Day two in the quest for big fish saw us on a different body of water, targeting smallmouth. I wanted to have both of them land fish in excess of five pounds and had plenty of places to try. We were faced with the dreaded cold morning once again but this time it would hopefully work in our favor. With water temps between 55 and 64 degrees, it really had the fish spread out. I headed to a fairly shallow area to begin and instructed them on how to fish the twitch baits they were using. Once I was satisfied that they had it down, we moved in to the zone. Howard was working the bait pretty good and had the first take on it as well. Although not the trophy we were looking for, the 3.5 pounder was still a welcome treat on the light tackle. He immediately went back to fishing once the bass was landed and not long after had an even bigger one on the line. This time it was over 4.5 pounds and things were looking up! After a great fight, I was able to slide the net under her and he finally had a fish worthy of pics. In the next couple of hours Howard managed to have several more on, landing most. He even had another 4.5 pound smallie to add to the one he caught earlier in the morning. As I had live welled them, he was able to get a few nice double pics before being released back to this area. Andrew wasn’t as lucky with his fishing and only managed to land one small bass just under 2 pounds. Although they both had several more follows, I decided to pull the plug when the sun appeared. The overcast skies had given us the advantage but now our presence was known and all we could do was watch the fish swim. I made a long run and decided that they were going to continue with the same baits. In the next place, both of them hooked up almost immediately but too much pressure was applied and both fish were gone. I think Andrew was the only one to land anything here but Howard had his chances too. Light line and tiny hooks require finesse but too much pressure caused early releases! We kept moving and I stayed pretty shallow hoping for quicker action, but only a handful of fish were caught. I had wanted to try deeper and headed to another area a little further away to give it a try. They dropped down to the abyss and once they got back in the groove, the games began. After several misses, they hooked up in tandem and both good fish. A couple of four pound bookends came aboard and were put back quickly due to the pressure change. At these depths, you don’t want to keep them out too long as fizzing would be required. We stuck it out in the deep for the balance of the afternoon with only incidental fish here & there. I think more fish were lost than landed as it proved difficult for them to keep tension on the rods. We ended with a fish Andrew landed and called it a day. Although no fives were caught, they still had a fair share of quality bites and Howard managed another personal best, twice! Tomorrow I think I just might take them back for more sturgeon action. Who knows, maybe they’ll get another personal best one more time!!

Howard & his son Andrew were with me all the way from Virginia for three days looking for personal bests. They said they were up for anything so I planned on giving them everything! They had also brought a cold front with them and we began the first day with air temps below 50 degrees. Maximum water temps were 66 degrees and warmer than the highest air temps for the day. Along with the cool air we had major cloud cover and winds from the NE blowing 10 to 20 knots. Not ideal conditions to say the least! Two days before, I had 71 degree water and over 70 degree air to fish in, but that was all gone now! I started in an area trolling for pike & walleye and after about 90 minutes we had only a handful of fish to show for our efforts. Although Andrew did manage to land a really nice walleye of 5 pounds and his personal best, I wasn’t satisfied and decided to switch gears completely. We headed elsewhere and targeted the sturgeon for several hours, in hopes of a few big bites. Well as luck would have it, they both managed to land monsters and a few hours resulted in most of the day. We stuck it out here as this seemed like the smartest thing to do. These fish were somewhat active and we were hooking up every half hour or so. Never leave fish to find fish is my motto and I wasn’t about to change it today! About mid afternoon I needed to show them a technique for the second day of fishing and thought it would be a good idea to orient them. We relocated to another area and I instructed them on drop shotting the depths. We were over smallies and walleye and I knew someone would catch a few fish while class was in session! It was a little tricky with boat positioning due to the wind direction and this made feeling the bottom for them difficult as well. Eventually everything fell into place and they were able to fish correctly. So much so that they both missed a few bites before Andrew finally locked up on his first deep water bass. He followed it up with a walleye and gained the confidence he needed, when adjusting his line over various depths. Although Howard didn’t land anything here, he at least had the basic knowledge for tomorrow. We would be fishing much deeper water and feeling the bottom properly was an absolute necessity. As the day was getting on, I thought I would drop the lines back in and try another troll in hopes that the fish were more active. Due to the windy conditions and direction it was blowing, my biggest nemesis was to be the floating weeds. They were everywhere and constant cleaning of the lines was needed to ensure the lures remained free of them. It took a while but we eventually got to an area that produced a triple header. All three rods went off simultaneously and they were locked! To my amazement they were all different in species. They had caught a bass, walleye & pike from the same general area. A little while later we had another double and two walleye came aboard. Although we weren’t crushing them like I had hoped, we were picking at them and that was alright. As Howard still hadn’t caught a big walleye, I combed the area for a while searching for larger eyes. Eventually a deep line went off and I knew he had exactly what we were after. A good walleye about 4.5 pounds was soon in the net and his personal best too! We trolled a little longer and only had one small walleye which I found attached while bringing in the lines. The weeds were just a pain in the butt to have to contend with and I decided to call it a day. They had experienced a pile of different things today and tomorrow would be the same. Different lake, different techniques and hopefully bigger fish. I would be heading somewhere looking for personal best smallmouth for them. Today Howard had landed one about 3.5 pounds and thought that was great. It was also his biggest, but I knew he would get bigger! This was a great starter day for them and with any luck, it would only get better. Another great day for fishing!!

Alyssa was with me this morning for a real multi species fishing day! We met just after 7:30 on the coolest morning since way back in May. Air temps had dipped down below 50 degrees overnight and the winds were blowing 10 to 15 knots from the NW when we launched. Extra clothing was definitely required for the run to our first location! I had brought everything but the kitchen sink for today’s outing as I wanted her to catch a pile of different species. First up were pike & walleye and we trolled a lot of water, monopolizing on aggressive biters. With the water temps hovering around 68.5 degrees, I knew some of them would barely make a sound and was ready for the slightest click on the reels. Her first fish was a healthy northern of 7 pounds and a few more in the same range were soon to follow. Along with the pike, she also managed to catch four walleye that would be travelling around with us throughout the day. They were definitely going to be on the menu for her to enjoy! Floating weeds were the biggest issue here as the high winds from yesterday had them all over the area I wanted to fish. Eventually I just relocated to another section of the lake in hopes of clearer water to troll. As luck would have it, the surface had only a fraction of what I had dealt with and I was glad for our decision to move. Once the lines were in, I realized that the water temps were even cooler over here and at 66.5 degrees, searched for slightly warmer. We trolled up many pike while I tried to find higher water temps and ironically, no walleye. I had a concentration of fish holding in a small area that saw almost 70 degrees and worked it pretty hard. Along with the pike, she also managed a largemouth bass and a small musky. It looked like everything except walleye were using this area today! As I didn’t want to wear her out too early in the day, I informed her that we were going to fish for the big ones last. Once she had her fill of all these smaller fish, I pulled the lines and re rigged for the beasts! Sometime around 1:00 we hit the sturgeon zone and I set up in hopes of a quick bite. Well she got her wish as I don’t think we were there for 5 minutes when she was into her first fish. I could tell by the way she was able to control it that this wasn’t the one I wanted her to experience. Although fun, it was below the average size I was use to seeing and after only 5 minutes, I netted her catch. It was still big, just not big enough! I took several pics and she released the fish before we went back to the waiting game once again. This time it did take a little longer to get bit but when she hooked up, I knew this was the one I wanted her to see. After the initial run, it decided to take to the air and now I had a confirmation, it was giant! For the next ten minutes or so, it was going to be a struggle for her as the fight would be intense. She fought it like a champ and managed to get it boat side in record time. It did however take everything she had, but it was worth it! When she finally got a visual, I don’t think she could believe her own eyes. I even had a hard time getting it into the net as it remained straight instead of curling in the mesh. I really need to get a bigger net! Once aboard, I had to sit Alyssa down and place the fish in her arms for the pictures. There was no way she would be able to do this standing and she wanted pics. Ironically, the only one tired after the battle was Alyssa, as she slid the fish over the rail and it disappeared back to the abyss. I gave her the option to try for another, but she declined and we moved on in search of smaller fish for her to battle. I dropped the lines in and trolled the area that had produced this morning, only to get bit from pike again. I had forgotten just how bad the floating weeds were and didn’t remain here for long. One more stop along our way back had similar success and by 3:00 we called it a day. She had managed to get 5 different species of fish today and topped it off with a couple of beasts. One in particular nearly took her out! It was definitely the largest thing she had ever landed and I’m pretty sure it will be the topic of conversation for quite a while. It was definitely a great day for fishing with the best saved for last. Sort of like icing on the cake!!

After a couple of successful days musky fishing with a buddy of mine, I wanted more! I was hooking up with a father & son this morning and would give it another try. Bryn & his dad had celebrated milestone birthdays recently and were given a fishing day as their present. Today they would experience something that neither of them had ever done and were really looking forward to some big fish. Before setting out on the water we had discussed the game plan and walleye would not be on the agenda. Bryn’s dad had caught his fair share and due to their fighting ability, we crossed them off the list. We started trolling musky for about an hour & a half hoping for a rip, but never had a touch. Although I did mark a few that resembled what we were searching for, they just refused to move on the baits. Knowing what I had seen the past two days and the tiny windows for feeding, I decided to pull the plug and try for something else. We rigged up for the dinosaurs and headed to a new place where I had marked them the last time out. Once the lines were in the water we waited patiently with many monsters showing both on the sonar as well as in the air. They were excited! I was pretty sure we would score but was beginning to wonder when it would happen. It was well over an hour with plenty of moving before Bryn finally hooked into one. Although they had both been locked up briefly before, this one stayed pinned and Bryn was about to feel the burn. The fight lasted a while before we finally saw bubbles and I knew it was nearing the end. I had forgotten the big net this morning and was forced to use the smaller one just for their head. A glove would be used to tail the sturgeon in order to bring them aboard but the mesh would definitely help too. When a visual finally appeared, they freaked! To me it was on the smaller side but still large. To them it was a monster and Bryn’s personal best. After several pics we released the fish and resumed our fishing. A couple more fish were briefly hooked into but disappointment followed. Eventually Bryn’s dad locked up and this one was big. We knew this because she took to the air directly in front of us with a spectacular aerial leap. The battle lasted for a while and his dad fought it like a champ! I used the same landing method and eventually brought her aboard for all to see. It was much thicker than the earlier one Bryn had caught and quite a bit heavier too. His dad posed for several shots and we returned his prize soon after. She immediately bolted back to the bottom no worse for wear. I mentioned smallmouth fishing and both agreed that they were ready for something a little smaller. We covered lots of water and caught them scattered all over the flats on mostly soft plastics. Most of the fish were on the smaller side with the largest almost 4 pounds. After a couple of hours of this I was ready for another move to our next spot. I told them that we had to go by the sturgeon area to get there and asked if they wanted to make a quick stop before. Without hesitation, they both agreed and we were back at the giants in no time flat. The winds were out of the east a bit more now, making boat positioning more difficult. It really wanted to twist us sideways and I had to make many adjustments just to remain straight. This time however, it didn’t take long to hook into the first fish and Bryn was battling another giant. Three minutes into the fight, the hook pulled out and she was gone. The same thing happened a few more times by both before Bryn latched onto another and this one stayed on. The battle lasted longer than his earlier one this morning and I knew it was much larger too. When the fish finally came to the surface, I regretted not having the big net again. With a little struggle we were able to get it done though and Bryn had his personal best once more. This one was the largest of the day & was more difficult to hold, so his dad got into the shot. I think those pics will be being enlarged somewhere in their house! We resumed fishing quickly after the release and managed to lose a couple more before calling it a day. Bryn had another one on for almost 5 minutes before the line just popped and it too was lost. The musky may not have cooperated this morning but the sturgeon surely did. We decided quickly that the main focus was going to be on these beasts and had plenty of shots at them throughout the day. We even left them biting at the end! I’m sure that today will remain in their minds for quite some time. There’s no better way to spend a day fishing than with a family member. Today’s father & son duo was living proof as the two birthdays were combined to become one great fishing experience. Another great day for fishing!!

Stephan & his girlfriend Sylvie were with me this morning for a mixed day on the water. First cool start to the season since May had me layering up for the run and loving it. Hopefully all the boat traffic will be pulling out soon as it’s been a real zoo out there this year! After Stephan’s last trip, he wanted to try for sturgeon again and I headed to the hole hoping for a quick bite. It was a little rougher than I like with winds from the SW at 10 knots or better, but I’d give it a try. Well the quick bite didn’t happen and we had to wait well over an hour until he finally hooked up. I could tell by the battle that it was larger than the one he had landed on a previous trip and waited for the visual sighting. Several minutes later we got a glimpse and I was right, it was big! I netted her and hoisted it into the boat only to have her blow a hole through the mesh when she started kicking. When that pointed nose pushed through it kept going and now she was making it even bigger. Somehow I managed to pull her back and save them both, with only a little repair needed on the net. Stephan struggled to get a hold of the fish for the pics and she crapped all over the carpet in the process. What a nice mess as it resembled something a baby would have done! In the end he almost bear hugged her just to stop the struggle and allow me to snap a few quick shots. Once done she was returned and swam off none the worse for wear. We resumed fishing and waited quite a while again. The next bite was instant power followed by nothing on the end of the line. Damn I hate when that happens! Sometime later, another bite and after about three minutes, gone again. As the winds were getting stronger, I decided to pull the plug on these fish and try for another species. Musky were the next target and we made a long run to where we were to set the lines and troll. With these creatures there’s never a guarantee that you’ll get bit but they were wanting to give it a shot nonetheless. I soon found out why when after 15 minutes, they were both fast asleep! It was so quiet that even a bird decided to join us on the boat. I guess her little wings were tired being all the way out in the middle of the lake. We officially had a mascot on board and that could only be good luck, right? I continued the troll and the bird rested for almost 20 minutes before flying off. Another 20 later, so did we! I pulled the plug here and switched it up again elsewhere and for a different species once more. I was going trolling for walleye and pike and three minutes in, the first reel fired. While landing the pike, another one went off and we had a double. I think we can call it a triple as a third one fired as well before I could get the second one in the net! Wow, talk about quick bits! I figured we were just going to crush them after this, but I was wrong. Although we picked at them for the next hour, that was all we did. Eventually it seemed like the winds had calmed down a bit and we agreed to go back and try for more sturgeon again. Although a little lighter, they were still pretty bad and it made detecting the subtle bites quite difficult. In the next couple of hours we had four more bites with two of them staying on for several minutes. Unfortunately the outcome was all bad as every one of them came unpinned. Fishing for these giants is like a disease as the more you catch, the more you want. We called it here and made one last stop in an area along the way back to see if we could hook a couple of walleye. Not long after I set the lines a reel fired and I knew Stephan had the targeted species. When I netted it, another reel fired and he had his own double as Sylvie was on the phone. In less than a minute there were two walleye swimming in the well and they had dinner for tonight. We pulled the plug about 5 minutes later when I just got fed up of two other boats that saw the net come out. Again I had leeches that just had to fish on top of me! Our take out was extended a bit when we arrived back at the launch, as we had to rescue two overturned kayaks nearby. A family of three were enjoying a leisure afternoon on the water when the father & his son flipped out of their two boats. After a little struggle, we were finally able to get them both on board as well as the smaller kayak. The father’s kayak had to be towed, but it all ended well. At least they had PFD’s on and at 73 degrees, the water wasn’t too cold. I returned them to the dock, pulled out and we were on our way. Stephan & his girlfriend had a decent day on the lake catching a bunch of different species and were taking home dinner too. Who could ask for anything more? Great ending to the day as well!!