Big Winds Big Fish
July 3, 2022
Jonathan & his wife Stacy were with me today after arriving in Montreal on a cruise ship. What had started off in Boston a week earlier had finished here in the city. A quick Uber to our meeting location and we were on the water soon after. We were fishing by 8:00 and I hoped to get them into plenty of fish throughout the day!
As luck would have it, one of the reels fired and Stacy took the rod. Luckily for her, it wasn’t small and this was a good battle! I knew right away what she had and instructed her on what to do. She not only was into her first musky but also her biggest fish ever. I eventually netted the beast and hauled it into the boat just before the hooks fell out. Jonathan had to hold the fish for a couple of pics and a quick release was made soon after. Now that’s how I like to start the day!
We trolled up several more fish from the same area, both walleye and pike, before moving on. The winds had increased now and were expected to get bigger as the day went on. I wanted to see if they could get into some smallies and made a long run to deep water with the wind direction we had. Too bad the area I thought to be calmer wasn’t! We fished there regardless and only a few fish were landed. There were also several missed opportunities, but that’s fishing!
By early afternoon the boat traffic had picked up, making several spots difficult to fish. I tried one place anyway and Jonathan did manage to boat a couple more walleye from there. It was tough to stand up with the winds but even tougher with all the giant boat waves! I decided to move from here and headed shallower. It was here that they both managed several more bass and a few good ones too. Although it wasn’t on fire with the high dirty water, there were at least fish somewhat active! After hitting one more area close by and Jonathan landing another walleye and bass, we were done. They had to make a flight back home and needed to be at the airport by 4:00.
The run back really showed how bad the winds were as we headed with waves. It was sort of like surfing! I may not have been able to do everything I wanted today but with a few adjustments I was at least able to let them fish somewhat comfortable. It seems like there’s only two kinds of wind this year. Hurricane or zero! Oh well, that’s why I have a big boat I guess! Great day for fishing!
