All Day Bites
October 10, 2020
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!
