Three generations again today on the boat as Adam was back with me, fishing! He brought his son James as well as his father Walter for the morning trip. Hopefully the east winds wouldn’t mess up the bite!

We got an early start and were heading to our first spot by 7:00. Although the water was a bit rough, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected. I was sure it would build as the day went on and hit an area that wouldn’t be fishable later in the day. With soft plastics on all the lines, it was game on! Too bad the fish weren’t aware that it was time to eat as the bites were soft at best. Several fish just nipped and never really held on to the baits. In fact, even the ones that did, came off. We remained in the area trying to get some fish, but Adam managed to get the only bass from here. A move was definitely in order!

I made a long run to our next spot and a bumpy one at that. I settled on a shallow area once again, but after only a few small fish, decided to move offshore instead. Apparently, it was the right decision as it was here that they began to catch better fish. At only 7 years old, James managed to get several big fish on his own. I had showed him a slightly different way to cast earlier that was helping him. He hooked and landed the largest bass of the day twice, along with a few really nice walleye. The others were fending well too and everyone managed to catch many fish using a dropshot technique. By the time we were done, they had a limit of good keepers in the livewell for their dinner tonight!

As expected, the east winds had increased for our run back and it wasn’t pretty! Most of the time I had to keep it under 20mph so as not to take a pounding! We were in average 3 footers against the current with occasional fours, all the way back. Although we stayed dry, the big waves slowed us down and turned a short ride into a long one. Regardless, the fishing was great and they all managed to boat many fish in the short half day trip. James definitely took top honors with a few of the fish he caught and he fought them like a champ! You can tell he has the passion when he fishes and he’ll continue to get even better as he grows. Hopefully I’ll have them back out again soon! A great day was had by all!!

After a lengthy time away from fishing, Stephan was back today for a morning trip. He and his gang managed to get into a bunch of smaller bass, but several of them were quality as well. Soft plastics accounted for the action and as usual, plenty were lost too! It was like he had never stopped! Hopefully he won’t stay away as long the next time, now that he’s retired!

This morning’s trip had me waiting at the ramp, with the boat on the trailer, for my clients. I wasn’t sure if they would still be willing to head out with the weather we were having and was pleasantly surprised when they arrived. Game on! We were heading out, regardless that it was pouring rain. A big wind from the SW was also responsible for the 3 footers on the lake. Hopefully they made the right decision!

After a nasty run to an area far from the launch, I set up some soft plastics for them to use. Dan and his 2 kids were about to catch some smallies from this shallow flat! Alexa was the first to hook up as a nice bass came to the net. Her brother Jonathan soon followed with one of equal size and both of them were officially on the board. Their father wasn’t really fishing much as he just wanted to watch them catch fish.

We had been here for less than an hour when the rain decided to quit falling. It was almost pleasant if not for the strong winds! At least it wasn’t wet anymore and removing our hoods, was definitely a plus!

Jonathan & Alexa were hooking up pretty regular and a good number of bass were landed by both. Although the bites weren’t fast and furious, the slow presentation of the soft plastics was definitely the ticket. Faster moving baits were tried, but without any success. I was limited to where I could go with these conditions, so I just concentrated on the area we were in. By covering the water thoroughly, they monopolized on the number of fish on these flats.

This morning flew by quickly and before I knew it, we were heading back. I knew that the run wouldn’t be pleasant and I was right. We were going with the wind and surfing 3 & 4 footers all the way to the ramp. Fortunately, with this boat we never got wet!

Everyone had a great time this morning, despite the conditions we were dealt. With the rain stopping shortly after we arrived at our first spot, it made everything much more pleasant. Both Alexa and her brother Jonathan managed to catch some good fish in our short time on the water. Their father also took plenty of videos and pics of them fighting all the bass they caught. You might say that we made the best of a not so perfect situation. Mother Nature tried, but I guess she failed this time!!

Three generations and two birthdays were aboard today, hoping to catch some freshwater fish for dinner.  Jennifer, her son Nick and her mother Bev joined me as we headed out to make it happen. I would be taking them dropshotitng on rockpiles and with any luck, the fish would cooperate!

It didn’t take long before both bass and walleye were coming aboard, but most were on the smaller side and had to be released. Eventually a few keepers were landed though and the livewell was fired up. They would be having fresh fish for dinner! Being from Florida, they were use to saltwater ones, but tonight their catch of the day was to be fresh!

The weather was just about perfect today with sun and cloud and a decent wind for the drift. Temps were also quite pleasant and remained in the 70’s the entire day, making for a comfortable outing. The fish were even cooperating as multiple hits were being had with each and every drift. I just kept rotating areas the entire time, monopolizing on all the active fish. When things slowed down, I would relocate and do it all over again. Although there were a few slow periods, someone was almost always hooked up.

Sometime in the afternoon, I moved to an area I hadn’t been to in a while and Nick landed a couple of really good fish. The birthday boy even took top honors with a bonus northern that ate the dropshot rig as well. We may not have pounded on the fish heavily from one spot but by moving around they were able to have plenty of action. It seemed that every location was holding some fish and they definitely caught from all.

A slightly earlier than usual end to the day was requested and I finished off right where we had started. Everyone managed to land a few more fish before we were done and some of them even made it into the tank!

Fresh fish was requested this morning and they would be having a great meal tonight. Several good keepers were taken back with them for the birthday dinner. Bev was looking forward to dining on fresh fish for her birthday and so were all the others. For some reason fish always tastes better when you’ve caught them yourself! They definitely had enough to feed the six people that would be eating tonight!

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a more enjoyable day with the outcome. Between the weather and the company, it was just about perfect. Oh yeah and the fishing was pretty good too!!

Darryl & Andrew were in from California and spending their last day fishing. We began by dropshotting open water in a good chop but they only managed a few small bass & walleye. I decided to move once the light rain started and headed to another area further away, to fish in less wind.

Our second spot wasn’t great but several good bass were landed by using soft plastics. They were quite familiar throwing these baits back home and had no problem with the smallies! I did notice however that the fish weren’t eating very well and most of them came, by almost dead-sticking the soft plastics! They wanted almost zero movement!

After working the area thoroughly, I moved to another flat and it was here that things picked up. At least for Andrew! A good number of bass were caught, but just in one section of the spot. Both of them managed to hook into some quality fish but Andrew definitely had the hot hand with most of them. He was literally doing nothing and continually catching fish. Darryl did have some action and was hooked up to a real beauty, but his line broke before it neared the net. Definitely a tough break!

We spent the day dodging a few storms and always seemed to stay ahead of the worst ones. In fact, one of our long moves kept us in the sunshine the entire time, while we watched it pass us by. More fish were caught in each place and several walleye were landed as well. Both dropshotting and casting soft plastic baits were used to slowly finesse these fish into biting. They really weren’t in the mood to chase!

After waiting out the worst of the storms, I decided to make another long run, in hopes of some bigger fish. The winds had picked up considerably from the NW and we were now running in 2 & 3 footers. I arrived and unfortunately the area I wanted to fish wasn’t what I thought it would be and only one fish was missed. I moved again to another spot close by and Andrew landed his biggest fish of the day. It was also his PB for the second time today! Between them, they managed to get a handful of bass before we headed out. Time was closing in on the day and I wanted to try one more area before we were done.

I realized just how big the lake had gotten when I headed back towards the ramp. The NW winds had increased to a point that we were in big rollers & whitecaps all the way. I wanted to get closer to the shore and stopped on a flat to finish the day. Here they managed to get a few more fish before we were done.

Darryl & his son Andrew ended their vacation the way they wanted, fishing! While the rest of the family stayed in the city shopping, they did what they liked best. This was the perfect ending to a great week of sightseeing and they couldn’t have planned it better. Numbers of quality bass were caught and they were much bigger than the smallies they usually catch back home. California isn’t really known for their smallmouth, but the largemouth grow real big over there! They were treated to great brown bass action this time though and left with some real big fish caught. A great time was had by all and it was a pleasure having them out for the day. Great fishermen and even greater company!!