Joe and his daughter Ashley were with me this morning for what I hoped would be a banner outing. She also brought her boyfriend Mohit along as well, who had done practically no fishing, ever! We would definitely be starting with the troll!

With the winds still blowing from the NE, I knew floating weeds would be my main issue and constantly cleaned the rods until I found an area with much less. I eventually focused most of my time there and we managed to actually start catching fish. Mohit & Ashley were the first ones up and they both landed northerns. Joe also caught a few pike and a nice over walleye in the time we spent trolling. Once the sun got up a bit higher, the bite died and I decided to move to a different place and try something else. We would be going drop shotting instead!

We drifted over deep water in opposing winds that had up to 2 footers. I wouldn’t have minded if they were from the same direction as the current, but we weren’t that fortunate! Boat control with the electric was a little tricky at times but I made it work! Enough so that they all landed smallies from here with Mohit bringing in the biggest one!

For a couple of hours we made drifts, covering different depth and they picked at the bass. Some were landed, but unfortunately, most were lost! This was new to them and it was a learning curve that they would need time to master. Time that we didn’t really have as we were about to head back to the dock and exchange two people for his three other kids. I packed everything up and readied the boat for the long run back, but not fast enough! The police boat saw us and singled me out for one of their spot checks, again!

I had left us about 15 minutes to get back for the pickup, but we were going to be detained and most likely late in arriving. For the third time this season, I was going to have to show them everything necessary for being on the water. I do like seeing them patrolling, but wish they had some sort of documentation or sticker that they could give, showing them that you’ve already passed their spot check! I had to go through the drill once again and while bouncing around in two footers in the middle of the lake! Fun times!

After the ordeal, we finally made it to the dock for the exchange and now I had Michael, Matthew and Katelyn in the boat. Also new to the fishing, I had my work cut out for me once again!

We made a long run to escape the boat traffic that was officially on the water now and opted for an area out of the way. They would be throwing soft plastics for smallies but it wouldn’t be easy. We still had big waves where we were as the winds had gone full east now and there was nowhere to hide!

I made a cast to show Katelyn how to work the bait and almost immediately felt a bite. I set into the fish hard and passed her the rod to fight the bass but unfortunately due to her slack line, it came off soon after. I could feel by the weight that it was a big one!

For the next couple of hours we scoured the area and they managed to get a few smaller fish. Michael however brought in a nice big one that had fallen for a drop shot rig. I think the only person that hadn’t landed something from here was Katelyn and she had the first chance when we had arrived.

I changed it up and headed offshore to some deeper spots and set them all up to be able to drop shot here. First pass yielded multiple hookups but the fish were on the small side. At least they were catching!

Michael had the hot hand as he was bringing them aboard quicker than the rest. With each move and stop on new areas, it never took long for someone to get bit. I only wish that the fish had of been bigger but they did have a few of those large ones on, briefly. In the end, it just wasn’t meant to be!

We had a somewhat tougher time than I would have liked, but under the circumstances, they did well. Both the morning and afternoon outings had seen enough fish to keep everyone happy. We were officially done!

On our way back to the ramp I noticed that the lake was filled with boats even more than usual for a weekend. I think everyone was out today! I really had to watch the water while running as waves were from every direction. Fortunately we made it back safe & dry!

Tomorrow’s weather forecast calls for a wind switch once again and this time it is supposed to blow SE. Should make for another interesting day on the water! I can hardly wait!

It was another difficult day today with Nick & Eric on the water. We had a NE wind to start that turned east late in the afternoon. I knew the deep drift was going to be tough!

We began in deep water and tried to drift the area I had done so well in yesterday, but the wind direction had 2 footers blowing up current. This definitely made it a little more challenging, to say the least! Although I was marking some fish, we didn’t get bit and I decided to try casting in a different area, much shallower.

The bite here wasn’t great at the start, but picked up as we covered the water. They were throwing soft plastics and a light drop shot and managed to get several decent bass in the time we fished. We were somewhat protected from the wind and I think this helped!

Our next stop was to be in deep water again and despite our second attempt at the fish, we didn’t stay long. I made one half pass along the edge and realized that this was just not happening. The boat control was perfect but the fish didn’t want to bite. Time to relocate once again!

I thought I’d give the guys a break and headed somewhere to troll. Apparently this wasn’t a good choice either as it was next to impossible to keep the lines clean with all the floating weeds. The NE winds had even more surface crap and I didn’t remain here for very long!

I opted for another drop shot drift in midrange waters and both Nick and Eric hooked up quickly. Although the bass were on the small side, it was a good sign! We made several passes and each one produced fish. Eric even managed to get a real nice smallie that was worthy of a pic! Along with the bass, Eric also boated a couple of small walleye that didn’t quite make the cut.

The day was nearing the end and I wanted to get them a few more fish before we had to leave. I ran to another deep shoal and they started the drift once again. As with before, it was Eric that was hooking up from here too! He managed to put 4 more bass in the boat with one of them being a real good one. Nick wasn’t as fortunate and just looked on in disbelief! This was how we would end the day!

Although the fishing was challenging today, they still managed to get into good action at times. I had to move around plenty, just looking for areas to fish. The opposing winds always make it difficult when dealing with current and we saw that again today! Overall not the best fishing day, but definitely not the worst! Hopefully better days ahead!

Rich, Kristine & Chabil joined me this morning for a full day of fishing! We would be doing a bunch of different things including deep drop shotting. I expected better results than the last couple of days, with this one being a longer trip!

I decided to try trolling once again at the start, hoping to get them a few walleye to bring home. Well, it didn’t go as planned though, with only one being caught. Kristine boated a real big one and we had to settle for only the pics. There weren’t even many northerns from the area and I pulled the plug earlier than usual. We were heading to the deep!

After making a long run to a smallmouth area, I instructed them on how to fish the rig, vertical. Not having ever fished this way before, I knew it would be a learning curve for them but felt confident that they would fend well.

Kristine was expected to be the first one to hook up and she didn’t disappoint. We hadn’t gone 100 yards and she was into a smallie. In fact she boated three fish before any of the others even had a bite! They were having a tough time figuring out if they were on bottom or not and not remaining vertical. Once I corrected the problem, they began to get bit!

Our first drift produced over 10 bass and Chabil even managed to land a nice keeper walleye that immediately went in the box. Kristine was doing most of the damage however as she caught over 75% of the fish! Plenty of others were missed or lost as well. including a real giant that Chabil had on his line. Although we never really saw the fish, I knew it was big by the way it was digging. In the end, he snapped the line and was left with only the swivel. You really need to play these big ones and he tried to bring it in way to fast! Inexperience also caused him to snap one of my rods earlier, when he tried to bring another bass to the net. Instead of using the entire rod to drag the fish over he accidently reached out and grabbed the middle of the rod to pull it to me. Instantly I heard the snap and he lost the fish too!

Once the deeper bite slowed, I thought we’d try a little shallower and headed to another area to fish. They would be tossing soft plastics and hopefully the guys would have better results!

Rich was feeling more at home with this method and within the first 5 minutes, boated 3 bass. They were all good ones but two of them were bigger than anything he had caught so far today! He was in the zone as many more followed!

Both Kristine and Chabil weren’t having as much luck but they were hooking into plenty. Unfortunately their landing percentage wasn’t great, as most of them were coming off before the net. Rich however was putting on a clinic, boating bass after bass. I really don’t know how many he caught but it was a lot!

After scouring the area for quite some time, I decided to move out slightly deeper and Rich hooked into a real giant. Not being overly familiar with fighting a fish this big, he tried to land it way too fast. In the end, the hooks just pulled out and all he was left with was memories of the one that got away!

Time had passed by so fast while they were catching fish and I realized that I needed to make a move if they were to have any chance at getting more fish to bring home. I began sliding out to deeper water as they ate and managed to put a couple more walleye in the boat. Too bad that was all she wrote!

One more stop in open water for a last 15 minute shot at fish had them swimming instead. It was so damn hot that even with the roof up for most of the day, they needed to cool off again! I packed everything up while they were in the water and readied the boat for the run back.

Today was a much better one filled with plenty of action. By having the full day, I was able to make the necessary adjustments that kept them on fish throughout. We fished deep and we fished shallow when the time was right and the results showed. They had learned a few new techniques that hopefully will aid them in their future shore fishing. If nothing else, at least have them losing less lures to the rocks! Overall it was a great day for fishing!

Mark & his son Owen, along with John & his son Noa, were with me this morning for a difficult bite. I probably should have gone deep like yesterday but with all the bodies I had, boat control would have been difficult. We opted for plan B and started out with a troll!

The first fish went to Noa when the reel went off and he soon had a big walleye under his belt. Obviously the fish wasn’t really aggressive as the hooks just fell out while in the net! Owen was up next and not long after and his first fish turned out to be a decent northern.

With both kids having caught fish, it was the parents turn next and a couple more pike were boated. I had to cover plenty of water to find the fish and despite the almost perfect conditions of overcast and wind, they just weren’t eating. It seemed like every time a fish was netted, the hooks weren’t staying in. I was actually surprised that we hadn’t seen a few drive byes!

The numbers were definitely not there this morning but we did manage to catch several more fish including a nice double that consisted of a keeper walleye and a pike. After a couple of hours of this pain, I just pulled the plug and headed elsewhere to try a little drifting with the drop shot.

Although it would have been difficult to fish deep like yesterday, with 4 people, I found another area where I was able to drift sideways. This would allow all 4 to fish effectively!

Our first spot only seemed to be having perch biting, despite seeing a lot of walleye on the bottom. We finished up the morning on another location with a few more smaller walleye and one bass before we were done. I had an afternoon booking and needed to be back to pick him up! I knew that the better fishing was taking place in deeper water and couldn’t wait to get back out!

Val joined me for the afternoon trip and we experienced more difficult fishing. I probably could have found some better fish in the deep water, but after dropshotting a bunch of areas unsuccessfully, I switched it up to the shallows. Unfortunately there was only one fish landed and another one missed from here! The bass was a giant however, but it came from my rod while showing Val where to cast. It figures!

With Val wanting to bring some fish home again tonight, we decided to try a different place and drop shotted the area for walleye. In about an hour, we managed to put two keepers and a handful of small bass in the boat. Not great, but at least he had something to take home!

The half day trips are always tougher when searching for active fish and today was no different. Limited time in both halves pass quickly when the fish aren’t biting, causing you to make many quick moves.

We ended the afternoon in big waves, in open water, trying to get a few more bites. Drop shotting midrange depths for walleye wasn’t as productive as I would have liked. Although I marked plenty of them, their jaws seemed to be locked. We would have to end the afternoon with what we had!

Today wasn’t what I had expected but there were still fish caught. Tomorrow I will have plenty more time with a single trip and hopefully be able to focus my attention longer in areas that I feel confident. I know we will be fishing deep for most of the trip! Better fishing ahead!

Mike joined me today along with his two kids. Ryan & Chloe are all grown up now and look quite a bit different than they did some 10 years ago. Time surely flies!

We hit several areas at the start hoping for quick bites, but the lack of wind and current wasn’t helping. Both Chloe & Ryan managed to get into some bass at the first place, during the tough bite. I knew it was going to be a grind today with intense heat & humidity, along with absolutely zero wind!

It didn’t take long before I realized that deep was the place to be. With surface water temps closing in on 80 degrees, the bigger bass would definitely be relating to cooler water. I quickly relocated offshore, setting them up with the drop shot rods.

Within a few minutes after starting the drift, they began to understand, as everyone was now catching fish. Mike had struggled in the first few places but quickly rebounded with some quality bass. Both Ryan & Chloe also had multiple bass attack their baits and managed to land over half of the ones they hooked. Not a bad average for someone never having fished deep!

With the heat becoming almost unbearable, I decided to raise the roof for a little relief. These over 90 degree days always make it a challenge to stay cool and I needed some shade. Ryan on the other hand took a different approach, by jumping in multiple times throughout the day. Not a bad idea!

We continued the deep water fishing for a few hours making several long drifts until the wind began. Unfortunately when it started, it was coming from the SE and the fish just shut down! I was also having a hard time keeping them vertical with the cross current winds. Time to relocate!

After fishing deep for so long, it was going to be a nice change to try a little shallow casting with soft plastics. It would also be much easier fishing, if the fish were there!

I think Ryan hooked up on his very first cast and it was big! Too bad he wasn’t ready and lost the fish when it took to the air in a spectacular jump. Mike was into several others afterwards and Ryan rebounded with more of his own. Chloe however was having a hard time getting bit and ended up without a strike. I tried to help her out by passing the rod when something hit, but unfortunately it didn’t stay on long enough for her to get a hook set.

After a while fishing shallow, the winds finally began to blow a bit harder. They were also coming from the SW and visions of walleye fishing once again crossed my mind! We were going back to where we had started in hopes of getting a few fish for them tonight!

In the last hour or so, they managed to catch a couple of decent walleye and miss a few others. It wasn’t what I had hoped for but at least they had some fish for dinner!

I’m glad I made the change to deep water early today, allowing everyone to have plenty of action. These dead calm, hot days are never easy to fish. After the early morning bite, fish just seem to shut down and nothing moves. Deep water at least gives you plenty more options!

It was nice to have Mike and his family back out again today and see them all grown up. Hopefully they will be back later this fall for another kick at the can when the smallies move back shallow. Plans are already being made!