Luke was in, all the way from Australia and looking forward to some Canadian fishing. Being from down under, he was accustomed to salt water fish, but not so much freshwater species. Hoping to tick a few off his bucket list, we headed out for another scorcher of a day.

A light wind from the south west actually felt good as we ran to our first spot, but I knew it wouldn’t last. Lately the lake had been flattening out each day before noon. Just around the time it gets really unbearable! Either way, we were going to catch fish!

Soft plastics were used to entice a few bass from this area, but not the numbers I was looking for. It looked like it was going to be another tough bite as the fish were acting strange already. We spent about an hour in this area with a handful of bass to show for our efforts before relocating. Hopefully we would fend better in the next place we fished!

An offshore rock shoal was where we headed and it didn’t take long to see that there were actually fish here, to be caught. Numbers of average sized bass fell victim to more soft plastic baits as we covered the flat, hooking up frequently. Once it slowed, I moved over to another one and we continued to do the same. When it slowed down again, I decided to show him another technique and headed to some deeper water to vertically dropshot. I hoped that some bigger fish had moved offshore to catch.

It didn’t take long to hookup, but the bass were on the smaller side. We drifted a bunch of rocky areas and the best we could do were a few average fish, with some more of the little ones as well. Time to move shallower again!

I covered plenty of water and more of the average fish were caught, along with a big sturgeon. Luke had never actually seen one of these before and was happy to land it for a few pics. We went back searching for more smallies right after the release and found plenty of others just roaming around. A few of them actually hit the baits but most were just happy to be cruising the area. I had noticed that the current flow was way down and thought that this might have something to do with the lack of active fish. Everywhere we had been today seemed slower than usual and the water had a color to it as well. Regardless, we were catching some fish and continued to change spots frequently in order to increase our chances of hooking up!

At one point in the afternoon, I decided to switch to a troll, to try and get Luke another species. I showed him a technique I had for pike and fortunately it didn’t take long to get him one. He couldn’t believe that this fish ate a lure like it did and had seen enough after just one! We immediately switched back to bass and relocated once again!

I ran to another shoal in a different part of the lake and although we saw a bunch of fish here, they were also difficult to catch. Once again, the lack of current had these bass just cruising, but not very interested in eating. We did manage to get a few, but it wasn’t easy! We jumped to a couple of other areas nearby with similar results before stopping on one final spot to finish off the day.

Our last place saw water temps above 80 degrees with some active fish. It was more productive as far as getting bites but the fish were smaller in size. We fished here for the remainder of the day before calling it quits. It was so hot out now with no air flow and we were done!

Despite the difficult conditions today, we still managed to catch plenty of fish. I would have liked to see some bigger bass but we had to settle on the average sized ones instead. Luke was quite happy with the results though and the fact that he caught 4 new species of fish from freshwater, made it great. He had also landed several perch too! He will go back home to the land down under, with a better understanding of some of the Canadian fish and will have ticked a few more off the bucket list! It was a pleasure spending time in the boat with Luke today and catching a few fish as well. Cheers mate!!

A last-minute booking saw Rose & her family joining me for a half day of fishing today, David and her son Logan fished while she just enjoyed the trip, filming everything! We began shallow for walleye and Logan managed to bring one aboard for the first fish of the day. Too bad it was the only one!

I thought that a trolling bite would be better so we made a long run to an area that would surely produce. Unfortunately, only a couple of pike were landed and another lost. Once again, I decided to make a move and headed to a bass spot, looking for redemption. This was a good choice, as they landed several good ones from the area before we were done. I think Logan even caught one on his first cast! All I know is that time flies when you are only out for a half day!

Rose and her family had a great time catching fish, despite the slower than usual fishing. I had to switch it up plenty in order to get something going in the short 4- hour day. Fortunately, our last spot turned out to be a good one and plenty of action occurred before we were done. Back out tomorrow, for another roaster of a day!!

Vissess, Martine & Stephan were with me today, all the way from Three Rivers! We headed out in flat calm conditions and began by trolling. Without any wind, it was difficult to keep the lines clean, due to all the floating grass weeds. It was more like capellini than weed! I didn’t remain at this for very long as constant cleaning was needed to ensure any chance at a bite. We did however manage one bass and another pike before I just gave up completely!

Our second spot wasn’t great but at least a couple of bass were landed and a few others missed. We once again moved on, ridding the boat of those damn dog pecker knats as well and headed to a deeper area. Drop shotting was on the menu and I attempted to set up on a few rocky flats. With very little current to go with zero wind, it wasn’t easy. We spent over 30 minutes in a couple of places before switching back to soft plastics and the shallows. Slow fishing once again with limited hookups and we were off to another section of this waterway!

I stuck with the shallow water and headed to a spot that was producing recently, I was shocked to see the water color! It was quite milky looking and visibility was almost zero. Despite this, they gave it a whirl for about 15 minutes before I just pulled the plug. It just didn’t look fishy anymore!

I really needed to get something going and decided to try trolling again. I had an area close by and set the rods. quickly. Or should I say rod as I never got the second one in before the first one fired. They were into a nice walleye and it took all of 30 seconds to get the bite! After a few pics it was released. It was way over the legal slot size for Quebec!

For the next hour or more we continued trolling and managed to put many other fish in the boat. Although mostly pike, it was still fish and that made for a productive period for a change.

The heat was getting to everyone, so I decided to make another move and switch it up again. We headed to an open water shoal and I had them casting once again. Soft plastics allowed several hookups and plenty of smallies, but only for one guy. Martin had the hot hand and he put on a clinic for a while! I also noticed the water clarity was terrible here and there was virtually zero visibility once again! I decided not to continue fishing the entire area and instead made another move back to a spot we had fished earlier. Zero bites and 20 minutes later we were forced to move again!

They went back to dropshotitng on the next place and unfortunately only one bass was landed from here. A few missed strikes were had but it also didn’t look good. Water temps had climbed to 75 degrees but I knew that was only surface and didn’t really care. The air felt like 95 however with zero wind!

With limited time remaining I opted for a shallower area and had all three casting a dropshot due to the lack of current. In the last hour there were many more walleye caught but all but one were short. It didn’t matter however as they weren’t harvesting anything today! By 4:00 we were done and headed back to take out.

Today was quite interesting to say the least! We covered lots of water and they used many techniques to get bit. Although it was tough, there were still plenty of fish caught on this scorching hot day. Between the forest fires up north and the heat & humidity, it was brutal. Oddly enough, most areas of the water still remain on the cool side for this time of the year. Adjusting is the name of the game and I am constantly making the necessary changes to ensure that everyone has a good day. Now all I need is some wind to get rid of that damn floating grass! I’m sure there will be many more days when it will be blowing again!!

Richard was flying solo this morning as we headed out on the water, in search of a few bites. We tried an area close by and managed 20 or more fish before moving. Unfortunately, all the walleye were small, as well as the bass! Time to move on!

Rich had wanted to try catching a fish on the fly, so it was in the next spot that I made it happen. In fact, he managed to get a couple before switching back to a spinning rod and putting a hurt on the bass. We were pre frontal and the fish wanted to eat! I remained here for long as I cold before relocating to seek cover closer to shore. The thunder was rumbling in the background and I wanted no part of it! We continued to fish, carefully, while the thunder and lightning was happening. In fact, Rich even managed a couple more bass through the ordeal!

After things seemed like they had settled down, we made our way out to deeper water to try a little dropshotitng. It was starting to look good as a few fish were landed, but it didn’t last. We were forced to move back closer to the shore when the storm reappeared. No reason to chance anything in these conditions!

Well after a little longer than I would have liked, we moved back to deeper water and continued fishing. We also continued catching but they weren’t all big. Although Rich managed some nice bass most were on the medium size. Several walleye were also caught but none were legal. We fished a series of places for the remainder of the day and managed fish from each one. Around 3:00 we decided to pull the plug after one final stop. This shallow area was void of fish after the storm, unlike earlier when Rich beat on them. It was officially time to go!

Today was a great day despite Mother Nature’s attempt at ruining it. We caught plenty of fish and some really good ones as well. An earlier postponement opened the door for Rich today and he took advantage of the holiday. Apparently, we were the only ones as the lake was pretty void of boats. Pretty strange for a weekend led alone a holiday, but we weren’t going to let a little rain ruin a perfectly good fishing day. Glad to be on the water, catching fish!!

Dominic & his son Justin joined me today for another outing. After the last 4 days of fly fishing, we were going to be doing a mix of other things. I decided to give an area close by a quick stop and see if they could drop shot up a few fish. Although it looked decent, the scum line was right where I wanted to fish and we had to move after only few minutes. It was just impossible to fish!

Our next stop was further away and here there were a couple of bass landed and a few others lost or missed before moving again. I was jumping around to try and find active fish for them to catch and not spending long in areas that weren’t holding.

Well, two spots later and still no active fish, I decided to switch gears and try a troll. I set the lines and within 5 minutes, one of the reels went off. Justin landed a nice walleye and we had our first fish on the troll. I continued to cover water and change up baits for more bites and both pike and walleye came aboard. Although it wasn’t fast & furious, at least we were getting bit!

The weather was quite overcast and eventually it began to rain on us while we trolled. I decided to raise the roof and continued to fish comfortably, instead of getting everything wet. It was nice having a roof over our heads instead of a hood from our rain gear!

With zero wind and no boat traffic anywhere, the water was like glass. The only issue I had was all the floating grass weeds clinging to the rods as we trolled. I was forever cleaning the rods to ensure the lines were free form them. It was like a never-ending chore!

We continued to cover water in search of more fish and I managed to hit one area loaded with bait and big marks. I knew they were all walleye and adjusted the lures running depths before getting hit. We instantly had a double header! As it turned out one was an over and the other was a keeper. Figuring that I was on to something now, I reset the rods expecting more bites. To my surprise, that was all she wrote! Although I still saw plenty of marks on the sonar, they soon became fewer & fewer. Too bad the floating grass wasn’t the same!

I didn’t want to end the day with only the fish they caught so I opted for a change back to dropshotitng again. After packing everything up, including the roof, I headed to where we had started the day. The scum line was a bit further away allowing us to fish, but there wasn’t anything to catch. I jumped to a couple of other spots and the same thing. Finally on the last one Justin locked up on a nice bass and I was actually marking fish here as well. Several more walleye including a nice keeper and we were done. Oh yeah, his father landed a big perch too!

Today was an interesting one to say the least. We hit so many places, trying to find active fish, but never really keyed into anything significant. With the water temps still about 10 degrees lower than they should be, these fish really aren’t moving much. What should have them in a summer pattern schooled up, still has them scattered all over the place. Hopefully soon this will all change so that I can get back to catching instead of searching. The dropshot bite should be in full bloom by now, making for easy fishing. Instead, I have to do a mix of things every day in order to get into the numbers. Regardless, I still managed to get Dominic & Justin into enough fish to make this day enjoyable and they will be having fresh fish tonight!