Darryl & Andrew were in from California and spending their last day fishing. We began by dropshotting open water in a good chop but they only managed a few small bass & walleye. I decided to move once the light rain started and headed to another area further away, to fish in less wind.

Our second spot wasn’t great but several good bass were landed by using soft plastics. They were quite familiar throwing these baits back home and had no problem with the smallies! I did notice however that the fish weren’t eating very well and most of them came, by almost dead-sticking the soft plastics! They wanted almost zero movement!

After working the area thoroughly, I moved to another flat and it was here that things picked up. At least for Andrew! A good number of bass were caught, but just in one section of the spot. Both of them managed to hook into some quality fish but Andrew definitely had the hot hand with most of them. He was literally doing nothing and continually catching fish. Darryl did have some action and was hooked up to a real beauty, but his line broke before it neared the net. Definitely a tough break!

We spent the day dodging a few storms and always seemed to stay ahead of the worst ones. In fact, one of our long moves kept us in the sunshine the entire time, while we watched it pass us by. More fish were caught in each place and several walleye were landed as well. Both dropshotting and casting soft plastic baits were used to slowly finesse these fish into biting. They really weren’t in the mood to chase!

After waiting out the worst of the storms, I decided to make another long run, in hopes of some bigger fish. The winds had picked up considerably from the NW and we were now running in 2 & 3 footers. I arrived and unfortunately the area I wanted to fish wasn’t what I thought it would be and only one fish was missed. I moved again to another spot close by and Andrew landed his biggest fish of the day. It was also his PB for the second time today! Between them, they managed to get a handful of bass before we headed out. Time was closing in on the day and I wanted to try one more area before we were done.

I realized just how big the lake had gotten when I headed back towards the ramp. The NW winds had increased to a point that we were in big rollers & whitecaps all the way. I wanted to get closer to the shore and stopped on a flat to finish the day. Here they managed to get a few more fish before we were done.

Darryl & his son Andrew ended their vacation the way they wanted, fishing! While the rest of the family stayed in the city shopping, they did what they liked best. This was the perfect ending to a great week of sightseeing and they couldn’t have planned it better. Numbers of quality bass were caught and they were much bigger than the smallies they usually catch back home. California isn’t really known for their smallmouth, but the largemouth grow real big over there! They were treated to great brown bass action this time though and left with some real big fish caught. A great time was had by all and it was a pleasure having them out for the day. Great fishermen and even greater company!!

With 2 half day bookings for today, I wasn’t impressed to hear that there was a 100% chance of rain scheduled! Added to the wetness, they also forecasted a big SE wind too! Fortunately, I was able to reschedule the afternoon trip, but we were on for the morning. This was the only time Keith & his son Rory would be able to fish and they didn’t mind a little rain. Hopefully that’s all we would get!

We met up at 7:00 and headed out in a steady rain. I was dressed for the occasion with a full suit and boots but they only had a rain jacket. They were about to get wet!

We made a long run, in terrible visibility and big waves out of the SE, but managed to reach our starting spot alright. I set them up with soft plastics and instructed both on how to present their baits. Being from Florida they hadn’t really had much experience with smallmouth bass, so it was going to be a learning experience.

After about 20 minutes without any fish, I decided to change Keith to a crank. Rory had missed a couple of fish on his bait and I wanted to give him another chance at redemption. It didn’t take long for Keith to finally hook up an he landed his fist smallie. Rory managed to get into a few as well on the soft plastics and things were finally starting to pick up. Too bad the rain wasn’t letting up though!

We fished the area thoroughly and changed up baits and presentations frequently in order to make it work. Several more smallies were landed along with a nice walleye in the time we remained. A few nice bass were caught on a dropshot, which was totally new to them and they were impressed! I decided that due to the miserable conditions we would remain here as long as the fish were biting. By the time we packed it up to go, the rain was much lighter. It would make the run a little more comfortable, as we headed to one last spot to fish.

The rain may have let up some, but the SE winds hadn’t as we were seeing. It was twisting and bouncing us from the direction I had to take and not much fun running! When I finally arrived to an offshore spot, I realized it wasn’t going to be easy to fish. There were all kinds of floating weeds that were going to interfere with their casts. Regardless, we were going to give it a try!

I was right with the assumption about the weeds, as almost every cast had them cleaning their lines. They did however get a bunch of bites and managed to catch both bass & walleye before we were done!

Today was a rollercoaster for sure, with the SE winds and heavy rains. Keith & Rory didn’t seem to mind getting wet as they were catching fish. A few new techniques were used that may even aid them in fishing future places on their own. Overall, it was a satisfying day despite Mother Nature’s sense of humor. At least there were plenty of fish caught!

Jon & Andreus were with me today for a shot at some new fish. Being from Switzerland, they had not caught bass before and were hoping to tangle with some smallies. They were heading to Ungava Bay for a 6-day Arctic Char fishing trip and had an extra day to spare. Why not fish while you’re in Montreal!

We headed out in a good SW roll of 2 to 3 footers and stopped on an offshore shoal to start the day. Hopefully the bass would cooperate! I started them on soft plastics and it didn’t take long before they were both hooked up. Although not huge, these were their first ever smallies and a pic was needed for their proof. Several more were landed before I switched Jon to a crankbait and his first fish was a nice, over walleye! Andreus soon followed with another bass and things were looking up. I usually like to rest the area and rotate certain sections when I’m fishing here, but it wasn’t going to happen today. Another boat moved in and although he never fished on top of us, he did get in the way. Each time we moved off the spots, he was quick to move in! Obviously, he knew the area too! They continued to catch fish each time we relocated, but going back for more wasn’t as productive. Eventually we just left and moved on!

I had wanted to do a deep dropshot drift and headed out over 30 plus feet of water to give it a try. With the wind having subsided some, it was easy to back slip in the current with the aid of the new electric motor. I had to replace it the day before when the original one crapped out from a faulty lower unit seal. I will be getting it repaired and will now have a spare should something else ever occur!

Several drifts were made over various depths and some fish did come aboard. Unfortunately, most were of average size and not worth continuing in these depths. Jon did have one good quality bass hooked however that he thought was another smaller fish, until it took to the air beside the boat. There goes a beast, I told him! Regardless, we were going to make another move and head shallower to see if they could get into more active fish.

I made a long run and hit the shallows where they threw soft plastics to entice several more bass. Nothing big but plenty of action! Several doubles were had in the time we were here and it seemed like the shallower water was the place to be! When things slowed and another move was needed, I knew exactly where to go. We were making a real long run to a spot I hadn’t fished in quite a while. Hopefully the big ones would be there!

The wind had picked up again and skies looked threatening when we arrived, but the fish were biting. Jon’s first bass proved to be the biggest of the day and we had just arrived! With the strong wind and storm front moving in, these fish were active. Several bigger ones came aboard and even more were missed and lost as well. The best part however was that the storm missed us and stayed away the entire time. Too bad the winds couldn’t have done the same! They had increased once it had passed and now, we had a bumpy ride back to the take out. I decided to give it extra time and stop close by to see if they cold dropshot a few more fish before we were done.

The rollers were 3 footers where I wanted to fish but we drifted with the help of the electric motor. A few more fish were landed in the short time we had left before we pulled the plug and called it a day.

Jon & Andreus had a great time catching plenty of smallies today and they both couldn’t believe how strong they were. Pound these are by far the toughest freshwater fish that swim! They can definitely attest to that after the day that they just had! Hopefully their trip for Char will be equally as rewarding in the next week too. I’m sure they will be remembering their Canadian vacation for some time to come! Both trips that is, of course!!

Assad & his family joined me for an afternoon of fishing, on another flat calm scorcher! We headed out close by to start, but there was very little movement for a good drift. After only a handful of fish being caught, I relocated to a different area, hoping for better results.

The second spot proved to be a winner and we spent the entire time fishing here! Everyone managed to catch big bass on soft plastics before we were done. Although they did lose more fish, or flat out miss them, they all had a great time! Considering that it was their first time fishing, they did pretty good!

Alexandre was my guest today, along with his entire family. Stephanie, his wife and their two children, Alex & Mathieu, were in for a treat. There was finally a good chop on the water and the fish were going to bite! Or at least I hoped so!

We began on a spot for bass, that lasted until almost noon! I had thought that we would fish there for an hour or two but the fish were way too plentiful. Everyone landed bass of all sizes and Alex managed to get the biggest one from this spot. Stephanie, on the other hand, seemed like all she could catch were big ones. Every time she hooked up, they were large! I was on good fish and wasn’t about to move, any time soon!

We covered the area thoroughly and they kept catching one bass after the other. Sometimes even two at a time, with doubles! Stephanie even caught a nice walleye, that unfortunately was way too big to keep! We even had a run in with a toothy critter that wanted one of the bass as his lunch! This place was on fire today! In fact, that lunge came back a while later when it ate a lure that Alexandre was using!

We had remained in this area for way longer than I had expected, but I never leave fish to find fish! This place had active bass and we milked it until the end, before moving on. I wanted to hit many areas today, but would have to skip a few, due to the time we had spent fishing this one.

We made a long run to another place in hopes of similar results. Unfortunately, the fish were limited and smaller! It didn’t take me long to pull the plug and head to another spot to fish. This one too wasn’t holding many fish, but at least they were bigger! After spending about 45 minutes in the area, I made a big change and moved on. We were going dropshotting in deeper water to finish off the day.

I made a quick stop in open water, but soon realized that it wasn’t fishable. With the wind we had, there were tons of floating weeds, making it impossible to keep the lines clean. I had to go to plan B instead!

This next area had been putting out some keeper walleye lately and I hoped to get them a few for dinner tonight. It didn’t take long before all 4 of them were into fish, but the walleye weren’t keepers. In the mix were also a couple of bass that I thought were decent keepers before they took to the air. Multiple drifts were made over the area from different lines and more fish were caught. I hit a few other places with similar results and the bass were biting on all of them. To say we ended with a bang would have been an understatement. Both Stephanie and Alex managed to bring a couple of quality bass in the boat on the last couple of drifts, ending a perfect day of fishing!

Alexandre and his family experienced the best day of bass fishing they had ever seen, today! High numbers of big fish were caught by everyone and the weather finally cooperated. We had a good chop from the wind and the temperatures were even bearable for a change! I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Well, maybe less floaters, I guess! Overall, it was an excellent day to fish!!