Tim joined me today for the first of several days of fishing for smallmouth bass. We got a rather later than usual start to the day and were fishing sometime after 11:00 A.M. The weather was unseasonably warm once again with air temps expected to reach almost 50 degrees. Along with clouds and occasional sun we were also blessed with winds from the SW at less than 10 knots too. This had the makings of a really enjoyable day! We started with a drift along a current break in deeper water but weren’t able to pick up anything bigger than a couple of pounds. We did miss a few that felt somewhat larger though and soon relocated hoping for bigger bites. The next location saw more of the same but Tim did manage to get one closer to 4 pounds and missed sever others as well. Due to the short day I was jumping around looking for the bigguns and not holding in any areas longer than needed. I figured that if I hit enough spots and covered plenty of water we would be able to find some larger ones to play with. Unfortunately, the 2 to 4 pound smallies were the active ones today and the best that we could come up with were only around four pounds. There was however a nice walleye of about 4 pounds as well and that was just a bonus! We once again fished till about 4 o’clock and called it a short day. Although we only got to fish for less than 5 hours, it was still a productive day on the water with plenty of nice bass caught. We’ll be back out again tomorrow and hopefully the big ones will be a little more cooperative as we will be spending more time looking for them too!!

Back from N.Y. Norm was ready to hit the water for another kick at a giant smallie. We began fishing in beautiful sunshine, light NE winds and air temps right around the freezing mark. Water temps had dropped slightly once again and were now topping out at 47.5 degrees at best. The fish seemed a little sluggish this morning and we had to work hard for every bite we received. As the sun got higher though and the water temps began to rise, so did the fish’s activity level as well. The bites were more frequent and less spaced out but the best we could come up with were fish in the 4 pound class. We fished deep, mid and shallow areas all the while catching from each zone. The current breaks had to be fished in the soft water seems in order to locate anything aggressive enough to commit. We even managed to catch a bunch of walleye, all the while searching for the bigger bass! At one point in the afternoon after Norm had landed a couple of really nice bass, the bite just shut off like a light switch. I knew something was up when we were bit off a couple of times and then Norm hooked up on something big. It was definitely the culprit and I was sure this wasn’t going to end well. After a few minutes of struggling to get this thing up, it bolted and left us just wondering. Although we never caught even a glimpse of the fish we were pretty sure what it was and decided to try another area after several unsuccessful attempts at catching bass. They just weren’t going to take a chance with a predator lurking around, I guess! The rest of the afternoon was spent jumping all over just looking for a few big fish and unfortunately all we could come up were 4 pounders at best. The fish just weren’t willing to allow Norm the bragging rights of the elusive Holy Grail that he’s been searching for. We ended the day with plenty more bass but not the one we were after and by 4 o’clock we were on our way home. The search for the elusive six is turning out to be a quest much like the one he went through last season for his five. I hope it doesn’t carry over into next year as it will be an awfully long winter for Norm!!

After spending pretty much the entire day yesterday downloading pictures & updating reports, I was ready to hit the water again this morning. A late cancellation had Christiane benefitting from their decision and we leisurely headed out somewhere around 9:00. The weather was picture perfect, in fact it was too perfect for this time of year as there were boats all over the water. Although we started in heavy fog, it soon cleared and gave way to sunshine, light SW winds and temps that reached at least 65 degrees. As usual, it didn’t take long before Christiane was locked up and it was a real beauty. I decided to put it on the scale just to show her its weight and amazingly it went 4.54 pounds. Another great starter fish! Several other bass from 2 to 4 pounds were landed in the next few hours before we slid over to fresher water and started all over once more. At one point, it was every cast as the fish were really thick and apparently hungry in this hole. When we stopped getting bit, we moved to another fresh area and did it all over again. Lots of quality smallies were caught and many of the average ones too on this absolutely, unbelievable November day. I’m sure the weather is going to take a turn for the worse pretty soon but in the mean time I will be taking advantage of each and every day that it doesn’t. We covered plenty of water and fished all depth levels, catching everywhere we went. Somewhere around 4’oclock, we decided to call it a day and headed back. It was just too good a day to leave without a last fish and Christiane landed just one more 3.5 pounder before we left. She may not make it out again this season, but today was the way to end it if she doesn’t! There was definitely no suffering involved today as I could have been fishing in a T shirt for most of the day!!

Mike & his son Ryan joined me on this beautiful, crisp fall day for another crack at some big smallies. I hadn’t realized that it was actually Friday the 13th but we weren’t too worried as the fish didn’t know either! It was a little colder than I wanted when we arrived but that was suppose to change during the day with a high of 50 degrees expected. Winds were out of the NE at around 10 knots making the 32 degree air feel more like 22 as we headed out. Fortunately we had sunshine and that took some of the bitterness away while we fished. Water temps had dropped once again and were now below 48 degrees. It may have taken them a little longer to hook up than I am accustomed to but once it began, they never looked back. Mike had started the ball rolling with a few smaller than usual bass, so I shifted locations quickly to try & find bigger & better. I realized that we would have to fish deeper water if we were to find some of the quality ones and worked slowly in those areas. Apparently it was the right decision as Ryan confirmed it immediately with a few bass of almost 4 pounds. His father wasn’t going to let him get away with that so he countered with one of his own that topped the scales at over 4.5 pounds. These fish were really sluggish and every bite was extremely subtle. By keeping the line tight we were able to feel the pick ups but they weren’t easy to detect. Many of them were picking up the baits and dropping them before you were able to set the hook leaving us just swinging at air. Ryan locked onto a real good one in the afternoon that had us believing he finally had one of those giants, only to be disappointed to see that it was actually a northern pike of around 8 pounds. There were many other bass slightly smaller in size landed throughout the afternoon but none of them were over 4 pounds, leaving us somewhat let down. Oh we caught fish all day long, just not the caliber that we had hoped for and by 4 o’clock we called it a day. When that sun goes down it really gets chilly and we had already done chilly all day long! Both Ryan & his dad were looking foreword to the heater in the truck and a relaxing drive back home, so we headed back to the ramp. There may not have been any of those bruisers today but there were definitely plenty of bass to keep all parties entertained on this magnificent, fall fishing day!!

Well, I definitely had a full boat today as Andre brought a couple of guys to replace Jim who was originally scheduled to come with him. Al and Bernard (AKA Bucket) were to experience just what the fall smallmouth were all about. It was quite frosty this morning as the temps were somewhere around 30 degrees when we began. A high of 50 was forecasted along with clear skies & sunshine and they were pumped. Winds were light and out of the NE at less than 5 knots for most of the day allowing us to fish in comfort. The water temps had dropped slightly and were now holding around 48.5 degrees causing us to slow down even more. Andre locked up first and brought in what turned out to be his best fish of the day at 4.5 pounds. Bucket was having a tougher time, being the least experienced and watched as Al started hooking fish frequently. Eventually they all were getting into bass of various sizes and all was good. We held in the first spot for a while all the time having someone locked up every five minutes or so. Unfortunately they weren’t the size I was expecting and a relocation was needed in order to find the bigger ones. It was in this area that Bucket managed to get his personal best of the day and another 4.5 pound smallie was brought to net. Although everyone was getting into fish, it was Al that was putting on a clinic and motoring over the others with many more bass. In each and every spot we stopped there were fish landed but mostly just average in size. Each of them had caught smallies over 4 pounds but there were more bass in the 2 to 3 pound range. By 4 o’clock we were ready to head back and unanimously, we packed it in. It had been a beautiful fall day on the water and everyone had caught their fair share of fish. Who could ask for more? I just hope the weather holds out a little longer as I’m not ready to call it quits for the season. There’s too many fish and way too little time to do it in. At this time of year I have the option to fish for steelhead, walleye as well as smallmouth bass. What a dilemma to be faced with!!