This was the last day for Gary and his son Jake and they hoped to get into a smallie bite. For a change, the waters were almost flat, making for a much smoother ride. I hit a bunch of spots with only a few fish showing in each before finally ending on one with numbers. Although mostly smaller in size, they did catch several fish each. Jake landed the best one just under 20 inches and was thrilled to have caught his personal best.

Unfortunately, we had to cut the day shorter than expected with an electrical storm approaching. A quick check on the radar and we were gone. Thunder and lightning were heard and seen in the distance and I wasn’t hanging around any longer. The 3-day trip for Gary had proved to be a success with 3 new species being caught. Being from Colorado, they had never seen pike, walleye or smallmouth bass. Now they had caught all of them! Talk about returning at another time for sturgeon and possibly muskie was thrown around before we parted ways. With any luck a fall trip in the coming years will complete these two, along with more smallies and walleye. I look forward to seeing them again should they decide to come back and will try my best to make it happen!!

Gary was back again this morning and he brought along his family. All four of them enjoyed the half day of fishing, catching many pike & walleye. We trolled the entire morning, as it seemed to be working fairly well. I did however see way more fish than we caught, causing this trip to be another grinder once again! I guess the water temps don’t help with 65 degrees being hard to find. Cool weather ahead will cause this to probably fall again. Will the weather ever stabilize this season!!

Gary and his son Jack endured another brutally windy day on the water today. It seemed like everywhere we ventured we were fishing in rollers! The west winds were relentless and trolling seemed to be the only method that allowed them to fish. Even at that, it was tough! We managed to make it work though and plenty of big walleye were brought to net, along with a decent northern. I have them back again tomorrow  and two more will be joining them as well. I only hope for calmer waters and more active fish!!

Tom & Jose were here on business, all the way from Texas! They joined me today for a mix of pike & walleye in not-so-great conditions. The winds had been big and looked like they would remain that way as well for this trip. We fished hard and scratched up a decent number of fish in their 6 hours out. They had to call it early, as plans for dinner had limited their time on the water.

It may have been a short tough day, but at least the sun shined on us all day long!!

Another chilly morning with NE winds again! Peter & Patrick joined me for a half day trip and we headed out looking for some active fish. It’s really hard to find them when the water is still 57 degrees!

With lines in, we began our troll and the first three bites were short strikes. Eventually one did stay pinned though and a good walleye finally came aboard. I covered plenty of water, both deep and shallow, picking at them here and there. Both pike and walleye were being caught but not the numbers I expect to see at this time of the year. I also expect the water to be above 60 degrees!

After grinding it out for a few hours, I made a move and went to a shallower troll in a different area. They both were with rod in hand now as we trolled over the rocky areas. A few more walleye & perch were landed along with a couple of incidental smallies, before we ran out of time. Difficult fishing still plagues me this season with slower than usual action due to the weather. It really needs to warm up so that the water temps can also increase. Although the fish are there, they don’t want to move much to eat. Despite this, I still seem to make it work each and every time out. Decent numbers of fish are being landed but I always expect more. Patience is a virtue and it will happen, soon! Better days are coming!!