First Oak outing of 2018 for me. 5-5-2018

[John Kelley]

Howdy guys,

I finally got out on the Big O on Saturday, it was nice to be chasing browns from my favorite port on all of the great lakes.  My friend Tim Green(Poverty Stricken) was also up, and Eric the Maniac, Stankiewicz(with some clients).  Things started out badly for me, as my brand new 2018 Ram with 5,000 miles on it decided not to start.  Good thing Tim Green was there to put my boat in the drink for me.  Thanks Tim.  I started fishing by about 6:00 a.m. and put lines in at the breakwall, on a westerly troll.  I was running a stick bait on a planer board out the port side, a mini diver and spoon out the starboard side, and a small spoon off the port rigger.  Pretty soon the rest of the brown fishing fleet was out there with me, and everyone was catching fish, except me.  I really hate that feeling!! Eric told me to up lines and head to where they were, West of Johnson's Creek.  This spot did not seem to work for me either, so I headed back east toward the break-wall.  I think I was just past the pumphouse when an 18" coho popped my mini diver and spoon.  Yay, not skunked.  I tossed that one back and kept trolling east, as the wind started to build.  Pretty soon, just before the break-wall, my mini diver fired again, on a 21" coho.  I figured I had better keep this one, or I might not have anything to show for myself.  The waves built up to almost sporty size, and I had worked out into 30' of water when my rigger, down 25' fired on a nice football 8 pound brown.  That is what I was after.   Right after I re-set the rigger, it fired again, on a longer and leaner, big headed 10 pound male brown.  Then my mini diver fired again on another 18" coho, that went back to Davy Jones locker.  I looked at my phone, and it was time to get off the lake, to meet Ed Ball at his house, for our first all nighter on Lake Erie, but that is another story, in the Walleye section.  A couple of days later, waiting for my truck to be fixed, I decided to troll around for some kings, and popped two nice 13 pound bright springers in 47'-50' of water on the UV bad Toad magnum sized spoon off of 5 color on a walleye board.  Just east of the ladders but before the flats.  Could not get bit on meat, was kind of weird.  I took a pic of the stomach contents of the fatter king, to dispel the myth that you should not use magnum spoons in the spring because the bait is not that big, yet.  That is a magnum sized carbon 14 spoon in the pic, for size comparison.  Thanks and enjoy.

Edited May 10, 2018 by John Kelley
Added another pic

[Decoy Hound]

Nice report!!

[Albemarle16]

Thanks for the report.

I have always done well with mag sized spoons in the spring.

[Gill-T]

There is more larger sized alewives as a percentage in the spring than any other time of the year. Always good to go big in spring for kings and lakers. 

[fjrider]

Great report John, thanks! That Kings stomach contents were impressive. 

[gordy mohr]

those alewives look huge!

[Sk8man]

WTG John and thx for the report. Hope the truck problem is resolved.

[John Kelley]

13 hours ago, Sk8man said:

WTG John and thx for the report. Hope the truck problem is resolved.

Hopefully this weekend, Les.  Have my fingers crossed, buddy!