Greg & Andrew were back this morning for round two of the sturgeon Olympics! We left the dock around the same time in similar conditions, hoping for another banner day. The start saw virtually no wind and perfect conditions to anchor up in. We wasted no time getting into the fish as Greg was locked up quickly. It took to the air almost immediately and headed right back to the bottom after. The males are just so powerful with blistering runs and great aerials and this one was no different. Unlike the summer when we can get up to 3 jumps out of the fish, now we’re lucky to get even one. Several minutes later, we took some quick pics, returned the fish and got back in the game. A few smaller fish were caught and our first relocation was already happening. I won’t stay where the little ones live! In fact a little one was even landed as I reeled up one of those damn Goby minnows. It ate the worms and somehow managed to get hooked. Our next location proved to be a good move as Andrew boated a quality fish just minutes after we arrived. In fact, both of them hooked and landed several other good fish throughout the morning and into the afternoon. It’s too bad that there were a few boats in the area keeping the fish they caught. We saw two other boats with fish hanging over the side and that’s just sad! A couple more moves had Andrew & Greg both landing fish again, before we headed back around 2:00 to pick up one of Andrew’s friends. He had just flown in and we were getting him at the dock to fish for the remainder of today. Kevin wasted no time getting there too as we saw him standing by the truck when we arrived. I don’t think he waited more than ten minutes after we had set back up, before he was fighting his very first sturgeon. Although not big, it was his first! The next one was quite a bit larger and beat him up pretty good. Despite the fact that it wasn’t really giant, it was quite a bit bigger than the first one and took a while to bring in. As with all our sturgeon, it was released back unharmed following a couple of pics. We moved to another area after about 15 minutes and Andrew set into something big and passed Kevin the rod. This time he was dealing with one of the larger fish and it nearly took him out. He fought it for almost 5 minutes before the hook just pulled free. A little disappointed, he was also somewhat relieved! It was almost too much for him to handle right out of the gate! We remained in the same area due to the other boats and never got another bite. By 4:00 we were gone! Tomorrow would be another day and all three of them would be back for more. They joined me at a restaurant for dinner and we all shared a few laughs before parting ways. We would hook up again in the morning for another shot at some big sturgeon once again. Kevin would be getting the rod first and hopefully it would be a really big one. I needed to crush him on a monster, but we would have to wait and see!!

Rick was back today with Dave and my brother Mike, as well. Dave & Mike had no idea what was in store for them but Rick was ready for a little payback. He had battled all kinds of big fish yesterday, knew exactly how they were going to fight and wanted to watch them get beat up. We rolled away from the dock after 7:30 and headed through an eerie fog in the distance. Fortunately it wasn’t pea soup thick and we were able to run without any danger. I was sure it wouldn’t take long before we were locked up and set the rods in anticipation of a bite. It was determined that my brother would take the first fish as he trash talked Rick the day before. Time for redemption! I don’t think he fully understood just how strong these fish were when I handed him the rod that I had just loaded. We all just sat back and enjoyed the show as he tried to bring the fish in. Many long runs occurred and each time he thought he was gaining, he wasn’t. The fish took everything back out and more! This battle lasted at least 15 minutes before I was able to get the net on her. He was exhausted  and thought it was over. He didn’t realize that the tough part was coming when I had him hold it for the pics. It took everything he had just to get a grip on his catch and lift it up for the shoot. By the time it was all over and he had released his first sturgeon, he was totally exhausted. As well, complaining about how much the left forearm hurt! Dave was to be up next and when I felt the bite, seconds later I was locked and handing off another rod. With a little instruction, he finally got in the groove and thought he was in control. When his fish breached, everyone saw it but me. I was still clearing the area for him to do battle but they were sure it was huge compared to the first one. This fish knocked the crap out of Dave as he struggled to gain line. It just wanted to remain on the bottom wherever she was and took it out further than he reeled in. After 15 minutes he looked like he was actually gaining but it still took another 5 minutes before I officially had her in the net. Relieved, he could finally breathe now! At least until the pic! I knew he wouldn’t be able to stand holding the fish, so I told him to take a seat as we placed the fish in his hands. Several angled shots later, the release was done and she swam away unharmed. I still don’t understand why people kill these creatures to eat! Dave was up net and after a move or two he was locked up and putting on a clinic. He had battled so many on his own yesterday that no instruction was required. He was still taking a beating but at least he knew what to do! He brought to net his fish, after about ten minutes and the photos were taken once more. We reset the lines again and plenty of other fish were caught including a hungry keeper walleye. It was released back just like all the sturgeon as nobody was keeping anything today. Rick and Dave had eaten the walleye last night from Rick’s catch and didn’t need any more! Throughout the remainder of the day, many more sturgeon were landed including an even bigger one for Dave making him the champ of the day. We ended the afternoon with one last giant from Rick around 4:00 and called it quits. Everyone was suffering in exhaustion from all the fights they had from the powerful dinosaurs they landed. All I heard was how sore their backs and arms were. I definitely brought grown men to their knees in pain, battling these monster fish all day! It may take them all a few days to recuperate but not me. I have more people to beat up tomorrow once again and plan on inflicting as much punishment as possible. Plenty more to go around for anyone willing to take the challenge!!

Rick was finally going to get a chance at landing some giants today. I informed him of just how big they had been lately and he agreed to give it a go! Traffic put him a little late at arriving, but no matter as the fish would still be there and biting. As usual, the winds were blowing pretty good this morning from the east and we would have to hold the rods once gain. The first fish we had on, came unpinned after a couple of minutes during the fight. The second fish also did the same and I had no idea why! The third fish however stayed pinned and Rick felt the power of these beasts. An average, large sturgeon came to net in about ten minutes and Rick had his first landed one. Although it was tough, he managed to hold it for the pics and we were back at it immediately, following the release. After a couple more landed monsters, Rick finally hooked into the one I wanted. This was giant and the fight was going to be a long one! When it launched into the air, we had a confirmation on the size. This fish was definitely in the XXXL category inflicting more pain than usual as Rick tried to hold on. The runs were just insane as loads of line just spooled from the reel. Each time he reeled it back, the fish took more. This battle lasted close to 20 minutes before I was able to slide her into the net. Round one over, round two about to start! He knew what was coming next and wasn’t looking forward to holding this goliath for the pics. It was next to impossible to stand, so he opted for the sit down shots instead. Wise choice! When he released her back into the water, she torpedoed right down and we watched on the sonar. No worse for wear, she would live to fight again! Rick was sore all over, being the only one reeling the fish in and requested that I take the next one. Against my wish, I obliged his request and brought the next fish to the boat in about 2 minutes. Alright, it wasn’t the caliber he was getting but it was still pretty big! We stayed on the sturgeon until almost 1:30 and opted to try for musky for a while. Flat conditions now made it tough and we wasted about 90 minutes trying, without anything for our efforts. I decided to hit some walleye and in the last 90 minutes or so and we landed about 15 quality fish. Both of us took a few home for dinner and called it a day. Tomorrow we would be back at it hard and he would have a couple more people joining him for the day. He would need the rest after getting beat up today but at least he wouldn’t be the only one being punished tomorrow. I can’t wait to inflict pain on the others as well!!

Back on the water this morning after hitting another lake yesterday for some toothy critters. Albert & his son Nicolas had requested a morning of fishing and we were going for some giants. The winds were blowing pretty big when I dropped the boat in the water and 2 footers or better were average. Today however it was out of the SE instead of the usual northern direction. I don’t think these guys realized what was about to happen when we arrived and I set up! I was hoping that the first fish would be a smaller one and lucked out pretty quickly. I felt a take, set on the fish and passed the rod to Nicolas for him to fight. He had a hard time controlling the sturgeon but after 5 minutes or so managed to bring it to net. A perfect starter fish and one that he could hold! Several pics later we were back in and waiting for our next bite. Plenty of false strikes and some goby nibblers later, it happened! This one was large and took plenty of line on the initial run causing me to think about unpinning. Although it never jumped, I could tell by the way Albert was struggling that she was going to cause him pain. After close to 20 minutes of battling the sturgeon, it was confirmed. Definitely the biggest thing he had ever fought! Albert was relieved when I finally got her in the net but I told him it wasn’t over. Holding the fish for the pic was going to be even more difficult! I prepped everything and instructed him on what to do. His son even had to give him a hand with the tail in order to lift it off the floor. Not the prettiest pics but we got it done and released the fish back right after. In the next couple of hours they landed several more as well as a drum with multiple moves to stay on the fish. I really wanted them to get into something epic and eventually I set into the one! After the drum was released and before I could get the line back in, I noticed another rod getting hit. When I set on this one, it didn’t move. I knew it was the fish we were waiting for and handed the rod to Albert. He had already battled a big one earlier and I was sure this one was much larger. Although we never saw it until the end, the length of the battle indicated that she was definitely huge. Albert had a difficult time during the last 5 minutes of the fight as the fish stayed under the boat, going from one side to the other many times. He & his son both took turns on the rod trying to wear the fish down. After 15 minutes of this tug of war, I was finally able to net the dinosaur and they freaked at its size! I think Albert knew that he was in trouble after the last big one as I prepped for the pics. There was absolutely no way they would be able to stand up holding the fish so I just told them to take a seat for the shots. Even at that, I had to help lift her up and onto their laps as the overall mass of the fish made it almost impossible to do. About all Albert could do was bear hug this goliath so as not to lose his grip. I shot fast and we got her back in, just as quickly. She took off instantly and went right back to the depths from where she had come from. In fact, we got to see her on the sonar heading down! Mission accomplished! Another beast in the books and probably one of the top three for the season so far. As we still had some time left before noon, I reset the lines in hopes of one more fish. As luck would have it, we hooked up and Nicolas fought his last big fish of the day. This one actually tried to attack him during the battle when it jumped 3 feet from the boat. Not overly large, but still a great fish for the last one of the day. We pulled the plug after taking more pics and packed everything up, ending the morning. I think they would have been happy with just the first fish and never thought they would have landed so many big ones in one day. They had battled a bunch of sturgeon from small to XXL and experienced the best fishing of their lives. All this in a half day too! I can only imagine how many more they would have landed if we were out for the entire day. We ran back in almost flat calm conditions as the winds had died off late in the morning. This not only made for easier fishing but also a smooth ride back to the ramp. Despite a light sprinkle at times, the weather held out great completing a perfect fishing day. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I see Albert & Nicolas as they are already talking about a return trip for possible bass & walleye. Hopefully the results will be the same and they will have another great day of fishing. Today was definitely one to remember!!

Beau & Chasse spent the afternoon with me, fishing for those brown bass. They were from North Carolina and usually had largemouth to target, but today we were after the smallies. Our winds were once again out of the NE but not as big as usual. I headed to an area that I thought might be holding fish  and covered plenty of water, with only a handful of bites to show for our time. Chase had picked up a couple on soft plastics, but Beau only had blow ups on top water. It wasn’t until I handed him a jig that he started getting into the fish. Although a few more were caught, it still wasn’t great. I made  couple more moves and finally landed on what I wanted. Both of these guys were throwing soft plastics and many more fish were being caught now that we found them. Until now, Beau’s largest smallie was only 1.5 pounds, but he managed a couple today that were pushing four. There were plenty of 2 & 2.5 pound fish that fought like fours, but that’s smallies! We remained on this area for the balance of the time and they boated several more before we called it a day. Half days go by so fast! Given more time, I would have ran them to other areas for a mix of walleye & bass but time was up. I know Chase had caught his first smallie today as he didn’t fish much back home. Beau on the other hand started fishing tournaments a few years back as a non boater and had plenty of big fish under his belt. Now he had another personal best smallie too. With any luck they will be back again next year and we can try and get a few more species as well. Definitely a great afternoon fishing for the brownies!!