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After a few days off the water, due to the weather, I was back out again today. Christiane joined me for almost 2 hours in the morning and Val had the afternoon trip. Big winds scheduled for him once again!

With only a short period of time to fish before heading back out with Val, I decided to remain close. The winds were already pretty big but still doable as I headed to a spot to fish. After several unsuccessful drifts and only perch to show for our efforts, we tried a few more rocky areas even closer to the ramp. I just wanted to get out of the big W/NW winds!

The first spot only produced one small bass but the second one had Christiane hooked up on something big. It took quite a bit of line after the hook set, making me think that it might have been a lunge! Several minutes later I saw that it was actually a drum and netted her catch. A few quick pics and the release was done and so were we. Time had passed quickly and I needed to return to pick up Val for the afternoon.

The lake had gotten much bigger since I launched and I wasn’t sure where we could go! I tried a few of my early season areas close by and unfortunately, they didn’t produce. Several drifts over fish still hadn’t given up any bites and I was forced to make a long run in the big waves.

We finally made it to an area that seemed fishable, but unfortunately, void of fish. The winds were still very bad here but the waves weren’t as we were protected by some of the shallower weed beds. I only wish that it held fish!

I made another long run and managed to get to an area that was definitely fishable. This time however the water color was like chalk and we never even had a hit. Time for another relocation and off we went to another spot further away.

The area we stopped this time actually gave up several fish and some missed strikes as well. Too bad most of the bass were on the small side and released without pics. One walleye was also caught here and we gladly placed it in the livewell for Val tonight. Hopefully there would be more!

Time had passed with all the running around we had done and I really needed to make something work. The giant waves weren’t making it easy though, cutting off most of the areas I wanted to fish! With about an hour remaining, I decided to try another open water spot and just deal with the winds!

First cast yielded a decent bass and I thought we were about to have plenty more. The winds wouldn’t make it any easier as just feeling the bottom was a challenge! Several more smallies including one really good one were boated and released before we were done. Along with the bass was another good keeper walleye and at least Val had dinner for tonight!

Our run back was as I had expected with three & four footers greeting us all the way. I at least was able to ride the waves in the troughs & crests for most and made it back without taking any over the bow. We were officially done!

Val hasn’t been lucky lately with several of his trips being in big winds and huge waves. I hope his luck changes soon as the fall is approaching quickly and the fish are about to become very active. Better days are coming!

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Christine, Marco, Alexis & Chris were my guests this morning, just looking to catch fish. We would begin by trolling and switch over to a slower presentation afterwards and hopefully it would all work out!

A slight delay at the start had us heading out in a massive fog. Thankfully my GPS was able to direct me to where I was going and eventually we drove right through the wall. As soon as I arrived at the spot, I set the lines and we didn’t wait long. The first reel fired within a couple of minutes and we were officially on the board. A second rod also went off while we were taking pics and we had our first double of the day!

By trolling around early, we were able to monopolize on the low light conditions and picked at quite a few fish in the first couple of hours. They may have been all pike, but several of them were a good size!

With the skies finally beginning to brighten from the earlier fog, I decided to change the troll for a slower finesse presentation. We were going drop shotting in another area nearby!

After arriving, I explained what had to be done and on the first demonstration drop, was bit. I passed the rod off to Chris and he brought to net the first walleye of the day. It was just that simple!

We made multiple passes over the area and picked at several more eyes, but they were all too small to keep. A few other bigger bites were had but also missed on the hook sets. Eventually we just ended it for this area and ran to another location to give it atry.

The lack of wind wasn’t making it easy to drift and I had to increase the boat speed with the aid of the electric motor. Not an easy task when you’re trying to have everyone fish from the same side! Somehow I made it work but the fish didn’t want to bite. Although I was marking plenty in this area, they only had a couple of fish hooked that came off immediately. Time to relocate again!

With the morning passing fast, I knew I had limited time to get them into a few more fish. Our next stop almost had Christine battling something big, but after screaming out a bunch of line, the rod just went slack. As fast as she was hooked up, it was gone! We’ll never know what it might have been except that it was large!

I decided to hit one final spot before we had to leave and Marco wasted no time hooking into a nice fish. As fast as he got to the bottom, he was locked up! He ended by battling a beautiful smallie that eventually made it into the net for a few pics.

Several passes over the same area were made with a couple of missed opportunities until Chris was finally tight to one of his own. It took the last drift for him to finally set into something and it was a good bass. This was to be the last fish they would have but at least we ended with a bang!

Although the day was short, we still managed to play with enough fish to keep them happy. Between the trolling and drop shotting, they all had many chances at catching several different species. In the end, I think they fended quite well as they were mostly all new to this. Especially the drop shotting technique! We ended it on a high and I couldn’t have asked for anything more!

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Daniel booked this afternoon, along with 6 of his friends, for a bachelor party outing. Another boat was also required to accommodate the group, so I requested the aid of Mike. Hopefully this would be a great trip!

I was glad that they wanted the afternoon instead of the morning, as the rain was quite intense at times. We however had little to no showers and only briefly at the start!

The first place we ran to showed plenty of life, but it didn’t want to put anything other than a few perch out. After many unsuccessful drifts I knew I needed to make a move. We were going trolling!

Once the lines were set, the four guys decided to pick rods, instead of doing a rotation. The bachelor asked me which rod he should choose and I pointed out the one that I thought would fire first. Minutes later he was reeling in a decent sized northern. I guess it was the right choice!

Immediately after the fish was released another reel fired and it was game on! We spent the next 90 minutes or so covering water and getting into fish. Although mostly pike, there was a high end keeper landed by Daniel that made its way into the box. They would be sampling fresh fish tonight!

After having spent so long on our first spot earlier, we were very limited to the remaining time. They had about 30 minutes left so I decided to go back to where we started and see if the fish would cooperate.

Once I arrived, I could see that the walleye were still there and made a couple of passes over them. Perch were biting everyone’s lines and a few of them even got caught. Daniel did however manage to set into something more substantial and soon after, I was netting a big eye. Although it made for a great pic, it was way too long for them to keep and returned the water unharmed. Too bad that was all she wrote as we were officially out of time!

Time passed fast today in the brief 4 hours we had on the water. They were fortunate to have gotten the bites they did as the fish seemed very inactive. I’m not sure if it was due to all the storms in the morning or just because they didn’t feel like eating. The group didn’t seem bothered by the slow action though, only grateful that everyone in this boat had caught fish. It was also a great way to spend time with their buddies before one of them gets hitched. I’m sure there’s plenty of craziness ahead for this group! Good luck to all of them!

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Peter & his father in law Barry were with me this morning for a relaxing time on the water. We headed out shortly after 7:00 and I decided to start with a troll. I wanted to get them into as many fish as possible before the sun got high and shut everything down. Hopefully it would work!

I set the lines and covered more water than I had thought I would before we had our first rip. Peter took the rod and boated a decent pike and just when I was releasing his fish, a second reel fired. Technically still a double! Barry was up next and he landed his first ever northern! Now they were both on the board!

For over 2 hours we trolled the area and managed to boat many more pike, but nay a walleye to be found. I had hoped for at least one or two big ones as they had never caught one before. Time to relocate!

I ventured offshore and changed them up to a drop shot setup for this spot. We were drifting over the area and I was marking plenty of fish when Peter set into a good one. As luck would have it, this was a keeper and after a couple of pics, it went into the livewell for them to bring home.

I made many more passes, hoping to get them at least one more walleye, but all Peter could catch were little ones. Barry did have his chances too but the fish were biting light and they all came off before we could see their size.

Time was limited this morning as I needed to be back for another group by 11:30. I decided to try one last place and see if we could get a few more fish there. It was an open water spot that had been holding some really good fish lately. Would it produce today?

I made multiple passes over the area, marking all kinds of fish on each drift. Peter caught a few smaller ones and a perch or two but lost the only heavy fish he had on the line. We were on walleye and I was sure that one was another good one too!

Barry was having a rough time as well and missed a couple of bites before finally getting into a good fish. He fought it well and based on how he was struggling, I was pretty sure it was way over the slot for these fish. As luck would have it, I slid the net under his first walleye and it was a big one! Although they wouldn’t be taking it home tonight, at least he would have a great memory of it, with the pics.

We made a few more passes after getting into the last big fish, but weren’t able to catch any more. We were officially out of time and called it a day!

Barry and his son in law Peter had shared a great morning and landed a few fish in the process. I would have liked to see more action, but I always do! At least they both managed to tick a couple of fish off of their bucket lists and were bringing one of them home to eat. Overall, I consider this a win, win kind of day!

The afternoon outing was with my brother and two of his grandchildren. Emma and Mason were my niece’s children and I was happy to finally get them out! Hopefully they would catch some fish too!

The waters were practically flat calm so I decided to make a long run to a shallow area where they could cast for bass. They would be throwing soft plastics for the fish and I was sure they would do fine.

It didn’t take long for Mason to hook into a nice one and it beat him up pretty good! This fish showed no mercy as Mason struggled to land his beast! Sort of reminded me of when I was his age & caught my first bass! Eventually I was able to slip the net under his catch and he was all smiles. I also decided to livewell the fish in hopes of a few more. We would concentrate on fishing and take pics later.

Not long after Mason’s bass, Emma hooked into one of her own. This too was a good fish and it also put up quite a battle. These kids weren’t use to catching fish and definitely not expecting the fight to be so strong. Mike & I just laughed as she tried to reel in a fish that just kept taking her line out! When I finally netted the bass I realized why. It was definitely a good one and she fought it like a champ!

After live welling Emma’s bass, we resumed casting for more and as luck would have it, Emma hooked up again. She may have had a smaller one on the line, but she had another fish! Emma fought this one a little better and I quickly had it in the net. This bass was released quickly seeing as how it was smaller than her first and back at it, they went.

With time passing and the wind increasing, we were now fishing in a pretty good roll. I figured we’d stay a little bit longer and then make a move. Emma was definitely in the zone as she managed to hook another decent bass from here before we were done. I also put this one in the livewell for her and moved soon after.

I wanted to check out an area in deeper water for them but saw that it was only holding small fish. After a couple of passes, I called it quits to go elsewhere. Before we made the move however, I decided to take a few pics of their catch and made the kids hold their fish. Emma was fine with it but I had to give Mason a glove in the end. At least they both held their catch and that’s all that mattered! They quickly released the bass afterwards and we were on our way.

I would have liked to bring them trolling but with the bright skies, I knew it would be tough. Instead I took them somewhere where they could drop shot and they managed a few more fish from here. Although the walleye were on the smaller side, Mason did catch a keeper that he decided to release after his pics.

Our day was cut a little short due to the skies as I could see that the weather was about to change. The radar showed that we would be getting some rain shortly and we ran back before getting wet.

This afternoon was fun for everyone and the kids got to catch a few fish too! If given more time, I’m sure that I would have been able to get them a bunch more, but at least they caught something. With any luck I will be able to get them out again this season, but only time will tell. Either way, at least we all have great memories from today!

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Hughes & Olivier had a rough time today catching any quality. Although they did manage fish from everywhere we stopped, they were rather on the small side.

We began on an open water area and Olivier landed only a couple of perch. I was marking many bigger fish but even with a few bait changes, they still wouldn’t cooperate.

The next move saw a couple of bass on a midrange rock pile, but again both small. This was becoming the norm and I wanted to change the outcome!

Our third stop had Hughes catching a number of walleye and a few of them even made it into the tank. At close to 10 fish from here, I really thought we’d start getting into the big ones soon. Apparently not, as everything remained small! Time for another relocate!

I decided to try some deep water and they began a long drift, drop shotting the flat. Except for a few missed opportunities, we came up empty! There was no need to drift it again! I hit a couple more deep rock piles and again, small fish! Time to try something completely different!

I made a long run to a shallow area and we spent close to 45 minutes casting soft plastics. Olivier was the only person the hook up and it was probably the largest bass so far!

With the winds having increased considerably from the west, I made my way back to the spot that had produced the most fish. Both Olivier & Hughes continued to catch more walleye and unfortunately the size remained the same. We pulled out of here after a few drifts and headed back to deep, open water where we would fish the remainder of the day.

They continued the drift with a dropshot technique and Olivier put a beating on the small perch. Although I was marking plenty of good walleye, they seemed to be having a little lock jaw problem! Except for one more small bass, the rest of the afternoon only saw perch. The winds didn’t make it any easier for them to fish either as we were in three footers for most of the time here!

I don’t think anyone was disappointed to see today over as it was definitely a painful one! Despite throwing everything but the kitchen sink, I couldn’t get them on any real quality fish. Plenty of bites, but almost all small! Another tough day in the books for this season!