Herm was back today and this time he brought his son Greg, to enjoy it as well. We were on a quest for a variety of species but walleye and bass would be the major ones targeted. Conditions looked perfect for his first time out and hopefully they would stay that way too!

We hit an area that was producing and despite not landing many walleye, the bass were a little more cooperative. Greg brought the first one to net and started the ball rolling with a nice photo fish. Several more were caught by both as we made multiple drifts over the area. Ironically, I was marking much more fish than we were getting and eventually opted for a change in locations.

Our second spit was a walleye one and this was where we did most on the damage, adding several walleye to the livewell. Not only did Greg catch the biggest walleye of his life but he also managed to catch his personal best smallie too! I was seeing plenty of fish here and we were only picking up a fraction of them as they just didn’t seem to want to bite. The water was flat calm and bluebird skies plagued us on this picture, perfect day!

We had spent a couple of hours fishing the area and I thought it would be a good idea to try offshore for a big fish. It was time to break out the heavy tackle and see if the sturgeon wanted to bite! With the conditions just right, I hoped for the best as we idled over the area looking for marks. It wasn’t great looking but I did see a few fish and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, only one catfish and a juvenile sturgeon were all we were able to manage. Time to pull the plug and try elsewhere again!

This time I headed shallower as the sun had been up for a while and I wanted to see if the bass were active here. Soft plastics were thrown and despite all our efforts, only a few fish bit. A slight adjustment to another area saw us tossing a dropshot one again and a few more fish were caught before I just decided to return to where we had most of the action, so far today.

We spent the last hour or so fishing over all kinds of marks and caught several walleye and bass before we were done. This was all she wrote for today!

It’s hard to believe that we are only a few days away from September with temps in the 80’s and humidity. This was definitely a welcomed treat after the last few outings with rain, cloud and big north winds. We will be back out again tomorrow with very similar conditions and hopefully the outcome will be just like today. Plenty of fish action and lots of laughs were had by all on this picture, perfect late summer day! They can’t wait to do it again tomorrow!!

What an insane weather day we had today! Storm systems all around us, made for some very scary skies. Although we managed to avoid the worst, we did have a light mist a few times. Chai & Denis didn’t seem to mind though as they caught plenty of fish!

We began in the area that I finished the day off yesterday and actually had much better drifting conditions. Almost immediately they were into fish and it just kept going for several hours. Both bass and walleye came aboard and there were some quality fish brought to net! Quite aa few doubles were seen as well, in the time we spent here.

After pounding on the fish from our first spot, I decided to try a few isolated rock piles with a dropshot. It didn’t seem to matter where we went as the results were the same. More big bass and walleye! Along with these, there were also some pretty good-sized perch caught too.

The conditions were almost perfect throughout the day with light winds from the west. Drifting was easy and we were able to fish comfortably on every spot we tried. At least until the last hour or so of the day when the winds changed. It did a 180 on us and picked up to a point that we just had to leave the area. I decided that we would try closer to the take out now that the waves were big from the NE. We ended the day with many more fish. despite these conditions and finally headed in.

As bad luck would have it, we finally got rained on while taking the boat out, ending our good luck! Regardless, we were fortunate to have fished all day in the weather we had. Chai & Denis were thrilled with how good the fishing was and how we had avoided the rain. They both caught plenty of fish and ended the day on a high. It was a great day all around!!

Peter was back today along with his daughter Amanda and son Michael. They were hoping for another great day like last year but this time we would be dropshotting instead of trolling. With winds from the SE again this morning, I wasn’t sure how the fishing would be. One way or another, I was going to make it happen!

We headed out in a good roll but managed to find calmer water on the first spot. Surprisingly, this was to be the best place we would fish all day! It didn’t take long before Peter was tight to a fish and it was a nice eye. A coupe of pics later, it was in the box for someone to take home tonight.

The winds calmed down early and the drifts were yielding all kinds of fish now. There were even a few double headers in the mix! Everyone was catching bass & walleye and plenty of good ones too! Unfortunately, Mike wasn’t feeling well and we were forced to leave the area and drop him off, back at the shore. He would be getting a lift from a friend and we would be heading right back out. We had left the fish biting and I wanted more!

Right on cue, the fish kept coming in the boat and Amanda was responsible for many of the bass from the area too. Both Peter and his daughter were doing some damage again and loving every minute of it. We had returned to shore in a light mist to drop off Mike and now it had stopped, making the conditions more comfortable. The winds had also done a 180 and although not huge, they were changing our drift. I had to make multiple adjustments in order to compensate for the angle we were moving.

We had remained in the one area for a long time before making a move to try a spot further away. The waves were larger here and the drift was almost nothing due to the opposing current. Despite this, Amanda managed to boat a couple more walleye from here along with another good smallie. Too bad that was all she wrote and we were off to another area to give it a try.

This place too yielded a few fish, but we weren’t moving at all. Between the wind direction and the current, it felt like we were anchored. I didn’t stay long and decided to return to where we had all the action, to finish off the day.

Once again, we were into fish almost immediately and it was Amanda that was cleaning up. Several more bass and walleye were landed and released before we were done. In fact, everything was released today, including the walleye in the livewell. They didn’t want them and I didn’t have time to clean them tonight!

Today was a strange weather kind of day with multiple wind changes and heavy overcast skies. A light misty rain hit us in the morning but it could have been much worse by the looks of the sky. Fortunately, the fish wanted to bite and that’s all that mattered! Plenty of quality bass and walleye were caught by everyone and they were all returned to fight another day. Oh yeah, great times were had by all!!

Louis was back with me today and this time he brought a couple of friends from France. They didn’t have much experience fishing but I was sure I could get them into some fish. Hopefully I was right as the conditions weren’t looking great. Winds were out of the east to start and were going to swing to the SE and blow quite big during the day. It was going to be a challenge!

Our first stop saw Laurence hooked up quickly as she boated her first walleye. Unfortunately, it was an over and wouldn’t be getting eaten tonight! Ther were hoping to bring some fish home for dinner, but this wasn’t going to be one of them. The east wind made it difficult to get a drift going causing me to use the electric motor. I needed it in order to move the boat into the wind, as it was against the current flow and slightly angled. This made it much harder with three people fishing.

We had made several passes over the area I wanted to fish and only managed the one walleye so far. Despite marking all kinds of fish here, they just didn’t seem to want to bite! Eventually though, Alain hooked up and finally got one to eat. It was even larger than the previous one and also had to be released, after a few pics. I stayed a little longer hoping for more but a few missed fish and one perch was all we had to show for our efforts.

I made a move to another spot after the dismal fishing on the previous one and immediately hooked up. I passed the rod to Alain and he fought another species. This time it was a nice smallmouth and after a short battle he landed his first bass. Laurence also hooked up and she too fought her first ever smallie. Several shots were taken of both catches and we continued drifting the area in hopes of a few more. As luck would have it, Louis also managed to catch one of his own and he also lost another beside the boat. It didn’t take long before these fish got educated and shut down completely. Time for another move!

I made a long run and checked out a different area in hopes of finding some sturgeon to catch. Although a bit early in the year, they were around and some have already been caught. It didn’t look great, but I did manage to see a few and decided to give it a try. After about ten minutes, I set into a small fish and passed the rod to Alain to fight. As it turned out, it was a sturgeon, but a juvenile one! We tried for a while longer but never had another bite. Between those damn goby minnows and floating weeds due to the wind, it was next to impossible to fish. I pulled the plug and headed back to fishing for smaller fish.

I slid up on a shallower reef and they began casting the dropshot rigs. It had been holding both bass and walleye and I was hoping to get a few Walters for them to eat. It was tough with the weeds but everyone managed to catch a few fish from this area. Too bad they were all bass and released!

I shifted over to another spot close by and decided to give it a try. Similar results were had here too and they decided that they would eat instead, as it was already past noon. While they were eating, I thought I’d try for a bit and within 10 minutes, landed several bass & walleye. Unfortunately, only one of them was legal and made it into the box. Once they were done, Louis also got in the game and put another small keeper into the boat for them tonight. Despite all our efforts, this was the last fish to come aboard and we were forced to move again. The winds had picked up significantly now and it was time to go. These were the big SE winds that they had predicted and it was about to get even tougher to fish!

Our next spot may have been somewhat less rough, but it also only put out one small walleye for Louis. He had managed to catch it while I was drifting, due to a little line tangle in the electric motor. It was at this moment that I decided to return to our starting spot and fish it for the remainder of the day. It was holding good fish and I knew that if I concentrated there that they should be able to catch more fish.

We arrived on the spot and a change was needed in order to fish it effectively. I was going to make shorter drifts, crossways, over the flat and hopefully it would work. We were now facing 2 & 3 footers, but I was marking some fish. With hopes high, we started drifting!

As usual, Laurence hooked up first and managed to bring a 20 incher into the boat. This was a great keeper and we hoped for more. Many drifts were made and despite our efforts, only one more keeper was landed by Louis. A bunch of perch were also caught, along with one crazy battle from a sturgeon that Louis finessed into eating. This was definitely the highlight of the day!

I had left a set of keys with Don in the morning, expecting the ramp to be a disaster for take-out and I was right. The winds were blowing 3 footers directly into it and he had the trailer waiting when we arrived. I quickly drove it on and the Drotto did the rest. Despite the quick removal, there was still a couple of big waves that rolled over the back when he pulled out. It would have been much worse if I had to do it on my own!

Today was full of surprises but we got the job done. Everyone managed to catch fish and several different species too! Mother Nature could have been a little nicer to us however, but that’s just the way it goes. At least they will have enough fish for an appetizer tonight!!

Jason & his son Max were wanting to learn about the lake they fished, so I took a road trip to see what I could do. We met up about 8:00 and headed out in search of some smallmouth bass. Soft plastics were going to be used and hopefully the fish would cooperate!

Jason was the first to hook up and it was a real good one too! He had been having problems in the past, catching anything, so this was a real treat. After a great fight, I slid the net under his catch. He was absolutely amazed at its overall size and after a few pics, it was returned to the lake unharmed. Max was into the next one from the same area, but unfortunately it came unpinned. We covered water in search of more, but it ended the same way, with lost fish. I hoped this wouldn’t be the norm for today!

I jumped to a different spot and Jason did land another, slightly smaller in size. Along with this one, he added a few more lost ones as well. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there as Max had the same thing happen too! For some reason they were just coming off! With each place we fished, similar results were happening. The next move saw several fish in the area, swimming and I knew we just had to get lucky! Despite Max’s blow up on one of the baits that ended poorly, another did fall victim to a dropshot.

I had about given up on this place when another pick-up was had and this time Max was into a big fish. I just hoped that it stayed pinned! I’m not quite sure what happened next, but somehow the line tangled around the tip of his rod and I had to hand line it into the net. At least this one stayed on long enough to be landed! It was so big that Max decided to let his dad hold it for the pics instead. He wasn’t sure if he would drop it and didn’t want to take the chance. We shot fast and released the fish unharmed!

With each spot we hit, more fish were missed or lost. It was just one of those days where luck was not on our side. They just couldn’t catch a break today! This continued to the very end with more missed fish and we finally ended the misery. By 4:00 we were ready to go!

Jason & Max may not have been the luckiest today but they did leave with a better understanding of the water they fish. Hopefully in the future they will refine the techniques they learned and be able to adjust to the conditions on any given day. They do know now that there’s still fish in the lake and will try harder to catch them the next time out. Better days ahead!!