Scott, Chris & John joined me again today for more of the same punishment as the last time out. We once again wasted 3 hours trolling for the myth monsters without even a single sighting. They are beginning to think they’re like snipe! With the cool morning air came cold everything until the sun finally broke from behind the clouds, warming their bodies like lizards on rocks. Temps were to rise into the low 50’s today and thankfully the winds were light, allowing the sunshine to make things more comfortable. Water temps were barely above 47 degrees but the bass were definitely on fire as they pounded them throughout the remaining hours. Plenty of fish over 4 pounds were caught but nothing really topping the 5 pound mark. John had a previous commitment and needed to return a little earlier so we ran him back to his car and immediately returned fishing afterwards. Without skipping a beat, Scott & Chris picked up right where they left off with a double. It continued for the remainder of the afternoon before we packed it in and called it quits. We may have lost a few hours trolling but in the 5 hours spent for bass, the numbers were incredible. Everyone had caught their fair share of quality bass and were satisfied with the results. With unseasonably warm weather for this time of the year, it’s a real pleasure to be out. Hopefully this will continue right through the month, extending the season even more. Another great day to be fishing!!

Craig & Herm were back this morning for another day of smallmouth fishing. We hit the lake around 8:30 under some clouds and a cool morning air, with high hopes of getting a few giants. I had a couple of tricks up my sleeve today for Herm and I knew he would enjoy them! Water temps had dipped to 48.5 degrees and I was sure they would bite well. Air temps were in the high 40’s at their peak and we had a mix of clouds and sunshine, making this a pretty nice day to be out. The only draw back would have been the west winds, blowing strong. At times there were gusts of 20 or more knots and that wasn’t comfortable. It made the air chill a lot worse than it really was and thin gloves were needed, just to stay warm. Herm wasted no time, locking up on his very first cast and loved the new technique. Bad luck to do that, I told him, as he brought the 4 pounder to the net. It would be many casts later before he was to hook up again and the proof was in the pudding! Craig on the other hand was getting plenty of hits, but most of them were not hook ups. We had to refine a few things before he could monopolize on the number of fish that were picking up his bait. Finally, he was catching and catching good! Several bass in the four pound range were coming aboard along with a few smaller ones as well. This went on for a while before we had to relocate to another area, when it just slowed down. Herm went right to work, hooking up on his first cast once again. Craig wasn’t far behind with one of his own and soon they were both landing many more quality bass from this location. We jumped around plenty looking for the larger ones but never really got into them today. Oh there were plenty of decent fish in the 3 to 4 pound range and many over 4, but nothing above five. Late in the afternoon though, a couple of pigs were landed that surely looked to be in the five pound range. For some reason today the fish were a little strange and I found myself constantly refining both areas as well as techniques, many times. The one common denominator however, was a slower than usual presentation. We literally had to dead stick some of the baits at times in order to get bit. Hopefully in the next few days this will all change and return back to the way it should be. Fall is big fish time and plenty of them are around. Numbers and size are a common thing and I expect both on each and every day, at this time of year. Although they didn’t see the real giants on this outing, they will be back for more. It took Craig until his last trip the previous year to get the biggest bass of the season and I hope he matches it again. Overall a great day on the water regardless of the lack of trophies landed. It’s the anticipation that keeps us going and we anticipate bigger & better things to come. I can’t wait to get back out again!!

After receiving a father’s day gift for a day on the water, my neighbor finally redeemed it today. Yacenti couldn’t have picked a nicer one to be fishing! The air temps climbed to almost 60 degrees with little to no wind all day long. Sunshine was with us throughout and the fishing was on fire! He decided to share the gift by bringing his friend Marc along, thus adding to his pleasure. Although they had both fished with me before, it would be a learning experience for Marc, as this time I had him fishing a new technique. As with every day out, I knew the fishing would be better mid day but was about to be proven wrong. My first explanation cast to Marc ended in a full hook up and a four pounder was soon coming aboard. I hate when that happens! I immediately passed the rod off to him and he began fishing. It took only two casts for him to lock up and the games were on! His first fish was another solid bass close to 4 pounds as well and Yacenti was wondering, where his was! It didn’t take long before they were both hooking plenty of quality smallies and fish were coming in one after the other. Both presentations were working great and they loved it as fish up to 5 pounds were fighting on almost every other cast for a while. When things slowed down, I relocated and they picked at them here & there, all the time hooking large ones where ever we stopped. Although we did have several slow periods through the day, the flurries definitely made up for them. Whenever we hit one, we caught a bunch and before we knew it, the day was almost over. I figured I’d hit one last area and get a couple more fish before we were done but it ended up lasting close to a half hour. They just kept catching giant smallies and I didn’t want to go! Never leave fish when they’re biting! Eventually things did slow down and we were able to call it a day. Days like these are few & far between at this time of year and Yacenti definitely picked a winner. Who could ask for anything more! We had started on a high and ended on another one as well making this a picture perfect day to be on the water!!

Matt was back again today and this time he was with Sam & his brother Hassan for more smallie action. We met up around 9:00, ready for whatever this day had in store for us! Unlike the last time out when we froze all day, this one was a whole lot warmer. Little to no wind, sunshine and temps in the mid 50’s was what we were dealt and it felt great. The water temps fell to barely 50 but climbed up to 51 by days end. It’s amazing what a little heat can do at this time of the year! As with most days, Matt wasted no time hooking up and boated one over four almost immediately. The fish weren’t real active where we were, but everyone was getting bites, making us stay. Matt seemed to be the only one landing anything though and this wasn’t going over well! Eventually this all changed and everyone started catching. With flat calm conditions, drifting was quite difficult. With a lack of current aided by the wind, we had to resort to casting and hits weren’t always noticed. The bites were really light and unless you were tight lined all the time, you missed fish. So much so that several hook sets resulted in swinging at air. These fish were dropping the baits, so I decided to try something a little different to try and increase their hookups. I experimented with a drop shot rig in the same areas and immediately was tight to one over four pounds. I gave Sam the rod after landing the fish and instructed him on how to present the bait. It didn’t take long and he too was landing a fish, but unfortunately it wasn’t the bass he was looking for. Instead, it was a small perch and the others had a good laugh! With Matt & Hassan hooking up on the jigs, Sam quickly returned to his as well and abandoned the drop shot like the plague. It wasn’t fast & furious but they were catching some real nice fish and stuck with this presentation the rest of the day. Although we had a few dry spells and lost plenty of tackle, things did pick up in the afternoon. At one point, it was almost every cast that someone was into a bass and they were all big. Sam managed to get the largest ones of the day but they weren’t quite fives. For some reason we were unable to break that mark today except for a late afternoon fish that gave Sam one hell of a fight. It turned out to be a small muskie, under 10 pounds. On light tackle it fought like a real champ though and was the icing on the cake for him today. Along with the muskie, Matt landed a nice walleye and Hassan caught a pretty decent northern, making this a multi species day. There may not have been the numbers I had expected today but the quality was there and they even had a few bonus fish to add to their list. Overall, it was a great day to be on the water!!

Matt was back again this morning, but he wasn’t alone. Ryan had joined him and they were both excited for the possibilities of another great day. The morning air was another chilly one with the temps barely 30 degrees. I knew it wouldn’t be a heat wave with the west 15 to 20 but didn’t expect what was to come. It felt like another 20 degree morning with the W/NW winds and it was damn cold! I received the worst, having to control the boat direction as I kept the bow pointed right into the blow. Although I was warm, the wind chill on any exposed skin wasn’t. Both Matt & Ryan were feeling the punch as well but Matt was dealing with it a little better. In his first few casts he was locked up and that’ll definitely warm you up. The fish turned out to be a nice four pounder and a great start to the day. He had many more chances after the first and managed to get all of them in the boat. Quite a difference from yesterday’s start! Ryan on the other hand wasn’t fending as well and spent the entire morning without a single fish. The wind was making bottom contact a little difficult and eventually I had to switch his weight up to a heavier one. Wouldn’t you know it, first cast he’s locked! I don’t know if it was just a coincidence or actually the jig but either way I was glad. Maybe not as happy as he was but it was nice to finally see him fighting something other than rocks. We shifted areas plenty throughout the day and picked at them here & there, but it was tough. In the end, I decided to hold in a really rock infested place and lose loads of jigs to the bottom monsters. If they were lucky enough to bounce off the rocks, they got hit. If not, they got “Rocked Up”! I spent the rest of the afternoon retying jigs on every other drift. I eventually went to the lighter wire jigs to try and keep them from breaking off and that was a big mistake. Several other fish were landed but the jigs needed plenty of attention as they were still snagging the bottom on every cast. By snapping the jig out, they were getting fish to react as well and some of them were coming to net. As with all mistakes, there are consequences. Ryan unfortunately was the one to feel the most pain as his next fish was a real giant. When it took to the air way back, I knew it was big. It wasn’t until she jumped again, closer to the boat that we all got a better look. It was definitely over six pounds and before he could get it closer to the net, she was gone. Between too much pressure on the fight and the hook dull & bent, something had to give. I checked the jig when he was in and the point was bent over from the rocks and it was also opened up more than it should have been. I immediately cut off both jigs and went back to the stronger hooks not caring how many they would lose. I don’t know if by keeping the better jigs going it would have changed the outcome but I would like to think it might have. We were all left with disappointment as this would have been a personal best for Ryan and another over six pounds for my season. Matt had landed one that weighed 5.48 earlier and this one had made it look like a three pounder. We had to get over it and what a better way to do it than a double, immediately on the next drift. Jigs were being lost frequently but at least the fish were being landed when they hooked up. Plenty more fish were caught with the time remaining in the day but not the likes of the one lost. I know we will all be remembering today as the one that got away but when haven’t we done that before! Despite the incident, it was still a really good day to be on the water!!