Darren & his brother Mark were back again for a couple of days of fishing. Dave was also with them and walleye were the target for the first day. Winds were blowing good but the walleye were biting better. Plenty were caught until we pulled the plug and switched to bass. Unfortunately no big ones were landed but at least there was some action. Definitely not the best trip they’ve had over the years but fish were caught. Weather too nice and way too many boats all over!

I fished with my father in law today and a close friend of his, Emile for another great outing. We were blessed with a beautiful, windless, fall day! Plenty of walleye were caught along with a few other bass making for a picture perfect fishing day!

I fished with Keith today on local waters for another Multi Species bite! Several good walleye were taken along with a few other exotics, making this another successful day of fishing!

Mike & Corey joined me this morning for one of the first road trips this fall. By 8:30 we were launching and praying for another tremendous day of bass fishing. Too bad though, as the conditions were too perfect & we paid for it in spades! Flat calm, mirror like water had everyone thinking the same thing and I believe another tournament was going on. Boats were buzzing like bees the entire time we were on the lake! With the bright skies, warm air temps and heavy traffic, it wasn’t a wonder that the bass were spooky. We slid over some areas where we could actually see them and they just bolted away. Even long casts weren’t working well as short strikes and pushes were the norm. Mike did however connect with a beauty for the second fish of the morning when he set into a fish over 5 pounds. I know that if we remained here and refined the area like I usually do that there would have been even more. Only problem was that there were so many boats near us that they just kept coming closer & closer. I guess it’s alright to fish on top of each other when you’re competitive and money is on the line! I got so fed up that I decided to just move all together and head elsewhere. This time we completely changed it up and went drop shotting in the depths a few miles away. It didn’t take long when we sent the lines down to actually connect with some fish. Ironically, they kept getting off on the way up. Both Mike & Corey weren’t too familiar with the deep water technique and were missing more than they were landing. I had to get a line in to see what was going on and managed to land 3 fish in about 15 minutes, but also lost a few others too. Mike brought a couple to the boat as well and things were looking up for another drift as now I knew the bass were there. All of a sudden, I saw other boats at the beginning of our drift and things just changed. A couple of boats had run by and punched waypoints in as they passed us. I had seen just about enough and relocated to another area in hopes of solitude. Unfortunately that was not to be as each & every place I wanted to fish had boats so close that I would just be donating key areas for free. By 1:00 I made a judgment call and pulled the plug all together! It wasn’t fair to Mike & Corey and I wanted them into fish. We drove all the way back to where we had began opting for another lake. Despite all the traffic on this water, at least I wouldn’t have to contend with all the spot suckers! We ran to one of the areas that had been producing decent walleye lately and it didn’t take long before they were both locked up. By drop shotting over schooling fish, they were able to land several good fish in a short time. As the sun started to drop lower late in the afternoon, the fishing got even better. The walleye went on the feed and both Mike & Corey were continually locking up. They even managed a few good smallies in the mix too! With such a nice day upon us, I extended it until almost 6:00 before we called it quits. We had lost a few hours travelling to the other lake this morning and I wanted them to enjoy the day completely. In golfer’s terms, “the back nine was best”! I was able to salvage the day with a major adjustment and alleviate all the pain & suffering from the morning. I know this won’t be the last time I’ll encounter bass boats like today but by picking the shittiest weather possible, I’ll at least be able to fish. Tough day but we made it work!!

This morning saw us fishing local again, under even more adverse conditions. The first day was beautiful, the second one howled & the third one had a cold front and terrible winds once more. Some people think I have the best job! We dropped the boat in shortly after 7:30 and tried our hand at trolling for muskie. Winds & waves were pretty good looking for them and I really thought we had a good shot at scoring. Although I did mark a few that resembled the hateful one, it wasn’t to be. By 10:00, we were done with this and relocated to an area in hopes of some smallies. I headed through 3 footers in order to get to where I wanted and drifted over a series of rock piles hoping for better results. As if on cue, Marie locked up as soon as we neared the first one and killed the skunk! She had managed to draw first blood each day, so why would today be any different! I really thought we were getting ready to hammer them but with the winds blowing so strong, we drifted through quicker than expected. I needed to have them both throwing with the wind, so boat control was limited. As long as I slowed the drift, they could make multiple casts to the best locations. After Marie landed a few bass, Jim hooked up as well but not what we expected. Ironically, he had nailed a nice walleye of 22 inches from the same area. With low cloud cover and cold front conditions, they had come in shallower and taken up residence on the same spot. This fish looked beautiful with a really golden color, giving the Quebec name “Dore” its significance! After a couple of pics, she was returned to grow even more. With the winds not getting any better, we continued our drift in hopes of more action. Although we didn’t get the numbers, the fish were good size and most eager to eat. When I had covered all the zones I wanted, I picked up and returned to the better areas once again. Both Jim & Marie hooked a few more and when we neared the spot that Jim had hooked the walleye, he connected with another. This one was slightly bigger and looked just as nice as the first one. As always, the second pass is never as good as the first and I realized this quickly. With not too many places to fish in this big howl, I thought I’d try another slightly calmer one further away. When we pulled in, it wasn’t too bad but it didn’t take long before the winds increased. Along with this, came heavy rain adding to the misery. Now I really didn’t have much control as nobody wanted to face the rain. All we could do was roll with it and try to stay on the fish. They did manage to get a few more but the waves just kept getting bigger with the rains. We felt like a cork on a pond in this and were out of the zone quickly. There was no way I was going back for another pass either, as I would have swamped the boat trying to get there. Talk of calling it a day was in the boat but I had one more trick up my sleeve. I had them toss the lures out and we drifted like a troll over the area, aiming for a few waypoints nearby. It may have been difficult to keep the lines clean but Marie did manage to land another walleye out here. Once the heavy rains let up, we decided to call it quits. Although still blowing, we headed back to the ramp and ended this torture. They had a mix of conditions in the three days of fishing and overcame all of them. The only plus in this was that we never saw another boat on the lake today. I guess I will have to fish on the worst possible days from now on!!