October 3rd 2018

Tom, Mike & Jean were with me today for a tough outing. We were going to try for sturgeon right away but the NE winds wouldn’t make it easy! Would they bite?

After anchoring up in the big winds, I found that it was doable but not easy. We remained in the area for quite some time with nothing to show for our efforts but one small walleye, one red finned sucker and an ugly eel. Although we had relocated several times, we were still not able to make it happen. One other boat was out there as well and never landed anything either. Time to cut our losses and head elsewhere!

I had figured that we would go for bass & walleye given that the dinosaurs weren’t cooperating and ran to an area to try. I wasn’t sure how it would be as someone was leaving when we arrived! A friend of mine was just pulling out when we were coming in and I knew there wouldn’t be much left to catch!

I set everyone up with a drop shot and showed them what was needed for presentation. I’m sure they all missed fish, but it was Tom that finally locked up first. He was into something heavy and I could tell by the way it was fighting that it was a good one. It turned out to be a big walleye and definitely worthy of a few pics before the release! The others weren’t fending as well and didn’t manage to bring anything to net so I shifted to another area strictly for bass.

A different presentation was needed here so after a quick demonstration, I had them back in the water in search of old bronzeback!

Tom was once again the first to hook up from the back of the boat and although small, it was the right species. After a quick release, he was right back at it with another one soon after. This one was a bit larger but still not worthy of a pic! Mike & Jean were having a hard time getting use to the new baits and missed a couple of fish each before finally hooking up on something. Jean managed to bring one to the net that turned out to be his only bass landed from here. He did have a couple of others hooked but unfortunately not well. Mike on the other hand was just having a hard time getting the hooks to stay in and lost 4 or 5 before he was finally on the board! Tom landed several more and missed a couple of others before we called it a day. We were officially done!

We might have had a tough time at the start of the day, but they rebounded in the afternoon with some good fish. Tom definitely had the hot hand bringing most of them to the net while the others missed most of theirs. In the end though everyone had a great time and the weather couldn’t have been better. Despite the lack of sunshine, the winds layed down and the air temps weren’t too bad either. We are technically in the fall and any day I can get out before freeze up is a bonus. Hopefully this year will take me into December again and I can take advantage of the late season bite. Only time will tell!!

September 30th 2018

A double trip today had me heading out in the morning with Ted & his two sons, Sam & Ben. We were looking for sturgeon and fell short despite all the fish in the area. The winds weren’t helping as they made it difficult to feel the bites. I’m sure few fish were missed but all they could come up with were a couple of red finned suckers, AKA junk fish to me! A little disappointing but they’ll be back to try it again soon!

The afternoon trip had me back out with Francisco and his family, but only for a short time. Although we didn’t fish long, we were able to get into a nice sturgeon within 5 minutes and he boated his very first one, ever! The winds were quite a bit bigger and the water a whole lot rougher, causing us to cut the afternoon short. Again a little disappointing but successful nonetheless!

September 29th 2018

Tino was back with me today, for the fourth time this season. He had fished for largemouth, smallies, pike & walleye and was now going to tangle with some beasts! Not having ever caught one before, he was looking forward to fighting his first sturgeon.

Shortly after 7:00 we met up and I wasted no time getting to the place to fish. A short idle had me setting up in the usual area, in anticipation of our first fish. With the winds pretty big from the SW, I needed the aid of the electric motor to hold. I can’t believe the difference it makes! With everything in place, we waited with rods in hand for a bite.

I had informed Tino on what to expect and after quite a while, he finally got to set into his first sturgeon. I was checking lines when he began to bring his in and hooked up. The fish must have bit at the same time he started reeling as the rod doubled over with the weight. He was officially locked up!

Tino had caught salmon from out west in the ocean before and said this was the first time since then, that he had felt so much power. The fish did the usual long runs and dogged under the boat from side to side. He even caught a glimpse of what he was battling when the fish breached near the boat. You couldn’t have asked for a better fight for his first fish!

After about 5 minutes or so, I slid the net under his catch and prepped him for the pics. He soon realized just how big it was when he had to pick it up and hold the beast. I quickly shot several photos with both cameras and 30 seconds later it was returned unharmed. Now I wanted bigger!

With lines re set, we continued our wait and to my surprise the wind had layed down enough for us to put the rods in the holders. I showed Tino what to look for and not long after, I noticed that his side was getting hit. He never would have thought it was a bite and loaded the rod once again on another big fish. This one was substantially larger than the first and he was about to feel the pain!

After a couple of long runs, his line started to rise and I told him it was going to jump. Almost on cue this behemoth took to the air in a spectacular display that ended in a vicious alligator roll when it re entered the water. From there, it just sounded to the bottom, remaining there like dead weight. It had rolled in the line and tangled itself up, but fortunately not for long. Tino was able to raise the monster from the depths and it rolled one more time freeing itself for an even longer battle. This thing beat him up for over 10 minutes before I finally put it in the net. That was the easy part though as now he was going to have to pick it up!

After a few minutes resting in the water, Tino lifted his fish with difficulty and I shot fast. This one was definitely a whole lot heavier than his first and he knew it as soon as he got it from the net and held t for the pics. Seconds later it was released and headed straight to the bottom as we saw on the sonar.

The third fish wasn’t as quick as the first two and required more patience and several checks on the lines. Tino once again was bit lightly and I told him to grab the rod again. This time when he set, the fish didn’t move. A sure sign of serious weight! It soon started to rise and we were about to see why. Within seconds after the hookset it breached and went insane. In fact it jumped twice simultaneously and went into another roll that was the wildest thing I had ever seen. Then it just went right to the bottom and screamed line from the reel. I had a feeling I was going to have to chase this one and readied the anchor just in case! Surprisingly, Tino managed to turn his giant and gained control enough to do battle properly, closer to the boat. It still remained on the bottom but at least it wasn’t two hundred feet away!

This fish took almost 15 minutes to tire, but eventually it came to the boat for me to net. It was slightly shorter than the last but a whole lot heavier as well. It was going to be a challenge for him to hold!

Tino struggled to get it out of the net but once he had a good grip, he was able to hold it for about 30 seconds before it had to go. The weight was just too much to hold any longer, but I had shot fast.

Totally exhausted, he relaxed while I reset the lines and now the wait began again. Too bad we never had any more bites but at least he boated 3 beauties. We packed it up around 3:30 when the winds got too big and headed back. This day was done!

Tino had experienced another great day of fishing with one of the strongest freshwater fish around. He had caught his first sturgeon and landed a couple more afterwards that were even larger. This was just another species for him to add to the list of the ones he had already caught with me this season. I can only wonder what’s next! Bigger is all we can hope for now!!

September 27th 2018

Bill & Dan were with me this morning, both looking for a new species of fish to catch. Sturgeon were our target and I hoped they would bite! Due to big winds, it had been about a week since I tried for them and It just felt great to be back!

I was surprised to see that there weren’t any other boats fishing when we arrived and quickly got everything set up. With rods baited all we could do was wait and hope for a bite. I don’t think we were anchored for 15 minutes before another boat arrived and of course, it set up so close to us that I could have hit them with a cast. Idiots thought there’s only one area holding fish I guess!

After about another 10 minutes I pulled out and re anchored elsewhere, just to get some distance from the other boat. I guess it was the right choice because we were on more fish and bit shortly after. Dan was about to battle his first sturgeon! The fight lasted about 5 minutes with several surges but the fish acted a little strange. It had gone into a roll in the beginning and the line had tangled around the pectoral fin causing it to come in weird. I netted it regardless and Dan held it for several pics before the release. Time to get Bill one too!

I had remained on the same spot due to all the fish and was pretty sure we would have another bite. About 15 minutes later, we were locked up! This fish was quite large by the feel of it and confirmed when it breached. Bill fought it like a champ and although it almost wore him out, he never gave up. It even went above the boat and over the anchor rope, causing me to do some fancy manoeuvring! After another jump and several more runs, I was finally able to net his beast. Easy part over, tough part to come!

Bill was exhausted from the fight and thought he was done, but holding the fish for a few pics was next. He was going to require the help of Dan just to lift this thing! Between the two of them, they still struggled but managed to get it done before torpedoing it back into the water. Now they were both spent!

I reset the lines looking for more biters but had to make another move in order to get one. I was marking some good fish and anchored up for almost 10 minutes before we were bit. Dan was up next and we cleared the other lines to give him plenty of room for the fight. Although it didn’t jump, she did take a lot of line and remained on the bottom. Dan seemed like he was in control for the first 5 minutes but then the fish took over. It must have tangled somehow and was now just taking line. It ran so much that I was forced to unpin from the anchor and go after it. After about another 5 minutes or so, we were finally over the fish and I could see why. It was a giant and the same thing had happened as the first fish this morning. The line was around the pectoral fin, but the hook was firmly in the mouth! Dan just couldn’t turn the fish during the fight, allowing him to bring it back.

With his monster securely in the net resting, he too took a small break before the pics. Although it wasn’t easy, he managed to hoist it up for several good shots before the release. I couldn’t believe how far we actually were from my anchor as we idled back to tie up.

In the short time we were gone, another boat had moved in and I could see him circling my float from a distance. Last season I actually had someone tie off on my rope! Unbelievable how big some peoples balls are! This guy just kept fast idling, creating lots of waves before he finally settled on a spot, right next to us! It always amazes me when I see this!

After re grouping and getting the line back in, we waited in hopes of one more bite. It took about 15 minutes and with rod in hand, Dan set into another good fish. He passed the rod to Bill and we cleared the other rods so that he could fight the fish. With the line rising in the water, it breached and everyone saw what he was pinned to. It was large and about to create pain! Bill knew what he was dealing with, having practiced on another big fish earlier. Many runs and one more leap later, I was able to slide the net over his monster sturgeon. He knew what was coming next!

While the fish was resting in the water, Bill too was resting in the boat! Afterwards we helped him hoist his fish up for a few quick pics and let her go. We were officially done for the day! I took a few minutes to pack everything up and we were on our way.

Bill & Dan were musky fisherman that had caught all kinds of big fish in their lifetime. The sturgeon had never made it to their list until today and what a way to get initiated! They had both landed a couple of dinosaurs in just a few short hours and were feeling the burn. To make matters worse, they would be heading out later this afternoon to do more musky fishing with a buddy of mine. Talk about masochists! They would be casting giant baits, looking to get beat up again! Better them than me! All in all though they couldn’t have asked for a better half day of fishing!!

September 26th 2018

Round two with Jim & Marie and another hurricane like day locally. This had us taking a road trip, back to the waters we fished yesterday. Would we have a repeat, or would the wind shut us down there too?

The drive was similar with heavy rain falling, right at the start. The only difference was that the air was a whole lot warmer when we arrived. Lighter clothes were definitely necessary as the temps were suppose to feel more like 80 degrees by afternoon.

We headed right to the area that gave us the better fish yesterday in hopes of similar results. Unfortunately the fish weren’t very cooperative and Marie landed the only one from here. She also lost another that threw the bait when it jumped. That one was a real giant!

We made a long run to another spot after, hoping for better fishing. Here too it wasn’t great but Marie did land another huge fish. Too bad it was the only one though and we were forced to move again due to the winds.

The bites weren’t great with them picking a fish here & there and I was scrambling to get them more. At one point, Jim even managed to catch his first ever goby minnow. Not the 6 pounder he was looking for! I switched them up to the jigs and even tried deeper water in hopes of finding a school of active fish. This is where they had lots of action, but most of their bites were snags, ending in lost jigs. Jim did however manage to land a decent smallie and miss a few other bites as well.

At one point I thought I’d try some real deep water hoping for a drop shot bite. It wasn’t easy in the cross winds to keep the boat drifting and baits vertical and after about 30 minutes of fighting the conditions, I just pulled the plug. Time was passing by quickly and I needed to make a move!

I ended the day on the same spot as yesterday, hoping for better results. The winds weren’t in our favor but at least they were able to cast! Marie hooked into a quality bass shortly after arriving and landed another photo fish. The caliber today was great, despite the number of fish they landed! She also managed to catch a couple more big ones afterwards by switching up the baits. Although I would have liked to see more fish caught, the results just weren’t there. We could see another storm on its way and we were done!

Their two days with me saw some big fish caught with a slight adjustment in plans. Their track record for bringing hurricanes when they come up is still bang on! I may not have changed locations if it weren’t for the giant winds locally. Despite the horrible conditions, there were still some great fish caught and that’s all that counts. We had made the best of a bad situation and fended quite well in the end. Although Jim didn’t get the fish he hoped for, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Marie had stole his thunder by landing , “The One”! Maybe next time will be the charm as he continues to search for his Holy Grail!!