Looks like you guys had a good time! I haven’t been back since I moved to florida… LOL Too cold!!!!

Steve,

How many boats/guys are bring this year? Staying at the Marlu?

Sorry about not getting back to you sooner…. Here is a link to the Ohio Dept. Natural Resources website. They are changing the limits for walleye in the spring.

A biologist from the fisheries dept. did a presentation at our clubs meeting this past month and told us that 2003 was one of the best walleye hatches in YEARS!!! Its looking like we are going to have some awesone walleye fishing in the next couple of years. The put in a 15″ size limit to help protect the upcoming year classes… He said that if we can get a another hatch or two like this there is a good chance we can have fishing like it was in the 80’s!!! AWESOME!!!!

Ohio Dept. Natural Resources

I am starting to come around but its tough when the old style out perform the new 2-3 to 1. The biggest thing I miss is the colors that storm used to have. To compensate, I started doing a lot of custom paint jobs on the new ones. I use nail polish, paint pens, and magic markers. Pretty much anything I can find that has the color I want.

Rumor has it that Dave at Kaboom lures is bringing back the old style thundestick next spring. All I can say is that I sure hope so, I’m getting tired of paying $10 a lure off of ebay..

Thanks

We always have a good time! Especially when the fish ARE biting…

Here is another good eater….

Thanks, I’ll check them out…

Hooks,

Thanks for the info… Where is the best place to launch a bigger boat?

Can you reccomend a good place to stay?

Jason

No problem… Atleast buy a handheld VHF. I think you can get one for $100-$125. It is a line of sight signal but it should get you atleast 3-4 miles reach.

If Wes see’s this post I’m sure he will give you some first hand advice…

Have fun and be safe!

There are a lot of guys that fish the bay and the main lake in that size boat. The other Ohio staff member Wes uses a 16’er. The BIGGEST thing is to watch the weather, double check the wave forecast, make sure you have all your safety equipment and a working VHF raido.

If the wind is blowing or there is a chance of it getting rough, stay on shore… No fish is worth your life…

As for the other two boats, either of them would be a giant step up from the 16’er…

Good Luck,

Here are a couple more…

Scott,

This past weekend was awesome, we boated a 4 man limit on saturday, majority of the fish were 5+ or better with a 7 or 8 going 27″+. I only fished 4 hours on sunday and boated 15, with 30″ being the pig of the day…. Overall a great weekend!

The fish were in close (26′-34′ of water) this past sat and sun, my bet for this coming weekend is that they are going to move back out to 55ft of water.

Weather permitting I’ll be out there saturday to find out first hand.. I’ll let you know on monday!!

Guilty…Stackers and fixed sliders work great when the mayfly hatch is here on the central basin. I can target hi and low fish at the same time… I am looking forward to the first time I have two steelies on at once!!!

If you are going to be running a lot of snap weights… Buy some of the “string on a tube” type bobber stops. Put a bead on your main line, then put bobber stop between that and your lure leave a 3-4ft gap more if you can.

rod———snapweight———–bead-bobberstop—–3-6ft—–lure

If you use the proper size snap swivel the bead will stop the weight from smacking the fish. It will also help your lure stay clean of weeds and debris thats in the water.

A little tip….

Take a snap swivel. You know the loop where you usually tie your line on? Attach it to the ring on the snap weight. When using the snap weights attach them to your fishing line like you always have. Then attach the snap swivel to your line. Now if the snap weight comes loose it will slide down your line to the lure.

The sign is off by about 4″…. If I was going 50 I would have made it!!!

The boat didn’t suffer to much damage. I need to get a couple of welds fixed and the outrigger mount needs fixed. The wost part was having to back all the way up the street in morning rush hour.

All in all it was a good day on the lake… We caught a ton of perch, I think we thru back as many as we kept. We got our limit and then went looking for some eyes. We ran out to 25/24 and 27/26 but didn’t mark a thing. We headed into the shallower waters west of the castle and found a bunch of stained water. Decided to call it a day and headed home….

Hersh and I cleaned up the 90 perch and decided to have a fresh fish dinner. Nothing like some fresh deep fried perch!!! I think we each had about 30 pieces.

Nice fish! Memories of last summer!!! I can’t wait to get back out on the central basin. The boat traffic up by the islands is unbelieveable….

Where are you planning to dock the new boat?

Here is a picture of the eye Wes caught….

Nice fish buddy!!!

Hoosier,

Below is the lodging info that I posted for the Spring GTG. If yours plans are for October I would suggest the Huron area of lake erie instead of the reefs. Every fall there is a HUGE pod of big fish in that area. Its so big that Walleye Central has a get together there every year. This year its the last weekend in October. If you guys change your mind and want to hit that area instead let me know and I’ll post somemore lodging info….

Here is the info that I posted for the islands area…

Ok guys, here is some info for lodging….

Steve and his crew are staying at the Marlu Resort, I don’t have the number here at home, but I’m sure Steve will post it for me, thanks buddy.

When I go up to the Catawba area its only for the weekend, so I usually stay at the Holiday Inn or the Fairfield Inn.

Holiday Inn
419-732-7322
Clean, new motel, plenty of parking, McDonalds and Ponderosa next door, baitshop and gas station across the street. Right down the road from the launch ramp.

Fairfield Inn
419-732-2434
Its about a mile up the street from the Holiday Inn, it’s a couple years older but very clean. Good parking.

Here are couple of places that friends have stayed at. If you are going to stay for more than a couple of nights you may want to consider one of these. The rates are probably a little less and the beach cliff has fish cleaning facilities.

Beach Cliff Lodge
http://www.beach-cliff.com
(419) 797-4553

Hiway Lodging
419-734-7147

Check out Big John. They make a pretty good mast for the money. I have been running one on Lake Erie for the past three years, zero problems.

When it comes to the boards…. A lot of guys like the Otter Boats by Big John. I have tried them on and off for the past three years and gave up on them. I pull alot of dipseys, heavy snap weights, and big jets, usually 4-5 lines per side of the boat. The otters just couldn’t handle the weight, they ran behind the boat instead of off to the sides. Now I run a home built set that are about 3′ long and constructed out of 1″ x 12″ redwood. If you are handy you may just want to build your own, there are a ton of plans on the internet…

Good Luck…

No problem I understand… Good Luck..