Felix scheduled the afternoon with me but due to a free morning, I suggested that we start earlier. He was game for a 10:00 meet time and we would fish until 2:30 instead of the usual 4:00. I had also taken the liberty to head out a bit earlier to target some walleye for tonight’s dinner. I ended up putting 4 nice keepers in the well in less than 30 minutes before I received the text that he had arrived. I headed back to the ramp and picked him up to fish!

We ran out in a SE wind that made for a twisty, bouncy ride! He had wanted to fish for bass as he had never even seen one before. Felix was from Sweden and also had never caught a walleye either. We both decided that the walleye would be where we started!

I immediately went back to where I had been earlier and located some nice marks on the sonar. It didn’t take long before Felix had his first walleye, but it was too big to keep. I still took a few pics before releasing his catch! We moved around and managed to get a few more fish including a couple of big perch. He would definitely be having fish for dinner!

The quest for smallmouth bass was next and once the walleye shut down, we made the move. I headed to a spot that I was sure would produce and he hooked up on his very first cast. He was impressed at how strong these fish were and hoped to get a few more before the day was done. What he didn’t know was what was about to happen, would be epic!

I had set Felix up with some soft plastic baits and he had fended well where we were. I guess he had landed about 6 or so bass and missed about the same. As I moved to the last area, the fishing just got stupid! The last 90 minutes of the day was like the Olympics! He had chances at fish on practically every cast and boated so many smallies that I sat down until the net was needed. These fish were also all quality and nothing under 3 pounds was seen! I know he definitely got his fill of bass, having boated an astronomical number of these bronze beauties. I guarantee that he will be remembering this day for the rest of his life. In fact, he had mentioned that this was by far the best day of fishing he had ever experienced! One last cast and one more quality smallie and we were done! Yes, we actually left them biting!

Felix came all the way from Sweden for a vacation and managed to catch a couple of new species of fish. In fact, he had experienced smallmouth action like not many have before! I still don’t know how many bass were in the area we were but I will definitely be finding out in the weeks to come. With any luck Felix will be back to try his luck at a giant sturgeon next time, as we had planned on fishing for them as well today. The infestation of big smallies had changed all of our plans though, as I never leave fish to find fish. I only hope they remain there a little longer so that more of my guests can experience similar fishing. I definitely can’t wait to get back out there again and soon!

Chad, Charlie & Megan joined me this morning and we headed out for sturgeon to start the day. We were going to fish them for a few hours and end with bass & walleye, or so we thought! Sometimes plans have a way of changing!

The first couple of hours were pretty slow with the nibblers being the only things biting. I made several moves trying to locate some active fish but each one was eventually greeted by more nibblers. With limited time for the half day trip, I started to bring the rods in, thinking of another species move when that all changed. One of the rods took a big hit and I set into some serious weight! I handed it to Charlie and coached him on what to do. I also told him to relax as this was going to be a long battle!

With everything cleared from the back of the boat, Charlie began the fight. This fish was strong and within minutes went to the air with a spectacular leap for everyone to see. It was definitely the largest thing he had ever been hooked up to and quickly learned how to conserve his energy for the battle. Multiple long runs were had and each time he reeled the fish back to the boat, it took off again. This happened several times before he finally brought it close enough for me to net. The fight may have been over but the hard part was about to begin. Now he would have to hold it for the pic!

I realized quickly that Charlie wouldn’t be able to hold the fish alone so with the help of his father, they both lifted it up for a few pics. Back it went after, unharmed as usual!

I had planned on switching to bass & walleye but when I gave them the option, it was unanimous. We were going for quality over quantity! Back in the lines went and once again the wait began.

In the last hour or so, they managed to get one more small sturgeon and a hateful eel. Not what I had wanted but you never know what you’re going to get when the baits are down in the deep!

Timing it just right, I headed back to the docks to exchange clients and pick up my afternoon party. The morning trip was a bit slow but we managed to make it work. I was glad they at least got to land one giant in the short time we were out!

Chris, Mark & T jumped in the boat and we headed back to where I had left off. I was sure they would enjoy catching something large and only hoped the fish would cooperate as well.

I don’t think the lines were in the water for even three minutes before we had our first bite! Mark was handed the rod after I set into something small and he landed his first juvenile sturgeon. Although cute, it was not what I was searching for! The next couple of bites also came quick and two more small sturgeon were landed again. Following them was a keeper sized walleye that made into the livewell for them to take home.

We had been anchored for a while after the earlier flurry when I finally reared back on some weight. Chris was handed the rod and was about to do battle with a much better fish. I didn’t think it was a true giant but after the day care bites we had earlier, this would be welcomed!

Soon into the battle his fish went to the air and we saw that it was a god one. It peeled line from the reel multiple times and gave him a great fight before coming to net. Quick pics were taken and the fish was released.

I knew that we were in the right area for a big bite and we eventually got one. When I set into this fish, it didn’t move! T was given the rod after only landing little ones earlier and felt the difference immediately. It didn’t allow him to reel any line for the first minute or so and just took line out. Although it didn’t jump at all, the battle was epic! T had never felt anything like this before and had to be coached so as not to burn out. The runs were long and often and each time he thought he was gaining, the sturgeon took it all back and more. Fifteen minutes later and a whole lot of burn, I was finally able to net his beast! He was relieved to have ended the battle but the hard part was going to be the hold. He struggled to get the fish up and after a few quick belly pics, the others stepped in. They aided in the hold and several more shots of the group were taken before the release.

We reset the lines and in the last hour, managed to land a few more juveniles before I called the day. They had spent the entire afternoon on sturgeon and had a blast catching all kinds of fish. Although we could have gone for bass & walleye, they were quite happy to try for the big ones!

Today was all about quality and both groups saw just that! They had witnessed the power of these creatures and seen true River Monsters! Overall, today was a great success, with a few of the better ones being landed. I can’t wait for cooler weather and bigger bites!

A rescheduling for today’s client had Christiane & Dan in the boat instead! I headed out with Dan for a couple of hours first in pursuit of walleye and we got on them big time. When I went back to pick up  Christiane, we know exactly where they were. We actually had left them biting in order to get her from the ramp!

Once the three of us started casting, we filled the livewell in no time. We were on a quest for eaters and had no problem getting a couple of limits, with many others released as well. There were even a few jumbo smallies caught from the same area too. Now it was time to switch gears!

I had wanted to focus on bass after our morning success and headed to an area to pound on them too. Unfortunately as I neared the spot, I realized that there was another boat exactly where I needed to be. Plan B was immediately made instead and we headed there hoping for a few good bites.

Christiane slammed a big one quickly, right after I had missed two good bites. After I missed a third fish for no apparent reason Christiane landed yet another one. There wasn’t a lot of fish where we were, but they were good ones!

I had covered plenty of great looking water and only come up with a few bass, so it was time for another move. I idled over to where I wanted to be and almost immediately Christiane was into another bass. She also missed a few others and landed a couple more too! I managed to get a few myself but Dan was struggling just to get bit!

I had left just enough time in the day to check out one last spot. It was the first chance I had to see if it was holding bass and was it ever! They were all over the area and each time we casted, there were fish following. Several good smallies were taken from here by all of us. Although it took Dan a while to get in the game he finally changed to what we were throwing and hooked up. He even had a chance at a big musky from the same area, but luck wasn’t on his side. We continued casting for bass and everyone managed to hook up multiple times before we were done.

Overall today was a great success with plenty of fish being landed by all. We even managed to take a couple of limits of walleye. All this and I was off by 3:00 too! I’m looking forward to getting back out real soon!

Garnet, Matt, John & Curtis were with me again today for their annual meet up. I gave them the option to cancel at the water due to the big winds and ever bigger winds to come, but they wanted to go regardless. Sure glad they made that decision!

Although I had planned to start with sturgeon, the big waves would have made it difficult to hold and even tougher to see the bites. Instead I decided that we were going to drift & dropshot over large flats, looking for bass & walleye.  I set up the rods and let the winds move us to see which direction I was going to use and after a few minutes, had them drop down.

The first few drifts over one of the flats didn’t produce but on the third place, they began to hook up. Matt managed to get a couple of decent ones into the bot and the walleye went right into the livewell for him to take home. I had everyone on different baits and after Matt landed the third fish, I decided to switch them all to the same thing. Curtis wasted no time bringing in the next walleye and the others soon followed. With each drift there were multiple hookups had and more fish were livewelled! I’m not sure how many passes we made but it was a lot! Eventually the bites got fewer and by 1:30 I decided to pull the plug and head elsewhere. The winds hadn’t really gotten any worse and we were going to try for a sturgeon bite, if we could hold!

Once I arrived at the area to fish, I set everything up and began the search. The waves were a good 2 to 3 foot most of the time and I even had to have a couple of the guys stand up front to keep the bow down. Lines in and the wait felt like forever. I checked the baits a few times and every once in a while they were still there. Most of the time however, the nibblers had stolen the worms without even being noticed on the rods. The winds were bouncing the boat quite a bit even with two people weighing the bow down.  It was said that Garnet was to take the first fish and Curtis would have the second one. Now all I had to do was find a couple of volunteers! Garnet was passed the rod after I reeled into a small fish and he landed a perch. Not what were after but at least I knew that the fish would bite here.

We had relocated a few times with all the pesky nibblers and were talking about going back to where we had fished earlier in the day for the walleye. I thought I would make one more attempt at finding a big fish and searched around until I did finally locate a good one. A last attempt at one bite would be made and we would remain anchored for no more than 10 minutes. About three minutes in, I saw the rod bounce and was shocked. I quickly grabbed it and felt the bite again. I immediately reared back and bent the rod on the hookset. I could tell by the weight that this was a giant and handed it over to Curtis to do battle this beast.

Well the fight lasted over 15 minutes with multiple long runs and one huge attempt at a breach. The fish was coming up fast right beside the boat and at the last second, turned underneath the boat. I think it would have either landed in or even hit the boat if it had of continued. From there, it made a straight line sizzling run right to the bottom. Curtis pumped the fish up several times and each time it went right back. Eventually however, he managed to get it up to the surface where I was able to net it and the battle was over. I took several pics with him and even a group photo showing its overall size before they released it back to the water. After this, we were officially done for the day!

I was definitely glad that they decided to fish today, despite the big waves and gusting winds. It may not have been an easy day but it was definitely rewarding. In the end they took 10 fish home and finished off with a bang. The beast of a sturgeon was just icing on the cake! A well-deserved reward for the time we put in today in these adverse conditions!!

After getting the truck repaired, again this week, I finally got back on the water today. I was fishing with Chris & Jake but only for the morning. They wanted to try for sturgeon and we had the perfect weather for it too! No wind and a slightly overcast sky with cool air temps. The question was would they bite?

After idling over the area for a few minutes, I stopped where I had seen a few good marks and casted out the rods for the wait. Unfortunately a couple of moves were needed to get away from the nibblers, as always, before we finally got bit. In just a few minutes we went from nothing to a double header! They may not have been the monsters I was looking for but they were sturgeon.

After resetting the lines, we managed another small fish before Jake got to do battle with something larger. I knew when I set into the fish that it was decent but was sure it wasn’t huge. Jake fought it for a few minutes and felt the power. It made a jump 5 feet beside the boat and shot right back to the bottom immediately after. He struggled for a bit but eventually managed to bring it to the surface for me to net. This would prove to be his biggest fish so far to date and it wasn’t even the beast I had hoped he would battle. Now I wanted more!

Chris was up next and when I set into another fish, I knew it was one that he would have to fight. It felt like a decent fish and a couple of jumps later, we knew why! It peeled plenty of line from the reel multiple times and Jake even got the leaps on video! Close to 8 minutes later, I netted his catch. He held it up for several good pics and released it to the water soon after. They now had done battle with something larger than the nursery fish we had started with! But I still wanted more!

I reset the lines and we spent the remainder of the time hoping for a big bite. Unfortunately it just wasn’t to happen as all we could get into were a couple more small fish again. Time had passed quickly and before we knew it, we were done. I packed everything up and headed back to take out.

Today may have been a short one but at least they both did battle with the largest fish of their lives. Although not the true monsters I was hoping for, they were still big enough to give them an idea of what to expect the next time they are back. Now I have left them wanting more and I’m sure that before the season is over, we will be hooking up again. Fall is the best time for these dinosaurs and it’s just around the corner. I only hope when they return that the beasts come out to play!!