SethColeman
Well-known member
Last week I went on a 10 hour drive to Sandusky,OH to fish on Lake Erie for some walleye. A friend had invited me on a trip and talked me up on the walleye. I had never seen or caught one so I was definately excited. I gave the $300 for a 3 night 2 day fishing excursion at the Wild Wings Marina. They gave me a brochure that was loaded with photos, stories, FAQs, and info about the area. I read this thing for several months ,and almost had it memorized. It basically talked about this area being known as the walleye capital of the world, and also about its smallmouth and perch fishing. The lodging was expected, a little different than the photos, but all we needed was a bed. There were a couple little ponds they said you could fish in there so we went to the convenience store for some bait and a little bit of tackle. We told the lady we were in town from Chattanooga and asked if there were anymore bait stores that had a wider tackle selection. She said yes and asked what we were fishing for..Perch? We kinda chuckled and said no we were coming for walleye, and she kinda gave us a chuckle and said "you picked the wrong time of year for walleye"....uh ohh.....After going back to my memory on the brochure, it had said to reference their fishing table to figure out when to fish based on the bite. I remember Oct. said for walleye=exc, smallmouth=exc,white bass=fair, freshwater drum=fair, trophy walleye=exc, avg weight 3-6 lbs. Hmmmmmm? Well we kinda laughed it off, and I was able to find some splitshot, 6 in Gulp Black nightcrawlers, and some barbed hooks big enough to rig together a little drop shot(more on that later).
The next morning at 0530 we are up and at um'. We meet at the boat at 0725 for our 0730 depature. We get on the boat and wait on the captain. Jason's dad is talking about past walleye he has caught, when the captain gets on the boat. He looks at us and says "sounds like you guys want to fish for walleye?". We say yup that was what the long drive was for and now he kinda chuckles and says, "how about we fish for some perch? and then we will think about walleye, because they aren't biting now." Uh ohhhhhhhhhh.....now I know we are in trouble. The water was so rough it wasnt even enjoyable to be out there. I wont get into the bathroom situation, or the tackle situation, that is a whole other story. We were out on the water for about 7 hours, and we caught 20lbs were of perch, several stripe bass, drum, and white perch, but nothing of size. We headed back to the dock, I gave my $20 tip and went back to the room a little tired and disappointed. They dropped the fish off to be cleaned and started pounding some beer.
The next morning we skipped breakfast and the day was already much better. No wind and the wakes werent as bad either. This guide was much better, but still had the same answer on the walleye. We fished for about 7 hours again but this time brought home 37lbs of perch,1 walleye, 1 goby, stripe bass, drum.etc. While on the boat I asked about other species of fish in the lake. I asked about catfish=yes,northern pike=no, largemouth=yes. When I asked him about largemouth he said "few and far between". We got back to the dock and we dropped the fish off to be cleaned and headed for the room for my rod and reel. Jason and I decided to come back and hit the docks. Jason loves to fish with a bobber and we didnt bring any tackle so he emptied out his advil bottle and hooked it on his line. It looked like a small JAWS barrel going through the water. He fished for some bluegill by the docks, and about my third cast, I let out my trademark "uh oh"(meaning I have a hit). I set the hook and boom out of the water it comes, a very healthy, heavy, chunky, few and far between largemouth. I laughed it off saying walleye capital of the world, but I cant catch a walleye and here is a largemouth. I know this was a long and boring story but this isnt the first trip I have been disappointed with. Its not so much about the money as it is for the time. I could have stayed here and caught yellow perch, largemouth, drum, and whitebass. I just wanted to see, feel, and fight a walleye. Oh well, if I ever take another guided trip, it will be in Florida or Texas for largemouth. That way if I dont catch anything I can blame myself!!!!I dont even eat fish....lol so all my bags of fresh perch were donated to the other guys on the trip.
The next morning at 0530 we are up and at um'. We meet at the boat at 0725 for our 0730 depature. We get on the boat and wait on the captain. Jason's dad is talking about past walleye he has caught, when the captain gets on the boat. He looks at us and says "sounds like you guys want to fish for walleye?". We say yup that was what the long drive was for and now he kinda chuckles and says, "how about we fish for some perch? and then we will think about walleye, because they aren't biting now." Uh ohhhhhhhhhh.....now I know we are in trouble. The water was so rough it wasnt even enjoyable to be out there. I wont get into the bathroom situation, or the tackle situation, that is a whole other story. We were out on the water for about 7 hours, and we caught 20lbs were of perch, several stripe bass, drum, and white perch, but nothing of size. We headed back to the dock, I gave my $20 tip and went back to the room a little tired and disappointed. They dropped the fish off to be cleaned and started pounding some beer.
The next morning we skipped breakfast and the day was already much better. No wind and the wakes werent as bad either. This guide was much better, but still had the same answer on the walleye. We fished for about 7 hours again but this time brought home 37lbs of perch,1 walleye, 1 goby, stripe bass, drum.etc. While on the boat I asked about other species of fish in the lake. I asked about catfish=yes,northern pike=no, largemouth=yes. When I asked him about largemouth he said "few and far between". We got back to the dock and we dropped the fish off to be cleaned and headed for the room for my rod and reel. Jason and I decided to come back and hit the docks. Jason loves to fish with a bobber and we didnt bring any tackle so he emptied out his advil bottle and hooked it on his line. It looked like a small JAWS barrel going through the water. He fished for some bluegill by the docks, and about my third cast, I let out my trademark "uh oh"(meaning I have a hit). I set the hook and boom out of the water it comes, a very healthy, heavy, chunky, few and far between largemouth. I laughed it off saying walleye capital of the world, but I cant catch a walleye and here is a largemouth. I know this was a long and boring story but this isnt the first trip I have been disappointed with. Its not so much about the money as it is for the time. I could have stayed here and caught yellow perch, largemouth, drum, and whitebass. I just wanted to see, feel, and fight a walleye. Oh well, if I ever take another guided trip, it will be in Florida or Texas for largemouth. That way if I dont catch anything I can blame myself!!!!I dont even eat fish....lol so all my bags of fresh perch were donated to the other guys on the trip.
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