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Rich & Kevin wanted to experience some great fall smallie action so today I went somewhere to make that happen. I had gone there only a couple of days earlier with a buddy and we got into them pretty good. Hopefully today would be the same!

I decided to have them dropshot an area first to see if they were stacked and unfortunately they were not. Kevin managed one 2 pounder but Rich landed several quality bass and missed a few others too. Action was slower than I had hoped for but they were catching fish. In fact, they even managed to put the first walleye in the boat for them tonight.

I made a couple of moves trying to get them into fish and they managed to pick up a few more, including another walleye. It was definitely slower than I had expected, until I changed their presentations. I now had them throwing a different bait and it seemed to be working. With each cast, they were hooked up! Both Rich & Kevin were in their glory now, catching one after the other! In fact, Kevin even managed to break his personal best a couple of times too.

We had been fishing for several hours now with many other boats around, making it difficult to move. I guess the nice weather brought everyone out today! Eventually I was able to get to an area I had wanted to fish but only a few bass were caught here. I decided to get away from the crowds and make a long move to another area in hopes of a few more walleye. They had already put 3 in the livewell and I wanted to try for more.

Along the way to the next spot, I began to her a light knocking from the motor. But when I stopped, I thought it was just from a couple of the rods tapping the cowling and paid no attention. We fished the area for the remainder of the time and they managed to get a couple mote eyes for their feast tonight.

Time had run out quickly in our day and now we were headed back to take out. Unfortunately that noise I had heard earlier was back and remained with us the whole way in. Not wanting to force the engine, I took it easy and arrived safely at the docks. I would need to get this checked and soon!

Rich & Kevin’s expectations had been met today and although difficult at times, they were satisfied with the outcome. They had experienced some great fall smallie action and landed some really nice fish. Oh yeah, they were taking dinner home too! Definitely a win, win kind of day!

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After cancelling several trips due to insane winds and heavy rains, I was finally back on the water today. This time however it was with my wife and we were going for walleye! A quick stop to have the main engine tightened up and we were on our way!

We were only planning on staying for a few hours, but wanted to see if we could catch a few for dinner. Apparently this was not going to be a problem as the area was stacked! For a while it was every cast and several of them made it into the livewell.

We had been in the same spot for about two hours when it began to rain, or something like that. Turns out that it was more like hail! We had a combination of wet & frozen precipitation for a while that finished off our day pretty quickly. I decided that we would end it sooner than expected and after several more fish, we called it a day.

We were fortunate enough to be able to run back in mostly sunshine and no more rain. The clouds had broken up and we were in clear skies for the trip. It turned out to be a good thing too as once we arrived at the docks, it started to rain again. It didn’t really matter though as we were done and had a great day! Plenty of great fishing was had and there were even a few prisoners coming home with us tonight. Not bad for only a few hours of fishing!

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Another day with NE winds but at least today, they were less! Tino & Milton were with me, looking for some walleye action. Milton wanted to keep some and hoped to be able to catch a few for dinner tonight. I only hoped that the fish would bite!

We headed to an area and I decided to check and see if I could mark anything in a usual fall spot. As luck would have it, I saw a bunch of good fish in the mid-range and knew exactly what to do. We were going trolling!

With rods in hand, I began the slow troll over the areas where I had seen the walleye. We went for a distance before Tino set into one and things were looking up. He slowly brought to net a good high end keeper and Milton was excited. It was looking like they would be having fish for dinner!

I was seeing plenty of marks on the sonar and slowly trolled the area looking for more. Next up was Milton and he brought another good keeper to net as well giving them a second walleye in the tank. Things were starting to look up!

I kept at the troll for quite a while going over hook after hook with little success. Bait changes were made and still no takers! We continued covering the water and eventually another fish was hooked into by Milton. It was a real nice one and made for a great pic but that’s all. This time it was an over and returned back to the water immediately after.

For the next couple of hours our luck wasn’t great. They were catching fish but not the size Milton was hoping for. These ones were all overs and some of them were pretty big! Eventually I slowed down more and Tino land another big over on a drop shot rig. I made a few casts to see if I could help and also hooked into another big walleye. It’s not a bad thing when the fish are too big, except when you want keepers.

After quite a while I decided to make a move to an area where I was sure they would be able to catch a few more to eat. On Tinos first cast, he hooked into a good fish, but this proved to be a smallie. Great fight but wrong species! We switched from casting to drifting and despite the difficult wind direction to the current, managed one other eye in the keeper size.

The remainder of the time was spent going to a couple of other places and catching smaller fish. Unfortunately they were unders and returned as well. On the last area however, one more keeper came aboard giving them another fish for their dinner.

The days preceding today were filled with giant NE winds and I’m sure this was partly the reason we struggled. The water was also very stained and off color pretty much everywhere we tried. They did see some great fish however, but not for consumption. It’s always a good thing to catch big fish, just not in this case! In the end, they managed to catch a bunch and brought home several for their dinner tonight. They also got some really great pics of the big ones too!

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Scott & Chris joined me today, in hopes of catching some sturgeon. Unfortunately the winds were too big and from the opposite direction, making it impossible to anchor up. We would be taking a road trip to another body of water just to be able to fish!

After battling rush hour traffic, we finally arrived at the launch and headed out to catch some bass. The waves were pretty big here as well, but at least they would be fishing! I had also noticed that the water was quite dirty from both the wind and rain we had received recently and this would make visibility difficult. Hopefully the fish would still be able to find their baits!

On the first spot, they managed to catch several smallies and Chris actually got his wish, by landing a small sturgeon on light tackle. The battle was epic!

We jumped to another area shortly after the fish slowed and continued catching plenty more smallies. With each move there were similar results but the winds were not making it easy. I tried to find sheltered areas where they could fish comfortably but it wasn’t happening. We were in wind and waves all day long!

After catching several more fish from a really dirty and cold spot, I decided to head back to a couple of places that had produced earlier in the day. We were late in the afternoon now and I wanted to get them into as many more fish s possible before we were done.

In the last hour they managed to land a few more bass each, but the size was not what I had expected. Most of the fish that were caught today were average, with only a few decent sized ones. At least they were able to fish!

We finally ended the day around 4:00 and headed back to take out. This was one of those days where you had to settle for what Mother Nature allowed you to fish. We were fortunate enough to spend it in an area that was actually fishable and salvaged the day. Hopefully in a couple of weeks when they are back again, we will be able to get to where I want and fish more comfortably. Only time will tell I guess!

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I was back on the water again today after yesterday’s outing. Although there was no report, plenty of small walleye were caught and the guys even managed to bring home a limit of them! Today was a different story with Jim & Matt holding out for the sturgeon bite. I only hoped it would work out!

We were set up and in less than 15 minutes, had or first bite! Matt took the rod as he hadn’t caught one before and it immediately took to the air. It wasn’t a giant but it was a really good starter fish!

The fight lasted over 5 minutes with some powerful runs and dogging on the bottom. Eventually Matt managed to bring it up and he officially landed his very first sturgeon! Several pics were taken and it was returned to fight another day.

We went through a series of smaller fish for a while before Matt managed another decent one. The fight was great for the fish’s size, but over in less than 5 minutes. Jim had been with me last year hoping for another big one and shortly after, he got his wish. I reared back on some serious weight and handed him the rod to do battle! This was definitey the one we were looking for!

Although Jim’s fish never breached, the powerful runs were awesome. It ran out so much line and each time he reeled the line in, the sturgeon took off again! This went on for over 10 minutes until the runs got shorter and Jim was able to bring it to the net. This was definitely a much better fish!

We had reset the lines after releasing the last fish and now other boats were beginning to get closer. I hadn’t seen anyone hook up the entire time we were here, but they had seen us fighting fish, multiple times! It was only a matter of time!

The hookups continued to come and Matt soon battled another good fish, bigger than his first one. This time however the fight was deep and the sturgeon never came off the bottom. It’s always a good sign when these beats act like submarines!

Matt enjoyed his battle with this fish and after 10 minutes, he finally brought it up for me to net. It was a long one, but not too thick. It was however bigger than the first one he had landed earlier in the day. I shot several good pics and he returned it back to where it belonged.

We made a move or two and managed a few other smaller sturgeon before we pulled the plug on this area completely. I had wanted to do a little searching in a couple of other areas nearby and it seemed like a good time to explore.

The first spot seemed void but our second area showed some signs of life. I anchored up and in less than 15 minutes we had our first bite. As it turned out, this was a feisty sturgeon that fought like a champ for its size. Jim had it right to the boat in no time, before it took off right back to the bottom. This turned out to be the only bite from here, so I decided to make a long run to another place that I had checked earlier this morning.

With limited time remaining in the day, I idled around and anchored up on a bunch of fish. This was the first time I fished here this year but it seemed like there were better numbers of big fish on the bottom!

We had been holding for about 20 minutes when one of the rods started to bounce and I set into a decent fish. Matt took the rod and fought it for about 5 minutes before I slid the net under his catch. The water was a bit colder where we were and the battle didn’t last nearly as long! Despite marking plenty more big fish, this turned out to be the last bite we had and by 4:00, we were done.

Overall today was a great day filled with plenty of action. They had done battle with numerous fish, both small and large. Hopefully the remaining days for sturgeon will be equally as good and the weather will cooperate enough for me to fish them. With only a week left in the season, I want to get in as many days as possible, searching for these giants. Who knows, maybe someone will catch the biggest fish of the year and their lives too!