I had the pleasure of fishing with Danial, his wife Sonia and their two girls, Gabriel & Ashly today. Their fishing experiences up until now had not been so good, but I planned on changing that to great. We hit the water shortly after 7 on a cold morning and in a pretty good east wind. As we headed out I realized most of the areas I planned to fish this morning were a wash and opted for plan B. We were going to make a long run to a location and do a little trolling instead. Although the winds weren’t all that strong, the waves in some areas were 3 foot or better. Wind against current is never good! With only a little splashing we arrived and I prepped everything to begin the troll. A quick orientation on rod removal and we were fishing. It didn’t take long for a reel to fire and Gabby was into her first northern, ever. It may have been her first but it definitely wouldn’t be her last as I expected plenty more. I had began trolling slightly deeper than usual due to the overnight cold front but soon ventured shallower and realized that the fish just weren’t very active. We had a few more rips and unfortunately they were short lived as they either weren’t there or got off shortly after hookup. The winds weren’t helping either as it was almost impossible to do an upstream troll. I covered plenty of water until I located more fish and from that point on, we had action. By mid morning, the winds had finally started to lay down and the sunshine was feeling a whole lot better than the heavy overcast we had been fishing in. Apparently the fish felt the same as they were really starting to bite much better! Reels were firing more often and the number of fish being landed was much better. Sonia even managed to get a couple of nice walleye with one over and the other a keeper. I had hoped that they would be able to bring a few of them home today and livewelled the slot fish. We trolled throughout the morning and caught plenty of fish for everyone to enjoy before switching it up.

The afternoon began with some casting over shoals for what I thought would be smallmouth bass. Amazingly enough, the first fish to come to net was another northern. Although not usual here, I wasn’t surprised! We covered the area thoroughly before moving to other shallower rocks nearby. Here too it was generally a bass spot but the first fish to arrive in the net was a walleye. It fell in the slot and immediately became livewelled for their dinner tonight. Eventually after several missed hooksets, the family began catching some bass and there were also more eyes mixed in. I remained here for a while but eventually left to fish another place I had wanted at the start of the day. The winds had dropped to almost nothing and I knew we would finally be able to dropshot the deeper rocks. It didn’t take long and Danial was boating the first fish. It was a nice keeper walleye and now they had enough fish for their dinner tonight. Shortly after, they hooked into a triple as both his daughters along with himself were with bent rods. Two walleye and a smallie were their prizes! For the next hour or so we made several drifts over different sections and someone was always hooked up. By 4:00 we ended the day and headed back to pull out. They had gone from almost always terrible fishing before to an unbelievable day of catching today. Many different techniques were used and adjustments were made throughout the day to ensure they were on fish. I’m sure they never imagined the day would turn out like this! The numbers were high and so was the quality of their catch! This may have been the first time out with me but I know it won’t be the last. Another great day of fishing!

Today I had 4 people scheduled for an afternoon trip, so I hit the water before 8, searching for other areas to fish. Although I have plenty of places, I’m always looking for more. The fish have been constantly on the move and here today, gone tomorrow! With only one body in the boat that meant only one rod out. Tough way to search open water, but I made it work. I went back looking for sturgeon once again and could only find them in suspension. Difficult to catch when they’re not on the bottom feeding! I trolled for a while after and managed to pick up pike, bass & walleye that were scattered all over the water. No real pattern there! Time flies when you’re looking and before I knew it, it was almost 11:30 and time for the pick up.

Gabe & Ben arrived when I did but Nick & George took a little longer. In fact, they didn’t get there until noon, cutting into their fishing time. It was a real scorcher of a day and with almost no wind, I decided a troll under the cover was the way to go. We headed to an area that had plenty of fish and set the lines. Or so I thought! Although the first reel did fire quickly, it took a while for the second one to go. I was covering water and not getting bit. Not being use to this, I changed up baits multiple times and depths as well. We picked at the pike but the walleye eluded us. After a couple of hours of smaller than usual northerns, I figured we’d change up and do a little deep water drop shotting. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas for us. On route to the area, I saw a storm system pushing in. This alone wouldn’t have been a problem, but I also saw lightning! I immediately headed back to the dock to wait out the storm. According to the radar, it should have moved through in about 30 minutes or so. Unfortunately there was another larger system behind it that brought torrential rain and caused us to call the day. Although we waited on shore for about 45 minutes, I eventually had to bite the bullet and put the boat on the trailer. Half days are already short but half of a half is really short! It’s too bad that the weather changed so quickly because with 4 lines in the water, I’m sure they all would have caught drop shotting the deep.We will get back out soon and hopefully the next time it won’t be for only a couple of hours. With any luck they will experience the sturgeon bite again like they did in the past. If not, at least a better day than they had today! Mother Nature Sucks!

It had been a long time since I had seen Darren’s dad Al, but the stars finally aligned today and he was back! He was scheduled to fish with us and would be at the water before 9. As we had a couple of hours to kill, Darren & I headed out early to see if we could get into a few walleye for him to take home. The winds were blowing pretty good from the SW causing a couple of foot chop and I knew it would be great for what we would be doing. Drop shotting over deeper water shoals was on the menu and it didn’t take long for the first high end keeper eye to arrive in the net. We made a few passes over the area and hooked several bass and a couple of smaller walleye before we received the call. Al must have been excited because it was only 8:00 and he was already on his way! One more drift and we were headed back to the ramp for the pick up. He had brought along Yomel for assistance as he required some aid for doing certain things now. It was great to see the smile on his face as we helped him into the boat and headed out. I had thought that trolling would be the simplest method to get him into fish but it was all but that. I spent well over an hour covering good looking water without a single touch. Although I was marking all kinds of fish, they weren’t cooperating. Eventually I was forced to pull the plug on this area and make a long to another spot that had been previously producing. I reset the lines and continued the troll and eventually found some fish. A couple of smaller pike were landed but the bite was still rather slow. The reels weren’t even going off very hard and several times I was forced to throttle down in order to pin the fish to the lures. I don’t know what was going on but I knew that if I worked through it and made some adjustments, it would get better. Well it definitely worked as the next time the reel fired it went off hard! Big Al was into a really good fish and I knew exactly what it was. I was hoping to get him a big walleye and here it was! After struggling some, it eventually came to the net and he was all smiles. Daren held it for some great pics and it was soon released to grow again. I quickly reset the lines and ran back through the same area and almost immediately, another reel fired. This time Yomel was to reel in his first ever Canadian eye. It fell right in the slot and went into the livewell immediately after. For the next several hours we scoured the area and managed to land all kinds of pike, both small & large and even another keeper walleye. Al reeled in many fish before they decided to call it a day. They wanted to beat any possible traffic so we headed back by 2:00. Al definitely enjoyed himself today and I just hope he gets back out again this season! Yomel & Al headed home and Darren & I went back out for the last couple of hours to see if we could get a few more walleye for them as well.

We decided to try more drop shotting and jigging over deep shoals and in a the short time out, managed 3 more walleye for Darren to bring to his dad. Along with the walleye there were several good smallies also boated. It was hard to leave the fish biting but by 4:30 we finally pulled the plug on the day. It was all about Al today and even Darren was surprised at how well he looked and moved around. I think Al needs to get out and do more fishing this year as today did him the world of good! He was so full of energy and excitement that he was all smiles again! All in all, everyone had a great time today!

Christine had contacted me a while back for fishing with her husband. They were on their honeymoon had been travelling to a bunch of places, including Montreal to fish. We weren’t sure about the weather but headed out regardless shortly after 7:00 A.M. in very overcast conditions. Originally there was a good chance of thunder storms but we got lucky with only a heavy downpour mid morning. It sure was nice to raise the roof during the worst of the storm!

We struggled at the start trying to dropshot with wind against current, but managed several nice fish regardless. Evan had taken a few smaiiles along with a couple of small walleye and Christine had as well. I wasn’t feeling good about this area due to the conditions and decided to try another place nearby. It was about the same with terrible movement and after several more bass, we shifted gears completely. I decided to have them both cast shallower shoals and it didn’t take long. Evan wanted to try a Japanese twitch bait that he had success on in the past and apparently the fish here liked it too! Several good bass were landed and many others lost in the next hour or so. It was right around this time that we got crushed by heavy rain and the cover went up just in time. Although it didn’t last long, it was still needed as both Christine and Evan had only a light rain jacket and would have gotten soaked. Once this system passed I thought we’d change it up completely and try a little trolling. For the next couple of hours, plenty of fish came aboard. Although mostly pike, there were a couple of good eyes landed as well. Ironically the sun was now shining and it was getting quite warm out too. The winds were still out of the east but had dropped down considerably and I decided to give the deep another try. We went back to drop shotting an area and I quickly realized it hadn’t changed much. There was no movement and we were forced to cast the rigs instead of drifting. A few small fish were landed and I moved on once again. I headed to somewhere that usually has a little bit more current but the wind was out of the east and moving us sideways. I had to get on the electric just to keep us vertical and it wasn’t easy. Although they did have several bites, most of the fish were missed. They did however manage to get a couple of nice bass before we ended the day.

We had been dealt all kinds of different conditions today but managed to overcome the challenges, successfully. I would have preferred a little more wind from the right direction, but that wasn’t to be! Light winds from the east were enough to stall the boat almost like we were anchored. By trolling and casting different baits over many areas, they managed to land a bunch of good fish and have a great day. The cover during the rain was just a bonus, but we were sure glad to have it! Overall a pretty good day!

Chuck & Linda were with me today for another action packed outing! They were in from Louisiana and wanted to catch some Canadian fish. They definitely did, and it didn’t take long to hook up on their first one. We were drifting in big waves while drop shotting and Chuck locked up on a really nice bass. This was his first northern smallie but it wasn’t going to be his last. Soon after, Linda also managed to set into one of her own and it was game on. These winds made standing a little difficult but the fishing was definitely on fire. Each drift yielded multiple fish and they had a good mix going on. Bass, walleye, pike, perch and even a sauger managed to come aboard. They had taken a trip on Lake Eerie a few days earlier and Mother Nature shut them down with big winds, not allowing them to catch anything. Today however, they were making up for it! It was payback time and they were getting even! For most of the morning they just pounded on the fish, catching one after the other. The winds even laid down a bit allowing them to actually stand while fighting most of their fish. They were definitely in their glory fighting one after the other. They even managed a couple of doubles that made for great pics! All good things must come to an end and this was no exception. Eventually the bite died and we were forced to relocate to another area of the lake and start all over.

Trolling was up next and I was about to show them something they had never seen before. As I readied the rods I explained what would happen and now they were trying something totally different. This wasn’t anything that they had ever done and they were anxious to see it in action. With lines in, I began covering water and right on cue, a reel fired. Chuck was officially sold as he began to battle the first northern on the troll. There were many more to come too! As fast as I released the fish, another reel screamed and he was beginning to see just why this was so effective. Fish after fish were ripping lines and they were catching one after the other. I really wanted to get them into a big eye and covered all the right stuff trying to make it happen. At one point, he did have a really good one on the line that we all saw, but somehow it came unpinned right beside the boat. We reset the line and continued our quest for another and after several more pike, he did manage to bring a nice one aboard. Although not as big as the previous one, it was still quality and made for a great pic. We continued catching plenty more pike before eventually pulling the plug and returning for bass.

I relocated once again but this time they were casting baits over shoals and Chuck got right back in the game. Several decent smallies were hooked into and one of them was a really good one worthy of another pic. Linda had a few hits, but for some reason wasn’t able to hook up. I had every intention of returning to drop shot at the end of the day but unfortunately it was cut a little short by the weather. We could see a storm system moving in and had to make a run back to the dock through a downpour, in order to miss it. We were greeted with sunshine on the other side and I knew it was the right decision!

There was no lack of fish today as they both managed to catch a boatload of quality. They even had enough walleye for a great dinner tonight! They were camping nearby and would be dining on some great eating walleye after a tremendous day of fishing. Something tells me that I might be seeing them again this year as talk of a return trip in September was mentioned. They would come back for another multi species day and a shot at some of those giant sturgeon. One thing for sure, there are plenty of memories from today along with a ton of pics to give them the incentive. Great times were had by all today!