John and Angelo were with me today and looking for big fish. We were going to try for sturgeon first and eventually go elsewhere looking for a possible musky. With miserable weather upon us, I hoped it would all work out

We headed onto the water shortly after 7:30 in a light rain and SW winds. It was going to be a wet, windy day, but at least I would be able to hold with only the electric motor. The question now was would the sturgeon bite!

We had remained in the area and moved several times before getting our first bite. Unfortunately the fish was only a juvenile but at least it was the right species and we were officially on the board. John had also landed his first ever sturgeon!

Angelo was up next and when I set into some weight, I thought we were finally going to see our first real fish. Although considerably larger than the previous one, it wasn’t really the size I had hoped for. It put up a pretty good fight but came in a lot faster than I would have liked. It was still worthy of a pic before the release though!

After a little while longer, we did manage one more bite and John reeled in another small fish once again. The winds had increased quite a bit and we had been on the electric for almost 5 hours before we decided to pull the plug. The batteries weren’t holding us properly anymore and I would have needed to use the anchor if we were to stay. Time for another species!

We switched gears and headed somewhere to try our luck at a possible musky. With lines in, I trolled a break line looking for jaws! After a couple of hours of marking fish and just washing lures, I realized that it just wasn’t going to happen and offered them something else to catch.

The winds were blowing pretty good from the west now and I knew we would be able to get into some walleye on an open water flat. I set them both up with a drop shot rig and on the first drift, John had a good keeper walleye! Several more were landed by all in the last hour or so of the day including a few more keepers and a couple of overs. John was even bit off from what we were sure was a much bigger walleye while doing battle with the fish. After almost a minute into the battle, the fish surged and the line snapped at the hook leaving him with a slack rod. We will never know just how big that fish could have been!

The time had passed by quickly today and we had tried plenty of different fishing throughout. Fortunately the finish was strong and John was able to take some fish home in the end. I will be back out again tomorrow with others and with any luck the fish gods will be kind. All I know is that Mother Nature will unleash her power by afternoon, as Val is back for another half day trip. I just hope she isn’t too mean this time around!

After taking a rain day, I was back on the water this morning with Neil & his son Ben. Due to another bad wind direction however, I was forced to go elsewhere. We would be trying water that I hadn’t fished in weeks and I hoped it would work out!

Our starting spot turned into plan “B” when I saw another boat fishing the area. It was going to be one of those days! I immediately headed elsewhere and set up offshore looking for our first bite. Both Neil & Ben were working a drop shot and it didn’t take long for Neil to hook into his first fish. Somehow during the fight, it came unpinned! I informed him not to apply as much pressure on the next one and apparently it worked. A few casts later he landed a real nice bass and things were looking up. Ben wasn’t far behind with one of his own and it was a true giant! He fought it perfectly and a few minutes later I had it in the net. As it turned out, this was by far his personal best smallmouth ever! A few pics later it was released and not livewelled all over the place like so many fisherman do lately!

Ben was definitely in the zone this morning with multiple good catches while Neil covered water, not so fortunate. He did manage to get into a few fish but it wasn’t until we relocated both location and presentation that he changed his luck. Now it was his turn to shine!

With both of them throwing pretty much the same thing, I held in an area that showed plenty of fish. Neil was hooked up frequently but Ben had a hard time getting bit.

I was taking my time in this area in hopes of getting into a spot nearby. Unfortunately it just seemed to fill up with another boat every time it became available! The waters were alive with bass boats today, as if they were all in a tournament! I guess nobody works anymore! Eventually the area became clear again and I skipped over all kinds of great water to go there.

I guess it was worth the wait as Neil was tight to a fish on his first cast. We were working it differently than all the other boats that had just fished it and about to see just how many fish they left! Apparently it was full so I guess they had left more than they expected! Neil was on fire hooking fish after fish and Ben eventually got in the game too. Now they were seeing why I had wanted to get over here so badly.

Playing defense is no stranger to how I have had to fish the last few years. With the numerous bass tournaments going on, everyone is always in tournament mode. I’m not too sure what happened to fishing etiquette, but it appears to have gone the way of the dinosaur! I had one boat try and go in front of me to fish where we were casting, while anchored up with the electric motor. I immediately released the hold and slid down just enough to block him out. He actually decided to go above us and fish instead! Still within casting distance, both Neil & Ben couldn’t believe what they were seeing. I told them of an incident that I had last season that saw a boat fish through between us and the shoreline, only a couple of boat lengths away. Shocked at what I had told them, they were about to see it in person as this guy did exactly the same thing! It’s unbelievable what the new generation has become! I’m sure this guy was the exception, but it’s really sad to see!

We never skipped a beat and continued to catch quality fish throughout the ordeal. Both Ben & his father managed to land many more bass in the remaining time here. We eventually decided to make another move when the action slowed and the winds built too big.

The next hour or so saw a mix of techniques being used to try and get into more fish. We hit several areas with limited success and decided to move further away in pursuit of a different species. Ben had wanted to try for walleye and I thought it would be a good idea with so many other boats around!

We made the best of the last couple of hours by hitting a few deep holes in hopes of some fish to take home. The first three spots saw only perch and a couple of bass and it wasn’t looking good! A last ditch effort with about 15 minutes remaining finally had Neil hooking a keeper. This apparently started everything! Fifteen minutes turned into about an hour as we remained on the spot and managed to put a couple of limits in the boat. I just couldn’t leave the fish now that I had found them!

Although longer than I had wanted to stay, it was all worth it in the end! They were bringing plenty of fish home and it was all done in the last hour of the day.

Today was a great one and probably the best day Neil had seen this season. Plenty of big smallies were landed throughout the day and he even had some great fish for dinner. The weather couldn’t have been better either as this was one of the nicest days I had fished in quite a while. Lately all I had seen was bad weather and cancellations! With the exception of all the other boats and one incident, this was by far the closest thing to a perfect fall fishing day!

Rich, Chabil & Maxime joined me today for another mixed bag outing. We were going to begin trying for sturgeon and switch to bass by mid-day. Hopefully everything would cooperate and they would have a great time!

With the water having dropped once again, I didn’t know what to expect as I headed out. Winds were blowing NE and between the two, the current would be reduced as well. It would make for an interesting anchor up!

After marking a few fish, I set up and required the aid of the drift sock just to remain in position. Without it, we were being pushed up current or holding sideways. Exactly what I expected!

We remained on the sturgeon for several hours and managed to catch a half dozen in the time we fished. Too bad they all weren’t big, but you just never know when you get bit. Rich & Max were able to land a couple of decent ones before we were done. The best fight had to have been Rich’s as it took him almost 15 minutes to bring it to net. Although it never jumped, the runs were long and so was the battle!

With sturgeon out of the way, I headed to an area for smallmouth. This is what the group was looking forward to doing and it didn’t take long before we were bit. I had Max throwing soft plastics and he actually put the first 5 fish in the boat before any of the others even hooked up. Right place, right time I guess! Eventually they all got in the game and also landed bass of their own. By switching it up between soft & hard baits, many more fish were boated in the time we were there. Too bad it passed so quickly though as we were only able to fish a few areas. Our morning sturgeon fishing had taken up a lot of time and after a couple more spots, we were done.

Today had gone as planned with sturgeon in the morning and bass in the afternoon. Everyone had caught both and there was even one red horse sucker landed while sturgeon fishing as well. Hopefully in the coming weeks I will be able to continue putting people on fish and there will be many more great days of fishing. I will definitely be mixing it up between the sturgeon and bass & walleye fishing as the water temps continue to drop. Fall fishing is always a great time for everything and I will be looking to catch as much as I can. Hopefully Mother Nature will feel the same way too!

Ray & his son Enzo had planned this day for several weeks now, but were worried about the conditions. Winds were scheduled to blow, once again and grow throughout the day! I had a game plan set in place and was going to follow it based on the increasing winds. I would have my work cut out for me, as usual!

We headed out in a west wind that saw 1 to 2 footers on the water and I stopped in an area that would be impossible to fish later. It was here that they both got into their first fish. We managed 2 walleye and a couple more smallies before jumping to the next spot. I was on a run & gun quest and hitting every place until we were forced to just settle!

The second area may not have seen as many fish, but the bass were much bigger! Both of them only managed one each but they were quality! Enzo caught his on a blade and Ray on a soft plastic! A little disappointed, I left here and headed much further away. I wanted to make the long run while I still could, before the winds got too bad.

I began with a systematic approach by starting deep and gradually moving shallower. The last couple of days had seen hurricane like winds and extreme cold temps making me think that some of the bigger fish had moved back out for shelter. They drop shotted over the spot and although I did mark a few good fish, nothing bit. A slightly shallower area was next and the results were about the same. Time to move in tight and hit the shallows!

Enzo was still throwing a blade and as soon as I told him to cast, he slammed a great bass! Historically this spot produces numbers as well as size in the fall and it was looking good! I quickly anchored up with the electric as they went to work on the area. Both Enzo & his father were into fish for over an hour, before we moved. Unfortunately most of the bites turned into lost fish as they had a tough time keeping the bass pinned. I even had to refine techniques in order to monopolize on the numbers. Despite losing more than they caught, they still managed plenty of good ones!

Our next stop wasn’t nearly as productive and saw only one bass and an out of place northern from Ray. I didn’t stay long with these poor results and winds having increased, before moving again. Similar results from the next place saw a couple more bass and we moved once again!

I realized quickly while running that we were not going to be able to fish many more open water spots, but had to try regardless! We headed to one more in 3 footers, running with the wind! It was next to impossible to hold properly, but somehow I managed long enough for Enzo to land another quality bass. One more was also lost boatside before we were done for here!

With time remaining, I hit a couple of other spots with similar conditions. The first one was tough but Enzo brought to net another nice bass in the short time here. The next place was to be our last stop but we remained here for about 90 minutes. I hadn’t fished here all year and it was slightly protected for a good drift. With the aid of the electric keeping us sideways, I managed a good speed for what we were doing! I’m not sure how many fish were landed in the remaining time but every drift yielded multiple hookups. Enzo was on fire slamming one after the other and his father added several as well. They even had some doubles before we were done!

Our run back to the docks showed us exactly what we were dealing with as threes became fours in many places. I kind of went back like a sailboat, tacking in the waves! By 4:00 we were safely on the docks and our day was over! I had somehow managed to zig & zag at all the right times today and made it work! They had caught fish throughout the entire time on the water and got into a couple of good flurries too! The final spot was definitely a good decision as they went out with a bang! I literally turned lemons into lemonade on another cruel, Mother Nature, hurricane like day! Too bad tomorrow is going to be much worse as I would have loved to get back out and do it again!

Another day on the water with Val and it was a windy one once again! He has an uncanny track record of pissing off Mother Nature this season! Would we be able to make it work?

My day started off not so great when I had to change a flat tire on the trailer before heading to the ramp. I had a screw in the tread and had no idea where I managed to get it. Fortunately it only put me behind by about 20 minutes. The fish would just have to wait!

Val & I headed out in a not so bad chop that I was actually looking forward to fishing. We had one to two footers and they were from the south. It looked totally doable as I pulled into our first area and marked all kinds of fish. The wind had them active and it wasn’t long before Val was into his first walleye of the day. It was definitely going to be an over by the way it was fighting. Within the first three minutes we had several fish in the boat, but only one was a high end keeper.

After about 45 minutes the action just stopped and I was no longer marking like I was before. Something had changed and on my next hit, I was just bit off. I guess old toothy had arrived and crashed the party! We stuck it out for about 30 minutes longer before changing locations entirely. I would return later when he had hopefully disappeared.

I ran to a smallie spot just for a change and had Val tossing a blade in the area. He had fished it with me only a week before and just crushed the bass! Too bad today wasn’t the same as not a follow or take did he have! I slowed down by trying a jig here and managed only one fish. After close to an hour of covering the water we decided to relocate again. The winds had also switched direction and were building like they had forecasted. It was about to get bad!

I wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to go but stopped on the first spot I thought looked doable. We drop shotted the area for about 20 minutes, landing several bass and a good keeper eye. Unfortunately we were blown off the area when walls of white caps began to appear. Even the spot lock wasn’t holding us in place! Time for a different location I guess!

I tried a couple of places somewhat sheltered from the wind, but never really felt comfortable fishing them. They were early season spots and completely void at this time of the year. We would have to move again!

I decided to make a long run to try and drift the open water but realized quickly that the waves were just too big to be able to fish. We tried the area that we had started at instead, hoping that the toothy critter had relocated. Once out in the open I made a few drifts and soon found out that it was just too difficult to feel anything. We were in 3 & 4 footers and finessing baits. Not an easy task to say the least! I had another back up plan in place and decided that now was the time to use it!

I headed over to a spot that I had recently had success fishing, in big rollers! With the aid of a drift sock to slow us down, we pounded on the walleye for a couple of hours. We were also able to add many more keepers to the well, completing Val’s limit for the day!

For some strange reason, the wind diminished around 3:00 and we were able to make another move out to open water again. We would be fishing where we had started in hopes of a few more big bites!

Within the first three minutes, Val managed to get his first bite and boated another nice big eye. A quick pic due to the lack of photos today and back it went. Val only managed to get one more bite but this time it was a good keeper and added to his catch. Looks like I would also be bringing a few fish home tonight too!

This was definitely a strange day all around with changing conditions causing many adjustments. We may not have been able to get to most of the areas I wanted to fish but we made it work. By switching it up plenty of fish were landed including a very nice limit of walleye for Val to bring home. Even I was able to take a few smaller keepers for dinner tonight! Tough conditions but par for the course with Val!