Andrew made a long drive this morning in hopes of catching his first ever sturgeon. I told him that the fish were on the smaller side so far and that the big ones had been nonexistent. It didn’t seem to bother him much as he was on a quest to catch as many species as he could in his lifetime. This would be another bucket list check!

I had marked a few small fish and decided to set up in the usual area to see if we could get a bite. Well, it didn’t take too long before we did and he quickly added another fish species to his already huge list of fish caught. Although not big, it was a sturgeon and his first one ever! Plenty of pics were taken to add to the database of fish pics he already had before we resumed fishing.

The second bite came shortly after the first and this fish was a sturgeon as well. Right on cue, the second rod fired and I set into another fish and placed the rod back in the holder for him to reel in. He swapped rods with me and managed to catch a double. Although both small, they were sturgeon! It also made for a great pic, holding the two juveniles! He managed to catch another small one a little while later, along with a decent smallmouth bass. Seeing that this area was like a daycare, I decided to try a move to another spot hoping for bigger fish.

I was pleasantly surprised to see plenty of marks on the bottom when I arrived. I immediately set the lines hoping for a quick bite, but was surprised when Andrew reeled in another smallmouth bass. The fish I was marking were definitely sturgeon and I knew that if we were patient, we would be rewarded.

It took a while before the first sturgeon bit a line, but at least it was a bigger fish. In the last few hours, we had many more bites and Andrew landed quite a few others, including a personal best channel cat. We also had two other double headers that he boated himself as well. Andrew may not have landed the giant today, but he definitely felt the power of these fish. Several times he had drag screaming runs from sturgeon, making him want more. He definitely will be back in the future for another shot at a true river monster and I can’t wait to see him do battle with the beast. Today was just a sample of what these things feel like. The best is yet to come!!

Tim & his wife Michelle joined me today, looking to get into some bass & walleye. We began in an area that was putting out lots of both and hoped for the best. Almost immediately, confirmation was made and Michelle brought to net, the first smallie. I knew it wouldn’t be the last!

With almost perfect conditions present for drifting, we made multiple passes over the area and plenty of fish were hooked up. Some of them made it to the boat, while others unfortunately came off. Oddly enough however, they were all bass! Michelle was on fire and managed to catch several good bass before Tim kept his first one on. Eventually though, he figured it out and things turned around for the better. More fish were now coming in the boat than being lost and they even had a few double headers too!

After having stayed in this one rea for a few hours, I decided to make a move when the winds died off. Our drifts weren’t working as well and I wanted them to get into some walleye. They were going to cast the second area and hopefully it would put more fish in the boat!

We were now in deeper water and there were plenty of fish all over the area. They were still dropshotting, but casting the rigs instead of drifting them. Right on cue, Tim hooked up and brought his first walleye to the boat. In the next couple of hours there were plenty more caught by both, along with lots of big perch. Both of them even managed to get a few nice bass from the same area as a bonus!

With practically zero wind now, the fishing was getting tougher and I decided to make another move to one last spot before we were done. Tim had just informed me that they would be calling it at 1:30 and I was just about out of time. I decided to try a rocky area nearby!

In the last 20 minutes, they both managed to land fish and we called it soon after. They had a great time and wanted to do a few more things this afternoon, while in Montreal. This day passed even quicker than expected with the early departure, but the fishing was great! They were into fish the entire time we were on the water and we ended on a high. Great times and even greater company today!!

I was back out again, with Richard and Kevin today, in search of something big. Bass and walleye were the targeted species and hopefully we would see both!

The first location proved to be a good one as Rich managed to land a really nice eye while jigging. It was definitely the biggest one he had seen in a while and possibly his personal best! Kevin was into many perch and also landed a big fish from here, but it turned out to be a northern pike. He opted for no pic! Several smaller walleye and perch were taken from this spot but the bite wasn’t great. We decided to make a move!

The next couple of areas saw plenty of fish swimming but not very many takers. In fact, short strikers were leaving partial baits on the hook, without getting caught! We jumped all over the lake and had similar success from most. Flat calm and high sunshine had brought back the summer heat and everyone was feeling it, including the fish!

The last couple of places we fished saw more bass being landed and Rich even managed to catch another big walleye. It was tough but we grinded it out till the end.

Although not what I had expected, today did have some big fish. Rich caught a couple of great walleye and Kevin landed a big northern on light tackle. Many other smaller fish were also caught but it was still a tough bite. The cooler nights will surely trigger better activity soon enough and the fall fishing will begin. I can’t wait!!

Keith’s wife had surprised him with a fishing trip, as a gift for his 50^th birthday today. Along with him were three of his friends to join in the fun. Roy, Sheldon & Stephane would be enjoying an afternoon with the birthday boy and hopefully the fish would treat them well!

It was nice to finally be fishing in cooler air temperatures, after a week of insane heat. Although I didn’t have clients, I was out almost every day regardless, searching for new areas to fish. We would be hitting one of them today!

I decided that with 4 bodies in the boat, they would be dropshotting and instructed everyone on what to do. It wasn’t long before Roy was tight to the first of many, fish of the day. It was soon followed by another and he had two nice bass before anyone knew what had happened. We were drifting an open water area and covering water with an almost perfect wind. It allowed them to fish effectively, without having to cast and it was working. The others were hooking into fish as well and although some were coming unpinned, most were ending up in the net. With each pass, many fish were being landed and a combination of bass and walleye were caught. The fish were definitely cooperating today!

I had planned on hitting other areas this afternoon, but this place was too loaded to leave. We actually remained here for the entire time. Drift after drift fish were being caught and there was no reason to leave. We kept at it right until the end and the results were outstanding! In fact, they decided to call it a bit earlier and we pulled off by 3:30 instead of 4:00. They had all landed plenty of fish for the day!

Great times were had by all this afternoon and the numbers were high. Although there were a few slow periods, most of the time someone was hooked up. In fact, there were several doubles and even a few triple headers during their trip. It couldn’t have worked out better today! I know that Keith will be remembering his 50^th for a while and the great time he had fishing with his friends!

Today was expected to be a real scorcher, so Mark asked to do a half day instead! No problem for me! We fished an area out in the middle for a mix of fish. Although it did hold some walleye, it was mostly bass they would be catching. I just wanted to get things going before it too hot!

Mark had his son Tyler with him again along with their girlfriends, Christine & Hoosna. Christine also had her granddaughter, Alura Faye with her and a cute little Barbie fishing rod & reel. I set it up with the same dropshot presentation and was amazed that it actually came with a drag! It was going to be interesting, if they caught a fish on it!

Hoosna was the first to hook up, but she was new to fishing and wasn’t able to land the bass. The next one however, with a little coaching, came to net quickly. It was a nice walleye and pics were taken of her catch, before the release. Mark was also into some smallies and everyone had chances on the first drift. I was shocked when Barbie bent over with a smallmouth on the end but it was difficult to keep pressure on the fish with the rod so short. Unfortunately, it came unpinned!

With each drift we made there were more & more fish being landed and even a few doubles were had. Barbie was getting hits often now and after a few fish coming off, Christine & Alura Faye landed their first bass. It was quite something hearing the drag scream on such a short rod. It looked more like an ice fishing combo than a summertime rod & reel!

With the morning passing, the heat was increasing and it didn’t take long to raise the roof. This was also good for Alura Faye as she was so young and we didn’t want her burning. Plenty of sunscreen was being use by all, but there’s no sense taking any chances!

We had a slight ripple on the water at the beginning of the morning but this had all disappeared and now we were flat calm. Dog pecker knats were everywhere and our drifts were at a minimum. Covering water was next to impossible, but they were still catching fish! Hoosna definitely had the hot hand, landing more than everyone else, but the Barbie rod was also firing on a regular basis too! We even had a triple header that was just chaos! Although it could have been a quad, one of their fish came off leaving us with just three.

We stuck it out until the last minute and finally called it at 11:30. It was way too hot and definitely time to go! I packed everything up as well as the roof, which was our only reprieve from the sun and heat. It wasn’t long before we had a cool breeze again, as I motored back to the ramp.

Today may have been shortened due to the heat, but the fishing was great. Plenty of action was had by all in the short time we were out and everyone enjoyed themselves. The highlight of the day however was the fact that Barbie was able to bring a few big bass to net. Who knows, maybe I’ll be keeping a couple of them in the boat for future customers, from now on!!