The gang from Monday was back with me this morning but less one body. Nate opted to remain at camp with his mother while Jonathan, Carson & Robert drove in to fish. Due to the traffic getting back on Monday, they decided to fish only a half day, but it would be worthwhile! We weren’t as lucky this morning with the weather as a light rain was falling for the start. Fortunately I had multiple sets of rain gear and they needed all of them! With a shortened day scheduled, we decided to focus our attention on muskie & bass. They had eaten walleye two nights in a row and didn’t need any more! Along with the rain, we had a good wind from the south west as we ventured to the first location to fish. I set the rods and tried trolling for lunge in hopes of a quick bite. There was quite a chill in the air this morning with all the dampness and I thought we could get bit. Somewhere around the 45 minute mark, the wire went off and the reel was screaming. As soon as I yanked it out of the holder, the fish went airborne and threw the hooks. We had all witnessed why they are hated and sought after as four foot of misery waved good bye! Unfortunately we trolled for a while longer without another hit and finally decided to call it quits on the lunge. Off we went for bass, an easier target to catch! A bunch of decent ones were taken along with a few really good ones too. They even got to play with a couple of sturgeon up to about 20 pounds or so. I’m sure that if we could have kept the muskie on long enough, it would have been an excellent day. Instead it turned out to be just great. Plenty of smallies on soft plastics were landed with a few bonus fish thrown in for laughs. Overall, the day ended better than it began as we ran back in sunshine and a light breeze. I trust their drive back was better too!!

I had a full boat this morning with Jonathan, Carson, Robert & Nate. They were vacationing in the Eastern Townships and wanted to fish. For whatever reason, the winds were blowing hard again this morning and visions of Saturday were back! I tried an alternate route to get out of the rollers and fortunately it wasn’t too painful. We arrived at the first location and were fishing shortly after in deep water. Drop shots were sent down with a little instruction and it wasn’t long before fish were coming aboard. Despite the strong winds and two to three footers where we were, they were biting. Multiple drifts were made and bass from one pound to over four pounds were landed by all. Several doubles were taken in the few hours we did this before we decided to try casting in shallower water. With the winds from the west, I was able to tuck into a sheltered spot with only a light breeze. Soft plastics were thrown here, to entice many a smallie. As in the deep water, fish from one to over 4 pounds were caught. Once they had their fill of this, I offered them a change of pace and a different species. They were hoping to take a few fish home to eat and the walleye were eager to commit suicide. We fished for the remainder of the day for them and landed several as well as a few decent northerns. By the time it was all over, they had enough fish for a couple of meals. We finished the day with a bang and they were taking dinner home with them too! All in all a very productive day of fishing!!

After yesterday’s outing, Hassan, Sam & Dave just had to sample it for themselves. They had all hooked up for dinner Saturday night and the talk of fishing was just too much to handle. Today was their turn to “Rip Some Lips”! We got on the water shortly after 9:00 and proceeded directly to an area to drop shot. Within minutes, they were locked up and well on their way to many more throughout the day. Water temps were still over 73 degrees and the air temps would be above 80 degrees under sunny skies. Winds were quite light and I knew we would be having a ton of boats on the water, under these conditions. After catching many fish from the deep, we decided to hit a few shallow spots and get into casting for the bass. Unfortunately these ones were on the smaller side and after an hour or so, we were back out in the deep again. Although we had some slow periods, they managed to stay hooked up for most of the day. At one point, Sam locked up on a real giant and the battle was tremendous. I had thoughts of a lunge due to a bite off just the day before but eventually we got a glimpse and knew different. To all our amazement it turned out to be a drum and a first for Sam. He had seen these before but never tangled with one of his own. Several pics were taken and the fish was released immediately afterwards, unharmed. This was to be the highlight of the day, but not before many more smallies were caught. Somewhere around 4:30 we pulled the plug and headed back to take out. It may not have been the easiest of days with all the traffic on the water but we had managed to catch plenty of quality bass anyway. Sam on the other hand will definitely remember the battle he had with his very first drum on the line. Overall a great day to be fishing!!

Weis & Hadia were with me today on one of the biggest howls of this season. Winds were so bad at the start that I gave them the option to cancel. Three to four footers from the west were what we launched in and I realized quickly that I would have to run them differently. By taking a sailors approach, I was able to keep the boat safe & dry. Tacking was the only way to get to where we wanted to go and I took the time to get there! Once we arrived, I got to work explaining the technique required for how they would be fishing. Drop shotting was on the list and a beginners approach was what they needed. Hadia hadn’t fished much before so a little more detail was needed for her. Weis had been with me before, so he didn’t need much before they got started. I wasn’t surprised to see that she was the first to boat a bass and we were on the board. In the next few hours, both of them managed to land several good fish up to 4 pounds. Although the winds were terrible for the run, they were quite acceptable where we were fishing. Drifts were rough but completely doable! Eventually we moved to another area and switched it up completely to shallower casting. It was here that they got into some great action on soft plastics and Weis managed to land his first sturgeon also. With winds beginning to lay down some, we decided to try the deep bite again and weren’t disappointed. They quickly went right back where they had left off and more bass were coming aboard. Even a couple of small walleye were taken before we called it a day. The ride back was so much better than the start as the winds had diminished considerably. Overall it was a great day with high numbers of fish landed. Hadia had caught plenty of fish to catch the bug and Weis was glad she enjoyed the day. Something tells me that this won’t be the last time I see her!!

Pat, Jake & Sam accompanied me today on this beautiful summertime outing. Although the air was cool in the morning for the run, it soon warmed up and eventually reached into the 80’s by afternoon. We immediately went to a deep water drop shot bite and weren’t disappointed when rods were bent. I don’t remember who locked up first but soon everyone was catching their share of feisty smallies. With water temps around 73 degrees, the fish were positioned where they were suppose to be and we took advantage of the bite. Several drifts were made at various depths and bass were caught in all. This was a great day for the three as bass up to 4 pounds were taken. Who could ask for anything more!!