Pretty good Ashtabula fishing for early May! THE TROPHY has been busy running trips already and the fish are coming. We have not been limiting out yet but we certainly have caught more then enough fish to hold our heads up high. Perhaps if the weather would have cooperated just a bit better on charter days for me, we could have bumped our fish counts up by maybe a few more fish. This past weekend is a perfect example. It was just plain yucky up here on the lake. As I watched the evenings weather over the weekend it was both amazing and frustrating seeing where the stationary frontal border was hanging all weekend. On the lake we had raw stiff east-northeast winds with cool temperatures while not that far inland it was in the 70’s and pleasant. But we toughed through it all and were rewarded with some very nice Walleyes. |
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 |
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