Hassan, Sam and their father Ahmad were joining me today and looking for a numbers kind of day! We hit the water after 8:30 in high SW winds and cool air temps. The water was above 70 degrees but the air had a chill at just over 60 degrees when we headed to our first location. It would be the day of lost fish! By fishing fast we were able to cover some water but the conditions didn’t allow us to slow down like we needed to do and I’m sure many fish were passed over. Several fish were lost on tubes before Hassan finally put the first decent smallie in the boat on a spinnerbait. They weren’t hammering the lures and although this one did come to the net, most were just pushing the blades. Ahmad was dragging a tube and when it didn’t get covered with weeds and he was able to keep it clean, he had chances at fish. Sam was a little slow at getting started but once the sun came out good, he too began getting into a few of his own. We moved a lot due to high fishing boat traffic as I was trying to remain in areas with less pressure. This was pretty difficult however as each time one of us caught a fish, others began their move. At one point, there were 4 boats surrounding us making casting quite difficult. To make matters worse, we were the only boat hooking fish and most of them were coming unpinned. For some reason, they were losing many more than they were landing and the hooks were razor sharp. Ahmad managed to keep his percentage around half as his dead sticking approach was working for him quite well. They even managed to keep my sturgeon record going when Hassan landed his first of the year! We relocated several times due to the traffic, all the while keeping close by the areas holding fish. Similar results were happening wherever we fished and although they were getting the bites, closing the deal was becoming more & more frustrating. Sam needed to leave by 4:00 so we pulled the plug around 3:30 and headed back. I’m not quite sure how many fish were landed today but I do know that if you multiplied it by 5 or 6 you would have the number of chances they had. Tough results today!!

Well, I was back on the water again today with a full boat! Mike, Mark and Ken were with me on this beautiful, sunny day, looking for jumbo smallies. I had to endure three days of dark & cloudy, misty conditions before I was able to see again and it felt great! We hit the water after 8:30 and I went directly to a fish holding area and tube jigs. Water temps were hovering just below 70 degrees and hadn’t dropped too much over the last three days, despite the cold rain & nights. Winds were almost non existent and for a change, I could actually make a drift. Ken hooked up almost immediately and the ice breaker was done! It would be all uphill from here as they just kept catching one after another. The next area produced several bass in the mid size and Mike also landed a pretty nice walleye. Talk of dining on her was already in the process as we continued searching for more! Unfortunately, other than a couple of sturgeon and a few other smallies, it went solo. We jumped holes and were soon on my sweet spot at the peak of the day. It was here that the competition really showed as everyone thought they were the best. Plenty of hookups, lost & landed fish were had in the next couple of hours before it was all done. We shot some pics and released the fish back to where they came from and opted for a fast paced troll. I wanted to search another weed flat for some of the roamers and had them trolling for about 30 minutes. At one point we hit an area that was holding fish as we could see them just swimming all over the place. Walleye, bass and sturgeon were abundant but none of them were eating. I pulled the plug on this and went to a deeper area looking for a few more walleye. One fish just wouldn’t suffice for 4 people and we needed others. The conditions were just brutal by now with flat calm and dog pecker knats all over us. We desperately needed the wind! Although we did catch a few more smallies in this hole, the walleye seemed to elude us. I shifted locations once more and headed up the lake to find some current. As with the previous area, we once again had very little current and flat calm conditions. These fish just weren’t moving! As a last ditch effort to locate a few more walleye, I headed back to the place we had previously fished and hoped for the best. Several drifts were made with bass being taken each time but it wasn’t until a small wager was made that it all turned around. Mike had initiated a 5 dollar bet towards the longest fish and it was game on. I now had a line in the water! Almost on cue, Mike locked up with a 20 inch smallie and talk of cheating was heard in the boat. Nobody wanted to lose despite the few dollars being made. It’s all about bragging rights! Ken did manage to hook another walleye and things were looking up for dinner but it didn’t make the cut for big fish. All three of them were now hooking fish but it seemed that they were all smallies and then it happened. I locked up with a walleye and we officially had three in the boat for dinner. Although it did fall in the legal slot, it didn’t beat Mike’s previous smallie for the pool. By now Mike was just hammering the big bass and the others were hooking a few of their own too. All bass and no walleye until I slammed a big dog! I knew it was a good fish and was pretty sure it was a walleye as well. Once netted, it went 24 inches and the gears shifted directions. They would need to bump up their game in order to get the win. By now, Mike was looking for a sturgeon as he knew the walleye would be a tough one to beat. It wasn’t going to happen and to make matters worse, I locked up on another good walleye. This one, unlike the previously released one, fell in the slot and didn’t get released. “We’re having Fish for Dinner”! It was all over and we ended it in a flurry of activity as the fish decided to finally eat. I know if we had of stayed longer, someone would have taken me out. I had fish to clean and reservations to make so we called it a day. This is what happens when you poke the bear and make him fish! Great day and an even better dinner ahead!!

This was the third & final day of the trip for John & Gerry and I wanted it to be their best. We hooked up around the same time and were on the water shortly after, looking for those angry fish. Overcast skies plagued us once again as they made their first casts. Winds were a little lighter today but from the same hateful NE direction and air temps were in the 60’s. I had them throw jigs to start, instead of the usual blades as I felt they were not the preferred choice this morning. Apparently, I was right as both were locked up within their first few casts! This was to go on for quite a while with some fish being landed and others lost on the jumps. When things slowed to just a crawl, I headed out and hit a different location further away. Gerry was on fire this morning and every time I looked over, his rod was bent! Although they weren’t all bass, he was getting fish. At one point he locked up three casts in a row and landed a bass and two sturgeon. He added another sturgeon a little later and John also landed his first. These fish are definitely all over the lake this year as I don’t think I’ve had a single day this season, without one. We hung in for a while longer as the bass weren’t finished eating jigs yet! Just when I thought it was all over, John hooked into a nice walleye that was having a bad day. It fell into the slot and was going to be on the menu as an appetizer this evening. Off we went again and they kept picking at the bass for the remainder of the day. Although there weren’t any real giants landed today, there were still plenty of threes and fours coming aboard. I don’t want to even estimate how many fish were hooked in the time they were here but it was lots! I jumped to several other smaller areas looking for quick bites before pulling the plug on this trip and calling it a day. We had endured three consecutive days of not so perfect weather, to say the least and they came out on top. Fall smallies were on the menu and they dined first class! I just hope they weren’t too spoiled while here and able to adjust to their pressured waters back home. It was definitely a three day trip well worth the distance travelled!!

The second morning looked like a carbon copy of the first as I rolled out to meet John & Gerry at the hotel. We were going to have similar conditions for at least part of the day and I hoped to see a little sunshine by afternoon. The winds had diminished slightly but were still blowing from the wrong direction and N/E at 10 to 15 was what we had. I decided to head to the same area that had given up quality bites the day before and wasn’t disappointed. Almost immediately, John had four shots at smallies in as many casts. Unfortunately only one of them was an honest hit and the other three were pushes. By throwing a spinnerbait at them we were able to get a feel for what they were doing and I made a decision to switch up lures instantly. When bass start pushing the baits like they did it’s usually an indication that they don’t want the blades at all. By adjusting to tubes they were now hooking some good bass and the game was on! In a couple of hours they had many chances as both of them received numerous hits. Although they only landed about 50%, they were still elated with the size & strength of these bronzebacks. When the hits stopped coming, we made a shift to another area a little further up the lake. It was here that I realized that not all the fish were in deep water and a shallow bite was in play. As with before though, I had them tossing jigs and crawling the baits ever so slowly. Although most of the bass were a little smaller, there were still some in the 3 to 4 pound range mixed in. Gerry even managed to hook into his very first sturgeon ever and landed it soon after. Being from the south, he was accustomed to fishing huge channel cats and this prehistoric beast fought just like one of them. Eventually the sun did show and we were able to see just what we were throwing at, making every cast directly at specific targets. Many more fish were hooked and most of them were actually landed bringing the numbers way up, unlike the day before. Even a couple more sturgeon were hooked into but unfortunately not landed. I think they were being foul hooked just by the way they reacted! It was definitely nice to see the sunshine and clothing was being shed for the first time in a long while. I had found some fish in water as shallow as one foot, but the larger ones were still in 4 to 8 feet along rocks & weeds. Even as shallow as they were, we still couldn’t manage to get bit on anything other than the tubes. I tried spinnerbaits and jerkbaits several times and never moved a thing. Since the introduction of Goby Minnows, the bottom bite has been the ticket to getting bigger and more bites! I had one other area I wanted to try before we headed off the water and made a long run to see if the fish were active and on, over there. Somewhere along the way, we lost the sunshine and were back in the clouds once again making visibility a thing of the past. Fortunately, the fish didn’t seem to mind and I was able to put them on more acrobatic smallies, once again. We fished the area for about an hour or so and then called it a day. This was a little more comfortable fishing day than the previous one and similar results had been made. Overall it was a great one and they can’t wait to get back out again tomorrow!!

John & Gerry were in for a few days of fishing and I was looking forward to having them beat on giant smallies. We met up shortly after 7:30 and headed to the lake in anticipation of what was ahead. Contrary to yesterday’s late sunshine arrival, today we had overcast skies and rain was eminent. The winds were blowing pretty good from the NE and we had 2 to 3 footers from the wrong direction. Air temps were in the 60’s and the water temps were almost 70 degrees where we began. I knew today’s conditions were going to be tough but figured they were up to the challenge. We headed straight to an area that held fish and hoped for the best. Both guys were throwing spinnerbaits, searching for their first encounter with the smallie. I warned them that they better be ready as we neared the sweet spot. Almost on cue, John got crushed and was barely able to react with the hook set. First smallie gone! The next cast he was ready and hammered the hooks to an arm jolting strike, only to lose the fish as she took to the air. Plenty more disappointment to follow on this miserable day! Eventually he did manage to hang onto one and got the skunk officially off of his back. All the while, Gerry was getting into them as well and put a few of his own in the boat for some quick pics. I let them play with the aggressive ones for a little while and then switched them up to a slower presentation with tubes. It wasn’t easy to feel the pickups in this strong wind but they managed to get plenty of bites nonetheless. Unfortunately, they had more disappointing results with fish throwing the jigs again. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it began to rain and we could barely see a thing. Now more than ever they were forced to react by feel and remarkably fended better than before. I think they were onto something as most fish were now being boated. Retention time was the ticket and by holding out on the hookset, they were able to bump up the numbers. Several of the larger fish were caught and made for some great shots despite the dull, low light day. At one point there was talk of flashlights as it got even darker! Eventually the rain let up and the light grew, allowing us to regain our bearings and get back on the fish once again. When the fish finally slowed down to a crawl, I pulled the plug & headed to another area of the lake. The waves were really a pain to run in and the further we went, the more they grew. When I finally arrived, I realized quickly that it was a mistake. We were faced with 3 to 4 footers and being blown up current. I had to literally hold the bow into the wind just to allow them to cast the area holding the fish. After 3 or 4 smaller bass by John, I decided to run again. This time I was going to try and eliminate the wind completely by trying some shallower shoreline. Although I really didn’t have much confidence, we needed a break. It was here that we spent the remainder of the day and fished comfortably, for a change! Plenty of bass in the 2 to 3 pound range were hooked in the last few hours of the day before we called it and headed back to the ramp. To say the run was rough would be putting it mildly. Thank god we were in the Ranger! Despite the hell we had today, these guys came through with flying colors. Let’s hope for better days ahead!!