Hughes & his son Olivier were out with me today for another shot at a monster fish. We headed to the area in flat, overcast conditions that had a slight fog as well. The forecast was for light rain and a SW wind increasing throughout the afternoon. I was going to start with the sturgeon and move to walleye later when the winds picked up, as I preferred the waves.

As I idled over the area I marked some good fish and settled on our first stop. Too bad it didn’t produce what I had seen! Instead the first fish was an eel that Olivier reeled in. I quickly released the slimy snake and resumed fishing. We weren’t getting the action that I had expected and were plagued by little fish nibbling on the worms. I had to make a move to get away from them as all I was doing was re baiting the hooks!

The next area saw one small sturgeon coming aboard and it too was brought in by Olivier. His father was awaiting the big bite! Too bad his fish turned out to be a catfish, but it was the exotic species of the day, so far.

Several moves were made due to all the small fish and we even managed to catch a couple of perch and one bass in the process. Eventually we did find an area where I was able to leave the lines in the water for more than just a minute. It was here that we had better action and managed to boat a few more fish. In the mix were some sturgeon and one big drum that Hughes reeled in. I think it was even his first one too! Olivier was lucky enough to get the rod for the biggest fish of the day with his last sturgeon but Hughes only managed another exotic species with the sheep head!

We stayed on the sturgeon for probably longer than we should have but I was seeing plenty of activity both above and on the bottom. In fact we had several drive byes from some of the fish that resembled bites giving me even more confidence that we were going to hook up again. Too bad it never happened!

Sometime around 1:30 we decided to pull the plug and try for some walleye. I headed to another section of the water and set up a few drop shot rods hoping to get bit. I was really waiting for the forecasted winds to start but it didn’t look like they were going to happen. We had to settle for a slow drift in deeper water and see what would happen.

I made several passes across an underwater point and each time someone was bit. The only problem was that they never stayed pinned long enough for me to get them in the net. Both Hughes & Olivier weren’t lucky as every one of the fish was missed! I eventually moved to another spot further away that I knew they would catch fish from, or so I hoped!

Drift after drift was made through a deep slot and a few more fish were missed. I even got in the game and despite hooking into a nice walleye, it too came off before the net! I did however manage to bring a smallie aboard but this wasn’t what we were after. Time for another move!

Desperate to get them into fish, I decided to try where I had hoped to, if there was wind. The forecast had called for a decent blow in the afternoon and I was saving this place for just the right conditions! As usual the weatherman was bang on again!

The sonar wasn’t looking great and I was only seeing a few marks in the area, but we stopped and fished for a short time regardless. The drift  was so slow that I had to use the electric motor just to move the boat. It wasn’t long before I pulled out of here and headed to another spot nearby. This place at least had a rocky bottom and did produce one nice bass. Unfortunately it was alone so we moved again!

Time wasn’t on our side but I did hit a couple more spots before we were done. Only one keeper walleye was brought aboard in the time remaining. The lack of wind had definitely caused me problems on all the open water spots we fished. Without movement, the fish feed very little and this was definitely proven today. They had managed to catch a bunch of fish anchored up for sturgeon but the walleye bite was practically non-existent. I almost wish I had opted for bass instead as I know we would have had a much better bite in the shallows. Despite the difficult conditions, they did land some great fish today!

Eric, Caroline & Michel joined me today for another fishing trip. We were going to be starting out for sturgeon and switching over to bass & walleye after we were done. Hopefully it would all work out!

With practically zero wind I set up the rods and readied everything, looking for a quick bite. We were searching for another monster after the last outing and I knew they were around. The conditions were absolutely perfect and it was easy to watch the rods without any movement.

Our first bite may not have been the giant I wanted but Eric did manage to bring in his very first sturgeon. With not much fight on the heavy tackle I easily netted his fish, with the small net! It was a cute little juvenile and sent back on its way after a few pics.

We waited quite a while for our next bite and made a few moves in order to get it. The nibbles we had prior were causing me to constantly check & re bait the lines. This time however, it was not a goby! Michel was passed the rod and he reeled in a little tougher fighting fish. Although not the one I wanted, it at least put up a much better battle. He held it for a few more pics and tossed it back to grow.

I had told everyone that Caroline was going to be the one to fight a giant and a little later, it happened. I finally saw the bounce that I wanted and set into some quality weight. I knew this was going to be the right one and passed it off to her. All she could do was hang on!

After instructing her on how to hold the rod she began the long battle. It made a few good runs and peeled plenty of line from the reel on each one. I could see that the line was starting to rise and told everyone to look back as it was about to jump. Now she really knew what she was into!

The fight lasted for over 10 minutes with the fish staying on the bottom for most of the battle. At one point I thought she was gaining but it went into a crazy roll and tangled itself all up in the line. Now she was reeling in dead weight on the surface. As it neared the boat it went ballistic once again and untangled, sending it into another leap. This fish just didn’t want to give up! Eventually however I was able to get it in the net and Caroline was relieved that it was all over. Or was it! Now she was going to have to hold it for the pictures!

There was absolutely no way that she was going to be able to lift the fish so I gave her a little help. Soon after it was torpedoed back to where it belonged. I reset the lines hoping for another big one but it wasn’t going to happen today. Despite catching a couple of bass and perch the only thing other than these that bit were gobies. It was officially time to move on!

We spent the remaining time fishing for mostly bass and everyone caught a bunch. We even had a couple of double headers that were almost triples. Michel was having a hard time keeping his fish pinned but after losing over a half dozen, he finally began landing them. We jumped around to several spots and finished off with a few more walleye & bass from Eric in the final area. I was having a hard time with boat control here as the winds began to blow pretty good out of the SE. We made several passes but not all perfectly where the fish were holding. I eventually ran out of time and headed in!

Once again today was an overall success with everyone catching a sturgeon and Caroline leaving with bragging rights. The bass fishing was great as well and everyone learned a new technique. They had been dropshotting to catch all of their fish and there were plenty. Eric even left with a couple of nice walleye for his dinner too! This was definitely a great day for fishing!

John brought his two young sons, Mathis & William out fishing today. We began a bit early and met up at 10:00, as I didn’t have any morning bookings. Hopefully the trolling bite would work out for the kids!

Unfortunately we trolled for almost 90 minutes with only a couple of hits and managed to bring one nice walleye into the boat. I was sure glad, because it went into the livewell for the boys to watch!

I switched gears much earlier than I had planned and decided to teach his sons how to cast. We headed for shallow water and smallmouth bass with soft plastics. Although a challenge, both William & Mathis learned quickly and were able to cast fairly well on their own. Good enough to get a few bites each and land some pretty nice bass! They did have problems with reeling in too far and constant adjustment of the baits was necessary, but overall they did great! Their father even had several fish as well in the few hours we remained.

Today wasn’t as much about fishing as it was spending time with his sons for John. His boys enjoyed the boat ride and had a blast learning how to cast. Catching bass was an added bonus once they concentrated on the fishing part too! The weather couldn’t have been any better either as we had sunshine and light winds the whole time we were out. Time passed by so quickly that I didn’t see how late it had gotten and we finished up at 3:00. Overall it couldn’t have gone much better and now his two sons are ready to fish with him on their own. Hopefully they’ll remember everything they learned today!

Kevin & his son Braydon were with me this morning and agreed to try for a sturgeon or two before we shifted to a smaller species of fish. Little did we know that the sturgeon would cooperate and all other fish would be taking a back seat today!

After searching over the area for a little while, I settled on a spot that showed signs of life. With three lines in, all we could do was wait. It wouldn’t be hard to see the bite with practically flat calm waters from no wind. It was a refreshing change from the hurricane like winds from yesterday!

Our first bite was unlike what I expected from a sturgeon as the rod almost doubled over from the hit. A light bounce is usually what is seen but not this time. I set the hook into some weight and feared that the fish might have been foul hooked. Kevin took the rod and battled the fish for a bit before we saw why the bite was what it was. As it turned out, this was a channel catfish and a welcomed exotic catch! It weighed in at over 15 pounds on the Boga scale and was released right after a few pics. It may not have been the species we were after but we were on the board!

After resetting the lines, we didn’t wait long before the second bite. This time Braydon took the rod and he brought in the right species. It was a small sturgeon but it was what we were fishing for. He held it for a couple of pics before turning it loose. Now they were both on the board and I wanted more!

As luck would have it, we didn’t wait very long for our next bite. I had been seeing some larger marks on the sonar and hoped that some of them would find our baits. When I saw the next bite I immediately grabbed the rod and set into some weight. I knew it was the right one and passed the rod to Kevin to fight his first beast!

The sheer power of this thing impressed Kevin as all he could do was hold on while it took out line. As much as he reeled in, the fish just took it all back out and more! I told him that it was an endurance battle and not a race, so he would have to let the fish dictate what to do. Reel when you can but not when you can’t! He had never fought anything like this before but did well with a little coaching. After almost 15 minutes, we finally got a sighting and I was able to slide the net under his catch. It was definitely the largest fish he had ever seen!

It became a struggle for him to get a proper hold on the sturgeon but he managed to hold it upright for a few pics. They may have been mostly belly shots but it did show the overall mass of this beast! A quick release saw the fish disappearing back to the depths where it had come from. Mission accomplished!

We reset the lines after the release and just waited before getting our next bite. This time I was sitting right next to the rod, re baiting another line when it started to bounce. I just reeled with the rod while it was still in the holder to tighten up on the fish. It had the makings of another cat by the way it hit and Braydon managed to bring in his first channel. Although not as big as the previous one, it was still quality and welcomed. More pics were taken and the fish was sent on its way.

The pressure was off on producing fish and I wasn’t surprised to get another quick bite soon after resetting the lines. This time Kevin reeled in a small sturgeon and it was released afterwards. The next bite however wasn’t small and Braydon took the rod after I reared back on the fish. It felt big and I knew he was in for a struggle. Lots of coaching was needed for him to get in the groove if he was going to fight this fish till the end.

Early in the battle I could see the line starting to rise and I let him know not to pull when it breached, but to bow when he saw it go into the air. It was big and quite impressive when it finally jumped and we all saw what he was battling. As usual, it went directly back to the bottom again! Several more runs and a couple more jumps were made and 10 more minutes passed before it eventually came up to the surface. It had rolled in the line and Braydon struggled to reel it back to the boat. He did finally manage to get it close enough for me to slip the net under his catch! At 10 years old he was quite impressive, battling something almost his own weight!

There was no way that he would be able to hold the fish after fighting it for over 15 minutes, so his father helped him out. A few more pics were taken and the fish was quickly on its way.

They were having a great time catching big fish and wanted to stay on the sturgeon instead of changing to another species. We remained on these fish and as luck have it, Kevin battled yet another monster after I saw the rod bounce. This one took to the air early and we all saw exactly what he was hooked into! Having fought the previous one, he now had a better idea of what to do. This one would be a little bit easier, he hoped!

Ten minutes or so had passed with several runs and another great jump before I was able to net the fish. This time he held it much better for the pics and seconds later it was released. We immediately went back to fishing and had another bite about 15 minutes later. I once again set into some weight and Braydon took another turn at the rod. Unfortunately when it jumped, he had way too much pressure on the fish and pulled the hook on the re-entry. You have to bow to the king! A little heartbroken at the outcome, he quickly learned why!

I re straightened and re baited the hook and set all the rods back looking for more. Although we did have a few other fish they were a mix of bass, perch, walleye and one more small sturgeon. The afternoon traffic was also a problem as boats were everywhere now, causing constant waves. This made it difficult to see the bites and especially with all the gobies. I was constantly checking the lines and finding the hooks bare! Eventually we decided to call it quits on these fish and try for a few bass instead.

After shifting gears, I headed over to an area that I was sure they would be able to hook up. I set the rods up with soft plastics and instructed them on how to fish the baits. It took a little longer than I had hoped but I did find some fish for them to fight. Both Kevin & Braydon had multiple bass on their lines and landed several before we were done. They had officially both slammed with everything they had caught and couldn’t believe how good the fishing had been!

We packed everything up and headed back to the dock to take out. This had definitely been the best fishing day they had ever seen and couldn’t have imagined it would end this way. Especially landing the biggest fish of their lives, multiple times! I’m sure they will be telling everyone about their experience and wouldn’t be surprised if they return soon for another shot at more great fishing! I look forward to having them back soon!

Another double trip today saw Joe & his wife Ashley joining me in the morning. We were heading out in pursuit of smallies when I made a turn due to the winds. I immediately switched gears and decided to go somewhere to troll for pike & walleye instead! It was blowing pretty good from the NW but when I neared the area I wanted to fish, it was more of a west. Good job I have backup plans!

Both Joe & his wife were happy to try for something they don’t usually fish for and not long after setting the lines, we were into fish. They landed a couple of northerns quickly and were on the board! We covered the area for a bit and eventually got plenty more strikes with some of them pretty good size. Ashley even fought a big walleye almost all the way to the boat before the lure pulled free from the fish. Disappointment set in but not for long as another rod fired soon after and she brought this walleye to net.

With about a little under an hour remaining in their trip, they asked to fish for smallies. I knew just the area and ran to see if they could hook up. Unfortunately all we had were about a half dozen missed bass that never stayed on the hooks. It was strange as they weren’t eating well in the big waves!

We headed back to the docks in average 3 footers from the west and an occasional 4 footer just for fun. It wasn’t pretty but we managed to make it back safe dry! It didn’t take long to exchange guests and I asked them if they still wanted to head out. It was pretty rough but they wanted to go anyway!

I had to take an alternate route due to the waves and managed to get out in the middle and fish an area with slightly less wind. Unfortunately the winds were 90 degrees to the current flow, making any drift next to impossible! The first pass saw a nice walleye from Sean that went directly into the livewell. Hopefully there would be more!

We had fished the area for over an hour and managed a few decent drifts but it wasn’t easy in the wind. In fact the winds got even bigger while we were there! Both Matt and Sean had a few misses with the fish but eventually Sean managed to get into another nice walleye that made it to the net. After a couple of pics it also made it into the livewell.

I had debated whether or not to make a long run to a spot to troll and after too many difficult drifts here, decided to go. It wasn’t pretty but we did make it to where we wanted and were able to get into a few more fish from this place. We were trolling in 2 & 3 footers and managed both pike & walleye with one more Walter going in the box.

Time passed quickly and before we knew it, we were heading back. It would take a little longer to get there due to the increase in winds again and this time we were running in 3’s & 4’s most of the way. I managed to navigate them without getting wet and 20 minutes later we arrived safely at the dock.

Today was a challenge to say the least as the water was more like an ocean. This made the fishing much more difficult for everyone to get bit. Although the troll was pretty good in the morning, the afternoon wasn’t as productive. Despite the conditions, I was still able to put everyone on fish and that’s all the matters. That and the fact that everyone returned safely! Hopefully the winds will lay down some for tomorrow’s outing as my body could use the rest!