It’s October! And it’s just about all over for me and “The Trophy” now for another year. This past week wasn't much of a week for anyone. We got just a couple of days of Perching in before a incredible stretch of unreal windy days kicked in starting with Wednesday. And it had nothing to do with the hurricane churning out in the Atlantic right now. Just a series of fronts that came together to form our own perfect storm over Lake Erie! As I sit here and write this final report on Friday night because I know there will be no fishing this weekend, gale warnings are posted out on the lake. I keep checking the buoy and all the lighthouse’s wind reports in total disbelief. Sustained constant northeast winds of well over 40 mph along with gusts to 55 mph plus! The several times that I drove down to the beach to see for myself I was simply in awe to see the wave action offshore and the monster waves washing over the break walls. I am so very disappointed that with a heavy Perch schedule these last two weeks that this weather could not have held off till after I pulled the boat here in about week. It is what it is I guess.
The Perch fishing that we did do was just OK earlier in the week. After a real burn last weekend, this past Monday and Tuesday that we did fish was considerably slower for us. Not terrible though and we did get all of our fish, but it took pretty much the full 8 hours each day of the allotted time on a Perch charter to do so. As most always on these Ashtabula Perch trips we had some real jumbos! If you have never experienced the fun of “Perch jerking” and especially catching BIG Perch, it should certainly be on your bucket list of things to do someday! And when it comes to eating fish, there are few that will argue that Lake Erie's Yellow Perch do not make incredibly good table fare and probably are the very best fish that you could possibly eat. I certainly wouldn’t argue with that statement!
Even though I will be in the water till the 12th of October yet with trips scheduled everyday, it remains to be seen if things will settle down enough and rebound in time for me after this at least five day massive blow. I don’t think we had anything quite this severe this whole season and for so many days in a row like this nasty stretch that is hammering away at us right now. Even though the winds and waves are forecasted to ease some this coming week, the lake is probably going to be one big big muddy mess with everything all churned up and the lake probably completely turned over. Really bad news for fishing and for those that have plans on going anytime soon. I know I’m going to have to have a real talk with all of my remaining upcoming trips. Maybe if your expectations aren’t real high, perhaps. We’ll see. If not we had a nice run at it while it lasted and when the weather held for us this year. Both for the Walleyes and the Perch.
Which brings me to the part of my final fishing report of each year where I take the time to thank all of the people that have fished with me this past season from the very bottom of my heart. I still find it hard to believe that I have been doing this for 29 years now. Without everyone's continuing patronage and the business that you’ve given me both this year and in the past seasons, I certainly would not have made it this long. I am humbled by your continued loyalty and the friendships that have evolved with many of you. Some spanning over many years now from this little fishing business of mine that I started so very long ago. I hope everyone understands that I try very hard for everyone. Each year it gets just a little tougher for me as I grow older myself. It’s a very physical, weather driven job. I appreciate everyone's understanding and patience with me at times. Sometimes I get down on myself be it because of the weather that I have to deal with or that the bite is off or whatever the reason may be and might not be as pleasant as I could be. If I ever came across like that, I apologize. I hope everyone understands though that it is a business for me and that I am hard at work. While you are hooping and hollering and having fun, I am working. I have a lot of incredible responsibilities and a lot going on all around me constantly with even more things on my mind that I have to worry about. So if I ever came across as being distanced or not as socially interactive with everyone as some might have expected while onboard for the day, well that is my explanation. I am working very hard constantly at trying to catch everyone as much fish as possible and to keep everyone safe out there. After 29 years of doing so and still being here, I must be doing something right! So thank you my friends and my guests. Thanks for fishing with me,, thanks for following along with these weekly reports. Thanks for everything! So that’s it. It’s a wrap. I’ll still be around for a little while longer fishing out there if we can get back out but there will be no more reports till next year now. So till we meet again, I’m wishing everyone safe travels, good health, and very Happy Holidays! Over and OUT for one final time for yet another year!
Capt. Walt
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