August 26th 2018

Another minor issue with the outboard yesterday had me out for just a half day of fishing. Although Dave & his son John managed to get into some good fish, most of the better ones were either lost or missed all together. Today however, it was going to be a different story!

Peter & his son Matt were with me, but not expecting what was about to happen. It was Matt’s first time ever fishing and I began with the basics of just casting. From there we moved on to how to work the baits and the rest just fell into place.

Our first stop had many missed fish but it was a learning curve that had to happen. Both Peter & Matt had chances but it just wasn’t meant to be. I covered plenty of water hoping that they would get into them but was the only one to bring anything aboard. I did pass off the rod to Matt on a nice smallie that he landed, but it wasn’t the same as a hooked fish. No pics were had!

Once I was sure they were working everything right, I made another move to an area holding only big bass. It was here that things picked up! Not long after we arrived, Peter hooked into a really good smallie. It jumped several times and tried desperately to get off before I managed to get it in the net. Finally, their first fish! Now all I needed was for Matt to hook into one on his own.

We continued to fish the area and had a few more missed strikes before Peter set into another tank. He had made a really long cast and nailed a fish that must have been roaming in the area. When it jumped it seemed like 100 feet away & even at that distance, it looked huge! It put up quite a fight with several more jumps before it was boatside and in the net. I only wish that it was a little wider because it really had the length to be a 6 pounder! Regardless, it was definitely worthy of several pics.

Matt had been having a tough time missing fish, but it was about to change. He finally had a pickup and set into a good fish that actually stayed on. Although I did have to tell him to reel as fast as he could to bend the rod, he kept the bass pinned. Several jumps later, it was in the net and he officially had caught his very own smallie. It was also a big one and definitely worthy of several pics before the release.

I had noticed on the radar that we had some rain coming our way and wanted to get a few more bass before I set up the top and went trolling. We continued covering water with a few more decent fish being landed and Matt nailed another really good one once again. He was definitely getting the hang of it and enjoying catching fish! This one too was worthy of a few pics!

Late in the morning and just before the rain hit, I raised the roof and set everything up to troll. Good thing too as it began to pour almost immediately after I was done! I had hoped on getting them something big but wasn’t sure what would happen as I dropped the lines in and began the troll.

We hadn’t been fishing for even ten minutes when one of the reels went off and it went hard. I grabbed the rod and passed it to Matt, but took it back soon after when I thought the fish had buried itself in the weeds. To my surprise, it hadn’t and was just heavy! I gave the rod back and cleared the other rods as I knew what he had on. I even dropped the roof with the rain falling so that I was able to maneuver the boat when needed. We had a definite confirmation when it cleared the water in a spectacular jump that nearly left them in shock.

After a lengthy battle and me without a big net, I was finally able to get the boga grip securely locked on her jaw. I wasted no time unhooking the beast and placed it in Matt’s hands for a few really quick pics. Back she went unharmed and no worse for wear! Matt was still in disbelief, but his father had captured the whole thing on video. It was real and she was spectacular!

We spent about another hour or so trolling in heavy downpours for pike and managed several before they called it a day. What was supposed to finish at 4:00, ended a little early when we pulled the plug before 1:00. They had seen enough and after that lunge, it would only be downhill anyway!

Peter had brought his son Matt fishing for his very first time and I think he was officially hooked for life! Not only had he landed some really nice bass but he had caught a huge musky as well. Added to that, he had managed a slam with one of the northerns he had landed too! I told him that he should go out tonight and buy a lotto ticket!

Despite the short trip, they had both seen some pretty good fish today. The smallies would have been good numbers if we had remained on them longer, but the weather had us making an change. For once I was actually thankful for mother nature being such a pain and making us change to trolling. If it weren’t for her, Matt would have never gotten to do battle with a fish of a lifetime. Mother nature usually sucks, but this time she rocked!!

August 24th 2018

Lindsay had booked this day way back in April for her son Max. He was hoping to catch a sturgeon and I was going to do my best to make it happen! The waves would be our biggest problem today!

We headed out shortly after 7:00 and I hoped we would be able to anchor up in this wind. It was blowing pretty hard from the SW, causing me concern. All we could do was try!

I began looking for the fish before I actually got set up and found enough marks to give it a shot. I wasn’t going to try unless I had seen signs of life down there! I positioned the boat above and set the anchor. I also used the electric motor and the anchor mode as well, allowing me to stay where I had intended. This was the only way we were able to hold in the 2 & 3 foot waves!

We had been fishing for about 30 minutes, with rods in hand, when Devin set the hooks into our first fish. With expectations high, he reeled in a fish but it wasn’t what we were hoping for. He had hooked an eel and I didn’t want any part of that. I quickly cut the hook and re rigged the rod again! His next fish was no different with a second eel coming to the boat too! Needless to say, the same thing happened!

We were still optimistic and after about an hour, Devin set into another fish. Talk of dropping him off on an island was thrown around if this was another snake! Fortunately for everyone it wasn’t and a confirmation was had when his fish took to the air. Although not a giant, it was what we were looking for and the battle began. It was also short lived when the fish rolled in the line causing Devin to reel it to the boat, backwards. A quick untangling of the line and he got to fight it a little longer. Soon after, it was in the net and he had officially caught their first sturgeon ever!

After the release, we set back up and wouldn’t you know it, Lindsay hooked into another fish. Hers too turned out to be an eel and this was getting ridiculous. I don’t catch this many in a year! We released it the usual way and went right back to the sturgeon. Devin was soon to hook into another fish and passed the rod to Lindsay to fight. This was the right species and although it wasn’t a giant, it battled her pretty good. She eventually brought it close enough for me to net and she too had her very first sturgeon! We took more pics and returned her catch to the water.

With Max being the only one not to have landed anything yet, we focussed on getting him one of his own. I had hoped that it would be slightly smaller so that he could reel it in alone. Soon enough, I set into another fish and could tell by the weight that it wasn’t too big. Max immediately took the rod and reeled in an exotic species for the day. He had caught a freshwater drum and this definitely required some pics.

With the winds slightly down, the fishing became more comfortable and easier to feel the bites. We weren’t bouncing all over now and could detect almost any subtle nibbles on the lines. Devin hooked into another fish pretty quick and Max was up. This was the perfect one for him to fight and he landed his first sturgeon too. I gave him a hand holding it for the photos and he was all smiles with his prize before tossing it back.

Now that we were finally getting bit more often, we decided to stick it out with the sturgeon. There was no need to move and they agreed! For the remainder of the day we would be looking for more and bigger ones too!

The afternoon went by quickly with only a few more fish coming aboard. Although not huge, they were the right species and Max even got to fight another one as well. Lindsay also hooked into one on her own and battled another decent sturgeon too. A few fish missed and a few fish landed and we were done. They had accomplished what we had set out to do and everyone had a great time. I packed everything up and readied the boat for the return.

Unfortunately when I tried to get the boat on plane, the engine seemed like it had no power. After adjusting the weight forward, I somehow managed to get it on plane and ran back mid speed. Another problem that would have to get checked!

This day may have started out a little slow but we accomplished what we had set out to do. Sturgeon was on the bucket list for Max and everyone got to land theirs. They also got to reel in a few other strange looking creatures too! I will have to get the motor checked in the morning and hopefully it will be something simple like a coil problem again. If so, I will be right back on the water with clients by the afternoon. Crossing my fingers and toes for a simple fix!!

August 23rd 2018

After a cancellation due to high winds yesterday, I was back out today in slightly better weather!

Another double trip day saw Steffen and his family in the morning, hoping to catch a few fish. His son Konner was new to this sport and eager to land just about anything! Trolling was the game plan and pike & walleye were the targeted species.

It wasn’t long after I set the lines before the first fish was landed. Konner reeled in a nice northern, even with a cast on his wrist! He also managed many more in the next couple of hours and was completely enjoying himself. Although they were all northerns, he had a blast reeling loads of them in.

I had wanted to get him a few walleye and covered water searching for the elusive golden one. This morning had seen a drop in water temps by about 6 degrees since I was last out. It showed too as these fish were really lethargic! Eventually after what seemed like miles of water, I finally locked him up on a nice fish. He was hoping for a walleye and now he got his wish! We took a bunch of nice pics before releasing his over back to the water. Konner was all smiles after this one and eager to catch more!

With limited time remaining, I managed to get him a few more fish before we had to leave. I had another family for the afternoon and the morning had passed by so quickly. I packed everything up and made the run back to meet the second group.

I wasted no time in getting back on the water as I said goodbye to Steffen, Hazel & Konner. Angela and her sons were ready to go and we turned and burned out onto the lake!

With no down time, I headed back to where I had finished up, as I had left the fish biting! Tyson, Ayden & Gavin were also eager to get into some fish as I set the lines. We would be trolling once again, with this many bodies in the boat.

The winds had grown since I returned and built to 2 & 3 footers where I was. Trolling wasn’t easy up wind and required constant cleaning of the rods with all the floating weeds as well. I managed to make it work though and it wasn’t long before everyone had a full rotation on the rods. Angela was last up and somehow managed the largest pike of the afternoon, twice! The others were just happy reeling fish in despite the slower than usual bite.

I had covered plenty of water once again searching for active fish but found them to be anything but that. We had several short strikes and plenty of fish fall off in the net once landed. This weather had them lethargic but I was still managing to get bit.

They had all managed a few rotations and time was now getting on in the day. I decided to slide out to slightly deeper water and fired multiple reels in a very short time. Needless to say, I milked this area for all it was worth by catching everything that wanted to bite. In the end, we probably hit an additional half dozen fish in the last 30 minutes of their trip.

I can’t believe how fast the day goes when it’s split in two! Before we knew it, we were done and heading back to the dock. Despite the lack of interest by most of the fish today, I still grinded it out and had two pretty good trips overall.

Plenty of pike were landed today by everyone and a few nice walleye too. Cold front conditions had the fish a little sketchy as I saw but fortunately I was able to make some of them eat. Enough fish were landed by everyone to make this another successful day!!

August 21st 2018

Tino was back with me today, hoping to learn about summertime smallies. He hadn’t fished for them in several weeks and was now only catching the odd, small one when he did. I knew he was in for a great day and an even better learning experience!

I began in an area for the first time this season, based on the time of year. It was definitely a summer spot and required a slow presentation, in order to get bit. We were both throwing soft plastics and allowing the current to present the baits to the fish. These bass were set up on drop offs and It didn’t take long before Tino saw what I meant. I felt a tick and immediately set into a nice smallie. Confirmation was made as it took to the air in a spectacular leap and I also knew there would be plenty more to follow.

Tino was having a difficult time hooking up but he was definitely getting the bites. I tried to explain that he needed to remove the slack line before setting, but it wasn’t easy. Eventually he did manage to hook into a fish and unfortunately it was on the small side. Things could only get better!

We had remained in this area for a while and many fish were hooked in the time we fished. Too bad the landing percentage was less than half! I had brought several good ones to net, but Tino was still struggling to land anything of size. Eventually I slid up on the shallower water and presented the baits to the deep water instead. This got us a few more bites but none were landed. These fish don’t get big from being stupid! Time to make a move!

I ran to another spot and decided to fish it differently than usual due to the strong SE winds. I normally allow the baits to drift down current naturally but today I was going to use the electric motor to anchor us and cast to specific holding areas.

As soon as I set up, Tino made one cast and was tight to a really good bass! He didn’t know it, but this was the start of his best smallie day ever! After a great battle, I was finally able to get the net under his fish and several pics were taken before the release. I think his very next cast also provided him with another fish and he was finally understanding what he needed to do. Although smaller than the first one, it was still a good fish and worthy of another pic.

We had covered a bunch of water in the area and Tino had hooked many fish in the process. He also landed more than he lost and that was a great thing! He was finally understanding the tight line thing and was now setting the hook without any slack. This translated into more fish fought and landed for him! I was also able to angle the boat properly with the electric motor and utilize the wind to my advantage. This gave Tino the angle to make casts to the water that held the fish. He was definitely hooking plenty of them too!

I think the bite stayed good for about 4 hours or so, allowing me to take advantage of the actively feeding fish. Tino was on fire and landing loads of quality smallies. He wasn’t use to seeing this kind of action and fish of such size. It was about his best day ever for smallmouth bass!

As the afternoon wound down, so did the bite. We were now struggling to get hits and it wasn’t because the fish weren’t there! In one of the areas I saw a bunch of big bass just swimming and none of them showed any interest at all. I hit two more places before we were done and had just as many short strikes. They definitely had no interest in eating anymore and we were done!

Today was a great learning experience for Tino as he got to see the best and the worst in the same day. He witnessed an active feeding period where he could do no wrong and a dead time where it was impossible to even get bit. He also has a better understanding of what to look for the next time he is on the water, hopefully adding a few more fish to his time out. This was by far the best bass fishing he had ever experienced and I know it won’t be the last time he says that! There’s even better days to come!!

August 20th 2018

Steve & Sam were back with me again today, looking for that elusive lunge. Although we tried for close to 3 hours, we never really had any takers. I guess it just wasn’t there time to land old toothy!

We switched to walleye next as they were hoping to bring a few fish back with them tonight. Despite a rather slow bite, they did manage to land some and took almost a limit in the end.

After a painful morning fishing for only a few fish, I switched to bass and the action picked up considerably. Both Steve and his son Sam hooked and landed some nice fish in the remaining time we were on the water. Too bad all of the bass didn’t want to bite as we saw so many uninterested ones where we were. It was nice to know that they were in the area but would have been nicer if they were on the end of their lines!

Time flew by quickly today and before we knew it, it was almost 4:00. They had a long drive back home and were already tired, so we pulled the plug and headed back to take out.

These last couple of days were probably the toughest so far this season. I was targeting big fish and they just didn’t seem to cooperate. I’m glad I had a backup with the bass for them to at least catch fish! Hopefully in the coming days things will get back to normal and some of these fish will actually bite. I know it’s just a matter of time before I’m back into the big sturgeon once again. With any luck, it will be real soon!!