This was Rick & Danny’s final day of fishing for their trip and I wanted to keep the ball rolling. Unfortunately the waters we had wanted to go to had another tournament and there would be boats everywhere. I decided to remain on the same water and grind it out!

With winds expected to increase from the south this morning, I thought we’d give sturgeon fishing another try before it got too big. We set the lines and held in place with the electric motor, but still had to hold the rods due to the bouncing waves.

After a couple of moves due to only nibbles, I finally felt the first bite. As soon as I reared back on the rod, I knew it was a good fish just by the dead weight. The rod never moved when I came up, signifying a beast!

Danny was up, after Rick had landed the last fish a couple of days back and gladly took the rod. It was like he was snagged on the bottom! When the fish took a few runs, all he could do was hang on and let it go. There was no turning the fish or controlling it and I knew he was in for a long fight!

Although this fish never jumped, the battle took place entirely on the bottom, with strong runs. Fifteen minutes after the initial hook up Danny was actually bringing the monster up, or so he thought. Each time he was able to gain line, the sturgeon took it all back and more. It was a really strong fish and didn’t want to give up!

We were pushing the 20 minute mark before he actually raised it to the surface and even at that, the fish still made a few more runs. Eventually I slid the net under the fish and ended the battle. Surprisingly it was a male and not the female I had thought by the fight. If it had of been, it would have been a real monster. Instead it was a male and one of the longest ones I had ever seen. It was still a big fish and really heavy as Danny found out during the pics! I never really got any great shots as he wasn’t able to hold it for very long. He was happy to release it as quickly as possible and end the pain! As it turned out, this was his largest sturgeon to date and the only one we were to get for the day. I guess if you only get one, that was the right one!

We stayed a little longer but the winds really picked up creating much bigger waves, forcing us to pull the plug on this area. They were only fishing a half day and I thought we would take advantage of the conditions and try for walleye instead. They gladly agreed and we packed up and made the long run to where I knew they would be.

Within minutes after arriving, Danny & I were hooked up on a couple of good keepers. The place was loaded by the looks of the screen and I knew there would be many more! Drift after drift, fish were being hooked and after a couple of hours, they both had their limits to take home. I held out a little longer and managed to put a few more in the boat for me as well. Our day was officially done!

The three days spent fishing had produced some great fish each day. Today however was like the icing on the cake with the largest sturgeon and perfect timing for a couple of limits of fish. I was glad Mother Nature had somewhat cooperated and not killed us with either a monsoon or hurricane winds! Overall, she was quite pleasant at times, providing us with some great fishing and absolutely beautiful weather. It actually felt more like mid-August than the end of September! Another great trip in the books, once again!

Rick & Danny were back with me again this morning for a day of bass fishing. With little to no wind and temps expected to be in the 90 degree range, I knew it should be good.

Our first spot produced many bites but unfortunately none of them actually got hooked. I was surprised to see this but it happens I guess. We eventually headed to another area in hopes of better success after working it thoroughly.

There were plenty of boats on the water today and I had to fish faster than I would have liked to get to certain places. Covering water seemed to be the ticket though as both Danny & Rick managed to catch many quality bass on soft plastics. With each section of the areas we fished, big bass were present! It was definitely a lot better than where we had started!

We made several moves to different spots today and saw lots of boat traffic along the way. I think anyone that owned a boat was on the water due to the amazing weather!

Late in the afternoon I decided to hit a spot that was literally in the middle of nowhere and Rick managed to get into several more quality fish both on soft plastics and blades. He even brought to net a nice walleye that was unfortunately over the slot limit.

With time getting on, I hit one last spot and we managed one more bass before we were done. Although they struggled today, the fish they caught were big! Quality over quantity is sometimes better and that’s exactly what we had. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring but I’m sure it will be equally as good. They will be fishing a half day and I’ll have to get the job done in less time. Challenge accepted!

Rick & Danny were here for three days and today they were looking for some giants. Hopefully the fish would cooperate with the winds from the NE. We were about to find out soon!

The run to our starting spot was a roller coaster ride! Waves were 2 to 3 footers and rolled like Lake Ontario. It was going to be interesting holding in these conditions as they were opposite the flow.

Once I located some fish, we used the electric motor to anchor up and surprisingly it was fine. We had to hold the rods however as the boat was bouncing way too much to use the rod holders.

Not long into the day I felt a bite and set into something. Danny was up first and took the rod only to reel in a massive drum! It was definitely bigger than any other he had caught before. Rick was up next and his brother set into something a little more substantial in weight. Danny gave the rod to him and he did battle for quite some time. Although it never jumped, it did put up a great fight making 8 long runs. This was the most any sturgeon had ever taken before! I eventually netted the fish and despite not being thick it made up for it in length. It was a really long male and definitely worthy of several pics before the release!

We reset the lines awaiting our next bite and Rick returned the favour, by setting into another beast. Danny was about to do battle with one even larger than the previous fish he had hooked!

The males always seem to hug the bottom while fighting and this was exactly what his fish was doing. The fight lasted almost 15 minutes and had a number of long runs as well. When I was finally able to slide the net under the sturgeon, we realized why. It was a real long fish! Danny held it for a few pics and off she went to fight another day. I still don’t know why anyone would want to kill one of these creatures!

We remained in the same general area and made a couple of moves trying to locate more active monsters. Four more of them came out to play but they were all somewhat smaller than the first two dinosaurs! Eventually we decided to leave as the winds had increased and we wanted to try for other species before the day ended.

Well the last 90 minutes didn’t turn out as I had planned with only a few fish biting. I was marking plenty of walleye on the bottom but with the big NE winds, was unable to get anything going. We eventually ran out of time and called it a day! Tomorrow we will likely focus our attention on smaller fish, but maybe we’ll drop the sticks in and try for a different kind of beast as well. We’ll just have to wait and see what the day brings. Today was a success and I hope the next two are equally as good as the first!

Val was back with me today, so that meant a big windy one once again! He definitely has a track record for being lucky with the weather when it comes to windy days. Oh well, we were both use to it and I would make it work regardless!

We headed on the water around 8:30 along with his faithful companion, Britney. Three footers were coming from the west making our run to the first spot quite bumpy. Even once we arrived, I realized that it would be difficult just holding while he fished the area. Boat control & presentation here was key and I really had my work cut out for me!

With Val covering the water, I slowly made my way downstream, while trying not to slide away from the fish. It didn’t take long for him to hook up and on a lure he never had confidence using. He landed a quality bass on a blade! In the past, he never wanted to throw this lure because of how well he had done. Today would be different however as he was about to gain the confidence he needed!

He fished thoroughly over this spot and only had one bass to show for his efforts. Even after trying a few other presentations, he still wasn’t able to hook up. Just before we were to leave, I made a cast with the soft plastic he was using and slammed into a real good one. I passed the rod and readied the net for the beast! We spent a few more minutes in the area after the release but were unable to hook anything else and decided to leave.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next in these big winds and started running blind. As I neared the other shore, I realized that the wind didn’t seem so bad. Thoughts of anchoring up for sturgeon crossed my mind and I began searching for them. After idling around for a bit, I decided to give it a try! With both the anchor and the electric motor holding, we were able to make it work. The only thing was that we had to hold the rods as they were bouncing too much in the holders to detect any bites.

We hadn’t been set up for more than ten minutes before Val hooked the first fish. I could tell by the lack of fight that it wasn’t very big. Regardless, it was the right species and put us on the board! Not long after we reset the lines, Val had another bite. This time however, when he reared back, there was weight! It was definitely bigger than the first! Somewhere during the fight it must have rolled and managed to tangle itself in the line, causing it to be reeled in backwards. Not much fight again but once untangled, it went insane! Too bad it was already at the surface because it would have been a much better fight down deep!

We decided that we would stay a little longer and set the lines back, hoping for a third bite. In less than ten minutes again, we had another bite. This time I reared back on some definite weight. Val took the rod and began to do battle with what turned out to be the biggest sturgeon of the day! This one also rapped itself in the line and when he untangled it at the surface, it went straight back to the bottom in a line screaming run. At least he was having a longer fight on this fish! Several pics were taken and I reset the lines back, after the release again. Unfortunately we never had another bite! We had only fished for about an hour and managed to get three sturgeon but that was all she wrote. After almost 30 minutes of nada, we decided to pull plug and go for bass. The winds had built up and it was now harder to feel anything in the bouncing waves.

I had hoped on getting Val into a few more active smallies on the blades and headed to a couple of shallow areas to try. The second spot was pretty good with him landing about a half dozen big ones and missing a few more too. He actually caught all of them on blades and is now a believer!

With not much time remaining in the day, I headed to an open water shoal to see if we could get into a few walleye for his dinner tonight. With a good roll on the water, I was pretty sure we would!

Once I located the fish, we were able to land several good keepers and he managed to take a limit from this area. We also lost a few others and landed a couple of big northerns from the same spot too!

Today may have been a little rough at times and getting around was not very pleasant. Fortunately the fish cooperated making this one of the best days for Val, so far this season. We definitely ended it on a high with some tasty fish for dinner. Hopefully the fall fishing will continue to improve even more and this will become the norm for the remainder of the year. Great day to be fishing!

Scott, Cory & Obi joined me today for another mixed bag outing. They were looking for sturgeon but would settle for bass & walleye if they didn’t bite. It’s always a good idea to have a backup!

It was another chilly morning when we hit the water and with zero wind, quite foggy in places. I needed to watch carefully as I headed to the area that I was going to fish sturgeon. With very few showing on the sonar lately, I just hoped for a couple of bites.

The conditions were just perfect to detect the subtle bites with the rods in the holders. Within the first 15 minutes one of the rods received a light movement and I set into a fish. I knew by the lack of weight that it wasn’t big and passed the rod to Obi, hoping that he would get his first sturgeon. Without much fight on the heavier rods, he managed to bring the fish in quickly! Although it was the right species, it was definitely the wrong size!

We remained in the area and after making a few moves, were unable to get another bite. I had one other place further away that I wanted to try and headed there to investigate. With this being such a beautiful day, I didn’t want to waste too much time on fish that we couldn’t locate. I idled over the area and scanned everywhere looking for marks, but soon gave up on these fish. It was time to change our tactics and switch to something different!

With rods prepped for smallies, I made a move to an area that had been good to me lately. Scott was the only person to hook up here but not for lack of trying from the others. We were seeing some big fish swimming that just weren’t interested! I had arrived too late and the sun was not helping us with the bite. Early morning is always better but we had fished for sturgeon instead!

Our next spot was a little more productive as Scott once again had chances almost immediately. He missed two big fish on a couple of casts but rebounded by nailing one on his third blow up. He was throwing a soft plastic and the fish just crushed it! Cory also had a chance but ended up missing a big one too! We covered more water and they picked fish here & there but the numbers weren’t great. I covered the area thoroughly with several different presentations searching for more, but eventually had to leave.

Our next stop had all three of the guys catching more smallies on a drop shot rig. The bite was slow but they did manage to hook into some smaller ones while casting a deep edge. I realized quickly however that the numbers weren’t here either and relocated for one last time.

With about an hour remaining in the day we headed out to a deeper shoal in hopes of a few more bites. The conditions weren’t in our favor as the water was like a mirror. I was forced to use the electric motor to move us along. They ended the day with a bunch more jumbo perch and one walleye before we were done. There were plenty of fish marking but with almost no water movement, they just remained there!

This day was probably the nicest one so far, weather wise, but not the best for the type of fishing we were doing. Despite the lack of numbers, there were still plenty of fish seen. Some were landed and some were just lost! I will be seeing Scott again in a couple of weeks and hopefully the fall bite will be in full swing. I’m sure that either way, he will have a great time landing more of those football sized bass!