Giovanni was with me this morning all the way from the land down under! I wanted desperately to hook him up for sturgeon but the winds had gone big overnight and I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to get the anchor to hold. After many attempts at trying in several different locations, we had to go to plan B instead. It just wasn’t happening! We raced over to deep water and I started him out with a drop shot rig while I prepped a few other rods. His first fish was a nice smallie and also his first ever. Being from Australia he had only seen them in magazines and on fishing shows. He couldn’t believe the power they had and was thrilled to finally have one on the line. We shot a bunch of pics and released it back to grow. Giovanni wasn’t into keeping anything until I mentioned to him how good the walleye were. He asked if it would be possible to catch one and I just  laughed! I told him that if he wanted to take a limit home to his sister’s place they could all enjoy a great meal. There were at least 8 mouths to feed and he looked forward to catching his first walleye. It didn’t take long to start getting into them and in no time, there was a limit in the livewell for him to enjoy tonight. I had switched rigs and he was tossing something else and getting plenty of bites. The hooking up was the tough part in this wind and we had to really pay attention to the light bites. I moved around a lot and switched baits constantly to continue catching fish. this went on until about 2:00 when thoughts of another move back to the sturgeon occurred. The winds had switched slightly to a NW and lightened up slightly. We both agreed and ran over there to finish up the day. Luckily the anchor did hold, but unfortunately we never got bit. The gobies beat up the baits pretty good and even with several moves to get away from them, they still tormented us to death. We pulled the plug before 5:00, a little disappointed but glad of the day we had. One big fish would have been the icing on the cake but the overall success on the bass & walleye was still great. Giovanni left with a couple of new species checked off his list and a limit of walleye for his dinner tonight. I’m sure they’ll all love eating the Walters & wishing they had more!!

This was the third and final day this week that Doc was with me and I wasn’t sure what to expect. He had caught some big fish the last couple of days. Could he manage more this time out? The weather was suppose to get bad before mid day with rotating winds from several directions, ending in a big SE. I didn’t want to wait for them to arrive so I headed out in hopes of more big fish. As usual, we set up and waited for one of these sturgeon to bite. Although it did take a little while longer this morning, we got bit. Doc was locked up on another giant and loving every minute of it! I don’t think it jumped but the fight was really a strong battle that lasted almost 10 minutes once again. Another average fish was soon netted, photographed and immediately released.  We were officially on the board! We went right back it and baited up one more time in hopes of something larger. The conditions were almost perfect with flat calm and overcast skies but for some reason the fish didn’t seem very active. Right about the time I was about to relocate, I felt a pick up and was tight to another good one. Doc was really getting to like fighting these things and enjoyed the aerials as much as the hard fights. Who doesn’t like big heavies? After about 5 minutes or so, we were able to get it into the net and a quick release was made. Doc already had plenty of big fish pics and this was just another average one. I decided to relocate and found some fish further away, dropping anchor once again. This time when the rod dipped, Doc was into a catfish. It may not have been a big one but it was definitely one of the nicest looking ones. Several shots and another release. We managed to get a few other fish during the morning that included a bass, a walleye and another big, ugly cat. After lunch sometime, Doc saw the rod on his side getting bit and lifted with a firm hookset. In the beginning it was fighting alright and then it turned and began taking line like it wasn’t going to stop. I had to unpin the anchor rope and drift down in order to regain some of the lost line. Even at this, it was still ripping it off the reel pretty good. I had thoughts of a fouled fish but wasn’t sure. When it finally breached, I realized why. It was large and definitely hooked properly. This was an epic battle that took almost 15 minutes . I filmed it for Doc in hopes of another jump, but it never happened. I did get some good coverage of the fish alongside the boat and it was really long! Eventually I netted it and we brought in aboard for more pics. Doc wanted to measure the fish and had brought along an IGFA ruler just for this reason.  We couldn’t believe its length and it had a really good girth as well. Definitely the one we wanted to complete his three days of giants. Doc shot all kinds of pics showing its size in hopes of submitting it to IGFA for a release record. We also took several pics for us after and released it back with difficulty. It was really heavy! In hindsight, we should have pulled the plug, but we reset the lines instead. In the next hour or so we had plenty of false strikes and possible a real one or two but came up empty. When we finally decided to leave, it was because of the weather. The rain was starting to come in and I headed to a bass & walleye spot to finish up the day. We pounded on the fish here and Doc managed to get into some really nice smallies as well as quality eyes before we ended the day. The rain had been on & off and fell hard at times but we endured. In fact we had endured all three days of excellent fishing on this mix up week. What had been scheduled for one type of fishing had turned out better than he could have expected. He not only got to catch something different for a change but they were giants! He also had a blast catching all kinds of bass & walleye each day as we winded down from the big heavies. I know he will want more the next time he’s here and with any luck, I’ll have another day or two available for him to fish. Perfect conditions and an excellent end to his confused week of fishing!!

Iliya & Pasha were with me this morning on yet another beautiful day. They really didn’t care if they caught anything, so I brought them to Jurassic Park for a few dinosaurs! Pasha battled the first fish and it was a beast. It jumped a couple of times and really pulled line. As many times as he reeled it to the boat, it took him back out every time. This battle lasted close to 15 minutes before we were able to bring it to net. When I Did, I informed him that the easy part was over and now it was time for the difficult task of holding it for the pics. He struggled to lift it from the tarp after it crapped all over the damn thing and left skid marks over itself too. Quite the messy ordeal! Eventually he did manage to hold it for a few shots but due to the angle, they were all belly photos. This fish was fat! After the release Ilyia was up next and he somehow managed to land a juvenile sturgeon under ten pounds. We tossed it back and he was still up due to the fact that it was a whole lot smaller than his friends earlier. The next fish was another giant and now Pasha had the last laugh as he got to watch someone else endure the pain he had before. I think this fish was landed in under 10 minutes but between the jumps and line ripping, it felt like more to Ilyia. They had both managed to land really big fish and I decided to take them for something smaller to be able to bring home. We hit another walleye area and almost immediately after an instruction they were both locked up. They had never caught walleye before and I explained to them how good they were to eat. They pounded on them for the remaining part of an hour and released most after they had one limit. They started the day out by thinking they wouldn’t catch anything and both managed to land huge fish as well as some for the table. We called it a day before noon and I took them back to await my afternoon customer. Something tells me that after today I might just be seeing more of Ilyia as he resides in Montreal. Pasha however lives in Russia and the only time I’ll see him again is the next time he comes to visit. Either way, everyone had a great time and I’m sure I will see them both sometime in the near future!

Doc was my afternoon client and after yesterday, we hoped for even bigger! He had fought and landed some good fish but I really wanted him to tangle with something larger today. Not the best conditions or time of the day but we headed out in pursuit of even one big bite. We arrived to find that the conditions hadn’t changed, but it had gotten even hotter. Thank god for the top or we would have suffered more than we did! Immediately after the lines were in the water, the cover went up. Finally, shade! I knew it was going to be difficult but had the confidence to stick it out in the chance that we would tangle with another giant. Plenty of goby bites had me monitoring the lines, checking them often. We moved a couple of times as well to get back on the fish as all we had to show for our efforts were false strikes. Eventually our wait was rewarded when I felt the fish pick up the bait and raised the rod to lock it up. We were on and Doc was about to land his largest fish yet! It acted kind of strange for a while with just dead weight and not much movement. This is usually a sign of something epic in size! Doc muscled it up and it went right back down. It was like trying to lift a heavy anchor. When it finally realized it was hooked, the line took off. Although I expected the fish to jump, it never really left the water. It just stayed under the boat going from one side to the other, causing Doc to do the sturgeon shuffle around the two motors. This went on for at least ten minutes before we caught a glimpse of what he was dealing with. It was not only large, but it was oh so long! I hoped it had the girth to go with the length and once in the net, I realized that it did. Definitely his personal best! We had quite the ordeal with the taking of the pics but somehow managed to get a bunch of good ones before the release. Slimed and exhausted Doc washed up while I reset the lines, hoping for another. Later on after multiple drive byes, I felt another bite and locked her up solid. Doc took the rod and proceeded to do battle with another monster. It acted a lot like the last one with docile movements but plenty of weight. Runs were short  but heaviness was on the other end of the rod throughout the entire battle. Just like the previous fish, this one hung under the boat most of the time with the exception of a few long runs. No jumps but several line rises making us think she was about to breach. After what seemed like 15 minutes, Doc finally brought it up for us to see. It was equally as long as his first one but much wider! He steered it towards me and it was ours. I wasn’t looking forward to getting her in the boat and didn’t know how Doc was going to manage to hold it for pics. I literally had to pick it up and place it in his hands, on his lap. Damn near threw my back out doing it too! Even at that, Doc was struggling as he never really got a good hold on the fish. I shot quickly in fear of the fish moving and after many good pics, we both heaved it over the side & back into the water. This was a beast and topped the first fish earlier, considerably! We were done here and cleaned everything up, heading for much smaller fish to end the day. We fished bass & walleye for about an hour and boated many of them before calling it quits at 5:00. What an unbelievable afternoon of fishing in some of the worst conditions, but we got it done. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring but it’s gonna be tough to top today. Regardless, we’ll be there giving it a try. Who knows, maybe he’ll tangle with one even bigger! Tough act to follow but I guess anything’s possible!

Mark, AKA Doc was with me today due to a scheduling error. What was supposed to be a regular musky week with another person, ended with as a mix up in the dates. With plenty of time on his hands and me a couple of free days this week, we hooked up for some big fish action. Although he had caught sturgeon before out west, they weren’t the giants that some of those rivers produce. He was anxious to tangle with a few of these river monsters! We left the dock shortly after 7 and headed to our first stop in hopes of a hookup. With lines set, all we had to do now was wait. The anticipation is half the fun because you really never know just how big the fish will be until you finally get bit. Well, we did just that and Doc was tight to a good starter fish, as I call them! He was now feeling the power of these prehistoric dinosaurs and loving every minute of it. When it finally jumped we saw exactly what he was dealing with and knew what to expect. A long, lean male was what he had and they generally fight the hardest. Their torpedo like shape allows them to maneuver better than the big fat females and battle much harder. He fought it like every big fish he fights and he’s fought plenty over the years all over the world! Eventually he brought it boat side and I was able to get it in the net. There’ll be no skunk in the boat today! I could tell when I lifted the net in the boat that it wasn’t too heavy and Doc posed for several pics before a release.  We went right back at it and not long after he was into another fish. This time however, it was coming in easier and I knew it wasn’t a sturgeon. He had a kitty on the line and a good one at that. A few more pics of the cat, another release and we were back at it once again. The next fish dock reeled down on turned out to be one of those large ones that I had been hoping for. It was all muscle and gave Doc a run for his money. Long, hard pulls and heaviness was what he was dealing with as he tried to bring this thing in. When it finally jumped, it was way out there and he got a great view of his giant. The battle lasted all of 10 minutes with another couple of jumps along the way. As with the first fish, he fought it great and I was able to land it without any problem. He may have ended the fight but the hard part was just about to begin! Now he had the job of holding it for the pictures and that wasn’t going to be easy. Big and slippery were two of the hardest things to deal with, when taking photos. We somehow managed to prop it in his hands and I got a bunch of great shots before launching it back in the water. Exhausted, slimy and a little sore, he was ready for the next one! We had been dealing with flat calm and hot, humid temps so the top had to go up! What a difference when you’re in the shade! I set the lines once again and made a move or two, but wasn’t getting bit. As it was nearing lunch time I decided to give it only a couple more minutes before I’d move again and we’d eat lunch. Well that didn’t happen! Just before noon Doc reared back on what seemed to be a decent fish and the fight was on. This one was larger than the previous one by the way it was pulling and Doc almost got a rude awakening while fighting it. He was pumping it to the boat when it decided to launch itself at us about three feet from the back corner. We both thought it was coming in! After last week’s experience, I really didn’t want another. It sounded directly to the bottom and Doc pumped it back three or four times in a tug of war. Many long runs and another jump, fortunately further from the boat and it was finally tiring. It looked so huge swimming alongside the boat when I netted the monster. Doc had trouble holding the last one but this one was gonna be even worse! I prepped everything and somehow managed to bring it in the boat, with difficulty I might add. I had to give Doc a hand lifting it up and we both had a hard time with the fish being so strong. Once propped, I shot fast as we didn’t know how long we had. The release wasn’t pretty but we got it done and the fish swam off quickly. We really needed a break now and after getting the lines back in, we ate lunch! I was hoping for one more bite and after quite some time, we got it. I think this fish fought the hardest and it never jumped. The battle was long and hard and lasted the longest. This fish may not have been the largest but it was long, lean and another hard fighting male. After a bunch more pics, we agreed to go fish for something smaller. A long run to open water had us on the fish immediately as I instructed Doc on what to do. Once he got the hang of it, he put on a clinic! I wanted him to take a few walleye home for dinner and started fishing with him, but that soon ended. He was boating fish hand over fist and of all sizes. Shortly after 4 we called it and headed to take out. He had landed several huge, hard fighting fish and finished off with dinner fish. He would be dining well tonight! I will be seeing him back tomorrow afternoon as well as Thursday of this week due to openings and hope the fishing is as good. I know he will be anxiously awaiting a return as well. Great day all around!!