Ramon & Isabel were in from Spain and experienced a great day of sturgeon fishing. They landed 8 good fish in a short period of time. What was supposed to be a full day turned out to be a half day outing when they called it after noon. They had a great time and wanted to grab lunch before heading back into the city. It was definitely a productive day for such a short one!

Scott & Chris were with me on this last day of the month. We were headed for sturgeon to start and hopefully the fish would cooperate. If not, I had a backup plan that included smallmouth bass!

Very little marks were seen as I idled over an area looking for the big girls. I finally saw a few and decided to stop and see if we could get a bite. It didn’t take long for the first one but it was a juvenile and Chris reeled it in. The second one acted like a big fish but didn’t have the weight. Scott fought it for a few minutes and it took a couple of long runs along with one spectacular jump beside the boat. I tailed it and gave it back to Scott to hold for a pic before the release.

We had waited a little longer and made a move before getting our next bite. This time when I set, it felt a bit heavier and Chris took the rod to do battle. Although it wasn’t a true giant, it was still a great fight with plenty of power. I also finally got to use the big net once it was beside the boat. First time this season! Chris held it for a few pics and released the male back to the water where it belonged.

We stayed a little longer hoping for another bite but it wasn’t to be. Eventually we just packed up and changed species entirely.

I had decided to try for smallies and ran to an area nearby. Both Scott & Chris managed to get into some bass here but Chris caught the largest ones with the soft plastics he was throwing. We even tried fishing deep but only saw a couple of fish from here and didn’t make a second pass. I wanted to check another area out where I had been catching shallower fish.

Once we arrived it didn’t take long for Scott to hook up. He nailed a couple of bass quickly and then it just died. A switch of baits and presentations had a few more falling victim to the offering but it was slower than I had expected. I moved slowly through the area and both guys managed to get several more quality bass before we were through.

Today may not have been the greatest day of fishing, but the quality of the bites was there. They managed to catch 3 sturgeon in only a few hours and plenty of big smallies afterwards. Hopefully the fall temps will have these fish moving in shallower in the coming weeks. October is about to begin and this is definitely a big fish month! Bring it on!

Jim & Marie were back for their second day but this time the winds were out of the SE at the start. The waves were crashing on the boat ramp for the start and it looked ugly! Some of them even came in over the back of the boat when I launched making for a great start to the day!

I wasn’t sure where I would be able to fish with the big SE and decided to try a small area in the middle of the lake surrounded by shallow water. Unfortunately after fishing it for close to an hour without any success, I was forced to relocate. It wasn’t much fun either with the rain falling sideways!

I made a move to a spot close by and despite several bites on a dropshot, we still came up empty. Next move saw us running in heavy rain once again and we headed to deeper water. It was here that we finally began catching some nice bass and I made a few drifts over the rocks. As luck would have it, the wind seemed like it was laying down, making for easier boat control. This didn’t last long however as it was just switching directions. It went from SE to a straight south briefly and finally a bigger SW. We were forced to pull out of this area after catching several good bass from the depths due to impossible boat control.

The rain was off and on, but mostly on as we headed to the place we began in the day before. It was absolutely howling when we arrived and I didn’t know if the fish were still here or if they would even bite again. Jim had a few short strikes but Marie hooked up on her fist cast and brought a really nice bass to the net for a pic. She added several more slightly smaller ones afterwards but not photo worthy! Jim did have a much bigger one on a dropshot but after a couple of jumps, it came unpinned. We stayed as long as we were getting bit but finally decided to head out when the action just died! I was heading back to the ramp briefly for a short lunch break.

It wasn’t until we were about halfway back that I realized just how bad the rollers really were. We were in three & four footers at times and going with them. After a short break at the docks for our lunch break, we headed back out. Fortunately it had at least stopped raining and we had that going for us!

The afternoon was spent fishing open water once gain but this time for walleye. They both managed to catch fish but it was Jim that landed the most and biggest ones this time. He was on fire with all the fish active in this wind and took advantage of their aggressive behaviour. Eventually we decided that enough was enough and pulled the plug a bit earlier than I normally would have. The rain and wind was more than they could handle and we were done.

Despite the terrible conditions today, both Jim & Marie managed to work through the pain and came up with some really nice fish. The afternoon walleye bite was great and I only wish that the waves had of been slightly smaller for Marie to enjoy it more. Overall the two days of fishing may have been tough as far as Mother Nature goes, but we never gave up and kicked some bass and walleye too! Tough but rewarding!

Jim & Marie were back again for their annual 2 day fishing trip. It seemed like it was going to be a wet one but this was better than the big winds they usually bring! We hit the water in a dark, overcast sky that also saw mirror calm waters. I was looking for some big smallies for them to tie into and knew exactly where to go.

Jim may have gotten the first fish but it was Marie that brought the big one to net. She boated a 5 pounder quickly in the day, with hopes of others to come! Jim also managed to land several good ones and Marie caught several more on a drop shot before we were finished here.

The second stop only showed small fish and we quickly moved to another area to fish. Here the bass were short striking the baits but we did manage to get a couple of really good ones. Our next area was a long run away and it too was a little disappointing. I had to get really shallow in order to find the fish and most were just in the 2 pound range.

Another move to an offshore rip saw plenty of action on the jerkbaits. Multiple fish came from here and some pretty good ones too. We remained on the school until they flat our refused to bite any longer before switching locations again. The day had passed quickly and with limited time remaining, I decided to change it up a bit. We were heading for walleye!

It didn’t take long once we arrived for the first high end keeper to make its way into the livewell. I needed a fish or two for dinner tonight! Marie followed it up with a really good one which turned out to be her personal best walleye. It was a beauty and gave her a great fight for an eye! Several pics later it was returned to grow even bigger. In the remaining hour or so, they managed to boat a few more nice walleye and a smallie. Oh yeah, several perch as well!

Although the fishing was a little slower than I would have liked today, there was still plenty of action throughout. Tomorrow is another day and I think we may start out a bit deeper to see what happens. I think there are still plenty of quality bites to be had in the abyss!

Pierre, Eric & Jacques were with me today on a quest for walleye. We started out with a nice SW wind, drifting over rocky flats and they wasted no time hooking into the first few fish. Unfortunately the winds diminished and so did our drifts! Many more fish were landed but unfortunately most were on the small side and had to be released. A few smallmouth and a couple more keepers later, I decided to relocate. On top of that, there were so many boats in this area that the fish were being pressured and I wanted no part of this crowd!

I made a long run to an open water area where we spent the remainder of the day. Plenty more fish were landed and also lost or missed, but there was always action. A few smallies were also caught but walleye were the main target and we picked at the better ones all afternoon. The winds made it a challenge to cover this spot, blowing from the SE and then straight east. The electric motor had to be used just to move over the flat and fish! We pulled the plug shortly after 3:00 as everyone had seen enough and we were done.

Today was another great one filled with lots of action and they all got to take fish home with them in the end. Hopefully these conditions will continue for many more weeks to come as we are now into the fall period and you just never know. Mother Nature has a way of humbling us all and keeping the fisheries protected with her insane weather patterns. Plenty more great days ahead!