Bob Devine

Many pros have been using bowmounts for a few yrs to pull harnesses and slow troll cranks. I have not run out of power doing it this way with n 80# electric 24V. Most will not troll into the wind unless it is very light. 4 stroke kickers use very little gas and are quiet but the electric system is silent and with an "auto pilot" feature- you set it and forget get it. Just have to remember to look forward to watch out for things in front of you. The power drive units are great for open water but if you are fishing currents and fighting boat wakes like we do on the Detroit River I find they don't respond as quick as needed. The best option for me is to have both, cable steer on the river and an auto pilot power drive for lake fishing.

If you can afford it go colour. It is much easier to read in sunlight and determine what you are looking at. I would uggest Lowrance myself for fish finding capablities. The pics are 2 Lowrance units on a bright sunny day in May on Lake Erie.

Last yr I was out with 2 guys from London, Dave and Bruce. Last yr Dave got himself a nice 52". This yr it was Bruce's turn, a 51". We went 4-4 with no pattern 4 different lures 2 off the boards and 2 off boat rods. The biggie hit a boat rod and was immediately out of the water.

Not sure if you want to drive a bit but Leamington is giving up limits and Wheatley is going strong with rainbows and walleyes.

The open water rainbows on the western end of Erie out of Wheatley is heating up nicely. On Tues I had a guest who had never fished them before and said they are scrappy and usually go 4-6#, the first 3 were all over 9# and he lost one on a slider that was bigger. We were running 2 riggers and with sliders and 2 -82 mm Walker deeper divers. Rigggers were down 25-35 and the divers were back 80-135. These fish will only be here until Labour Day wknd and then they will be headed offshore and on their way back to OH and PA. The perch fishing is also excellent right now too.

We were in the Ray Demers Memorial tourney. 7 fish over 50 inches were entered. We had a great time, and can't wait to get back on the water this weekend another fun Tourney coming up! Great job Wendel. This just confirms that there is a great fishery here in southwestern Ont that many have not taken advantage of. 2 wks ago the Colchester walleye derby was held and again this yr 5 walleyes were brought to the scales over 30" and now 7 muskies over 50" on 1 wknd. That is awesome!! I grew up in Midland and never experienced fishing like I have here in Windsor for the past 20 yrs. I love the scenery in cottage country but I love catching fish more. As we speak the steelhead fishery on Lake Erie out of Wheatley and Erieau is just starting to heat up. The only down side of the area is big water and with big water comes big waves and some uncomfortable rides but the fishing is well worth it.

We had 5 hits on Sat and it rained LOTS Fri night with a great light show going into Sat morning at 7am. We left the dock at 9am after the rain and it cleared up and the winds were gusting to over 25 mph, so I was very happy with the results.

Musky fishing on Lake St. Clair is going strong. In 2006 the VHS virus hit the musky population quite hard but things have turned around and the fishing has been great during this early season. The fish that are now being caught are very healthy and there are a number of smaller 24-28" fish being caught along with some fatties that survived VHS With 420 sq miles of open water, trolling is the way to cover the area quicky and effectively. Larger cranks have been working well in numerous color schemes. On Sat a "Blue Frog" Woodie was hot, getting hit 4 times. If you are looking to land your first musky LSC is probably your best lake at getting one. Try trolling cranks close to the boat 15-50' back and hold on.

Hit Lake Erie today at 2:30pm for the aft bite. Started fast with a nice 28". Things were steady but not like it was earlier in the wk. The Lowrance was not showing much so we moved to the north and found an active school of good sized fish. We C&R 4 that were over 27" and the young fellow I was fishing with kept his 6 for his family. With the fronts that came thru the fish were a bit deeper, but still were hungry for a baitfish image blade with a fat crawler.

Met some friends at Leamington marina at 8am and went right to the walleyes. Set lines and on the first pass we boated 22 walleyes. Many were in the 20-22" range with a number over 25 which were released. The biggest of the day was a healthy 27.5", that was CPR'd. The fishing in the are has been great for the last month and will continue most of the summer. Finding active fish on such a large body is the only issue. We ran crawler harnesses in various colours, with the clearer water the baitfish image blades were working best. Open water downrigging out of Wheatley for steelhead is just around the corner and this makes for some high flying action. Some of that action can be seen on WFN. Musky season is now open and the short period of casting-jigging is winding down, but the trolling season will be hitting full stride as the fish move off the spawning grounds to the open water on Lake St. Clair. The musky casting will return in Oct for those interested.

Rob, I have 2-6" tracks for my boat. They don't have to go on the gunnels as you see by my pics. I have also seen people put them just in front of where I mounted mine on the carpet. All you need is a 4"x6" area to work with when using Berts track system.

Rob V, there are a number of places to stay. Leamington, Colchester, Kingsville or on Pelee Island. Not sure if you what you are looking for but I have contact #'s for cottages, motels B&B's and camping in the area.

We have been fishing out of Colchester and Leamington. This Sat June 13 is the annual Colchester derby that attracts more than 350 anglers in search of the longest walleye. It is only $20/person with LOTS of door prizes, and beverage and food tent. The host is Canada's first PWT winner Greg Horoky. http://derby.hcslions.com/2008-winners

Just finished 5 days of walleye fishing on Lake Erie and it was non stop action. We fished 20-30 ft of water pulling harnesses and getting limits each day. As I posted about 10 days ago the walleye fishing was heating up and it is in full swing now. Others are pulling small dipsies and spoons with good succes too. Our largest of the wknd was 30.5" with lots of 25-28" fish to release and once again keeping those smaller "eater" walleyes. Looking forward to a couple days of musky casting this wk and back to walleye fishing on the wknd.

It has been a great season JP. The Det River took a little while to heat up but it is still going well with limits of walleyes and all the silver bass you want right now. Erie is going strong and it is a blast watching those Off Shore boards go under like a bobber. I will be staying on Pelee Island from Wed-Sun next wk. It should look like this again!

Fortunately for me I have learned to catch enough walleyes and we have great surrounding waters (Det River-Erie and LSC) that I am very selective of the walleyes I keep. When I choose to keep them they are between 15"-18".

I fished Thurs out of Leamington with good results. We landed 2 over 29" with several between 25-28". We dodged some rain and got caught in a few showers but the walleyes continued to cooperate. We fished 28-32 fow pulling harnesses and crawlers the best pattern was a Northland #5 baitfish image blade in perch pattern. The walleye season is going strong and will continue thru the summer months from Colchester to Leamington.

The warm weather has really turned on the walleyes in the western basin. Trolling worm harnesses has been doing very well but don't rule out running cranks or spoons. Locate bait and you will find fish. Many of the walleyes being caught are of the 2003 yr class and are about 23"-25". This larger walleye was released. Long Amercan wknd so play safe.

I was thinking you might still have ice. Glad to see you have open water and walleyes!

The Detroit River continues to give up good catches of walleyes. The big run has slowed and now the other species(smallmout sheephead, silver bass and white perch) have kept anglers busy. Most have been jigging using 1/2-3/4 oz jigs in various colours tipping with a plastic worm or minnow. Walleye fishing on Lake Erie(Colchester-Leamington) is starting to heat up with crawler harnesses the bait of choice for many. Water temps are 56-59 degrees and some great fishing is ahead of us.

www.bigbitebaits.com They are very tasty, in fact I call them water chicken.

Hey Capt George, they were a little big and prego so I let them go. I will bring you and Nora some soon. (trade ya for a coffee) Krisco, just noticed my clock on the graph is 12 hrs ahead too? I found a warm spot on the river.. LOL

The water temps are starting to warm and the walleyes are getting ready to spawn. I hit the D-R this morning while the sun was shinning and landed 3 quick walleyes 6.5#- 6# and 4.5#. The forecast is showing rain every other day so it may be hit or miss as anglers dodge the rain. I was using a 1/2oz jig and a Bio Bait minnow in a smelt pattern. Peak runs will be in about 2-3 weeks as fish now are pre-spawn and as the water temps warm the fish will become more aggressive. Early season is usually best for big fish and as mid April comes around it will be a mixed bag of both numbers and a few big walleyes. I have included a picture of my fish finder to show you my jig bouncing off the bottom of the river, I fished a bit shallower to emphasize the picture of the jig. Good electronics are key.

John, the light weight of the Legend series is great. When you add a big bait and throw it all day it will tire you out. The Legend series has a better warranty and that is worth the price. I have a set of Legend 8'MHF that I use for a variety of casting baits. The 8 -8'6" make a great rod length for figuring eighting at boatside.

Rock, Marc made some very good points about training courses available. I have been guiding for a number of years as well and staying on top on the regulations and making sure I was covered by the standards that were set. First aid, commercial insurance, CPR and the MED A-3 course that is offered by Georgian College were the steps I took to become a guide. I see Marc took the FUM A-3 and I may have to upgrade to that one as well. Some guide associations will keep you up to date as to courses and regulation changes. Those were the ones offered the other factor is spending time on the water learning how to catch fish. Another part of the puzzle is working with people, there can be plenty of free time and good conversation can make it or break it. I have enjoyed guiding since I started and that is mostly because of the people I have had on my boat. Being on the waters of Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie and the Detroit River I am fortunate to guide for several species, bass, musky, walleye and steelhead. With the different species also comes numerous techniques such as jigging, casting trolling and downrigging and that keeps it fresh too. My season starts early April on the Detroit River for walleye and finishes in Dec with the closing of musky fishing. Hope this helps,