Part 2: Brian & James were jumping boats this afternoon and heading out for lunge, so I headed back closer to the ramp and switched gears. They had all caught plenty of bass into the early afternoon hours and now were ready for a change. I decided to set the lines and try for some walleye for them to dine on that night. The conditions looked perfect with a good chop from the SW and I knew we would score. The first couple of reels to go ended up with smallies before a walter finally committed suicide. It was a perfect size at just around 18 inches and would make for a great meal, but we needed a couple more. We covered the area searching for others but the lures went untouched. I would be getting a call soon to have these guys switch boats and was under the gun with time. Eventually one of these reels went off but it was a scary howl and I knew it wasn’t a walleye. I pulled the rod from the holder and applied pressure to the line when this thing went straight into the air. It was a lunge and the jump was spectacular. Too bad the lure pulled free from the fish and stuck it in the side causing the battle to be all but over. Brian reeled this fish in completely lassoed and on the surface. I think it only came alive when it neared the boat and went wild. It was going to be a challenge to get this thing into the boat and I was forced to use a bass net instead of the boga. Although it wasn’t a big fish, it was still his first Muskie and one well worth a few pics. During the release, the phone rang and I knew it was that time. We transferred a couple of guys and I decided to stay out with Kris and Sam for a little longer and try for more walleye. I set the lines ad started trolling close by when another reel started to scream. I thought we might have a second lunge but was a little disappointed to see that it was only a northern of around 8 pounds. By now the weather had taken a turn for the worse and there were storm systems lurking north of us that I was monitoring closely. As long as the wind didn’t switch, we were alright! We kept trolling and managed to land a couple more smallies when I saw the land north of us disappearing. The skies had gone black and the system was coming right towards us and quickly. In came the rods and we bolted to the shore! The winds were still from the SW but we ran face on into giant white caps from the north, rolling 4 footers. It looked like a tornado and we were right in its path! I had about three minutes to get there and get the boat on the trailer before it hit. The waves seemed like they were from all directions and big! Ironically, we never really got all the rain but we did get hit with the wind as I loaded the boat and pulled out. As fast as it came in, it was done and pushing out over the water to the other side of the lake. Within minutes, we were back in the sunshine and light winds once again. It was definitely a strange experience and I was happy to be out of its path and on land. Kris & Sam weren’t too disappointed either as it had been a long day. Sam had chilled out several times during the day but never really slept with all the excitement going on. She was too excited every time someone hooked up and really reminded me of the dog I once had. I know they would both be tired tonight but Sam would be the one really recharging her batteries and a zombie for the next 12 hours. What an incredible day!!

Part 1: Without my potential clients getting back to me for today, Christiane & I headed on the lake looking for a few big fish. The full moon is always a good time to target the bigguns and today would prove that theory right. Flat calm conditions and scorching heat had us just dying out there! We were in & out of the sunshine throughout the morning and the cloud cover was a welcomed blessing. Dog pecker knats were everywhere without the aid of any wind and that made it almost unbearable. We began our morning with a troll as this was the only way we could actually move and feel a slight breeze. First fish to fire a reel was a northern of about 8 pounds but not what we expected. I was in a walleye zone and had hoped for a different species when another reel went off and I knew we had the right one. A three pound walleye was landed and livewelled for dinner tonight! We kept trolling over specific areas and ironically, every reel that fired after turned out to be a surprise. We were now hitting smallmouth bass that were roaming and they were big! The first one that came aboard was close to 6 pounds and gave one hell of a fight. When she jumped, I couldn’t believe my eyes as this fish was exceptionally long. Once aboard, she measured slightly above 22 inches and she was fat too! So as not to overstress her, I quickly released this beauty after a couple of pics. We kept at this and were getting into average 4 pounders when another big one hammered the lure and took to the air once again. This one too was long and at over 20 inches went above 5 pounds. Obviously they were well fed because every one we landed, were not only long but pretty fat as well. The remainder of the morning saw similar results as several more big bass were caught & released.

Part 2: While the morning saw us getting into the smallies, the afternoon was a complete turn around. What began with bass soon switched over to quality walleye bites. The first few fish were still large brownies but then the big walters started hitting. It was getting difficult to catch something in the slot for the rest of the family as they were just big. I think the first one to come aboard was over 24 inches and became a picture fish. After that, another 23 then a 25 and finally one around 18 made it into the livewell again. We did manage to take home 4 fish between 16 & 19 inches but released five others over 24 inches. The largest one went a hair over 26 and a decent fish by anyone’s standards. With the lake getting a little hectic with boat traffic, we decided to call it quits around 3:00. We had about 5 hours of fishing and managed to get a couple of dozen fish with 75% being above average ones. Between bass and walleye, the full moon from yesterday lived up to its standards. We may not have slayed them but I’ll take a day like this anytime. Big fish bites are always more fun than the average size and getting as many as we did today, really makes for a great outing. Hopefully, the next full moon will prove equally as productive!!

Well, Friday the 13th is no longer superstitious as Jim, Matt & Shawn found out today while catching a variety of fish species. Not only did they fish on an unlucky day but they even brought bananas to add to the pain. Try this trick down in Florida and they wouldn’t even let you on the boat! A double whammy to say the least was what we were faced with but we definitely overcame all the odds to turn this day into a great fishing experience. These guys were in for a friend’s bachelor party and wanted to fish before all the fun began. Another boat was needed for the other two guys and fortunately Mike was willing to help me out, as he wasn’t booked today. We all left the dock at the same time and went our separate ways as I was in hot pursuit of walleye for them to cook up tonight. The weather looked like it was going to accommodate us quite well with light winds and sunshine all day long. Although it would turn out to be very hot, it made for a beautiful day compared to yesterday’s horrific east wind disaster. It took a little longer to hook up than I had expected as I began in the deeper water and had to fight all the floating vegetation. Without a single rip, I soon realized that there wasn’t any reason to stay here any longer and moved to shallower areas with different lures. Almost immediately the first fish was on and I think it was Jim that soon landed a small northern. Once I was in position over what I wanted, another reel fired and this time Shawn was reeling in the first walleye of around three pounds. Matt had the next one and he too was bringing another walter aboard. This went on for a couple of hours as we continued to hook up on bass, pike and several walleye before we decided to move to a casting spot for smallies. As with the walleye, I began in slightly deeper water and found that there were very few fish around. As I moved shallower it all changed though as we began the fun. Everyone was hooking bass from 2 pounds to over 4 pounds frequently and plenty of action was had by all. All except Matt however as he decided to marry the spinnerbait! I’ll give the guy credit though as he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword! I know that if it were me there would be no way that I would stand by watching everyone fighting fish on soft plastics without giving it a try. These fish just weren’t very active and had to be finessed into eating what we had to offer. Spinnerbaits just weren’t on the menu! I moved around for a bit all the while having someone tight lined and fighting a bass. The other boat had a similar day with different results, fish wise. They hadn’t caught any walleye, just several bass and one beautiful Muskie over 46 inches. They were tired from the lack of sleep the night before and wanted to call it at 3:00 P.M. so we obliged them and did the same. By the time it arrived we were still hooking bass and it was a shame we had to leave as there were plenty more to be caught where we were. We packed it up, headed back to the dock to meet the others and called it a day. In the 7 or so hours out they managed to catch plenty of fish and figured they would rest for a few hours before heading out on the town to begin their bachelor party weekend. Overall it was a great day on the water and thanks to Mike and his boat, all had many memories of their Montreal trip even before the main event began. Party on guys!!!

Nick & Rob were with me today and what a scorcher it was! From yesterdays roller coaster ride to flat calm and blazing hot conditions. I guess she has a sense of humor! I had fished with Nick last fall but it was the first time for Rob and I knew we were about to have a good day. Our first spot had the bass eating soft plastics as well as spinnerbaits and it was game on. Unfortunately it was short lived as I found out and the little flurry of activity had us relocating quickly to another area up the lake. It was here that we did the damage and spent a considerable amount of time catching a number of smallies. Both Rob & Nick were landing plenty of two to three pounders but the larger once seemed to elude us. We covered plenty of water in search of, but never really found them in this area. Off we went to somewhat deeper water and I set them up with a drop shot rig. I don’t think Nick even had the bail closed when the first fish hit him in 18 feet of water. Although it may have only been a 2.5 pound bass, it was a sign. Rob was having a tough time getting use to this technique and only missed a couple. We made several drifts over the deep shoal hooking up pretty much on every one. With below average fish only being caught still, I decided to try another shallow area and moved closer to the shore. It was here that we found some of the larger ones and senko’s were our best baits of choice. The bite was strange with plenty of fish dropping the soft plastics instead of eating them as usual. I know we could have done considerably better than we did because 75% of the bass got off. At least a few of the larger ones stayed buttoned though and made it to the boat for pics. As with the first couple of areas, plenty of action was going on but most of the bass were smaller than expected so we moved again. In the next area, we found another mix of fish and managed to lose almost all of the larger ones. The retention time was terrible today as the fish were either just mouthing the baits or barely taking them by the tail. Either way, we lost plenty! I wanted to give another deep area a try towards the end of the day and went back to the drop shot set up over a series of humps. The fishing was pretty slow but when we did get bit, it was a better than average bass. As with before though, most of them got off when they took to the air. This was really starting to get annoying! Nick was the lucky one as he kept a few of the bigger ones pinned long enough to make it to the net. Rob on the other hand only managed to get visuals as they jumped off directly in front of our faces. We stuck it out till about 5:00 and then pulled the plug on the day. There was definitely plenty of action had today but most ended in disappointment. The fish were surely the winners overall but we did manage to bring plenty of the smaller ones to the boat and a few bigger ones too. Regardless of the outcome, it was still a great day on the lake!!