With the roller coaster weather patterns we’ve had lately, I wasn’t able to get out until today. Norm joined me with his bear, Buddha and we hit the water by 8:30 full of anticipation. This day was supposed to hold no wind, sunny skies and temps around 45 degrees so why not bring him! He had missed out on the last outing but this time he would get to enjoy this picture perfect fall day. We began casting jigs under a mix of cloud & sun and air temps around 38 degrees. Water temps were holding in the low 40’s and the bites were subtle. The first few fish were swung on too soon and contact was never made, causing us to make an adjustment. The count of three was to be today’s theme and it held true all day long! By waiting those extra few seconds we were able to hook a much larger percentage of the fish that bit and swear a whole lot less. A few areas held several more fish than others and by covering water we were able to monopolize on a bunch of quality smallies. Once the sun came out I thought things would come alive but found the exact opposite effect. It actually got a little tougher until I changed zones and we began getting into them once again. Buddha was having a blast as he took part in every release with a light licking of the fish’s tails. What a ham! He’s gotten so in tune with fishing that he knows when a fish has been hooked just by hearing the drag. If either of us happens to say, “There’s One” before we set the hook, he’s right there waiting. Unfortunately the air temps are getting a little too cool for him, even with his fleece coat and this will most likely be his last outing. We on the other hand will surely be back out for another kick at the can before the water becomes hard and steelhead become our target. Hopefully, sometime this week after the forecasted floods of rain have subsided, we’ll be able to wet another line and tangle with more of those big, bronze beauties!!

One week later and back out with Norm once again! Unfortunately due to the weather, his faithful companion Buddha remained back at home. Norm did however get quite a dirty look when leaving with rods in hand! Although it may have been raining pretty hard for most of the morning, the action was great as plenty of fish were boated. We drove through fog and lots of precipitation before arriving at the water and even launched in the rain as well. Fortunately for us, the air temps were above freezing and eventually topped out around 55 degrees. Winds were from the SW at around 10 knots for the most part until late in the afternoon when they more than doubled. With the heavy cloud cover and wetness upon us, we made our first drift in the 46 degree water. Almost immediately I had a hit and instantly was swinging at “Nothing but Air”. Those damn lunge are on our bass spot again! While I was re rigging, Norm got violated as well and he too was back tying on another jig. All I could hear from him was how much he loathed those hateful creatures and why they wouldn’t leave him alone. Ever since his first encounter with a Muskie, he has had nothing but anger towards them. It ate his bass and all 50 plus inches were landed on the jig! Moral of the story, “Don’t mess with Norm’s Bass”! After retying, we moved into a slightly shallower area, began casting to isolated areas and as luck would have it, Norm locked up. “Not again” was what I heard from him and all I saw was a giant of a lunge coming towards the boat. I think most people would love to be in his shoes with all this bad luck, but not Norm. He just hates them to death! It came to the boat like a big old log and we both got a great look at this beast. It was over 50 inches and had an enormous girth to her. She turned and disappeared to the depths, leaving him once again in awe. Was this going to be the last encounter today? We finally started getting into the smallies and quality fish were coming in on almost every other cast. We covered the area thoroughly and just kept pounding big bass! Eventually the rain let up and we were only fishing in the clouds for a while. This was great as there was no need for the hoods and we no longer felt like horses with blinders. The action slowed down a bit and now we had to work for each and every bite as we continued moving along. Eventually we found another area holding some good fish and we got into them once more. I’m not sure at what point in the afternoon the sun came out but not long after, the winds really kicked up and we were now fishing in 2 to 3 footers. It was definitely a little tougher to feel the subtle bites but we did manage a few more good ones before we called it quits. The sun was getting low and the air was starting to cool off so we decided to go back to the ramp and head home. It was nice to get back out again and get a bunch of big bass. Hopefully this won’t be the last outing but at this time of the year, you just never know. At any time, Mother Nature can shut us down completely and the boat can go into hibernation for another winter. Let’s just hope she holds out a little longer as I think there’s still plenty of great fishing to be had!!

We shifted locations and found another puddle to beat on the bass today. Craig & Derek were out for redemption and they were going out fighting! An early launch before 8:00 A.M. saw us running to the first location, pumped. I was shocked to find a couple of boats already there and exactly where I had planned on starting. Oh well, nice weather brings out people on the weekend! We had to settle for another section and found it pretty slow. With the water cooled from the night it was at best 43.5 degrees and needed a little sunshine to activate the bass. I think the first couple of fish to get caught were a walleye and a sauger. The bass were not coming easily as I moved around in search of calmer water. Eventually, the sun rose, the air temps grew and the bass started biting. From this moment on, there was no looking back. Even with the NE wind blowing 10 knots or better, they managed to get into the zone. I think at one point, Craig went 10 or 12 casts with fish on every one! Derek was also getting into the zone and pounded them pretty good too with about half the casts becoming fish. They went on a flurry for a while and landed several large ones before I had to relocate once more when it just died. The next section wasn’t as fast & furious, but it was producing pretty good as they started hooking up again. I think the ticket today was slow! By placing the baits in the right locations and moving them very little, the fish eventually found their offerings. As with yesterday’s outing, we called it a day shortly after 4 o’clock. We had stopped on one more place just before and Derek landed his largest of the day in about 15 seconds. Craig too hooked up and this was enough to end the day on a high. We managed to salvage the two day trip with both size & numbers on the second day and all was good! Although they had a 3 ½ hour drive back home, they were pumped from the day and had plenty to remember. This is the way the fall fishing should be and I can’t wait to get back out once again! Great day overall!!

Craig was back again this weekend for one last trip and this time he brought Derek along as well. The last time they were here Derek had a wet, cold initiation to the world of fall bass fishing. This time, it would be different! We started the first of the two days in sunshine, no wind and warm air, unlike the last visit where it was blowing, raining & cold. This was going to be a treat, or so we thought! Within the first 15 minutes there was only one bite on Craig’s line and he managed to land a small Muskie around 37 inches. I had noticed the lack of flow from the current and didn’t like it at all. I don’t think the bass liked it either as they weren’t very active. We practically had to dead stick the baits in order to get bit. I barely had to step on the pedal of the electric motor either. It was like being anchored! We even went to senko’s for a while to see if this would help and came up empty. All we could do was just pick at them and fish slowly on the bottom. The bass would find the baits and if we were alert, we’d hook up. This went on all day with no real flurry until the last hour of light. In a short time they both hooked up pretty regularly and this definitely bumped the numbers. With the low light coming in early, we decided to call it around 4 o’clock. Although it was a tough day, there were still plenty of fish caught, just not what I have grown accustomed to seeing in the fall. Another body of water tomorrow and hopefully more action showing us what bass do best, feed! Tough day overall!!

I hit the water this morning with Darren in very similar conditions to yesterday’s outing. Winds were once again blowing from the NE and right around the 20 knot mark! Temps were also low and in the mid 30’s with the water falling to 43.5 when we dropped the lines in and started fishing. Although the skies were brilliant blue with sunshine all around, it still felt cold! Another tough day for dragging in the current was in our future and I just hoped the casting bite would be like yesterday afternoon. The first few fish to come aboard were all in the 4 pound range but not plentiful. I guess with the water temps dropping each night, they have to adjust as well. The mid day period has always been best once the sun has gotten higher and today would be no exception. A bunch of fish were caught during the morning hours but it was the afternoon that would shine once again. One area in particular had Darren hooking up on each and every cast for a while. It was like fishing in a hatchery when he got started and smallies up to 4 pounds were fighting for his jig! Too bad all good things must come to an end and this held true with the area. Eventually he either caught all the fish or the rest of them just shut down and moved, as it died. I relocated to another place that also had quality bass and although it was tougher than expected, the bites were big. We practically had to dead stick the jigs at times in order to get bit. They really weren’t active and it showed. I was marking them on the sonar and there were many! I think if we were using live minnows we might have gotten into more of them but Darren still caught plenty. As with yesterday, we called it quits around 4:00 and made our way back to the boat ramp. Another day of peak periods of action with just picking at them for the remainder was what the results showed today. It was productive but the NE winds limited the numbers that could have been by restricting certain areas of fishable water. Hopefully the winds will eventually lay down and I will have the best of both worlds by drifting and casting wherever I see fit. Better days ahead, I hope!!