First Big Bite

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Scott & Chris were with me on this last day of the month. We were headed for sturgeon to start and hopefully the fish would cooperate. If not, I had a backup plan that included smallmouth bass!

Very little marks were seen as I idled over an area looking for the big girls. I finally saw a few and decided to stop and see if we could get a bite. It didn’t take long for the first one but it was a juvenile and Chris reeled it in. The second one acted like a big fish but didn’t have the weight. Scott fought it for a few minutes and it took a couple of long runs along with one spectacular jump beside the boat. I tailed it and gave it back to Scott to hold for a pic before the release.

We had waited a little longer and made a move before getting our next bite. This time when I set, it felt a bit heavier and Chris took the rod to do battle. Although it wasn’t a true giant, it was still a great fight with plenty of power. I also finally got to use the big net once it was beside the boat. First time this season! Chris held it for a few pics and released the male back to the water where it belonged.

We stayed a little longer hoping for another bite but it wasn’t to be. Eventually we just packed up and changed species entirely.

I had decided to try for smallies and ran to an area nearby. Both Scott & Chris managed to get into some bass here but Chris caught the largest ones with the soft plastics he was throwing. We even tried fishing deep but only saw a couple of fish from here and didn’t make a second pass. I wanted to check another area out where I had been catching shallower fish.

Once we arrived it didn’t take long for Scott to hook up. He nailed a couple of bass quickly and then it just died. A switch of baits and presentations had a few more falling victim to the offering but it was slower than I had expected. I moved slowly through the area and both guys managed to get several more quality bass before we were through.

Today may not have been the greatest day of fishing, but the quality of the bites was there. They managed to catch 3 sturgeon in only a few hours and plenty of big smallies afterwards. Hopefully the fall temps will have these fish moving in shallower in the coming weeks. October is about to begin and this is definitely a big fish month! Bring it on!