I was back out again this morning, searching for more pike. The water temps remained chilly at barely 50 degrees as I trolled the shallows. Yao and his wife were in from China and had a great time this morning, with their half day trip. Yao caught plenty of pike and his wife even managed the first walleye of the season. No pic, as it was still out of season and released quickly. Despite the lethargic nature of these fish, we still managed to get a bunch. Another great morning of fishing!

May 3^rd 2025

Mahmoud and his friends were with me today for a bachelor party gift. It required an additional boat and I requested the aid of Mike, another local guide. Together we managed to troll up almost 25 pike for the gang, in about 3 hours of fishing. Water temps were extremely cold, causing us to work the areas slowly in order to get bit. Overall, a very successful day for the season opener!

A half day trip today saw me hooking up at 10:00 as the weather was looking better by mid-day. It was quite cold in the morning along with a big NW wind, so sunshine was going to be our friend. I had a big group of four and decided to go where the numbers were, once again. Alfred, Sandrou, Marcos & Soufiane were excited to get started so we wasted no time getting the boat wet. I just hoped that the fish would be active!

Multiple spots were hit in the 4 hours on the water and everyone of them produced fish. Plenty of numbers were caught and a few of them were better than average bass. Sandrou definitely caught the most today but the others had their chances as well. This 4-hour trip was a gift from Alfred’s wife as a birthday present and a great one to be shared with his friends and family. Overall, they couldn’t have asked for a better day on the water for November! It may have been cold out, but the fishing was hot and that’s all that counts!!

Mike joined me today for another slugfest of smallmouth bass! He spent it flying solo and caught a good number of these brown beauties. Although mostly small to medium again, he single handedly managed double digits many times over. He even landed one of the largest pike this fall. Oh yeah, almost a muskie too! This thing ate his dropshot weight at the boat and literally splashed him when it took to the air. This was after it bit off a crankbait boatside as well! In fact, we had to relocate from this area due to the toothy critter shutting down the bass bite entirely.

Some smaller fish were landed once again on the second spot, causing us to move around even more. I was on the quest for big smallies but we were on numbers instead. Everywhere we went Mike landed fish, but he had a tough time breaking the 3-pound size. Our final location saw us holding for over an hour and he bumped up the numbers once again. I don’t know how many fish he landed today, but it was insane for only one person. Add to this the number of missed strikes and lost fish, and who knows what it could have been.

Despite everything today, Mike had probably one of the most incredible days on the water. It was so good that he’s even considering another trip before this season ends. Mother Nature will have the final say on that matter with the weather changing quickly. Hopefully it won’t end too soon, as the bite will only get better in the coming weeks. Too many fish, too little time!!

Today was an exceptionally windy one and another road trip was necessary, in order to be able to fish. Scott was celebrating his birthday and brought along Chris and Ian for their annual fall outing. We would be braving the giant winds and hopefully the fish would cooperate. It was going to be a challenge getting these guys into fish!

I made a long run to our first spot and realized that the winds were blowing right down the pipes when we arrived. We spot locked with the electric motor and seemed to be managing alright, despite the big howl. A combination of current and wind had the electric motor working overtime! This wouldn’t be good for the batteries!

In the first 90 minutes or so, everyone managed to get several fish. Although not the size I expected to see, there was plenty of action. It had the makings of a high number’s day! About two hours into the morning, I realized that the electric motor wasn’t holding us as good as it should. I was draining the batteries quickly and needed to figure something out. I decided to throw an anchor to aid the motor, to be able to fish the entire day. It was a little awkward, but at least we would conserve the batteries some, as the motor had been working at max the entire time we were here.

The action continued for most of the morning, but we had changed locations a couple of times. I had switched to a drift in slightly calmer water and they boated many more fish. Multiple passes over deeper areas saw bass coming aboard frequently, but they were all the same size. Quantity was the name of the game today!

It had actually felt like the winds had dropped somewhat and I decided to hit an area that I wanted to fish, earlier in the day. Upon arrival I realized that it was just an illusion and was right back in the heavy current and winds. Another option was tried and with the aid of the small engine, I was able to reduce the battery drain even more. Although, not the first time I had done this, it was the first time this year! We held much better in the current and were able to fish where we wanted by using both motors.

With time getting on, I decided to return to the first spot we had fished in hopes of more action. Apparently, it was the right decision as it didn’t take long to get into the fish. Many more bass were caught from here by everyone and Chris even managed to get one of the big ones that we had been searching for. It was definitely, big fish of the day!

We had all agreed to make one final move to an area out of the wind, to finish off the day.  We drifted along a deeper ledge holding more bass and they boated quite a few more. In fact, Scott managed to catch at least one on every pass! They had landed great numbers today and had plenty of action from the start. The end was no different either as they went out with a bang!

Today was a perfect example of never giving up. I had to make many adjustments in order to be able to fish. Despite the big winds from Mother Nature, a little fine tuning got the job done. In the end, we were able to effectively fish the areas I wanted and the let the results speak for themselves! Just another day in paradise!!