Another day on the water and another scorching heat wave, without a stitch of wind! Sam and his brother Chris were joined by Sam’s son, for more pike & walleye action. We trolled the entire day with the roof up as it was just too unbearable in the sun!

The bite started a little slow this morning but eventually we found an area where they were more active. For over an hour reels were firing almost nonstop and a mix of walleye & pike were landed. As with most days, the walleye were all too big and released after a few quick pics.

I hadn’t planned on trolling the entire day, but with the lack of wind and bright sun, I don’t think any of us wanted to leave the shade! There wasn’t even a ripple on the water and it made the fishing quite difficult at times. We had many slow periods, but I always managed to find some fish for them to catch.

The afternoon saw us covering plenty of water searching for more walleye. Between the pike and the oversized walleye, they never really caught any keepers! I even checked out some deeper areas and still managed to find only pike that were active enough to bite. Water temps rose from 70 degrees at the start to almost 76 by late afternoon and the walleye just shut down in the areas we fished.

Despite the rather slow day by my standards, there were still high numbers of fish caught making for another great day. We ran back around 4:00 in waves from all directions but not from any air movement. It was all caused by the boat traffic on the water! I think everyone was out today, enjoying the beautiful weather. Who could blame them as it was the weekend!

Allan & Natalie joined me today for a mix of fish and a variety of techniques. The weather was actually pleasant at the start and felt cool for the run to our first spot. Trolling would once again be the technique used this morning and I wasted no time getting the lines prepped and in the water.

Our first bite took a little longer than usual but it was a big fish. I could tell by the way it was acting that it was a walleye and handed the rod to Natalie to fight. Unfortunately pressure was lost and so was the fish soon after. Oh well, I’m sure there would be more!

We trolled the area and had a few short strikes and managed to land a couple of pike. Both of the fish fell off in the net showing that they were barely hooked and not very active. Hopefully this would change soon!

I decided to switch locations and apparently it was a good move as we began to get into more active fish in this spot. Both pike & walleye were brought to net in the next few hours but all the walleye had to be released once again. They measured too long for the slot. Tough getting keepers lately but they do make for great pics!

Late in the morning with the sun scorching and a lack of wind, I decided to raise the roof for a little relief. What a difference it made for the troll as we were all beginning to suffer and needed some shade.

We trolled till almost noon and I decided to try something different in an area further away. I also made a short pit stop and let both Nat & Allan off on land to take a bathroom break.

The next area was a big flat that held smallies and they were going to be casting soft plastics in hopes of catching a few. I made a couple of demonstration casts and managed to hook into a small bass in the process. Unfortunately Allan missed a couple, but Natalie did catch two decent smallies that fought like champs.

We moved around the area in hopes of finding a school but it never really happened. I was eventually forced to hit other areas nearby and the results were the same. I think there were only a couple more bass landed, so I decided to make another move. We would be going to open water and trying some drop shotting!

With the lack of wind & current I was forced to use the electric motor just to move along. I wasn’t marking many fish or any bait but I was sure there were a few around. After a slight move, Allan hooked up on a nice smallie and it took to the air almost instantly. We made another drift over the small area after taking pics & before calling it a day.

I had just finished packing up the roof when I saw both their lines get hit at the same time. As soon as I told them, instant double header! Unfortunately Nat’s fish came unpinned but Allan landed another decent bass before we were done. It would have been nice to end on a double but at least we finished with a bang!

Today was another good day of fishing but I had to cover plenty of water to make it happen. Trolling definitely put the most fish in the boat but that’s usually the way to go when the fish are scattered. I’ll be back out again tomorrow and with any luck, the fish will be a little more active. I’m praying for some wind but it looks like another day of trolling with the roof up. Either way, we will catch plenty more fish!

Another long day today with a double booking and waking up at 4:30! Mohammad & his gang were a party of four this morning and hoping for lots of fish. Their wish was granted with fish after fish and plenty of action throughout their trip.

Although most of them were novices, they had lots of practice landing pike & walleye all morning long. It may have been a slower than normal start to the day but once I found the fish, that all changed. The only issue I had was that they wanted to take a few fish home and had to settle on mostly pike. Almost all the walleye were way too large! Tough problem to have!

We called it a little short as they wanted to take a swim in the lake. I stopped in deep enough water on the way back and three of them took the plunge. Refreshed and soaking wet, we made our way back to the ramp for the afternoon pick up. Another fantastic morning with a bunch of great guys!

A quick turnaround and Val & I were off for the afternoon trip. I asked him what he wanted to do and he said that he’d like to take a couple of walleye home for dinner. No problem, I thought and off to a nearby drop shot area we went.

We drifted over moderately deep water and were only able to get into one keeper walleye and a couple of smallmouth. I jumped around and found out that the fishing was much tougher than I had anticipated. I was marking very little bait and not many fish in the areas that should have been loaded. Time for a long run to a spot that I was sure would produce!

With only two people in the boat I decided not to troll as we would only be able to have two lines in the water. Also, the walleye that I had been getting by trolling were mostly overs and too big to keep.

We stopped in an area that had a mix of bass & walleye and began casting oft plastics. Val had brought one of his own rods and I set it up with the bait of choice for him to use. After a brief demonstration on how to work it, he hooked into his first bass from this spot. It may have been the first but it wasn’t going to be his last! Although not big, it fought like a champ and as I found out later, was his personal best. I shot a couple of pics but knew he would catch bigger ones with the time we had left!

We covered this area and had plenty of action, but most of his fish were coming unpinned before reaching the boat. Some of them were quite large too as we saw them either jump or break the surface before being lost. I thought of changing him up to something else and tried a few casts on the drop shot. I was instantly hooked up and managed to put a couple more walleye in the well for him to take home. I also landed a few smallmouth and switched him up to this rig. It didn’t last long though as all he was able to catch were rocks. He went back to the previous set up and I made a little refinement to his technique and hook set, and the results were much better. He caught a mix of bass & walleye afterwards and livewelled his limit of fish for the day. In fact, he even caught a couple more with one of them being a good over!

With little time remaining he requested that we stay an hour longer and I granted him his wish. We would fish until 5:00 instead of the usual 4:00 as he was having way too much fun!

The last hour saw several more fish coming to net including a nice 4 pound smallie that unfortunately was not photographed. It had taken the bait deeply and was bleeding when I removed the hook. Not wanting to stress the fish any more than it already was, I released it and watched her swim away. Better chance of survival this way! The time passed quickly and we only had a few minutes remaining so I motored over to a spot that I hoped he could get into at least one more fish. Turns out that he managed two more and we ended with a bang!

Both trips today were a success and by switching things up a little I was able to satisfy everyone in the boat. In fact they all took some fish home and released so many more! It may have been a tiring one but I wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Oh yeah, the waters were also quiet as today wasn’t a weekend or holiday. Great to have it practically all to myself!

James was back with me again and this time he brought along his neighbour Eric. He hadn’t done much fishing before, but I knew he would land a bunch today. We were going trolling!

I wanted to get them both into some early morning walleye and began in a spot that had been putting out really big ones lately. Although it took a little longer than expected to fire the first reel, it was definitely worth the wait. James landed his largest walleye ever and it was a good one! Shortly after, Eric also landed an over and this too was his personal best. It was also his first walleye too!

We covered plenty of water and picked at the fish for a while, catching both pike as well as walleye. Eventually I decided to move to another area and they continued fighting more fish. Although a little slower than I had hoped for, the action was still steady. We kept at this for a while longer and then pulled the plug on the troll and headed elsewhere to cast for some bass.

Our first area was loaded, but most of these fish were short striking our baits and tough to land. We must have missed over 75% of them and eventually I just moved. It was way too frustrating to remain here any longer!

Our second stop wasn’t much better and seemed almost void of bass altogether. Our third stop however had them thick and although many were lost, many were also caught. James landed a few really nice ones while Eric struggled to keep his fish pinned. These fish definitely weren’t very active, but at least some of them got caught! I had another pick up to make at 1:30, ending their casting for these bass. We were headed back to get their kids! Riley, Sophia and Giulio would be joining us for the remainder of the afternoon, in hopes of landing a few fish of their own.

I had decided to resume the troll with this many bodies on board and headed to another area in hopes of better action. I raised the roof before getting the lines in the water and dropped the heat wave by about 20 degrees. It was definitely much better in the shade!

Riley, like his father, hadn’t fished before and was first up on the rods. Soon after setting the four lines, he was officially tight to his very first pike ever. James’s kids had been with me several times before and were no stranger to reeling in fish. They all had many turns for the remainder of the trip and full rotations were plentiful. There must have been at least 15 fish boated by them in the couple of hours we were out. Both walleye and pike were caught and they all had a great time reeling in their catches!

Today was another great day of fishing and by mixing up the species, it went fast. Despite it being Canada Day there was less traffic on the water than I had anticipated, making it a joy to be out. Even the ramp wasn’t too bad as I had the boat on the trailer in record time! Overall, definitely a great day for fishing!

Mike was with me this morning and he brought along Jason, Jasper & Yoonho. We had a big NE wind and I wasn’t sure how the fish would react, but we headed out in hopes of another great day.

The run to our first spot was a little bumpy with 3 footers in some areas and even bigger waves at times. Once we arrived, we were still faced with rough conditions as I set the lines and began our troll.

It wasn’t a quick first bite, but eventually I found some fish and we concentrated here for a while. I managed to get a couple of rotations in with all three kids catching pike, but wasn’t satisfied with the action. I eventually slid out of this spot and into another a short distance away. It was here that the fish started to cooperate and from that moment on, the rods were bent!

Plenty of fish were fought for the remainder of the trip and everyone had numerous turns reeling them in. Hopes of them bringing a few walleye back weren’t accomplished as each & every one, was way over the slot! They would have to settle for a few pike instead and there were high numbers of those caught!

Despite the conditions today with the big NE wind, we still managed to catch loads of quality fish. Doubles & triples were once again the norm and even with a half day of fishing, the total was spectacular. I’m not sure that anyone expected to experience fishing like this, but lately it has become the norm. Big fish, high numbers and lots of action each and every day on the water! Hopefully it will continue and maybe even get better as the season progresses. Only time will tell!