August 24th 2018

Lindsay had booked this day way back in April for her son Max. He was hoping to catch a sturgeon and I was going to do my best to make it happen! The waves would be our biggest problem today!

We headed out shortly after 7:00 and I hoped we would be able to anchor up in this wind. It was blowing pretty hard from the SW, causing me concern. All we could do was try!

I began looking for the fish before I actually got set up and found enough marks to give it a shot. I wasn’t going to try unless I had seen signs of life down there! I positioned the boat above and set the anchor. I also used the electric motor and the anchor mode as well, allowing me to stay where I had intended. This was the only way we were able to hold in the 2 & 3 foot waves!

We had been fishing for about 30 minutes, with rods in hand, when Devin set the hooks into our first fish. With expectations high, he reeled in a fish but it wasn’t what we were hoping for. He had hooked an eel and I didn’t want any part of that. I quickly cut the hook and re rigged the rod again! His next fish was no different with a second eel coming to the boat too! Needless to say, the same thing happened!

We were still optimistic and after about an hour, Devin set into another fish. Talk of dropping him off on an island was thrown around if this was another snake! Fortunately for everyone it wasn’t and a confirmation was had when his fish took to the air. Although not a giant, it was what we were looking for and the battle began. It was also short lived when the fish rolled in the line causing Devin to reel it to the boat, backwards. A quick untangling of the line and he got to fight it a little longer. Soon after, it was in the net and he had officially caught their first sturgeon ever!

After the release, we set back up and wouldn’t you know it, Lindsay hooked into another fish. Hers too turned out to be an eel and this was getting ridiculous. I don’t catch this many in a year! We released it the usual way and went right back to the sturgeon. Devin was soon to hook into another fish and passed the rod to Lindsay to fight. This was the right species and although it wasn’t a giant, it battled her pretty good. She eventually brought it close enough for me to net and she too had her very first sturgeon! We took more pics and returned her catch to the water.

With Max being the only one not to have landed anything yet, we focussed on getting him one of his own. I had hoped that it would be slightly smaller so that he could reel it in alone. Soon enough, I set into another fish and could tell by the weight that it wasn’t too big. Max immediately took the rod and reeled in an exotic species for the day. He had caught a freshwater drum and this definitely required some pics.

With the winds slightly down, the fishing became more comfortable and easier to feel the bites. We weren’t bouncing all over now and could detect almost any subtle nibbles on the lines. Devin hooked into another fish pretty quick and Max was up. This was the perfect one for him to fight and he landed his first sturgeon too. I gave him a hand holding it for the photos and he was all smiles with his prize before tossing it back.

Now that we were finally getting bit more often, we decided to stick it out with the sturgeon. There was no need to move and they agreed! For the remainder of the day we would be looking for more and bigger ones too!

The afternoon went by quickly with only a few more fish coming aboard. Although not huge, they were the right species and Max even got to fight another one as well. Lindsay also hooked into one on her own and battled another decent sturgeon too. A few fish missed and a few fish landed and we were done. They had accomplished what we had set out to do and everyone had a great time. I packed everything up and readied the boat for the return.

Unfortunately when I tried to get the boat on plane, the engine seemed like it had no power. After adjusting the weight forward, I somehow managed to get it on plane and ran back mid speed. Another problem that would have to get checked!

This day may have started out a little slow but we accomplished what we had set out to do. Sturgeon was on the bucket list for Max and everyone got to land theirs. They also got to reel in a few other strange looking creatures too! I will have to get the motor checked in the morning and hopefully it will be something simple like a coil problem again. If so, I will be right back on the water with clients by the afternoon. Crossing my fingers and toes for a simple fix!!

August 23rd 2018

After a cancellation due to high winds yesterday, I was back out today in slightly better weather!

Another double trip day saw Steffen and his family in the morning, hoping to catch a few fish. His son Konner was new to this sport and eager to land just about anything! Trolling was the game plan and pike & walleye were the targeted species.

It wasn’t long after I set the lines before the first fish was landed. Konner reeled in a nice northern, even with a cast on his wrist! He also managed many more in the next couple of hours and was completely enjoying himself. Although they were all northerns, he had a blast reeling loads of them in.

I had wanted to get him a few walleye and covered water searching for the elusive golden one. This morning had seen a drop in water temps by about 6 degrees since I was last out. It showed too as these fish were really lethargic! Eventually after what seemed like miles of water, I finally locked him up on a nice fish. He was hoping for a walleye and now he got his wish! We took a bunch of nice pics before releasing his over back to the water. Konner was all smiles after this one and eager to catch more!

With limited time remaining, I managed to get him a few more fish before we had to leave. I had another family for the afternoon and the morning had passed by so quickly. I packed everything up and made the run back to meet the second group.

I wasted no time in getting back on the water as I said goodbye to Steffen, Hazel & Konner. Angela and her sons were ready to go and we turned and burned out onto the lake!

With no down time, I headed back to where I had finished up, as I had left the fish biting! Tyson, Ayden & Gavin were also eager to get into some fish as I set the lines. We would be trolling once again, with this many bodies in the boat.

The winds had grown since I returned and built to 2 & 3 footers where I was. Trolling wasn’t easy up wind and required constant cleaning of the rods with all the floating weeds as well. I managed to make it work though and it wasn’t long before everyone had a full rotation on the rods. Angela was last up and somehow managed the largest pike of the afternoon, twice! The others were just happy reeling fish in despite the slower than usual bite.

I had covered plenty of water once again searching for active fish but found them to be anything but that. We had several short strikes and plenty of fish fall off in the net once landed. This weather had them lethargic but I was still managing to get bit.

They had all managed a few rotations and time was now getting on in the day. I decided to slide out to slightly deeper water and fired multiple reels in a very short time. Needless to say, I milked this area for all it was worth by catching everything that wanted to bite. In the end, we probably hit an additional half dozen fish in the last 30 minutes of their trip.

I can’t believe how fast the day goes when it’s split in two! Before we knew it, we were done and heading back to the dock. Despite the lack of interest by most of the fish today, I still grinded it out and had two pretty good trips overall.

Plenty of pike were landed today by everyone and a few nice walleye too. Cold front conditions had the fish a little sketchy as I saw but fortunately I was able to make some of them eat. Enough fish were landed by everyone to make this another successful day!!

August 21st 2018

Tino was back with me today, hoping to learn about summertime smallies. He hadn’t fished for them in several weeks and was now only catching the odd, small one when he did. I knew he was in for a great day and an even better learning experience!

I began in an area for the first time this season, based on the time of year. It was definitely a summer spot and required a slow presentation, in order to get bit. We were both throwing soft plastics and allowing the current to present the baits to the fish. These bass were set up on drop offs and It didn’t take long before Tino saw what I meant. I felt a tick and immediately set into a nice smallie. Confirmation was made as it took to the air in a spectacular leap and I also knew there would be plenty more to follow.

Tino was having a difficult time hooking up but he was definitely getting the bites. I tried to explain that he needed to remove the slack line before setting, but it wasn’t easy. Eventually he did manage to hook into a fish and unfortunately it was on the small side. Things could only get better!

We had remained in this area for a while and many fish were hooked in the time we fished. Too bad the landing percentage was less than half! I had brought several good ones to net, but Tino was still struggling to land anything of size. Eventually I slid up on the shallower water and presented the baits to the deep water instead. This got us a few more bites but none were landed. These fish don’t get big from being stupid! Time to make a move!

I ran to another spot and decided to fish it differently than usual due to the strong SE winds. I normally allow the baits to drift down current naturally but today I was going to use the electric motor to anchor us and cast to specific holding areas.

As soon as I set up, Tino made one cast and was tight to a really good bass! He didn’t know it, but this was the start of his best smallie day ever! After a great battle, I was finally able to get the net under his fish and several pics were taken before the release. I think his very next cast also provided him with another fish and he was finally understanding what he needed to do. Although smaller than the first one, it was still a good fish and worthy of another pic.

We had covered a bunch of water in the area and Tino had hooked many fish in the process. He also landed more than he lost and that was a great thing! He was finally understanding the tight line thing and was now setting the hook without any slack. This translated into more fish fought and landed for him! I was also able to angle the boat properly with the electric motor and utilize the wind to my advantage. This gave Tino the angle to make casts to the water that held the fish. He was definitely hooking plenty of them too!

I think the bite stayed good for about 4 hours or so, allowing me to take advantage of the actively feeding fish. Tino was on fire and landing loads of quality smallies. He wasn’t use to seeing this kind of action and fish of such size. It was about his best day ever for smallmouth bass!

As the afternoon wound down, so did the bite. We were now struggling to get hits and it wasn’t because the fish weren’t there! In one of the areas I saw a bunch of big bass just swimming and none of them showed any interest at all. I hit two more places before we were done and had just as many short strikes. They definitely had no interest in eating anymore and we were done!

Today was a great learning experience for Tino as he got to see the best and the worst in the same day. He witnessed an active feeding period where he could do no wrong and a dead time where it was impossible to even get bit. He also has a better understanding of what to look for the next time he is on the water, hopefully adding a few more fish to his time out. This was by far the best bass fishing he had ever experienced and I know it won’t be the last time he says that! There’s even better days to come!!

August 20th 2018

Steve & Sam were back with me again today, looking for that elusive lunge. Although we tried for close to 3 hours, we never really had any takers. I guess it just wasn’t there time to land old toothy!

We switched to walleye next as they were hoping to bring a few fish back with them tonight. Despite a rather slow bite, they did manage to land some and took almost a limit in the end.

After a painful morning fishing for only a few fish, I switched to bass and the action picked up considerably. Both Steve and his son Sam hooked and landed some nice fish in the remaining time we were on the water. Too bad all of the bass didn’t want to bite as we saw so many uninterested ones where we were. It was nice to know that they were in the area but would have been nicer if they were on the end of their lines!

Time flew by quickly today and before we knew it, it was almost 4:00. They had a long drive back home and were already tired, so we pulled the plug and headed back to take out.

These last couple of days were probably the toughest so far this season. I was targeting big fish and they just didn’t seem to cooperate. I’m glad I had a backup with the bass for them to at least catch fish! Hopefully in the coming days things will get back to normal and some of these fish will actually bite. I know it’s just a matter of time before I’m back into the big sturgeon once again. With any luck, it will be real soon!!

August 19th 2018

Steve and his son Sam were with me today, looking for a big bite. They were hoping to either catch sturgeon or possibly a musky. It was time to try again for the dinosaurs!

We headed directly to the deep water in hopes of marking good concentrations of fish. After about ten minutes or so of scouting the water, I finally settled on a spot that showed some signs of life. It didn’t look like what I was hoping for but there were a few fish down there and I thought we’d give it a try.

We fished for about 2 hours or so but never really had anything large eat. They did both manage to land one small sturgeon though and actually got to see what they looked like. They also got to see why I was here when they witnessed several quality ones take to the air. This only made them want a big one, even more!

I eventually pulled anchor and idled around, looking for another place to possibly fish. This never happened though and eventually we packed everything up and changed species all together. I was going to take them drop shotting for bass and walleye and hoped their luck wouldn’t be the same!

I set up on a break and locked the electric in place allowing them to cast to the areas that held the fish. I think it was on Sam’s first cast that he was locked up and on a really nice smallie too! A few quick pics and she was released to fight again! He went right back at it and a couple of casts later was tight lined once again. This time the bass was even bigger and gave him even more of a fight. Eventually I was able to slip the net under his smallie for a few more photos.

Things were going pretty good for Sam but his father still hadn’t landed anything yet. They changed spots and his luck finally changed too! Steve managed to bring a nice walleye to net that made its way into the livewell after a pic or two. They would be bringing it back with them tonight. He also managed to land another one but unfortunately it was a little on the small side and released. Sam also managed another small eye before we left the area to fish, elsewhere.

The boat traffic had picked up considerably by now and we had waves from all directions. The cruisers were out in full force, throwing 3 & 4 foot rollers. You could really tell it was the weekend!

I idled over to another place in hopes of getting them into some smallies, because it would have been impossible to troll anywhere that I wanted. Fortunately it was the right decision as both of them landed several nice brownies. They even had a double that had me netting both fish at the same time, due to a line tangle near the boat.

I hit a couple of other places without any luck after and decided to run to one more in the late afternoon, before we had to go. I stopped on a remote place in the middle of nowhere. Although I hadn’t fished it once this season, I was sure it would have fish! Steve made one cast and was immediately locked up on a nice bass. It also brought a school of its buddies to the boat at the same time and we were officially on fish!

We remained in the area for about 30 minutes or so before we had to go and they landed several other nice bass while we were there. They had plenty of chances and saw all kinds of bass following their baits in the time we fished. Unfortunately not all of them would bite, but many tried!

Today was an interesting one filled with all kinds of different techniques and a variety of fish. In the end, both of them slammed and Steve had four different species to his name. Tomorrow will hopefully bring even better results with less boat traffic on the water, allowing me the luxury of hitting more areas. With any luck, they will also slam but this time on even bigger fish. Bring on the dinosaurs!!