Jay was finally able to get away from his hectic work schedule today and join me for a tremendous day of fishing on the lake. He brought along Andy and his son Korey to join in with the fun as well and all would remember today, for many different reasons. The weather began with light winds from the N/E which intensified to 15 knots later in the morning. We were in the clouds for 90% of the day with an onset of approaching storms often. The air temps weren’t much more than 65 degrees when we launched but climbed into the mid 70’s by the end with an hour or so of sunshine. Water temps were around 65 degrees where we started as a mix of lures were sent into the lake to figure out what the bass might want. Jay threw a crankbait, Andy chucked a spinnerbait and Korey & I tossed a senko. I think we pretty much had all the bases covered with this arsenal of baits! Jay drew the first fish as a nice 3 pound; chunky bass came to the boat but soon came off before I could land it. It didn’t take long after and Jay was into the second & third fish of the morning. He was really on fire and others were looking on, jealous of his success. When Andy finally managed to get a hit, he locked up on what I thought was a huge smallmouth bass only to find out at the boat that it was actually a freshwater drum. Although it was impressive, it wasn’t what we were after and a slight disappointment in the net. This thing was between 7 & 8 pounds and was just bloated. First time on a spinnerbait and it would prove to be the exotic species of the day too! On we went in pursuit of more smallies and almost immediately, Jay had located some more. That crankbait was really hot this morning and Jay loved every minute of it. I think Korey was wanting to change what he was using as he was seeing all the action on everyone else’s rod, but not his. Although he did lose a nice fish earlier, it just wasn’t working as well as the other two lures being thrown. I informed him that it would be the bait that was going to catch the better fish and to just be patient and keep working it slowly. After several more bass from both Andy & Jay, Korey finally got into a nice one of his own and now it started to turn over. From that point on, the better bites were to come from the senko and Korey was finally convinced that the do nothing approach, was the way to go. By now the winds had kicked up pretty good and we were seeing the effects with the fish’s activity. For the next several hours, everyone was getting into bass and an occasional walleye as well. The senko though, was definitely the hot bait as several of the larger bass up to 4 pounds fell victim to this set up and I had to rig another one for a second person to use. Jay managed to feel the enjoyment of this do nothing bait as well, as he got into several good fish on his own. Somewhere in the afternoon, we decided to change it up and do a little trolling, trying for walleye and a possible northern pike. It wasn’t on fire like the bass, but we did manage to catch a few decent walleye up to 4 pounds with Korey losing the best one of over 5 pounds right at the boat. I told him that sometimes the hooks just don’t stay in and there was nothing he could do to change the end result. He did however catch a really nice pike that practically beat him up in the process. We had to circle the area that the fish bogged him down in and pull the fish free from all the weeds that it had buried into. I really thought it was a whole lot bigger than the 5 pounds that it weighed though and we all had a good laugh. One more walleye was caught afterwards before we called it a day and ran back to the ramp to take out. There was an approaching storm coming and I could see by its direction that we were in line to get wet. There weren’t any disappointed faces on the boat today, just smiles from ear to ear. All in all it was a pretty fantastic day on the water, with plenty of action for a day to remember!

After yesterday’s horrible winds and horrific conditions, I was praying for a slightly calmer day today. Ed was joining me on another lake and strong winds from any direction would roll big waves while casting. Well as luck would have it, they were just howling! Although the weatherman said 15 to 20 knots, they were more like 20 to 30 knots from the west where we were. Throw in gusts from time to time and you’ve got a real pleasant day on the water. I could see the white caps from the boat ramp and knew it was going to be a little bumpy getting to where I wanted to begin. I must admit, this Ranger is really made for big water! It cut through the 3 footers great and we both stayed dry. With all the wind from yesterday added to today, the water had quite a bit of color to it making lure choices limited. Ed began with a spinnerbait over rocks & weeds and had to work hard for his first few bites. The fish weren’t the size we were looking for, but they were really strong. With the huge waves and overcast skies, it was difficult to actually see what I was looking for and my GPS became my eyes. Without it, it would have been almost impossible to stay on the areas! Today was definitely a day to test the electric motor batteries for their strength. I ran at about 75% for most of the day until the winds subsided late in the afternoon. Although Ed had caught about a half dozen fish or so, I could see that the spinnerbait just wasn’t working that well and changed him up. I switched him to a crankbait rod and repositioned the boat once again. This was definitely the right choice as he began to hammer the bass in giant winds. It felt like he was getting into a fish on almost every cast for a while and some of them were over 4 pounds and meaner than a pit bull. The biggest one was a fat 20.5 inch beauty that managed to make it to the net, but not the largest one hooked. As with all crankbaits on smallies, you always lose a few. I could see at least one or two that were closer to if not over the five pound mark that just came off on the jump. Considering the conditions we were faced with, his landing ratio was fantastic! It was over 75% and that’s great on any day with those tiny hooks. When things began to slow down, so did we and I handed Ed a tube jig rod and told him to start fishing the deeper water adjacent. The fish were still in the area, but not actively feeding where he caught them on the crankbait and a slight adjustment got him back in the game once more. He had effectively fished these areas in 3 or 4 hours and landed close to 40 smallmouth ranging from 2.5 to over 4 pounds. I think most of the bass he had landed were over 3 pounds on average and plenty of them were in the high threes too. I thought we would change it up a bit and decided to try our hand at trolling for walleye as Ed had never landed a big one before. We headed to an area not too far away and dropped the rods in to see if we could hook him up. When the first reel fired, it was hooked to a small northern of around 3 pounds and not what we were looking for. The next time however, the reel screamed and the rod loaded up with a heavy fish. I was pretty sure by the way it was acting that it was a big eye and told him to finesse the fish in. I have had too many of these big walleye barely hooked and plenty of them had come off in the net recently. This fish stayed down and when we finally caught a glimpse, we got our confirmation. It was a big eye! Ironically, it peeled line off the reel several times giving Ed a fantastic fight despite the fact that walleye usually fight like a wet rag. When I netted the fish, I knew it would go more than 5 pounds and put the boga on her to remove the hooks. It clearly went over 6 pounds and was a personal best for Ed. After a few quick pics, we released her back to the water unharmed. Ed wanted to take home a couple, but this one wasn’t going to be killed for the table. I informed him that I had some fillets in the freezer back home and would gladly trade them off for the release. We continued to troll for a while after, but were only able to manage a few more northerns up to about 6 pounds. With limited time left in the day, we decided to try our luck at more bass and switched it up once again. I love having the luxury of adjusting with the Ranger anytime I feel the need! The water was really dirty where we tried next and other than a couple of follows, we went scoreless. We fished one more area before we were to call the day and Ed managed to hit another big blackie on a crankbait. Obviously, the stop was worthwhile as the 4 pounder was photographed and returned unharmed. He did manage to land another one of around 3 pounds on a senko as well but that was all. Despite the miserable start to the day, the overall outcome was phenomenal. Ed had managed to get into close to 50 smallies and land over 75% of them along with a beautiful walleye as well. I don’t think he will be forgetting this day anytime soon!!!

Sam & Danny joined me today on another lake for some smallmouth bass action. We got a little later start than usual and only managed to get on the water after 9:30 but wasted no time on the fish. The weather wasn’t picture perfect to say the least with overcast skies and light drizzle on & off all day. Air temps took a dive and topped out only in the upper 60’s as did the water at 65 degrees. The biggest headache today though was the winds. They were blowing at 15 to 20 knots with stronger gusts from the W/SW and had us bouncing around all day. They really made for tough line control when trying to detect any strikes! Danny got on the board first with a few smaller bass in the 2 to 3 pound range on a spinnerbait, but Sam was soon to follow. He missed a few pick ups on soft plastics by striking too soon but eventually managed to land a couple of his own. We had fish on every spot we stopped, but it was difficult to hold in the right position with the heavy winds and most likely didn’t fish at 100%. Danny had the best fish of the morning when he hooked up on a long cast almost immediately. The spinnerbait barely hit the water and the smallie was all over it, leaping all the way back to the boat. A quick pick of the 4 pounder and back she went right after. Some of the fish may have still been on their beds protecting, but the ones we were getting into today were fat & healthy. While Danny & Sam were taking a break and having lunch, I made a few casts with a tiny crankbait and soon regretted the decision. Almost instantly, a huge smallie locked on to the lure and I knew it was a good one. When it went to the air I realized that it was well over 5 pounds and backed off on the drag because of the small hooks. When we finally got her in the net, the lure fell out and she was loose. For whatever reason, the tiny trebles almost never seem to stay pinned and even the least amount of pressure can end in disappointment. I didn’t bother to weigh her, as I didn’t want to hang her on a scale just for an exact weight. I did however measure the fish and was amazed to see that she was just barely over 21 inches. With the fatness and this length I would have put her somewhere around the mid 5 pound range. Well it didn’t take long before both guys inhaled the rest of their lunch and were back casting again. This time however, Sam was throwing the crankbait and soon locked up on one of his own. Unfortunately it ended in disappointment as the fish came unpinned when it took to the air. Too much pressure on the little hooks! After losing a few fish on the lure, he finally managed to keep one on all the way to the net and it was a good one too. This fish was also over 4 pounds but slightly smaller than the one that came off minutes before. The lure was definitely getting the fish to bite but keeping them on was a different story! I eventually gave Danny another crankbait like the one Sam was using and he also had the same luck, losing his first fish. We spent a few more hours jumping from one spot to another all the while locating some very impressive bass in the process. By the time the day was done, they had landed maybe 25% of the fish they had contacted and some of the ones lost were in the 4 to 5 pound range too. I think they were fortunate to have caught what they had due to the weather & winds. It wasn’t easy trying to cast light lures into a crosswind and actually feel the strikes effectively. Floating weeds were also a problem as they managed to have them attached on almost every cast they made. I guess overall, it was a decent day despite the weather and several really good quality fish came aboard making it all worth while. Oh yeah and nobody got hurt!!

After an unsuccessful attempt at booking today, I finally headed out with my wife Christiane instead. We arrived at the ramp around 9:30 and were trolling for walleye before 10. Although the weatherman had forecasted rain and a chance of thunder showers, they were once again, bang on. It was sunny and there was no rain in sight! Winds were still out of the east and were blowing at 10 knots or better causing a pretty good chop on the water. They did eventually switch to the S/E and this really helped with the fishing. Water temps were somewhere around 68 degrees and the air temps rose to over 80 by days end. The first reel to fire managed to have a walleye of around 3 pounds that fell off when it hit the net. Light biters again today, I hope not! We trolled over the area for a while before we had our second hit and this one turned out to be a northern pike of around 4 pounds or so. Not what we were looking for, but action nonetheless. I was really working this area and knew it had to have some better fish, when the same reel began to scream once more. This time the rod was really loaded and Christiane felt some weight on the end of it. I knew that this one was a substantial size and was about 95% sure that it was another walleye. What I didn’t know however was just how big it was until I caught a glimpse as she neared the boat. It was a giant! The runs were fierce ones as it peeled drag from the reel on each & every one, not wanting to come aboard. I finally managed to get a shot at this beast and netted her just in time as another set of hooks came free. I didn’t think she was 10 but I knew it was going to be close. She measured just over 30 inches and went 9.27 on the scale making it the largest walleye Christiane had ever caught. I definitely needed a few pics of her and afterwards, took time releasing this fish back to where she came from. There’s no need to be killing a big breeder like her and I never hesitated in letting her go! We went back to trolling again & I knew that anything after this could only be downhill. We managed to get into a few more pike and even had a double header that proved to be a northern and a walleye at the same time. The pike was small, but the walleye was a 24 inch fish that was also released after being caught. When the winds switched again to the south, the bigger pike started to bite and we kept catching them on every pass. Some of them were decent in size going 8 pounds or better and although they weren’t walleye, they were still fun to catch. I had one walleye in the live well and needed a couple more for a family dinner tonight so we continued trolling, in search of them. It didn’t take long and we were boating two more clones of the one in the well, at 3 pounds apiece. There would be 6 of us and three fish would be just perfect with no big ones being killed. We kept trolling for another hour or so and caught plenty more pike with the biggest one of nearly 9 pounds on a spinnerbait right near the end. By 2:30 we were ready to head back and packed up everything for the day. In just 4 hours of fishing, there were probably 20 or more fish caught and some of them were real quality, with the walleye being the bonus. Every time a client cancels at the last minute or becomes a no show, Christiane manages to have a spectacular day. This one was no different and now she has another giant fish to add to her already extensive list of trophies. What a great day!!

Richard needed to take a break from his hectic work schedule and called me early this morning to see if I was available. As luck would have it I was and we were meeting at the ramp shortly after 9:00 A.M. I thought that with the beautiful weather and sunshine we were having that we would start for smallies and ran to the first spot. Air temps were hovering around 70 degrees at the start and climbed to over 80 by mid afternoon. Winds were from the S/E at 5 to 10 knots early and really kicked up later in the day with gusts around 20 knots creating a real big chop on the water. I don’t think it took Richard more than a couple of casts before he was tight to his first smallie and many more to come. Three to 4 pounds were the average size he was getting and he broke off an even larger one when it took him around a big boulder. We casted to the bass for several hours successfully, before trying a change and heading into the jungle for some largemouth bass. This wasn’t to pan out however as the winds were blowing big waves on the water, making fishing almost impossible in this area. Richard finally gave in as work had been hounding him all morning long and he really had to be there. We packed it up and headed back to the ramp around 2:30 giving us about half of the day both had wanted. Overall, it was pretty good for the smallies as we managed to get into about a dozen quality bass in just a few short hours up to 4.5 pounds. I hope the next time out it’s on the weekend when he doesn’t have to think about his work and can focus on just catching fish. I think he does too!!!