Today was Darren’s first trip of the season and what a way to begin. We met up about 7:30 and hit the water quickly before the crowds arrived. As this was the weekend and the weather was spectacular, I anticipated the ramp to become insane! It was already 70 degrees and sunshine was forecasted throughout the day. Air temps would also get into the 80’s and that would draw the crowds for sure. I decided to set the lines not too far from where we began and soon after we had our first walleye in the boat. Although not a large one, definitely a keeper! Darren wanted to take about three home and this one was the perfect size. We didn’t stay long here and soon ran to another area much further away, after catching only one. I hadn’t fished it this season and had an idea it was going to be loaded. Water levels were so high that I found myself trolling inside my waypoints & icons to get bit. Here we had a mix of pike & walleye and once I found the key area, it was game on! The pike were looking real healthy from their spawn and getting quite thick. The walleye ranged from 3 to 5 plus pounds and were also looking great. After things slowed, I decided to give another place a try and it too was loaded. Once gain Darren was into fish immediately and it seemed like every three to five minutes at least one reel would fire. Many times too, both would go off simultaneously! Although I was targeting walleye, it was nice to see so many good sized pike in the mix. We remained here for quite a while as the fish just wanted to eat. Never leave fish to find fish! By now Darren had his three walleye in the livewell and although we could have legally harvested a dozen, the rest were released to fight another day. By mid afternoon I was beginning to have to work much harder to get the bites and decided to relocate once again. I tried a couple of reefs to see if we could drum up a few more fish before we called it a day. After getting a couple more of each species, we pulled the lines and headed back. Boat traffic was at its peak and waves were from every direction despite no wind. Dog pecker knats and caddis flies were also in full force making sitting next to impossible. His appetite to fish was definitely satiated today, with high numbers of quality fish. Today was really, "A great Day For Fishing"!!

Ron and Pablo were with me this morning and hoping for great action. They weren’t sure if the day would even happen as weather forecasts called for big winds. Fortunately that was yesterdays report and today it was a little lighter. We still had a 10 to 20 knot blow from the W and waves in the 2 to 3 foot range though! This made boat control difficult at times and staying on my icons somewhat challenging. We hit the water at 8:30 and it didn’t take long before Pablo was into a fish. He had contacted a northern and was happy to have gotten the first one. Although not that large, it was a start. Ron hit the next one and this time he was battling a nice 3 pound walleye in the big waves. After resetting the lines, Ron hooked into another heavy fish. I figured pike again and in these rollers it felt a whole lot bigger. They didn’t care what they were catching as long as they were locked up. I had placed only one rod in the holder as they wanted to hold the other two and feel the strikes. Line counters were what we started with but after an equipment malfunction, I switched them to spinning rods. Obviously it didn’t matter as they still continued to land fish. Pike & walleye were being caught every few minutes as long as I stayed on the mark. Water temps were still a little cool for this time of year and holding around 60 degrees. Air temps were mid 60’s but felt colder with the strong winds. A lack of sunshine had the fish pinned to the bottom and making contact was the only way for us to get bit. We were scheduled for a half day of fishing and held out until 1:00 before heading in. Fortunately not before Pablo landed his biggest pike of 8 pounds and Ron a rather large walleye. In just a little over 4 hours they had battled plenty of fish and had a great time doing it too. Considering the previous weather forecast, they were quite happy with the outcome! I’m sure they’ll be back for more, sometime soon!!

I was back out this morning with Reda & his dad for another mixed bag day. They were also joined by Guillaume allowing me to run a four rod spread. Overnight temps were chilly and I knew the morning wouldn’t be the best time of the day. Water temps were around 57 degrees and the bite started slow. We had to resort to working soft plastics on the bottom to entice the few fish that wanted to eat. Several walleye and perch were caught, along with a couple of incidentals. When the skies finally cleared the clouds away and sunshine was upon us, I switched gears completely. We were going for pike as that was what they had requested. Unlike the usual method however, they chose to cast instead. It took a little longer to locate them this way but when I finally did it was game on! In just a couple of hours they managed to land plenty of post spawners and had a bunch of others follow or just get off. They also managed to hook into and land a sturgeon that would have gone about 20 pounds. Sometime in the afternoon they took break and I set up offshore for the troll. It didn’t take long before the first reel went off and Guillaume was bringing in the reward. It was a nice walleye over 5 pounds and well worth a photo before the release. Back to the troll we went and about ten minutes later another reel fired. It was a clone of the first. Guillaume managed to land the two largest walleye of the day in less than 15 minutes of trolling. I can only imagine what the outcome would have been had they chosen to troll earlier! The skies weren’t looking too good so I decided to get a little closer to the boat ramp in case of a storm. I had checked the radar and noticed that we were directly in the path of some rain and wanted a quick escape should it become electrical. We set up in a few areas I had nearby and drifted jigs over a flat. Many more fish were taken in the last couple of hours with this method and the rain stayed minimal. One more quick troll to see if we missed any fish and one pike & a walleye later we opted to pull out. They had caught their fir share of fish and were taking a few perch & walleye home for dinner. Despite a rather slow start, they ended with a bang. Overall it was a great day to be out and amazingly enough, the boat traffic was light. I can only hope for more days like this one in the weeks to come. The fishing will only get better as the water warms and high number days will be the norm!!

Today was going to be a really interesting one with a road trip planned. Bobby had requested a day on his lake up north and I immediately agreed. I didn’t have to haul my boat up there either and looked forward to fishing a new body of water for trout. I found out that there wasn’t even a lake map and had to rely on past knowledge of other trout lakes. With fly rods readied, we hit the water with an open mind and ran to our starting location. It was an inlet where I figured the bait would run to spawn, with a quick drop to deep water nearby. We set two deep lines and one shallow long line and right on cue, the deep one fired. Frank was into the first fish and it was big! After a couple of jumps, I realized that it wasn’t what we were searching for and a little disappointed to see a smallmouth on the end of the line. Although it was over 5 pounds, it still wasn’t our targeted species and we immediately released her. Back to the troll and not long after, Bobby was locked. He didn’t have this fish on for long though and left us all wondering what it might have been. I covered plenty of water in the area without a single bait marking or any fish for that matter. It seemed completely void of anything and then Bobby hooked up once again. Another leaping smallie and we were out of there! I was looking for warmer water and found 58 degrees to be the best but the fish weren’t anywhere to be found. We covered a lot of water in search of the lake trout and sometime in the afternoon it happened. I had trolled around a mid lake shoal and Frank locked up. I could tell by the rod that this wasn’t another bass and told him to play the fish carefully. Soon after it was in the net and the first of several lakers. Into the livewell it went and back to trolling we went. Bobby hooked into another one on the very next pass and unlike the rest of the lake, I was finally marking fish here. Once again another laker on the rod and quickly in the net. Two in the box and back for more. Frank hit another one almost immediately but for some reason it came unpinned. Ironically after the loss, the bite just died. I was still marking fish in the area but nothing wanted to bite. We tried several more passes and then decided to change locations once again. At least we were on the right species now and confidence was high. The next area showed signs similar to where we were and Bobby confirmed it with another hookup. One more laker joined his buddies in the livewell and things were looking up. Too bad we were almost out of time though as both Bobby & Frank had plans for the big game tonight. We had to be leaving no later than 5 o’clock in order for them to make it back in time. One more spot without a touch and we were done. For the first time on this rather large lake without any sort of map or GPS, I think we did alright. A bunch of huge smallies and 3 lakers was our final total. A second outing is in the plans and I can’t wait to get back. With knowledge of the lake now, I think I can do much better the second time around. Bobby is already talking about our next trip and I think it won’t be long before he’ll be hearing the reels screaming once again. This day was definitely a successful one and I look forward to an even better one when I return again!!

With only one trip for salmon so far this season, I really can’t wait to get back. Christiane & I headed to Lake Champlain for about 5 hours of fishing and managed to land 8 out of a possible 14. They were really biting light. Hopefully another trip soon! I switched it up today and hit a local lake with James & Mike for a mix of fish. Trolling was going to be the method as the weather wasn’t pretty. We had winds from the SW blowing 10 to 20 knots with even stronger gusts! I immediately headed back to where I had landed a 9 pound walleye only three days earlier and found the area to be full of floating debris. It also had lost 6 degrees in water temp and I knew this wasn’t good. The rain & wind had really destroyed the water for two days straight and I was paying the price this morning. Although we did manage to get into a small pike in less than 5 minutes, I wasn’t satisfied. With these water temps in the 54 degree range I knew I had to find a warmer area and tried another spot further away. It wasn’t much better but at least the reels were firing and fish were being landed. Mike hadn’t fished before but was enjoying his first time with plenty of pike catching. The entire morning was spent searching and trying to stay clear of floating debris. Although we were into fish pretty much everywhere, it was still a challenge. Late in the afternoon I tried a couple of areas further away again and it was here that I found a better bite. Water clarity was garbage but the temps were near 58 degrees and the best so far today. With rods in hand they landed many more walleye, pike and occasional bass from this weed flat. Ironically, all the fish had found the same patch of warm water and utilized it to feed. We remained here for the balance of the day and left them biting! A final double header was our cue to depart and they left on a high. With conditions changing daily, it will be constant adjustment both with presentation and location. I enjoy a good challenge and look forward to the next outing. Overall a pretty good day on the lake and both James & Mike can’t wait to do it again!!