Frank & his nephew Nick were with me this morning, looking to learn a new technique. I would be focussing on dropshotting a few areas, both deep & shallow. Casting & vertically fishing small baits in hopes of enticing a few bass & walleye!

Our first stop had them learning the ropes with a couple of demo casts that had me locked up instantly on a walleye. Now it was their turn! Frank got the ball rolling with his first bass of the day but not before missing a few strikes. Nick too had several chances but came up empty as well. The learning curve was tough but I knew they would eventually get the hang of casting this rig.

We spent over an hour in the first place and despite many misses, they both managed to land fish. Frank nailed another good bass along with a couple of walleye. Nick finally got on the board after several frustrating dropped fish and missed strikes with a really nice walleye. Unfortunately it had to be released, as it was definitely over the slot!

I decided to make a move after being plagued by countless giant cruisers. They were coming through on plough and waves felt like an ocean on these flat calm waters! We were going to continue dropshotting but this time vertically.

I hit several spots in the 20 to 30 foot range but they were only able to drum up a couple of small bass today. Not wanting to waste any more time deep, I decided to go back shallower and resume the casting. Hopefully they would be able to catch several more fish during this morning trip!

Once I found what I was looking for, Nick was on fire! For a while he had fish hitting on every cast and managed to put more walleye in the boat for them to bring home. Frank wasn’t as lucky but he did catch several fish as well before we were done. After Nick made one final cast and landed another walleye, we packed up and headed back. They had officially completed dropshotting 101 and it was a success!

Frank & Nick may have started out slow but they definitely ended with a bang! They also managed to box a limit of walleye that would be going home with them for dinner tonight. I call that a win!

Last night’s cold front had me heading for deeper water this morning. J.P. & Yves were with me as we made our way across the water to where we would begin. The cool north wind wouldn’t make it easy to drift but I would give it a try!

As expected, boat control was difficult at times with the wind direction 90 degrees to the current flow. I literally had to pull the boat downstream with the electric motor if I wanted any movement at all. This was not an easy task, but somehow I made it work!

J.P. and Yves managed to catch fish but with the high numbers I was marking, I would have expected many more. They landed both walleye & bass in the few short hours we were on the water. By 11:30 we were done and on our way back to the dock where I would be exchanging guests. I had another group of 4 scheduled for the afternoon and I only hoped that the conditions would change!

Mohammad arrived a few minutes late but we were on our way quickly. I would be heading elsewhere with this many people in hopes of being able to drift and drop shot. I really didn’t want anyone casting!

Fortunately the winds were light but still from opposing directions to the current. I needed to move the boat along with the electric motor once again in order to fish effectively. Although a little clumsy with the angle, they all managed to land fish. Mohammad caught the biggest and most but all the others bent a few rods too. We made many drifts over structures that held both bass & walleye and some of the fish came to net. Unfortunately more were missed or lost, but that’s fishing!

Overall today was a bit of a challenge with the cold front and wind direction but it all worked out in the end. Everyone caught fish and had a great time just being out! Oh yeah, Mohammad and his gang swam for the last half hour as usual and the yearly tradition continues! Great day for fishing!

A double booking today saw Maren & Victoria in the morning struggling to get into fish. Although they didn’t catch many in the few short hours we were out, they did have plenty of bites! Most were missed or lost after hook up! Victoria did manage to land one really good one that deserved a quick pick before we were done.

The afternoon saw Aaron and his family with me and the four of them had a blast. We spent the entire time dropshotting rock flats and ledges in various depths. Plenty of fish were landed and lost and many doubles were had when we encountered small pods of fish.

Both trips today saw action but the lack of current and wind had us drifting slower than I wanted. It almost seemed like they shut the flow off at the dam! In the end, I managed to increase the drift speed slightly with the aid of the electric motor and cover the water I wanted. Only 1 pic today for some reason but it was a great shot of a really nice bass!

Daniel wanted to learn how to locate & catch bass and enlisted my help this morning. He would be accompanied by his son Onyx and hopefully he would have a better understanding at the end of the day. They have a cottage on a lake up north that apparently has smallmouth, but they are never able to catch any of the bigger ones!

After a long run to our starting spot, I instructed them on a drop shot technique. They were casting it out to a deep break and working it back when I noticed Onyx tight to a fish. He briefly had a smallie on the end of his line but it was short lived on the very first jump! Too bad as it looked pretty big!

After a little while Daniel soon fought a nice bass and this one actually made it into the net for some great pics. A quick release and they were back at it again!

I spent another 30 minutes having them work the area but despite a few missed strikes, we weren’t able to catch anything else. Time to relocate to another spot and change up presentations!

We pulled up onto a deep water shoal and this time I had them fish the drop shot vertically. It was a little tough for them to stay straight but eventually they managed to make it work. Both had several missed hits before Onyx finally locked up on a good fish. He was now into a quality bass and as usual, it went straight to the air. With the line kept tight, he was soon able to bring it close enough for me to net. This was definitely his biggest bass ever and several pics were taken before being released back to the water.

I made several drifts in various depths over the shoal but all we had to show for our time were missed fish. We would have to relocate once again!

I had wanted to show them a few different techniques and when we arrived on our next location, I did just that. One was throwing a blade and the other a soft plastic bait but this time we were shallow. I wanted to see if there were any aggressive fish in the area but soon found out there weren’t. I had seen a couple of fish swimming and made a cast back with a jig when the line jumped. I instantly set into a bass and handed the rod off to Onyx. Such a cool name! He battled this fish and was happy to be fighting another big bass. Most of the ones they catch are 6 to 10 inches from their lake up north! Now he was seeing what size they should be. Eventually another quality bass made its way into the net and pics were taken before the release.

I covered plenty of area and quite a few bass were caught by both along with a few nice walleye. All of them were taken on jigs as this seemed to be what was working. It also gave them a good idea of how to work these baits when they return to their lake up north.

I had wanted to get Onyx into a fish of a lifetime and when the action slowed, I relocated to try for sturgeon. Not knowing how it would be in flat calm, bluebird skies, I decided to head to an area that had recently been producing. Well it apparently was the right decision as it didn’t take long before he was fighting a good one. Both couldn’t believe the strength these dinosaurs have and with a little help, he managed to bring the fish to net. It was a struggle however and I needed to help him with holding his beast so that his dad could take a few pics. Back it went right after!

I switched gears quickly afterwards and went back to the shallows where Daniel managed to pick up a nice bass on a soft plastic. Too bad this was the only one in the short time we stayed! I did however get a chance to show them how to work a top water bait and ironically it was hit by a pretty good bass that didn’t remain on the line for long. Onyx was fighting the fish when it went down into the rocks and broke the line. I only hope the fish will be able to free the bait and not die!

Time had passed quickly today and I wanted to try back where we had begun, due to the poor results earlier in the day. This time however, it was much better and they were able to get a number of good fish including some keeper sized walleye to bring back with them. They would be having fresh fish for dinner tonight!

I made a couple more stops and managed to get into a few more bass and walleye before we were done. Time passes quickly when you’re catching fish!

Today proved to be a great success with several techniques being used. I only hope now that they have a better understanding of what to do when they get back on their private lake up north. I’m sure that if they practice some of these presentations, they will have success in capturing the better bass that inhabit their lake. I guess only time will tell!

Cory joined me this morning and he brought his niece Kala along for her first time. We would be back at the dock by mid-day and changing Kala for Skylar, his 5 year old daughter. Today was daddy, uncle day!

The morning run to our starting location was met by a dense fog that engulfed the waters. It was so thick that GPS was required more than ever to navigate safely. We managed to arrive exactly where I wanted to be, despite the heavy blanket over the water. Oddly enough, this was a severe cold that was almost bone chilling too!

I set up in an area that was very productive yesterday in hopes of similar fishing. It was going to be tough though, not being able to see where to throw! I instructed Kala on how to cast and it didn’t take long before she caught on. In fact, she was making almost perfect casts quicker than I had imagined and looked like she had been doing it for a long time.

We held in this area for quite a while with very little action before Cory had a bite. He immediately passed the rod to Kala to battle her first smallie. At least we had the skunk out of the boat! Not much happened after this, but a few fish briefly fell victim to a blade. As fast as they were on, they were gone!

I had held here for almost 2 hours before the fog lifted, allowing us to finally see the entire lake. Time to make another move!

Next stop was a shallow spot and we were soon into  more bass. There was even a double header at one point that had both Cory and Kala battling fish! This area was responsible for several nice smallies but now it was time for a long run for some giants!

I set up in a deeper area with limited time left and hooked Kala up on her very first sturgeon. She fought it like a champ and boated it quickly too. Not long after she released the first one, I had her into another one and it was double the size. Once again she battled it like a champ and more pics were taken before we released it again. Cory was the next to fight one and just in the nick of time too as we had to head back to exchange girls for our afternoon trip.

Back at the dock it was looking like another weekend nightmare as I couldn’t even find a spot to be able to pick up his daughter. Boats were parked everywhere as if it was a beach! As usual, it was out of control! The parking lot was also a nightmare when I finally went back to the truck for a kid’s lifejacket! I had to use the passenger side of my truck to get in due to the vehicle parked just inches from my driver’s side and hoped I would be able to get out at the end of the day.

We finally headed out for the afternoon shift and went back to another area close to where we had left off. I decided to try a little deeper drop shotting with Skylar as I thought it would be much easier for a 5 year old to manage. Well, this proved to be more difficult than I had thought and bites were few & far between. Eventually I decided to try for sturgeon and with a little help from her dad, she was soon able to bring her very first fish ever into the boat. I shot several pics before Cory released the fish back to the water to fight another day!

Conditions weren’t ideal for fishing this afternoon but apparently they were for pleasure boaters. The traffic was just insane everywhere you looked, making it difficult to fish. The flat calm waters were rolling from every direction, from all the waves and trying to feel a bite was difficult at best. I wanted to get Skylar into some bass & walleye and covered plenty of water to do it too. Both Cory and I had multiple chances at hooking up on smallies, but lost every one of them. I could tell that Skylar was getting anxious and thankfully we stumbled on a spot that provided relief. We spent the remainder of the day anchored up with the electric, pounding on bass & walleye and Skylar reeled each and every one in. In fact, she was even able to catch 3 good keeper sized walleye to go home with. All the other fish were released to grow!

It was nice to get a little air flowing on the run back and see the smile on Skylar’s face, from catching all those fish! Amazingly enough, I was even able to pull right into the dock and park the boat for take out! Too bad when I went to the truck, I was still pinned in and I almost needed the passenger side to get in the vehicle. It wasn’t easy pulling out but I was perfectly straight and drove out with only an inch or so clearance!

Today worked out almost perfect with the two trips and both girls had a blast catching fish. They had experienced fishing for the very first time and managed to fight a few big fish too! I only wish the rest of the day was as good!

The boat was quickly on the trailer and pulled out of the water as usual, but this is where it goes south! Out of everyone’s way I prepped for the drive home when another vehicle pulled his boat out and drove over a curb smashing his raised Bimini top through a tree. I guess the tree had it coming or something! He then proceeded to park ahead of me, blocking over half the road leading in and out of the park. Then he began prepping his boat as if there was no one else around! Weekend warriors! Needless to say, I was not going anywhere until he was done! After about 15 minutes he finally drove off as if nothing ever happened! Now I could head home, or at least I thought!

As I drove out of the park, I heard a loud grinding sound coming from my trailer and thought it was a wheel bearing. Once on the road, I could see what looked like smoke coming from one of the tires and thought it might be a locked up brake pad too. I eventually pulled off the road to investigate and was surprised that all the hubs were cool to the touch. I tried to move forward again and still more grinding and smoke from one of the tires. Now I knew I had a real problem!

Cory was about to pass me when he saw I was pulled over and did the same. Between the two of us, I was going to have to remove one wheel to be able to get home, limping! We managed to loosen all the lug nuts and then I saw the real problem. Turns out that it wasn’t brakes or bearings but actually something rubbing on the rear tire. Someone had smashed into my trailer while I was parked! They had mangled a step up that fits between the tires to get into the boat. It had to be the guy parked next to me that was so close!. It took a while but I managed to remove the bent step up and was finally on my way. I was glad that Cory stayed with me for the help and as I drove away all was good again! What looked like a real problem turned out to be something that was fixable and I was relieved. It still doesn’t alter the fact that the guy that hit me was an ass because there’s no way that he didn’t know. It was bent so bad that it had to be hit pretty hard! I’ll be looking for his vehicle and any trailer damage he might have every time I’m back at the ramp and hopefully we’ll meet soon. Definitely an interesting day both on and off the water!