Capt.Bob

FUN FUN FUN,,,, but better eat'n! It only takes one to ruin the entire line! I liked to get off the beaten path and away from the masses.

These come from the largest tributary of all the Great Lakes. The Largest river run for Walleyes in the world. If you ain't done it for years, be ready for combat fishing. There is about a 5 mile stretch of the Maumee River where this happens ever ice out. As for the material, it is EPS same thing a foam coffee cup or a Northland Floating jig is made from. But nobody sell's a floating jig with the same size head as a round 1/4 oz jig, with a hook larger than a light wire short shank Aberdeen in about #6 size. These are made in 3/16 and 1/4 oz molds, and use a #1 O'Shaughnessy jig hook. I started making floating jigs using less than desirable material but, they proved to work better than lead 20 some years ago. People thought I was nuts, and within the last 12 or so years others started using them. I sold 5 gallon buckets of this stuff for about 15 years, by the sandwich bag (1 LBS). One bag would make over 1000 jigs this size. Today you seldom see anyone using a lead jig for these running fish. About 5 years ago I realized the benefits using bucktail over plastics, when fishing in these conditions. Fished Carolina style, or I prefer rigging them with a trolling sinker with about 2' to 5' leader depending on how fast a water I'm fishing, weights between 1/2 oz and 1 oz depending on flow and line weight are what works best for me. 20lb 832 sufix with a 8'to 10', 12# test leader to the weight, the the same 12# (Trilene Big Game) leader the proper length to the jig, I fish daily and never leave my 832 in the river 2 or 3 years on a single spool! If I could just educate the thousands that tie directly to synthetic line to use a leader, the river would be much more fishable for everyone. But it only takes one "idiot" even after having it explained to them refuses to to and breaks off 20 to 30 yard chunks of this line in a run,, the fishing is over! It runs down stream from where it's snagged up, and when others try and drift their line thru it, it just slides down the dead line, never getting down to the bottom where the fish are, and if you are lucky enough to pick one up, good luck getting out of a tangled snag and through the fast current. That is why I call it combat fishing! I thank God I have done it long enough, and no where to go to get away from these kind of folks that would like to think they are fisherman, and are solely there to screw the whole place up!! If anyone try's it,, good luck,, but be prepared for disappointment,, it is a well known destination in the early spring. For everyone that can be fished around without problems, there are 20 that don't understand anything and can't be told,, they never catch fish, but know it all!

My favorite time of year,, chasing whitetail from Oct to Feb, and as soon as the ice ice is on, hit em everyday we got overcast. Go the to the camper and up at 5am on the ice by 6am,, nap and breakfast when they tell you it's break time. but I am kinda soft in my old age, after about -5* or so, it's to cold fer camp'n but there are always deer to hunt when it gets that cold. I only fished one of the other Lakes this year, and was having to much luck on my lake to need to drag stuff to the north or south lakes anyways. Just right out the back deer,,

Just what the Walleye want in the flooded waters of the largest tributary of all the Great Lakes durring the spring thaw and early rains.

No rest for the wicked,, I definitely got lucky when I found a way to get a spot on these lakes. The Gills are great,, and I ain't much for loud moth bass, but it's full of em, to me it's like fighting through the junk fish to get the ones your after. this was a couple others from February before we lost the ice,, The smallest one I got this winter on the left. and the gills aint bad either, this is a typical mess, mostly 8" to 9" once in a while a 9.5"-10"r, but the even the 8's are thick and meaty.

Man oh Man! Just no rest these day's,, 2 weeks ago I was kill'n the big Northen Pike on my home Lake, now it's time to get stocked up for the next 8 weeks hammering the largest Walleye run in the world! New boat I built from the 1950's model 15' Ouachita, now titled as a 2017 is rigged and ready! And now just finishing and tying a few more floating bucktail jigs,,, my HOT-TA-MOMMAS, and FIRE CRAWLERS,, better known as MY Walleye Killers,,,, Should be another great 2 months, filling the freezer and then time fer some Bluegills on the beds,, and hot flyrod action!

Had a pretty good January, Chase'n them Water Wolf's while walk'n on water! Just a few, but 5 fish over 38" and out of 11 none under 29". Have plenty in the freezer till next year. Now with the party over It's time to get ready for the Walleye,, less than 2 weeks and will be hammering them in the big river! Dam this retired chit just never gives a guy a break,,,,

Catfish, Dogfish, Suckers, Carp, etc, It would be easier to list the fish that I have not caught on lures.

7/2/2017This is Sunday afternoon, and I just got back from Toledo. We dropped the boat in at Perrysburg, downstream of where it will be used in these same flooded conditions durring the run, we ran upstream thru the Ft. Meigs narrows up to buttonwood, it passed this test with ease. This is some of the fastest water in the areas the Walleye run, and higher than I plan to use the boat for, or in. I did this this morning because the river is at flood stage! With anywhere from 3" to 7" of rain in the entire region gave us what we needed to make this test, with the river up over 8'. It is higher than I will be using the boat to fish from, and it is faster than I will use it in. This is the fastest water I have ever used any boat in. With the biggest problem this morning being dodging driftwood and debris floating down at us. I also wanted to make sure the 15 horse Johnson OB was enough to push this boat in these flooded conditions. I was assured with me and a fishing buddy in the boat and my German shorthair to account for the weight of our fishing gear, we would have no trouble come spring.Now I just need to get the seats mounted and their support channels cut fabricated and installed. Other than that the anchor frame,, and the trailer face lift, this is all that needs attention before March,, I will have that taken care of before September! This has been a very rewarding project.

Well we took the Walleye "Hunt'r" out for her maiden voyage,,, there is a lot to like about this hull for this kind of use. The main thing is boarding, no docks or big launches most places I will be using this, and this hull was unbelievable for boarding and landing on a bare bank. I am dealing with extreme arthritis, along with 11 busted vertebra, so even in warm dry weather I suffer a lot of stiffness and limited mobility, this thing is easier to step out of than my steps on the front porch, and once landed on shore,,, and I hit the bank with a few different shorelines from flat to right on the base of a 5 to 10' bank. In every case once the bow was on it, the boat was rock solid with no movement walking and stepping up and off the bow deck. The 15hp Johnson moved it fine but with 17 mph peak speed on light current down stream, and 14 mph max going into the current, I believe maybe a 25hp Johnson or Evenrude may be something I will look at before March. I am sure it will move it upstream in the flooded spring waters, but this is no environment for slow sluggish response when flooded debris or other vessels can be in distress or run by some with less than knowledgeable and responsible operators at their helm! The boat rode smooth was responsive came on plane quickly, and set level in the water, even when drifting with me and my first mate, "Carter" walking around, when stepping up on the deck was the only time you could tell any drop to the bow, minimal but walking around @ 285# it didn't change the way it sat in the water, and side to side had little lean to it even when kneeling on the rod locker lid's. Plus the built in Hum'n bird,,, with it's own battery in the hidden compartment,,, marked flawless even at 17 mph, this was a real surprise! I run a very heavy large 135 Amh battery, around 80# the Solar backup Vmax Tank AGM made the boat perform it's best mounted up front, and the quick connect disconnects made for super easy changing locations from front to back, it was great! It planed quicker and had 3 to 4 mph higher speed with battery up front compared to moving it to the rear. This may change with another fisherman in the front seat,,, which is not installed yet, and the Captain seat is just thrown in for the test run and will be determined what seats will be used later! No wrenches simply unplug the power supply from the plug in the bow, and move the battery and case to the rear, and plug it in. The power wire has 2 disconnects,18" long for each one, soldered to each copper eye terminal that bolts to the battery with 5/16" stainless steel bolt's. This is really handy changing the battery from the Hunt'r, to v-bottm Metal Miss-fit I resurrected 3 years ago. So handy to simply unplug a 120 amp disconect and throw the baterry box and all in the other boat and pug it in,,, ready roll! Then when it comes to pulling this boat, as well as the V-bottom, the mini suburban I picked up last fall, a 2009 HHR 2LT with just 27,000 original one owner miles, pulls them like big Suburban pulls my 21' center console Lake Erie boat. This because when I found this HHR, it had the 3:91 final drive, compared the the 3:36 gear ratio most come with, that and the bigger 2.4L HO engine with the sport tuned suspension, and 1000# factory tow package really is a legitimate towing vehicle, and does it with authority. And comfortable with it's heated leather Bluetooth, and wide open cargo erea, jujst like the bigger Suburban. But you really don't even know it's there, and with front wheel drive, should have no problem even some iffy launching spots. But unlike the Suburban that gets 14 mpg, the HHR when doing pulling duties is get,n a little over 25+ mpg, and 32.6 mpg when running solo, and that is on a 6,300 mile average. With the Heritage High Roof which is what HHR stands for, it is easy in and out even with my pinned neck with rods and screw's in it @ 6'2" without ducking and cramping to get in, this was a great investment for my spring summer and fall fish'n rig. Anytime there ain't salted road's it is now what I jump into fer everything, unless I need to haul really large items,, the the old suburban sit's wait'n for the call. Even passing on a St Rt. at 53 to 63 mph was instant and very responsive with Walleye Hunt'r on the back. The boat loaded good but I do need to address the last 8" to 12" coming to the winch. This will be next to address, along with a face lift on the trailer that pulls perfect. New tires and rim's, fresh paint, rear padded guides, and we should be ready to build the anchor frame. But this is on hold for know,, with all my part arriving for a new Custom Crossbow I am building is scheduled to arrive in a ,matter of an hour or two. Once it gets here, that assembly will begin,, I just hope it turns out as well as the Walleye Hunt'r, right now I am a pretty satisfied skipper,,,,

Nut'n like a new ride,, and that ones sure PURDY! Enjoy!

Thanks Tony, I don't remember if I mentioned but this has to be capable of being towed by the Mini Suburban,, my HHR fish'n bugy. But I made some progress and it surely look'n like a river Walleye rig. rod lockers and storage done, just a few more rivets and some rivet fins to install but pretty much done with the exception of the removeable power anchor frame system.

Well the deck is in the rod lockers and side storage is in, just need to finish the doors and ends. Plus get the 6 ga. cables from front to back, both ends of the cables will be terminated with 120 amp 12v disconnect. will have room for 3 rods a side, and still be able to store the plano plastic boxes with lures weights and plastics outa the way and easy to access. This single power wire with disconect plugs at both ends will let me mount the battery in the rear if I decide to use the boat when most of the weight is ion the front, or in the front when I am by myself and need that extra weight in the bow. Plus if I use it in reserviors where electric motors are all thats allowed,,, I simply run 2 batteries. The batteries I have ran for the past 2 years and been very happy with are the 135 amh are the VMaxtank Solar backup deep cycles,, AGM design, 99% virgin lead, and unbelievably long lasting.

Got everything painted that will be exposed when it's done, I got the floor in and painted to. be building panels and start'n to install them tomorrow. The Gillespie Coatings WWII OD Green ''Khaki Tint'' came out better than I had anticipated, I rely like it and am glad I didn't go with the WWII Green Tint. \

Well some history on this boat first off this is a true Missouri built Bayou and river boat. This was Built in the late 50's to early sixties by the Ouachita boat co. named after the Ouachita river, so it is a flat bow and not a modified-v, which I think is a safer design where it is going to be used. Made for staying on top with little draft, and not rough water and smooth ride. The other good thing is since this boat was built before the stamped in serial numbers law's, it had none. Plus this boat was bought for use on a private closed down gravel pit, meaning the land owner never registered it. So with no title, never registered, and been in one family and never left their farm,,,, I had to work with the Ohio Division of Watercraft for over 6 months to get a title. So,,,, it is now a 2017 Ouachita and I am the original owner,,,,,, I just gotta make it a special boat. I mean what else an Old Man do when he has to survive on a 26 year old pension.

I really hope the and think the 50#is going to work, but I have been in a number of situations doing custom builds on all kinds of project's, and one thing I have always incorporated into all of, probably from my Iron Worker background is, we always build things John Wayne strong, and always make provisions for upgrades without having to start over. So by using real C channel's and incorporating this sub frame to incorporate it into the Deck,, Sides,, Front Seat, and Floor for the whole front 5' of the whole boat, it is way over kill,, even with a 100# anchor. Plus by using this industrial construction weight frame members, and all high quality aluminum alloy,, the weight isn't 10" heavier than using stamped out frame material that even the highest quality boat manufacturers use. But in March and April with water ranging from rising 3 or 4 inches an hour, sometimes cresting a couple feet to over 15' on some instances in a day or 2, and with bottom material ranging from bed rock,, in shallower faster fishing spots, to deeper and even faster currents on gravel spots from golf ball size to softball and boulder size, even times when river level dictates spots with mud bottom,, no one anchor is always right. I am hoping the shape size and weight of this anchor I am going to cast myself will work. I here you John, but trust , me in the 44 years I have fished this amazing tributary I have waded in way more dangerous situations than I'll be in using a 16' flat bottom. I have waded to spots in years past even my buddies my own age back then would not go to. Plus I have seen all the stupid tricks some of the "Yippy Kiay Boaters" have pulled. That and being an old USCG licensed master captain, been well educated over the years in safe operation on many vessels in many different situations. So my biggest challenge will be watching the wanna bee boaters around me! I am also well versed in that.

I got a lot done yesterday, I got the floor laid out and opened up, and got her flipped over and ready for some WWII OD GREEN w/a kaki tint, I will be using Gillespie Coatings, zink oxide primer & their Mill Spec paint.gonna have some dry weather for the next two days, so I will be trying to get inside and out painted.

a week or so of work got it to this, am now starting on the interior. Got the rod box locations decided. But the biggest upgrade is this, not just going to be the front deck most of the year, but the main battery and safety equipment box. But the beefed up support structure, and tied to the sides, floor struts and front seat to support the 12v winch and boom frame that will be above deck and mounted to it during the spring Walleye Run on the Mighty Maummee. It will be solid enough to be capable of supporting up to a 100 pound anchor for the extreme currents during Ice out,, but before testing I am hoping a 50 pound custom poured pure lead Pyramid anchor will be enough,, will need some high water to test this. I already have the material to build the frame with boom, but it will be after everything else is finished, and fabricated to fit the platform supports and any other accessories fitted to the deck. The work continues, but I need to kick it in the but,,, gotta custom crossbow bow I am building getting the finish applied to the parts now,, and I know me, when they get back it will get priority,,, But till then, I'm push'n forward.

Decided to try and restore this old Ouachita to a specialty rig for the largest river run in the world. This means ice out conditions and high water on the largest tributary to all the great lakes. This is what I am starting with. Needs a lot of work, but I'll make it happen. I will post my progress here, once I get rolling, don't be shy with suggestions.

Ya the Gills cooperated ptetty good the month of May in Southern Mich. as well on a couple Lakes, the first pic was a 10AM Limit so I hit a northern Ohio lake on the way home and added 22 more bull gills to the day's catch,, and half of them on the cricket fly,,, Now it's time to rebuild this boat fir the 2018 Walleye run,,, maybe take some time out njext month and stock up on some of them big Yellow Perch from my honey hole,, 12"+,,, we shall see, but it has been a very good fishing season so far,, and we do have some fry'n to do!

The largest tributary to the great Lakes, just off Erie was very good to me this spring. For me this year I had 6 solid weeks of limits nearly every day on the Walleye. Even though the limit is only 4 per day, but seldom taking more than an hour or two to get em, and who leaves when your catchen fish, even if your limited,,,, then it's catch and release time.. That's just fishing between sunup and staying as late as 2 or 3pm, fished at least 5 days a week mid March thru the end of April, and the freezer is stocked! This was about the average limit,, till the last week of April, then 18"-20" was about all you could find. Still f=good eaters, and them last 7 to 10 days fish were everywhere, easily catching over 30 a day. Then when it was peaking I had few days where the bigger eye's cooperated,, It was a rough 6 weeks and get's tougher every year,, but thats what the river bank was made for,,,, a place fer us old geezers to sneak in a power nap,,, something I used to never need!

Nice mess of Gill's. Them machine gun tap's didn't come from slabs like Largemouth21 has in the picture! Them big gill's take it purposely,, very slow,, very steady,, and for those that get quick on the trigger probably miss them,, on bait that is. I prefer flies for the big gill's,,, they leave no doubt, and slam it!

Here in Ohio the you are only allowed 2 rods with no more than 3 hooks per line in the water at one time, but can carry as many as you like

don't know if baiting squirrel is legal or not here in Ohio,, but we have fields full of bait to hunt around here that is legal,,,,

I don't know, but I ain't there yet,,, But these are my favorites,,, so far,,,,