After fishing all week in big east winds, I was back out in even more today! Mike & Gary weren’t lucky enough to tangle with the sturgeon as we couldn’t fish for them properly. Three footers were opposite the current flow and bouncing us all around. Although we did make an attempt, it just wasn’t to be!

Plan B caused us to fish walleye for the remainder of their trip and even this wasn’t easy. Winds were pushing us up current making for terrible drifts and even tougher to feel the subtle bites. Plenty of fish were missed and lost before coming to the net, but they did manage to take a limit of walleye back with them for dinner.

With water temps falling daily and conditions constantly changing, the fish are on the move as well. I only hope that the season doesn’t end as abruptly as it has done before. Plenty of great fishing still remains, if Mother Nature doesn’t shut us out again! Crossing my fingers for a late end to this phenomenal fishing year!

Rick and Danny were back out with me again today, but this time we relocated to a different body of water. The winds were big and out of the east, not allowing us to fish the one we had been on. We would be searching for smallies and I hoped to find them!

Danny was the first to hook up but it wasn’t exactly the calibre of bass that I had hoped for. We quickly changed areas and techniques, but the results were almost the same. Eventually I made the right adjustment however and Danny boated the largest fish of the day. Rick also managed to get into a really big bass too and I was finally on what looked like the right pattern!

The winds were a big deterrent and I was also on a time limit, with them wanting to be on the road by 1:00. It felt like I was pre fishing for a tournament on the very last day!

I made several more moves when the action slowed down but only picked at the bass in each spot. Although a good number of them were quality, there weren’t the high numbers that I thought we should have caught and I kept searching. The last couple of places had a little more action as Danny managed to get a bunch of hits with what he was casting.

The time had gone by so fast today and before we knew it, we were heading back to take out. I wish that I had more time to refine the fishing, but at least they had both landed some nice bass. I will be back out again soon and with any luck, into more big fish again! With fall presently upon us, this is officially big fish time and I aim to get as many as I can before the freeze up. Open dates are still available for anyone looking to experience the best fishing time of the year! Big everything in the weeks to come!

Rick, Danny & Kevin were back with me this morning, looking for more sturgeon action. As we neared the area to fish, I could see that we had company. There were already 5 other boats anchored up and doing the same thing. It was going to be a busy day out there!

We managed to boat a good number of fish but the majority of them were on the small side. Rick was the only one fortunate enough to get into a good sized sturgeon, but it wasn’t a real beast.

We stayed until after 1:00 despite all the boats from the nice weather and finally decided to switch to another species. We would be going for walleye & bass and I was hoping the action would be better.

Danny was the first to hook up and it turned out to be a nice keeper eye. He had only been in the water for a couple of minutes and things were looking good! Kevin locked up next with a good smallie showing us that they were here too.

The action wasn’t fast & furious but I was marking all kinds of fish on the bottom and we made several drifts trying to get into them. Rick finally got the hooks to a nice fish but it turned out to be an over walleye and had to be released. He landed another soon after, but it too had to be released due to its size.

We stayed in this area for the remainder of the day and managed to put 5 keepers in the boat. Along with them, there were a few smallies landed and several under walleye and perch as well. By 4:00 we were done!

This was an interesting day to say the least! With yesterday being so miserable out, I guess everyone decided to come out today. I personally like fishing in the wind & rain and would have taken two in a row! We will be back out again tomorrow but on a different body of water in search of some bass. With any luck, they might land some real big ones there too!

Rick & his brother Danny were back again this year and this time they brought along Kevin. We were going sturgeon hunting and hopefully going to get into them real good!

Although we began in overcast skies, it wasn’t going to be this way for long. We would be fishing in rain, according to the weather forecast and they were right. It began shortly after we arrived in the area and pretty much lasted all day long. I didn’t care as it would reduce the number of boats on the water!

Kevin had the first shot at the fish and he landed a real tiny one to start. He also got the second rod and it too was on the small side as well. For some reason we were in the day care area and catching little ones, but that was soon about to change.

Danny was the first one to finally get into a good fish and it battled him for a while. Lots of strong runs but no jumps were had and the fight lasted close to the ten minute usual. Finally, a photo fish! With the lines back in we now expected more big ones. They caught several more, but they weren’t the ones I wanted and I decided to try another area nearby.

I idled all over looking for fish but didn’t really mark anything worth stopping on and ended up back closer to where we had begun. It was here that we started catching once again and several more good ones came to the boat and were released. For some reason we were catching mostly small to medium ones and not many of the ones I had hoped to see.

As the morning lapsed, and the rain & winds grew, I made another move. Here I did finally mark fish & something worth holding on. We stopped and I don’t think the rods were in for more than a few minutes when Rick got his shot at another one. It was coming to the boat pretty easy and he thought it was a small sturgeon when all of a sudden, it grew! Seconds later it began peeling line off the reel and didn’t seem to be stopping. He had officially pissed it off!

For the next 15 minutes Rick went back & forth with this thing, reeling & running out line again. He eventually managed to wear it out and I was finally able to net his fish and end the fight. Now for the hard part! After a couple of minutes of preparation, Rick lifted the sturgeon from the net and held it for the pics. We made him suffer a little by asking for a few different angles and it nearly killed him too! Back in it went and we watched it swim off, disappearing to the depths.

With all the lines back in the water, it didn’t take long before we were locked up again. Kevin was up and although his fish wasn’t a true giant, it was the largest he had dealt with so far today. I had decided to leave one other rod in the holder, hoping for a double as he battled his fish. He was just amazed at the power these things have and was enjoying every minute of the fight. His line rose and soon after, the fish leaped and showed us its true size. He was going to be a while!

After playing with it for over 5 minutes, I slid the net under his catch and prepped him for a few pics. This was his biggest fish and he wanted proof of its size!

After the release as I was resetting the other lines, Dan noticed a bite on the rod I had left in and set on probably the biggest sturgeon of the day. He was locked up, but for how long! As it came up and jumped, the hooks just pulled out and it was gone. That was truly a beast!

The remainder of the day saw a few more moves and lots of other fish landed but unfortunately none were the likes of the one we lost. Plenty of small & medium sturgeon were landed making this the best day by far for the season. Too bad they all couldn’t have been giants but you just never know when a fish bites!

We ended with a couple of other smaller ones being landed and then we were done. Tomorrow we will be back out, hoping for the next big bite and with any luck we will get another shot at the one that got away. If we’re real lucky, maybe several big ones!

Day two with Herm and there were big whitecaps when we arrived at the water. What was supposed to be a light SW was actually a huge W/NW. I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to fish the beasts!

As I headed out, I was running in two to three footers and was pretty sure it wasn’t going to happen. I thought I’d make the long run regardless and was pleasantly surprised the further I got away. The winds were from a different direction here and seemed much lighter! I was now running in a SW and maybe a 1 to 2 foot chop. We were going sturgeon fishing!

Although it was still a little rougher than I would have liked, it was doable and I set the lines and waited for a bite. After thirty minutes of nothing, I relocated and here it didn’t take long. Within five minutes Herm was locked up on his first sturgeon of the year. He had fished them previously with me and was anxious to battle a few more of these dinosaurs again.

This first fish didn’t fight like most and came to the boat quicker than usual. As it turned out, the fish had wrapped in the line several times and was being dragged backwards. Once I untangled the thing, it fought some but all near the surface. I netted it without much of a workout for Herm but I was sure he would get beat up soon!

After a couple of pics before the release, I got the lines back in and waited for the next one. We weren’t waiting long when I noticed one of the rods moving and set into another fish. This one felt heavy and I passed Herm the rod in hopes of a longer battle. I soon got my wish!

Although it didn’t jump, it did give him quite the fight. The entire time the fish remained on the bottom and just made long runs instead. After about ten minutes, we were finally able to get a visual and soon after it was in the net. As it turned out, it was a long male and quite strong too! A quick release after some pics and we were hard at it once again.

The next fish came in easily too and was a little on the small size. A boat side release was in order and I just unhooked her without any trouble.

The next bite took a little longer than I had expected and just when I had decided to make a move, Herm locked up. He was in the process of reeling the line in when it just went heavy. I guess timing is everything!

This time the fight was a little different as it took to the air pretty quick. It also sounded just as fast right after, screaming line from the reel. Of all the fish so far, this one definitely seemed much heavier by the way it was acting, but I hadn’t seen the jump and wasn’t sure. Several minutes later we finally were able to land it and it was definitely the biggest one. Herm would have to hold it on his lap for the pics this time! As with all the sturgeon, it was released quickly and unharmed to fight another day!

With the lines reset once again, we hoped for something much bigger and were about to get our wish. Herm grabbed one of the rods that got bit and was tight to another fish almost instantly. I decided to bring the other one in and got bit as soon as I had the rod in my hands. We were doubled up! I told Herm that if his fish didn’t feel too big to exchange rods as mine had weight. When we did I saw that his was actually a catfish and I just unhooked it at the boat.

This was definitely the sturgeon that I had wanted him to fight and I had my wish. It was about to beat him up pretty good too! I cleared the back of the boat to give him room to do battle and we were about to get a visual. Way off in the distance she breached and she was large! It was going to be a long fight and a tough one too!

The first ten minutes were a struggle with the fish making many long runs. Its weight was the difficult part for Herm as he had to reel her back each time. The last ten minutes of the battle were even worse as Herm was tiring from the previous ten and the fish was nowhere in sight. This was definitely a long fight as he had been struggling for almost 20 minutes before he actually had it near the boat. I tried to net her once but between her weight and how she was positioned, she never fell into the bowl and took off again. I guess I just pissed her off! Poor Herm ended up reeling her back up from the bottom on more time and battled it even longer! The next time I tried to net her, I succeeded and Herm was exhausted. The fight may have been over but another struggle was about to begin!

I had prepped everything for the pics and heaved the monster over the rail and onto the tarp for her protection. I even had to help Herm to get it on his lap. Multiple shots re taken and we both returned her to where she belonged. We were officially done for this area and about to move elsewhere for much smaller fish!

The remainder of the day was spent fishing for bass & walleye and we caught them both. Herm had needed a break and he got just that as he went back onto his ultra-light. He was relieved too as the fights didn’t last nearly as long!

By 3:00 we were done and called it a day. We had planned on fishing for sturgeon and done it successfully today. The bonus was the real giant that Herm landed in the end. He had spent two days catching all kinds of fish and would also be bringing a limit of walleye back with him as well. Hopefully he won’t be too sore tomorrow, but I’m betting he’ll be suffering somewhere on his body. Probably in more places than he’d like too! This was definitely a very successful two days on the water filled with plenty of laughs and great times. I can’t wait to get him back out for bass in a few weeks. Maybe he’ll even catch a few more big ones on his ultra-light again!