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!!

Matt was with me today and really looking forward to fishing alone. He would have the entire boat to himself and no one to share the fish with! The main bonus today would be that I was able to concentrate on him and him alone, teaching him exactly what to do. As with every morning lately, it was cold! We began with the air temps around 28 degrees and damn near froze heading to our first location. The water hadn’t fallen much overnight but was down about a half degree. Winds were out of the N/NE and it really felt like it was closer to 20 degrees, rather than 30. The only plus to this was that the sun was actually shining and it felt nice. As soon as we arrived on our first spot, I instructed Matt with a demonstration cast and locked up immediately. I hate when that happens! The first of many fours came aboard and was released quickly after. Matt had a good handle on this technique and just needed a little refinement to increase his hookups. I think it only took a couple of casts and he too was with bent rod. He was getting the hits and hooking a pile but it seemed like there were more missed than landed. I couldn’t figure out exactly why it was happening, but I didn’t like it. The landing percentage was less than half and these bass were winning. In fact we even had several hits that ended in slack lines when some toothy critter decided to eat our offerings. It wasn’t going good! I made a few adjustments and finally brought up the numbers slightly but we were still missing fish regularly. I was hoping that things would change when the day progressed and thought that we might just have to wait them out. Despite the slow morning, Matt still managed to catch plenty of good fish on a variety of baits. So much so that there were 3 over 5 pounds and multiple high fours brought to net. Several of the areas we fished didn’t seem to have high numbers, but the fish were of quality. On a tough day, this is definitely what you want and Matt was happy with the results. He had managed to adjust and was now picking at them everywhere we stopped. Even with the N/NE winds we were warming up and I think it was all due to the action. I don’t really know how many fish were landed today but I do know that the bulk of them were big. I’ll take quality over quantity any day of the week! After today, I think Matt is on the same page, as he caught more big fish in one day than he had the entire season. By 4:00 we were ready to call it a day and after a couple more bass, headed in. At this time of year, the fishing can change overnight and by knowing when to adjust, a slow day can become great. Today was a perfect example of refining both areas as well as presentations. I can’t wait to get back again!!

Scott, Manson & Corey met me today, searching for more of those giant smallies. Scott & Manson had fished with me before and knew what to expect, but Corey was in for a real treat. We met a little later than usual due to the cold overnight temps and were on the water before nine. Winds were light and from the SW with overcast skies pretty much the entire day. Air temps were in the 30’s at the start and barely hit 40 by days end. Water temps were at 53.5 degrees and down from the last time out, considerably! I was sure it would be a slow presentation that would account for the fish today, but you just never know. I believe that it was Corey that locked up first but both Manson & Scott were right behind him. Everyone was on the board and it continued right through the morning with plenty more quality fish getting landed. Although we didn’t have an official 5 pounder come to the net, there were many in the high fours making for a great time by all. I moved around plenty, looking for larger groups of bass and hoped to stumble on the mother load somewhere along the way. Unfortunately it never happened, but we managed to catch plenty of fish in the process. The afternoon was no different with them landing lots more quality fish. Manson even caught a nice walleye that they were hoping to have, along with a few others, for dinner. Unfortunately this was the first and the last for them and they would have to settle for steak instead! With the air temps falling as the day passed, we weren’t too far from heading in ourselves but wanted a few more before it ended. I headed to another section and they did manage to catch several more smallies in the last ten minutes or so. I decided to make a couple of casts as well and immediately locked up on a big fish. I knew by the fight that this wasn’t a bass but rather a walleye. Confirmation was made along side the boat and Scott was soon netting another dinner fish for them tonight. “We’re having fish for dinner”! This dinner pickerel was squeaked in under the wire and a fitting way to end. The air may have been chilly today but the fishing was hot. By slowing down slightly and fishing the right zones we were able to turn this day into one filled with plenty of action. It sort of made everyone forget about the 40 degree air temps and concentrate on their next bite. Overall a pretty god day to be on the water!!

Day two saw clear skies, sunshine and cool air temps of only 36 degrees for the start. It was definitely a crisp one this morning! We wasted no time getting on the water and were fishing shortly after in an east wind of 10 knots. Although the boat control was a bit difficult, I managed to position it enough so that Herm could lock up quickly. As with yesterday, he had the hot hand and brought the first five pounder to the net. It may have only been a hair over, but 5.06 was the starter for today! With the east winds, there came a pretty good chop on the water and I think this made it a little more difficult for them to detect the strikes. Slack line is always the kiss of death and there was plenty of it this morning. So much so that a couple of strikes were had and fish were lost almost before they were on. Eventually the winds did subside some though and they were back in the game. Now they could feel everything and not long after, Craig was locked up on another giant. This thing took him all over, but never really jumped. It just dogged and headed to the bottom several times making us wonder if it was even a bass. After what seemed like forever, I got a shot at her and took it quickly. We were in awe with the girth of this pig and I knew it was even larger than the first one, earlier. It weighed 5.20 pounds and Herm was officially bumped from the top. Two over five pounds in the first hour of the day had me wondering what the rest of the day might produce! Winds had finally died now and with the sunshine getting up higher, it felt great. Clothes were being shed and the air temps were climbing as we shifted gears and moved on. For a change, we weren’t in the dark gloomy clouds or wind & rain, or all of the above! Out next stop had Craig hooked up immediately as a 3 pounder came to net. On his next cast, he missed the strike and managed to get snagged in the rocks afterwards. A quick snap out and an instant hit & he was locked again. Into the air she went and I knew it was another giant! Weighed, she went 5.10 and a third five pounder was officially aboard. Several more fish later we were shifting locations again and it was here that Herm took back his lead. After getting snagged in the rocks, he too snapped it out and was rewarded immediately after. Although it was heavy, it didn’t really look like a smallie until it was near the boat. We all thought Herm had a walleye but were pleasantly surprised to see another football smallie and I scooped her up. Wow, another big fatty and this one had incredible girth. At over 5.5 pounds, Herm had another giant and the 4th big bass of the day. They may not have been catching high numbers today but they were getting the quality fish they wanted. Along with these fives, there were also plenty of mid to high four pounders taken, making this the best big fish day of the fall so far this season. We finished up in this area and then moved once again, hoping to end with a bang for the day. Unfortunately the bang wasn’t exactly what we were looking for as the weather was about to change. The sun had disappeared, the clouds came in and the wind intensified. All that was left was the rain and it arrived sideways! We went from flat calm to 3 footers in less than 10 minutes and now it felt more like the days I was accustomed to! Add to that a bracket problem with the electric and we were paying for the beautiful day earlier. I was forced to remove the motor completely for the run back as the pin wouldn’t release to bring it into the store position. Even in all this hell, Herm & Craig still managed to catch a few more fish, with the largest going almost 5 pounds again. It was unanimous, we were done! We ran back in rough water and plenty of rain hitting the windshield, but stayed comfortable all the way. No one had any regrets about today as it was nothing less than spectacular. The only thing that could have made it any better might have been another fish over 6 pounds. I guess they’ll have to wait until their next trip at the beginning of the month to accomplish it. Overall, despite the end, an absolutely incredible day on the water was had by all!!

Craig was back for a couple of days and this time he brought Herm along, both looking for that elusive 6 pounder. Although Craig had taken one on his last trip, you can never have enough and he wanted more! Herm had never landed a six and had a personal best of just under 5.5 pounds. Would this be the trip for him? We hit the water shortly after 8:00 and headed right to a big fish area, hoping for a few trophies. The weather was an overcast one with cool morning air and virtually no wind. Air temps were in the low 40’s and expected to hit mid 50’s by days end. With the water temps around 58 degrees, I anticipated great action. Herm was the first to lock up and it was in less than 5 minutes. Ironically, this bass was almost 5 pounds and made for a great starter fish. With fish like this, who could ask for more! We kept at it for almost an hour and they landed several more good ones but nothing over 5 pounds came aboard. It wasn’t until we switched locations and made a drift in deeper water that Herm locked up once again. When this one took to the air, I knew she had to be over 5 pounds and confirmation was made after I netted the pumpkin. Although she wasn’t even 20 inches, it topped the scales at 5.10 pounds and Herm had the lead. When things finally slowed down, we moved again and were surprised to see boats all over the place. There were lots of fishermen out today and it felt more like a summertime competition than a pleasure day on the water. We were now limited to where we could fish but made the best of it, moving around often. Plenty of fish were caught in the remaining hours of the day but Herm’s big one would stand as the largest today. Several high fours were landed but nothing over 5 pounds made it to the net again. We stuck it out till about 4:30 and then called it a day. Last drift, had both Herm & I locked up on rocks and I found myself retying again. Craig was the only line left in the water and before I was finished, he was battling a nice fish of almost 4 pounds. Now that’s the way to end the day! We’re back on the water again tomorrow and might hit another place, hoping for better success. This is the season for giants and we’re in hot pursuit of the pigs! Bring it on!!