Much of the same. This past week was very similar to last week. We seem to have settled into a pattern of getting a few trips in and loosing the rest to the frigging weather. We just have not been able to put a string of nice days together now for a LONG time. I managed to get out Mon., Wed., and Thur. I would have dearly liked to have gotten out Fri. as well because the folks that I had Wed. & Thur. were in all the way from South Dakota for a 3 day Perch trip. I had to send them packing a day early because of the terribly rough lake conditions on Fri. And the lousy weather continued right on thru the entire weekend ( again ) resulting in no fishing. I have been loosing more trips now each week then I am getting in and that's a shame because I was in the thick of my heavy Perch schedule. The calendar now looks rather skimpy from here on out now sadly enough.
Even with the on again off again ugly lake conditions, the Perching remains surprisingly strong. The near shore waters now have a fairly heavy stain / border line muddy look to it. This is not doing us any favors. It is now late enough in the season where if we ever got some water clarity, the Jumbos would move right on in. We spent 2 of the 3 days that we did fish fishing in front of Ashtabula and doing quite well. Right around 55 foot of water seemed the best. Thursday I seemed to struggle catching a few wherever I tried around Ashtabula but it was dead slow for us and the fish that were biting seemed to run on the small side. At least for me. The kind that are about 3 to a pound. With me needing less then 60 Perch to finish up the day, I ended up making the long run to Conneaut, about a 34 mile run round trip to get the remainder of our Perch. Insane ? No doubt about it. If the weather allows though, I do whatever I can to make everyone's trip a successful and memorable one. That's me... Mr. 110% guy ! LOL
So these reports from here on out will probably get shorter and shorter as our final month here winds down and my trips become fewer and fewer and further between. And honestly, Perching even though extremely fun and fabulous eating is not nearly as glamorous as the off shore Walleye fishing trips where I always seemed to have something to write about. I mean what is there to really write about ? You go out, throw out the anchor and start yanking them. Well, maybe not quite that easy but certainly not enough material to write many paragraphs about, week after week. Probably from here on out we'll let the pictures do most of the talking if we manage to get out at all along with a brief summary of how the weather week played out. Of coarse if I don't pick up many more trips, there won't be a whole lot to write about either !
So this coming week the only weekday that I have booked is this coming Wednesday. It might be just as well because the lake forecast looks rather crappy till mid week when the temperatures are supposed to climb back up as well. It would be nice to pick up something for Thursday or Friday though. Friday might make an EXCELLENT choice for somebody wanting to make a 3 day weekend for themselves and wanting to stock the freezer one last time with some tasty Lake Erie Perch fillets for the long upcoming winter. After this month, it's going to be a LONG time before anybody has a chance of doing so again. I can hear the fat lady singing already... LOL ! Well that's it for yet another week. I'm going to cut this one off and go watch my Cleveland Browns play. Just like the weather, we're due to win one here sooner or later ! And for all of you that have been thinking about going on a Perch trip with me, guess what we are frying up during game time for ourselves? Yup you got it. A BIG platter full of Perch ! You can either eat your hearts out or come up and join me for a day and catch some for your selves ! GO BROWNS !!!
Capt. Walt
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