J. Sparrow

The 1oz snap weight was probably above the fish...…...

what fishmaster said...…

you're letting the diver out too fast. I set mine by backing the drag off and letting them slowly "click" their way out to the depth I'm looking for. When they get to that depth, I increase the drag until the drag barely holds them from clicking out more. Often when a fish hits them,  the reel will click and alert you to the hit. 

We took a 2 man limit out of the Catt today..... Very rough early. Same story as above, 10 colors with sticks did the damage although we did get 2 of the last 3 on harnesses on the riggers. Lots of barren water out there today, but when we marked fish we caught fish. Spent our time in 75 - 90 fow, but most productive area was around 80 fow. Divers were mysteriously silent, no matter what I put behind them. 

I'm sure the lakers relate more to temp than depth. If you have a probe, go to 100 fow, drop it to the bottom and see what the temp is. You're probably looking for low 50's for a down temp..... keep going deeper until you find it. You might also see the thermocline on your graph

https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@11&key=krkbGj~yeN

Canadian line = 180ish......???

My wife and I had another good day out of the Catt yesterday, fishing between there and Dunkirk in 75 - 80 fow. Riggers with harnesses did the most damage. 10 colors and sticks also produced, but not as much.

There's an east component to the forecasted wind through Sunday. I fear that's gonna change things a little. 

I tie the fluoro leader directly to the diver, and put a snap swivel on the lure end of the leader. At the end of the day, I wrap the leader around the diver. But, you have to check the leader for damage between trips, and replace it when it gets knicked up, and it will. Replacing them every trip or every other trip is pretty normal for me, especially for kings. No leader difference for harnesses, spoons, or sticks in my boat. 

We got a 2 man limit yesterday N of the Catt in 75 - 80 fow. Sticks and lead-core (10 colors) worked well. We had the best luck finding some cooler water (68 - 70F) down 65 feet. Mass Confusion Colorado harnesses on the riggers and purple bay rats on the cores. 

Thanks for the instructions...…. sure looks simple, but I know I'll have to reference this post a bunch of times!

2 hours ago, garrymny said:

Went today for only our second trip out of Catt. July 4 was our other trip. ZILCH both times! Wow, perplexing what has happened this year compared to the last 2 or 3. Every one has a theory. My brother in law from PA fished out of Erie last week and got a 2 man limit. We saw very little on our screen either. Saw some bait though.

What depth of water did you fish Garry? I was hoping to make an attempt this weekend. 

1 hour ago, Ten Percent said:

Hey J. Sparrow.... have you lost any tackle yet using light leaders on your dipsy's?

I have........ but I religiously check leaders for nicks and abrasions, and replace them at any sign of damage. I feel that the lighter leader material lets spoons have better action in the water, and it results in more fish. For Kings on Ontario, upsize leaders to 15 to 20, but still check them often. They probably get replaced 1x per trip. 

Mr. 580....... I need to try slide divers. 

Run them on 2 1/2 or 3 and use longish leaders...…. 8 - 10'. I like fluoro leaders, 8 - 10 lb test. They will produce. I typically don't run sticks on them, just spoons and harnesses. Warrior flutter spoons, or little warriors are becoming my go to. 

I fished with my daughter today out of the Catt, and we wound up with 8 walleyes from about 6 til noon. We fished 80 - 90 fow, and there was a pretty strong temperature break about 60 feet down. Most of our fish came on spoons off the wire divers set back 200, or off the riggers at 65 with harnesses...…. the first 2 fish came on 7 color cores with sticks. And that was it for the cores...… We never really marked a lot of fish, and just picked away at them all day, but I don't think we boated a fish after 10:30. 

Only 2 of the 8 had anything in their stomachs, and the contents were smaller smelt...… from what I could tell....

12 hours ago, Gamecock said:

 

And yes, I did fish today and buddy and I boxed our 12 out of Dunkirk straight out.

 

I guess I'll be a bad guy too...… this is your second post...…. You've never posted one report to help anyone else. Thanks for all the insight on your great box yesterday. 

1 hour ago, Fyshon said:

I wanted to use big jon otter releases to add a 2nd lure up from my dipsey on my flouro leader...

If you're wanting to add a leader/lure on your line between the diver and the rod tip,  I don't think it's a good idea. 

Thought I would try the Warfare last year for a lead-core walleye reel....... in less than 1 month, the clicker failed. Hope you have better luck. I used to be a Penn reel fan, and fished 716's for years, and I was hoping to get back to some of their products. 

15 hours ago, Ckawski said:

Great day on the lake fished 3 diff spots landed 28 eyes 4lb or bigger 7 steel head sticks n spoons fished all over for depths they all produced box was full

Sent from my SM-G930V using Lake Erie United Mobile App
 

Curious as to what you've been seeing in their stomachs or puked up in the "cooler". 

You'll catch plenty of walleyes in September, but the problem becomes weather related as a flat lake can be difficult to come by...…. Dunkirk and Barcelona are better for me later in the season.

19 minutes ago, stoneam2006 said:

(especially bc we don't eat walleye) 

huh? Do you eat any freshwater fish? Any fish at all?

Very thorough report ws6rufus...….. thanks.

Garry ……… There were quite a few boats out trolling walleyes, and from the dock talk, it sounded like 3 - 4 fish was about average for a morning trip. Our 2 hour attempt at walleyes wasn't exactly prime time.... 11 am to 1 pm.... In the 2 hours of trolling, we didn't mark tons of fish..... 

17 minutes ago, garrymny said:

Thanks for the report. Looks like it is holding true that our good Walleye fishing doesn't start until July.

My wife and I managed 46 perch this morning, and then fished for walleyes from 11 -  1 and never moved a rod. We did mark fish in 60 fow, mostly 40 - 50 down. The surface temps were around 65 F, with temp on the bottom in 60 fow, at 52 F...…… Beautiful day. Picked up our bait from Millers, but all that is available right now is fatheads...… All in all, great day.

What did you have for surface temps or down temps?

One option is to troll "S" patterns if traffic permits. That'll speed up your outside boards and slow the inside, raising and lowering baits....... Many times those changes will trigger strikes. 

perch fishing, not so good today...…. we struggled. We did mark fish, but struggled to get them to go. Having only fatheads probably didn't help us any. 

For $15 / launch, I'll be donating enough! Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they are going to be open, but do think they are gouging us.