Flying Solo

This morning I had only one person with me in the boat. Stephen was in from Maryland with his mother, checking out McGill College and wanted to experience some fishing on local waters. I thought what better way to show him than to try for a few dinosaurs! I headed right back to the new area I had fished yesterday but wasn’t sure if I would be able to anchor in these strong winds. They were blowing out of the SW at 10 to 20 knots and seemed barely doable. If they increased, we wouldn’t have a chance! I decided to give it a try and dropped anchor above where I was marking, hoping it would hold. We got lucky as it did and I was excited for him. With lines in, we waited in anticipation for the first bite. Unfortunately this was short lived as the winds started gusting and eventually the anchor started to slip! I attempted one other reposition, unsuccessfully and finally pulled the plug on these fish. It was too bad as I really wanted him to land his first ever sturgeon! Time for plan B!

I headed to open water and informed him that we would be drop shotting for bass & walleye. He didn’t mind at all as he was just looking forward to catching fish! After moving from our first spot to the second one, he hooked up immediately. Although small, this was also his first walleye and he needed a pic. We continued making drifts in the 2 foot rollers and each time he was hooking up. Both bass & walleye were being landed but nothing big. I really wanted him to catch something larger after the disappointing sturgeon start. Although he did manage to get into some good fish, in the remaining time, the bite seemed a little slow. He landed a number of bass & walleye and was quite happy anyway. I had livewelled two of his keepers but found out later that he was staying in a hotel and wouldn’t be able to bring them back. Oh well, the afternoon clients would have a good start to their day!

Stephen may only be in his teens, but has the passion to become a great fisherman. He is already good at handling the equipment and knows a bunch of different techniques. Now he knows a couple more! If he manages to choose a college in Montreal, I’m sure I will be seeing more of him. Hopefully the next time he will get his shot at a real giant! Better days ahead!