Eric had hoped to be able to fish for sturgeon today, as he had this species on his bucket list. The winds were already blowing hard from the west and expected to increase as the day went on, but we were going to give it a try!

Unfortunately anchoring up in the big waves didn’t last and we were forced to vacate the area much sooner than I wanted. The electric motor just didn’t have enough strength to hold us firmly in position with the 40km west winds. Also we were bouncing out of the water constantly, adding to the problem!

I decided to search another area in hopes of locating a few fish to try for, but ended up pulling the plug on this species altogether. We were going to try for walleye instead. Even this wasn’t easy as a slow troll over the area only produced one quality bite. Although I was marking fish, they didn’t seem to want to eat. We even tried dropshotting with a slow drift and this didn’t work either. After several passes in both directions, I called it quits and moved to another spot further away.

The run to the next place wasn’t pretty with waves building from the increased winds. When I arrived to fish, I realized that it wasn’t a good choice and had to abort. We just couldn’t fish here in a cross wind and 3 to 4 foot rollers. It was more like an ocean than a lake! I headed to another small spot nearby and found it to be the same. These two places were supposed to be guaranteed spots and had been holding plenty of fish in the previous days. Too bad we wouldn’t get a chance to see it today!

I finally decided to completely abandon all the areas I wanted to fish and head back to the other side, in hopes of smaller waves. This proved to be interesting at best! I was surfing 4 & 5 footers the whole way back! Once we arrived, I saw that it wasn’t much better to fish. At least we were closer to the ramp though and thoughts crossed my mind of ending the day!

We stuck it out all afternoon and moved around plenty, trying to get into more fish. At one point later on, I moved back out to a flat that I hadn’t been able to fish earlier. It was here that we remained for the balance of our time. With each drift there were multiple hookups and several other smaller walleye came in the boat. Some were keepers that were released and others were unders. All I know is that somehow we managed to salvage the day, despite the wrath of Mother Nature!

Today wasn’t easy, but Eric had a good time regardless of the hell we went through. It’s not always about the fishing, but rather the journey getting there. Having a boat that can handle conditions like today doesn’t hurt either! All I know is that I was glad to finally have it on the trailer at the end of the day. I’m sure that our bodies will be sore tomorrow after the roller coaster ride we had today!

Gaetan & Michel joined me today on probably the nicest fall day this year! It started out cold but eventually made its way into the upper 60 degree range. Sunshine and no wind had us shedding clothes early and they stayed off all day. Too bad the fishing wasn’t as good as the weather!

We had started with sturgeon, but unfortunately hours later with very little on the sonar, we were relocating. I did use plenty of worms but they were almost all on gobies! One tiny walleye was caught and we were done!

After pulling the plug on the big fish, I shifted over to bass & walleye and only saw one good smallie from our first stop. The second place however had both Gaetan & Michel catching bass & walleye. There were some quality fish landed but it didn’t last long! The full moon had these fish lethargic where we had fished and limited success was had.

I tried several other areas with similar success before they called the day at 3:00. They had a long drive back in traffic and had to get on the road earlier than I expected. Our last spot was fished briefly and only saw a couple of missed fish in the 10 minute we were there. I’m sure I could have refined it a bit and come up with several more, given the time! Overall today was slower than I would have hoped for but it was a beautiful day to be on the water!

Maxime & Jacques were my guests today on this breezy fall outing. We were going to start with sturgeon and once again move on to the smaller fish afterwards. Hopefully the predicted winds would be wrong and we would be able to get to all the areas I wanted to fish!

As I set up for sturgeon, I was surprised not to find any other boats in the area. We were alone and I loved it! With lines in, we waited for our first bite and finally got it after one move. Maxime brought to the boat a juvenile fish, but it was his very first one ever! I released it after a couple of pics and we waited for more. The next bite turned into a double and they both landed small fish once again. In fact, there were several more baby sturgeon and a couple of fat, Redhorse suckers brought to the boat afterwards, as well. Wanting to find something bigger for them to fight, I relocated after a couple of other small ones and hoped for a bigger bite!

I had been waiting only for a short time when I set into some heavy weight. I passed the rod to Maxime and he finally got to feel the power of a big fish. This thing stayed on the bottom for almost the entire battle and only ran a few times. I’m not sure why but it really didn’t fight like it was supposed to! What should have been a gruelling 15 minute battle ended in about 10, when I slid the net under his fish. It was long and thick and should have fought a whole lot harder in my opinion, but we finally had one!

Maxime held his fish for several pics and released it back soon after. We tried fishing for a while longer but only managed a few smaller ones before the winds began to blow. We were forced to leave the area and change up to a different species!

I spent the remainder of the day moving from one spot to the next and trying to fish effectively. The W/NW winds were howling and not easy to fish in, but we did manage to grind out the day. Maxime lost a goof fish in one spot and followed it up with a high end keeper walleye. I was marking plenty of fish on the first drift but the winds were blowing me at a 90 degree angle to the current. It wasn’t easy to drift the area properly and we almost always missed our target. Jacques managed to get one small bass from here before we moved on to another spot to fish.

Our next area turned out to be our last but at least it produced a few good smallies for Jacques. The winds were blowing even harder now and we were ready to leave. The waves were easily 3 to 4 footers with a few monsters in between. Fortunately we were going into them but I still had to tack a few times in order to get back to the ramp, safe & dry!

Despite the difficult afternoon conditions, both Max & Jacques managed to catch a few more fish. I know that if I had of been able to get to all the places I wanted that they would have caught even more. The highlight of the day would have been the spectacular rainbow that appeared in the sky after a light rain! Mother Nature is starting early this fall with her idea of a joke and I expect plenty more days of pain & suffering! Hopefully there will be a few easy days coming up as well for all to enjoy!

Darren, Mark & Dave were back this weekend for what was supposed to be their annual, 2 day trip. Unfortunately the weather took us out the first day, but not the second! They were going fishing!

I made a little road trip due to the big westerly winds scheduled and was glad I had done so. It took Darren but one cast to get the ball rolling with a nice smallie! Hopefully the rest of the day would be the same!

We were fishing current breaks and both Daren and his brother Mark were hammering the bass. Dave was having a little difficulty getting started but I was sure that was going to change. There were too many spots to fish and way too many fish to catch from all of them.

With each move, numbers of good smallies were landed and Dave did finally get in the game. In fact on one spot he was locked up on a nice bass that I was about to net, when I saw a bunch of others following. In a few seconds it went from one to all three! They were tripled up!

The winds were pretty strong where we were and conserving battery power was a priority. I knew that if we fought current and wind all day long that I was going to drain the batteries quickly. I made a few stops in places that were less in the current, but not out of the wind. One way or the other, we were hopefully going to make it last!

Our final area of the day saw them catching the most fish but it was Darren that managed to land the big bass of the day. I’m not sure what it actually weighed but it was a true giant! Meanwhile Dave who had a slow start was ending with a bang. He had managed to find the sweet spot and was hooking up on practically every cast. This went on for quite a while but the others were also holding their own too! It seemed like everyone was ending with a bang!

We had been holding in one area for well over an hour and they were still catching fish. Unfortunately the batteries were about to make us end the day sooner than expected. Eventually, I had to pull the plug and call it quits but only about 15 minutes earlier than expected. We had somehow managed to hold out for almost the entire day in heavy current and strong westerly winds. I guess my batteries are better than I thought!

Overall today was probably the best day so far this fall for numbers of bass. They may not have all been giants but the amount of fish caught was definitely a great change. They had action all day long and finished strong. Who could ask for anything more!!

Karen was back today with her father Richard for another day of fishing. We were going to be targeting sturgeon and keeping a couple of hours at the end to try for smaller fish. Hopefully it would all work out!

I set up in the usual area and began searching for fish on the bottom. Within minutes we were anchored up with a few good ones showing. I don’t think it took ten minutes before I was handing the rod to Richard with a decent one on the line. He wasn’t able to move around much so I tried to keep the fish on his side of the boat, for the battle. It sulked for most of the time on the bottom but did come up for a good jump that Karen was able to record. After the breach, it immediately returned to the bottom where it remained for the balance of the fight.

It was probably 15 minutes later before I was able to net his sturgeon and he was relieved that it was over. Holding the fish for the pictures was difficult and I had to rest the sturgeon on a tarp, on his lap. Not the greatest method for pics but it worked!

We had relocated several times after the first fish and only landed 3 other smaller ones. I idled all over the place looking for bigger marks and eventually found a couple that looked large. After waiting almost 15 minutes, I saw a light bite and set into some heavy weight. Richard was about to fight his second big fish of the day. Minutes in, the fish breached behind the boat & I saw that it was definitely larger than the previous one he had landed. He was going to be struggling for longer this time!

This fish was a real treat going from one side of the boat to the other. I had to take the rod from Richard several times so as not to get the line caught in the motor. With Karen’s father sitting, it would have been tough for him to manoeuvre around!

This battle lasted about the same amount of time as the first and eventually I was able to net this one too. It was longer, but not as thick as the first. It was however heavier as he soon found out! I placed the fish on the tarp again that rested on his lap and he held it for a few more pics. Soon after it was returned to the water and swam off perfectly.

We returned to fishing for about 30 minutes longer without another touch. It was time for a move and a different species of fish!

I packed everything up and brought the lighter tackle out for bass & walleye. First stop saw 5 bass landed but no eyes. Richard may have lost one, but we’ll never know for sure! With very little time remaining I decided to hit another area that I was sure would produce. Unfortunately it wasn’t great either and only saw 2 walleye come aboard. One was legal but the other fell an inch short and was returned. A few more light hits were had, but only perch were caught. By 3:00 we were done!

Although the fishing was slow today, Richard got to play with a few good fish. The two sturgeon he fought made the day all worthwhile. Add to that the quality time that Karen had spent with her father and one would say it was just perfect! I always enjoy having them on the boat and even more, the smile on his face when he’s fighting a big fish. He’ll have a few more stories to tell after today’s fishing trip. He’ll also have plenty of photos to show around for everyone to enjoy!