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October 12th 2018

After yesterdays difficult day in absolutely miserable weather with Herm, It was nice to get back out for bass with Tino. We met up around 8:00 and were on the water not long after. The strong NW winds were not going to be our friend today but at least they weren’t calling for any rain!

This was the 5th time this season that I had fished with Tino & I hoped it would be as memorable as the previous trips. We were looking for big bass and it wouldn’t be easy in the giant winds, but I would try to make it happen. I realized early that I was going to need the assistance of the small engine along with the electric motor to be able to hold in the current. This little trick has aided me in the past and would definitely help us today! It would also save the batteries from draining quickly!

First spot we fished wasn’t loaded with bass but Tino hooked into a nice one that soon came off due to the heavy current. I managed to bring another to net right after on a demonstration cast, showing him just what he needed to do. Too bad they were the only two fish willing to play, making us change locations quickly.

I decided to do a drift in these strong winds and we both drop shotted another area nearby, looking for more active fish. First pass yielded a decent smallie but it wasn’t easy with the wind & current. I tried several more passes without any luck and eventually made another adjustment.

I idled over to a shallow place and anchored up with both motors. I was going to fish the current break hoping to show Tino a few more bass. As luck would have it, this is where he managed to get into several good ones, finally understanding what he needed to do. A couple of his fish were real footballs and he was amazed at just how fat they actually were!

We had held on this spot for quite a while and had several other boats close in, trying to fish as well. They had a difficult time in the waves and wind and never really dialed in on exactly what they needed to do. All they did was just get in our way as we waited for them to leave! Each time they left, fish were caught!

After camping out for a while in one area, I finally made another move. I also showed Tino another presentation that I knew would work. We were going to cover water with hard baits and it didn’t take long to get bit. This was also the easiest method with the windy conditions we were fishing in. Tino locked up on many other bass while doing this and he was starting to understand just why it was so effective. We stuck with this presentation for quite a while again and managed to land a bunch more fish while doing it.

I had really hoped to get Tino into some bigger bass and decided to make another move back to where we had started the day. Although not easy to hold, I did manage to position the boat for him to get the right bite. He had locked up on a real beauty! Several jumps confirmed its size and I was forced to drift down in order to land the fish. This was by far the biggest bass of the day but unfortunately it wasn’t fat. If it was. it would have been his personal best! It was probably one of the thinnest ones I’ve seen for this time of the year too! Regardless, it was a nice fish and released after a few quick pics.

We spent the remainder of the day just covering water and several more smaller bass were landed before we ran out of time. Tino even had a close encounter with a toothy critter that ended in disappointment and the loss of a lure. He had managed to get into a decent musky and broke the line when it made a leap into the air. After this, we tried a little longer but had nothing to show for our efforts and decided to leave instead.

Although today may have been tough it was still rewarding for Tino to learn a few more techniques and see just what fall fishing is all about. We may not have gotten into the real monsters but there were still some memorable moments that were had. He had landed several fish on different presentations and almost caught his very first lunge! Too bad because he really would have ended on a high! Either way it was still a good day with many fish both lost & landed for what will likely be his last open water trip of the year. Better luck next season!!

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October 10th 2018

Herm was with me this morning and another road trip was in order! The winds were scheduled to turn 180 degrees and blow big from the NE not allowing us to fish locally. To make matters even worse, there was a huge fog mass engulfing this lake that would make it dangerous to run. We would play it safe!

After a long drive we launched and headed to our first spot to fish. The weather was absolutely spectacular with air temps 70 degrees and no wind. I had Herm casting along a current break looking for a big bite. Unfortunately the fish didn’t seem to be there and all he managed was a couple of missed strikes. I was on a hunt and wasted no time relocating!

I decided to do a drift with a drop shot rods next and we managed to get couple of fish with one of them being huge. Too bad there weren’t many more along with them though as we soon found out. I had made several short drifts through the same area and come up empty. Time for another change!

I soon decided to focus on something different and headed to areas with more current, with the water temps above 60 degrees. These fish should be active and I wanted to take advantage of both the warm water and weather. Right on cue, Herm locked up and so it began. Unfortunately it was fall fish and although it would have made great musky bait, it really wasn’t what we were after. He did however rebound with several other good smallies afterwards and plenty of misses too. It seemed like the fish were bumping the baits and most weren’t getting pinned.

I covered plenty of water now that he was into fish and held in one area that was producing the best. He had landed a good number of bass and I knew there were many more to be caught. What I didn’t know however was that this was all about to change. We had been commentating on how hot it was out when I saw the waters north of us start to roll. It didn’t take long before the cold air arrived and swung the boat completely around. We both had to put clothes on just to stay warm! I’m sure the air temps dropped 15 degrees in just a few short minutes. How was this going to effect the fish?

We were anchored up in the same area with the electric motor, but completely in the opposite direction now. The winds had spun us round and now we were pointing down current instead. The fish had even slowed down and we also had to present the baits much slower as well. It was almost as if someone had turned a light switch off and the only way we could get bit was by dead sticking. After doing this for a little while I decided to try another area and something different. It couldn’t hurt!

I had managed to find a place with slightly less wind in open water and we were catching fish. It may have been a little slower than before but at least some of the fish were cooperating. We even had a couple of double headers at one time!

With the day getting on, I hit as many places as I could before it was time to leave. Each of them produced fish but we were working harder to get the bites. I knew the cold front had really taken its toll on the fishing and we ended on a high. A couple more fish and we were done!

Today may not have been one of the better days but we did quite well on the bass before the weather changed. I was glad that we had made the decision to travel instead of staying locally to fish. It took a lot longer for the conditions to change where we were ,allowing us plenty of good fishing time. We will be back on the water again tomorrow and with any luck, closer to home. Walleye will most likely be the target but bass will definitely be a good backup if it fails. Either way, he should have another great day filled with lots more fish!!

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October 8th 2018

I was back on the water again today with Rick & Danny in another hateful east wind. I think it was blowing even worse than yesterday! We were going to have to settle once more as we headed to the first area to fish.

For over an hour we tried to troll for walleye, but despite marking fish on the bottom, never had a hit. I even had them drop shot the same water, with the same results. These winds were not going to make it easy today!

After a couple of spots not producing, I chose to try a different place further away in hopes that the smallies would cooperate better. Fortunately Dan’s first cast gave him a well deserved fight as he finally locked up on a decent fish. We held here in the big winds and they both managed to hook into a bunch of good bass in the next hour or so before it just went dead. I think they stung them all, but only landed a small percentage of the ones that they had hooked.

I continued to cover water and tried plenty more areas with similar results but couldn’t fish the ones I really wanted to. The waves were just too big in the open water and opposite the current, making a drift impossible. All I could do was settle for areas that were slightly less rough and spot fish them. At one point I even tried searching for sturgeon but never marked anything that looked good enough to set up on.

Sometime in the afternoon, after covering plenty of water, I decided to head to a small area that had produced a good fish for Rick yesterday. It was far away and well off the beaten path but for some reason, there was a boat anchored right on top of where I needed to fish. It amazes me every day when I see this but what can you do!

I made an even longer run to some rock shoals and idled over to the place I wanted to start. On Rick’s first cast, he locked up on a nice fish and fought it all the way to the boat before losing it. We never even got to see what he had! Figuring there would be plenty more I didn’t worry about it and they kept covering water searching for others. We probably went close to an hour without another taker before pulling the plug and heading somewhere else. I decided to try deeper water in hopes of better results.

Our next spot wasn’t even worth setting up as I idled over the entire place and barely saw a fish on the screen. Time for one more change and hopefully for the better!

This was to be the last area we would fish for the day and I made a long run to open water and big waves. I was going to attempt to drift over another shoal but opposite the current direction. As luck would have it, I was marking all kinds of bait and plenty of good fish as well. I finally had more confidence despite the opposite direction drift!

With limited time remaining, I decided to make a few casts as well, looking for some walleye for them to keep. On one of my casts, I felt a hit and came up with nothing but slack line. Cut off by something with teeth! They both had a couple of hits and hooked up but it was only Dan that managed to bring a nice smallie to net before we were done. It had started raining pretty good and we unanimously decided to leave. The fishing wasn’t that great and the weather was turning miserable!

This was definitely one of the most hateful days I had seen in quite a while and although there were fish caught, it wasn’t great. I know that everywhere we went held fish but the rising water and east winds didn’t help much. Tomorrow is their last day and bigger winds are predicted making it impossible for me to get out again. We will have to take a road trip just to be able to fish somewhere! Hopefully the bass will cooperate this time, unlike what happened to us today! It couldn’t get much worse!!

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October 8th 2018

I was back on the water again today with Rick & Danny in another hateful east wind. I think it was blowing even worse than yesterday! We were going to have to settle once more as we headed to the first area to fish.

For over an hour we tried to troll for walleye, but despite marking fish on the bottom, never had a hit. I even had them drop shot the same water, with the same results. These winds were not going to make it easy today!

After a couple of spots not producing, I chose to try a different place further away in hopes that the smallies would cooperate better. Fortunately Dan’s first cast gave him a well deserved fight as he finally locked up on a decent fish. We held here in the big winds and they both managed to hook into a bunch of good bass in the next hour or so before it just went dead. I think they stung them all, but only landed a small percentage of the ones that they had hooked.

I continued to cover water and tried plenty more areas with similar results but couldn’t fish the ones I really wanted to. The waves were just too big in the open water and opposite the current, making a drift impossible. All I could do was settle for areas that were slightly less rough and spot fish them. At one point I even tried searching for sturgeon but never marked anything that looked good enough to set up on.

Sometime in the afternoon, after covering plenty of water, I decided to head to a small area that had produced a good fish for Rick yesterday. It was far away and well off the beaten path but for some reason, there was a boat anchored right on top of where I needed to fish. It amazes me every day when I see this but what can you do!

I made an even longer run to some rock shoals and idled over to the place I wanted to start. On Rick’s first cast, he locked up on a nice fish and fought it all the way to the boat before losing it. We never even got to see what he had! Figuring there would be plenty more I didn’t worry about it and they kept covering water searching for others. We probably went close to an hour without another taker before pulling the plug and heading somewhere else. I decided to try deeper water in hopes of better results.

Our next spot wasn’t even worth setting up as I idled over the entire place and barely saw a fish on the screen. Time for one more change and hopefully for the better!

This was to be the last area we would fish for the day and I made a long run to open water and big waves. I was going to attempt to drift over another shoal but opposite the current direction. As luck would have it, I was marking all kinds of bait and plenty of good fish as well. I finally had more confidence despite the opposite direction drift!

With limited time remaining, I decided to make a few casts as well, looking for some walleye for them to keep. On one of my casts, I felt a hit and came up with nothing but slack line. Cut off by something with teeth! They both had a couple of hits and hooked up but it was only Dan that managed to bring a nice smallie to net before we were done. It had started raining pretty good and we unanimously decided to leave. The fishing wasn’t that great and the weather was turning miserable!

This was definitely one of the most hateful days I had seen in quite a while and although there were fish caught, it wasn’t great. I know that everywhere we went held fish but the rising water and east winds didn’t help much. Tomorrow is their last day and bigger winds are predicted making it impossible for me to get out again. We will have to take a road trip just to be able to fish somewhere! Hopefully the bass will cooperate this time, unlike what happened to us today! It couldn’t get much worse!!

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October 7th 2018

Rick & Danny hit the water with me this morning in yet another big east wind. Although there was some north in it, the waves were still rolling. There would definitely be no sturgeon fishing today! We would be spending it multi species fishing, primarily for walleye & bass instead. Hopefully it would be good in these conditions!

I decided to do a troll to begin and settled on an area somewhat sheltered from the big waves. It was still windy but at least we were able to fish! Dan was first to hook up but it wasn’t the targeted species. He had landed a decent smallie instead and it was returned quickly. Both of them had received hits but weren’t lucky enough to lock up on their fish at the start. Eventually Rick set into something with some weight and managed to land the first walleye of the day. Too bad it was way over as they were hoping to bring a few home with them tonight!

We had been fishing for a while now and despite missing several strikes, they still only had two fish landed. I slid out a little deeper and Rick nailed another walleye, but this time it was barely legal and was also returned. Danny followed up soon after with one of his own but at over 22 inches, was returned as well. They just couldn’t catch anything in between! With fish marking on the bottom, I decided to try something else in hopes of changing their luck and switched to casting a drop shot.

After positioning the boat where I needed to be, I gave one demonstration cast and hooked into a fish in under 5 seconds. I gave Danny the rod and went for the net instead. There were definitely fish down there as we saw and Danny eventually landed a really good smallie. Too bad it was to be the last one caught! They casted the area for a while and never had another bite. Time to move!

I had decided to cross over the main channel to get to a spot that I wanted to fish and found out just how big the waves really were. They were giant! The east wind against the current made for a roller coaster ride just getting there. To make matters even worse, it really wasn’t worth the effort as Rick landed the only smallie from the area. Time to go back and change locations once again!

I had run a good distance to try and escape the wind and settled on a few shoals offshore in hopes of getting into more bass. The water temps had fallen below 60 degrees and I was sure that the fish were on the move. Too bad they didn’t know it too as I eventually went even shallower with the lack of bites. Both Rick & Danny had a few hits but only a handful of two pounders made their way into the boat before I idled over to another section to fish. We all took the time to grab a quick bite along the way!

We were mid afternoon now and I really needed to get something going and hoped it would be here. Almost on cue, Rick hooked into a 3 pounder within his first few casts and everyone’s confidence grew. He also nailed a few more afterwards of the same caliber that proved it wasn’t an accident. They were definitely here! Danny soon got into the game as well landing several of his own and as it turned out, we just never left. There were enough fish in the area allowing us to finish out the day without making another move. At one point Danny locked up on probably the largest northern I’d seen all year. Luckily it didn’t bite him off and I was able to bring it to net for some great pics!

The last two hours were definitely the best of the day with Rick & Danny each hooking into many fish before we were done. Although Danny had the hot hand with the most landed, Rick rebounded pretty well too when I switched him to a jig. He even managed to catch the only keeper walleye of the day, from the same spot! Thankfully they ended with a bang before we called it a day.

Although today was a real challenge with the wind, I still managed to find active fish in calmer areas to catch. The little 2 hour flurry late in the afternoon couldn’t have come at a better time, with the action almost nonstop. We were also fortunate to have the wind lay down considerably allowing the run back to be smooth and less painful. This was the perfect end to a not so perfect day!!