2009 Fishing Report
2008 Fishing Report
2007 Fishing Report
2006 Fishing Report
2005 Fishing Report
2004 Fishing Report
2003 Fishing Report

Biggest fish of 2009 so far:

King(Lake O.): 25.5#: Coho: 8#....Steelhead: 16.6#, 14.5#, 13#, 12.8# ....Lake Trout: 20#....Smallmouth Bass:4# ...Walleye: 10.6#....Brown T.: 7#

Note: some of our photos are taken while still fishing and just before we go in to fish cleaning mode. While cleaning fish and breaking down the program, we often catch additional fish and add them to the "box".

2009 Forecast:

I am very optimistic about 2009. The walleyes should be "BIG", Steelies should be plentiful and we should see average Smallmouth and Lake Trout fishing. As usual, Vision Quest will work hard to locate and catch fish. We use some of the best tackle and fishing products available for good reason.

Captain Mike Hinkel will also be running some trips with us this year. Mike is a very hard working and talented fisherman. Expect no less from him when he is at the helm.

Our rates will remain as posted and I hope fuel prices are a lot lower than 2008.

For booking a trip please call: 814-725-0694 or email me at: petealex@dreamsteelie.com

(TOURNEY reports are located on the tourney fish report page)

November 1st-November 23rd:

Wow, was it a tough, tough fall. We had some good days near the beginning of November but things got tough at the end. The last week before Thanksgiving found decent weather (again) but very slow fishing. Each day we managed single digit in bites which is a far cry from the usual November 25-50 bite days. The fishing in the Bay area and Lake shore was equally slow. Why? It may be that the bulk of the fish ran in October and the overall numbers were down for 2009 OR we had this unusually mild November where the wind did not blow much and the water temps hovered the same for 3 weeks straight. In the past, we have seen some pretty good steelie fishing when water temps. were in the mid-40's. This year, we really never saw water temps. dip below 50 and in fact they stayed consistently around 50. Did this mild November keep the new runs of fish offshore in Never-Never Land? I believe so.

I guess that's fishing ! We hope to begin our next season stronger than it ended but like I say, fishing is like the stock market-there are no guarantee and it is often unpredictable (even when you thought ya had it all figured out!)

Now its time to peck away at the 2010 charter and tournament schedule as well as respool reels, organize tackle, clean the boats and all the fun (not really) off-season stuff that is required to help keep myself organized and to keep my gear in tip top shape.

Thank you to all of you that fished with us in 2009 and we hope to see you again next year. Capt. Pete

October 25th:

The 2009 tournament season concluded Sunday with our 2nd annual Fall Trout Challenge. A weigh your best 6 fish one day event. VQ 5 was able to boat our 6 tournament fish (9.3# AVG.)limit out of 8 bites on a tough day of fishing where there were( 8) zero's and mostly 1 fish boxes. We started the day at 6:45 AM by dedicating our day and this tourney to two friends that passed away this year (one just a few days ago). We were going to win this one for Big Jim and Bullit Bob. And yes, we won and also caught the big fish of the event with a 11.6# Steelie. Team VQ started well by taking our first fish before all lines were set and then grinding away after making numerous changes. Super Slims took most of the bites for us today. Fishing was/could have been better for the field but strong winds and rain hammered our Lakeshore the day and night before making the Lake very muddy and unstable. Some boats tried but did not do well and the majority fished the Presque Isle Bay waters where fishing is usually tougher and we have to contend with weeds. Well it was def. a weed fest, the water was dirty and the big run of fish have not arrived yet. However, it was a grind for most today including us. But in the end, we pulled off a victory and our mission was complete ! Rest in peace Bob and Jim cuz this one was for you guys !

October 21st:

First time we have been able to run west to fish the tributary mouths for fall steelhead. Lake was very nice and the water was murky-green. Not great color but acceptable. Hooked 6 fish on the first pass.. (gonna be a good day). Proceeded to have a 35 bite day in about 6 hours of fishing. Boated a 5 man limit (15) Steelies with the largest weighing 10.6#. Lake water was 53 degrees to 54 degrees.

Flat lines, digger rods and board lines all took fish today. Bay water was 50 degrees. The start of the great inshore steelhead fishing is here now if and when the Lake will allow it. The Bay fishing is still slow and may require more time to improve as water temps. continue to cool off.

Fall report to date: (as of 10.13.09)

Well, the deep water season came CRASHING to an end on September 25th. On Sept. 24th, we boated nearly 30 walleyes and steelhead and lost about 12 on a beatutiful, warm and sunny day. The next day it ended with strong NE winds. This was followed by a couple weekends of GALE force winds which turned our Lake upside down (literally). It almost has not stopped blowing and when it did stop, it was only for a day here and day there. The Lake has been muddy all the way to 75 feet that no has been able to fish out deep successfully. Our lone trip we have been able to get in ended with 10 fish to the boat and another 7 or 8 missed fish. However, 3 were Steelies (3 for 8 bites) and 7 were bass. This was the start of the inshore steelhead fishing since the deep water program ended. The water has been very muddy and/or rough. Water was 60 degrees when we were out and went all the wayt to 62 degrees further away from port. Things will get better as we near Novemner.

September 15-25th:

Walleye fishing continues to be excellent and now the steelies have also showed up in the Trench as well. recently, we hooked 32 Steelies and boated 23 in one day as well as a pile of eyes. Some good fishing this month. Most steelies are between 6 and 8 pounds. Bigger ones are still offshore. The winds are coming and may end the good walleye fishing we have been experiencing. Time will tell... Look for great steelie action after we have the weather Lull for a few days.

September 5-14th:

Walleye fishing has been excellent this month.. We are averaging about 30 Eyes per outing and 1 to 2 Steelies. This fishing should remain as long as the weather/wind stays stable. Current surface temp. is 70 degrees. Most fish are being taken down 45-55 ft. in the water column over 66-80 foot of water.

September 3rd:

Ran charter trip today out of St. Catharines; ONT with a great crew from Erie. Startted out slow and were looking for Kings inside where there were some reported. Missed one small fish early then moved around looking for Kings, Coho and Steelies offshore. Found a good spot and worked it for an 11 for 21 bite day. Killed 10. Kings and steelies but no big mature fish but two dandy Steelies. Stacked Super Slims were good as well as Spinnys that were set for Kings. All rods contributed today and the bite was pretty good despite dead flat water and sunny conditions followed by full moon. (do conditions get much tougher??) I wish we had boxed a few BiG Guys but we did not. We did box a couple of Big BUG eaters tho... We had a break off and a couple bites that could have been big guys but THEY WON ! Anyway, it was a great day on the water and decent fishing today despite the high sun and dead flat calm conditions..

August 1-27

As the warm air temps came, southwesterly winds prevailed and north winds went away... Oh and the walleye came... Good walleye fishing as well as good steelhead fishing arrived with SUMMER. The VQ is averaging around 30 fish per trip on full day outings this month. This fishing should remain good until the temps drop and the fish begin their migration back to OH. Currently most fish are in the 45-55 ft. range over 62-80 FOW. Steelies are mixed in and are a little deeper than the eyes.

Super Slims fished orr rigger and divers are working well. 5 cores with weight and without weight are working VERY well with deep divers fished off planer boards. This is by far our best fish catching method. Wire divers are also working well and contribute to the BOX score on a daily basis. I run a (4) wire diver set once the fish get deep and this is an extremely productive method. Sometimes, a Mono diver fished above the wires are also good if the fish are around the 40-45 foot marks.

July (Month)

July was very spotty this year. We worked hard to box 10-24 fish each day with very few BONZAI trips. Our waters stayed cool with constant north winds and rain. Rain it did as this was an extremely wet month. Each trip we were optimistic that the consistent fishing would start but it would change each day as did the weather and waves. Offshore steelhead fishing was good once you found them. They were anywhere from 35-60 feet down in the water column. Super Slims were the weapon of choice for the Steelies. We took our largest steelie ever on July 31st, a 16.6# Male. Look for fishing to improve as water warms and fish migrate from Ohio.

June 15-30

Back to Erie to start the Walleye season. Our first walleye charter went well as we fell one fish short of a 4-man limit while battling 3-6 ft. waves and an ugly November sky. Walleye fishing overall has started slow due to cool water temps. and consistent Northerly winds.

Erie needs heat and steady west/southwest winds to get the walleye activity moving. Look for fishing to get much better as soon as these conditions arrive.

June came and went with tough fishing on some days and good fishing on some days. Fish were mostly from 40 f.o.w. toward shore.

June 11-12-13-14

Off to defend our 1st place finish from 2008. The Lake conditions were cold, unstable and fish spread everywhere. Tough conditions were upon us. The two charter days prior were grind days and we worked hard to manage 10-13 bites each day. Mostly taking Kings.

Saturday, we knew if we could box ANY 12 fish we would be in great shape. We targetted Coho's inside again and went 1 for 3 by 9am. Not good so we decided to pull and go further west. We sat down near Olcott and fished a great picture and huge amounts of bait. We got a program going and boated 8 fish and lost 5 in just three hours. 2 of the fish were just under sized Steelies so, we had to place them back. We managed a couple good steelies in the mix with one weighing in at 12.4 # pounds and another just under 11#. It was tough fishing for most and we were in 5th place after day one with weighing just 7 fish. Orange back Super Slims and LD spoons were hot for us today as they took most of our Steelie bites including one that GOT BIT Off.

We decided to make the long run back and did on Sunday. We found a vapor screen however we hooked and lost our first Bow there. After a while with no bites and a zero screen, we decided to run back east and see if the fish/bait picture went there. It did and we were able to grind out an 8 fish box. We went 10 for 17 overall but two had to put two smaller steelies back again. The fish were high with most coming from the top 45 ft in the water column. (more info. on tourney report page)

June 4-5-6-7-8

Off to Olcott to run a charter and prepare for the Niaga Pro-Am and Big Boys Tournaments scheduled that coming week. Thusrady, we found fair fishing near port and boxed 8 fish even though we did not leave port until 8am and quit by 1:30 pm. We had a mix of year class fish.

Friday, was the Big Fish Friday event. We did fair Friday but never found a great spot. However, we managed to catch the largest King 23.55# and take 3rd place overall. These were good for two nice paychecks...

The pro-am went fair for us. Saturday, we tried to target off shore Steelies and Kings and fell short of a limit. It was a tough grind out there and managed an 8 for 13 bite day. Sunday, we changed our game plan and went inside and east looking for Coho Salmon in the 50-60 foot depths. We were gifted with 13# laker and 7# Steelie in addition to boxing out with 10 more Coho. We were one of the first Pro's to be in on Sunday. Our finish allowed us to take 12th place and it was good for a nice paycheck. The 6" Dreamweaver orange and white crush glow spinnys and Coho Action Flys were hot as well as the SS get er Dun spoon. We stuck most of these out when needed and ended up catching fish no. 11 and 12 on the same rod to end our day. we finished 12 for 21. To add to the excitement, we had Jake the camera man on board with us filming.

Monday, was the first annual BIG BOYS Shootout event. Only 10 teams participated and the entry was $1,000. Team Vision Quest ran part way offshore looking for a good break and a home run. We did not move a rod the first 45 minutes and watched a bleak screen. We were quick to rack, move and reload and join the spot where the majority of the teams went (West by the Niagara River). We were quick into Kings and Steelies. As the NE winds increased, we watched our good water and fish finder slowly evaporate. It was time to deploy some Coho baits to ensure we get our box. We picked at Cohos until fish no. 12 came with time to spare. We racked and were happy with making our box in the now cold and BLACK ICE water. We took the long ride in to 3-5 ft. waves out of the NE. After the weigh in, Team VQ claimed the 3rd place and final pay spot. Good for a $2,000 paycheck.

May 29 - 30

May 21-22-23-24

Ran charters out of Wilson, NY on Thursday and Friday with great success. We boated 15 fish each day (mostlly Kings with a Coho mixed in). Fishing was good and steady with great weather. We took (8) heavies each day with the rest being 2/3 year olds. Our best producer was a 10" lite green crush holo/white and white crush glow spinny parked at 100 ft. Each morning this rod fired first for us and it continued thru Sunday. The balance of the lures we used were Super Slims and a few DW size spoons.Bloody Death, NBK, Carmel Dolphins, and VQ Green Alewives were steady for us in both sizes.

Saturday and Sunday, we ran salmon seminars. Each day we also limited out early while showing a variety of techniques. Each morning started with Mr. 100 ft. rigger and the 10" spinny firing for us. Same combo's as above.

May 8-9-10

Back to Lake Ontario and the Port of Wilson, NY to prepare and fish the May Wilson, NY King of the lake Scotty. Fishing on Friday was fair with a mix of smaller and larger Kings. 10" white crush glow and 10" green crush glow spinnys and flies took most of the deep fish and larger fish. Super Slim spoons were the size spoon the fish wanted this week also. Team VQ took the 3rd spot in Dreamweaver Big Fish Friday. The winning King was 21.2 pounds and only an ounce from the 2nd spot. This was good for a nice paycheck.

The weekend event was tough for us. We caught fair numbers of fish but not big fish. Sunday we only boated 9 fish and weighed 4 Kings with the balance being Cohos that were just under the tournament size limit. So, we weighed 9 fish out of the allowable 10, that hurt us but would not have helped us make the top 10. This weekend, we just could not get dialed into a program or a spot.

April 23-24-25-26:

This week we were up in St. catherines, ONT to prep. and fish the 2009 King of the lake Spring Scotty. We started on Thursday by looking at the inside waters and found a few Kings way inside including a 19.5# King, a bunch of Coho, a Laker and a Brown. decent fishing for the first excursion on Lake O. Friday we moved out deeper looking for a King bite and found some... We figured we had our starting spot for the tournament.

Day one of the event and rods were blazing. We boated many Kings on Saturday and only missed a few. Dreamweaver mags smoked them today off riggers, 7 color and 10 color cores. A 200ft. copper working the chute did very well also. Team Vision Quest (kevin, Jeremy & Captain Mike) were just ounces out of first after Day #1 out of 74 competing teams. Saturday afternoon it blew amazingly hard out of the West for hours and we figured that our pocket of fish will have moved east like they did in 2008. Our 5 Kings that we weighed were (89.8#)

On Day 2, we gambled a little and west opposite of where we fished Saturday, hoping a pocket of Kings moved. We were the only boat in this spot but we did not move any rods, so afer 15 minutes we ran back west a little ways and immediately started popping rods. We had a good morning bite until the NE winds shut us down. We struggled the rest of the day and figured that we may have gotten bumped down a little. We still had a good box (85#) for 5 salmon but we heard there were a few mega boxes taken that day. After the weigh ins were done, we found ourselves in 4th spot overall after being in 2nd place Day #1. day #1 leader only boxed two fish and slid well out of the top 10. we had very good fishing over the 4 days and found fish from 9 f.o.w. to 76 f.o.w. and took several fish between 19# and 21.5# which are very nice sprink Kings.

April 19th:

So much for the good weather... Back to a brisk 20-30 know NE wind and tough fishing conditions. Had three customers that toughed it out in less than ideal conditions. Jim, Jeff and Al, put up with some BRISK conditions and a spotty bite. Hi-lite of the day was when the sun came out for about an hour and a half and the bite was good. Hooked several fish during that spell til the sun went away again. Went 10 for 18 today plus a chunky Smallmouth Bass. Water temps between 48 and 50 which means the inshore fishing is almost over. This was our last Bay Steelie trip before heading to Lake Ontario.

April 18th:

Today we had our first tournament of the year. A small members only event and 26 boats competed. We finished a difficult 8th place and had a dismal bite to land ratio... Like 5 for 20 today including a 1 for 8 stretch to end the day. We got our butts kicked by the silver bullets and you don't win even a teddy bear with that performance. Vision Quest IV, Captained by paul Czarnecki got one of the VQ boats in the cash and finished 3rd while part time mates Shawn and Mike Jones iced down 2nd and Captain Mike Hinkel who mates and runs VQ IV part time won the members only event fishing from his 17ft. Lund (good job guys). Hey, it was fun, intense and frustrating. The weather cooperated for us and that was the most important item for this event.

April 17th:

Had the pleasure of fishing with the folks from Gamma technologies. David and MissDouglasse. Started a little after 9am and were into a quick double. Landed a chunky Smallmouth and lost the first Steelie near the back of the boat. Action was very good all day. Had between 25-28 bites and landed 12 Steelies and two Smallmouth Bass. Great weather and we all had a Blast. One thing for sure, GAMMA makes an excellent product !

April 15th:

Fished in cold miserable NE winds again today with rain. Bite was tough and we ground out 18 bites and landed half. Lost several of our biggest fish including one that took the rear of a plug off. Best baits were 3" Chatter Sticks off riggers and 1 color cores.

April 11th: (afternoon Trip)

Afternoon trip started good with 4 bites in first 30 minutes but only landed one. The afternoon was just a pick and we had 18 bites. Had three "grief fish" in the Pm that were hooked in the gil plate and were a bear to get in. This cost us about 40 min. of positive trolling effort as we had to circle and creep troll while the fish tested the GAMMA 12# test to the Max... Also, lost our biggest fish of the spring, a nice looking hen about 9-10 pounds. Finished 8 for 18.

B back out Wednesday with the folks from Renosky Lures and again Friday with the Gamma technologies folks. (maker of superior fishing line)

April 11th: (Morning trip)

Morning trip started slooow. Screaming NE winds to start the day and wind chill in the "balmy" 20's... Once we figured the D.O.T. thing out, the bites started coming. Ended the day with a double and over 30 bites.. Not bad for a half day trip that started slooow. Great crew today. Had 4 kids that did a good job on the rods. They also let many fish go today. Finished 17 for 32.

April 10th:

Put the big boat in this Am and got her locked and loaded for Saturday's double half day trips. Rewarded my helpers with a trolling trip. Trolled from 9am to about 1pm and had over 20 bites again and a 4-man limit plus toss backs. WD's, Kabooms and ART Thin Fins doing the damage today.... Fish spread out but more in the middle. Wind was howling out of the NE and other boats pulled plug by 11AM. Water still about 43.8-44.3 degrees. Look for solid fishing to remain all month is temps. stay down... Finished 14 for 24.

April 9th:

Another good day of Steelie fishing...Over 20 bites by noon and the boys heading home with their limit... Fish running a little smaller this year and unlike last year. Dreamweaver WD's have been smokin' hot with a few body baits mixed in such as the 3" Chatter Sticks. water color is critical. Water temps hovering around 44.8 degrees. Today, we worked the entire south shore and found both ends equally as productive. A good sign that the fish are not moving much cuz the water is cool... Finished 12 for 23.

April 5th:

After cancelling Saturdays trip due to MAJOR winds and cold temps/rain, we were back out Sunday with two customers. The morning was cold (32 degrees) but the wind was light and the sun was on it's way out. All 8 rods out and just into our first run and "triple" fish on-fish on-fish-on. We released the first two fish around 17" and killed the third. The action slowed and we went to a pick as "FLAT WATER conditions were on us... Still managed a great day as Terry and Jake went home with their limit and still landed a few extra. We finished 11 for 16 today. WD's, Super Slims, RT Thin Fins and Shallow Kabooms all fired today as none were any better. the bites were spread out and EVERY bite came off the boards. Paul's Planners makes a terrific little board which runs quietly thru the water under calm conditions. This helped us today as we could not buy a bite directly off the boat-WHAT, are we walleye fishing?? Good start to 2009 !

April 2nd:

Today we launched the 29' Vision Quest today; VQ 4 as we call her. We got off to a great start. While we were setting the first line, Captain Mike had one grab the body bait while he was about to attach it to the board. The first bite and first casualty of 2009.... The boat ran great and we achieved the first limit of the year plus returned one. Ended up 10 for 14 in a few hours of fishing. Bay temps. were 44.5-45.5 degrees, which ahead of schedule. Often they are still around 40-41 degrees. The Dreamweaver WD's hammered most of the fish today, in fact, they took 10 of the 14 bites. The WD parked behind a Ridge back rattler scored 4 fish alone today also... Let the hammering begin ! The fish are fired, spunky and jumpy. Steelies are a great fish !