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Happy 4th of July holiday from the Excel BP230.

We begin the holiday weekend with the tragic death of a lady who was fishing with her husband on Jonathan Creek when their boat was ran over by a bass boat. I talked to two witnesses of the accident who dove into the water to try to save the lady. They got her onto another boat that took her to a nearby dock. Sadly she passed away.

Witnesses said the lady and her husband were waving and yelling, trying to alert the Ranger boat operator.

While tragic and totally avoidable, I see this same scenario several times a year but with different endings. Crowded conditions, inattention, drinking and drugs, and just plain stupidity when operating boats all can end tragically. Boats don't have brakes and many operators have little to zero experience behind the wheel of a machine with more horsepower than most passenger vehicles. The total lack of any kind of law enforcement presence on the lake makes people feel free to act however they please.

I recently guided two groups for two days each. One were long time clients, the other first-timers. Weather played a big factor in all 4 outings with storms and rain cutting three of the four trips short.

The first-timers were a couple from central Ohio who were celebrating their 62nd anniversary. I was honored to be a part of their special day. The crappie did little to help us celebrate. We took a few small keepers and lots of shorts and yellow bass.

The long-time friends experienced similar results while dodging rain, storms, and lightening. During one such attempt to avoid an incoming storm, my 12 and 16 foot ACC Crappie Stix rods became so charged with static electricity, they shocked the gentleman when he tried to get them out of the rod holders. The aluminum framework on my Millennium seats did too. We got to make the wet trip back to the marina under the Bimini top while idling with the rods still in the holders. You can never be too safe around storms with lightening.

We found a variety of species scattered all over with one nice Redear hitting a walleye minnow plug trolled no more than 12 feet deep over 32 feet of water!

The crappie have been scattered in from 12-30 feet of water and around schools of minnows. The big crappie are scarce for me right now. Open water has been productive with occasional cover like stakebeds.

I'm hitting the road headed for Lake Erie for a few days chasing walleye, perch and maybe some steelheads.

Be careful out there! Enjoy the holiday but keep your head on a swivel when on the lake. We watched a ski boater pulling tubers last weekend who was totally oblivious to anybody around him. Several boats found themselves taking drastic actions to get out of his way. It shouldn't have to be like that.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.