Today’s weather was absolutely spectacular for a mid-November day! So much so that it seemed like everyone who owned a boat, was on the water too! Leslie opted for a half day trip that put us right in the middle of the day and hopefully the best fishing.

We started around 10:00 and I wasn’t surprised to see as many boats as I did where we fished. It was almost T Shirt weather out there! It’s too bad the fishing wasn’t as hot as the air temps though as we struggled to get the bites today. The fish just weren’t cooperating much in the beginning but we did find some good ones to play with. Short strikes and light bites were more common, but several of the bigger bass just crushed the baits too! I found myself moving around more than usual, just to avoid the traffic!

Four hours passes by quickly and it definitely was a blur today. Before we knew it, it was time to go! There weren’t too many pictures taken today and every fish was a bonus. I would have liked to get a few pics of the beast Leslie landed, but a light bleed had us releasing it quicker than usual. We both wanted to ensure that it lived! Overall, today may have been tougher than usual but it sure was a pleasure to be on the water, on such a beautiful day. There’s no telling how much longer I’ll be able to remain out before winter storage arrives. Mother nature will decide my fate!!

Craig & Herm were back again, for their last trip of the season. Craig has a bad habit of bringing weather and today was no different. Lucky we were on the downside of the snow that fell yesterday, when he arrived. Today was going to be a cool one with cloud all day, but hopefully the fishing would be hot!

We began fishing for walleye but despite seeing all kinds on the sonar, only a few of them actually wanted to bite. We spent several hours covering the water before giving up and going elsewhere for bass!

Craig was on fire with the smallies and hammered some nice ones in the last few hours of the day. Herm managed a few of his own but struggled somewhat, fishing beside Craig! He was like a vacuum cleaner today!

Day 2 saw us heading straight for smallies and apparently it was the right choice. We were in sunshine and I knew they would be reacting much better today. Craig drew first blood with a few nice ones and herm managed a couple of small ones before the tank! We had slid into an area and he set into a huge fish. When it jumped, I released the anchor mode and began drifting towards his fish. It was definitely bigger than anything else we had seen! Once in the net, I realized that it was probably the biggest bass of the season too and took several pics before it was released. Herm may not have been catching as many as Craig but this bass more than made up for the numbers!

We slowly covered the water and both Craig and Herm continued to catch several more bass. After a brief bite for lunch, I made a move to an area I hadn’t fished yet and Craig immediately was tight to another huge fish. It went ballistic when he set the hook and acted more like a steelhead than a bass. It screamed out line and raced across the surface, totally pissed off! Not wanting to have the hooks pull out, I released the spot lock feature on the electric and slowly headed towards his fish. Eventually I saw an opportunity to net it and ended this scary fight. It may not have been as big as Herm’s previous fish but it was pretty close! A few more pics and a quick release and we were right back at it, looking for more!

The rest of the afternoon saw overcast skies and much slower fishing. The temperatures also began to fall and they struggled to get bit. A few more bass and one nice wallye were landed, before we ended the day.

These two days were filled with lots of laughs and some pretty good fish as well. Craig & Herm both landed big fish and ended their season on a high note. We were also fortunate to have had a couple of decent days for this time of the year and Mother Nature held back from her fury. With only a few more days left for my open water boat season, I only hope she continues to be nice. You never know what can happen this late in the season!!

Scott was back again and this time he brought Cory & Obey with him as well. We were gong for smallies and I hoped that the big ones would cooperate today. With daylight savings time upon us, we met up shortly after 7:00 and headed out. It would be a chilly run in a big east wind!

Our first couple of spots saw fish, but only of average size. I moved around in search of the bigger ones and eventually stumbled upon better fish. Cory was on fire hooking most of them, but Obey also brought a few to the boat. Scott was positioned in the front and having a hard time getting proper casts to where the fish actually were. He did however hold his own in the end and boated several good ones too.

With the winds picking up and switching to the NE, boat control was becoming difficult. We were fishing in current and it seemed like the wind was stronger, almost turning us sideways. Eventually we just pulled the plug on this area and headed elsewhere to fish. We were now heading to try for walleye!

Well, the bite for walleye wasn’t great either but not because of the wind. The fish just weren’t cooperating! Scott was the only person that managed to get one, despite all the other perch caught. After about an hour or so of moving around, we finally called it a day.

Although the bite wasn’t fast and furious today, there were definitely some quality fish landed. I almost expect a slower day at this time of year and was pleased to see some big fish. Colder water temps have the bass in a more lethargic state and by slowing down presentations, they managed to take advantage of the larger ones. A little sun might have made it even better, but we weren’t fortunate enough to have any today. At least it wasn’t snowing like the last time!!

Scott & Ian fished with me today, for their annual fall outing. We decided to travel instead of fishing on the windy body of water closer to home. Hopefully the fish would be willing to bite!

Our first stop put plenty of fish in the boat but they were mostly on the smaller side. Although there were a few decent bass, they were still not the ones I was looking for. With each move of spots, a few more were added to the short list until we finally found some bigger ones. Needless to say, we remained there for quite a while!

After both Scott & Ian had managed to land several of the bigger bass, the bite just died, we were forced to make another move and went searching once again. Too bad we only managed to find the small to medium ones for the remainder of the time!

Today was a good one for numbers and a few quality fish as well. Although the waters were filled with other boats, we were able to find areas with plenty of fish to catch. We called it a bit earlier today as Scott was celebrating his birthday tonight. Great times were had fishing by all today!!

What a way to bring in a new month! It snowed all the way, driving to the boat ramp and continued for quite a while after we hit the water too! Craig & Steve definitely had their work cut out for them today, just staying warm! Big NE winds and blowing snow would make fishing a real challenge!

Conditions were less than ideal when we hit the first spot and the fish weren’t very cooperative. I guess they didn’t like the weather either as only one walleye was caught in the first few hours. Plenty of perch were landed, but the walleye seemed lock jawed! I marked all kinds of them on the Livescope, but they just didn’t want to eat. Eventually Steve managed to persuade one other when he boated the second fish of the day. Too bad that was all she wrote!

We moved around plenty, checking a bunch of spots and had the same results each and every time. Fish were there but not eating! Multiple bait changes still couldn’t get them to go, so we did. After several hours of this, I couldn’t take it any longer and made a long run to another area to fish. At least the snow and wind had stopped for the ride!

We were now targeting bass and covering water slowly. Steve hooked up after about 20 minutes and brought a decent smallie to the net. I thought we were on to something but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. This was the first and last bass for quite a while! Craig did however manage to land a good sized northern that gave him quite the fight.

I had been concentrating on slightly deeper water but decided to move shallow to see if they could get a bite or two. Surprisingly, Steve landed a good bass from here and lost another one as well. These fish weren’t plentiful anywhere, but they were here! We moved all over and they managed to catch a few more, as well as miss several others before time just ran out. We were officially done for the day!

This trip was definitely a challenge right from the start! Not surprisingly, the weather was the biggest challenge as Craig was back! He always seems to manage to bring out the best in Mother Nature! I guess she has a soft spot in her heart for him! All I know is that Steve and Craig weren’t disappointed to end the day as they both looked forward to the warm drive back and a hot coffee from Tim Hortons! Just another tough day in the books!!