Well, Friday the 13th is no longer superstitious as Jim, Matt & Shawn found out today while catching a variety of fish species. Not only did they fish on an unlucky day but they even brought bananas to add to the pain. Try this trick down in Florida and they wouldn’t even let you on the boat! A double whammy to say the least was what we were faced with but we definitely overcame all the odds to turn this day into a great fishing experience. These guys were in for a friend’s bachelor party and wanted to fish before all the fun began. Another boat was needed for the other two guys and fortunately Mike was willing to help me out, as he wasn’t booked today. We all left the dock at the same time and went our separate ways as I was in hot pursuit of walleye for them to cook up tonight. The weather looked like it was going to accommodate us quite well with light winds and sunshine all day long. Although it would turn out to be very hot, it made for a beautiful day compared to yesterday’s horrific east wind disaster. It took a little longer to hook up than I had expected as I began in the deeper water and had to fight all the floating vegetation. Without a single rip, I soon realized that there wasn’t any reason to stay here any longer and moved to shallower areas with different lures. Almost immediately the first fish was on and I think it was Jim that soon landed a small northern. Once I was in position over what I wanted, another reel fired and this time Shawn was reeling in the first walleye of around three pounds. Matt had the next one and he too was bringing another walter aboard. This went on for a couple of hours as we continued to hook up on bass, pike and several walleye before we decided to move to a casting spot for smallies. As with the walleye, I began in slightly deeper water and found that there were very few fish around. As I moved shallower it all changed though as we began the fun. Everyone was hooking bass from 2 pounds to over 4 pounds frequently and plenty of action was had by all. All except Matt however as he decided to marry the spinnerbait! I’ll give the guy credit though as he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword! I know that if it were me there would be no way that I would stand by watching everyone fighting fish on soft plastics without giving it a try. These fish just weren’t very active and had to be finessed into eating what we had to offer. Spinnerbaits just weren’t on the menu! I moved around for a bit all the while having someone tight lined and fighting a bass. The other boat had a similar day with different results, fish wise. They hadn’t caught any walleye, just several bass and one beautiful Muskie over 46 inches. They were tired from the lack of sleep the night before and wanted to call it at 3:00 P.M. so we obliged them and did the same. By the time it arrived we were still hooking bass and it was a shame we had to leave as there were plenty more to be caught where we were. We packed it up, headed back to the dock to meet the others and called it a day. In the 7 or so hours out they managed to catch plenty of fish and figured they would rest for a few hours before heading out on the town to begin their bachelor party weekend. Overall it was a great day on the water and thanks to Mike and his boat, all had many memories of their Montreal trip even before the main event began. Party on guys!!!

Nick & Rob were with me today and what a scorcher it was! From yesterdays roller coaster ride to flat calm and blazing hot conditions. I guess she has a sense of humor! I had fished with Nick last fall but it was the first time for Rob and I knew we were about to have a good day. Our first spot had the bass eating soft plastics as well as spinnerbaits and it was game on. Unfortunately it was short lived as I found out and the little flurry of activity had us relocating quickly to another area up the lake. It was here that we did the damage and spent a considerable amount of time catching a number of smallies. Both Rob & Nick were landing plenty of two to three pounders but the larger once seemed to elude us. We covered plenty of water in search of, but never really found them in this area. Off we went to somewhat deeper water and I set them up with a drop shot rig. I don’t think Nick even had the bail closed when the first fish hit him in 18 feet of water. Although it may have only been a 2.5 pound bass, it was a sign. Rob was having a tough time getting use to this technique and only missed a couple. We made several drifts over the deep shoal hooking up pretty much on every one. With below average fish only being caught still, I decided to try another shallow area and moved closer to the shore. It was here that we found some of the larger ones and senko’s were our best baits of choice. The bite was strange with plenty of fish dropping the soft plastics instead of eating them as usual. I know we could have done considerably better than we did because 75% of the bass got off. At least a few of the larger ones stayed buttoned though and made it to the boat for pics. As with the first couple of areas, plenty of action was going on but most of the bass were smaller than expected so we moved again. In the next area, we found another mix of fish and managed to lose almost all of the larger ones. The retention time was terrible today as the fish were either just mouthing the baits or barely taking them by the tail. Either way, we lost plenty! I wanted to give another deep area a try towards the end of the day and went back to the drop shot set up over a series of humps. The fishing was pretty slow but when we did get bit, it was a better than average bass. As with before though, most of them got off when they took to the air. This was really starting to get annoying! Nick was the lucky one as he kept a few of the bigger ones pinned long enough to make it to the net. Rob on the other hand only managed to get visuals as they jumped off directly in front of our faces. We stuck it out till about 5:00 and then pulled the plug on the day. There was definitely plenty of action had today but most ended in disappointment. The fish were surely the winners overall but we did manage to bring plenty of the smaller ones to the boat and a few bigger ones too. Regardless of the outcome, it was still a great day on the lake!!

What a difference a day makes! This morning I met an old client and his wife at the ramp, looking out at average 3 & 4 foot waves from the SW. Brim and Krysta were given the option to reschedule to another day when I saw the lake, but decided to go out anyway. Although the air temps were in the 70’s the humidity still remained and putting on rain gear for the unexpected was a little warm. If there was any good to this it would have been that we at least had to run somewhat into the wind! I had a three mile ride to make and it was a little bumpy as we got further away from the shore. Some of the rollers were now in the 4 to 5 foot class as we made our way to the first fishing area. I knew that with these winds I would be limited to where I could fish and this was one of the better areas to start. The winds were howling but at least we managed, as the waves were under a foot. For several hours we made our way over a series of rock piles and weed flats catching a bunch of smallies along the way. It was tough trying to fish a weightless senko in the wind and pickups were very difficult to detect. At one point I had both Krysta and Brim throwing a spinnerbait just so they could have some control. One of the areas produced a flurry of active feeding bass and both of them were hooking up for a while. The blades were getting the attention but it was short lived. Once they had stung 10 or 12 smallies, it just came to a stop. They were wise to us now and we had to go back to a more finesse like approach to pick up a few additional bites. Tube jigs were used to entice several more non active ones before we moved on. I knew we couldn’t marry this flat all day long and sometime in the afternoon decided to take the punishment and try another deeper area with drop shot rigs. The winds had diminished slightly and were now blowing at 15 to 25 knots from the SW instead of the earlier gusts upwards of 40 and we only had 2 & 3 footers to contend with. I set them up over a series of deep water bumps and instructed them on how to feel for the bottom as we began. In order to fish this place correctly I was forced to use the kicker and had to almost back troll just to remain vertical. Without splash guards it was impossible to keep the waves from coming over the transom as some huge rollers entered the back of the boat. Brim thought this was amusing from the front deck but Krysta wasn’t too impressed with him as she was in the back. We managed to do this for almost 2 hours and caught several bass along the way. Unfortunately, the larger ones always managed to come unpinned as they took to the air after the hook set. Both Brim & Krysta had their shot at 3 to 4 pound fish but the conditions made it difficult to hold on. Somewhere after 4:00 we decided to head back and called it a day. Despite the cruel punishment Mother Nature had given us, we still managed close to 30 hookups. There’s really no winning with her as she seems to either kill me with flat calm or hurricane like conditions when I’m out. All in all a pretty decent day regardless of what we were dealt!!

This morning I was joined by Leslie, Sam & Elliot on a local lake for smallmouth bass. I had fished with Leslie before but the others were newbie’s and would require a little training. We launched shortly after 8:30 and Leslie wasted no time hooking up in the first area while I was instructing Sam & Elliot on the basics of the equipment. Although it was only around 3 pounds, it was a start and got everybody pumped for more. The conditions were perfect with little to no wind and 75 degrees. Sunshine would be with us throughout, despite the weather forecast of thunder showers later in the day. We must have spent close to 3 hours in the first area catching a bunch of bass before moving a short distance away for even more. Sam & Elliot had finally learned the casting techniques needed to fish & were hooking some of their own on senko’s. Leslie switched back & forth with the spinnerbait & senko as well. He would finally be the one to hook into & land the bass we were searching for. This fish was over 4 pounds and worthy of a pic or two before being released. Several others were also caught in the next hour or so but nothing would come close to the last one. We pulled the plug on this fishing and switched up to trolling for walleye for the last 45 minutes of the trip. They had hoped to be able to take a few home but cut the time needed a little short. We did manage to get a northern and another bass but I never really located the walleye in the little time allotted as we ended the morning trip. I was to meet another party at the dock and we called it quits. They had caught a bunch of decent bass throughout the morning and had a great time while doing so. Paul & his son Sam were my afternoon guests and Sam was looking for a big fish. He hadn’t caught walleye before and I thought I would drop the lines in and see if I could have better luck in another area. It didn’t take long before the first reel screamed and a smallie went to the air. Unfortunately it came unpinned almost immediately and Sam was left holding an empty rod. Back it went and a little later another reel went off and he was officially reeling in his very first walleye. It may have been small but it was the first! We only managed to get one other small walleye before I decided to hit another area for bass, further up the lake. The weather was holding out great despite the predicted day of thunder showers and we were glad. I wasn’t sure if I would have the morning group let alone an afternoon outing based on the earlier weather reports. This next area had been full of bass just the day before and I hoped it was still loaded for Sam & his dad. We all threw senko’s and fished slowly in anticipation and really had to work for a few bites. The bass weren’t too big but the fight was unbelievable as Paul was finding out. Sam had been looking for a big fish and he was about to get his wish as a huge sturgeon was hooked up on a jig. The battle was quite spectacular and several aerials were seen as he muscled this beast closer to the boat. Finally, I was able to glove the tail and bring his trophy aboard! The raw power of these prehistoric creatures had him smiling from ear to ear. Several pics were taken before releasing her back to the lake and Sam’s wish had been granted. He had landed his very first sturgeon and it was a beauty. We went back to fishing the area and managed a few more bites before I headed further up the lake looking for active bass. There were a couple of others caught in this area but the clouds were moving in and skies were darkening, making me a little uneasy. I was blocked by the land and couldn’t really see what was coming and didn’t like it. There were chances of thunder showers and I decided to get closer to the boat ramp just in case. We called it for this area and made our way back to the open water where I could have a better look at what was coming. I was planning on fishing again but once I got a 360 degree look at the sky, I knew we were in trouble. We were surrounded by black skies and I could see lightening in certain areas. This afternoon was over! The boat was on the trailer and we were only in the truck for a couple of minutes when the skies opened up and the winds began. Timing is everything! If we had waited any longer, we would have been in this instead of in the safety of the truck. Although we had cut the afternoon trip short, Sam had managed to obtain two firsts and one of them was a real trophy. I’m sure neither of them will ever forget their time spent in Montreal and the pictures will provide the memories!!

Hassan joined me today and he brought along a couple of guests as well. His father, Ahmad and his father in law, Christopher were about to have a great day on the water catching loads of smallmouth bass. We hooked up shortly after 7:30 on what had the makings of an overcast day. The air temps were in the 70’s with high humidity and I knew we were going to get them! With water temps holding at 75.5 degrees the bass were stable and I went straight to an area that had quality fish. Winds were out of the west but at less than 5 knots, they were almost non existent. Senkos would be the ticket today as the water seemed like someone had shut the current flow off once again. In the first couple of hours everyone caught fish but it wasn’t what I had expected. They were on the smaller side and I wanted bigger! Relocation was in order so I headed further up the lake, in search of bigger fish. Although this stop was only supposed to be a brief one, we managed to stay here for close to two hours. It was loaded and they were eating everything we threw at them! Tubes and senkos were being picked up on almost every cast and bass were consistently coming to the net. I don’t think there was anything really big as most were in the 2 to 3 pound range and it was on fire. We even managed to land another sturgeon on a tube once again and saw several others lurking around as well. When the action slowed we shifted to another area and continued the process once more, catching smallies consistently again. I’m not sure if there was a four pounder taken today but there were plenty of others slightly smaller landed and loads more missed. With the day getting on and Hassan wanting to get some walleye for his guests, I pulled the plug on bass and switched to the troll. As with every day, there’s always an amount of time needed to locate these fish and today was no different. Close to fifteen minutes went by before the first reel went off and it was game on! A 16 inch walleye came to the net and soon after another of the same size also was boated securing my theory of where they were holding. I immediately reset the lines and began covering this area a little more thoroughly as another fish hit the lure again. This time I could tell that it was considerably larger and instructed Christopher to reel in slowly so as not to pull the hooks free. As I slid the net under a 20 inch fish, one of the other reels went off and we had a double. Unfortunately, it was a pike and disappointment was the result! We were getting ready to pull the plug on this day when the final reel went off and once again Christopher landed a 19 inch walleye giving each of them a couple of fish for the table tonight. As I brought in the balance of the lines, I noticed that we had a rider and handed the line off to someone, to reel in the last walleye of the day. Another 16 incher was boated and we were on our way. Although it took me 15 minutes to locate feeding fish it took only 30 to boat 6, with 5 of them being walleye. Not a bad average! The day ended with a bang and everyone was happy with the results. Hassan’s dad and father in law got to see what he had been describing and experience it for themselves today. As an added bonus, they’ll even get to sample some of the finest fresh water fish around. All in all a great day to be on the lake!!