More Beasts
September 20, 2018
September 19th 2018
Ray & Greg joined me today on yet another major cold front outing. Ray didn’t want sturgeon, but was looking for bass and maybe walleye instead. I brought the tackle along just in case!
We headed out in a big NE wind that had me fishing a current break from the opposite direction. It seemed that the wind was stronger than the usual speed of the current, pushing us upstream. Although tough, it wasn’t impossible and Ray managed to get a nice smallie, tossing a blade bait. Greg was new to fishing all together and wasn’t having much luck. I made some casts and hooked up several times while we were there. Most of the strikes were short but I was able to land a few fish regardless.
After trying the first area for quite a while in overcast and big winds, I decided to make a move to another area further away in hopes of better results. We were going to fish shallow to try and get away from the winds!
As soon as I arrived, I knew it would be better as the water was a whole lot calmer. They both had several bites on soft plastic baits but again it was only Ray that landed anything. Greg was having a hard time setting the hook and missed several. I tried to show them what to do and ended up landing 3 or 4 in as many casts. The fish were definitely here! I also tried to explain the cadence of working the baits and once Ray changed his rhythm, he set into a nice one almost immediately.
We had been at this for almost the entire morning now and I wasn’t really seeing great results anywhere. I would have to go out to deeper water and try drop shotting if we had any chance of better fish. After fishing a couple of other shallow areas, they asked if we could try for sturgeon instead as they both needed a break from casting. I gladly obliged and we were off to fish for the giants!
I didn’t have to look for long before I managed to locate what I wanted and anchored up quickly. The winds were still out of the NE and I set the drift sock in place to keep the boat firmly holding straight.
With lines in, we began our wait for the first legitimate bite. Several false hits were had from the fish bumping into the lines before I set into a real bite and it was game on! Greg took the rod and we cleared everything in order for him to fight his fish. It was a strange battle as the fish came in rather quickly for its size. No jumps or long runs, just docile and cooperative by comparison to all the others I’ve landed. In less than 5 minutes I netted his catch and readied him for a few pics. By the size of the fish, it should have taken a lot longer to bring in but for some reason it didn’t. Oh well, he got lucky this time!
After a few pics and a release, we were back in the game, wanting more! With fish still marking on the screen, I knew it was just a matter of time before we had another bite. Eventually I saw the rod bounce and was able to lock them up on another good fish. I thought Ray was going to take the rod but instead he insisted that Greg fight the fish as he was from France and wouldn’t get another chance to do this again. No problem, round two for Gregory!
This time he wasn’t as fortunate with the battle as the sturgeon acted more normal, beating him up pretty good. Still no jumps but plenty of good long runs and bottom hugging from one side to the other. I had to take the rod from him several times as she went under the boat often. It took Greg over 10 grueling minutes of punishment to finally bring the fish close enough for me to land. Now he knew what the fight was suppose to feel like! Easy part over, hard part about to come! When he held the fish for the photos he realized just how big it was and struggled just to hold on. We made it quick and shot fast before releasing his beast back where it belonged.
I reset the lines after and knew we would have another bite as there’s never two without three! Unfortunately the next fish was on the small side and a real baby. I showed them the sharp back bones and side scoots and they were amazed at the difference between adults and juveniles.
I really wanted to get Greg another one and set the lines one more time in hopes of something really big. Well not too long after, I reared back on a good bite and knew this was the one. I barely moved the fish on the hookset! She made several long runs and took out over 150 feet on the first one. Greg was in for a long battle! I would have liked to see her jump but this was another fight done entirely under water. This fish was so heavy that all he could do was hang on. Many times he would gain, only to lose all the line and even more when she ran. I’m sure the fight lasted close to 15 minutes before she was boatside. I coached him on bringing it closer and was finally able to net this giant. Relieved that the fight was over, he wasn’t looking forward to the pics. Ray actually had to help him hold the fish as he wouldn’t have been able to do it alone. Several quick, painful shots later, she was returned unharmed. What an absolute beast!
After all of this, they decided that they were done for the day, I packed everything up and readied the boat, happy for the outcome of this day. It may have been a challenge for bass in these cold front conditions but the sturgeon were a different story. They cooperated just fine! In just a couple of hours they were able to get into some really nice fish that ended with a bang. I believe that this fish may have been the largest one so far this season! Both Ray and Greg got to see what the waters surrounding Montreal hold and these dinosaurs are big! Greg will be heading back to France soon and bragging about the river monsters of the St. Lawrence. Now he’ll have plenty of pics to back him up too!
