July 31st 2018

 

Last day of the month and still trolling up walleye every day! Darren wanted to get into the big ones and came out with me today, hoping for a few. I was sure we would see some with the chop we had on the water and headed to an area that had been producing.

With the rods in, we began our search for gold and it didn’t take long before we were able to locate some. Nothing big to start the day but the first few were still overs and had to be released. Eventually we were able to put a few high end keepers in the well for Darren, but we were still searching for the sows!

What had began the day as a good chop on the water eventually died off and became barely a ripple. This wasn’t going to be good for us at all, but I still continued to go through the motions regardless. A few more of the reels fired in the next couple of hours that had some overs and one really nice one, so there was still hope! I covered plenty of water concentrating on the key areas and Darren managed a couple more good ones as well as many keepers. The big girls were eluding us today but I wasn’t done!

By mid afternoon, with the top up, we focussed our attention on a little deeper water and Darren finally hooked into a much better eye. This fish turned out to be the largest of the day as we soon found out. Although he did manage to bring in several more slightly smaller ones, as well as some good northerns, there were no other bigguns!

Time was winding down and I wanted one more fish before we called the day. As luck would have it, a reel went off hard and as soon as Darren removed it from the holder, it was gone! I hate not knowing what was on the other end of the line as it seemed large. Oh well, that’s fishing!

On our way back to the ramp, we were flagged down by another jet ski that seemed in distress. Turns out after trying to boost their battery without any success, I was forced to tow them back to a nearby shore. We may have lost 30 minutes of our time but you never leave anyone stranded on the water, ever!

Today may not have been the banner day that I was accustomed to but there were definitely plenty of good fish landed. Darren had caught some high end keepers, a number of overs and one really nice eye. I’m sure that if we hadn’t lost our wind, the outcome would have been different. Big chop equals big fish and active walleye. Instead we had to settle for flat calm and it was definitely a slower day because of it. Regardless, this was still a good day and plenty of nice fish were landed!!

July 30th 2018

 

Another full boat again today with Mark, Dawn and her 2 daughters, Grace & Abby. They hadn’t fished much and I knew exactly what to do for them. We would be trolling up plenty of fish in the hours we would be out!

I managed to get all the lines in before we had our first hit, but the reel didn’t fire. Instead, the rod just bent and bounced a little indicating that there was a fish. I hoped this wasn’t what we were going to see all day! Grace took the rod and reeled in her first ever pike. It was also her first fish and now we were on the board! Her sister Abby was up next and not long after, she too was bringing in a fish. It was another pike and just about the same size as the previous one.

With both kids having caught fish, it was time for Dawn & Mark to get in the game! I kept trolling with the wind and pretty soon another reel went off with Dawn fighting her fish. Our first pass was to yield 4 pike and 1 keeper walleye allowing us a full rotation, plus one. Everyone was able to bring fish in pretty quickly and I knew it would only get better!

Although we did have our dead periods during the morning, plenty of good fish were landed by all. Big walleye, pike and a few keeper eyes were brought to the net often. The winds were even in our favor as they blew from the right direction, for a change. There was a nice chop on the water and that always makes for better fishing!

By afternoon, the sun and heat had me raising the roof for a little shade. It definitely made for a more comfortable troll as we continued our search for more fish. We seemed to be locating them in pods as each time they landed one, we almost always caught a few more afterwards. Too bad there were long distances in between!

They had all brought in their fair share of good fish with some really big walleye for pics. At the same time, they were also able to livewell a few keeper walleye for dinner tonight. It was a win, win for everyone!

The last couple of hours in the day were no different with some big fish and a few more keeper walleye. The kids were having a good time catching fish and many rotations were had. I think by the time it was all over, Dawn may have had the biggest walleye an Mark the largest pike of the day. Either way, nobody seemed to mind as they all had their share of big fish today!

As the day wound down, I began packing things up and stored the top for our run back. I always like leaving on a high and left the lines in to catch that last fish of the day. Right on cue, a reel fired and Mark brought in a keeper walleye to end it. A great way to finish up another successful day on the water. Now we were ready to leave!

I may have had to work a little harder today to get the number of fish I was use to seeing but in the end, it all worked out. Everyone had a great time and plenty of quality fish were boated by all. This would be a part of their vacation that they would be remembering for a while. They would also be tasting some fresh fish tonight! Who could ask for a better way to end the day!!

July 29th 2018

 

After spending a couple of days on Lake Ontario for salmon, I was back on the water this morning with a couple of clients. Joel & his son were in from the UK and about to experience the time of their lives!

We wasted no time heading to our first spot despite the rollers from SW winds. After being on the big pond, these waves were nothing! A quick orientation on the rod holders and they were ready to catch fish. Joel had fished plenty but his son Theo was pretty new to everything and was handed the rod when the first fish hit. He brought to net a small northern and it was also his first pike ever!

We trolled around the area and managed a couple more fish, including a nice keeper walleye and then it happened. One of the reels fired and Joel was into a big fish. I could tell by the way it was fighting that it wasn’t what I was use to seeing and brought the other two rods in for the fight. Confirmation was soon made when we saw the fish and he couldn’t believe the size of this thing. He was hooked into his first, ever seen, musky! After a while I was finally able to boga grip his catch and brought it aboard for a few pics. We released it soon after and watched as she made her way back to the depths. I told him it would be all downhill after that fish but reset the lines anyway.

We covered lots of water and I managed to put them on plenty more fish. Both walleye & pike were landed throughout the morning and some of them were pretty good size! All these fish were new to both of them and Joel already had his first Canadian slam. I was pretty sure I would be able to get his son one as well by targeting the smallies, little later in the day. In the mean time, we were focussed on the task at hand and that was trolling the area we were in.

We continued searching for more big eyes and both of them landed several before I decided to switch it up. I had wanted to leave some time to drop shot deeper water and try for a few smallies. I pulled the lines, packed everything up and headed elsewhere.

I stopped on a shoal in the middle of the lake and prepped the rods for them. I also explained what would happen and how to set on the fish when they bit and we began. On the first drift they both had bites but were unable to monopolize on them. I was also fishing some to show them what was needed and landed a couple of small walleye from this area. They were however about to catch on real quick!

After a couple of fishless passes, I moved over to another rocky area and Joel immediately was tight to a crazy smallie. It leaped 3 or 4 times while he fought it before I finally managed to get it into the net. It was also his first ever bass and made for his fourth species today. I really wanted Theo to experience this as well and worked with him until he was able to hook up one of his own. He finally caught a nice bass and obtained his first Canadian slam as well. A little while later he hooked into another and landed this one to take the lead. It was now 2 to 1 but it was going to change! They both had multiple chances in the remaining time, but his father was able to bring a few more in the boat before we were done.

Today was both an excellent day and a great learning experience for Joel and his son Theo. They had gotten to see a couple of different techniques and landed all kinds of fish while doing so. Apparently back home the fishing is so bad that this was more than they could land in a year! To me this was just another average day on the water, but with a bonus fish of course! I guess we’re just blessed with the fishing over here!!

July 26th 2018

 

Another day of great fishing was had today by Mafhoud and an unknown fisherman. He wanted to remain unanimous today so no pics of him!

We started off once again trolling and managed to catch plenty of fish. Northerns, walleye and even a few largies fell victim to our offerings. Mafhoud didn’t believe we could catch fish in the heat, but we proved him wrong. Both of them had a slam before we even changed locations!

After trolling for most of the morning, we switched it up and went casting for bass and they managed to boat plenty more fish. Although mostly smallies, Mafhoud did manage to land a really good largie on soft plastics. This thing was a giant!

They casted for almost 2 hours before deciding to take a break. We were going back trolling in hopes of some more big fish and they weren’t disappointed. First fish was a really nice walleye, larger than anything they had caught so far today. Fortunately it was Mafhoud that landed it and I was able to take some pics. They also brought in many more pike and a couple more keeper walleye that were going home with them tonight.

Late in the afternoon, I noticed the skies darkening in the distance. A quick check on the radar showed a small storm cell that would pass us by and I kept at the fishing. They continued catching plenty more fish in the remaining time we had and we never got wet either. I could see the rain falling heavy on other areas of the lake but we were spared . It was nice to remain dry after yesterday’s all day rain!

By 4:00 we decided to call it a day and returned to the dock. As with all days lately, there were huge numbers of fish landed with plenty of big ones in the mix. Mafhoud had four firsts today with pike, walleye and both smallmouth & largemouth bass. He got to experience the best fishing he had ever seen and all of it in the summer heat. I think he now realizes that adapting to the time of the season can provide countless hours of great fishing, no matter where you are. Fish have to eat! I think I’ll see him again soon as he’s talking about bringing his son out the next time we meet. It’ll be great because I’ll be able to take more pictures, when he returns! Hopefully he’ll have an even better day on the water the next time and his son will get to see what fishing is suppose to be like. More great days ahead!!

July 25th 2018

 

Herman brought his family out today, on likely the rainiest one of the season so far! We hooked up at the usual time and headed out in rough water to our starting spot. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining, but it wouldn’t be long!

Just before we arrived, the rain began and as soon as I stopped, the roof went up. It would at least protect us from most of the misery today. With the winds blowing pretty hard though, it would still be coming in the sides. Rain gear would be needed as well, but mostly for the lower body!

With the bimini top up, I set the rods and instructed them on what to expect. We would be trolling once again and I needed them to be able to get the rods out of the holders without struggling too much! As usual, it didn’t take long before Herman reeled in the first fish of the day. He brought to net a decent pike as the starter fish. A short while after, another pike came aboard by his wife Laura and things were beginning to look up.

The winds were blowing from the SE putting a good chop on the water and the rain was coming down sideways. Although the top kept us from getting soaked, we were still feeling the mist from the rain at times and I had to give a pair of bibs to Laura, as she was mostly in the seat. Despite the rain, the fish seemed to be cooperating and I was picking at them pretty good. They had already gone through a couple of rotations in no time and a few of the fish were decent walleye too. Both Hunter & Cole had managed to land good sized northerns and were hoping for a few quality eyes now. Their mother had boated the largest eye so far but I knew it wouldn’t hold up for big fish of the day!

Today was a strange one for weather as extremely heavy cloud cover kept an intermittent rain falling throughout the morning. The good news was that at least it wasn’t cold, as the winds were pretty warm. High humidity had me putting on and taking off the rain jacket several times during the day, but at least the fish were biting!

The morning passed by quickly with lots of fish being landed by everyone. As we got into the afternoon I found myself covering even more water in search of bigger walleye & pike. Several double headers were seen with a few of the keeper walleye being put into the livewell . I wasn’t sure if they would be bringing them back but we could always release them afterwards, if not! It turned out later that it was their lucky day, as Hunter released all of them back to the lake!

Laura already had big walleye of the day so far and when her turn came back up, she managed to land an even bigger northern. Not to be out done, both her son Cole & husband Herman each landed one about the same size as well. Competition was fierce but mostly from their youngest son, Hunter. He was trying to lock up all the categories including big perch of the day.

With time getting on and the rain still continuing to plague us with the winds, I made one last attempt at getting some bigger fish. I headed out to slightly deeper water and worked an area that had put some huge fish in the boat lately. When Hunter’s turn came around again, he managed to bring a really good walleye to net that he thought might give him big fish in that division. He also had the last fish of the day, but his brother took him out with a pike shortly after.

I decided to take the top down with the rain stopping and we were even luckier to have had the winds lay down as well. This would make for an easy run back to the dock when we were done. With minutes remaining, Laura was up and one last reel fired! She wasinto the biggest walleye of the day now and it was also the last fish. Two categories in just seconds! I couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up the day than with her big fish. They definitely ended on a high!

The run back was smooth, but as we neared the ramp, clouds just exploded on us with violent rains. I had hoped to get back before the skies let loose but unfortunately we weren’t that lucky. It poured so hard that the auto bilge actually kicked on and most of them got soaked. The water coming down the ramp was like a mountain stream as well. This was some serious rain falling!

As with most of the day, the downpour eventually let up and allowing me to take the boat out comfortably. They may have been wet but they had the best fishing of their lives, catching all kinds of big fish today. Everyone left with plenty of memories along with loads of pictures from all of the great fish they landed. I’m sure they will be remembering this day for a long time!!