Slamming Beasts

Peter, Michael & Amanda joined me today on what was supposed to be the hottest day so far this year. Temperatures were going to reach into the 90’s and even higher with the humidex. It was going to be a real scorcher!

We began with the usual troll, in hopes of getting into some quick fish and after a couple of adjustments, managed to put the first walleye in the well. A few pike were also landed along with several missed strikes too. I only hoped that the fish wouldn’t be acting like they did yesterday, with way too many misses!

After covering plenty of water I decided to move to another area and it was here that Peter managed to bring a few big walleye aboard. It was a struggle to keep the fish on the hooks but both Amanda & Michael reeled in several other pike as well. I wasn’t happy about all the short rips and missed fish from this place and realized that with the lack of wind I was going to have to work even harder if we were to continue. After one last walleye by Peter, I decided to pull the plug and go casting for bass!

We were already near 11:00 when I made the move and set up the rods for everyone to use. I slid into shallow water and it didn’t take long before Michael was into the first bass of the day. When it jumped I knew that it was a giant and coached him on what to do to land this beast. Once in the net I think we were all in shock at exactly how big it really was and I had him hold it for a few pics. It had a strange color pattern on the body but it was in great shape as he released it back to the water, in hopes of another bite.

I had decided to try something different on one of the rods and made a cast to see if I could draw a few fish out. Immediately I was slammed and brought an even bigger bass to the net. This place seemed loaded and I was going to remain here until they stopped biting! Michael followed up with his second bass and although not quite as large as his previous one, it was still a giant! In just a few short casts he had managed to bring two absolute beauties into the boat. His father and sister were amazed at their overall size and wondered when they would get theirs. They may not have gotten the big ones like Michael but soon after, everyone was getting into fish of their own. Plenty of quality bass were taken from this area before things slowed and I had to move.

Our next location wasn’t nearly as good as the previous one but we did manage to get a few more fish from here. With the temperatures insane I only hit a couple of other spots briefly before I brought them somewhere to swim. Without the top up it felt like we were baking in an oven!

We headed to a shallower sandy place that they could take advantage of cooling off and even try fishing from chest high water at the same time. Amanda was the last to get in and casted from the boat before going in. She almost had a good bass from the deck but unfortunately it came off too quickly. I think it had surprised her and she pulled back too soon!

We remained in this area and they swam for almost an hour before we decided to resume fishing. With under an hour left in the day I wanted more! I knew they could get into a few more fish before we were done and moved to another shallow rock pike to try and get a few more bites.

Amanda wasted no time hooking into yet another beast of a bass when I heard the drag go from her reel. When it jumped I realized that it was a monster and guided her around the motors to land it. What a surprise she had when I finally netted her catch! These fish today were absolutely huge and would have been impressive at any tournament weigh in! Several pics were taken and the fish was released immediately after. Both Peter and Michael also got in the game adding a few more bass to the total but none the likes of the one Amanda had just caught.

I kept trying different areas and other sections of where we were and Amanda was locked up quickly once again. It was another giant! This time she fought it far from the boat and eventually I slid the net under her biggest bass of the day. I don’t even want to guess what kind of weight we would have had as a total for the five biggest bass today!

We fished for a little while longer and they managed to bring in several more bass and a couple of walleye before we were done. I don’t think they could have had a better day for big fish that what we had today as everyone landed personal bests. In fact without even knowing it, they all had slammed today as well. A combination of pike, walleye & bass made for the triple fish species they needed for their Grand Slams! Who could ask for anything more!