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What an incredible start to the day with this morning’s massive fog bank! Visibility was zero as we headed out to fish and GPS was how we made it possible. Between watching for anything ahead and the Lowrance unit, we eventually made our way safely to where we would begin.

Costa and Luc had never caught a sturgeon before so I decided that we would try for them first. I idled around and set up on a few good marks hoping for a quick bite. What we got however was the opposite! I had to relocate three times before the first fish bit, but it was worth the wait. Luc was handed the rod when I set into some heavy weight. Soon after it leaped behind the boat and it was giant! He would be battling this fish for a while!

Probably close to ten minutes had passed and Luc was still fighting his fish when it decided to jump a second time. It never really fought like I had expected with long runs but the sheer power of the fish had Luc struggling to bring it up. It just wanted to remain on the bottom! This went on for about another 5 minutes but eventually he was able to reel it up to the surface and I netted his catch. It was definitely going to be a two person job for the pics!

Costa gave Luc a hand holding the dinosaur and between the two of them I was able to get some great shots before the release. This was a great way to begin the day, but now I wanted more!

The next fish hit not too long after and Costa was up this time. Unfortunately it was not in the same class as the previous one and he was able to bring it in, in under 5 minutes. It was still a nice fish and worthy of several pics being his first ever sturgeon and we were definitely going to get more.

The morning fog didn’t seem to be going anywhere as we continued to fish and despite the visibility, we were catching pretty good. Several other quality ones were landed while we waited patiently for it to lift. It took until almost noon before we started to see anything and the sunshine was finally starting to show. Within 30 minutes, it was a whole different day!

With the clear skies now I was finally able to move around safely and realized that we had been fishing around a few other boats as well. Fortunately they were doing the same thing and not moving all around making it more dangerous in the dense fog!

Our afternoon saw a bunch more fish landed including a couple of new species for Costa and Luc. They had added sheephead or drum to their list of fish species and happy to have checked them off now. As well there were also a few quality sturgeon brought to net throughout the afternoon too. It turned out to be a beautiful day once the fog actually lifted and felt more like summer than fall by the time we were done.

Overall today was a great day with loads of fish caught and a couple of new species for Luc & Costa. I don’t think they had any idea of what was going to happen this morning as we headed out to fish. I know they had no clue where we were going with the thick fog we were in! In the end it all worked out as they battled the largest fish of their lives, several times over. Let’s just hope that the conditions remain the same for a little longer and that I can repeat this over & over again!

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Alex, John & Phil headed out with me this morning looking for just about anything. We still had a NE wind, but it wasn’t as bad and I decided to try for bass & walleye. Anchoring up in big waves again for sturgeon wouldn’t be easy at the start of the day. We would hope for a lighter blow to be able to attempt it later on.

As usual lately, the drift was opposite the current and it made fishing more difficult. I covered the water with multiple passes and they managed to get bass, walleye and one good sized pike. The waves were our biggest problem so I made a move shortly after. It was to an offshore area but unfortunately it was a wash. Nada even a bite!

Late in the morning I ran to another spot to attempt a little deep water fishing and found out it wasn’t any better. Although a few bites were missed there were only a couple of fish landed in the short time we had remained. It was time for a complete change and I was switching gears!

I had wanted to start with sturgeon but the winds had changed my plans. Now we were going to attempt it anyway as the waves had diminished some, making it look doable! We set up in the usual area when I quickly marked a few fish and dropped the lines in to wait. It didn’t take long as I don’t think we were there for even 3 minutes when I set into a fish. Almost immediately after I passed the rod to Phil, a second rod was hit and I slammed another one as well. John received this one and now we had a double!

It was ironic to have spent all morning looking for a few bites and within minutes, tight to a couple of beasts. Phil had the smaller of the two and was able to bring it to the net quicker than the other one that John was into. After a few pics we released his fish and focussed on the bigger one. It was a great one with lots of power and several runs were made as it remained on the bottom. Eventually after about 10 minutes or so, I ended the battle when I slid the net under his catch. It was a long fish and definitely had some weight. John held it up for a bunch of pics and released it soon after. We were on the board! It’s always great when you start with a double header!

I was hoping to get a third fish to be able to have everyone land one and reset the rods with high expectations. After waiting for a bit longer, I finally set into the one we wanted and passed the rod to Alex for the fight. It felt heavy on the hookset but was acting a little light in the beginning. This all changed when he reeled it almost all the way to the boat and it exploded into the air in a spectacular leap. I don’t think it was ten feet from the motor when it breached! It instantly peeled line from the reel like a scene from Jaws. Eventually it stopped at over 150 feet and the fight was about to begin.

For about 15 minutes Alex battled the beast and it nearly took him out. Multiple long runs and another great jump were had before it all ended. He would now have to contend with holding it for the pics after complete exhaustion. It wasn’t easy but he found his inner strength before sending the beast back where it belonged. They had officially done the rotation, but I wanted more!

The remainder of the afternoon saw many moves and another full rotation on the rods with more big fish. They all had battled a second sturgeon and every one of the fights was epic! More jumps, runs and reels screaming with each and every fish. We eventually ran out of time and I packed everything up for the run back to the dock. This had turned out to be a great day!

What had started out slow and rough ended the way I had hoped. The conditions changed and the fishing got a whole lot better when it did. Many sturgeon were landed and the fights were all great. I know the weather will remain good in the coming days and hopefully so will the fishing. Today may have been the start of the better days ahead. I’m definitely crossing my fingers that it continues in this direction. More, more, more, bigger, bigger bigger!

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Rich & Kevin were out with me again today in a giant NE wind. It wasn’t going to be easy finding a place to fish but we were going to give it a try. Thankfully we weren’t going for sturgeon but rather bass & walleye instead!

Our run across the water wasn’t pleasant and 3 footers were the norm. I wanted to try an area that was hopefully blocked by shallower water but soon found out that we would be fishing in waves almost as big. In about an hour of being tortured, we only managed a few bass and one keeper walleye. Things weren’t looking good for the rest of the day!

I made a move further up the waters and managed to find less wind. We had to work for every bite but they managed to catch fish on a variety of baits including a couple that they hadn’t caught on before. No numbers, but some good fish were landed by moving around and covering water! We even added a couple more walleye to the tank to ensure that they would have enough fish for dinner tonight.

It seemed like everywhere we went, they caught a fish or two but again, no numbers. I really would have liked to gone deeper but the waves were too big to effectively fish against the current.

With time not on our side, I made a few more moves and they had to settle for several other perch to go with the ones added to the tank earlier. In the end, they would have a mix of fish for their fry and at least they would be eating well after a difficult fishing day.

Between all the rain and wind lately the conditions haven’t been exactly favourable. The big NE winds today nearly made it impossible, but we somehow managed to salvage it by covering plenty of water. I almost felt like I was practicing for a tournament with the run & gun approach I used! To say today was tough would be an understatement. It was absolutely painful and I only hope that these winds blow themselves out real soon. Better fishing days ahead!

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Rick & Danny were back this morning for another kick at the can! We began where we had left off yesterday in hopes of getting into an early morning bite. The wind was out of the west and we had a good blow for the drift as we started the day.

Bites were not very aggressive on the first few drifts and fish were being missed from striking back too soon. Eventually a few fish were landed and two of them were high end keepers that made it into the well for a dinner tonight. We made many more passes and picked up a few more fish before heading out of the area completely. The bites were few & far between now and I had more places to fish!

Our next area to try was occupied by another boat so I ran to a distant spot instead to see if we could get into some smallies. Dan & Rick were throwing blades and they both missed fish on them. The bass took to the air and tossed their lures quickly. I don’t think the fish were very active here because I dragged a jig as they casted and managed a couple of decent bass. I switched them up to slower moving baits and Danny finally got into a good fish that almost broke him off in the motors, several times. It just didn’t want to come out from under the boat! Although we did see several cruising the area we were in, they just didn’t seem to want to bite. Eventually I just gave up on this spot and headed to where I wanted to stop before settling on here.

The other boat had left and we were able to get into the area I wanted to be. Both Danny & Rick missed strikes on their first several casts before eventually keeping the fish pinned. I had made a demo cast to show them where & how to work the current break and also hooked up instantly. I guess the other boat wasn’t fishing it right! Danny managed to land another good walleye that joined the other two in the livewell along with a couple of smallies. Once the action slowed and bites were less, I made another long run in hopes of finding active bass in the shallows.

Well after fishing a couple of areas, unsuccessfully, I tried a bit deeper and slowed down the presentations. This put a few more fish in the boat, but nothing great! I made another move to an area I hadn’t touched in over a month and they both caught fish quickly. Bass & walleye were landed from here, but no numbers. One more move was in order and it would be our last!

I went right back out to where we started the day and began the drifting process once again. The winds were out of the west and I was forced to use the electric motor in order to cover the area properly. As with this morning’s bite, the fish were really inactive. Short strikers were in abundance and a few fish jumped off before nearing the boat. Danny was able to put another walleye in the well giving us a bunch of fish for tonight at the restaurant. I would also have to get off a little earlier in order to prep the fish as well. By 3:15 we decided to pull the plug and get off.

Although the fishing was much slower than we had hoped, there were still enough fish to keep it interesting. I only wish that we could have gotten into a better shallow water bite with the bass. Water temps are falling and they should be moving in from the deep. I’m not surprised with everything being late this year though and it will probably all change in the next couple of weeks. Probably the highlight of today was dinner with the fish. As usual they were delicious! There were plenty of tasty morsels for everyone to enjoy!

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Rick & Danny were with me on this last day of the month for another trip this year. They were here for 3 days and hopefully we would get a shot at everything. That is, if the weather would cooperate!

We started the day on sturgeon and Rick hooked into a good one pretty early. It was a great battle with plenty of runs that lasted almost 10 minutes. Unfortunately all we could come up with afterwards were 4 other small ones and a hateful redhorse sucker!

Sometime around midday we moved on to bass and Rick once again had the upper hand. Although he did receive plenty of bites, keeping them on the hooks was the issue. I think he ended up bringing only 2 of them to the boat for pics! Both Rick and Danny somehow hooked big sturgeon as well on jigs but that battle was short lived as they eventually pulled free. They are hard enough to land on the proper tackle when they are in the mouth!

I moved around a bit and hit another spot after this one slowed down and we definitely saw some fish. They came in to the baits but refused to eat! We tried a bunch of different lures but they just didn’t want any part of what we were throwing. In the end I think there was one smaller fish that came aboard out of the entire school.

I made another move when we saw a couple of heavy rain clouds moving in and managed to go between them to an area and fish. The winds had picked up some and I knew we wouldn’t be waiting long before it passed. Unfortunately there weren’t any fish caught, but at least we stayed dry!

I hit a couple more spots before the day was over and even stayed out a little longer when we finally got into fish. Our last one saw a mix of bass, walleye & jumbo perch and it was hard to leave! Right around 4:30 and after a couple more fish, we decided to go. I may be back in the morning and start here if the conditions are right!

Today was slower than I had hoped for, but by moving around we managed to get into some good fish. Although there were only pics of Rick, I’m sure Danny will rebound tomorrow with some of his own. We won’t be wasting time with the sturgeon allowing us to cover water and spend more time on bass & walleye. I’m sure there will be lots of fish caught and plenty of memories and laughs too!