After a few unsuccessful attempts at finding someone for today, Cindy accepted my offer and joined me for an incredible day on the water. She had fished with Alain & I a couple of times last week and was just dying to get back out once again. Alain on the other hand had to work and was a little jealous that we were going fishing, but Cindy felt little remorse in accepting the offer! We launched a little later than usual, but were fishing before 10:00 A.M. nonetheless. I brought all kinds of rods & tackle, but we ended up trolling the entire day all the while catching fish everywhere we went. It was the day of northerns & walters and we caught a bunch! Reels were firing off every few minutes and a few double headers were thrown into the mix as well. Cindy caught so many fish that I think the next time she goes out with Alain, he better be careful. She became quite comfortable with the rod holders and taking the reels out without breaking the rods as well as steering the boat and trolling as I set the lines. By the time it was all over she had landed close to 40 or 50 fish with a couple of the smaller walleye kept for dinner tonight. I guess the largest walleye would have been close to 5 pounds and was released with the exception of just two. With the beautiful weather today it would have been a shame not to have gone out and we were glad we had done so. Sunshine and air temps in the 80’s with a little breeze from time to time from the north made for a pretty comfortable outing. With all the nice weather in the forecast coming up in the next week or so, I’m sure the 72 degree water temps will rise even more. Overall, a great day to have gone fishing!!

Yesterday’s weather forecast of high winds and thunder showers for the afternoon had my scheduled customers, rescheduling for better weather. Too bad the weathermen were bang on once again as the day was picture perfect with only clouds in the afternoon instead! Today however I had Norm out once more as he really wasn’t satiated over the weekend, landing only a few fish with his nephew Adam. Smallies were the order of the day and we were going out looking for only bigguns! He was unable to get a sitter for his dog today, so I told him to bring “Buddha” along as well. I’ve had clients that weren’t as well behaved as this dog and for 130 pounds, he never really got in the way! The weather wasn’t looking too good as we drove through a light misty rain on our way to the lake, but It did clear up shortly afterwards and the rest of the day was a mix of sun & clouds. Air temps reached the 80’s and the water was around 72 degrees in most areas. The biggest thing was the 10 to 15 knot winds from the W/SW causing a pretty good chop on the water. I love the wind! We started out fishing shallow and almost immediately were into some big heavies on a mix of baits. Norm was throwing a reaction bait and I was fishing slow to see what they wanted and both were hooking up. Within the first 15 minutes there were several large bass landed over 4 pounds and a few more lost along the way in. We kept fishing over this area until we were satisfied that we had covered it completely and then moved. We jumped around to several areas throughout the day all the while catching fish everywhere we stopped. Although we didn’t catch a ton of them, they were all big. Big & angry smallies always take precedence over quantity as far as I’m concerned and Norm had the same opinion too! We ended the day in an area that gave him the most satisfaction he had in a while (gigity) as he just pounded the big ones. By the time it was all over he had definitely been satiated as far as the bass fishing and his dog was exhausted too. I really think Buddha enjoyed the day almost as much as Norm did and he’s welcome in the boat anytime the sitter isn’t available. Great day all around!!

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at getting Norm’s nephew on the water, today was the day. Adam was going to have the time of his life reeling in all kinds of fish, all day long. The weather was an important factor setting this day up as we wanted to have a decent one with preferably no precipitation and we had it. We even had sunshine, warm air temps in the upper 70’s and a nice wind of 5 to 10 knots from the west. Who could ask for more! We started off trolling in an area I had some success in and it didn’t take long before Adam was battling his first of many fish. This one was a pike however and we released it immediately. The next few fish were either walleye or smallmouth bass and he had officially managed to get a “Grand Slam” before 10:00 A.M. After a few hours in this location we decided to relocate to another area with bigger & better hopes for more fish. As luck would have it, the first reel to fire also was followed by a second one and we had a double. Yeah, Norm got to land one too! We were greeted with a couple of 5 pound northerns and it began. For the next few hours there were pike & walleye being caught every 10 minutes or so and several doubles were involved. Most of the walleye were in the 2.5 to 3.5 pound range with a couple of fours and one over 5 pounds. It was all good as Adam was reeling in fish one after the other! When things slowed down a bit, we changed it up to casting for bass and went to another area not too far away. Adam hadn’t really fished before this day and everything he was doing was for the first time. I taught him the basics with a spinning rod and within 5 minutes he was casting like a veteran. I couldn’t believe just how comfortable he was with this outfit in his hands and how he made the adjustment from the level wind reels with right hand retrieve to the spinning reels and a left hand retrieve. This kid’s a natural! He even landed a couple of bass on his own with soft plastics and lost another big one when it hit him too close to the boat. We casted to the smallies for a little while longer then decided to call it a day when the winds kicked up a bit too much to be able to fish the area successfully. This may have been Adam’s first experience with fishing, but I know it won’t be his last. As long as he has a “Fishaholic” as an uncle, there will be more. I guess I know what his uncle will be getting him for a Christmas present this year!!!

I had a guest from the “Sunshine State” today, in on a birthday visit to Montreal. His wife had arranged all the plans right down to the fishing trip that she gave him as his present. We hooked up at 7:00 A.M. and hit the water shortly afterwards in search of walleye. The weather had changed significantly since the day before with a cold front and strong winds. Air temps were barely 60 degrees at the start with the winds blowing 10 to 20 knots from the W/NW. This really made trolling a challenge in our first spot as it was hitting me from the side. The floating weeds were a factor as well, as we had to check the lines more frequently to ensure that they weren’t fouled up. With the cloud cover I really thought we were going to just hammer them, but we once again had to work hard for each & every fish we caught. When the first reel fired off, I thought he was into a walleye only to be disappointed as a northern came to the boat instead. The next one however was the real deal and a plump 3 pound walleye was slipped into the livewell for later pics. In the next hour or so we spent more time fighting the wind & weeds than actual fish but still managed our fair share. Three more clone walleye were caught along with a mix of pike & bass before we decided to relocate to another area hoping for cleaner water. As luck would have it, there were fewer weeds to contend with and more fish which was a better combination. I don’t think it was 5 minutes before the first rip was had and Mark was into his fifth walleye. This one was a little better than 4 pounds and the largest so far, for the day. He did lose something big in the previous spot when the hooks pulled free, but we never got a confirmation on the species. We were definitely into fish in this area as we managed to land another 4 or 5 walleye and a bunch of northerns in the next few hours. The reels were firing like popcorn at one point and this was a good thing! Once he had his fill of walleye and pike I thought we would try for the grand slam with some smallies and he agreed. In the next area he had a couple of bass hammer a spinnerbait in the wind & waves and managed to get one of them to the net. As luck would have it, this was the smaller of the bunch when we saw three others following it to the boat. They were all big and black and I knew they were in the 4 pound range! They were never to be seen again after we released the 2 pounder from his line and we wasted no time relocating after battling these horrific conditions. The next few areas were much more user friendly as we were able to withstand the wind without the waves and he managed to get into a bunch of bass, yo yoing a spinnerbait. They were just crushing the lure on the fall and fighting like champs. We also picked up several other smallies on senko’s and tubes before we called it a day and headed back to take our punishment in the waves. I’m sure glad we were in the Ranger! Mark had managed to get his grand slam after all and had a blast battling fish pretty much all day long in not so perfect like conditions. I’m sure he will take home the memories of this birthday vacation in Montreal and with any luck, be back some day soon!!

After another cancellation today, Tom was ready to take over for the no show. One person’s loss is another’s gain! We hit the water after 11:00 and were almost immediately into fish. With the overcast skies and intermittent sunshine I thought we were going to just crush the walleye, but we had to work for every one. The wind was the biggest factor blowing from the west at 10 to 20 knots creating a 2 to 3 foot chop on the lake. The air temps were in the low to mid 70’s and the water temps were around 72 when we set the lines and began our troll. Unfortunately the first fish was a northern of around five pounds but the next fish was the real deal. Tom wanted to keep a couple of walleye if we were to get into them and I didn’t think it was going to be a problem as we put this 2.5 pound fish into the livewell. In the next couple of hours we were able to land a mix of northerns, bass & walleye up to 4 pounds. As luck would have it, we had a real big smallie come unpinned as Tom was reeling it in and it might have been close to 5 pounds. Oh well, crap happens! We had landed about 7 or 8 walleye and gone through a long stretch of nothing when another reel fired and I knew this was a good fish. With an approaching weather change moving dark skies in, we had contemplated heading out, but held in for one more fish. This was to prove to be the one as I slid the net under a 24 inch walleye and we were both glad we hung it out! A couple of quick pics, a quick release and we were off to the ramp to take out. This may have been a short 3.5 hours of fishing, but it was productive. Tom landed a real nice walleye and got to take home a couple of fresh fish for dinner. What could be better!