs. And catch fish every inch of the way back from the moment the first lines hit the rough water till we have all that we are allowed to catch! Easy Peasy!

Aboard THE TROPHY we have just been Dipsy Divering it and haven’t used our planer boards in weeks now. It just makes no sense to put them out when you are so busy with just the Dipsys Divers alone that you don’t have time to run any of the long lines out for the boards. When the fish were shallower and much higher in the water column and the Dipsys weren't quite as productive we didn’t have much choice but to run them. Now with the Walleyes down 50-60 foot or better there is no easier way to quickly get a lure down deep to them where it don’t stay very long before a fat Walleye gobbles it up. Quick to put out and quick to get back in. Take the Walleye off, snap the Dipsy back in place and just that quick get it back down there! Aboard THE TROPHY we use 6 divers. Three per side and that has been plenty enough rods to keep us constantly busy. You just can’t beat it!

Last week in my fourth picture and fourth paragraph of my report I showed a fresh Smelt that a Walleye had just coughed up as I netted it. These off shore fish are just gorging themselves on just everything. Check out these fresh Shad that another Walleye puked up this past week as I was unhooking it! Once again, notice any similarities to the lure that we caught the Walleye on? Lol! Simply amazing how well these fish are eating now. We are seeing them throwing up gobs of baby Perch, Emerald Shiners, Smelt and even little Sheephead and White Bass. Almost every Walleye that we are handling now is throwing some kind of little fish up. Most are already pretty badly decomposed but you can clearly make out it is a little fish or a gob of what was fish. Once in a while you get one so fresh that it is still alive yet the Walleye still went for our lure! Piggy's! No wonder fishing is so darn good! So that’s it. This is the last week of August... WOW is all I can say!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Wednesday morning we departed the dock at 5am in the full fledged darkness and were the first boat out as we most often are. With the powerful LED’s blazing our path forward and all the electronics safely guiding our way I was dismayed to see a large rain cell hovering just off of Ashtabula showing up on my Sirius live Doppler radar weather feed on my big Raymarine multi screen. Not seeing any lighting in it we proceeded to punch thru it. The lake was just like a mirror. Dead flat but it wouldn’t stay that way! When we got under the rain, it was surreal! I believe it was the hardest downpour I’ve ever been in with the boat. The rain came straight down and it just couldn't come down any harder! It was actually pretty cool traveling thru it with all the lights and I made a little video of it that I so wish I could post. Although the GPS was showing that we were doing 16 mph, it seemed like we were frozen in some kind of suspended animation with the memorizing rain in the lights and the dead flat lake spotted with millions and millions of dimples from the sky's opening up overhead. Pretty wild!

The thrill of the rain show on the flat lake was short lived. As soon as we got on the other side of the rain cell we were greeted by a wall of wind and rapidly deteriorating lake conditions. We went from a dead flat lake to solid 4 footers along with a occasional 5 footer rolling in from the northeast in a matter of minutes! Wow! That’s exactly how fast little boats can get themselves in big trouble. Lake Erie can turn on a dime! We proceeded a few more miles and went to work in all the slop. But as I stated in the beginning of this weeks report, the fishing was really good as it seems to be everyday regardless of conditions. Thursday morning the wind and waves were a little more easterly but equally stinky crapola. After a long boat ride out we went to work and knocked out our fish in pretty decent time. It seemed like it took longer to travel to the fishing grounds and back home again then it did to get our fish! Ha!

So the fish are still well offshore. They certainly are eating good out there! Everyday the Walleyes that I am netting out there are spewing all kinds of bait including lots of Smelt! Here is a interesting picture of a fresh one that a Walleye had in his mouth when I went to unhook it. Notice any similarities? Lol! They are feeding machines out there right now and with them eating as well as they are, they should be getting really fat as fall rapidly approaches. September always seems to yield us some of our heaviest boxes of the year! Ok, last week I mentioned that I have August the 28th and the 30th available. Well, they are still open dates should anyone be looking. OK that about does it for me for another week. Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Walleye

Where: Excellent fishing continues in 50 to 65 feet of water north of Edgewater Park, in 55 to 65 feet of water north of Wildwood Park, in 75 feet of water north-northeast of Geneva, and in 70 to 75 feet of water north of Conneaut. Fish are suspended and anglers are targeting fishing depths of 30 to 55 feet down in the water column above the thermocline.
How: Walleye have been caught trolling using crankbaits or spoons with planer boards, dipsy and jet divers. Anglers are also casting and drifting worm harnesses and weight forward spinners. Try using bright colors including yellow, green, and pink and purple. Anglers fishing from shore are catching some fish off the piers in Cleveland using spinners and stick baits.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: Good fishing reported in 17 to 22 feet of water around harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Catfish
Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

The weather this past week was almost perfect. Almost. The first part of the week was once again very hot with light winds. By Thursday though yet another “cold’ front swept through the area bringing much more pleasant temperatures and more comfortable lower humidity levels but again it came in with a punch. Winds went westerly late morning Thursday and cranked better then 30 mph sustained the rest of the day. It was just getting ugly when we ourselves finished up. Sometime Thursday night the wind went stiff northerly. You want to talk about a washing machine Friday morning with big swells left over from the west and the wind & chop from the northeast! After a long boat ride out we set up on what might be considered big mogul waves and probably the fastest Dipsy bite of the year for me! The rough water had the fish in a feeding frenzy and made the long bumpy ride out to them all the more worth it! Saturday, same thing, rough again but we persevered and were rewarded with 42 Walleyes for my crew of five anglers and a few dinner fish for my 1st mate and myself for a change! Mmmmm!

We are still hitting some Steelhead on a lot of the days off shore now. Not everyday but a lot of the days. I had a interesting thing happen one day this week with them. We had 2 different rods go off simultaneously with a pair of trout and just that fast simultaneously both Steelhead came shooting out of the water at the very same exact time! One was on a short inside #1 Dipsy on the starboard side of the boat and the other one came off the down rigger from the same starboard corner of the boat. The lures could not have been that many feet apart. The silver bullets continued to put on a spectacular aerial show and when one jumped, the other jumped as well! We were actually feeding out a Jet rod long line right out the middle of the boat when all the chaos started and one of the trout hooked literally jumped up and over that line but did not tangle it or anything else amazingly enough! Both trout not only jumped multiple times at the very exact same time and height but both ended up coming in to the back of the boat at what seemed like 90 mph at the very exact time! Lol! Not having much choice I made one huge sweep underwater at both of them with my net and wasn’t quite sure I had both of them till I actually lifted the net! A true double header Steelhead catch! Man, I wish we could have captured all of that on video! It was pretty darn cool!

Double headers of Walleye and netting two Walleyes at a time? Those I’ve done many hundreds of times if not thousands of times over the coarse of 33 years of full time chartering. Interesting enough, the two Steelhead were barely removed from the net when the very two next Walleyes came in hot at the very exact time so I swept them both up in one sweep as well! Like I said, it would have all made for great video! So this coming week we will be entering the mid point of this month. Already! OK, it’s been a while since I plugged any available open dates that I have but I recently received a couple of cancellations for the end of this month which isn’t that far away including a attractive rare Friday that I would like to put out there. As of right now I have Wednesday August the 28th open and Friday August the 30th open as well. Both would be an excellent choice for someone as our Walleye fishing remains excellent right through all of September. Anybody interested in either of these dates as always can reach me at any time on my mobile number (216) 387-2656 Call or text. Till next week, tight lines.

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Smallmouth Bass
Where: Good fishing reported in 17 to 22 feet of water around harbor areas and rock piles in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, leeches, and crayfish.

Catfish
Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

The weather this past week out on the big pond could best be described as pleasant but just plain choppy every day out there. Not horribly rough mind you but just rough enough to force one way trolls and some uncomfort for some of my guests. It sure is a different world once you are out 10-15 miles. Long boat rides out to the fishing grounds and back are now the norm. The slightest of breezes result in considerable wave action. The big packs of boats that were all fishing on top of each other when the fish were stacked in the shallow water are now nowhere to be found out there. You may see a handful of boats scattered out on the horizon but that’s been about it. I’m sure it will get a little more crowded out there as the word gets out that the fish have moved out but that’s a whole lot of water out there and the vastness of it all can absorb hundreds and hundreds of boats and make it seem like no one is out there. That’s the one thing I do like about being way out there but that’s about the only thing. Fuel bills have become ugly now and bouts of sea sickness have become way too common here lately. Big water offshore fishing can be big head aches at times but as always aboard THE TROPHY we do whatever we have to do to fill the box each day!

This past week I got to participate in a multi boat corporate event organized by Capt. Tim Caruthers of T&V charters. It involved 7 boats! All the boats at my marina were included as were a couple of others from upriver. This was a well organized executive outing and the company that sponsored it all spared no expense in hosting such a large function. They had high end shirts made up for all captains, mates and team members. And a friendly tournament was also sponsored by the company amongst the 7 boats with 4 man teams on each boat and generous prizes for the top 3 boats. What fun! All of the boats were released with a “shot gun” start and everything was filmed by the company including drone footage! I am looking forward to seeing the footage! All the boats returned well before the time allotted and everyone had easily limited out. Although we had a nice limit of Walleyes on our boat as well, sadly, we ourselves just didn’t have that one or two big fish that it took to place in the money for the boys. But lots of fun was had by all and the after party was great and generously catered by the company as well. Thanks Capt. Tim for including me in your large group charter. I had a ball!

So another week is in the books. We are now fishing way, way out there where you never know what you’re going to catch. We are finally handling some Steelhead Trout almost daily off shore now and we even managed to catch a beautiful Brown Trout this past week which is quite rare for our part of the lake. Funny so many captains that I know have never caught one off Ashtabula but somehow it seems like we catch at least one every year! The weather forecast for this upcoming week appears to be a really nice one. Hopefully winds will remain light as well and allow us to do our thing without beating anybody up too terribly much. I could stand for a little break from all the rocking and rolling myself! Lol!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Tuesday, I go down to the boat and it’s blowing even harder then Monday morning. With the winds forecasted to back off I made a executive decision to do a weather delay and rather then leave at 5am, to leave at 7am with full daylight on our side. 7am turned into a 8am delay and with hardly any improvement in conditions and us burning daylight, we decided to try it at this point. After a long slow bouncy boat ride out we arrived and proceeded to set lines. It was a beautiful day otherwise. The rain was gone and not a cloud in the sky and the fish were once again on fire! We got them all and had a ball! Wednesday morning with a “forecast” of light northerly winds and only a 1 to 3 foot wave forecast I was excited to go! Only to be greeted at the marina with 2 footers in the river and all the flags standing straight out AGAIN! I’m like, ARE YOU FRIGGING KIDDING ME! Triple Ugh (Tuesday was double Ugh)! Not wanting to sit around again like we did the day before, we decided to just go for it. And like déjà vu, we had a long bouncy ride out and a gorgeous sunny day after arriving even though the waves were still pretty big. And as the previous two days, the rods were bending fast and furious and everyone had great fun and was very thankful that I took them out where many others cancelled their trips.

Thursday and the rest of the week it was like the past 3 days had never happened. Flat seas, kinda hot and kinda buggy with the lack of wind. Once again the Walleyes cared little. Rough lake, flat seas, there's just no stopping these fish! You get a lure in the water and they will bite it no matter what! With me forced the last few days into having to run up north into deeper water to start, it reaffirmed something that I already knew. There are plenty of fish up north well offshore. And when the lake went flat the rest of the week and fishing seemingly being a bit slower near shore, I just pointed it north and trolled our way out to 70 foot plus of water and got the job done easily each day out there. I guess it’s finally happening and we’re going to have start to plying the offshore waters more and more with each passing day now. That means the real easy and economical part of the season is over with for me sadly now. I’ve said it before. Fishing well offshore each day presents it’s own unique set of challenges with the biggest being much rougher water out there each day. Oh well. That’s why I own a Cherokee Sport Fisherman. It’s a big “big water” boat built for snotty water and the charter professionals.

So this week we flip the calendar from July to August. Already. We blew thru July in what seemed to be like a blink of an eye. Before this month is over the kids will be back in school and football season will have already started. All signs to me that yet another year is nearly in the books. The easiest part of the season is definitely behind us now. Hopefully the remaining couple months are a little kinder in the weather department. I’m getting kind of tired of fishing in the rain and I know I don’t want to do another 3 days in a row like I did earlier this past week for a long time. That took a lot out of me! As a matter of fact, I’m starting to get a bit worn down period. Not that most days have been long and that hard but it’s the routine that will eventually wear you down. Getting up everyday at 3am and doing everything over and over and over. And I’m still not sure what is more tiring. Being out there all day long picking at these fish or the frantic hectic pace that we have each day for 3 or 4 hours nowadays! Either way, I’ll get through these next 2 months. At least that’s what I keep telling myself! Two more months! Man, I got this!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

These fish are literally in a feeding frenzy, especially at the crack of dawn. Yet packed with as many minnows as some of them are they still go after our rather large spoons (in relation to what they are actually eating now). I guess there's always room for “just one more”! Ha! It was another week of easy straight up boat limits for us aboard THE TROPHY. However many people total are on the boat each day is how many limits of fish we come back in with. Maybe not in record time each day but I am not trying to set any records either. In fact, again most days this past week we only ran 4 rods. Two Jet rods per side. For one thing I’m trying to slow things down and drag it out for as long as I can for my guys and secondly even with so few rods out, that’s all we can keep up with! I’ve never seen anything like it! I know most of my reports are starting to sound like a broken record by now but it’s a GREAT album to be stuck on! Lol!

Besides being miserably hot this past week we even had one morning where we fished through the remnants of what was left of tropical storm Barry. Wednesday morning as I arrived to the boat to start my day I was greeted by a deluge! I don’t know that it could rain any harder! The sky literally would open up and buckets and buckets would come straight down. Then it would pause for a little bit and then start right back up again. We set up out there in total darkness and pouring rain and with all my LED’s all lit up, it was a awesome site to see with the rain dumping down being illuminated by the high power lights! It looked like something out of the Deadliest Catch TV show! But as any other day out there regardless of the weather, the fish were on fire in both the darkness and the crazy heavy down pours. I’m not quite sure if it was miserable that morning or just super exciting. Maybe a little bit of both and definitely a memorable experience!

So some relief is on it’s way for this coming week. Right now many of the days in next weeks forecast from what I’m seeing is calling for some of the days temperatures to be only in the 70’s. Man, after this past week I’m going to have to put on a coat! Haha! I can’t wait really. Even though we’ve been finishing up at a decent time each day before the real heat kicks in, being that uncomfortable that many days in a row grows old quickly. I’m probably the busiest man on the boat each day running the hectic show in the back of the boat and keeping everyone going and netting fish and unhooking them (and having them spit in my face tiny minnows. Ugh) and I’ve had more then my fill of the sweat running in my eyes and down my back (not to mention other places that I’m not going to mention!) We’ll see. One things for sure. I’ll report for work everyday regardless of the conditions and the Walleyes will do their part as they have been doing all year long in this unbelievable dream season!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Smallmouth Bass
Where: Excellent fishing has been reported in 17 to 22 feet of water around harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, spinner baits, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, crayfish and leeches.

Catfish
Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

All my crews have been very good at arriving on time, somewhere between 4:30 and 5am. I’ve been telling everyone that I want to be off the dock at the latest a few minutes before the 5am lift bridge goes up so that we don’t get caught up in all the boat traffic that is coming out on that draw. Especially on the weekends! The worst thing for me if I get behind other boats is that I can’t use my powerful headlights with someone ahead of me. And with this years flooding conditions, there is a LOT of debris in the water which I rely on my big LED’s to spot before having a tragic collision which can ruin our day and results in possible thousands of dollars of damage to the props, rudders and shafts and so much more. Most days we are the first ones out and I light up the night! I actually see better at night because I am really focused on the water that is illuminated right in front of me and with no morning glare on the water to fight either. First lines in go in with all my side LED’s illuminated now. Again, we see as well as if it were mid day! It’s amazing the technology that is built into todays modern marine LED’s and what $10k worth of this lighting will do to light up the night! The lights are never on very long however as dawn comes quickly and as soon as we can see everything goes off so as not to distract (or attract? lol!) other boats. Most mornings even in the full pre dawn darkness the suicide bite is already happening!

This past week and everyday for me was like all the past ones. Wash, rinse and repeat. We did have a few “breezy” days to contend with however unlike the previous week before last where in last weeks fishing report I had reported that it had been gorgeous all week. But with the right crews for the right days somehow, someway we “got er done” as we always seem to fortunately do and were still back to the dock at a decent time. And the few days smack in the middle of the week were again just flat knock out gorgeous. Just the luck of the draw when you are locked into a day pre booked sometimes as far out as a year in advance. I tell everyone. If you come often enough you’re going to experience the good, the bad, and the ugly! We had a little bit of all of that going on this past week! One consolation is on the “breezy” days” there are no bugs to deal with! Ha!

So this coming weeks weather looks to be another cooker with temperatures almost everyday in the 90’s so there “shouldn’t” be any fronts moving through which means we “shouldn’t” have to deal with any more big winds for at least a few days. We’ll see. “Shouldn’t” sometimes don’t mean crap! It also remains unclear whether we get any remnants of the rain that is going to dump mid country from the tropical storm Barry pounding the coast. As I write this little blog early on in the weekend, I am getting conflicting reports about rain from that system affecting us by about mid week. Gee, just great! More rain. YIKES! Whatever. We’ll get through it. As long as the Walleyes continue to cooperate nicely as they have been, everything else is just a distraction! Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Walleye
Where: Excellent fishing continues in 40 to 50 feet of water north of Rocky River, in 45 to 55 feet of water northwest of Edgewater Park, in 45 to 55 feet of water north of Fairport, and in 50 to 60 feet of water north-northeast of Conneaut. Fish are suspended, and anglers are targeting fishing depths of 25 to 40 feet.
How: Walleye have been caught trolling using crankbaits or worm harnesses with planer boards, dipsy and jet divers. Anglers are also casting and drifting worm harnesses and weight forward spinners. Good colors to try are green, yellow, black, and pink and purple. Anglers fishing from shore are catching fish off the piers in Cleveland using spinners and stick baits.

Smallmouth Bass
Where: Excellent fishing has been reported in 17 to 22 feet of water around harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, spinner baits, drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers, golden shiners, crayfish and leeches.

Catfish
Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

This past week was by far the nicest week of this summer so far! We didn’t even have our one odd windy & stormy day like we have been getting each week the last handful of weeks. Just flat seas every day, albeit some very hot temperatures. I’ll take it! After fishing in raw and cool conditions in what seemed like most all of the first half of this summer, this little heat wave this past week felt great to me! And honestly, with us leaving at 5am each morning if not earlier, we were done each day with boat limits of Walleye before the real heat ever kicked in! Not only that, I am saving a ton of money on sun block this summer! There has been no need to lather up this whole year! Either it’s been rainy or we are done already each day before the sun starts to really scorch! Or both! Lol!

Just nothing has changed so far this year. Week in and week out. So far anyway... The Walleyes are still in super shallow and close to the harbor. Most all the fish we are catching are suspended in about 45 to 55 foot of water and hanging about 35 ft. down. Within easy striking distance of our 40 Jets which are designed to dive to about 40 foot. And especially easily within our Dipsy Diver program where we can get the big divers down to most any depth desired. Both methods are working equally well and it is literally impossible to run both at the same time because it is just too fast and hectic! Aboard THE TROPHY I have settled into a routine of choosing one program over the other depending on my crew size and if I have a first mate. If I have a larger party and or a first mate, I’ll throw the boards out and run (try to run) 6 Jet rods. 3 on each side. If I have a relatively small party, say 3 people I just throw out a few Dipsys out and roll with that. Honestly, neither one is working any better then the other. Both systems are on fire using the small Scorpion Stinger Spoons. Colors? Heck, it don’t matter! I have the same exact spoons on that I put on two months ago and they have been hit so many times now this year that there is hardly a shred of paint left on them! All of the millions of colors sold in the bait shops and especially all the new “custom” colors that lure painters are now cranking out at premium prices is all for chumps! You can catch them on ANYTHING! You most always can. Lol!

So we are entering the second week of July now. The Walleyes are still in close and are ridiculously suicidal. The weather for this coming week looks to be another picture perfect week with if anything, much more comfortable temperatures and lower humidity's. It should bow very well for my afternoon nap that I have now come to be accustomed to! Maybe this week I’ll be able to do so without the AC in the camper cranked up on high! It would not surprise me though if any day now the massive schools of Walleye started to move offshore. I mean after all it is well into July now and we’ve never had a July or August in my 30 plus years of chartering where we did not end up at least 10 miles or more offshore. Most years even much more so then that. We’ll see. This whole year has a completely different “feel” to it. It might be the case that even if a bunch of fish move offshore, we’ll never be able to tell because there are so many fish in the lake we can still make a living catching the many stragglers which always occurs even after a big shift in fish movement. I simply love it!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

This past week again was no exception. Fishing was fast and furious! No matter where we went or what we did. The week before I had mentioned that all we used was 4 or 6 Dipsys. Most of the time all but a couple of them would be out of the water as we reeled in and unhooked fish. This past week just to mix it up I went back to using planer boards running them out much shorter then I normally do and only using 3 rods per side. Of the 6 rods, again most were out of the water more then they were in the water! Just a super Walleye bite with again super great charter guests. I am so blessed to have the most faithful, fun, and generous charter guests I think of any charter boat out there. Every day is like taking my best friends out fishing! Without the usual stress of “having to produce” I am having the most fun this year I think that I’ve ever had in my whole chartering career. Every day is GREAT!

I’m not in the habit of doing shout outs because I run so many trips and I truly love everyone but I will make another exception just as I did in last weeks report. Special thanks goes out this week to my long time running charter guest Chad from Iowa and all his buddies for choosing Trophy Charters for your fishing vacation! With a larger group then I can handle, I got Captain Rick Hildebrand of Tricky Rick Charters to be my second boat. Along with his first mate Mike Quigley, we all worked well together to deliver a couple of fabulous days, I mean “mornings” of fishing! Ha! With the tunes blasting, we rocked it out both fishing and at the after party back at the dock. A very fun couple of days! Thanks Ricky, Mike and especially to Chad and his whole group. Can’t wait to see all you guys again next year!

Weather again this past week was great all week except for Tuesday which was the red headed step child of the weather week. What a freakin windy day! What was supposed to be 2 to 4’s out of the southwest turned out to be almost straight westerly's and quickly building after our departure to easy 4 to 6 footers! Before the lake got out of hand, I had the wisdom or luck (not sure which) to crank it out west to Geneva and just troll east back towards Ashtabula Harbor. Even in the stout waves, fishing was a fire drill for us and we had our 30 Walleyes by the time we got close to safe harbor. Next day, a almost flat lake as was the rest of the week. Just a freak one day super windy day. Good old Lake Erie and “Just another morning on The Trophy”. Naw, I don’t like it. “JUST ANOTHER DAY ON THE TROPHY”! Yeah, that’s better! I guess after chanting that for 33 years straight I can’t simply change just because every Walleye in the lake now has a death wish! Lol!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Walleye

Where: Excellent fishing continues in 35-55 feet of water north-northwest of Edgewater Park, in 35-55 feet of water north-northeast of Gordon Park, in 45-55 feet of water north of Fairport and in 45-60 feet of water north of Geneva. Fish are suspended and anglers are targeting fishing depths of 20-40 feet.
How: Walleye have been caught by trolling with crankbaits or worm harnesses assisted by divers, and by casting and drifting weight forward spinners. Anglers are also casting and drifting worm harnesses and weight forward spinners. Good colors to try are yellow, black, orange, green, and pink and purple. Anglers fishing from shore are catch a few fish off the piers in Cleveland using spinners and stick baits.

Smallmouth Bass

Where: Excellent fishing has been reported in 10-30 feet of water around harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, spinner baits, and drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers.

Catfish

Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

We had a real potpourri of different weather conditions all week this past week. Mostly all good though. We had one dead flat super foggy day. We had a dead flat hot sunny and super buggy day. We had a all day (all morning?) super soaker day on a flat lake. We even had one very rough day on Friday that challenged us and also gave us a chance to look at some new water. With a north wind, we took a long slow ride well north and set up further north then I have been so far all season. Again, it mattered little even out there. We were in 73 feet of water when we finally got started and we were immediately in good fish with the very first couple of Dipsy rods that we put out. Making a short troll south with the wind and waves to our backs, we had our 30 Walleyes easily before we ever hit 60 foot of water. That in itself being way deeper than where we fished all week long previously. And just as I have speculated and mentioned many times already this year, I don’t think that there's anywhere that you can go right now where you can’t catch these 4 year old Walleyes. They are just everywhere and thick as fleas!

We did manage to capture a few biggies this past week but the larger older Walleye have been few and far between lately. I shudder to think where we would all be if the spectacular hatch of 2015 hadn’t happened! Pretty much out of business I figure! This past week we also handled a good many one year old (cigar sized) Walleyes along with some two year olds (12-13 inchers). The Dept. of Natural Resources still insists that last years hatch (2018) was by far the biggest, greatest hatch that they have ever accessed. Greater then 2015’s monster hatch, greater then their benchmark all time biggest hatch ever, the hatch of 2003 (I think 2015 was by far bigger myself). We’ll see. So far it’s just been an occasional cigar sized fish here and there for us. Maybe because the zillions of four year olds aren’t giving the youngsters a chance at the lure before they themselves gobble it up. My experience over the years however has been that they really don’t start coming online and becoming a nuisance till their second year in the lake. We all still remember what we went thru in the summer of 2017 when all the nice fish that we’re catching today were mostly all throw backs. YIKES! Hundreds a day! I guess we will know next year if the 2018 hatch was as great as they are touting.

So we are entering the last week of June now. Weather appears to be showing signs of being more summer like with each passing day now. Finally is all I can say! This upcoming final week of June appears to be a good one that’s coming. I see some 80’s in the forecast and very manageable winds. I wouldn’t bet my life on the forecast being right but one can only hope that we start seeing more pleasant days like that then the crap ones as the case has been so far this season. It’s good to know that we can go offshore now to catch fish if the need be. Even though no one really wants to. Marina fuel is holding steady at $4 bucks a gallon as it has been the entire season for us even though the price on the street is ticking downward. Oh the joys of having a large boat docked on the water with no other choice then to pay whatever fuel sells for on the water front! It would be OK with me if I fished a half mile offshore all year long. Even though I no there isn’t a chance in the world that that will happen. For now though, barring those pesky north wind days, I’m enjoying the fuel savings, the savings of wear and tear on the equipment and not to mention the savings of wear and tear on my body. Life and fishing for now is good. I’m digging it!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Last update June 13. 2019

Walleye

Where: Excellent fishing was reported in 35-58 feet of water north-northwest of the Gold Coast in Lakewood, in 30-48 feet of water north of the Chagrin River, in 45-54 feet of water northwest of Fairport, in 45-55 feet of water north-northwest of Ashtabula, and in 25-45 feet of water north-northwest of Conneaut. Fish are suspended and anglers are targeting fishing depths of 20-40 feet.
How: Walleye have been caught by trolling with crankbaits or worm harnesses assisted by divers, and by casting and drifting weight forward spinners. Good colors to try are yellow, blue and silver, green, purple, and red. Anglers fishing from shore are catch a few fish off the piers in Cleveland using spinners and stick baits.

Yellow Perch

Where: A few reports of anglers catching fish in 30-35 feet of water north of the Chagrin River.
How: Anglers are fishing from the bottom to 3-5 cranks above the bottom. Try different depths near the bottom until you locate the fish. Use minnows on spreaders. Shore anglers are catch fish off the piers in Cleveland using spreaders tipped with minnows.

Smallmouth Bass

Where: Excellent fishing has been reported in 10-30 feet of water around harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, spinner baits, and drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers.

Catfish

Where: Anglers are catching fish off the Cleveland and Fairport Harbor piers.
How: Most anglers fish the bottom or drift with baits on the bottom. Common baits include nightcrawlers, cut bait, and frozen shrimp.

Again, the Walleyes did not care however. Even trying to pace myself and using only 6 rods, limits came fast and easily for us no matter what the conditions were. Feeling very blessed as far as that goes and it’s making this lousy summer weather easier to take. Without the massive schools of Walleye being that close to the south shore, we might not have been able to pull off the limit catches daily that everyone is getting accustomed to now. I shudder to think how difficult it would have been to fish this past week if not impossible should the fish had been out 10-15 miles! Usually in the past, the rougher the weather the less rods we can run also. This year on many of the days out there that’s all we can handle because the fish are coming so quickly. Which perfectly coincides with the conditions that we keep getting handed!

Again, the Walleyes did not care however. Even trying to pace myself and using only 6 rods, limits came fast and easily for us no matter what the conditions were. Feeling very blessed as far as that goes and it’s making this lousy summer weather easier to take. Without the massive schools of Walleye being that close to the south shore, we might not have been able to pull off the limit catches daily that everyone is getting accustomed to now. I shudder to think how difficult it would have been to fish this past week if not impossible should the fish had been out 10-15 miles! Usually in the past, the rougher the weather the less rods we can run also. This year on many of the days out there that’s all we can handle because the fish are coming so quickly. Which perfectly coincides with the conditions that we keep getting handed!

So it’s trying times we are living through right now up on the lake. We even had an earthquake that originated a few miles out in the lake this past week! I had numerous inquiries about it right afterwards from people that heard about it on the news. I’ve told everyone that I take full responsibility for the quake. I’ve removed so many Walleyes from the lake already this year that the water pressure has settled downward, hence setting off the earthquake! Haha! Actually, I think it’s the other way around. There are sooooo many Walleyes out in the lake right now that it’s displacing all the water and that’s why the lake is so dang high! Lol! Either way, there’s some goofy things going on this year up on the lake. From record water levels, record amount of fish and now a earthquake. I can hardly wait to see what this week brings us...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Walleye

Where: Excellent fishing reported in 30-40 feet of water north of Gold Coast in Lakewood, in 30-50 feet of water northwest of Geneva, and in 45-60 feet of water northeast of Ashtabula.
How: Walleye have been caught by trolling with crankbaits or worm harnesses assisted by divers, and by casting and drifting weight forward spinners. Good colors to try are lemon drop, blue and silver, green, and red. Anglers fishing from shore are catch a few fish off the piers in Cleveland using spinners and stick baits.

Yellow Perch

Where: There have been a few reports of anglers catching fish in 15-30 feet of water around the Gordon Park east break wall light house in Cleveland, and in 30-35 feet of water north of the Chagrin River.
How: Anglers are fishing from the bottom to 3-5 cranks above the bottom. Try different depths near the bottom until you locate the fish. Use minnows on spreaders. Shore anglers are catch fish off the piers in Cleveland using spreaders tipped with minnows.

Smallmouth Bass

Where: Excellent fishing has been reported in 10-30 feet of water around harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Ashtabula, and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, spinner baits, and drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers.

But not wanting to see the same guys that disappointed again, I put my big boy pants on and sucked it up and we headed out in the dark in about 3 to 5 foot waves. Knowing there would be no circling around or back tracking that particular day, I took it far enough north to be able to do just one troll south with the wind and waves on the tail and give my crew the most comfortable ride possible. We took it clear to 71 foot of water, further then I have been at any point so far this year and pointed it south and got started. And guess what? We opened up with 3 triples in a row! Is there anywhere off Ashtabula that isn’t just loaded with Walleyes right now? Wow! We went on to easily limiting out once again in the less then desirable conditions.

Tuesday, oh boy even stiffer winds but this time dead out of the south. I set up this time in 26 foot of water and pointed it north to go with the wind and waves. And you already guessed it. We again opened up heavy in fish and never turned the boat till we had 36 Walleyes in the box for the day. Pretty much ending up where I started well north the day before. By the time I pulled my gear to come in, Wee Bob was it friggin snotty out there! With a bit of sea sickness setting in for multiple crew members, my crew was more then happy to be heading in with their fine catch. And so was I! The next day, same thing. Super stiff southerly's. Not wanting to end up way offshore again, this time I put THE TROPHY in the ditch and just trolled east and west in tight to shore enjoying the calmer water that the shoreline and the lee side of the lake provided. And again, it mattered little. Never getting deeper then 30 foot of water, the Walleyes were literally jumping in the boat! Fishing with only 4 Jet rods, we simply could not keep them in the water. Thursday and Friday, we departed in and fought a super heavy dense chilly blanket of fog in the morning darkness. Through it all though once dawn cracked the Walleye fishing was simply fabulous! Just another great week and a strong sign that even trying weather conditions this year isn’t going to hold this us back any . As long as we can get out that is!

So by the time I post again, we will be smack dab in the middle of June. Already! Talk will soon turn to the fast approaching 4th of July holiday. Man, how come winter doesn’t slip by this fast! Anyway, everybody that’s going to be in the water around here already is. All the charters that still go to the western basin in the real early part of the season are all back now and dug in for the real meat of their season. The Walleyes are already here and it’s game on for everyone. I am having a ball out there myself and I’m sure everyone else is too. Too bad the days and weeks fly by so quickly when it’s this good! I encourage everyone that likes to fish to get up here one way or another and get in on this super magical season that we are having. Be it on a charter or on a private boat. Just do it! Blow off work, beg your buddies or make friends with someone that has a boat! Do what you got to do. Just get up here and get in on it! Soon I won’t be talking about the 4th of July. It will be Labor Day and you know what comes after that. Trust me, this summer will seem like it passed in a blink of an eye. All good dreams do!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

But for whatever reason, the Walleyes have arrived super early this year for this part of the lake in record numbers despite the lousy April and May that we had. Normally Ashtabula and the Central basin in general is considered to peak a little later in the summer when migrating Walleyes from other more shallower parts of the lake pour into the area seeking the deeper, cooler waters that is super bait rich with Emerald Shiners and Smelt. But basically from the get go starting early last month, Ashtabula has been literally on fire! The fish finder is sick with fish marks every day and the “marks” are more then eager to bite our offerings. This past week for us aboard THE TROPHY, the fishing was just ridiculously easy. We scored rack full after rack full of beautifully sized Walleyes along with a handful of real hogs including one monster that went 31 & 1/4” inches. What a fish!

We have literally picked right up where we left off last October with our unreal streak of perfect limit days last year. Other then my very first trip of the year this year where we did not limit out but still did well, it has been a perfect score for us with all my guests maxing out their “tickets” and even us catching boat limits on some days with me reeling in fish too! I’m not going to dwell too much on this perfect record thing for too long for fear of jinxing myself but I think the only thing that might interrupt the roll that we are on again would be having to fish in some harsh conditions where we can’t get our normal spread out or be limited to where we can fish. Right now it’s easy pickings with the fish just around the corner of the lighthouse. But sooner or later the fish will move well offshore and this will present a whole new set of challenges. Maybe Mother Nature will throw us a bone and give us a nice calm dry summer for a change since the spring this year sucked so bad. What’s our chances? Ugh. I think I know.

So this will be our first full week of June. I am still refreshed, rejuvenated and very excited to go. I am in awe with how many fish are out there. Not just Ashtabula but the whole lake in general. All the reports that I am reading and hearing from all different parts of the lake are all the same. On fire! We are truly in unchartered territory now with this lake that nobody has ever witnessed before. Record hatch after hatch with more adult catchable Walleyes in the lake right now then anybody has ever seen since records have been kept. Never in my wildest dreams could I ever image that in my twilight years as my career winds down that I would be part of and witness and experience something so special, so amazing and so incredible as to what’s going on now out on Mother Erie! We are all truly blessed to be living and fishing in these amazing times with no end in site. I’m trying to imagine how good it could still get out this way if everybody's else's fish migrate into this area later this summer and join what's already going on out here. Simply unimaginable!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Walleye

Where: Excellent fishing reported in 30-40 feet of water north of Gold Coast in Lakewood, in 30-50 feet of water northwest of Geneva, and in 45-60 feet of water northeast of Ashtabula.
How: Walleye have been caught by trolling crankbaits or worm harnesses, as well as casting and drifting weight forward spinners. Good colors to try are chrome, blue, silver, green, and red. Anglers fishing from shore are catch fish off the piers in Cleveland using spinners and stick baits.

Yellow Perch

Where: There were a few reports of anglers catching fish in 15-30 feet of water around the Gordon Park east break wall lighthouse in Cleveland, and in 30-35 feet of water north of the Chagrin River.
How: Anglers are fishing from the bottom to 3-5 cranks above the bottom. Try different depths near the bottom until you locate the fish. Use minnows on spreaders.

Smallmouth Bass

Where: Very good fishing was reported in 10-30 feet of water around harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Ashtabula and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, spinner baits and drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers.

I ended up cancelling Monday because of conditions but we put in a good week there after. We didn’t have much company out there either. I guess most everyone else is waiting for the 80 degree days before they get too serious about fishing up here. We ourselves didn’t mind throwing some jackets and hoodies on and head on out there. And the Walleyes certainly didn’t mind it either! We easily caught what we needed each day. The marks on the fish finder are just crazy! I really believe there is a insane amount of Walleyes in the area already. For my faithful readers, you’ll remember it wasn’t till a week into June last year before the flood gates let loose and we started to catch fish like we already are here for going on two weeks now. I shudder to think how good it’s going to get when the water temps hit 60 degrees and beyond and we get just a little bit better water clarity. It’s been pretty dingy near shore where the fish are presently stacked up like cord wood.

We haven’t really ventured very far from the harbor at all yet. And we haven’t tried it east of the harbor any at all. There really hasn’t been any need to do so. Though I’m not out very far at all, I haven’t really tried fishing in the real skinny water like we did most all of last May either. By skinny water, I mean the water from 15 to 30 ft. in depth very close to the shoreline. Normally this is the water that warms first and is the warmest which attracts the bait fish which in turn draws in the Walleye. That’s where we caught some really nice fish a year ago on crank baits. But this year with the rivers all flooding up and down the shoreline and pumping out the mud, I feel it would be a big waste of time going on in there to try. Besides, we are doing great in water depths of 45 ft. and deeper, so why would I even want to try it? It’s the old and most important lesson in fishing. “Never leave fish to go look for fish!” And it’s so very true! Lol!

So Memorial Day weekend is upon us. It’s hard for me to believe that THE TROPHY has been in the water already for a whole month! And starting with this big weekend, the days of me being the only one out there are about over with as well. Many of the private boaters are finally getting their boats in the water after a very trying spring of trying to get their work done so that they can launch. I am so very thankful to have a nice big heated building to do all my spring prep work in myself! Temperatures are supposed to get up in the 80’s as well this weekend and coming week and that will further help bring out the average fisherman. That’s OK. Lots of room out there and there are literally millions of Walleye out there! Come get you some! Lol! Alrighty, last week I mentioned that I had Wednesday May the 29th open. I still do. On top of that I just took a cancellation for the very next day, Thursday May the 30th. So this coming week I have both Wednesday & Thursday available should anyone be interested. Fishing is very good. Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Walleye

Where: Good fishing was reported in 10-40 feet of water off the Gold Coast in Lakewood, in 40-55 feet of water north-northwest of Geneva, and in 30-50 feet of water northwest of Ashtabula.
How: Walleye have been caught by trolling crankbaits or worm harnesses, as well as casting and drifting weight forward spinners. Good colors to try are chrome, blue, chartreuse and red. Anglers fishing from shore are catch fish off the piers in Cleveland using spinners and stick baits.

Yellow Perch

Where: There were a few reports of anglers catching fish in 30-32 feet feet of water off the Chagrin River.
How: Anglers are fishing from the bottom to 3-5 cranks above the bottom. Try different depths near the bottom until you locate the fish. Use minnows on spreaders.

Smallmouth Bass

Where: Very good fishing was reported in 10-20 feet of water around harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Ashtabula and Conneaut.
How: Anglers are using crank baits, tube jigs, and drop shot rigs tipped with night crawlers.

We eventually worked our way back to our dock at River Marine only to be shocked by how high the water level is this year! Without me sounding too dramatic, this is right from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers website: “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that the water level of both Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair has reached a record high for the month of May. The water level of Lake Erie rose 10" in the last month. The lake is 7" higher than one year ago and is now 27" higher than the May average. The level is now 1" higher than the previous record high level set in 1986. Erie PA is 2.63" above average precipitation since Jan. 1. and Toledo OH is +2.87" for the year”. That’s a lot of water and the lake is not done rising yet! Predictions are for the lake to reach peak heights this year only at the end of June before starting the seasonal drop over the summer months due to evaporation and no more snow run offs up on the upper lakes and waterways. It is said the lake could rise yet another 6 inches or more before this starts to happen! YIKES!

The first couple of weeks of May wasn't very conducive for charter fishing and I didn’t even push the issue even though I had about half a dozen groups or so on stand by that said that they would come if the weather and fishing was good. The weather certainly was not favorable! Finally we broke the seal and got our first trip in last weekend. We landed 12 Walleyes and had about another 5 or 6 others come off shortly after the pull back. All in all a fun day and it felt good to be back in the saddle again. The second trip of the year, and the third trip of the year and the fourth trip of the year, LIMITS! LIMITS! LIMITS! baby! It didn’t take us long to get back into our winning ways and pick right back up where we left off last season. A sure great sign of things to come! The rest of this past weekend was FINALLY very summer like as well and the fishing was on fire for us aboard THE TROPHY!

Techniques are the usual early season near shore methods that have worked for me in the past 32 years. Planer boards with Jet Divers and Dipsy Divers set very shallow using little Stinger Scorpion spoons. I personally am not buying into all the hype of all the new crank baits that seemingly come out every year and that most early season Walleye fisherman seem to be dragging around anymore. And the recent rage of all the expensive custom painted bait colors to boot cracks me up too! When I know fishing is going to be tough, when I go to my box of lures, I pick out the most banged up, beat up, scratched veteran's that I can find! Many hardly with a shred of paint left on them! True veterans that have been around and around and have been hit many hundreds, possibly thousands of times in previous seasons. Lures that for whatever reason have the exact wobble and action that a Walleye simply can not resist! I mean, think about it. With the game on the line, do you want a flashy young Johnny Manziel in there playing for you or a seasoned proven rough and tough old Brett Favre? Lol, well that’s kinda how I feel about the whole situation! By the way, did I mention that I am a creature of habit? There's a thing or two to be said about being habitually repetitious! Haha! OK, that’s about it for episode one here for this week. I should have much more material related to daily fishing trips after this coming week. Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
*We are already into the thick of our schedule but I do have Wednesday May the 29th which is still open. Anyone interested can call me anytime 24/7 at (216)387-2656

Trophy Charters

Lake Erie

New for 2019:
A Lake Erie fishing permit is required for nonresidents from January 1 to April 30 when fishing Lake Erie and areas immediately upstream in creeks, rivers, and tributaries.

Walleye
Where: The open water season is coming to a close. Ramps and harbors in the western basin beginning to form significant ice, though the main lake remains open. A few brave anglers will continue to search out open water, but it is not advised.
How: Anglers have been trolling deep diving crankbaits 80 to 100 feet back at speeds of 1.0 to 1.4 mph unassisted, or adding snap weights up to 2 oz. 40 feet back to get down to the fish. Anglers have also reported success jigging lipless crankbaits and spoons tipped with shiners, like ice fishing presentations.

Yellow Perch
Where: Fishing effort for yellow perch has been low, but some anglers are still targeting and catching fish near harbor mouths in the Cleveland area.
How: Perch spreaders with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.

Steelhead Trout
Where: Good fishing reported from anglers trolling inside the Fairport Harbor break wall and inside the Conneaut break wall. Anglers fishing from shore are catching fish off the Edgewater, Gordon Park, Fairport Harbor, and Painesville Township piers, and the Fairport Harbor break wall.
How: The best baits have been small spoons and crankbaits for anglers trolling fishing from boats, and jigs tipped with maggots fished under a bobber or small spoons for anglers fishing from shore.

Before we get too carried away with things to come, lets revisit one final time the season that we just had aboard THE TROPHY. 2018 started out a little slower then we would have liked. After a particularly cold and nasty March & April, last May saw water temperatures lagging well below normal along with lousy water clarity. We struggled to catch around a dozen or so fish a trip. On the plus side they however were much bigger on average then the fish that would come the rest of the year. Still, I just couldn't understand it. The year before, May of 2017 it was just about as fast as we could go the whole month. Problem was, most were not quite legal sized. Last May I was expecting the same exact thing. Fast as you could go, just expecting all nice legal sized fish. It didn't happen. BUT then the first week of June last year we got hit with a big wind event that lasted two days. After having cold easterly and northerly winds most all of May, we got hammered with stiff westerly gales dead out of the west for 48 hours straight. Although I lost a couple of trips due to the wind, it was exactly what we needed! When everybody got back out there, water temperatures had jumped 7-8 degrees higher and it had blown a massive school of Walleyes down our way as well!

We went from working very hard and having long full days, something I had all of May to suddenly out of control and stupid fast! And all nice legal sized 17 to 19 inch fish like I was expecting. And it remained that way the rest of the year from early June when the big schools arrived till I pulled the boat in October. Every charter I ran, and I mean EVERY charter the rest of the year, we limited out easily no matter how many people we had on the boat or the conditions that we were dealt. 4 guys, 5 guys, 6... it just didn't matter. In fact if the weather cooperated, most days we caught full boat limits including me catching my fish! I kept a few fish for dinner here and there but most were given to add to the crews catch. Something we haven't been able to do in a very long time. But when they are coming that good every day and there are so many fish in the lake, I figured what's the harm? I think most of my guys really appreciated it and knew that I was going well above and beyond of what was expected of me. Hey, I like to fish too! So if we have a normal spring this year for a change unlike last year, we should and I say SHOULD be able to pick up in early May right where we left off here in October. I just can't wait to find out! Regardless, there will be plenty of fish to be caught and sometimes there's nothing wrong with having a "long, full day" out on the lake. Especially when you are catching some of the biggest Walleyes of the year!

There isn't a whole lot new planned for myself this season. Everyone really enjoyed last years upgrades and additions especially the overhead new 18 and 1/2 inch tablet that we incorporated into THE TROPHY's already incredible sound system. Using hi tech Wi-Fi & Bluetooth, we literally had a infinite music library and a virtual juke box onboard! We had HD music videos going on all the time as my guests all called out their favorite songs and artists. It got to the point where I didn't know whether I was a fishing guide or a frigging disk jockey! Ha! We had countless games of "name that tune" or "name that singer". We even had a little karaoke going on at times! Some pretty darn good, some rather painful! Lol! All the time while the Walleyes were biting in the back of the boat like CRAZY! Talk about having fun! And the party didn't end when we hit the dock. There was always the "after party" dockside! Also the brilliant new blue underwater stern lights were a lot of fun to see and made leaving in the early pre morning darkness a whole lot cooler as were a few of the other goodies that we added on last year. I do have a couple of neat ideas planned for the boat for this year, but as always you will have to come out and fish with me to find out exactly what! Haha! OK we've freshened up the trophycharters.com website just a little bit and we also have a new brochure out for this year as well. If you are not on our mailing list and do not receive a brochure here in early January, let me know and I would be more than happy to mail one out to you along with our mid winter newsletter. Also, for those of you that have tentative trips penciled in with us or somebody who would like a trip, now is the time to confirm those trips or inquire about a date. With the word getting out about how great the fishing is nowadays, dates go very fast. So that's about it. We've made it this far through the off-season. Everybody stay warm and remain safe the rest of the winter and just keep thinking FISHING! See everybody soon!

Capt. Walt

*A quick note. This past fall we had a server software glitch issue through our hosting site come up which added some strange gibberish to all our fishing report text. Disturbing to me was that it also affected all our past archived fishing reports. This has since been resolved. Thank you Ron at fishlakeerie.com for the fix!

Someone else that I don’t think I thank nearly enough is my lovely wife Joyce. Many of you have met her on the weekends as she has first mated for me here the last handful of years or so now to give me a little break from running solo everyday. Although she herself has a full time job Monday through Friday, she graciously comes out on the weekends and works very hard along side of me to help all of our guests have the most enjoyable, successful trip possible. She is a real people person. Bubbly and always smiling! This year with the extreme fast pace of fishing that we all experienced and enjoyed I sure did appreciate having some additional help at least on the weekends. It was CRAZY out there! And long after everyone has left, on the weekends Joyce is busy scrubbing the boat, doing the windows or doing whatever else that needs to be done or that I would happen to ask of her. Many months before the boat even ever hits the water each spring she works very hard right along side of me getting everything done to the boat that needs to be done each year. So much cleaning and countless coats of wax that she has done over the many years. THE TROPHY truly stands tall when she first hits the water each and every year! For all of your help and time Joyce I say THANK YOU and I love you! We make a great team out there!

The fishing this year has been beyond tremendous. This past week again was no exception. Once again we lost a few a few days due to bad weather as I feared in my last report but the days that we got out the Walleye fishing has been nothing short of ON FIRE! Nothing seems to change this year. Day after day the massive schools of fish are still out there and seemingly going nowhere. Everywhere we go seems like too. And they are so aggressive and willing to hit most anything. The bulk of the fish are the 3 year olds that I have been writing and talking about now for a long time. Hatched in the spring of 2015. The ones that were mostly all under size last year and we were throwing back by the hundreds each week. I kept saying last year to everyone, “wait till next year!” And this year, sure enough they grew into nice keeper sized Walleyes. Fast and furious with rarely a throw back. Just so many mature Walleyes in the lake right now. And just when you think there is no way, no how it can get any better... The states Division of Wildlife officials have just officially announced that this springs Walleye hatch is the second highest, most successful hatch that has ever been recorded! WHAT!!! We have sooooo many Walleyes already now in the lake and we have yet another record crop of Walleyes coming? Are you kidding me! I can not begin to imagine what the fishing will be like if we get anything close to what we already have out there which in itself would easily carry this lake for the next 10 plus years. Many of my more local groups know about the spillway in Linesville, PA on Pymatuning lake where the Carp are so thick that the ducks literally walk on the fish. That’s my vision of Lake Erie and the Walleyes here in a couple of years! Ha!

So this year is about a wrap now. As I mentioned before in a report or so back, this will be my final fishing report for the 2018 season no matter what. As I also mentioned I do plan on leaving the boat in the water for another 2-3 weeks however. I don’t have much for trips booked so if anybody wants a late season fishing trip as long as these Walleyes hang around here, I am willing to give it a shot. There are plenty of days to choose from as well. If not, I am very satisfied with how things went for me this year. It was another great year business wise. I truly am LIVING THE DREAM at RIVER MARINE, the summer home of THE TROPHY. It was really a fun place to be this year. Lots of exuberant and happy people all hanging around waiting to have their catches cleaned at the end of the trip. Or what I like to call, the after party! Ha! We sure had some good times! OK, there is one final group of people that I didn’t mention but that I would like to thank before signing off. It’s all of you that have followed along each week here with my little blogs. My faithful readers. I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading them nearly as much as I have enjoyed telling my story each week. So until we meet again next year whether it be on the water or in print, I wish everyone a very safe, warm and healthy offseason. And Happy Holidays too! Cya in 2019!

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

This past week right up till Friday was picture perfect weather wise also helping to make fishing easy for us. And the fish are still out here in unprecedented numbers. That really helps! Lol! Although there are some Walleye everywhere, when you get into the thick of the juggler vein of the mother load school it’s plain stupid how fast the fishing has been. Even now, the end of September when in years past Walleye fishing was getting tough because the schools had already started to migrate back out of the area. But even if the fish are on the move now, the schools are so vast that as they move out of the area others by the millions I am assuming are coming through as well making it appear seamlessly that the fish are going nowhere. Whatever the case may be, there's still plenty of fish out there and they are really putting on the feed bag for the fall and winter months. They are so much nicer then the ones on average that we were catching early on in June when they finally turned on for us (or arrived, whatever the case may be). Nice plump good eaters! I mentioned earlier right up to Friday we had great weather. Friday & Saturday, not so much as we had yet another two days of 30 mph winds which shut the fishing down once again for another 2 days. Seems like for the last month or so we can’t get through a single week without a couple days of serious show stopping winds. Ugh!

Aboard THE TROPHY we are basically only fishing six Dipsy Diver rods every day that we do get out. And we can barely keep up with those! We have not put the planer boards out in well over a month now. NEVER in all of the years that I’ve been chartering have we ever attempted to run any trips with such limited amount of rods! By mid summer I was blown away with the fact that we didn’t have to run wire line rods off the planer boards. Now we don’t even run planer boards period! The Dipsys are soooooo very nice! Easy in and quickly right back out. None of that running the wire line and crank bait out 350 feet, hooking it up to a release and then running it out yet another 150 feet off to the side of the boat out to the planer. I haven’t had one guest this latter part of summer tell me, “gee we really miss cranking these fish back in from 500 some feet back!” Ha! And the same spoons that I put on there early on in the season, well their still on there. Over a hundred days straight now. Same exact 6 spoons on the same exact Dipsys. No need to change lures or colors or anything. These guys (and I still hear it everyday unbelievably) that say they only could get them on this color today or that they were really picking out this one particular color, well it just plain cracks me up! I probably own and with no exaggeration, well over several thousand Walleye lures and I use the same exact 6 spoons every day! Go figure.

So this is just about the end of the line for me. Next weeks fishing report will be my final report for this year. It will be the end of the month and for all practical purposes, the end of my season. Although I plan on keeping the boat in the water perhaps another couple of weeks if the weather holds, I am just about out of trips so there will be no further fishing reports. If anybody wants to take a chance on a late season Walleye charter with me though, I have plenty of dates available the first couple of weeks of October to choose from. I don’t even need much notice. If you see that the weathers going to be nice for a few days, give me a call and come up and get one more load for the old freezer! I am pretty sure that there will still be plenty of Walleyes around. Late season is always pretty sweet. There is practically no other boats out there and the quality of the fish is as good as it has been all season. And if not, I’ve had a good run at them. No complaints. OK, this coming week which is my last big hurrah appears like its going to be a real roller coaster with the wind forecast out on the lake. Not sure what's going to happen at this point. I sure hope they are wrong or we may do more sitting then fishing this coming week. We’ll have to see how it all plays out and as always, it is what it is. Till next week for one final time...

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

The actual forecast was for 1 to 3 footers going to 1 ft. or less. That’s the only reason we pushed on. Had they called for that kind of water all day or for it to get even worst, it would have been a 4 day loss for me because I would have certainly spun it around and just come back in. But we hung tough and hung our hats on the fact that it just had to get better with such light winds and waves predicted and so we pushed on. At a snails pace of about 8 mph it took us almost 2 hours to get out to 15 miles! A long bouncy, gas guzzling boat ride. As we arrived to where I thought that I should be fishing I was thankful to see that the waves had at least taken on a more clear direction or as its known in mariner terms, taken on a “fetch’'. It was also obvious that the wind was dropping off dramatically. It was going to be a good day after all! But what was the fishing going to be like after a major blow like that?

We squared off with the wind and waves and set up a south east troll towards home. Any concerns about tougher fishing was quickly squelched. Running only Dipsy Divers because the lake was still quite lumpy and because before the blow that’s all we could keep up with, we managed to get 4 Dipsys out and immediately had a triple on! 3 nice fat Walleyes! And from there it was game on! Doubles and triples ruled the day or should I say the next hour or so! Lol! It literally took us longer to get out to the fishing grounds then it did to catch 30 Walleyes! The only problem with limiting out that quick is with me aiming for home, we sure didn’t bite back much real estate trolling and once we boated the last Walleye we still had a long boat ride back home again. But it was in the right direction and the lake was getting nicer by the moment. By the time we got back to the harbor the lake was gorgeous and that was just the beginning of a great weather week up here for a change and another fabulous week of easy limit catches. The big blow changed nothing at all. If anything, they seemed even hungrier! Ha!

So my string of perfect limit days is still intact! That is over 3 months of solid fishing now. No matter what the conditions or the size of crew. And I dare say without sounding too cocky, pretty darn easy limits at that! Simply amazing. We are now in the late stage of our Walleye fishing season up this way where in years past things usually start dropping off in the Walleye department dramatically. But there is no sign that things are going to change for the worst anytime soon this year. There are just so many Walleyes out there it’s plain crazy! Not even a hard 3 day blow could slow things down for us. As we enter this coming week we once again have the remnants of another hurricane creeping our way. But unlike with hurricane Gordon that met up with a series of low pressure systems over the great lakes and created a wrap around effect which gave us a hard north east blow for multiple days, hurricane Florence looks to just peter out by the time it reaches us. Maybe just a little rain. I see nothing to be overly concerned about this time around. We shall see. One thing is becoming abundantly clear however. It all makes no difference with these Walleyes this year and the dream season that we are all experiencing. It will truly be sad when the time comes to hang it up for this year. Maybe I should start thinking about and really start pushing some October Walleye charters yet this year! Hint, hint, hint!

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

Thanks to the remnants of last weekends Hurricane Gordon sweeping up the Ohio Valley and colliding with several low pressure systems sitting over the great lakes regions we now have a stalled system of rain and high winds pounding the Ashtabula area. Small craft warnings went into effect early Saturday morning only to be replaced with gale warnings on Sunday. Wind and rain is supposed to linger well into Monday before diminishing very late in the day. It remains to be seen what this will do to our Walleye fishing. We have not had a 3 day blow this entire summer. Just a lost day here and there. Certainly not one with such associated low pressure and major rains. Earlier in the summer it may not have been such a big deal. But once you get into late summer like this there is always the danger after a big weather system of the lake “turning over” also known as “flipping”. That’s where the warmer water in the upper part of the water column sinks to the bottom and the cold dead water rises. This homogenizing of water is very hard on the fish. Many smaller, weaker fish often die. The whole lake can take on a stench that is not all that pleasant. And it can really mess up the hottest of bites till things begin to normalize again!

I myself am going to out on a limb and predict that it’s not going to hurt us all that much no matter what. There is just such a massive block of Walleyes out there this year, hundreds upon hundreds of millions of fish in so many parts of the water column that the lake can be stirred up all it wants I think, there's really nowhere for that many fish too go. They are literally thick as fleas out there! They might be in a bit of a negative mood for a day or so but I think we will be just fine. I remember in contrast past Septembers over the years where we were targeting more isolated schools of fish where when we got back out there after a big blow like this it was a whole new world. The fish were just flat gone! I remember also past Septembers where after a big blow where the lake flipped it would either drive the fish way deep or way high in the water. There's a lot of factors that causes this. Oxygen levels in the water, water temperatures, impact on baitfish and who knows what all else. Who knows, we might actually have to go back to fishing and figuring them back out for a few days this week as opposed to just going out each day harvesting and easy “berry picking” like it’s been! Ha!

So THE TROPHY gets a 3 day unplanned and unwanted vacation. Just ahead of a really long off season which now lumbers on the not so far horizon. About 3 full weeks of fishing is all I have left to go now. I’ll probably wrap up the fishing reports here the end of this month even though I plan on keeping the boat in the water for a week or so into October. Maybe longer. That's all depending on upcoming weather and if I get any interest in some October Walleye trips. WE WILL BE DOING NO PERCH TRIPS THIS FALL. Perch reports have been just way too bleak and too hit and miss to bring all the equipment up and set the boat up just for Perch. Not when you can easily go out and get a load of Walleyes each day. That was the case well into October last year. My how things have shifted over the years! For now, we need to get this nasty weather system out of here and get back out there and hopefully keep this dream season going. Oh yeah, did I happen to mention my string of perfect limits leading up to this weather setting in? Lol! Still intact, well at least it was. We’ll see what happens when we pick back up on Tuesday. Stay tuned!

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

We fished. Mondays heat was ushered in with strong southwesterly winds. The kind of wind that suckers you into fishing because the first few miles out don’t seem “all that bad” We fished, we limited but boy when it came time to come home after trolling out with the wind and the waves it was a “Oh $**t moment”! Or should I say 90 minutes! What a horrible ride home again. Next day, same thing but even worst! Strong hot gusty southerly winds. Monday very few boats went. Tuesday, nobody else went out of Ashtabula Harbor that I know of besides us. Reluctantly, we stuck our noses out there again starting very short and then trolled northeast with the nasty swells and frothy whipping white caps. Once again fishing wasn’t the issue of the day as the Walleyes still did their thing. Interestingly enough, starting way shallow the first 3 fish that hit the fish box were big Steelheads! I got no pictures however because we were busy holding on for dear life!

Wednesday, same thing. I finally succumbed to the once again strong southwest wind and just outright cancelled my trip. How many beatings in a row can one man take? Again I don’t think anyone fished that day including me. It felt good to have the day off even though I know I could have probably got it in because it wasn’t any rougher I don’t think then the previous 2 days. Thursday, relief! Well sort of. Overnight a strong cold front dropped thru and drove out the heat, humidity and haziness that had plagued the area for days. But again at a cost. Strong northerly winds. But with a fresh days rest we put back on our big boy pants and headed north towards Canada in the 4 ft. seas. After about a 2 hour boat ride north we spun it around and set up a troll for home. We didn’t make it very far back south though before we had a boat limit of very nice plump Walleyes. It was again about as good as it gets! Friday was the real gem of the week. Finally a knock out gorgeous day! Light winds, low humidity and very comfortable temperatures. Knowing how good we did the day before way north and me having a very full boat for the day and needing lots of fish, I didn’t think twice about just cranking it way out again. And the fishing was fabulous as featured here in my lead off picture top of the page. Great weather, a great crew and super GREAT fishing!

So this past weeks winds are behind us as is the whole month of August now. I for one am more then happy to put that puppy to bed. Hopefully September will be much kinder to all of us. Fishing is still more then amazing. I covered so much different water with all the different wind conditions and directions that I had to deal with this past week. It mattered little. No matter where we went, where we set up the Walleye fishing was simply on fire. Its just amazing out there! Hopefully next weeks fishing report won’t look so much like a blog from a storm chaser on the Weather Channel! Ha! Frankly I get tired writing about it but not nearly as much as I get tired of fishing in all of that crap. But this sport revolves so heavily around the weather that talking about it is a big part of our story line. If anything though, writing this heavily weather related report up this week was a bit of a change from what I’ve been mostly reporting and writing about week after week after week now this year. The unbelievable, fantastic, super, awesome, incredible Walleye fishing that’s been taking place out of Ashtabula Harbor! Hopefully it holds up for another 4 weeks. That’s about all I have left now. Happy Labor Day everyone!

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

Even the big winds and big waves have done little to slow down the incredible Walleye fishing that has been taking place this summer however. I remember in years past sometimes after a big blow like this it would take up to 3 days for things to return to normal. But not this time. Not this year. With the 1st day back out there and the 1st rod that we put in the water it was game back on like nothing ever happened! I honestly think if you could have been on a freighter Wednesday and somehow managed to go slow enough you could have pulled Dipsy Divers and caught limits of Walleyes in the 7 to 9 ft. waves that they called for out there and in reality probably even bigger that day! Just so many hungry Walleyes out there this year!

If the big blow on Wednesday did anything, I think it actually moved some of the fish back in closer! On Thursday and Friday both it seemed like the very best action was back to under the 10 mile mark. A welcome change after hanging out around 15 miles out. 5 miles may not sound like much but if its on top of going out 10 miles already, that’s a huge savings for us! Usually in September the fish start moving back in anyway. And even though we are only days away from September now, perhaps this past weeks blow will jump start the move of the fish back towards the south shore. Maybe even back as close in as they were for the longest time the last couple of months. That sure would cap off a already great year! We’ll see! Otherwise, nothing much else has changed. The bulk of the fish are still deeper as they have been now for a few weeks but there are so many fish out there that you can still get more then enough fish on the shallower sets as well. Aboard THE TROPHY we are still wire line free. I have never fished in August and not trolled wire fishing line. But between our Dipsy Divers and still the Jet Diver braid rods we have been able to easily still catch our limits each day. If we can catch fish on 150 ft. leads, you would have to be silly or a glutton for punishment to want to put out the 300 to 400 ft. of wire line! Yet there are a lot of guys doing it now. I say, have at it! Lol!

So this coming week is the last week of August. Next weekend is September already. My final month of chartering pretty much. It will pass quickly. As did August. As did this whole summer. It still remains to be seen if we can ride this tremendous high that we are on all the way to our final few charters. There is no sign that Perch fishing is going to be any good this fall. The few people that keep trying are failing miserably so it looks like we will probably be Walleye fishing right to the bitter end. That's OK by me I guess. Especially if the Walleyes move way back in again. It will be interesting to see how the end really does play out. Sadly for me the end for this year is plainly in site now.

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

As I touched upon in last weeks report, it’s a whole lot more difficult getting out to the fish now and fishing in the bigger seas offshore has been challenging too. This past week was no exception. It was rough every friggin day! Even the days that it wasn’t supposed to be. A lot of days it wasn’t near shore. But by the time we got out to where we needed to be, it was rolling big time. Man does that get old in a hurry when you beat your way out, fish in rough water and then beat your way home only to wake up the next day to find similar conditions and the next day and again the next day... well, you get the idea. But the saving grace has been that once you get out there, the fishing has been absolutely FABULOUS!

And in any direction, anywhere out there. You just have to be far enough north. Aboard THE TROPHY this past week we had several days where I think we had more time involved in traveling to and back from the fishing grounds then we had in actual fishing time before limiting the boat out! The Walleyes out there are super stacked and eagerly hitting anything we offer them. A lot of the other charters have switched over to deep water wire line trolling now but personally I see no reason to switch anything yet. We are still doing well with the #40 Jets and spoons along with the Dipsy Divers which have been smoking hot. My streak of perfect limit days is still intact! The grade of fish has not changed way offshore but the “eater” sized Walleyes do appear to be getting plumper with each passing day. As I mentioned in last weeks report, these fish are still eating extremely good. I had some Walleyes puking up Smelt this past week and not just the numerous Shad as the week before. I think they are like a little vacuum cleaner down there. Just whatever they can get their mouths on!

OK, last week we had some issues with our pictures for a couple of days that normally accompany my fishing report. They finally did appear for those that might have missed them. As always, all of my reports are archived and it’s easy to go back and read or re-visit any report that you might have missed. Normally the pictures usually lag for a few hours anyway before popping up with the text the way we have things set up on my end. That’s why I tell everyone to just check the reports on Monday when it’s a safer bet that they should be up. They weren't this past week till Tuesday and for that I apologize. Without spending much money on redoing the format and the way that we post our reports, I guess we’re going to have to put up with the occasional lag in pictures appearing with the text from time to time. Hopefully this week things go smoother! So this week we enter the second to last week of the month. I am not liking the wind forecasts that I am seeing right now for mid week. We’ll see how it all plays out. It’s been a beating the last couple of weeks. I don’t think we can handle much more wind then has already been thrown at us this month. Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

And besides the obvious much higher fuel consumptions and the longer traveling times involved, comes the hardships of dealing with big water offshore fishing. It’s another world out there. The water is so often so much rougher that far out! In closer to shore, any wind with some south on it be it southeast, south, or southwest is very manageable. When you get out that far, it just don’t matter. Waves are violently much bigger whenever the wind blows. And I believe the waves in general are always so much bigger offshore no matter what direction the wind is from. This is the water where you really appreciate a much larger sea worthy vessel. I was very appreciative of my 30 ft. Cherokee Sport Fisherman this past week. Being that far out we had several days this past week that were downright nasty. Yet we fished comfortably and safely through it all and as we have done now all along since early June, we limited out easily each day keeping my unreal streak of perfect limits for my guests still intact!

I think a new huge batch of Shad baitfish has arrived offshore and the Walleye are in hot pursuit gorging themselves like kids in a candy shop! All the Walleyes this past week that we were catching aboard THE TROPHY out there have been puking up handfuls of very fresh and some really good sized Shad. No longer am I seeing the tiny minnows, Emerald Shiners and Smelt that they were spitting up closer to shore. I don’t recall in past years seeing this many Shad like this coming out of the Walleyes as we net them. Smelt, yes at times but not consistent fresh Shads out of so many fish. They are definitely eating good right now and consequently must be growing and putting on fat for the winter months like crazy. Even though the fish are further out now and also deeper at the same time, there is still a feeding frenzy going on each day that is unprecedented. And I thought they were eating good last month! I am so happy that there appears to be enough food out there to sustain this incredibly huge school of Walleyes that we are so very blessed with now.

So we are approaching the mid point of August this week. The game has changed now with the fish really only being where they are supposed to be at this time of year. We were very fortunate to have them that close to shore for so long this summer. They should start moving back in next month and in October again but who really knows what's in the cards this year. It’s like a completely different lake this year. What we did in past years and where really hasn’t applied a whole lot this year. Here we are in mid August and I have yet to use any wire line which is my specialty! Unheard of. The Jet Divers are still producing very well and Dipsy Divers are simply smoking hot. Just with a little longer leads. All Spoons have been the ticket for me thus far this summer. Other then using them in the shallows back in May, I have felt no need to pull any crank baits this summer. I keep waiting for things to drastically change and the bottom to fall out on us but it just never does. I guess the huge schools of hungry Walleye out there right now is so forgiving that you really don’t have to have anything particular really dialed in. Somebody pinch me...

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

The weather was just average typical Lake Erie this past week. Nothing to write home about and nothing to really complain about. We had a couple of really nice days, a couple of choppy days and a couple days that some would consider quite rough. But we managed to fish through it all and with results that I have already covered here in the previous paragraph. There was a lot of thunderstorms in the area earlier in the week as well but they either skirted around us or passed through much later in the day when most everybody was already limited out. Sometimes the ball does bounce your way.

I do feel that things are on the verge of changing out there however. Although we have yet to switch over to any really deep trolling programs yet, the fish appear on the fish finders to be much deeper now and with each passing day and they appear to be creeping northward as well. They have done that numerous times already this summer only to turn around and move right back in on us again. We’ll see but somehow I get a gut feeling that it’s not going to happen this time and we’re going to be putting on some miles this month. We have all been spoiled for so long now. Also, the crazy insane pace that we were catching the fish most all of this summer has seemed to settle down to “just” a good pick. Imagine that! Complaining that they are coming “just” good instead of crazy out of control and on fire fast! Lol!

So we have not only flipped the page to August, we’re already practically a week deep in now. The downward slide of this season. As I listen to my guests talk on the boat about their kids soon going back to school and seeing commercials on TV for school supplies, it all reminds me of how fast it is all slipping away. And my body is starting to tell me that as well. Although the days on average have been much shorter this summer, it’s the routine that wears you down. I can’t remember the last time now where my alarm clock hasn’t gone off at 3:00am. Get ready each morning for my day, head down to the boat way ahead of when my guests are scheduled to arrive. Carry heavy coolers of ice back and fourth to the boat. Rig everything up. Then fish in all kinds of lake conditions that in itself will wear you down whether you bang your fish out in a short 4 hours or you’re out there the full 8 hours. I’m starting to feel it pretty good now. That worn down feeling. The thoughts of now possibly having to start beating our way well offshore each day is not really impressing me either. But as always, I will continue to do my very best to offer all of my upcoming guests the very best trip that I can. No matter how far we have to run or how tired my old back is feeling. It’s what we do.

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

To understand how the fishing can be so very good this year one only has to go back and revisit some of my past reports from last season. That’s exactly what I did and this one entry that I had wrote last summer caught my eye and reminded me of the struggles that we went through last year to get to where we are today. Last June I wrote in one particular report: “Working very hard with what we have to work with! It was another very tough week of weeding through hundreds and hundreds of undersize Walleyes to come up with some that we could send home for our fishing guests this past week. It does not seem to matter how close to shore you fish or how far out you are. The young fish are everywhere. And anywhere from the surface clear to the bottom. All parts of the water column.” And this year those same exact fish are all back. And as I wrote last year, they are everywhere. Except this year they have all grown into nice eating size keepers. Almost everything that comes across the back of the boat goes straight into the fish box without even having to measure them. Just hit the counter!

The hand writing was on the wall last season. All we had to do is wait for these fish to grow up just a little more. And that they have. Which leads me to daydream about next year already. I can hardly contain my excitement thinking about how much nicer in size all these Walleyes are going to be next year and all the years to come thereafter! This past week we were fortunate enough to capture a few of the older much larger fish that are still swimming around out there just not in great numbers. One can only imagine all the “eaters” that we are catching this summer one day being all this size! It’s going to be INSANE! But for now we are going to have to be content catching these great eating size Walleyes and be happy that we are not going through the exhausting pace that we went through last summer only to have to throw most everything that we caught back.

So in a couple of days now it will be August already. As I predicted July was nothing short of a blur. By now we should be making long grueling rides out to the off shore fishing grounds. Yet, we turn the corner each day shortly after splitting the harbor gap and immediately proceed to fish with the Walleyes seemingly just everywhere and instantly hitting most anything you throw at them. Unbelievably we are all still using the same easy shallow water set ups that we were using nearly 2 months ago now. The same exact lures, the same line counts, the same everything. I don’t know how many times in one report or in one seasons reports I can use the word unbelievable but I am sure that I am not done saying that yet. Because it is all so very UNBELIEVABLE! See you all in August...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

After a beautiful but hot day on Monday, we awoke to a cold front or maybe I should just say a cool front on Tuesday. Winds were brisk and dead out of the north. It brought much needed relief from the heat and humidity that had set up once again last weekend on into Monday. So with the north wind I decided to take it out further then I have been at any time this summer. More out of curiosity then out of need. It took a while in the 3 foot seas to punch our way out there but I steered THE TROPHY due north and did not flip it around till we were exactly 10 miles out. I had almost forgotten how neat it is to be that far off shore. Far away from all the crazy boat traffic and pressure that the near shore and in front of the harbor area is receiving this summer ever since the word got out about the crazy easy fishing in close. But it mattered little. We opened up in fish good and never went more then a few minutes between bites as we trolled straight back towards home. It almost took as long to get out there as it did for us to get a boat limit of Walleyes!

Wednesday we headed out once again on a even choppier lake with the waves running about 4 footers but still dead out of the north. So like déjà vu, we cranked it straight out once again but this time just for fun I went several miles even further north then we went the day before. And guess what? ON FIRE! We again opened up heavy in Walleyes and by the time we finished up trolling homeward dead south, we were still miles north of the furthest point north that we had gotten in recent weeks of fishing the closer to home waters. It is simply mind boggling how many Walleye must be out there in the lake right now! Even out there the same exact trolling programs and line counts worked. The fish are very high and super aggressively feeding. Even those off shore fish are loaded up with tiny minnows. As we net and swing the fish over the stern they are spewing minnows everywhere. Amongst all the many things that are happening this summer out there that I have never seen before, you can add to that list that I have never seen that many Walleyes that full of so many tiny, tiny minnows!

So earlier in the week, Monday I think it was I rounded the break wall and shortly proceeded to put out all our gear. Somehow, someway we managed to get all the rods out and I was actually able to get back up to the helm and get a swig of my coffee. Something that on most days I don’t get to do from the moment I throttle down till we are done trolling. As I stood there sipping my coffee I was thinking, oh crap I started way too close. That thought had hardly entered my mind when all 10 rods took a hit at the same time! A 10 banger! In disbelief I thought “Oh ****” But with a little leadership and some frantic coaching from me, we landed all 10 Walleyes. 10 for 10 all in one shot! Lol! The picture above is what it looks like on my boat when the Walleyes wipe out all the rods at once. Quite chaotic, lol! I can’t help to think back how many days in the 32 years of chartering that I have had days where it took me all day JUST to catch 10 Walleyes. I have to shake my head. It will be fascinating to see how the rest of this season plays out. As August draws nearer, August is traditionally our very most productive month. If the fishing gets any better, I’m going to have to start taking sedatives!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Speaking of eating, these Walleyes that we are catching now are gorging themselves on anything that swims out there big time! There for a long time these 3 year olds didn’t seem to have anything in their stomachs. I was actually getting concerned whether a school of fish this massive could all find enough forage fish to eat each day. That at the risk of them literally getting “stunted” out there. This is not all that uncommon when it comes to overpopulated bodies of water with very dense particular fish species and not enough food for them all to eat. A perfect example would be a farm pond with way too many Blue Gills or even Pymatuning Lake where all the Walleyes looked like “hammer handles” at one time because there was just so many of them. Where for many years the bulk of these fish were hung up right around the 14” inch sub legal mark. They just didn’t seem to grow at all. But on Erie? One wouldn’t seem to think that was at all possible.

But all those worries at least for the time being are being put to rest. These younger Walleyes right now are coughing up, spitting and puking fresh and partially digested bait fish up by the handfuls like crazy! They are loaded! Many that we caught this past week actually still had live shiners in them that were still kicking yet the Walleyes were hitting our lures! Just nuts! Can you say feeding frenzy? No wonder the Walleye fishing is on fire right now. I’m not sure if many of the bait species have just hatched out and are finally achieving edible size for these Walleyes right now or that the water temps which are now running around 75 degrees have these fish’s metabolism in high gear and they are just eating machines eating everything and anything possible. I have already seen tiny Smelt in these Walleyes, big Emerald Shiners and what I believe to be tiny, tiny Shad that must have just recently hatched out. Whatever it is, these fish are capitalizing on it and man are they making a big mess of my boat each morning as we net them! Lol!

So now we are at the mid point of this month already. The 4th of July holiday has come and gone. And as I predicted, this summer and the fishing season in general is screaming us by. Everything to me is very weird and surreal this summer. It’s almost like we are living in the movie “Ground Hog Day”. The weather each day is very similar to the day before and shaping up to be one of our nicer summers here in a long time. The fish aren't moving anywhere and just staying in close to shore day after day. We are still using the same early season Jet Diver presentation program that we have used for well over two months now with the fish staying very high in the water column. Limits have been automatic. Eat, sleep and repeat. Everyday day. Day in, day out. Over and over and over! And I just plain LOVE IT! I like everyone else do wish that these fish were just a tad bit bigger but on the other hand I know in my heart that those days are coming back to the lake and maybe even sooner then later if they keep eating like they are eating out there right now. I think that in the coming weeks you're going to literally be able to see a noticeable difference take place right in front of your eyes. Oh, and did I mention that “Ground Hog Day” was one of my favorite movies ever? Just surreal...

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

Relief arrived by weeks end when on Friday a strong cold front arrived in the wee hours of the morning ushering in much more comfortable temperatures and much more humane humidity levels. All at the cost of another lost day for the whole charter fleet in Ashtabula. I went down to the dock to meet my group for a pre arranged 5am departure only to be met by stiff northerly winds sustained at 24 mph out of the north with gusts to 28 mph. Ugh. With the flags across the river standing straight out stiff and snapping like someone was snapping a towel, everyone both captains and charter guests alike all agreed it was not to be that day. Plain sucks especially since the forecast for Friday originally was for not all that bad. But as often that they do, over night the forecast changed for the worst with wave heights projected to be 3 to 6 feet for all day Friday. From one extreme to another around here.

It was interesting to find out how good the fishing was going to be in the dark by leaving at 4am. For the most part thus far this summer we aboard THE TROPHY have been leaving right around our normal departure time of 5am. And by the time we arrive at our fishing spot and get the gear in the water it’s already breaking daylight. It’s really weird how different everything seems by leaving just one hour earlier. Not a sole is around anywhere. We load up and head out in the early morning darkness in total solitude. No other boats to deal with. It’s like having your own private lake. Set up where you want. Go where you want. Aboard THE TROPHY over the years I’ve acquired about $10k in spectacular Rigid LED lighting which projects unbelievable light in all the right directions to light up the night when we troll in the dark. Rigid is the worlds premier leader in high end off road and marine lighting. I can honestly see everything as good if not better then in the daylight especially when we are fighting the suns glare after day break. Pretty darn neat! And the Walleyes did not disappoint! Each day even at that ungodly hour of the morning we opened up like a house on fire! Unbelievable! Don’t those things ever sleep? Lol! Just unbelievable all the way around this year!

OK, I have some good news for the remainder of my guests that have yet to fish with me this year. River Marine where THE TROPHY is docked has decided to lower the price that they charge for fish cleaning! It was $2.50 a fish and they have now gone to a much more fair $2 bucks a fish. It still amazes me when the occasional group elects to take all their fish home and face that huge mess themselves. Billy, our fish cleaner at River Marine is like a surgeon and gets you every ounce of meat possible! No mess or carcasses to have to dispose of afterwards either. The fillets are perfect and done in record time while most get to enjoy a post charter adult beverage while waiting in the shaded tent area that River Marine now offers! Every now and again even I get convinced to join up in a post trip celebratory cocktail, regardless of time of day! Lol! We are truly living the dream this year at River Marine. Every day I ask someone to pinch me! Feeling very blessed...

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

The last week of June here was a very good one for us. Walleye fishing once again was as good as it gets aboard THE TROPHY and for everyone else for that matter. There is no question at least right now whether you will limit out or not. It’s just how long will it take! I think most charters are baffled as to how to drag it out to give our folks more time on the water each day. We’ve all really limited the number of rods that we use each day. Problem is there is practically no travel time involved to the fishing grounds right now since the fish are in so close which doesn’t help lengthen the day any. Good for us captains but maybe not so much for the overall experience of our guests. No nice long boat rides. Just right down to business soon after we clear the break walls with the hungry Walleyes seemingly waiting for us. I don’t know how many times here in the last few weeks that the very first line out in the morning instantly had a Walleye on it!

A few observations from my perspective about this past June. This was the first June ever for me where I didn’t need or feel the need to use my favorite Walleye lure, the Jr. Thunder Sticks on wire line. I’ve always been the first charter to switch over to an all wire program albeit with short leads but still all wire. Always by the last week of June for sure for me. I’m getting my regulars now that are coming up on the exact same days that they take each year. And when I start breaking out the Jet Diver rods instead of the wire line rods for the day I hear, “What the Hell are those?” Lol! But it’s hard to put away something that is working so very well. I’m not sure that we might not be able to squeeze most of this entire season out just using these simple effective gadgets. Short leads on braided line with seldom a tangle is hard to pass up knowing all the complications that come with wire line fishing. Also, unrelated but this is the very first June that I’ve ever seen where we didn’t have ANY bad bug days. Very odd but greatly appreciated by all!

So what will this July bring us? I just don’t even know what to think anymore. I’ve always believed that the Walleye fishing up here was very repetitious. Where you find them one year and the way that you catch them will work each year about the same time of year. But not this year. The fish should be out about 10 miles already. They're not. They should be down about 40 to 45 ft. in the water column. Their not. There should be plenty of really big fish being caught. There hardly is. There are no junk fish. No bugs. Just millions upon millions of close to shore 3 year old Walleyes very high in the water column that will hit anything that you throw out there. Could this last all summer? I highly doubt it but then who really knows for sure. Everything that is all happening up to now is all unprecedented. Totally uncharted territory. This will certainly go down in the record books as a year to remember. And as I’ve really been saying here as of late. It’s all only all going to continue to get better as these 3 year old fish continue to grow and get bigger with each and every passing year. I am just in total awe!

Capt. Walt

www.trophycharters.com

My career has spanned 4 decades now. The 80’s, the 90’s, the 2000’s and right through the 2000’s–teens. I have lived and worked through and enjoyed what the biologists and Dept. of Natural Resources have described as the greatest Walleye hatches ever. In the 80’s we had the hatch of 1982. These fish quickly grew and overtook the entire lake. Fishing was incredibly good starting about 1985 and lasting for well over a decade with the fish being bigger with each passing year. This batch of fish is what enticed me to quit my good paying machinist job and pursue a career as a full time charter boat captain and fishing guide on Lake Erie. This hatch made for fabulous fishing for well over a decade. It seemed like the well would never go dry. But after a series of poor hatches and constant pressure the class of 1982 was finally about depleted and we had a handful of leaner years.

Along came the record breaking hatch of 2003. Mother Nature always seems to know when to throw us a bone. It took several years for these fish to come online but man oh man was fishing ever fantastic the latter 2000’s and early 2000’-teens when these fish matured. The ODNR still insists this was the greatest Walleye hatch ever. Same scenario. The great fishing from this record hatch carried us for well over a decade. But as before with the 82 hatch, this year class finally got thinned out and between fishing pressure and natural mortality things were beginning to look rather grim. And then came the hatches of 2014 and especially 2015. Although the ODNR still claims 2003 was the greatest, anybody that spends all their time fishing on the lake and is constantly aware of what others are doing up and down the lake will argue that point. I for one am one of them! I thought I had seen some spectacular fishing after those other record hatches but all those great years are pale in comparison with what's going on out there right now. Up and down the entire lake now. Everyone. These 3 year old fish are everywhere and thicker than fleas. I have never seen anything like it and can only imagine how much better it will be in the coming years as these fish continue to mature and soon all become the 5 to 10 pounders that Lake Erie is famous for! I have never been more excited to be a charter captain!

But is too much of a good thing a bad thing? I personally don’t think so myself but it has brought on some problems that we have never had to deal with before. Everyone and I mean everyone, all the charters alike and all the private boaters have been limiting out much quicker then most are accustomed to. Some days actually too quick. I know that aboard THE TROPHY I have literally done what I can short of going to one rod or something stupid like that to slow things down to give my guests some sense of a longer trip before we are maxed out. I have even reeled in fish myself so we can come in with more fish or try to spend more time out there. It matters not. Fishing is just too good right now. We do not do catch and release when trolling because most trolling fish are stressed out and do not survive if you throw them back. And it’s pointless. All the fish right now are practically all the same size. It’s not like you can weed through them looking for larger fish. I say just enjoy it. You are witnessing history. Things will settle down with time as these fish get thinned out some and become more spread out over time. It will also be a whole different ball game as these fish indeed start to become trophies rather then the good eaters that they are now. But I always say, take what the lake gives you and be happy. Of the two evils, I would rather catch them too quickly then not catch them at all or struggle doing so. Been there, done that. Not fun! But right now we are living through something that nobody has ever seen before. Something very, very special! Enjoy!

Capt.Walt
www.trophycharters.com

It has been interesting to see how the core of the school has been moving in and out a mile or two each day depending on water temperature. I don’t remember a year where we have had so much fluctuation in water temps. Depending on wind direction and the unknown currents below the surface which are always present, we have seen surface temperature swings of as much as 6 degrees or greater in a single day. I blame it on the extreme high water. There's a huge block of cold water out there right now and its taking a long time for the bulk of the water to warm up. The upper few feet of water warms up quickly but as the wind kicks up, especially a stiff east wind it disperses the warmer water making for wild temperature variances. And the core of the fish have been following the warmer water. The Walleyes are also very high in the water column making for fast and furious fishing when you are in the heart of the school!

Weather was a non issue. It was a lovely week out there! And the bug hatches thus far out in the lake have been non existent. Blame that as well or should I say credit it to the colder then normal water as well. I sure appreciate that at least! Sometimes in June when there is no breeze and the lake is slick and calm there can be some nasty bug hatches. That’s the number two question I get from all my upcoming guests when we touch base right before their trip this time of year. “How's the fishing” & “How's the bugs been”! Lol! I’m sure we won’t get thru this whole June without dealing with it but so far so good.

So things are really good out there right now. Other then the possible bugs, June is my favorite month. The weather is finally very summer like where the month of May can go either way. The fish are still in close and much easier to catch when they are in the upper part of the water column as opposed to late summer where we have to make long grueling runs off shore and have to put out a ton of line to get down to the deep fish. Who knows, maybe the fish will stay in closer this whole summer. Somehow I highly doubt it though! OK, I still have a couple of open dates to offer this month. This coming week I have Wednesday June the 20th available and the the following week I have Tuesday June the 26th available. Anybody interested can call or text me as always at 216-387-2656. Hard to believe we are already past the halfway point of this month. It is flying by so quickly!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Thursday we got back out there on a dead flat calm lake with high expectations and high hopes. And WOW is all I got to say! We weren't very far out of the harbor when the fish finder lit up like crazy with classic Walleye “hooks” that one can only dream about! The fish were stacked everywhere like cord wood for miles and miles in any direction that we went. And they are definitely all Walleyes! We aboard THE TROPHY along with all the other charters and all the private fisherman simply could not get a line in the water without a hungry Walleye grabbing it! It’s been literally as fast as we can go ever since Wednesday! It just leaves one scratching their heads! How do you go from working so hard to catch a fish to being done too quick each day and not being able to keep a line in the water? Unbelievable! This is what we actually were expecting and waiting for all of last month. We caught fish like this at the same pace all of last May last year. Most however were undersize. Now we’ve returned to that same kind of frenzy but this year all these same fish are turning out to be keepers. Not lunkers mind you but good eaters. And action! The number one thing that everyone expects when going on a charter.

I mentioned that we fished on Tuesday. That trip was a very unique day for me and THE TROPHY as by special request we did a very rare drift fishing trip. Although I ran casting trips up at the Islands in the west end of the lake for almost 30 years before quitting going up there in the early spring, I never really ran a drift trip for Walleyes out of Ashtabula. Although we didn’t completely limit out Tuesday we did quite well! And it was the perfect day to try it as well as we had plenty of “drift”! Lol! We primarily caught fish on bottom bouncers and worm harness’s but the boys also caught a few nice ones on the old Lake Erie stand by, Erie Dearies! But I felt out of my element all day and I hated carrying all the other drift fishing gear besides all the trolling equipment which I wasn’t going to take off just for one day. And in reality, you need lots of wind to cover a lot of ground just like trolling. After all, that’s all you’re really doing. Sideways trolling with lighter equipment. And talk about being tossed around! Everybody was pretty beat up at the end of the day after being sideways drifting in the pitching tossing seas. That’s one of the reasons why I quit going to Port Clinton! I’m just getting too old for that crap! Lol!

So things have changed out there and in a hurry. Maybe a good thing, maybe in some ways not so much. When we were catching a dozen to 15-16 fish a day, the fish were certainly much bigger. And everybody had a nice full day. Now this enormous school of 3 year old fish, 16” to 20” inch Walleyes on average has over run everything and the larger local fish don’t even have a chance before the hungry smaller rug rats gobble everything up. And its all starting to make sense why maybe our Perch out here have disappeared. The only Perch caught here in the last couple of years have all been huge. There has been no recruitment with young small Perch. Why? I think this massive school of millions upon millions of Walleyes ate all the small Perch fry as they were being hatched. Seriously! All these millions upon millions of Walleyes have to eat something each day! I know one thing. I wouldn’t want to be a little minnow or a baby Perch out there right now! YIKES! So that’s it for another week. The week before we turned the page to June and this past week somebody finally flipped the switch. It will be interesting to see how long this stupid easy fishing holds up. Everyday for about the next 10-15 more years would be just fine by me! Ha! OK, just a quick note. Due to a bizarre coincidence of different medical reasons, we have taken several cancellations for this month which are now available. I have June 15th, (a rare Friday!) June 20th & June 26th all open for immediate booking. Oh, and did I mention the fishing is on fire? Call 216-387-2656 mobile/ text 24/7.

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

I would be lying if I did not admit how disappointed I am so far at the lack of easy limits. Last year by now it was stupid how many fish we were handling. Granted most were undersized but it was non stop Walleye and everywhere we went. I assumed that if even a fraction of these same fish were back this year on the same exact dates that they all would all be legal fish and without having to throw any back, we would easily be done in no time each day. Well, I got part of that assumption right. They indeed are all legal sized fish. We finally had one throw back undersized Walleye this past week. But that’s it for the whole month of May! Just one lonely 14” incher which was returned to the water unharmed. But the numbers of Walleye in the area right now compared to last year are flat not there. Just like the fish we caught all of May I figure the ones we are catching are just local Walleyes that are probably here year round. The huge schools of Walleyes including the crop of throw backs that we were throwing back in big numbers by now last year are still hung up out west somewhere. Blame it on near record high water levels and near record cold water in the eastern basin for this time of year due to the exceptionally cold spring. We have had no big westerly winds at all this May to push the warmer water from the shallower west end of the lake out our way. I am certain if that happened it would also push some migrating Walleyes out this way as well to join up with our local fish. But all we get is either nice calm weather or easterly big blows. It’s like a stopper in a bottle right now. All we can do is wait and hope.

As more proof that we are stuck with exceptionally cold water here off of Ashtabula Harbor, we caught for this area yet another very rare exotic cold water fish. In last weekends fishing report I told you about the nice Chinook Salmon that we caught the week before. Well we had yet another big surprise this past week when a good sized Lake Trout decided to once again hit our inside #2 Dipsy. This time hitting a big spoon. As did the Salmon, the strong Laker peeled the drag and put up a good tussle before we managed to slip the net under the beautiful fish. At first I thought it was either a big Steelhead Trout or another Chinook since we already caught one that fought similarly. But as the fish neared the back of the boat and I could see the bronze colored fish I immediately started thinking it’s either a big Brown Trout or possibly a Laker which again is very, very rare for this region. Lake Trout are deep water, cold water fish. There is a fair number of them in the extreme east end of Erie where the water stays cold year round. Seldom are they caught this far west however. That alone along with the Salmon tells you that we have some real funky water out here right now. Again, in 32 years of chartering and thousands and thousands of trips run, (literally) we have only captured 5 Lake Trout including this fine specimen.

And not quite so exotic but kind of rare for trolling, we also had one day where we got into a slew of HUGE Catfish! We trolled into shallow water at one point this week in our never ending quest to find schools of Walleye when all of a sudden rods started going off like crazy. I knew they were all big fish and I’m thinking I hit the mother load of 10 pounders! Well I was wrong on both accounts. They weren't 10 pounds and they weren't Walleyes! They were more like 20 pound Catfish! WTF! (what the fish!) Unreal! At one point we even had a triple. All Cats and all HUGE! We went on to catch 7 or 8 and I had to get the heck out of there! Although I’ve trolled up a number of Catfish over the many years, it’s always been just one here and one there. Never a bunch in short order like that. Chinooks, Lakers, Catfish... It’s like a friggin zoo out there right now! Lol! OK, that about does it for another week. My reports are never sugar coated like most “Facebook” fishing reports that you see where when the guide struggles and sucks there are no posts that day but when they catch fish good they trip all over themselves to brag how quickly they caught them. Lol! I’m not afraid to tell you how it is. Keep it real I figure. And it’s not easy out there right now. This slow fishing was acceptable back in early May. But not now. Not June. We’ve turned the page! Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

I am running out of ideas to try. I guess all of us out east here have to just patiently await for some migrating Walleyes to move in from who knows where to join up with these local fish that I have been playing with for about a month now. There's Walleyes out there now and there has been. No doubt about it. Just not in the huge numbers that we would really like to see. I’ve tried fishing east of the harbor, west of the harbor, in close, further out... It’s about the same everywhere I go. Just one here and there most everywhere I try and no matter what technique that I use. I guess the very best program for us everything considered has been the Jet Divers and little Stinger Scorpion Spoons way out on the big planer boards. No big surprises there. It’s what we always use early in the year. This should work for everyone for most all of June too. Maybe longer this year considering the slow start to our season out east here. Water temps are still way off for this time of year compared to other years. Blame it all on our very chilly and rainy spring this year. Boo!

We did have some real excitement this past Wednesday when a very rare Chinook Salmon for around here at least decided to hit our #2 Dipsy. I had a shallow lipped Husky Jerk on the diver about 70’ ft. back when the beautiful fish hit it. It immediately peeled off 30’ some feet of line with the clicker and drag set! I just love that screaming sound! After a few flops on the surface and yet another small run, the fellow on the rod expertly reeled it in to the awaiting net and I easily sweeped it up for him. The whole time I thought it was just a big Steelhead. But after seeing the black mouth and the forked tail and other obvious features easily distinguishing it from a Steelhead Trout I realized right away that we had caught a Salmon! Cool! It should be great fixed on the grill or done in the smoker! Mmmmm! In 32 years of chartering and running trips almost everyday in season, that only makes 7 or 8 Kings that we have caught aboard THE TROPHY. Always a real thrill tying into something that is not all that common such as a Brown Trout or Coho Salmon. We’ve actually caught a lot more of some of these other exotic species then Chinooks or as some would call them, King Salmon. Truly a rare treat for this area!

So its Memorial Day weekend. The weather appears to have FINALLY broke into real summer like patterns. There are now more and more boats out there fishing and the rest of the Ashtabula charter fleet is slowly coming to life. It will be nice to finally have some help out there. We all work pretty well together and word gets out pretty fast about who caught what and where. There's a lot of water out there and trying to stay on top of everything when you are the only one fishing is a pretty tall order. With the nicer weather warming the water rapidly now and us turning the page to June with lots of others also helping to look, we should have a good bead on these fish real soon. If we get even just some of these western basin fish to move on out east here it should really be game on! Not that it has been all that bad already. We are catching fish! But as most anglers usually do, we always want more and better! Lol! OK, as I mentioned here a couple weeks back, I still have this coming Wednesday May the 30th available for a Walleye charter. The upcoming weather this week looks to be really GORGEOUS and I sure would like to fill this date if anybody is looking for a trip or knows anyone that is. If not I guess I’ll just go ahead and rest up. I’ve already had a pretty good run at it this month and feel very blessed. Thanks to everyone that has already come out to fish with us. Lets see what this coming week and the new month brings us. Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

As I threatened to do so in last weeks report, this past week I made a serious attempt at making our Jet divers and Spoons program work. And it did! Most of the 25 Walleyes that we caught Thursday came off the boards using #40 Jets and Scorpion Stinger Spoons. Although the marks on the fish finder are showing plenty of marks in all parts of the water column, ironically the deep fish are the ones we are taking. Usually it’s the other way around with the deep fish being the tougher ones to catch and the higher ones being the active feeders. But we put a lot of lines both deep and high out each day and see what goes. And so far it’s mostly the deeper fish that we are picking away at. I think when the high fish start to fire up, that’s when it’s going to get silly easy! Around here it seems like it either takes too long to catch anything or you get them way to quick! Never the perfect pace for a 8 hour charter lol!

The one thing that I am pleasantly happy to see is that so far this year I personally have not caught a single under sized Walleye aboard my boat. After handling literally thousands of sub legal sized fish at exhausting paces most all year long last season, so far it’s like my prayers have all been answered. Seems like everything has grown up into very legal nice sized and plump I may add Walleyes! If we’re not throwing any back and we start catching fish at the rates we were handling Walleyes last year, well we should easily be home each day for a early lunch. I’m more than eager to have a easier year. We just worked way too hard the last two years to get a limits of legal sized fish. Some days it was like 10 to 1! Simply a ridiculous ratio but still good to see knowing that sooner or later all these fish would all grow up into keepers. And I think we are finally there!

So while most boats aren't even in the water here in Ashtabula yet and the other charters don’t have any trips, we are in full swing now with trips everyday aboard THE TROPHY. We are enjoying the solitude out in the lake and the challenge of catching these early season local fish. They are nice full days for all of my guests unlike the hour or two trips that the western basin captains are seemingly trying to do each day nowadays. All trying to out do their fellow charter buddies each day so they can brag about it on Facebook! I am soooo glad I never got into all of that Facebook crap. I don’t need anybody to “Like” me on “Facebook”. If I want to know if anyone “Likes” me, all I have to do is look at my own calendar and schedule! And for that, as always I can’t thank all of my regular guests enough for overwhelming me with all the business that I want each and every year! You’ve stuck with me through the good times and the bad and that tells me that I’m doing something right whether we limit out or not! I think we are all in for something really special together this year! We are off to a GREAT start!

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Everything is typical early central basin Walleye fishing. The fish are in close as they always are this time of year and they are rather high in the water column. There has been next to no boat traffic. We fished on days where the only other “boat” we would see all day is a lake freighter! I guess everybody thinks that you can only catch Walleyes at the western basin this time of year! Lol! Well, they can have that bumper boat fishing out there. I am soooo done with all of that! After 30 years of fighting it, I’m ready to wind out the rest of my career here in my very own back yard and fish for our local Walleyes which I really believe are here year round. It’s just that nobody fishes for them. And on average, I’m sure they are much bigger. I saw pictures of some of the racks from this spring that the jiggers were hanging. Wow, I couldn’t believe how small the fish were running! So far, our Walleyes that we’ve been catching are pretty typical nice sized fish.

Typical early spring techniques have worked for us aboard THE TROPHY. Big planer boards ran way out to each side of the boat in the “quiet” water with multiple high lines on braid has been catching. Thus far I’ve been using mostly stick baits but plan on trying Jet Divers with spoons a lot more seriously this coming week. I’ve dabbled with it some already but with only a few fish to show for my efforts. But I know when the water warms up just a bit more and the spoons start to fire, its hard to beat a Jet Diver program when it’s working! The stick baits I’ve been using so far include Smithwick Perfect 10’s, Rapala Husky Jerks, Storm Thundersticks along with a occasional Bandit and Bay Rat. By far for me, the Husky Jerks have been our best producers so far. Colors have favored the chartreuses. The water clarity off of Ashtabula this whole month has not been the greatest. It’s was a very rainy and windy April this year and the water is yet to fully recover. I think when it gets just a little better, the chromes and golds and purples will take off and edge out the fluorescent colors. It always does around here.

So THE TROPHY has been in the water since the last week of April now already. I ran a couple of fun fishing exploratory trips in April and yes we caught Walleye in April here as well. As we near mid May now, fishing should only get better with each and every passing day. I hope the warm weather moves in for good as well. We’ve been teased a few days here and there this May with temperatures cracking 80 but then it’s been right back to crapola. Man you got to be tough to live here along the north coast is all I got to say! Lol! OK, in closing I have a couple open dates to put out there should anybody be looking to go fishing any time soon. May 17th and May 30th are both available for immediate booking. I might also have something else available this coming week. I’m not sure. Call for the latest details if interested. Weather looks to be good this coming week also. Till next week...

Capt. Walt
www.trophycharters.com

Trophy Charters

My final “official” last week of chartering was nearly perfect again. Nearly. It was perfect fish catching wise. The weather, not so much. The long stretch of awesome weather that we had the last few weeks came to a screeching end by Thursday morning with a strong cold front dropping into the region and bringing strong gusty winds resulting in me loosing my last few scheduled trips. Stupid weather just couldn’t stay nice for a few more days and have me end 2017 on a really high note. Ugh. Such is life here on the north coast. I guess I just have to be thankful for the long stretch of great days that we did have in September right through Wednesday of this past week. It was amazingly calm for days on in and the Walleye fishing was the very best that I’ve ever seen it this late in the year. All just signs of things to come for many coming years. The massive schools of younger Walleyes that we now have out there in the lake are growing up fast!

I’m not going to dwell long on the fishing. These pictures here speak for itself. I do however want to take this opportunity to thank all of you that made this all possible again this season for me! My crazy loyal clientele. Many who have fished 20, 25, and yes even 30 years plus with me! You are all my GOOD friends. My sponsors who’s business and friendship I value more than these mere words can ever express. I am humbled by your years of faithful patronage and generosity. We have seen a lot of ups and downs together. I think really great things are yet to come and I am thankful to know that most all of you will be back with me again next year. So again, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for coming out this past season and I look forward to doing it all over again with you next year with a great crop of fish waiting on us. We have many more of the: “Just another day on THE TROPHY” to experience together!

OK, a few loose ends here. This years Perch fishing was a big dismal disappointment. Perch around Ashtabula Harbor were literally non existent and even the popular Conneaut OH area, an 18 mile one way run for me was iffy at very best. I do not look for things to get any better next year with the Perch. In 2018 I will no longer offer just “Perch” trips in September but will instead re label these trips as Walleye- slash/ Perch trips as deemed by weather conditions and what is biting best. It will be MY DISCRETION ONLY and if deemed a Walleye trip, will be run at at the appropriate rates. It will be a fishing trip with full coolers of “Something” as the goal. More on all this to come this winter in our winter newsletter and updated website. So this is my last “official” week. I’ve decided to chance the weather and leave the boat in a couple of more weeks longer. Maybe I’ll get out once or twice for myself. If the weather and fishing remains good I may even be convinced to run a short notice charter or two if anybody desires but everybody has to keep in mind that it is now super late season for around here and that the Walleye fishing could start turning to crap on any given day. I figure it will probably suck the day I set out to get a few for my own freezer! lol! Anyway, if anybody is interested give me a ring and we’ll discuss it. And I have one final BIG thank you to express. Thanks for all of you that have followed along here in my weekly little reports and ramblings. I am flattered by the amount of new texts and emails I get from complete strangers each year thanking me for my dedication. Even other charters here in Ashtabula now steer their guys to my reports because they don’t want to go to all the trouble of writing something each and every week themselves like I do! Lol! I still enjoy doing these reports even though it can be a real pain at times and if I didn’t, you would soon know it! lol! That’s it. Thanks again everyone and I look forward to continuing on again next season. So till we meet again either on the water or in print next year I wish everyone a healthy and safe off season and winter along with VERY Happy Holidays! Over and OUT one final time for the season “2017” !!!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

What helped make things so speedy, the Walleyes have really moved in now very close to the harbor. A lot of days its been under 5 miles! Very little travel time involved and what little distance we did have to travel, with the flat lake conditions everyday you could zip right out there. Then the fishing was just about as fast as you could go once you started. Everything plain worked. You didn’t even have to dial everything in real well. Wherever you happened to stop your Dipsys or long lines, they wouldn’t sit out there for very long before a hungry Walleye would grab it! The fish are stacked out there and in many parts of the water column. The fish finder looked like it was in some kind of demo mode or something!

As I mentioned, the lake conditions were just as nice as could be this past week as well. Where the heck was this great weather all summer long and especially back in August and the beginning of this September? Everyday the lake forecast was for 1 foot waves or less and for a change they were spot on! Just a beautiful calm lake day in and day out. No rain and basically wall to wall sunshine everyday. Just perfect late season weather. And most of next weeks weather looks to be similar! It should be another great week of Walleye fishing!

So Perch fishing is about non existent. Nobody is catching them and it’s getting to the point where nobody is even trying anymore. The Walleye fishing is just too good not to take advantage of right now. I myself am glad that all of my groups trust my better judgment and that they put their trust in me. Everybody basically just wants to have a fun day and to take a nice load of fillets home for a dinner or two. There is nothing less fun then sitting Perch fishing all day and not catching anything. Been there, done that and I don’t want to do it again knowing that the Walleye fishing is that crazy good. I think I have talked to most all of my remaining trips and everyone is good with just Walleye fishing for which I am very thankful! It’s only a week to go now for me and after that I guess it won’t really matter. Next week will also be my final report. I will try to wrap everything up and thank everyone that needs to be thanked. Although I am not looking to book any trips past this next week, I may keep the boat in the water an extra week or two if the weather holds. If a group comes around and things are still going good, I may be persuaded to try a October Walleye charter just for a little mad money. But we will see. Officially, this coming week is my LAST week. It went fast. One more week and one more report. Check back for the wrap up next week!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Fishing for Walleyes remained excellent as well this past week. Limits were almost automatic everyday and “The Trophy” had another perfect scorecard for all of it’s guests. Mostly all the “good eater” sized ones but as has been the case all summer long, we topped the box off almost everyday with a monster or two. Best action has been around 15 miles out NE out of Ashtabula harbor. Not a bad ride with the flat seas that we had this past week. Most fish still remain very deep so that meant lots of cranking. The good news lately and this whole season has been that there has been very few junk fish to contend with. If the fish makes it to the boat, 99 times out of 100 it’s a Walleye. I remember years past where it was a real nightmare especially in the month of September with those monster Sheepheads out 500 some foot off the planer boards and the wire line. Sheeze, I’m glad we’re not dealing with any of that crap this year!

Well I finally ran two perch charters this past week also. On the one trip we had 36 Perch and the second trip went just a bit better with about a 100 Perch. Certainly not the greatest. Most other reports I have received from others have been even grimmer. I have been one by one contacting most of my upcoming Perch charters and strongly suggesting that we just go for the Walleyes rather then take a chance at a dismal day. So far, everybody has respected my suggestions. I don’t know what is up with the Perch fishing this fall but I have a bad feeling that it’s not going to get much better any time soon. We’ll see. I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open for any and all reports from others Perching. Most charters however are doing likewise, converting their Perch trips to Walleyes so it’s not even that easy to get reliable information right now. I think the 10 billion Walleyes out there ate all the friggin Perch!

Two weeks left now for me. I think most of this upcoming week is scheduled Walleye trips anyway but the last week of the month is going to be troublesome for me as I think every day is supposed to be a scheduled Perch Charter. Hopefully everybody will have a open mind and if the weather holds, takes my recommendation to maybe just go for the Walleyes. But whatever the people want. On a side note, the few Perch that we did get were super HUGE! We also caught some keeper Walleyes on the Perch rigs while we Perched! Did I mention the Walleyes are EVERYWHERE? OK, I did just take a cancellation for this coming Wednesday, September the 20th. The weather this upcoming week looks equally nice as last weeks and it would be a shame to not be out fishing somewhere. Anybody that might want to jump on this late season-last chance trip can call me as always at any time of day or night right up to late Tuesday evening on my cell, 216-387-2656. I don’t need much notice. And like I said, Walleye is still AWESOME right now. So that’s it for another week.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Fishing for Walleyes remained excellent as well this past week. Limits were almost automatic everyday and “The Trophy” had another perfect scorecard for all of it’s guests. Mostly all the “good eater” sized ones but as has been the case all summer long, we topped the box off almost everyday with a monster or two. Best action has been around 15 miles out NE out of Ashtabula harbor. Not a bad ride with the flat seas that we had this past week. Most fish still remain very deep so that meant lots of cranking. The good news lately and this whole season has been that there has been very few junk fish to contend with. If the fish makes it to the boat, 99 times out of 100 it’s a Walleye. I remember years past where it was a real nightmare especially in the month of September with those monster Sheepheads out 500 some foot off the planer boards and the wire line. Sheeze, I’m glad we’re not dealing with any of that crap this year!

Well I finally ran two perch charters this past week also. On the one trip we had 36 Perch and the second trip went just a bit better with about a 100 Perch. Certainly not the greatest. Most other reports I have received from others have been even grimmer. I have been one by one contacting most of my upcoming Perch charters and strongly suggesting that we just go for the Walleyes rather then take a chance at a dismal day. So far, everybody has respected my suggestions. I don’t know what is up with the Perch fishing this fall but I have a bad feeling that it’s not going to get much better any time soon. We’ll see. I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open for any and all reports from others Perching. Most charters however are doing likewise, converting their Perch trips to Walleyes so it’s not even that easy to get reliable information right now. I think the 10 billion Walleyes out there ate all the friggin Perch!

Two weeks left now for me. I think most of this upcoming week is scheduled Walleye trips anyway but the last week of the month is going to be troublesome for me as I think every day is supposed to be a scheduled Perch Charter. Hopefully everybody will have a open mind and if the weather holds, takes my recommendation to maybe just go for the Walleyes. But whatever the people want. On a side note, the few Perch that we did get were super HUGE! We also caught some keeper Walleyes on the Perch rigs while we Perched! Did I mention the Walleyes are EVERYWHERE? OK, I did just take a cancellation for this coming Wednesday, September the 20th. The weather this upcoming week looks equally nice as last weeks and it would be a shame to not be out fishing somewhere. Anybody that might want to jump on this late season-last chance trip can call me as always at any time of day or night right up to late Tuesday evening on my cell, 216-387-2656. I don’t need much notice. And like I said, Walleye is still AWESOME right now. So that’s it for another week.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Fishing for Walleyes remained excellent as well this past week. Limits were almost automatic everyday and “The Trophy” had another perfect scorecard for all of it’s guests. Mostly all the “good eater” sized ones but as has been the case all summer long, we topped the box off almost everyday with a monster or two. Best action has been around 15 miles out NE out of Ashtabula harbor. Not a bad ride with the flat seas that we had this past week. Most fish still remain very deep so that meant lots of cranking. The good news lately and this whole season has been that there has been very few junk fish to contend with. If the fish makes it to the boat, 99 times out of 100 it’s a Walleye. I remember years past where it was a real nightmare especially in the month of September with those monster Sheepheads out 500 some foot off the planer boards and the wire line. Sheeze, I’m glad we’re not dealing with any of that crap this year!

Well I finally ran two perch charters this past week also. On the one trip we had 36 Perch and the second trip went just a bit better with about a 100 Perch. Certainly not the greatest. Most other reports I have received from others have been even grimmer. I have been one by one contacting most of my upcoming Perch charters and strongly suggesting that we just go for the Walleyes rather then take a chance at a dismal day. So far, everybody has respected my suggestions. I don’t know what is up with the Perch fishing this fall but I have a bad feeling that it’s not going to get much better any time soon. We’ll see. I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open for any and all reports from others Perching. Most charters however are doing likewise, converting their Perch trips to Walleyes so it’s not even that easy to get reliable information right now. I think the 10 billion Walleyes out there ate all the friggin Perch!

Two weeks left now for me. I think most of this upcoming week is scheduled Walleye trips anyway but the last week of the month is going to be troublesome for me as I think every day is supposed to be a scheduled Perch Charter. Hopefully everybody will have a open mind and if the weather holds, takes my recommendation to maybe just go for the Walleyes. But whatever the people want. On a side note, the few Perch that we did get were super HUGE! We also caught some keeper Walleyes on the Perch rigs while we Perched! Did I mention the Walleyes are EVERYWHERE? OK, I did just take a cancellation for this coming Wednesday, September the 20th. The weather this upcoming week looks equally nice as last weeks and it would be a shame to not be out fishing somewhere. Anybody that might want to jump on this late season-last chance trip can call me as always at any time of day or night right up to late Tuesday evening on my cell, 216-387-2656. I don’t need much notice. And like I said, Walleye is still AWESOME right now. So that’s it for another week.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Then the real show started! Wednesday morning a strong cold front settled in over the region and brought in much cooler weather along with stubborn stiff winds that puffed both day and night relentlessly. The cold air aloft spawned two days of waterspouts over the lake that put on a heck of a show! On Wednesday there was a squall line that stayed south of us as we fished further out in the lake that produced one water spout after another. Sometimes there were as many as four dancing on the water at one time! Some were as wide as I have ever seen in all of the summers that I have been fishing up here. I was real happy that we weren't too terribly close although it would have made for better pictures had I been closer! Lol! And as always, the camera just does not do the pictures any justice. In person, it was pretty amazing to see. And it wasn't short lived either. The show lasted all morning! Again, the Walleyes could care less as we were as busy as we wanted to be while watching the show. Limits came easily in several short hours for us.

Thursday leaving in the dark to try to beat the forecast of building winds thru out the morning, our plans went awry when after running out about 7 miles a narrow band of thunderstorms blossomed out over the lake to the north out of nowhere. If it had been just rain, I would have punched thru it to get up north. But the line was loaded with lightning and again even more water spouts! There was one bolt of lighting that I wish I could have captured on film with a very good camera. The bolt was a particularly massively wide cloud to ground (water) strike with branches of lighting sticking out on both sides of the bolt. And when it lit up the night sky, on both sides of the bolt of lighting was two wicked curling waterspouts that were also touching down that we didn’t even know were there till the stike lit up the night sky for a second! Simply AMAZING and perhaps once in a life time site! After I saw that, we elected to wait it out back at the harbor. 7 miles out for nothing and 7 miles back, 14 miles round trip just to sit it out for about an hour. By the time we got back out there the wind was smoking already and it was a real struggle to get out to the fishing grounds. But we persevered and pushed on and when we finally got out there, it wasn’t only the wind that was smoking! The Walleyes were just silly suicidal. A late departure and still back before noon fully loaded. Not bad!

Friday, what else. Wind! Another long ride out, easy fishing and a long ride back. It is what it is and if we didn’t fish on the windy days, we would just never fish! Saturday was rough again (it wasn’t supposed to be!) After encountering minor boat engine problems on one engine on the way out, we limped back in about 7 miles on one motor and by the time we got the issue resolved (a couple hours) it was decided that we weren't going to go back out. My aching back gave no argument! So that was my week in a nut shell. Good fishing everyday on a rough lake also everyday. Right now the long range forecast for all of next week looks rather tranquil. I’m not sure if I’m buying into all of that though. With the remnants of Hurricane Irma working it’s way up the interior of the United States, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t get some kind of wrap around effect out of it which usually means a northeaster for us here on Lake Evil, I mean Erie! I guess we’ll know soon enough. Just 3 more weeks. I can do this, I can do this...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

In fact, this past weeks weather on the big lake was about horrific. Other then Wednesday which was the gem of the week every day besides Wednesday was nothing but wind, wind and more WIND! Ugh! It started with Mondays super stiff south winds. I HATE a south wind! You clear the gap and head out in a seemingly nice lake. With each mile as you head out it gets choppier and choppier. By the time you get close to where you need to fish you are already in heavy seas and now forced to troll with the wind and the waves on the tail and now getting forced further and further from shore and with each mile that slips by the waves just start stacking up and grow taller and taller. What appeared as a nice lake when you left is now a nightmare. And you know that sooner or later you have to turn around and come back home. Head on. Right into all that crap! And that is exactly what happened to us on Monday. With south winds well in excess of 20 to 25 mph the lake got ugly in a big hurry well offshore. With the way things were shaping up that morning I just pulled the plug early on the trip and cried uncle before we got so far out that I would have had to beat into 6 footers head on all the way home for 20 miles. Even with the 10 miles that I did have to come back in, it was a very tough sled ride! What a disappointing day.

I wake up Tuesday, same thing. Ugh. Stiff south wind. This time, convincing myself that it wasn’t quite “as bad as yesterday” we stuck it out and somehow, some way managed to limit out before we were so far offshore that it took us the rest of the day to crawl our way back home. We only had to come home in 3 to 5’ footers. Only! Ha! Wednesday had me scratching my head wondering, is this even the same lake that I fished on the last 2 days? A beautiful lake and the Walleyes were on FIRE! Home early too with a GREAT load! Thursday was the exact opposite and back to crap. Strong north winds this time. I’ll take that however over a strong south wind. Let me know how bad its going to be right out the gate so I can decide right away if we want to do this or not. Which we did. We took it straight out exactly 20 miles in 4 footers and just aimed it for home. Fishing was good and it was reassuring that with each passing mile that we fished that we were getting closer and closer to home. Friday? Forget it! With a northeast wind blowing a sustained blistering 25 knots and higher, we didn’t even attempt it. Saturday the wind curled around to dead out of the east and continued to howl, especially the first thing in the morning before easing a bit. With the right crew for the day and my wife acting as a first mate, we were the only boat from River Marine to go for it. After a long boat ride east, we spun it around and smoked 35 Walleyes in no time flat! Everybody had a ball despite the steady 4 foot seas and it was the first time this year I even got some Walleyes for myself!

Sunday, the next day again proved to be another no-go. Without much wind at the marina nobody was more surprised then me after sticking our noses out into the lake about a quarter mile to find our selves in a horribly heavy sea of about 8 footers with the wind dead out of the west. It took all my skills as a captain and perfect timing just to swing the boat around and scurry for shelter. Yet another lost day in a very tough week and right now Mondays forecast for the big holiday looks equally bleak at this point. That would make 4 days lost to the weather in about a weeks time. And a couple other of the days that we fished coulda/shoulda been blow days despite us sucking it up and going anyway. What a week. Despite these pictures in this report featuring our nicest Walleyes that we captured this past week, the bulk of our fish once again consisted of the same ole, same ole. Mostly just “good eaters” Walleyes of legal size in the range of 15” inches to 20” inches or so. But every now and again we would turn around and hook and land a real bruiser! We sure had some monsters this week! Just not a lot of them. I can’t help but keep envisioning what all these 15” to 20” inch fish are all going to look like next summer. It should be SWEET! So tomorrow is Labor Day. Man, what a fast summer! And next weekend I have a couple of Perch charters scheduled already that I need to run. I am not really looking forward to that knowing that the Walleyes are still on fire out there. But we’ll see what happens. Probably be another long boat ride to Conneaut just to catch Perch. Thus far everybody that I have talked to has told me that it hasn’t been all that great although I have seen a few big cooler fulls back at the fish house. All we can do is try I guess. If it’s not any good, I suppose we can always throw a few Dipsys out and top the cooler off with a few Walleyes. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out. Four weeks. The final countdown! But who's counting! Happy Labor Day everyone!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

We had several days with stiff north winds so again we pointed “The Trophy” northward first thing in the morning and never looked back till we were about 20 miles out in the lake so that we could could ride the wind and the waves straight back as we trolled homeward. And has been the case more times then not this summer whenever we’ve taken it that far out into the lake, the amount of large Walleyes that we manage to capture goes up on most days. There are some really big girls that lurk out there! Too bad it’s just not feasible to get out that far on most days. The wind has to be just right or have no wind at all to pull that one off. Anything blowing stiff out of the south or east or even west and we are going to be fishing somewhere much, much closer to home. Plenty of Walleyes closer to home as well but I really believe there are more larger fish out by the border as we proved again this past week as opposed to the week before where most days we plied the nearer to shore waters and had nice but smaller fish on average.

Regardless of where we’ve fished, near shore or offshore, the Walleyes are now all super deep. As deep as they’ve been all season. No problem catching them. We just let out more line on everything but certainly much harder on all of my guests that have to crank the fish back in. When we were catching just “eaters” it wasn’t that big a deal. But when you start catching the occasional monsters on wire line about 500 foot back (including the distance of line out after you’ve sent it out to the planer board), well it brings almost tears to the eyes of even the biggest of muscle men! Lol! I often compare it to reeling in a cinder block! Ha! I’m just glad I DON’T HAVE TO DO IT! But the reward at the end of the struggle can be amazing! We had plenty of 28” to 30” inch fish this past week. Real cinder blocks!

So we are entering the last week of August and by Friday it will be September already. Next weekend is also Labor Day weekend. The unofficial end of summer. Also meaning I only have a month to go myself in my season. It’s been a blur of a summer. I’m starting to feel it too. Sorting through the thousands (yes, THOUSANDS!) of short Walleyes to get all my guests limits of legal sized fish this summer has been simply exhausting! And on most days I do everything all by myself as opposed to most of the charter fleet in the harbor who’s captains are much younger than I am but still utilize a first mate so they can double team all the tasks that need to be done once we start our trolls and then get inundated with the young fish. But as I have done for over 30 years now, I get my crews heavily involved each day and we do what we have to do and eventually most always “get r done”! I just don’t get in any big hurries anymore. Everything we do, we do slowly and very calculated. I think all my guys enjoy being heavily involved with the process and to have a nice fuller day rather than being done in record time and have some first mate do it all. So far this year, I think I have a near 100% of all my guys indicating to me that they would like to keep their same exact date again next year. I must be doing something right!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

We even got into the low 60’s for feet of water depth after spending many weeks out in the 70 ft. plus range offshore where the Walleyes are really stacked up. And we marked them crazy good and caught them good even in shallower too. Man, really how big is this block of fish that we have out there! Just totally insane! Granted, they're mostly just the two year old fish which are really now almost two and a half years old assuming that most Walleyes hatch around the end of March, first half of April of each year. But none the less these two year old plus Walleyes are seemingly everywhere and more of them are now making the minimum legal size then are not. Boy if I could look into a crystal ball and see what the next few years are going to be like out here on this lake! I predict it will be life changing for a lot of people! Fishing will be so good that boat sales will once again soar around the lake. Property values close to the lake will increase. The local economies everywhere around the lake shore will be significantly impacted as there will be a new “gold” rush with everyone flocking to Lake Erie in unprecedented numbers to get in on the phenomenal Walleye fishing that I am sure is going to come for many years!

The weather this past week was just so, so. We had a few nice days and a couple tougher ones again with stronger winds and even one day with strong threatening thunderstorms. Such is life on the big lake in the summer. Once again aboard “The Trophy” somehow we managed to get all of our trips in and actually was back to the dock quite early on a few of the days. Those plentiful two year old fish dominated the catches most everyday this past week with the occasional “monster” Walleyes a bit harder to come by. It is what it is and you graciously take what the lake gives you. Most everyone has been great sports about the size of the fish this summer and I think that I’ve taken it a lot tougher then my guys have feeling like I should be catching racks of trophy fish everyday like we have always done for many years before this year. But you just can’t catch what isn't there anymore and thank God that this super hatch came around when it did a couple years ago or we would all be very disgruntled!

So now we enter the latter part of August. On paper, I only have six weeks remaining in my schedule. It’s quite possible that I might leave the boat in a little longer then I planned on doing this fall. I will probably only decide on doing that last minute depending on this falls weather patterns and how the fishing is going. Normally I round out my season running some Perch trips. So far for those that have been trying, Perching has been dismal at best. Last fall wasn’t all that great either. We actually converted a lot of my Perch trips to Walleye trips last year because Perching was slow and I got a strong feeling it will be much of the same again this fall unless something drastic happens here in the next coming few weeks. I don’t see these Walleyes going anywhere any time soon in the numbers that we are seeing and they will really be nice plump keepers by the end of September! That beats sitting around for hours waiting on a Perch to bite! We’ll just have to see how everything plays out. But for now, another week of fishing is in the books!

Capt. Walt *Here are a few more dates that have just opened up here just recently because of different circumstances... August 23rd, Aug. the 28th, and Aug. the 30th. Anybody interested, please give me a call! Fishing is GREAT right now!
216-387-2656 (mobile)

Trophy Charters

The really nice weather that I was expecting this past week wasn’t quite as nice as they had been calling for but somehow we got everything in, including Tuesday when most everybody either outright cancelled or went out and came right back. I was on the fence myself as to what to do. For one thing, I had four younger hardy guys that were very eager to go. That coupled with the fact that at no point were they calling for that kind of wind! It was “supposed” to be 2-4 feet overnight subsiding to 1 foot or less by morning. Imagine everyone's surprise when we were greeted that morning with solid 3 to 5’s and the wind just a whistling! After talking it over, we decided to take our time and just putz our way out there with high hopes that the wind and waves indeed subsided to the predicted 1 footers that they were calling for. After a long ride out to the Canadian border (again), we spun it south and immediately started pounding the Walleyes! Everybody had a ball and by the time we quit with limits of really nice fish, the lake was almost flat. A very good call!

The thing that really amazed me and I’ve seen it a hundred times and more over the years. At no point that morning did they ever have small craft advisories up! They just stuck to their guns all morning. 1 foot or less as I was blowing waves off the bow trying to make my way out there! Idiots! I’ve seen it go both ways also in disbelief. I’ve seen it many times where they’ve posted small craft warnings and not backed them off at all while the lake did absolutely nothing. Flat and non threatening while we would again be about the only boat out there after everybody else had cancelled because of their horrific forecast. I don’t know how they come up with their forecasts or what they base their decisions on but I’m telling you, it’s seriously messed up! Honestly, most days you just have to show up and see for yourself and then based on a lot of different factors such as what it’s “supposed” to do, your boat size, your crews sea worthiness, make up your own minds whether you should attempt it or not. Even I loose plenty of days where there is just no way that you can safely and comfortably fish no matter who you are or how big your boat is. I sure don’t want to throw away trips needlessly because of the National Weather service’s blown forecasts. And yes, that has happened to me as well more times then I can count! Very frustrating.

So its about mid month already. Man, didn’t we just flip the page here to August? Everywhere I go I hear talk about kids going back to school and the guys discussing all of their hunting plans for this fall. As good as the fishing is getting now, it will be very interesting to see how long these fish hang in there for us this year. I personally think we’ll be catching Walleyes good in October this year! I may just have to re-think when I want to pull the boat for the year. My initial plans all along was for early October this year. All part of my master plan of starting to slow down some here in my final years of chartering! Ha! But if the Walleye fishing is smashing good, I might just have to hang in there some this fall! We’ll see! OK, I have another very short notice date that just opened up due to a unforeseen circumstance that I would really like to try and fill. This coming Tuesday, August the 15th is now available for immediate booking. Anybody interested may call, text, or email me at ANY time of the day or night for this short notice trip (216-387-2656 cell) or (trophy@trophycharters.com). Fishing is really Excellent right now and it would be a real shame to see “The Trophy” get sidelined here in the prime month of August if the weather is nice which Tuesday weather looks awesome right now. Alrighty then, that’s about it for yet another week.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Speaking of Thursday, not only was the bite hot and heavy that morning, the average size of everyone's catch was dramatically much better with plenty of wall hangers showing up in everyone's catch as well that day. Aboard “The Trophy” that morning we had a interesting thing happen that I don’t remember happening even in the best of times in the years when all the fish tended to run big. In a matter of mere minutes we took back to back to back five monster Walleyes! The smallest being 28 1/2” inches and the largest at 31” inches. A true tournament winning bag of 5 fish in just a few minutes time! Talk about being at the right place at the right time and doing everything right! All 5 of those fish made the “Fish Ohio” citation program where the minimum size on a Walleye is 28” inches. Very cool that every one of my guests that morning got a “Fish Ohio” Walleye at the almost the exact very same time! Sometimes some of my guests go seasons before they get a eligible qualifying Walleye. For those of you this year that have gotten a Walleye that big and would like to get their free hat pin and certificate from the Ohio's Division of Wildlife, a reminder to you that there is a quick link on my charters website www.trophycharters.com to the State's Fish Ohio program.

Maybe the Walleye were on fire Thursday because it was the calm before all the storms and high winds that moved into the area for Friday and Saturday resulting once again in no fishing for most everyone and shutting down the entire fleet for yet another two days. The thunderstorms and torrential rains actually started late on Thursday afternoon and carried right on thru most all of the day on Friday. Numerous very intense cells pounded the Ashtabula harbor area and boy did it put down the rain in sheets of squalls at times. It actually came down at one point so hard that it flooded the River Marine stores' floor where I am docked. I have never seen that before! And behind that line of storms was the cold front which ushered in the cooler powerful winds which shut down any thoughts of fishing on Saturday. The National Weather Service called for 5 to 9 feet! YIKES! I guess this summer's tough run of almost weekly set backs in the weather department is going to continue for a while for us. The hits just keep coming.

So we are now entering the second week of August already. This coming week's weather appears to be rather tranquil for a change. Winds seem to be on the low side through out the entire period as far out as I can see at this point. Temperatures are supposedly to be in the 70’s. Perfect weather for Walleye fishing as far as I am concerned. Many years most of August meant temperatures in the 90’s. I certainly do not want any part of that! We are still departing the dock everyday till further notice around 4:00 to 4:30am at the very latest. We may be bumping that back a bit towards the end of this month as the days begin to stay dark longer and longer. A sign that summer is nearing its end. Also one thing that I’ve been meaning to mention all along but keep forgetting to do so. If you are coming up to fish from the Pittsburgh area and normally run I80 west to Rt. 11 north, the on ramp for 11 north is closed and the detour is poorly marked I guess. Please allow for some extra travel time especially if you are just coming up early in the morning the day of your trip. I always encourage everyone if at all possible to just come up the night before and make your get away that much more pleasant for yourself and not be so very rushed. Get a room and get some rest, enjoy a nice meal the night before with friends and family and show up bright and early all wide eyed for your fishing adventure! Well that’s about it for another week.

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Tuesday morning was even windier! Double Ugh! But with winds forecast to back off some by mid morning we elected to do a weather delay and try to get out after daybreak. By 6:30am there was a noticeable improvement in lake conditions and we were off. Tuesdays wind was straight out of the north and that is exactly where we headed. Way north! Again it was a long tough crawl out and I did not spin “The Trophy” around till we hit the Canadian/US line to ride the wind and waves straight back. A long grueling 2 hour ride out. BUT... the fish were there! We were in fish right away and went on to catch one of our nicest limits of fish to date. We had a good handful of fish between 27” inches and 30” inches. The rest of our limit catch that day was rounded out by the “good eaters” that have been saving the day this entire year for us.

Wednesday & Thursday were the gems of the week. Calm and uneventful. Limits came easily and everyone had on a happy face. Even me! Then came Friday. Ugh AGAIN! With a forecast of 3’ to 6’ foot waves and seas building even further, we just flat out cancelled the trip. And the same thing again on Saturday when we cancelled once more. Friday night we had winds up here on the lakeshore in excess of 40 mph out of the northeast. Just a raw and ugly night to cap off a nasty, nasty week. Two lost trips for me and had we not sucked it up and gone earlier in the week, it would have been 4 days lost in the same week like most of the charter fleet here experienced. That’s a big, big hit in a limited season where a loss is a loss and you just can’t make up that many lost days. Truly a tough business to be in!

So in a day we flip the page here to August. Fishing is real good right now. Weather has been the issue a lot this summer thus far though. How this entire season will be remembered is yet to be determined. With each passing day more and more of these younger Walleyes will start to becoming keepers. That will help things a lot. August a lot of times is the three H’s. Hot, humid & hazy. There is still time to turn this season around if the weather ever gives us a break. Thus far though, I will remember it for being rainy, stormy and WINDY for the most part filled with tons and tons of throwback Walleyes. We’ll just have to see how these last two months play out. August baby! Bring it on!

*We still have one open date in August left to offer due to a cancellation. Thursday, August 17th is available should anyone be interested. I just looked in my crystal ball. The weather is going to be GREAT and the Walleye fishing will be even BETTER! Ha! Anyone interested in seeing if I am right, give me a call or text @ 216-387-2656 Thanks!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

To add to the pleasantness, the Walleyes were pretty much on fire as well. Most mornings from the moment I would go to the back of the boat to help the guys start running lines, I was so busy that rarely did I find a second to myself to run up to the helm and get a sip of my morning coffee just sitting there getting cold. With the smaller Walleyes still attacking us as if they’ve never ate before, it’s been a real accomplishment just to get all our lines in. You would get a few set and you would already have 2 hanging. Nonstop, just about as fast as my crews and I could go. And like its been all along this summer, with much weeding we managed to have a perfect string of limit catches of keepers for all my guests everyday of this past week.

And we continue to catch a few dandy's each day. This past week was no exception. We added to our ever growing long list of Walleyes this summer that have cracked the 30” inch mark. We had another pair of 31”s this past week along with plenty of others that were 28” inch or better. Maybe not rack fulls like it was a few years back but a few each day just to keep things exciting. Seems like we are now seeing more 18” to 22” inch fish as well. Those would be those pesky 14” inchers that we were throwing back last summer. I get all warm and fuzzy thinking that all the fish we are throwing back this summer will be similar in size next year!

So that’s about it for another week. It is hard to believe that we are entering the final week of July already. It's been a blur. August traditionally brings the hottest weather of the summer. I’m not really looking forward to that if it comes to pass. What does help is our super early morning departures where we get a good jump on the day by leaving around 4:00am everyday. I tell all my upcoming trips that we need to be on our way somewhere between 4:00 and 4:30am at the very latest. Especially with the travel time involved now. Most of my groups have been there by 4am as requested and for that I thank you! I just have no desire to be out there anymore in the heat of the day and prefer to be setting lines in the predawn morning coolness. It's very neat as well with all my awesome Rigid LED lights lighting up the night. I honestly can see better with the Rigid lights all focused on the spots that I need to see as opposed to staring into the sun lit glare on the water when the sun gets up higher. And as my first picture in this fishing report illustrates, we’ve been getting a few real monsters in the dark too! Well that will do it. Off to bed for me now. I have to get up again VERY early tomorrow! Lol!

*I have 3 days available to offer next month for a charter that have recently opened up. August 2nd & 3rd as well as Aug. 17th are immediately open for booking. Fishing is very good now. If anyone is interested in any of these dates, please call me at 216-387-2656. Thank you!

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

Aboard “The Trophy” this past week we bounced back and fourth between the smaller Jr. Thundersticks and the larger full sized Storm Thundersticks in an attempt to cut back on all the shorts. Let me tell you, that strategy don’t work! Lol! The little guys still jump all over the bigger baits. I couldn’t see any difference myself. These smaller Walleye just have no fear! Makes me wonder for as many trillions that must be in the lake lakewide right now, how many of these smaller Walleye try to eat each other! Seriously! I’ve already posted pictures of larger Walleye that had smaller Walleye in their mouths. Where do they draw the line? I’ll bet it happens! Man what a mean world of survival it must be down there when the population of one species explodes like this and the fish all compete for food!

Aboard “The Trophy” this past week we bounced back and fourth between the smaller Jr. Thundersticks and the larger full sized Storm Thundersticks in an attempt to cut back on all the shorts. Let me tell you, that strategy don’t work! Lol! The little guys still jump all over the bigger baits. I couldn’t see any difference myself. These smaller Walleye just have no fear! Makes me wonder for as many trillions that must be in the lake lakewide right now, how many of these smaller Walleye try to eat each other! Seriously! I’ve already posted pictures of larger Walleye that had smaller Walleye in their mouths. Where do they draw the line? I’ll bet it happens! Man what a mean world of survival it must be down there when the population of one species explodes like this and the fish all compete for food!

So as I look at next weeks weather, dare I say it looks gorgeous at this point? Maybe we will get a uneventful week for a change. I am getting pretty worn out dealing with everything that has been going on here as of late. Uneventful would be a welcome change as far as I am concerned. Maybe a few more big fish will trickle into the area as well. It almost seems like everybody is starting to catch a few more of these bigger fish on a daily basis now then we we were just even a week ago. Maybe there are more big ones yet to come. We will see...

Capt. Walt
Trophy Charters

We ended up with a rather similar catch out there compared to what we have been catching on most days fishing closer to port. 15 to 20 inchers as the bulk of the catch with the several large fish each day as has been the case most anywhere we have fished this year. After fueling back up on day 2 of this exploratory mission and putting a hundred plus gallons of fuel back into “The Trophy”, I decided well that’s enough of exploring! Lol! Interesting though that the Walleye are out there as well. I suppose if they were all hogs out there, that would have warranted further trips out there whenever the lake allowed but that was not the case. The rest of the week we spent still well off shore gauging by the 5 nautical mile mark as a benchmark but not the insane 20-22 mile one way runs that we made earlier in the week clear to the border. And most everywhere we would go, be it 8 miles out, 10 miles out to 12 miles plus out, the same results. Lots of action but with much weeding, you would end up with the necessary amount of keepers needed on most any given day. Weather permitting. So I guess there’s no real need to go 20 miles. There truly are fish everywhere right now but quite apparently, no large schools of many large Walleye. I guess we all just have to be patient and watch this record hatch of 2015 and strong class of 2014 come into its own.

With it being well into July now and us fishing well offshore as well, aboard “The Trophy” we’ve gone into our full fledged deep water trolling program. All the braided line rods and all Jet Diver rods have been swapped out to all wire line and crank baits. It does not make things any easier however. In fact, now it really sucks to patiently peel off 300 foot plus of line, hook it up the release and feed it out yet another 100 foot out to the planer boards, set the rod down only for it to immediately get loaded up with a undersize Walleye which now takes twice as long to crank all the way back in and then have to do it all over again. Wash, rinse and repeat. Over and over! But out of every few fish or so, we would coax out a keeper. We just keep doing what we have to do this year. But I have really been focusing on getting the Dipsy Diver and downrigger rods into the game just because these other long lines are so time consuming. These shorter rods which are easy in and easy out have been real game savers on most days for us. I can not imagine how much work it would be right now if all you used was the planer boards and all those super long lines! Weeeee Bob! Lol!

OK, a couple of interesting tid bits. While fishing in the shipping lanes out by the Canadian line earlier in the week, I was surprised to see how many Smelts the Walleyes that we boated, including the small Walleyes puked up. Apparently it is quite bait rich out there! They keep eating like that they’ll all be chunky monkey keepers before you know it! Here is a interesting picture of one that a Walleye coughed up just as I netted it. Laying it down right next to the lure that we caught the fish on, notice any similarities? Lol! Also, unrelated but kind of interesting, while trying to get all our gear out in the pre dawn darkness on our second trip out to the Canadian line we got escorted for several miles by a HUGE United States Coast Guard SHIP of some sorts! I watched it for a long time on my radar heading eastbound as I ran but gave it no more thought thinking it was just a barge. I got around it and went a bit further north and got busy fishing when I realized the huge vessel had spun around and was now coming at us dead on! I still wasn’t sure what it was at that point and actually thought it was going to run us over! It got ever so close and then just proceeded to follow us along as we trolled and watched us for about a half hour. At this point you could make out the Coast Guards insignia on the ship. After being satisfied apparently that we truly were a fishing vessel and not some kind of terrorists or drug runners, they finally went about their merry way. Anybody that doesn’t think that our borders even out this way aren't closely watched are WRONG! Not really a fishing related story but I found it interesting that in 31 years of off and on flirting with the border that we were so closely scrutinized by such a large Coast Guard vessel. Well that’s it. Another week in the books. Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

Yet, as I have been stating in almost all of my reports this summer, we continue to latch into a few biggies almost everyday! In a way the way this summers been playing out lake wide, it’s brought a whole new level of appreciation for the truly big ones that you do still catch from time to time. When we were all catching almost nothing but biggies on a daily basis, I think that the level of appreciation and awe all got lost along the way. Any one of those fish from back then and the couple few biggies that we are still catching almost daily now would be a fish of a lifetime in many of the inland lakes such as Pymatuning Lake. And now when we do land a big one it certainly gets much more attention then when they were coming a dime a dozen. I guess sometimes you have to go without something for a while before you can really appreciate what you’ve taken for granted for so very long!

The weather this past week to put it bluntly was simply lousy. Lots and lots of wind and thunderstorms and torrential rains almost on a daily basis. Some days that we fished through it. Some days that we did not. When I loose a trip to the weather, on my daily calendar that I carry with me always, I mark in red ink “Lost to Weather” in the daily block that represents the date that I lost the trip. As I look back at the page of June 2017 in my book, I see a sea of red. Days lost that I can not make up. A big hit. Sort of unusual as June is normally our calmest of months up here. Almost too calm some years as many days that represents a whole different set of difficulties such as numerous big bug hatches or slower than we would like fishing when the water gets too stagnate. That sure hasn’t been a big problem thus far this year, especially this past June. Maybe this July will be kinder to us. Maybe.

So by the time my next weekends fishing report rolls around, the 4th of July will already be a distant memory and we will be closing in on the mid month of July just that fast. It seems like once I get to the half way point of my season, the days and weeks really start to fly by. I am still holding out hope that some magical big school of all large Walleyes appears somewhere out there within our striking distance but I must admit that my hopes are starting to dwindle with each passing week. We’ll see. If these daily high winds and storms ever start to ease, maybe more anglers will be willing to venture further offshore and help look around. This past week in particular, nobody was too eager to get any further out then absolutely necessary. I can’t blame them. I was one of them. We’ll see what this coming week brings for everybody. Happy 4th of July everyone!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

But as has been the case right along, almost each trip out we manage to catch a couple few really good ones. Some that you could actually consider “monsters” It’s a weird mix of smaller keepers and the giants when you look at the fish box. My guess is that these big fish are still from the record breaking hatch of 2003. The hatch that carried us for over a decade which by now has been pretty much decimated. The lack of any real successful hatches till these last couple of years is really rearing its ugly head. But as I have been preaching right along this summer, it is going to be insane when these fish start reaching “keeper” status. I was around for the early years right after that huge hatch back in 2003 and what we got going on now makes that hatch look pale in comparison. How many dog gone Walleyes are in this lake right now? Wow! And knowing how fabulous the fishing was for well over 10 years after that 2003 hatch makes me wonder about what's to come from this unprecedented hatch. How many of these babies will live to be the future wall hangers even 10-15 years from now? Did I mention, WOW!

As I struggle to try to get away from the onslaught of throwbacks near shore and try to give my guests the best shot at a really big fish “The Trophy” has been venturing further and further from shore. This past week whenever the weather allowed we cranked it out well offshore away from all the other boats. It’s pretty much a good news, bad news story way out there. The good news is there are some really big Walleyes out there along with some Steelhead. The bad news is that they are very few and far between. And even 10 miles out, there are still plenty of small Walleyes that you have to weed through. At this point, our only hope is that they hurry up and grow another inch so that rather then keep throwing them back we can box them and and not have to handle as many fish as we are now to get limits of barely keepers as everybody is getting right now. Then there will be all the years to come thereafter. Keep your chins up everyone! Better days are coming!

So we had another trying week weather wise as well. Tuesday out of the clear blue we had a day with near 40 mph sustained winds. The day itself was beautiful. Blue sky's and wall to wall sunshine. Very comfortable temperatures but just a stupid high wind. With my annual crew in from Iowa for their 3 day fishing trip, Tuesday was a blow day for them and myself and a no fishing day. Plain sucks. Then there was Friday. Oh boy did it pour cats and dogs on Friday! It’s been a long time since I fished through such a all day torrential down pour. A low pressure system over the Erie basin fed by wrap around effect moisture from the tropical depression Cindy surging northward from the Gulf region created the perfect storm for a major rain event. The lake was very fishable but my goodness was it ever miserable. The Walleyes however did not seem to mind and if anything, the fishing was on fire! I was so busy in the back of the boat when the rain started early in the morning that I was drenched before I had a chance to put on my rain gear. And when I did, it was about as uncomfortable as it could be. Slopping wet clothes with raingear wet inside and out sticking to everything. We only ran four Dipseys to make it easier on my crew and to give them a chance to duck under the hardtop rather then be glued to the back of the boat reeling in and resetting the longer board lines. And even at that, we were as busy as we could be landing 22 keepers, two short of what we needed and throwing well over 100 under size ones back. We made it a shorter day as I think everybody had about all the fun that they could stand! We’ll see what next week has in the cards.

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

Still no sign of any big schools of big fish anywhere. Just millions of the two year old throwbacks and the occasional 3 year old keeper. Nearly everyday we’ve managed to get a couple of real big ones however just to keep things interesting and for that I am thankful. Maybe not quite what everybody is used to catching but perhaps the new normal till some larger numbers of bigger fish either show up or these 2 year olds start making the grade by later this summer and become the “good eaters” that we are struggling to even get right now. But I was reminded this past week of the simple joys of just going fishing and catching lots of fish this past week when I had a group of youngsters for a charter! These kids had the most fun I think of anybody that I’ve had onboard so far this year. It mattered little whether the Walleye was a keeper or not. It was just fast paced action and everybody was very excited to reel in lots of fish. Even though it was about as fast as I could go, it was precious to see the kids fighting over the next fish calling it “my fish, my fish!” Lol! Rachel if you’re reading this you’re a heck of a great Mom! That was a awesome thing you did to take the kids fishing all by yourself! I think they will remember this trip for the rest of their lives! I’ve run thousands of charters in 31 years of doing this and most become a blur after a while but I will remember this one myself for a long time. It was a fun day!

So as I mentioned, the potential of getting a real monster is still there even though we are inundated with the smaller Walleyes right now. On Monday, we captured our third 31”incher of this summer. What a magnificent fish it was! I think handling so many smaller Walleyes each day made this monster look even bigger than it was! Lol! We had several others in the 28 –29” inch class as well this past week. It felt really good to be netting a really big fish again from time to time. I was beginning to forget how bad those heavy fish make my shoulders and back ache as I reach out as far as I can with the net and scoop them up! Makes me think. Man I hope I’m finally retired when all these 14 inchers all become 8 to 10 pounders! Holy Moly!

June is flying by. There are a lot of boats fishing now. It’s a lot easier to get a good read on what is going on out there. So far, everybody is doing about the same thing. Sorting thru lots of fish to come up with a batch of keepers. One thing I learned a long time ago. The lake is a level playing field and plays no favorites. When it’s buggy out there, everybody has them. When it’s rough, it’s rough for everyone. Same thing with what’s going on right now with this unprecedented crop of young fish. Everybody is going through the same exact thing. And everybody's catches look pretty similar at the end of the day. It is what it is. Maybe we all need to take a lesson from those kids that I had onboard. Just enjoy the moment and be thankful just to be able to go fishing. Be thankful to be having lots of action instead of sitting around for hours on end hoping for just a bite. The real upside of all this is all these fish will grow up and this lake will be more amazing then it’s ever been before! Now if I can only convince myself of all that! Lol!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

Weather the first half of the week was tough. On Monday we started out on a flat lake that quickly deteriorated as a strong cold front swept down across the lake. We went from a clear and calm lake to 3 to 5 footers in a matter of minutes. A perfect example of how someone in a much smaller boat could get in big trouble. On top of the quick change in wave height, a dense thick cold fog settled in as well bringing visibility down to almost zero. Very creepy conditions. And of all days, I had a rare 5 man charter onboard and we needed 30 keepers! Ugh! With radar guidance from my trustworthy Raymarine electronics, we toughed it out and persevered to capture a truly awesome box of ‘eyes!

The cold front that sat down upon us deepened and sadly Tuesday and Wednesday turned out to be “no fishing” blow days. With a crew in town eager to go, their wasn’t much we could do but throw in the towel. Originally the NWS only called for 1 to 3 ft. waves on the one day and 2 to 4 foot the following day. They weren't even close. With wind gusts nearing 40 mph on both days, the lake was a serious mess of mean white water! And just that fast, on Thursday the lake went from violent to flatter than flat with hardly a breath of air moving. And along with that, a whole different set of hardships emerged with a bug hatch out on the flat water to rival any that I have ever seen. That on top of the fact that that we just had a massive bug hatch just days earlier. Man was the boat and our clothes trashed! But the Walleyes didn’t seem to mind and again we did good that day and the next several to come.

So everybody is doing quite well now albeit that everyone's catch is much lighter on most days then anyone ever remembers it being for around here. It makes me wonder what we all would be doing each day if these recent years hatches hadn't come along. My guess is a whole lot of nothing! Mother nature threw us a bone just in the nick of time! I guess it will be interesting to see how fast this crop of 14 inchers grow. Call me crazy, but I swear I already see a difference in the bulk of the throwbacks that we are putting back as compared to even just a month ago! Man, so many are now soooooo very close to making it! Also this past week we started to see a fair share of even smaller cigar sized Walleyes showing up. Those would be one year olds. Could it be that we had a good hatch again last year? That would be 3 consecutive back to back years! If so, this lake is going to be UNBELIEVABLE for many years to come. It all seems too good to be true! Time will tell I guess!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

Big fish have been few and far between here as of late but each day we still manage to get a handful or so of the larger fish more typical of Ashtabula sized Walleyes. The rest have been nothing to write home about. Just good eaters. Where we used to need 2 big tubs to off load our 24 Walleyes each day, now we’re only using 1 tub and even then its only about 3/4 full. Like I said, What the heck is going on! I always try to keep my fishing reports real and never sugar coat anything. And that’s about what's going on for us aboard “The Trophy” and everyone else for that matter right now fishing in this Geneva to Conneaut area. Anybody that tells you otherwise, well they are lying. We are overrun with small fish fish right now and either the big fish have been run off by the onslaught of these 2 year olds or somehow thus far everyone's missed where the bigger schools of bigger fish are. Maybe it’s time to start looking seriously further and further offshore in the much deeper water. Even though it’s only early June, maybe that’s the answer.

To give you an idea of how far and how fast these fish can move, I have a interesting story to tell you! This happened just last weekend actually. We were trolling along in the pre-dawn darkness when a rod doubled over with what appeared to be a big fish. Fish on! After a bit of reeling from one of my guests onboard that morning I was about to dip the net on what I thought was a nice Walleye but instead up pops somebody's inline miniature planer board! Inlines are very small plastic planer boards that the smaller boats use. You clip it right to your fishing line to pull your lure off to the side of the boat. When bringing in the fish, at a certain point you have to stop and unclip the little plastic planer board and then continue to reel in the fish the rest of the way. Well apparently, somebody lost theirs when the line broke. While untangling the slight mess from my line, I feel a tell tale tug tug! Heck, there's still a fish on the end of the line hanging from the small board! After hand lining it in the rest of the way in, we netted what was about a 18” Walleye on a Bandit crank bait. Cool! Hit the clicker! Lol! Later in the day by daylight I examined the little planer board and seen the rightful owners name and cell number wrote on the plastic. I sent out a text to make arrangements to return his gear which the owner really appreciated! Then I got a follow up text, “by the way, where did you find it? I lost that thing 2 weeks ago in front of downtown Cleveland”! I’m like, WHAT! That’s 50 some miles away from where we snagged it fishing in front of Ashtabula! That Walleye had swam all that distance towing that planer board in 2 weeks time and was still as fresh and lively as if it had just happened the night before we snagged it! Unreal! So a big batch of fish could arrive off Ashtabula at any time! They are on the move!

Another interesting thing happened last weekend as well. Around Ashtabula everybody that’s been fishing in close for Perch have all been striking out big time. Nothing! Zilch! Nada! Well on one of my northern most exploratory trolls we cracked the 70 ft. plus water depth range. We didn’t find much out there really but did have a very deep downrigger go off out there with a BIG fish on it! After a bit of a tussle, my lucky guest at the end of the rod landed a 27” inch Walleye. Just as I netted the beautiful Walleye and slung it across the stern of the boat, the big Walleye coughed up a 10” inch Yellow Perch! Wow! Some of you that follow along with my little fishing reports may recall that last summer we did something very similar. We caught a big Walleye, somewhere around 29” inch I think it was also on a deeply set downrigger and as I swung it over into the boat with the net it coughed up a foot long another Walleye that it had freshly swallowed and then puked right back out after we landed it! Yikes! Maybe I should start trolling with Musky lures! Lol! OK, that’s about it for another week. Off to bed. I got a bunch of “babies” that I got to take care of in the morning! Ha!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

My long running group from Wisconsin's that takes these same days each year were my guests this past week for most of the days and were handsomely rewarded with a fine four day catch with keepers ranging anywhere from 15 inches to big fish of the week being a crazy big fat 28 1/4” incher! And the amount of just under size Walleyes that we handled was just unreal. More on that subject in a moment. Wednesday we finished up with just shy of 20 keepers and Thursday, their final day we captured 26 Walleyes on a very rainy day but flat lake. They were definitely biting in the rain! Fridays group limited out as well quite easily and we were back at the dock by 11:00am. Not a real burn but a remarkable difference from the week before. The weekend was equally good with fish counts in the upper teens along with some really big Walleye. We even boated a huge Steelhead, the first of the season aboard “The Trophy” and lost his twin a short while later that was just a jumping fool. What a show he put on and when he finally won his freedom, I didn’t feel all that bad. Well played Mr. Steelhead, well played!

As far as all those small Walleyes go, all I can say is HOLY COW! I’ve never seen anything like it this early in the season around Ashtabula. We thought we handled a lot of shorts last year! If this holds up, it’s going to be a long summer of weeding through the non legal fish just to come up with what we need each day. On Thursday, I know we threw back well over a hundred under size fish to get our 26. Seriously! Most of these Walleyes are measuring anywhere from 13 inch to just a hair under 15 inch, which is the minimum size requirement for Walleye here in Ohio. These fish are all 2 year olds and would be from the hatch of 2015. It had to be a monster event! I am getting lots of reports of the same thing happening throughout the entire lake. The future of Lake Erie's Walleye fishing looks very bright indeed for many years to come! We all just have to be a pit patient right now.

Most of the fish that we are catching are still in the shallows but we’ve pulled fish clear out to 60+ foot of water now. Jet Divers and spoons have been doing most of the damage for us. Typical of this early season fishing for these rather high fish. Boat traffic is starting to pick up as well. I guess I should learn to keep my mouth shut! Ha! Anyway, everybody is catching fish. Some better than others but it’s definitely starting to happen. I think though that everybody is going to have to get used to a smaller grade of keepers overall as the bulk of the catch now is from the other monster hatch of 2014. All those shorty's that we were weeding through and throwing back last summer. As always, there's some real lunkers out there swimming around just to keep things interesting. Some still from the all time monster hatch of 2003. 14 year old fish! Biologists are telling us that they can live in excess of 20 years! Makes me wonder how many of these fish that I’m throwing back now will still be around in the year 2031, 14 years from now! The things that make you say hmmmmmm! I hope everyone has a enjoyable and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

But as I mentioned, we have pulled a few dandies though! We caught two separate fish on separate days this past week that both went a easy 31” inches. Fat as all get out too! Sometimes its no big deal to catch a long skinny fish but these Walleyes were built like a football fullback! Thick and stout! Both fish earned a free ride home to my guests local taxidermist shop. Beautiful Walleyes and they should make a beautiful mount! Many anglers fish their whole lives and never land a Walleye that big! So if there is a positive to take away from this years slower start, it’s that any time a rod goes off, it could be a fish of a lifetime! I guess unless I’m filling the box to the rim everyday, I take it much harder then a lot of my guests. Try telling these two lucky anglers that they didn’t have a very memorable trip! They were more then ELATED!

I guess I’m going to pick up right where I left off last year complaining about the darn weather. Will it EVER quit blowing up here on the lake? Sheeze, already I had to cancel Friday and Saturdays trips because of the ridiculous wind. And all the other days out there that we have fished haven't been exactly no walk in the park either. None of which is helping our production. Maybe, just maybe if we ever get any stable weather all of these fish that I’m seeing on the fish finder each day might start to fire better. Best depths have seemed to be somewhere between 42’ and 52’ foot. I’ve been both east and west of the harbor. There's fish everywhere that we’ve looked. We also need a little more water temperature. We’re finally up to 55 degrees but this late into May we should be closer to 60. We just haven't had very many hot days. A couple days this past week and then right back to a strong cold front which brought along those strong northeasterly winds costing me my trips on both Friday & Saturday. Ugh!

So we’re still dabbling with the Bandit lures. And their catching a few. Just like my Husky Jerks, just like my spoons that I tried this week as well. One here and one there, and one on this and one on that! Not really a fair evaluation in my opinion thus far. I do have to say however that I am very impressed with how accurately these lures seem to track right out of the box. Almost all of them are spot on and the few that I’ve had to tweak were easily brought into tolerance. Some of you might remember my evaluation of the Bay Rat lures last summer. Great colors, catches fish very well ONCE TUNED but most of them are just horrible right out of the box requiring much screwing around to get them to swim straight. I have a real problem paying upwards of $10 dollars for a lure for something that doesn’t swim correctly brand spanking new. And for whatever reason, they just were not that easy to tune. I actually had a few Bay Rats that I gave up on altogether! But once dialed in, they did catch fish good. A real catch 22 with them things. We’ll see where I end up with these Bandits. Right now, me thinks I should be fishing with Dynamite! Lol!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

Actually it’s a miracle that we are catching anything at all! The first two weeks of May up here along the lake shore have been so cold, so rainy and so WINDY that the lake is really tore up. Even the deeper waters of the central basin here has been one big mud pit. I just can not believe the amount of rain that we have had either. The lake itself and its tributaries are near record high! After being docked at River Marine here in the Ashtabula Harbor for what seems like forever, this is the first time that we have had to actually build a step on the dock just so that my guests could board the boat!

With several trips now under my belt now, I am not at all disappointed by what I am seeing on the fish finders. Dare I say, it’s about as as good looking as it could possibly look for this time of year? Loaded with nice crisp hooks at many different points in the water column with plenty of bait balls thrown in as well to keep these fish that I assume are mostly Walleyes interested. Maybe too much bait with most of these fish well fed and not all that eager to eat our plastic baits! Lots of bait, murky water and cold east, northeast winds for two weeks straight now and like I said, it’s surprising that we are getting as many Walleye as we are! But I do believe that they are there.

Techniques are typical early season shallow water trolling. Aboard “The Trophy” we’ve been pulling our big planer boards and loading them up with a spread of Tru Trip Jet Divers and mostly shallow lipped stick baits. Nothing new here. Marking fish deep but catching the stealth higher fish that you rarely mark as the boat trolls over head and spooks the fish off to one side or the other. I have also this spring bought into the hype over the deep diving “Bandit” crank baits that seems to be all the rage anymore. These cranks pulled off the boards with just straight up braid is really pleasant to work with but I am yet to be convinced that it is more productive then the old Jet program that we’ve pulled for so many years now. We’ll see. So far I would say of the around 20 or so big Walleyes that we’ve captured, its been about 50/50 with the Bandits verses the Jets. We’ll see what this week brings. I have a heavy schedule facing me right off the bat so it shouldn’t take long for me to form a strong opinion! So it’s game on. Check back next week!

Capt. Walt

Trophy Charters

And in no particular order I would like to start with Seadek Marine Products. A innovative company that manufactures boat deck coverings. This past winter I had the opportunity to attend the Miami International Boat show down in Florida. This is where I first saw this product. I couldn’t believe how many brand new boats were decked out with this high tech non skid soft floor covering and how GREAT they all looked! After returning home and doing much research and my own due diligence to learn as much as I could about this product, I was convinced that I wanted to try it. It’s basically a very durable closed cell foam rubbery like sheet that comes in many colors and textures that can be cut and easily applied to any surface with it’s own peel & stick 3M back side. The edges can be easily routed to give it a nice finished look. And when used on the boats floor, it gives you a unbelievable non skid surface especially when wet that also provides exceptional shock absorption and anti fatigue qualities. After contacting Seadek, they were gracious enough to work with me to get some on “The Trophy” and get some exposure also up here on the Great Lakes. For my first year I laid it down throughout the entire cuddy cabin in a beautiful Bimini Blue including the bunks and steps. It looks great and everything stays put right where you put it no matter how rough the lake is. I also covered the engine boxes which double as seats, the dinette table top and a couple of test pieces in the back of the boat where everyone stands to set lines and reel in fish. Before I did the whole deck, I had to see for myself how it held up to a seasons worth of commercial abuse. And let me tell you something... This stuff is unbelievable! It wore like iron with no signs of hardly any wear or nicking and cuts. It cleans up easily. And oh my how comfortable to stand on! I never felt more confident netting fish in the back as my feet stayed planted no matter how wet it was or how bad the boat rocked! I am now a big time BELIEVER and I promise you, for 2017 every square inch of decking aboard “The Trophy” will be covered in Seadek! Again, thank you Seadek Marine Products and I encourage everyone that has a boat to visit www.seadek.com and or call me to discuss my experiences with this fine product.

And I would like to give a big shout out to Rigid Industries LED Lighting. The foremost recognized name in high end LED light bars. They also have a line of marine products built specifically to deal with the harsh punishment that a marine environment has to deal with. My fascination with forward projecting lighting started many years ago when we started leaving earlier and earlier in the morning darkness to arrive at the fishing grounds at the first hint of daylight. But along with making these long runs in the pitch black darkness came the increased risk of whacking a log or even worst out in the water. I thought, why not have powerful lights illuminating the path forward as we traveled? And so it started for me. Many years ago I mounted up on the bow a pair of commercial marine grade halogen spot lights. Back in the day these were big money and the baddest things available. I thought they were great even though everybody laughed at me by saying things like, “hey look at that car coming”! And what do you need lights for! I didn’t care. I had a new sense of additional safety. Then LED lighting started becoming more readily available and I dabbled with some cheap Chinese knock off lights. Even though my earliest LED’s were of poor quality and build, they made my expensive Halogens look yellow and dim. So again I did my own due diligence and set out to find the brightest, best built LED marine light bar available. Everything kept pointing to and coming back to Rigid Industries. So I first started with a pair of M 6” six inch Rigid spots which I used to replace the halogens that I had. I was instantly impressed! The build quality was unsurpassed and when I lit them up in the dark for the first time I was just blown away! Each 6 inch bar gave me 4,500 lumens of pure white light for a total of 9,000 lumens of lighting power. But I wanted more! And with a little help from Rigid, I added yet another pair of twenty inch M 2 20”s in their driving beam pattern this year. Each of these light bars is a astonishing 18,000 lumens! Together these two driving lights provide me with 36,000 lumens and when I run the six inchers also which I do, it’s a total mind boggling 45,000 lumens of lighting! It simply makes daylight out of darkness. After running this combination all of this season, I am pleased to say that these things are bullet proof! Never a flicker, no condensation anywhere, just total awesomeness! And these white marine light bars look GREAT too! Again, thanks goes out to Rigid Industries for building the finest marine lighting that is available on this planet! I also encourage everyone that does any kind of boating or fishing in the dark to visit www.rigidindustries.com and to feel free to contact me as well with any questions on my own experiences and applications with Rigids.

And finally just as I wrap up all of my fishing reports each year, I would like to thank my most important sponsors of all. ALL OF YOU that fished with me this summer and made all of this possible! I thank everyone from the very bottom of my heart! Even though I think it just may have been my toughest year ever, I also think that in all 30 years of chartering I had the very best crews EVER this year! I enjoyed everybody's company and really appreciated all the generosity everyone showed. I thank everyone that honored my wishes of keeping the crew size down to 4 people this year. It was just wonderful and it really worked out great because on most days that’s about all that we could catch! 4 limits of Walleyes. Thanks also goes out to everyone that got up super early as per my wishes so that we could get out crazy early and be there all set up and ready whenever the fish finally turned on. It also gave me a chance to play with all my fancy LED lights! Lol! Thanks to everyone that congratulated me this year and wished me well here in my 30th season. That in its self meant more to me then words can say. And finally thanks to everyone that followed along weekly with my journey through this years fishing season by reading all of these reports. Every year I get complete strangers that approach me and thank me for my dedication to these things each week. I am glad so many people look forward to following along each week. Whether you fish with me or not! So that’s about it. I’ll be in the water one more week fishing but as I mentioned last week, we’ll be super busy wrapping things up next weekend so I wanted to sign off this week where I had more time and a chance to do it properly. I hope everyone has a very safe and prosperous winter and that everyone enjoys the holidays with their friends and family. I know that I will! I have a lot of catching up to do myself! So till next year folks, one final OVER & OUT!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

Weather continued to make things challenging mid week once again. I’m not going to dwell on the subject much because I’m so sick of it but if you fished Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, well I don’t have to convince you that it sucked. But we still fished and we caught fish. Sometimes that’s all that matters. Weekends continue to haunt us however. As I knock this report out on Friday night as I usually do so it can be posted on Sunday, I’ve AGAIN scrubbed my scheduled Perch trip for Saturday because of the predicted 3-5 foot waves and a 80% chance of heavy rain & thunderstorms. I’ve yet to even fish for them this year! In 30 years of chartering for me, this is the very latest in the season that I have gone without running a single Perch trip yet! I’m not sure that I even I miss it though. Perch fishing out front of Ashtabula this fall has been dismal at best and everybody that’s been giving it a shot out of Ashtabula has been making the long 18 mile grueling run one way to Conneaut, OH just to fish for them. And even that has been hit or miss many a day so far!

So after writing last week that that we’ve been doing much better with the smaller sized stick baits this summer, this past week made a liar out of me. After a few of my colleagues started pulling some larger fish with the larger baits along with good numbers of fish, I also jumped on the band wagon myself with pretty good results. I mixed it up with both the bigger Storm Thunder Sticks and the Long Deep Bay Rats that I’ve been dabbling with. Both worked well being fished off the big planer boards with the wire line and fished back about 330 feet or so. We also had a fairly strong Dipsy Diver bite this past week with the large jointed Storms. I guess now that the season for us is just about practically over, their going to decide to start hitting good on everything! Even the down riggers caught some nice fish for us last week! Go figure.

OK after writing what seemed like a book in last weeks report, I’ve decided to keep this one a bit shorter. We’ll see what this coming week brings once we get past this weekend. “The Trophy” comes out of the water for the winter here in two weeks now. About a month earlier than other years. All part of my plan of scaling it back some in my final years. Next weeks report/ blog will be my final one for the 2016 season. Although I will still fish the whole week after next weekend, that very last weekend will be very busy for us as we attempt to run our final trips, get everything cleaned up and winterized. Be sure to catch my final ramblings here as I try to wrap things up and give shout outs to all those that are deserving this year. That’s about it for now. I might even have some Perch pictures as well next week as I once again have some Perch trips scheduled towards weeks end. We’ll see!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

But we still got some fishing done in between everything that Mother Nature threw at us this week and we still caught some really nice Walleyes along with a few bonus Steelhead Trout as we have been doing here as of late. The one real downside of all this wind has been that it’s really fired up all the junk fish once again. Seems like late in the year when the water is really warm and it gets all stirred up by constant winds, it sends the White Bass and big Sheephead into a feeding frenzy! It was a real struggle keeping lines in the water long enough to catch a Walleye with the super active undesirable fish. In particularly, the White Bass. And they are HUGE this summer! They literally run the drags when they hit the Dipsys! Exhausting weeding through that many of them but somehow we did exactly that and we were eventually rewarded with what we had set out for in the first place. Lake Erie GOLD! Walleyes!!!

OK, a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had been experimenting with some new lures that have been all the rage here out on the lake anymore. Bay Rat deep diving crank baits. I also mentioned that I would report back after I had more time with using them. So here is some of my humble unbiased opinions and observations. First and foremost, they do catch fish very well. And when I say fish, I mean the Walleyes plus all the other crap that we don’t really want to catch. I think this past week I caught some of the biggest Sheep Heads I ever saw on them! Lol! But I’m sure that was just a coincidence. Early on I only used the larger sized deep diving Bay Rats but the larger crank baits have not worked all that great for us in general this summer. It’s probably because most of our catches here in the second half of summer have consisted of the smaller 2 year old plus fish. The now 15 to 18 inchers. Most recently I’ve been using the Short Deep Divers on our wire line with much better results. I had plenty of days where these fish were definitely picking them off over others in my line up consisting of Jr. Thunder Sticks and Bomber 24a’s. Some of the things that I like about this lure is that it’s well made, keeps its paint well and is availabe in an interesting array of colors. By far my favorite has been the “Purple Wish”. That color has really kicked ass for us! Some things that I do not like is the hook quality and the smaller split rings that they use when I go to swap out the trebles. This really is no surprise however as I dislike most all the cheap hooks that most manufactures use nowadays and pick out higher quality Trebles all the time for my most favorite lures.

BUT the biggest complaint that I have is that they are almost all junk out of the box without you tuning them. In Bay Rats defense however, their crank baits are not the only ones that are like that. I am appalled with all these different lure companies that charge in upwards of $10 dollars for a lure and they can’t sell one that swims straight! Errrrrrrr! Again these are just my opinions but after 30 years of full time chartering and fishing Lake Erie for myself for 10 years before that even, I think I know a thing or two about the subject. And I’m going to share some of my insight with all of you right now. Next time you’re trolling and at your normal trolling speed, run your lure that you want to check back about 40-50 foot. Do it directly off the back, not standing to the side of the boat. Pick a spot where you are not directly in the prop wash. Hold your rod straight back and tip almost to the water. Now while still at trolling speed, crank your lure back to the boat as fast as you can. If your lure pulls off to one side or the other or worst yet pops out of the water or flips around, you have a improperly tuned bait. A perfectly tuned lure will track perfectly straight back to the boat and dig deep. This assures that all lures are running at the desired depths and keeps tangles to a minimum. All very important in doing well out there. If you find a lure in your line up or one right out of the box (and I promise you that you will) that is not running right, tuning them can be either easy or a lesson in frustration. As you look forward at the bill of the lure and the eye, if the lure is running to the right, bend the eye EVER SO SLIGHTLY to the left with a pair of needle nose pliers. Remember to bend the whole eye to one side or the other and not just twist it. A good rule of thumb is something that I learned 40 years ago back in my machine shop days when adjusting tooling fixtures. “If you feel it move, you probably went too far” Lol but oh so true! Be prepared to spend some time as most likely you’ll be back and fourth quite a few times before you get it just right. And you’ll probably learn some new swear words along the way as well! Lol! Alright, that’s it for my second and most likely last tutorial of this season! Happy tuning!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

This past week was full of plenty of highs and lows as has been the whole summer season. Walleye Fishing was simply just fair. The weather which I get so sick and tired of writing about all the time and fighting in real life was well, not so fair. Monday was kick ass plain nasty when it really wasn’t supposed to be. Everybody went but everybody that did go has cancelled trips in the past for less harsh conditions at one time or another I promise you. I think the only thing that egged everyone on was the fact that it was only supposed to be one footers that whole day. Thanks again National Weather Service for yet another totally blown forecast.

Tuesday was the gem of the week I suppose and it was almost too flat! Hot and sunny as well. It all made for very slow fishing. We got what we needed that day plus a few bonus Trout but it was a real grind. Wednesday was very unsettled with lots of storms out over the lake. We cranked it way offshore on a hot tip and fishing was very good for us as long as we lasted out there. We needed 24 Walleyes and had 18 in the box before a huge pop up thunderstorm sent us scurrying for safe harbor. Always frigging something. And Thursday & Friday? Both ended up being totally lost days. Small craft flags flew for both days with a harsh northeast wind cranking all day and night right on through the period. Nobody fished. I guess my September is going to start out the way so many of our days in August went for us.

This weeks report will be a bit shorter this extended holiday weekend. Please just enjoy a few of these pictures from some of our nicer fish that we managed to capture. Although like everyone else we’re catching lots of smaller fish, we still managed to snare just enough larger fish to keep everyone excited. We’ll see what this coming week brings. I believe I even have a Perch trip or two coming up here in the next week. Yikes! I might have something completely new to boo hoo about! Lol! Happy Labor Day everyone! Enjoy and stay safe...

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

As I suspected, last Sunday was indeed a wash. Nobody fished. Every day there after according to the National Weather service was supposed to be like in the 1 to 3 foot range near shore. Instead, pretty much everyday it was at least 2 to 4’s and maybe more at times. A nasty short chop each day that tried every ones patience and just didn’t make things any easier for anyone. In fact Thursday, with a near shore forecast of only 10 to 15 knot winds out of the SW and waves supposedly only to be 1 to 3 footers, it turned out to be more like 5 footers plus for most of the day. We set out aboard “The Trophy” in the dark and some rain that morning with high hopes of getting our day in. It wasn’t too bad when we first left. We lasted about a whole half hour out there before a wall of wind hit us! Dead out of the west and according to the Fairport Lighthouse report, blowing at 27 knots! It was one of the more dramatic wind sweeps that I’ve witnessed in recent memory. Our 1 to 3 footers almost instantly became 5-6 footers and our day was over before it ever really started. We pulled our lines and just headed back in. A sad turn of events for my guys that day and another lost day for me for this very windy month. They are really starting to add up.

For as long as we fished that particular morning, we hooked 3 fish in the dark with only a handful of lines out. One was a throw back, one was about a 17 inch keeper and as we were trying to clear lines in the gale winds that kicked in we hooked and almost landed on one of the last Dipsy rods still out one of the biggest Walleyes that I’ve seen in a long time! It was behemoth! I’m guessing it would have gone easily 13 maybe 14 pounds. It’s been a long while since we’ve landed one quite that big. Just as I was about to try netting it and with the fellow on the rod trying to back up in the wildly pitching and bobbing boat in the big waves, he stumbled backwards and just that quick the magnificent fish was gone. So very close! Man, I really wanted that fish! But that’s how it’s been for us almost every morning here the last few weeks. Slow starts in the dark but one or two really good ones almost every trip out. Here’s a couple pictures in this report of fish that weren't nearly as big but that didn’t get away either! Lol!

So everyone all of a sudden is catching some “Chrome” out here. Silver fish that some call Trout and some call Salmon. Truth is, we are getting both! I get a kick out of the other captains back at the marina always asking my opinion on some of the more suspicious looking silvers as to what it really is that they caught. After many years of fishing Lake Ontario and the rivers in Michigan long before I ever started chartering, I learned early on what to look for. This came up again just last Saturday when one of River Marines captains brought in a small King Salmon (Chinook). They were pretty sure it wasn’t a Steelhead but didn’t know if it was a Chinook or Coho. It was definitely a small King. Aboard “The Trophy” we’ve caught all three this summer. Coho, Steelhead and also a nice small Chinook. This final picture is from a few weeks ago where we brought in one of each. On the left is the Steelhead and on the right is the small King Salmon. Notice the Trouts almost square tail with the many small speckles all through out the tail. The Salmon on the right has a deep fork in the tail with slightly larger spots all through out. Both fish have nice tight scales. And the biggest give away is the Trouts mouth which is all snow white. White gums, mouth and tongue. The Chinook’s mouth is almost all coal black. And the Coho Salmon which are also being caught as well this summer have their own distinguishing features. Their gums and tongue are more grayish. The tail has a fork in it as well but with very few and much larger faint spots. And the scales are very loose on the Coho Salmon! Big, big differences! Interesting that these smaller Kings are showing up all of a sudden mixed in with our other fish. Somebody somewhere must be stocking a few again. Man, you think a Steelhead can make your drag scream! Hopefully a few of these young Kings will be back next year as much larger mature Salmon. That would be awesome and bring back memories of the early 80’s out here again as it used to be when Ohio & PA both stocked them regularly! Well that’s it for another week and my personal tutorial on Salmon vrs. Steelhead! Lol!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

Tuesday was the exact opposite. Super strong gusty southerly winds kept most off the lake. We chose to fish but stayed in tight quitting about the time that we had limited out the day before with only a handful of fish to show for our efforts. It was just too windy to stay out any longer. Again, the luck of the draw got my group that day. Just plain sucks. Wednesday was once again a gorgeous lake and it was like Tuesday never happened. Same results as Monday. Easy limits by 10:00am and a very happy crew! Thursday was the real kick in the pants for us and everyone else. With a “one foot or less” forecast and the Wind Alert and iWindsurf apps showing only single digit wind velocities for all day, we were greeted with strong gusty south west winds that soon went north westerly that created a crazy confused washing machine action out over the lake. Though we fished, our production was once again well off the mark and it again reminded me how much fate plays a role in how your long awaited day is going to go. I was about beat to death when we got done fishing including wrenching my back on one big awkward wave while netting a big Walleye. Ouch!

The Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde strange lake condition phenomenon carried on going into Friday and we were greeted again with pleasant lake conditions and very hungry Walleyes. With a nice light manageable south wind we ran offshore and set up a further north troll. Trolling an additional five miles north towards the border we pulled 14 decent Walleyes and turned and finished up by trolling south into the waves and landing an additional dozen fish. A very good day and again done before 10am. As I write this up on Friday night a day earlier then usual, it looks like we will squeeze out one more nice day on Saturday before the proverbial “stuff” hits the fan on Sunday. I already cancelled that days trip with a forecasted strong cold front scheduled to sweep down the lake on early Sunday morning. All my sources are showing rain and winds in excess of 30 mph. NOAA is also calling for 5-7 foot waves. Sounds definitely like a no-go to me! We’ll see how bad it actually becomes.

Sundays nasty weather appears to be short lived though. Although temperatures are supposed to be significantly cooler next week with highs in the 70’s, winds at least at this point appear to be rather light for much of the week. I’m all about the cooler weather arriving after baking most of this month thus far. I hope however that the cool down doesn't change things out there. Do I dare say that it really appeared like there was a nice block of cooperative fish out there this past week? Even the junk fish was surprisingly very manageable this past week. Just those pesky windy days that keep rearing their ugly heads every other day that kept this week from being a great week. We’ll see how it all plays out next week. I know one thing. I’m already savoring my planned day off for this weekend. It’s never good to loose a day when you’re a seasonal worker but this is a whole lot better then getting up at 2:30am just to greet your crew and sending them away anyway at the dock in total disgust! At least I’ll be able to rest my back that day! Till next week...

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

We had several days of eventual limit catches and a couple of near limit catches but all of the days were long hard drawn out affairs. The lake was quite rough several days as well even with the heat and that just made for even tougher fishing. Tough to stand, tough to stay on the fish and very tough trolling into the waves when we had to turn on them. Maybe I’m just wearing down or something. I don’t know. I’ve all but given up on the big schools of Walleye magically appearing this late into summer already making for easy fishing. It’s really hard to get excited knowing that each day is going to be yet another beating. But somehow I pull it together each day, put on as a happy face as possible and go to work. But it wouldn’t make me mad if somebody turned down this freakin heat some! Sheeze! Enough already with the 90 degree plus days!

I think one of the more frustrating things for me that seems to be going on right now is the lack of a good pre dawn bite. I’ve had no problem getting my crews to show up at 4am but I’ve had a real problem getting the fish to go good until well after the sun comes up here as of late. It seems like we manage to catch one or two monsters each day in the pre dawn darkness and then we ride around forever before rods start to bend again. It never used to be like that in past Augusts of other years. Heck, it wasn’t like that earlier this summer! It just seems like everything is different this summer especially this month. Maybe somehow this is all tied in with this big heat wave? I don’t know but I’m not liking it. No strong early morning bite right now pretty much insures us that we are going to be out all day long and fishing in the heat of the day. If things don’t start popping better in the dark this coming week, I think I’m going to adjust our departure times accordingly. It’s about time to roll it back some anyway as it’s starting to stay dark longer and longer now each morning as we approach summers end.

We did have one interesting thing happen to us this past week aboard “The Trophy”. We caught a nice monster Walleye maybe 28-29 inches long that still had a rather fresh 11 inch Walleye stuck in his throat! Walleyes eating other Walleyes! It was one of the small one year old Walleyes that seem to be everywhere in the lake right now no matter where you go . Is that what’s going on? Are there so many of the baby Walleyes in the lake right now that the big Walleyes are simply turning on them? Feeding on the zillions of little ones that are polluting the lake to the point where they could care less about our lures? The things that make you go hmmmm! I know that I’ve never seen so many little Walleyes before in all of my years on the lake. I also know that I’ve never seen the Walleye fishing this tough before out this way in August. Coincidence? I don’t know. I don’t think anybody does. I do know that most everybody likes a good conspiracy story and maybe this one will be mine! Yup, that’s it! Their not hitting our lures because they are ALL full from eating other little Walleyes! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Lol! Stay tuned!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

In past years the hotter the summer the better the fishing was in the cooler, deeper waters of the central basin especially the Ashtabula area. The big fish flocked in groves out here to enjoy the more comfortable water temperatures and the bait rich environment. That just does not seem to be the case this year. Sadly we had another much slower week this past week. We all still caught fish but it was a real struggle. Long, full days in all of this heat to boot. There are vast areas out there that just do not have any fish. If you are lucky enough to get over a good patch you can still do well and that’s what the better charters are doing. But the fish are really moving and it’s been an uphill battle to keep up with it all. Very un Ashtabula like. By this time of the year you should be able to go most anywhere out here and make one way trolls and do well. It just is not the case this year. We are working very, very hard to put box’s of fish together for all of our guests.

And something that I really haven’t complained all that much about this year is the junk fish. Well that all changed this past week. Maybe the big schools of Walleyes have not moved into the area but all of a sudden I think every junk fish in the lake has showed up in the area! This past week was just brutal with White Bass, White Perch, Sheephead. You name it. And just for good measure, throw in a incredible amount of undersize Walleyes ranging from 6 inches to just undersize that we also just can’t keep off our lines, well we’ve been non stop busy. Not exactly how I had hoped to relax a bit in my 30th year and make things as easy as I can for myself! I had visions this year of knocking out 24 quick fish each day and being the first one back to the dock and enjoying the rest of my day. Now, it’s just a accomplishment to get them all and be back to the dock period before time expires!

But we are still catching. Everybody is still taking plenty enough home to have some wonderful fresh fish dinners. Many days here recently the fish are not running nearly as big as in past years where everyone got spoiled. Just be thankful to be catching at all is what I say! I know I am! There has not been a day go by yet where we still at the very least have not caught a handful of huge fish. Many of the rest though here lately have been just “good eaters” 15 to 20 inchers. It is what it is. If I could write the script, everybody would catch nothing but 10 pounders. But it just don’t work that way. Take what the lake gives you and be thankful. I’ve said it often. Just enjoy the day! We’ll see what the rest of this month brings as we enter the real dog days of summer!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

Another thing that made this past week so pleasant was the delightful real summer like weather. Not that it didn’t get hot and miserable in the afternoons which it did but we were never out there after it got that hot having finished up already and back to the dock way before then. As I mentioned last week, we having been striving to get off the dock at 4:00 am to get in on the good early morning action and to get our fish and get the heck out of there before the real heat of the day sets in. At 4am and for the the first handful of hours in the morning it has been cool and comfortable out there. We also had no storms this week up until Saturday morning where we had to deal with a bit of weather. But Monday through Friday we had no high winds or big waves to worry about. Just nice summer weather.

We have really settled into on our deep water summer trolling techniques aboard “The Trophy” now. Wire fishing line and Jr. Thunder Sticks have been our staple lures. We have however bought into the hype and recently dabbled with the newly popular “Bay Rats” lures that are now sweeping the lake. They don’t look much different then the larger full size Thunder Sticks that we normally round out our late summer season with except that they have a slightly larger bill I believe. They have a interesting line of new colors that meet a lot of the criteria that I look for in a Walleye lure. My lead off picture in this report features one that I particularly like. I am not sure how much I am going to be using these new lures in my line up but I can tell you that they do seem to work well. Better then a Thunder Stick? I don’t think so but at least equally as well I am thinking at this time. When we start favoring the larger lures as the fish continue to go deeper, I will experiment some more with them.

So tomorrow is August already. Can you even imagine? We only have about a month and a half of Walleye trips left on the schedule now and then a couple of handful of Perch trips and season 2016 will be in the books. It’s slipping away quickly. I guess it’s not too early to mention that if you would like a Perch charter with me this fall you probably should get a hold of me real soon here. Openings left are limited and I expect to fill up as I always do. Especially with the boat coming out in early October this year. All part of my “slowing down” package that I have outlined for myself in this 30th year of chartering. I am secretly already really starting to look forward to the off season I must admit. Especially when my alarm goes off every morning at 2:30 am! Lol! But for now, we still have some serious fishing left to do Check back again next week...

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

The fish that “The Trophy” has been chasing this past week have still been found in multiple areas. We literally fished three distinct bands on various days. There are fish out by the Canadian line, a fair band about mid point and we even pulled some fish in some skinny water this past week when weather dictated that we didn’t go out too far. Most of the days this past week weren't so ridiculously rough that when we did hit a nice pocket of fish that we couldn’t stay with them. And unlike past weeks where sometimes it didn’t pay to keep working a little area for a long time, this past week when we got something going for ourselves, it kept working. I was a little nervous with the extremely full moon this past week that so many times spells total disaster for our daylight fishing but it didn’t seem to be much of a factor this past week.

As we enter our final week of July now and stare August, traditionally our hottest month of the year right in the face I can not stress the importance of leaving the dock super early! Especially if we are traveling the longer distances that we are now. We’ve been pulling off at 4:00am sharp here lately to get a jump on things and to beat the heat. This past week it really paid off as most days we had a ticket plus before I ever even turned my lights off. Some really nice fish too! Man, I love to see those monster Walleyes wallering in behind the boat with their big eyes aglow under all my lights! It is so peaceful and pretty out there at that hour of the day too before all the other boaters show up. And man that full moon this week! Although from a point of fishing I really hate it, it truly was spectacular to see this week as it cast it’s bright light over the water and was reflected. Simply stunning!

So as I mentioned we are entering our last week of July now. Was this a fast month or what! Fishing is finally showing some signs of improvement. Not that we haven’t been doing OK all along but maybe to the point where we don’t all have to be surgeons out there dissecting little patches of actively feeding fish as strategically as we have had to up to now to catch some. And if a few more spill into the area from points unknown, we’ll really be in business! They are certainly more then over due if they ever do get here! And if not, there is still enough fish out there to do well on most days when the weather cooperates. Sadly, it’s more important to have decent conditions to work with out there then it is just to have huge schools of fish out there! We’ll see. As always, it is what it is. That’s it for yet another week. Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

One of the reasons for the tougher days again this past week was all weather related. Wednesday, and especially Thursday and Friday were real butt kickers! Nice sunny days but 3-5 footers with even bigger seas later in the day about quitting time each day. Really limiting our choices as to where we fished and certainly whether we turned on the fish after we caught a few. Just not ideal conditions to work with especially when the pockets of fish are fewer and further between like they have been this whole summer. I actually was starting to feel beaten down and wishing that I had cancelled a couple of those days. But that’s not what my guys that had waited a whole year to fish with me again wanted to hear. So I sucked it up and put fourth my best effort even though I really didn’t want to be there. Nobody got sick, we caught fish even on the tough days and still caught in the upper teens for numbers once again and everyone wants to come back again next year. I guess you can’t ask for more then that after the lake throws you a series of crapola days.

“The Trophy” got a chance to roam around a couple of days as far out as 18 mile from the harbor in the ongoing relentless search for the big schools. Though there are some fish out there that far, I personally didn’t find it much better that far offshore as some of the nearer to shore waters that we have been plying the last few weeks. Just a long fuel guzzling, body punishing day in the choppy seas. I personally hope that we don’t find them that far out this year. Nobody wants to start doing daily 20 mile runs like we did for a big portion of last summer. But time will tell. As always, I will go wherever I hear or feel the bite is the very best. However reluctant I am to go. That’s just my job.

So it is indeed now past the halfway point of July. We are catching nice Walleyes everyday as we have been all along but it is not any more consistent or any easier then back in mid May when I started this year off in Ashtabula. We all still have high hopes of huge schools and easy limits everyday but reality is starting to set in with me that it might not be so this year. It’s been so good the last handful of years that it should come as no great surprise to anyone that we might have a slower year. Maybe we get through this year we will all be rewarded with crazy good Walleye fishing for years to come judging by the amount of undersize Walleyes that everyone is catching and throwing back this year. Not a bad thought to hang your hat on. But for now and at least this summer, the search for the Mother Load around here goes on!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

I think I know what is going on. These Walleyes are doing what Walleyes around here do in July. They are moving offshore. The real problem is the lack of any huge schools of fish. When you take a thin band of the larger fish from the “near shore waters’' and now spread them out even thinner in the vast and super deep offshore waters, well it’s going to get tougher. At least till more recruitments move into the area from wherever they might filter in from and make the population denser. It will happen. It just hasn’t happened yet. When the existing fish were bunched up closer to shore and in the shallower waters, we had the advantage. Now like I said, they are spread even further out there. The lack of very many really solid marks on the sonar offshore is troublesome also. It’s hard to get excited and put all the gear out each day when you’re not marking hardly any fish but that’s exactly what we have to do. You just have to “assume” that there are some out there and do it. Put your gear out, put your time in and PRAY!

I made some mistakes this past week by not turning on some fish when we did have a spurt of action on several occasions. Not that it was so great and me thinking that we will run into something better. But in hind site I should have spun around when I had the chance and see if I could squeeze a few more out of where we did catch one or two. That’s what it seems to have come to. At least this past week it seemed to be that way. If you catch one, you better be turning! Lol! Funny and pitiful both. So “The Trophy” is spending her days now in 70 foot plus of water. We are catching some fish down deep where they ought to be. Some real hogs as a matter of fact. Just not in the great numbers that we would all like. If there is a bright side to the story, it’s the fact that the garbage fish haven’t been too bad out there either though. And it seems like the bulk of the “baby” Walleyes are still back in the shallower near shore waters as well. Man I had my fill of having 14 inchers hanging everywhere even though I love them dearly! We are still catching a handful each day even offshore but it’s been very manageable thus far. That might all change as well as the offshore waters start to really warm. We will just have to see how it all plays out.

We did have a pleasant surprise this past week when we boated our second Brown Trout of the summer season aboard “The Trophy”! Man are they ever a beautiful fish! I sure hope that catching a couple is a sign of things to come around here! It also helps liven up the crew after staring at rods for long periods of time! Lol! So by this coming weeks end, it will be mid July already and the 4th will already seem like a distant memory. Like I said in last weeks report, it’s going to go fast now. I also mentioned last week that I had Tuesday July the 12th available for a charter should anyone be wanting a trip. Well surprisingly, I STILL have it OPEN if anyone wants to go hunting with me for the rare and elusive offshore Walleye! Lol! We are probably only days away from things really busting loose around here. You don’t want to miss out on your chance to be onboard when we run into the old Mother Load! Worst case scenario, I’m pretty sure you’ll have a lot of fun and have more then enough Walleye fillets for some ‘bangin good dinners! And if I don’t fill that date, well a mental health holiday don’t sound all that bad to me right now either! That’s it for another week...

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

But if I were to report on this past weeks action for us aboard “The Trophy”, I would be describing it as yet another good week for us! We are still putting in rather full days most everyday and the fishing seems quite slow while we are out there all day, but at the end of the day we’ve had some mighty full fish boxes. I don’t think anybody's left disappointed!

I always touch upon the past weeks weather as well. This past week we had a real mixed bag of extremely pleasant weather and several days of all day long 4 footers which in itself made it tougher to limit everybody out. As always, the early risers that got to the boat as early as possible did the very best. It’s still a extremely strong early morning bite and most mornings even in the bigger chop we usually can catch 6 to 8 fish before daylight ever breaks and the junk fish wake up. That’s big. Then things slow down and we grind it out the rest of the day.

So that’s it for this weeks rather abbreviated report. I’m going to enjoy my extra few minutes that I have to myself by keeping this one a shorter one and spend some little precious time time with friends and family before my daily 7:00pm bed time rolls around. Not much of a life for me these summer months of fishing but hey, it’s “all down hill” after this! I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend!

*We just took a cancellation for Tuesday July 12th for anyone that might be looking...

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

I was treated to my visit from my Iowa boys for their annual three day fishing trip on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week. Wednesday is always a shorter day as they always want to get a start for home a bit earlier. I get a real kick watching young Jaedon who’s skills could pass for a first mate literally grow up on my boat from year to year. Jaedon wrote a note to me 5 or 6 years ago which I put up and is still up on my testimonial page on my website. We’ve really had some great trips together over the years now. For their efforts this year, they took home 55 Walleyes and a bonus Steelhead Trout! A nice haul especially with Wednesday being a shorter day. I’ve been blessed this season to have had many multiple 3-4 day trips already. I love it! Everybody knows what to do, there is no anxiety or bazaar expectations on anybody's part. And all of these groups so far have been returning guests from past years. It’s like taking your buddies out fishing! All of my multiple day trips this year have all had good luck and nice big hauls to take back home. That got me to thinking as I watched all those fillets get bagged up. What is the value of a successful charter or charters?

A fishing charter should NEVER be judged only by just the poundage of fish caught. It should always be something very special. Doing something that most might only do once a year. Spending quality time with family and friends. Away from work, maybe troubles at home, or any other of the usual grinds that life may throws at us. Seeing Mother Nature at her very greatest and sometimes, not all so great. Still all a memory though. Every outing is always different. But when things do come together and you also leave with a big haul of fresh Lake Erie Walleyes, on top of the full day of fun that you’ve had and those memories that you have made, what exactly is the value of what you have in those coolers as you leave and head for home? I went online in the “pretense” of wanting to buy some “fresh Lake Erie Walleye fillets”! What I found was amusingly unbelievable! I have seen it at times locally in the stores anywhere from $14.99 a pound to $17.99. And that’s always with the skins on them! I know one of my groups from earlier in the year that fished three days with me left with well over a hundred pounds of perfectly skinless, boneless fillets! Take a look a look at the above screenshot and do a little simple math! Simply amazing. And these fillets are always skinless and GUARANTEED fresh! Something you can never be quite sure of when buying store bought fish!

Friday was the gem of the week for us aboard “The Trophy”. Faced with a group of 5 that I was TALKED INTO doing lol, I set out with thoughts of “well we’ll be lucky to catch 24”. Fishing in the “near shore waters within 5 nautical miles of shore”, we started out rather slow. Then the lake chopped up a bit and like somebody flipped a switch, it was GAME ON! It ended up being our biggest day yet this year beings I had to catch 5 limits of keepers. All that and we were back before noon for lunch! It don’t get too much better then that! We did nothing different really. We beat around the same waters we’ve been fishing. Pulled the same lures and set ups. We just got a bit lucky and ran into a few more actively feeding fish that day. It never hurts to be in the right place at the right time! And the pile of fillets that these boys took home? Well, lets just say their charter was pretty much FREE!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season

Oh, and did I mention the White Bass? Just like the last couple few years where we got invaded right around mid June with zillions of White Bass, here we go again. And unlike the nuisance little Walleyes that still put a smile on my face, the White Bass onslaught is exhausting and frustrating both. Now not only do we have to weed through all of the two year classes of under size aggressive Walleyes, suddenly we are plummeted with these stinking creeps too. And yet, through it all we are pulling some really nice big fish. We took more 31 inch Walleyes this past week then we have altogether the last month combined that I’ve been running trips here. Monsters and babies. AND WHITE BASS! Errrrrrrrr!

And the weather, well lets just say it was another challenging week. Not a big deal for those that only fish one day or two a week and can pick your days but tough for those professionals that are scheduled to go 7 days a week. We had it all. Thunderstorms like those that we had on Thursday that chased us off the lake not only once but twice in the same day! Exhausting pulling everything in and making a high speed run for the barn to play it safe. And then venture out again only to have more pop up storms blossom out of nowhere and force us to retreat once again. Then followed up with small craft flags on Friday making for a very choppy lake. Doable, but not necessarily the most comfortable of days. Still we caught a nice big tub of fish including a beautiful Steelhead Trout which thus far this season has been few and far between.

So next weeks forecast looks rather tranquil. I think I’m going to continue to push “The Trophy” northward in search of the larger migrating schools of Walleyes. Everything is always like clock work around here on the big lake and very repetitious. Just like how the White Bass showed up, I’m sure the larger schools of larger Walleyes can’t be far behind. I guess I’ll have to be the first one to really stick my nose out there and look. Honestly, I am getting quite bored running back and fourth in the same near shore waters. It wasn’t so bad before all the other boaters started Walleye fishing. Now between the junk fish, boat traffic and the toddler Walleyes, I’m ready to go get lost somewhere offshore all by myself and hunt down some of those migrating piggies! I got a sneaking feeling when we do find them out there, the Steelies won’t be far behind either . Maybe next week you’ll hear me complaining about how the trout are now attacking me too! Whaaa whaaa whaaa! Lol!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

Friday was picture perfect and left me once again scratching my head wondering is this even the same lake? My, if one only had the luxury of going only when the lake is perfectly flat. It was a real joy just to be out there and fishing was great for us! After hearing about other parts of the lake being inundated with young and undersize Walleyes this spring and summer, the Ashtabula area is suddenly flooded with 14 inch fish as well and even one year olds which are about 7-8 inches long. Commonly and affectionately called “cigars”. A real blessing to see all these young fish but oh my what a nuisance while trying to put bigger fish in the box. Friday they just exploded and seemed to be everywhere. There must have been a GREAT hatch back in 2014! It will be exciting to watch them grow! Especially when I “welcome” them aboard the boat next season! Lol!

In last weekend's report I mentioned that we had caught a nice but rare Brown Trout on one of our previous trips. I’ve had several people since ask me why didn’t I put a picture of that on my fishing report? The short answer is that when the fishing is good, I end up with way more pictures then I can possibly use with this four picture format that we have for our fishing reports. So, for the sake of full disclosure this is the picture from the week before last of the Brown Trout that some of you have asked about. It was a very nice fish which by the way earned a ride to a local taxidermist back where the guys live. It should look great on somebody's wall in their office or den or wherever it might end up! And also last week I mentioned that we caught a large Catfish while trolling. Well, we caught TWO MORE Catfish while trolling on two different days this past week! I think somebody's going around and spraying my lures with stink bait scent when I’m not around the boat in the evenings! What the heck? I haven’t caught that many trolling in the previous 30 years combined out here! Lol!

So the weekend rolls around and guess what? Saturday its back to flipping smoking stinking rough again! I’m like, YIKES! Are you even serious ? Friday was just so awesomely gorgeous and Saturday, right back to total crap again. I don’t think anybody but us ran as far as charters go. No regrets though. We had lots of fun and laughs, caught a nice box of Walleyes and everybody wants to come back again next year! You can’t ask for more then that. I know in my heart that I did what I could with what we had to work with and I was fortunate enough to have a good bunch of guys onboard that understood all of that. I really have my schedule and all of of my crews and everything about my trips exactly where I want them now! You know, I might just stick around long enough to see these “babies” “grow up”... Lol!

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

And it’s not just Walleye swimming around out there either! Aboard “The Trophy” this past week I think we caught just about every specie that swims around out there. Monday particularly was very interesting. We caught plenty of Walleye of coarse but we also caught a big Channel Catfish, Sheephead, White Bass, White Perch, Yellow Perch, a COHO SALMON! And a BROWN TROUT! I’m like, WHAT! And though we got none that day, we went out the very next day and caught a nice Steelhead. We could have used one of those the day before that to have had a real Grand Slam to go along with our Brown Trout and Salmon that we had! Lol! Lots of fun!

The fish are creeping outward already though. We’re no longer lurking just around the corner and hugging the break walls. Actually, I’m not sure that you still couldn’t pull some from so close but now with more traffic all of a sudden it isn't practical to drop boards right in the pathway of people coming out of the harbor. We’ve been meandering in water depths ranging from 45 ft. to 65 ft. And honestly, its not pocket fishing. There seems to be a nice spread of fish in any direction that we’ve gone. A very, very good thing! Same program to catch these fish as we’ve been using. Tru Trip jet divers and spoons. The fish are up and down too although I personally have had better luck with the slightly deeper fish. With that in mind we’ve even dabbled with the wire fishing line and crank baits already with mixed results but I don’t want to go to that well till we really have too! Nice to know that you have a variety of weapons to fall back on though if need be!

So up to now we’ve had pretty decent weather for all of my trips to date except for a day or so which we still managed to stumble through. This weeks coming forecast for the beginning of the week however looks somewhat troublesome. Some kind of cold front or something coming in for Monday & Tuesday at least knocking temps back into the 60’s. That alone I could care less about. It does however if you can believe the different sources that I check daily to be accompanied with strong westerly winds for a couple of days. We’ll have to see how it plays out but Monday and Tuesday may be no-go’s. A real shame too with the fishing setting up as good as it is right now. More fearful then that is the fear that it might change things out there for the worst from where its at right now. That is always possible! I still have Thursday the 9th available. Perhaps I can bump one or the other of my first part of the weeks trips back a couple days. I’m about ready for a day off anyway. We’ve had a pretty good run at them already! Stay tuned...

Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!

Most of the days that we spent plowing the near shore waters for these early season fish, we never even seen another boat out there! Troll where you want, turn when you want, it has been totally awesome. Then I read and hear about everyone's boat traffic nightmares elsewhere on the lake. I don’t miss any of that, that’s for sure! And no junk fish! When a rod fires, it’s guaranteed it’s a big Walleye on the other end! We have been so close to the break walls on some day and still catching fish that I swear we could hit it with a rock it seems! I sooooo wish it could be like that all summer long but we all know it won’t so I am really enjoying it while it lasts! And the fish are being caught high on short leads. None of the 400–500 foot of cranking that we have to do later in the summer after everybody else gets started fishing! lol! Short leads and Jet Divers. You can’t beat it.

And the fish have been as per usual around here, HUGE! What we lacked in total numbers for fish on some trips, we more then made up for in quality! I had two different long distance groups that took home some serious poundage of fillets for their efforts! The last time I seen it by the way, they were selling for about $17 bucks a pound at the fish market if you can even find it! One group was in from South Dakota for a 3 day trip and another was in from Wisconsin's for 4 days! Both groups were rewarded with great weather and good fishing. Thanks guys! I really enjoyed the friendship and the fun that we had together not to mention the business.

So without running to Facebook or any of the fishing forums only on the days that we do good, I guess I’ll start posting my actual reports here as I always do. Good, bad, or ugly... I always tell it like it is. It’s just fishing after all. You don’t have to be a hero everyday. Just try your hardest and don’t lie. That’s what we’ve done for 30 years now and my schedule reflects that. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend and if you’re out on the water anywhere on Mother Erie this weekend, lets be extra careful out there! Here's to another GREAT SUMMER!

(*we just took a cancellation for Thursday June the 9th for anyone that might be looking for a trip)


Capt. Walt

Celebrating Our 30th Season!