Imane and her father Musaffah were with me for the afternoon, hoping to catch some fish. She was treating her dad to a birthday gift by taking him fishing. Flat calm conditions greeted them when they arrived and we headed out. It had been quite some time since either of them had fished and full instruction was needed before they began.

It wasn’t going to be easy getting them into fish as a bass tournament was going on today. There were literally boats everywhere! I had to settle for a small area on our first stop with three other boats where I wanted to be. Fortunately, they hooked some fish here but unfortunately, they also lost them.

Our second area was a long distance away and Imane hooked into and landed a nice bass on her first cast. Hopefully not a decoy fish! They fished hard after but never landed anything else. A few more bites and missed fish were all they had to show for their efforts. We moved again!

With each move I made I had to skip over many places that I wanted to fish due to the boats already fishing there. I eventually hit an area with no boats and we managed several more bites and Musaffah finally landed a bass from here. Our next four moves proved useless as boats were on every one of them!

We made one final stop in the middle of nowhere at the end of the day, hoping to get into a few more fish. It was here that they managed to catch several walleye and were able to keep a few for their dinner tonight.

Afternoon weekend trips aren’t always easy, but windless, scorcher days with a tournament going on added into the mix make it all that much tougher. Thankfully they rallied in the end to finish with a bang. Keeping a few fresh fish for dinner was also a bonus that I’m sure they will really enjoy! Tough day all around!!

A big group today had me requiring a second boat to help out. Warren was happy to take the other 3 on the water for the day as we split the party of 6. Matt, Pat & Connor were with me and we left the ramp shortly after 8:00. I decided to try deeper water this morning due to all the rain last night and the electrical storms. Hopefully it would pay off!

After a long run, I finally settled on an area to vertically drop shot. They were all new to this technique but caught on quickly. Connor definitely had the hot hand as he boated several fish before the others landed their first. After a while they were all hooking up, but most of the fish were on the smaller side. I wanted to get them into bigger bass and decided to try shallower in case they were there. Apparently, some of them were and a few of the bigger ones were caught. A bonus northern also came in the boat from Connor, in the same area! I wanted to try something different, after the bite slowed and moved out deeper for a bigger bite.

We fished sturgeon for a while and managed a couple of fish in the short time we were set up. It wasn’t great but they did manage to land 2 decent fish before we switched back to the deeper smallie bite.

Open water shoals were drifted over and smaller fish were landed once again. In fact, more fish were missed or lost, than actually brought aboard. Although the numbers were there, the size wasn’t and I relocated to a final shallow, offshore spot to end the day.

Casting soft plastics had everyone hooked up quickly and most of the fish were better quality. They even managed to get a couple of doubles when one person hooked up. Small pods of fish were following their baits and the bass were easy pickings! We covered the entire area slowly and they boated many more fish before we were done. They had a big night ahead and wanted to get off around 3:00. Tonight, was the official bachelor party for one of the guys in the other boat and they would all need to rest before going out.

Flat calm conditions today made it difficult at first, but we grinded it out and made things work. Good numbers of a mix of fish were caught and the two sturgeon were the highlight of their day! Finishing with a bang was also great when they ended the day with many quality bass. Overall, it was a success and all the fish swam away unharmed. Who could ask for anything more!!

I had three generations on the boat this morning with Dave, his mother Beverly and his son Mathieu. With a good chop on the water, I was hoping for a trolling bite and headed to an area that was holding fish. It was unfishable lately with all the floating grass weeds! This made it very difficult to troll and I hoped the wind had blown most of them away.

When I arrived, I could see that there were still some floaters but decided to give it a try regardless. Well, it didn’t take long to realize that this wasn’t going to be easy. After I set the lines and began covering water, I was back to cleaning the rods again! I realized quickly that this wasn’t going to work, but not before we had one good rip. Too bad the fish never got hooked up! Soon after I reeled in all the rods and made a long run to another area to try it again.

We had thrown in the towel where we began and hopefully the second place would be easier to fish. The lines were set and now it was up to the fish. At least I didn’t have all the floaters to contend with!

It probably took only 5 minutes to get our first bite and Dave took the rod. He reeled in a nice walleye that barely made it into the livewell due to its length. A little while later, Mathieu fought a nice northern to the boat and a few pics were taken before the release. At least now, we were catching fish!

I covered a bunch of water to get the bites we were having but more of them were short strikes. Beverly got her shot at reeling in a fish and brought a nice northern to the net, when one of them finally ate. I wasn’t liking the lack of fish and eventually pulled out of his place and opted for a different technique, elsewhere!

We had given up on the troll and headed to deeper water to try dropshotting for smallies. Hopefully this would be more productive!

It didn’t take long to realize that this was the right decision when Dave landed the first bass. Although smaller than I would have liked, at least it ate! We drifted over the shoal and everyone had chances at a few fsih. Unfortunately, most of them came off on the way to the boat. Dave seemed to be the only one able to land them, as he kept his pinned! Eventually everyone did manage to catch a few and they were now all in the game!

I made a couple of long drifts over the area and although it wasn’t fast & furious, fish were being caught. We stuck it out until about noon before pulling the plug and calling it a day. Time really flies when it’s only a half day trip!

Despite the slow start to the morning, it quickly turned around when we switched to dropshotting. Many fish were missed or lost but at least there was more action. I’m sure that if I had the time there would have been even more fish landed. A combination of both bass and walleye succumbed to the rig, but mostly smaller fish today. In the end however, everyone had a great time catching fish and spending quality time with their family. Even the weather cooperated today! It wasn’t blazing hot!!

Brahm & his grandsons were with me this morning and I decided to try a little trolling to begin the day. Although it was tough at times due to all the grass weeds floating, we still managed a few nice fish. We switched it up to dropshotting after pulling the plug on the troll and they had plenty of action. They hooked mostly bass, but there were also a couple of walleye in the mix. It was a tough grind with this being new to them and plenty of fish were missed or lost as well.

A second group for the afternoon saw Jeff and his son joining me. The boat traffic had picked up, being such a nice day and now the waters were quite busy. It was also another scorcher, with almost zero wind as we headed out to fish. The first couple of places we tried didn’t produce and I made a long run in order to find less trafficked waters. The lake was just insane with boats!

I had noticed a good chop was beginning and decided to try a troll where we were. I guess it was the right choice as they began to catch fish. Mostly pike were landed but a couple of walleye and a nice smallie also fell for the lures as well. We remained at this for a while, until the bite slowed. The winds had also died making it time for a move, to finish up the day.

After another long run, I instructed them on how to dropshot and we drifted over deeper shelves for bass. Once again, more fish were missed or lost than landed but a couple did manage to come aboard. Unfortunately, by the time they were getting the hang of this, we packed it up for the day.

Today was another grind with the heat and lack of current flow, but we managed to get into a bunch of fish. It was also a really busy day on the water with these perfect boating conditions! Add to that the fact that it was a weekend and you have the perfect storm! Despite all of this, it was still a productive double trip and everyone had a great time. Who could ask for anything more!

A last-minute cancellation had me immediately rebooked for today! Doc, Adam and his son Alex joined me for some smallie action, on another scorcher of a day. Although we had a light sprinkle in the morning, it soon gave way to high humidity and no wind. Just another day at the ranch!

Our first stop had some action with everyone landing quality bass, but it just wasn’t on fire. After about an hour of trying to get something going, I decided to make a move. Our second stop was a little better with more fish being caught of all sizes. Soft plastics and small cranks accounted for all the bass as we remained shallow the entire time. I knew that if we were going to have a chance at better fish, we were going to have to change it up a bit.

After plugging the skinny water, I opted for a deeper presentation and ventured offshore to some other areas. Dropshotting was the technique being used and once again, everyone managed to land fish. Although mostly small to medium in size, they were still fun! Adam may have caught the largest one in the deep but he lost an even bigger one when it just came unpinned. Sometimes that just happens!

We had done one long drift over some of the best water and they had landed a bunch of fish, but I wasn’t going to make another. Instead, I made a run to a couple of shallower areas where we were going to end the day. Multiple fish were caught from both places but Doc had the hot hand here by fishing slowly. The lack of current on the water once again had the fish in a funky mood and not very aggressive. By slowing down, he was able to get several more bites than the others.

Sometime before 2:00, we packed it in and headed back to the ramp. Adam had a long drive ahead of him and needed to get on the road a bit earlier today. Despite the shorter day, plenty of fish were landed by all. Doc even managed a slam by getting a walleye & a pike to add to the bass! I’ll be back on the water again tomorrow with a double and hopefully the fishing will be good for both groups. With any luck it might even be a bit cooler, but I doubt it! We are scheduled for another hot day and probably very little current flow again. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to grind it out one more time!!