Week 18 wrap-up

Good afternoon Rocky Shore Lodge friends and family! With Week 18 in the rear-view mirror its funny how nature works her magic. After a windy cold week last week we had some of the best weather we’ve had all year (Sorry Beth) this week. Gorgeous weather that we will probably have to pay for soon. LOL! The leaves are turning and the days are getting short up here that’s for sure. Boats are back in by around 730p.m. now as the sun is fading quickly. It’s such a beautiful time up here. Fishing has been good this week with the walleyes still hanging in 30 to 40 feet of water. One day some boats slammed them by Twin Islands in 15 to 20 feet, and Mike Weiser and Jay were fishing in deep water on a slow troll and as Mike turned the boat around he found a large school in 20 foot of water and they stopped the boat there and had a walleye catching party he said for the next 1.5 hours. You just never know sometimes where that active pod is going to hang out. I guess that’s why we call it fishing and not catching. I was informed the buoys by Twin Islands are now missing so I’m wondering if Margaret has made her way out in the lake or we have some people needing marker buoys. Anyway we’ll get that taken care of with a bleach bottle for now until next spring arrives.

Weird that we would have 3 marker buoys in the same area disappear in a week of each other.

Walleyes were seen in 35 to 40-foot on the steep drop offs. The wall off Hatfield, Deeper water off Hopeless point, and Little Manotek wall were all producing. Barry was catching them off the Weasel hole which is betweek Little Hatfield and Tween Islands I think. He gave me the coordinates but I haven’t bothered to plug it in to the gps yet, but when I do we’ll let the guests know this week where he had success.

We have 2 musky hunters coming up this week so I'll keep our Musky anglers in mind for next weeks blog.

Monster Fish Monday results: Congratulations to 3-time winner Dean Reiter. He scored a 26-inch Walleye, and Joe Campbell won his first hat with a 32-inch Northern Pike. Barry Neiland had to fight off a seagull to pull in his 2.5-inch perch out of the lake for the Micro fish prize!

Navy history/trivia: What was the name of the first U.S. aircraft carrier?

Answer: USS Langley: Converted from a Cyclops-class fleet collier. Since it was not as fast as the ships in the fleet the Langley could not conduct operations at sea. But it was invaluable for the

information gained and experience in handling aircraft at sea.

week 17 wrap-up!

Good morning Rocky Shore Lodge friends and family! As we shook hands with our Week 17 guests and wished them safe travels it’s hard to believe where the week went. We had wind all week and our anglers were forced to improvise overcome and adapt (Heartbreak Ridge reference). Not too many sandbar evenings this week that’s for sure. Looks like we’re going to hit 75 on Monday, but that’s September fishing. Some days are great, and some are not so great, but as our guests would attest it’s not work its fishing which is better than the best day at work. Brian, Celeste, and Jett caught 42 fish in a 24-hour period, and they did it on slip bobbers in 40 feet of water. You just have to fish where the fish are. We’re going to be starting a new ramp soon with the other one torn out but the weather like I said hasn’t been very good for building cribs and such, but I expect to have pictures this week of the new ramp. We’re also putting a wall in Penthouse 1 to make it a 2-bedroom cabin for those of you that stay up there. We lost a buoy over by Little Hatfield, and one of my former coworkers (Beth) and her husband Dave found the pebble beach that comes out. Fortunately, they weren’t traveling fast and didn’t do any harm to their boat. Dave and Beth both got in and pushed their boat off the beach so I named the beach after her. They did see the weight and line that we used to secure the marker buoy. If you are traveling up here this week or the next we will remind you about Beth’s beach (Yeah I named it after her LOL), and to stay farther off shore. Hoping I can get a marker buoy out there soon and it will be a non-issue again.

Walleyes were seen in 35 to 40-foot on the steep drop offs. The wall off Hatfield, Deeper water off Hopeless point, and Little Manotek wall were all producing. Some nice perch and one crappie were brough in from Spadina, and Hopeless Bay areas. With the warmer temps coming back this week it should be interesting fishing, and hopefully some nice sandbar evenings catching walleyes will be had.

Monster Fish Monday results: After discussion with the official judge and magistrate we decided to continue the contest through September, and besides we have hats and lures so why not. Congratulations to 2-time winner Jett Mikijanis he grabbed the Micro fish prize with a 5-inch Perch! First timers Beth Scozzafave, and Colin Frey pulled in 25-inch Walleye's for the Walleye hat, and 2-time winner Roger Beall boated a very nice edible 25-inch Northern Pike for the other prize. Competition was fierce and a good number of 20-inch and above were caught yesterday.

Navy history/trivia: Why are navy Chiefs called goats?

One pet, a goat named El Cid (meaning Chief) was the mascot aboard the USS New York. When its crew attended the fourth Navy-Army football game in 1893, they took El Cid to the game, which resulted in the West Pointers losing. ... This is said to be the source of the old Navy term, Goat Locker.

week 16 wrap-up!

Good afternoon Rocky Shore Lodge friends and family! Week 16 is gone and Wow has the time flown by. Fall fishing is hitting on all cylinders. Water Temps are reaching low 60’s to high 50’s now and the evenings are cool and beautiful. We enjoyed the opening of NFL season last night with pizza in the Beach House as the Pack beat my Bears yet again. I’m used to it so as much ribbing as the Pack fans wanted to give me it was for not. Should be a fun season, nonetheless. Jackie Kaster caught a nice 36-inch Musky while Mike was busy catching a Seagull…by accident… He threw his jig and minnow into the water and before the jig could sink a seagull (Carl Lewis relative) swooped in at mach speed and grabbed the minnow. The seagull ended up getting line wrapped around its leg, so Mike had to reel it in to get it off. The bird was having none of it though and chomped down on Mike’s hand. Jackie to the rescue gave him some gloves and he successfully released the bird unharmed. The story was much funnier when Mike told it then how I’m describing it, but needless to say it was funny. We had another camp cookout in the garage, and I think I may have gained a few pounds I lost this summer unfortunately. LOL. I’ll be better this week….I hope.

Callie found a skunk in camp and escorted said skunk out of camp and over the septic field albeit with a little smell attached to her fur. I believe she scared the... out of that skunk. As people were coming back from the sandbar the could smell the skunk a ways away from the camp. I could actually hear them in some of the boats commenting. Fortunately, the skunk is gone, and Callie only took a very light glancing blow of stink. She is allowed in the house. Callie 1 Skunk 0.

Walleyes were staging in the 25 to 40-foot range on the steep drop offs. The deeper water has to be fished cautiously. We will be making sure anyone fishing in that depth takes care to reel slowly so the fish can be released safely. You don’t want to blow the insides out of those gorgeous fish. Patience is a virtue that’s for sure. Plenty of fish in the safer ranges of 25 to 30 feet anyway.

Smallmouth and Perch were caught with ease. Dan and his better half Jeanine (or Jean Nine as I pronounce it) crushed the perch. They kept mostly 10 inchers and above with a few 8’s in the bucket as well. Minnows worked better to get the bigger fish according to Dan. Stan (Dan’s father) and Tom the gauntlets been thrown down and Dan says you won't beat their catch (or maybe I threw that in)! You have work to do when you get up here. Monster Fish Monday results: With the end of our Monday night BBQ we are concluding the Monster Fish Monday contest for 2019. With that being said, Congratulations to Diana Schultz with a nice 23-inch Walleye, and PeeWee boating a great 24.5-inch Northern Pike fit for the frying pan. Jay Weber won the Micro Fish swimbait with a 7-inch Perch. It's been a great contest this year and we appreciate the competition and fun everyone had during the summer. Congratulations to all our MFM winners in 2019.

Week 17 here we come!!!!!

Navy history/trivia: Name the 7 animals on the forecastle (foc’sle) or front end of the ship.

1. Monkey Fist

2. Bull nose

3. Rat guard

4. Wildcat

5. Pelican Hook

6. Mousing

7. Turtle Back

There are more but that’s enough for those of you studying for you Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist designation.