The weather took a turn for the better overnight and allowed me to fish effectively throughout the morning. Danial, Jake & Dimitrie joined me today and fished hard to land everything we managed to bring aboard. Although the first fish was hooked in less than 30 seconds, the others didn’t seem as cooperative. We trolled for most of the morning and managed a handful of walleye and a pile of pike but most were barely hooked. There were even a number of rips that never even got pinned. At one point, Dimitrie lost 3 in a row! It was a struggle just to keep them on, so I decided to try another technique close by. I figured that we might have a better chance dropshotting so we relocated and gave it a go. Jake wasted no time and locked up on a nice smallie followed by another over walleye shortly after. Dimitrie also added a smallie to the numbers and things were definitely looking up. We made several drifts over the area and hooked up on almost every one before things turned full circle. The winds were starting to increase as the rain began and I knew we were about to get it big time. In about 10 minutes it went from a nice slow drift, to impossible. We were flying and they could barely feel bottom at this speed. The waves had also generated into 3 & 4 footers and it was time to leave. I had to make a long run across open water to get to where we might be sheltered and made the move. When we arrived, it was like night & day! We were now able to fish in a light chop and not rolling waves. Too bad the fish weren’t cooperating here as we trolled all over with only one good rip, that Dimitrie lost as soon as he touched the rod! He was definitely unlucky today as this was now the fourth good fish that had come off his line! I covered plenty of water before another reel fired and Jake boated a beautiful smallie. With the afternoon coming to an end, I thought we’d make a long run again and give dropshotting another try. Obviously the right decision as everyone landed fish in the last 90 minutes. Although mostly bass, there were several decent walleye also taken  We ended the day with a fish from Dimitrie but not before everyone had a round of losing one too! By the time we headed out, the winds had switched to SE after beginning SW earlier this morning. They had done everything but go north on us today! No wonder the fish were messed up! We pulled out after 4:30 due to a late 8:15 start and parted ways. I will be back out with them again next week and hopefully the weather will have stabilized enough to get the fish active. Who knows, maybe the water temps will even climb more than the 66 degrees we had today. Easier days ahead!

A last minute request yesterday had me travelling to another body of water to fish this morning. Charles had asked me to meet him on a lake that he was camping at and I accepted. I always love new bodies of water! We hit the lake shortly after 7:30 and it didn’t take long to get him in the game. I believe it was on his third cast that he was locked up. A decent largemouth was his reward and it wasn’t going to be the last one either. For the next several hours, he was into plenty more of the green ones and even managed to get a pretty nice smallie mixed in as well. Half days pass by so fast but I wanted to try and see if we could get some more brown ones before it was over. With only about 90 minutes left before we were to call it, I hit a couple of rock shoals and sure enough, he locked up on a beauty. Definitely worth the change up! After landing her several pics were taken before she swam away. A couple more fish were missed on the hook sets after and then we moved to another shoal nearby. It was here that Charles managed to hook into the largest one of the day and it was a tank! He landed her and we shot several more pics before the release. The big smallies were starting to become active and just before we had to call it quits. Charles missed a couple more afterwards and we shifted to one last shoal before it was over. He managed to get another big fish and miss a couple more and we called it a day. Although half days are still good, it makes it difficult to plan how much time you spend in certain areas and on specific fish. The morning just flew by and before we knew it, we were back on land. I don’t think Charles expected the day to be as productive as it was. I know he didn’t expect to tangle with such quality smallmouth bass! We parted ways but not before he talked about another trip this summer, back on local waters. I can’t wait to show him what they have to offer! Great Half Day!!

Neville & I were right back at it once again today, hoping for a repeat of yesterday. There was definitely more traffic on the lake this morning and more wind as well. An early troll was cut short as the water color wasn’t cutting it for me. Although we did manage to get several fish, I wasn’t happy with the results and decided to move on. I did a bit of running around looking for areas that we could fish, but the wind just made things difficult. We caught everywhere we stopped but I wanted to get him into some more smallies and didn’t stop until I found them. I even hit a bunch of areas that I usually do well in at this time of year only to find that the depth required serious adjustment. Baits I usually caught fish on just weren’t working! The winds weren’t helping either so I tried something and immediately found results. We were drop shotting and drifting with the wind over deeper flats and getting bit. We may not have gotten into a ton of fish this way but both bass and quality walleye were falling victim to the slower presentations. Neville was catching fish on a method he had wanted to learn! We made several different drifts over the area and rods were bent each time. I thought we’d hit another spot close by and it didn’t take long before he was into another quality bass. One more technique to tick of his list! Afterwards I thought we’d try a little casting for smallies with soft plastics and on our first casts, we had a double. I had only wanted to search the area but somehow managed to get the hooks into a nice smallie in the process. After catching several more we both agreed, taking one on the fly was up next! I rigged one of the 6 weight rods and he began the quest. It really didn’t take long before he locked up and a beauty it was. He had hooked into the best smallie in two days and on a fly too! After several minutes of battle Neville finally netted his prize, but not before a comedy show of tangling the net in the rod holders! Obviously it was meant to be because the fish stayed pinned long enough for him to complete the job. Several pics were taken of his fish before it was finally released to fight another day! We had every intention of remaining in the area as it seemed to be holding some really good fish. Unfortunately the radar showed that we were about to get crushed and the system looked electrical. A unanimous decision to move had us running to the other side of the lake to avoid the storm. It apparently was the right decision as we stayed relatively dry and watched walls of water blanket the area where we were before. With bigger winds upon us, I wasn’t left with many options. I trolled for a little while until it passed and caught several more fish in the process. Once it looked safe, I ran to an area further away and closer to the ramp to fish. We dropshotted for the remaining time and managed to catch several more bass & walleye before calling it a day. Neville had completed a long list of items in a very short period of time. Of all the things he did, I think the one that he will remember the most is the bass on the fly! Hats off to the Englishman in Canada for making these two days a pleasure. I’m not sure who had more fun!!

Neville hooked up with me today for two days of fishing, all the way from England. We hit the water in overcast skies that soon gave way to a non stop drizzle, but we didn’t care. The big fish were biting and that was all that mattered! He had never landed a walleye before and managed to get a bunch of really big ones back to back on the troll. Along with the Walters, he also reeled in many good northerns before we relocated and changed it up. He wanted to catch some bass so I brought him out for smallies first. It wasn’t going according to plan with the high muddy water and all he managed were a few lost fish on the jump. I quickly set him up with a blade instead of the tube and he landed his first ever brownie. Prior to this, he managed to catch a 3 pound walleye as well. He also had a great follow from a small musky that blew up at the boat. This area was starting to look like a multi species spot!

The afternoon saw a change in weather and with it, a change of species. We were now targeting largemouth and getting into them pretty good. The sun was shining, the wind was down and the bite was on. Many green bass fell victim to a soft plastic and a few brown ones as well. We ended the day just before 4:00 as I was taking him to a local watering hole for a great dinner. This proved to be the highlight of the day as both the food and atmosphere were to his liking. Tomorrow we will try to get a few other firsts for him including one of those feisty smallies on the fly. He also talked about learning the drop shot technique so that too is on the list. Hopefully we can accomplish everything he’s looking for in the two short days he’s here!!

What a start to the morning! A 7:00 meet time turned into a 10:00 departure as electricity & I don’t mix! Neil & his son Ben also concurred and we decided to let it pass before heading out on the lake. The danger may have been over but it left behind some pretty big winds that created 2 to 3 footers on the water. I was expecting it to get worse as the day progressed so we started on an open water flat, looking for some active fish. I don’t know if it was because of the recent weather, but they were quite reluctant to chase anything down. Although I was marking fish, they were barely moving. In the first 30 minutes we lost two fish and had another rip before anything stayed pinned and came aboard. Ben had 3 chances, then he finally put one in the net! Although it was only a pike, it was a good sign and the confidence began to build. In the next couple of hours they picked at them pretty good including some decent walleye. In fact at one point in a little deeper water, they put three back to back to back great eyes in the boat. All of them were way over and after a few quick pics, released to keep growing. I wish everyone would abide by the rules and not harvest the big spawners, illegally!

I had a lot of areas I wanted to fish today but knew I would be at the mercy of the weather. The winds had picked up considerably and it was now time to move. A little change up and some casting for bass and Neil was in his glory. We found a slightly sheltered location where they would be able to feel the line and hopefully the bites. A blade was thrown by both to try and entice a few active ones but nothing was moving. It took a much slower approach with a jig to finally get them to go. Although Neil fended quite well with a good half dozen smallies, Ben wasn’t as fortunate. He was having trouble feeling the bites and missed several, including a few he thought were pinned. This went on for a while, in and out of squalls of rain and bizarre skies. I needed to make another move and decided to go back to a troll in hopes of getting a few more keeper walleye for them to take home. It wasn’t going to be easy with the winds intensifying, pre frontal. I could see the storms all around us and kept fairly close to a nearby shore for an escape route. Although we never really needed to run, fishing was still difficult in these winds. Turning into the wind wasn’t an option as waves would have come over the bow. I kept an angled course and tried to stay on the waypoints as best I could. Throughout all the wind and rain, we still managed to catch a pile more fish and both Neil and his son Ben took turns reeling them in. Mostly pike were landed but Neil actually got to fight and land another toothy critter. I wasted no time unhooking her from the lure and after a few quick pics released her unharmed. This was definitely the icing on the cake! It had been several years since Neil had boated a musky with me and he was happy to have fought one on lighter tackle. We reset the lines and tried for another but only managed several more smaller northerns. As we were nearing the end of the day I decided to head back to one of the only places fishable and cast for bass. Ben continued the big drop but finally managed to land a nice one and we were done. I knew it was going to be a rough ride back and packed everything up for the run. I literally had to tack like a sailboat at times to avoid bringing water over the bow. As we neared the ramp, I now had to trim way up and keep it off plane to avoid the 4 & 5 footers from swamping us. It may have taken us a little longer than usual, but we were all dry and so was the boat! When I looked behind, I could see what we had just come back in and it was ugly! Walls of white looked like sheep in a field! The only other knuckleheads out were the ones riding the waves like kite surfers. We had made the best of a difficult day and finished on top. Plenty of fish were landed in extreme conditions and everyone of them was released to fight another day. This year is looking like another windy one and with the increase in water levels everywhere, it’s going to be difficult to run the shallows in order to escape the waves. I’m sure glad I have the Ranger, because I’d be scrapping plenty of days just like this one! Praying for smaller seas in the days ahead!!