This morning I had the pleasure of taking Peter Svoboda on the water for a day of fishing. He brought along Jakub Voracek from the Flyers & his father Miloslav. The three of them were about to experience something special! We dropped the boat in with the winds out of the SW gusting well over 20 knots. Waves weren’t very nice and it seemed like I was the only boat on the lake. I realized quickly that I was going to have to make a long run in order to be able to fish. Although a little bumpy in average 3 footers, we finally made it to our destination. I set the lines to troll and almost immediately after the fourth one was in, one of them fired. Then another! Then another again! We had not been fishing for one minute and already had a triple header. Peter had a nice northern but unfortunately lost it beside the boat while I was trying to get things organized. No problem as the fourth rod fired giving him another chance. We went from a triple to a quad in no time and that’s how you start the day! There were 3 pike and one walleye in the mix and I realized that the pre frontal system coming had the fish active. I returned all the lines after taking care of business and we continued the troll once again. Several more pike & walleye made it into the net before the rains began. It wasn’t only raining but the winds were blowing so hard that even with the roof up, we were getting a little wet. It didn’t seem to matter though as they were catching fish hand over fist. Pike after pike and several walleye later, Miloslav was battling a nice smallie as I slid out of the area we were concentrating on. I was re rigging a three rod tangle and somehow made my way far from where I was catching all the fish. It didn’t matter, as they were biting all over!

Later in the morning and after many more fish, the rain finally stopped giving me a chance to try something else. I dropped the cover and secured it to change locations and fish species. We were now going to go for smallies and Jakub’s father Miloslav was looking forward to it. Apparently he had a thing about bass and loved the brownies.

Soft plastics were being thrown and I think Miloslav missed one on his very first cast. A few casts later he missed another and I re instructed him on what to do for the next fish. It didn’t take long and the third one was locked! He was officially into a nice bass and loving every minute of it. The other two were having a tough time but eventually rebounded with some hook ups of their own. Miloslav on the other hand just kept beating on the fish and seemingly putting on a clinic! He landed several more good ones and the others just watched amazed.

The winds had calmed down slightly and I was planning on relocating to an area to drop shot when Peter informed me that they wanted to call the day at noon. I was surprised and a little disappointed that I hadn’t moved earlier. We finished up in this place and headed back to the ramp in lesser seas than we had come out in. It would have been a perfect drift if we had of decided to drop shot, but we were done. They had experienced some difficult conditions thanks to “Mother Nature” but we plowed right through it and won in the end. We are suppose to meet again tomorrow for a second day but somehow I think the winds may take us out. We’ll have to wait & see and with any luck, we’ll get back out and beat on many more fish. Short but sweet day on the water today!

This morning Mike & I split a group up into two boats for the day. He took the two guys and I had the two women and Lucas, a four year old boy. His mother, Kailah was also with her sister Rosie making for an interesting fishing day. We headed out just before 8:00, after a torrential down pour and right to an area to troll. Both the girls had hoped to beat the guys and I planned on making it happen! With lines set, we waited in anticipation for the first reel to fire. As usual, it didn’t take long and Rosie was into a pretty decent northern to start the day. The second fish wasn’t far behind with her sister Kailah reeling in another slightly smaller pike as well. They were already thrilled to have caught something as their last trip in Idaho saw them skunked. I can never understand how that happens! We spent several hours trolling through various setions in this zone and they managed to land high numbers of pike. As I really wanted them to catch a few walleye, I continued searching and eventually stumbled on an area that held the gold. Kailah landed the first keeper and I released it into the livewell for Lucas to view. It’s always a good idea to have a fish or two in the tank for kids to enjoy! It kept him occupied throughout the morning, looking at it many, many times. Although the fish was a nice one, I still wanted to see bigger and looped around hoping for another. The next time the reel went off, it fired hard and I knew it was a better fish. This one was the size I had hoped for and Kailah reeled in another eye that had to be returned after her pics. Several more pike later, Rosie finally got to catch one of her own and while in the net, a sescond reel screamed and she battled another one right after. This constant action went on for a long time but a bathroom break was needed so we headed back to the ramp. I figured that we would fish closer to the launch after and change it up to a deeper drop shot due to the flat calm water. High sunshine and intense heat had us under the roof all morning but it finally had to come down.

Once back, we ventured out to deeper water and I showed them how to properly fish. It was definitely difficult at first as they both missed several fish before Rosie finally boated a nice bass. Kailah wasn’t as fortunate as all her fish kept coming off the line. She even had one pinned that jumped beside the boat and threw the hook, making it more frustrating. They both definitely had their chances but despite all their efforts, only a handful of fish were landed.

The guys had called informing us that they were on their way back and wanting to end the day early. By 1:00 we were done and not a moment too soon. Thunder was heard in the distance and I knew the storm was coming. I was able to get the boat out of the water and on to the trailer before the rain even hit. Short days like these are always nice and especially when there is constant action throughout. I don’t know who won the battle but I’m pretty sure it was the girls. We may never know as the guys count was rather sketchy at best! Oh well, as long as everybody had a good time and no one got hurt! Another great day on the water filled with plenty of memories of all their fish landed. Who could ask for anything more!

Lars and his son Niels were in Montreal from Copenhagen and fishing with me for the day. They had hoped for a few new species of Canadian fish and I didn’t want to disappoint them. We headed out shortly after 7:00 and they began catching walleye & smallmouth right away. By drop shotting open water flats they were both able to land several good fish and put a few walleye in the box for their dinner tonight. They had done a house vacation exchange and were staying at someone’s home instead of a hotel, allowing them the luxury of dining on their catch. We made several drifts and once the bite slowed, we moved to another area and began it all over again. This time however they were landing mostly bass and Lars was loving it! They had never felt the power of the smallie and enjoyed each & every one of them. I assured them that there would be much larger ones landed later in the day! As with the first location, this one too slowed and I thought we would give trolling a try, looking for a larger eye.

Once we arrived, I explained what to expect and showed them a new technique. Fortunately Lars was familiar with the rod holders and needed no explanation on how to remove the rods when a fish strikes. Good thing too as it only took a couple of minutes for the first reel to fire and they were into another species. I knew we were going to be catching many northerns and didn’t bother to take pics of these as they had caught bigger ones back home. I was searching for larger walleye and eventually after several more pike, managed to get Niels into his first ever walleye. Not much different from their zander back home, but nicer looking! While we were readying for a pic, another reel fired and Lars had a big eye as well. This would definitely make for a great pic! Another species ticked off the list of Canadian fish to catch! We resumed fishing for a little longer and after several more pike, Lars finally got a shot at a much bigger walleye. This one was closer to 25 inches and I quickly took care of netting his prize. He would now have a great pic of a golden version of their zander to show everyone back home. After the release we decided to pull the plug on trolling and I prepped some rods to cast for bass. I knew they would be loving this technique too!

I arrived in an area that had been putting out some real nice fish lately and instructed them on how to work the baits. As with every new technique, it didn’t take long before Lars was battling a really nice smallmouth and much larger than the ones landed earlier on drop shot rigs. He fought this thing like a pro despite only having experienced them earlier this morning. This fish was definitely worthy of a pic and his largest so far for the day. We stayed in this area for a couple of hours, all the while catching plenty more quality bass, before heading elsewhere. I wanted to check something out that I hadn’t fished before and we all took advantage of the long run by having lunch along the way.

When I arrived we set up and Lars managed to get another species under his belt. He had landed his first ever sturgeon and although not large by my standards, it was still great by his. We moved quickly after and went back to throwing soft plastics for bass, catching many more in the process. We covered plenty of water and they caught fish everywhere we went. Both Lars & his son Niels had bent rods pretty much every time I looked over and they loved every minute of it.

With the day nearing an end, I hoped to hit a few more areas before we were done and the first one was definitely a great choice. They continued to catch piles more fish and even had a couple of doubles in the process. One last stop had me wondering why they weren’t getting bit and it didn’t take long to realize why. This last fish proved to be the icing on the cake for Lars as he battled his first ever musky to the boat. He had seen pictures of them before but now he was experiencing one first hand! The light bass tackle & tiny bait had lured this fish into eating and Lars was almost in shock. He posed for a few quick pics and the fish was released unharmed. That would be it for the day as I told them both that anything else would just be a let down!

We headed back and they were all smiles from the day they had just experienced. Lars had managed a Canadian Grand Slam, catching all new fish. Who could ask for anything more? Oh yeah, they were also going to be dining on fresh fish that they had caught during the day as well. Now that’s a vacation to remember!

I had Louis back again today and this time he brought along a couple more friends. Martin & Richard were about to experience drop shotting at it’s finest! Louis had done quite a bit of it the last time he was with me and needed no instructions. As I positioned the boat for them to begin, I saw that there was not much current where we were. I had to make several adjustments in order for them to be able to present their baits correctly. It was game on after that as everyone began hooking up. Singles, doubles and even quite a few triples were had as fish after fish came in the boat. They wanted to bring some walleye home to eat, so we dropped a few of the keepers in the livewell for them. Along with the eyes there were also several good smallies landed as well that were released afterwards. We had made numerous drifts through the area and then while positioning the boat with the kicker, it happened again. The linkage popped out of the shift cable and It was stuck in neutral once again. I had the piece replaced only a couple of days earlier and it was back out once again! I spent the next 10 minutes working on it and finally managed to pop it back in making the small engine usable once more.

We repositioned to another area to drop shot but the light winds had died off completely making drifts even more difficult. Although they managed to catch a bunch more fish in the next little while, I thought we’d mix it up a bit and do something different. As it was nearing lunch time, I headed over to an area to troll making it more relaxing for them. It was also becoming a real scorcher with the sun so I raised the roof to provide plenty of shade! With lines in I began trolling and almost immediately the first reel fired. Richard fought a nice northern to the net giving him a third species for the day. While they continued to eat, more fish ripped the drags and were brought to net. Although most of them were pike, there was one nice 23 inch walleye landed giving them a great pic of the catch. I could see that the troll was a bit of a struggle with no wind & high sun so around 1:30 or so, decided to drop the roof and go for some smallies nearby. They were all for it and we packed up and made the run to cast soft plastics for the bass. For about 90 minutes, they were into some good brownies and loving the casting bite. I had also set a dead line and managed to hook into a sturgeon that Louis battled to the boat giving him a nice slam for the day.

With only about an hour remaining in their fishing day, we decided to return to deeper water and try drop shotting once again. They had hoped to bring a few more walleye home with them and as luck would have it, put two more in the boat. They had caught several others, but they weren’t in the slot and had to be returned. Some really nice bass were also battled before we pulled the plug on the day.

This trip more than met everyone’s expectations as the numbers were off the chart today. I have no clue just how many fish they landed but I know it was a lot. In just the first three hours they had managed to battle doubles and triples hand over fist! Along with the landed fish there had to be at least as many missed as well making this one of the best days so far this season. I think the rising water temps have finally got these fish active and with almost 75 degrees showing, it can only get better! The sturgeon bite will be happening soon for the dinosaurs and Louis already has a date reserved for later in the month. He’ll be back for some more great fishing and who knows who will be joining him this time. All I know is that he’ll be wanting more after the next trip too! Another great day for fishing!

Strong and his wife were with me this morning along with their two children, Brandon & Jasmin. They didn’t have any expectations of what they were going to catch as their last guided fishing experience, yielded absolutely nothing! I can never understand how this happens and told them not to worry.

We hit the water just after 7 and raced to our first location to begin the troll. Pike & walleye were our targeted species and it didn’t take long for the first rod to be bent. Brandon got the morning started with a good keeper walleye and into the livewell it went. I was hoping to get them a few fish for dinner and we got started on the right foot! With 4 lines in, I was sure we would have a great number of fish coming aboard throughout the morning. The fish on the other hand weren’t cooperating as the next five reels to scream ended in slack lines. They just weren’t eating well and keeping them pinned wasn’t easy! We finally kept one attached but it too fell off in the net. In fact so many of them did the same for quite some time! It was very strange seeing this, but we worked through it and eventually they started eating much better. Jasmin reeled in one fish after another with a little help from her brother and had big fish for a while with her pike. Eventually her brother Brandon landed one a little bigger and the title changed. They also both landed several really good over walleye that were released after some great pics. The bite went on for the entire time we trolled but eventually I pulled the plug and switched locations. I spent the last hour of the morning drop shotting open areas looking for more action. With 4 lines in once again, we drifted over deeper water and they landed a bunch of small walleye and Brandon boated one nice smallie as well.

Time really flies when you only have a half day to fish and today went by quickly. None of them ever imagined a day of fishing having so many quality big fish! This was by far the best day they had ever had on the water and everyone left completely elated! I only hope their next experience proves to be the same as I gave them a number to call. A great guide for salmon on Lake Ontario, right near where they live.

This morning was just another great day for fishing and an even better one for landing high numbers of fish. I think summer has finally arrived and now the fish are setting up where they should have already been many weeks ago. Plenty more great days ahead!