Jim & his buddy were with me today for the last day of the sturgeon season. After yesterday’s misery I was sure we would get into them once again, as the conditions seemed much better.

I began marking some fish as soon as I arrived and set the lines quickly, in hopes of an early bite. I knew there would be more boats out today with it being the last one and wanted to get into the fish right away. Well it didn’t really go as planned but we did hook up fast. Too bad it was a Redhorse sucker though!

The sturgeon were being a little finicky this morning and I made many moves trying to get bit. At one spot we had multiple false hits as they kept running into our lines. I’m sure some of them were legit as I was finally able to get the hooks into one of them. Jim fought the fish for a total of 45 seconds before it pulled out and the line went slack. Figuring we would get more, I shook it off and went right back at it again!

We held on this place for probably longer than we should have. Several more hits were seen on the rods, but unfortunately nothing was hooked! Eventually I had to make another move and try something different. We would be holding the rods now as the winds were just rocking the boat way too much to see the bites. Hopefully this would change our luck too!

We were into the afternoon and still hadn’t caught a sturgeon yet. By holding the rods I hoped that our luck would change and it finally did. Not long after switching locations, again, Jim reared back on some substantial weight. He was officially locked up and into a heavy fish. We reeled in the other lines not to have any tangles and he fought his fish for almost ten minutes. Although it jumped once, I was clearing the rods and didn’t actually see the breach. It did sound heavy when it splashed down and I knew it was a quality fish. After several good runs it was finally close enough for me to net and the fight was over. The next thing was holding it for some pics and we shot many! A quick release after and we were right back in the game again.

Jim’s buddy was up next and as luck would have it, he soon hooked into another fish on his own. Not really knowing what a hit was going to feel like, he asked me and instantly was locked up. It may not have been a big one, but it was his first sturgeon! Regardless, we took several pics before the release!

I was on a run & gun pattern today with all the other boats around and as I expected, a couple of other boats had seen us land a fish and moved closer to us. Bent rods aren’t always a good thing!

We had repositioned in another area when traffic got heavier and Jim’s buddy set the hooks one more time. This fish was definitely larger than his previous one and gave him a much better fight! Many runs later, I tailed his catch and almost wished I had of netted it instead. It was borderline on the size I usually grab and somewhat difficult to hold. He was quite content with this one and definitely needed more pics of the catch.

With limited time remaining, I had really hoped for a true giant and made a couple of moves in search of the beast. We were holding for a few minutes when his buddy reared back on another good fish. Having already caught a couple, he decided to pass the rod to Jim to do battle with it. This was technically his turn anyway and he gladly accepted!

This fight had me releasing the hold from the electric motor as the fish went above the boat during the tug of war. It was acting strange but I knew it was just due to its size! This battle lasted more than ten minutes and when we finally saw the fish, we all knew why. It was a true giant and super long! I slid the net under the sturgeon and Jim was relieved. It had been a strenuous ten minutes and a little relief was welcomed before having to hold it for the pics. Several more good shots were taken and the fish was released to fight another day.

I tried locating more big fish but we just ran out of time and were done. It may not have been the day I expected but at least there were some good fish caught. The afternoon bite was definitely the best as everything came after 1:30 today! Both Jim & his buddy had felt the power of these creatures, landing their first ever sturgeon today. They even did it with rod in hand, making it even better to have gotten the bite. The season may be over for the sturgeon but I will be back out plenty more times before the deep freeze arrives, fishing for bass, walleye and maybe even a few more toothy critters. I can’t wait to see what November brings!

It was definitely the chilliest morning so far this year with air temps in the negative digits! Add to that the big NE winds and you’ve got a much colder day. Mathieu and his buddies were in for a real treat as we ran to our first spot to fish. The waves were pretty big at times and the splashing froze immediately wherever it hit. Hopefully we would be able to fish!

I realized that although it wouldn’t be easy, we were going to make it happen. I had marked all kinds of big hooks and we would attempt to sturgeon fish. After I unfroze the electric motor of course! The run through all the big waves had splashed water in various places making it difficult to deploy, but I eventually managed to get it into the water to hold.

With 4 lines in, we had a chance and after almost an hour of trying to figure out what direction the boat would remain, I set into a fish. I was almost shocked when I felt the hit and handed the rod to Mathieu to fight. It may not have been too big, but it was our first one and showed that it could be done!

A little while later after resetting the lines, I noticed one of the rods tighten in the rod holder and grabbed it. It was definitely a bite and I set into the second fish of the day! Mathieu number two was up next and he did battle with another fish slightly larger than our first. With two on the board, I knew we would be getting more and got the lines back in for the next bite!

The wind and waves were rocking us and swinging the boat constantly so I had everyone hold the rods to feel the bites. Not being use to this type of fishing they had plenty of false hits as the sinkers bounced and the lines tightened. Jean Francois did manage to set into a fish however and hooked into something strange. As it turned out, he had a channel cat and it was big. Big for here that is!

We made a few moves through the morning as the temps rose and eventually the boat ice started to melt. It was finally warming up some but the winds were still pretty bad. Several other sturgeon were landed along with a Redhorse Sucker throughout the day. We also had the wind lay down some,late in the afternoon making the fishing a whole lot more enjoyable. It was still cold out but not as cold as it was earlier!

With the day passing by quickly, we were nearing the end when I made one final attempt at more fish. These guys had decided that it would be fine if we called it 15 minutes earlier and headed back, but I wanted another chance for them. We compromised and gave it 5 minutes when I marked a good one. Well it didn’t even take the entire time and Mathieu reeled into the last fish of the day. It felt small but when it breached, we realized that it was giant! Sure glad I convinced them to stay a little longer!

I’m not sure if it was the cold water or just the fish, but he was able to bring it to the net in only 5 minutes. It had made a few good runs and remained on the bottom for most of the battle but gave up rather quickly. Oh well, he still had a great time fighting the biggest sturgeon of the day!

Holding it for the pics was a little difficult and his buddies gave him a hand or two. The fish was quite impressive in length but lacked the girth to be a true monster. It may have been the longest one landed in my boat this year! After several pics, he released the beast and we called it a day. That’s how I like to end the trip!

We endured some harsh conditions today but overcame it all to accomplish what we had set out to do. Sturgeon was on the list and we ended it on a high! It’s ironic that I was the only boat out until very late in the afternoon. For a change, I had the lake to myself and was able to move multiple times to stay on the better fish. Tomorrow may be a different story however with it being the last official day in the sturgeon season. Only time will tell!

What a roller coaster day for wind today! Neil and I headed out in an east blow that gradually turned, ending in a NW. Along its path we had several different conditions on the water that had the fish in many moods too! Sturgeon fishing was really fun to deal with!

Our first stop was going to be for the big ones as I slid into the area in search of giant marks. This spot had been producing some nice fish every day and I hoped today would be no different! I finally stopped on a few marks and set the rods for the wait. The holders were pretty much useless in these waves and holding them was our only option. Not an easy task with the boat bouncing from the opposing wind direction!

I had relocated a few times before our first bite, but at least we had one! Neil probably had the best fight for any sturgeon he had ever battled. This thing may not have been a true giant but it sure fought like one! It made at least 6 runs before finally coming to the net.

The fishing wasn’t like I had expected, but we were still able to get into a few fish throughout the morning. Despite the wind and oh yeah, “snow flurries”, we stuck it out! What was supposed to be a sunny day turned into a heavy overcast one with cold temps. The winds made it feel even colder too as Neil was feeling the chill. We needed to make a move and try casting for something else!

Our first stop only saw one bite but it was big! Neil battled a large fish on a drop shot that had me releasing the hold from the electric motor, just to have a chance of landing it. I was pretty sure what he had and confirmed my thought as it rose from the depths. It was a nice musky and landed on extremely light tackle. Sure glad I had the big net!

We tried fishing the same area after releasing the lunge but only had one other hit. I guess old toothy had scared all the smaller fish away!

I moved to another spot close by and we boated one good walleye and lost another smallie right at the boat. Tough fishing to say the least! As slow as we were trying to fish, these fish just weren’t in the mood to eat. Time for a relocation!

The remainder of the day saw us moving all over the place looking for active fish, but only a few smaller ones were landed. I almost wish that we had remained on the sturgeon and waited them out. Either way, we were done and called it a day!

This was not the easiest day of fishing like it should have been, but there were still some nice ones caught. Definitely the musky had to be the highlight of today, especially on the light tackle! With only a few days remaining in the sturgeon season, I will be focussing my attention primarily on them. With any luck, Mother Nature will allow me to not only get out, but actually fish them effectively. So far this fall, she hasn’t been as cooperative as I would have liked, but I can always dream!

After Monday’s miserable wet outing with Rahe, Enzo & Rich, it was nice to finally stay dry today! Although we caught plenty of smallies that trip, nobody wanted to pose for any pics. Totally understandable, based on those conditions too!

Alex, John & Sal were in the boat today and in search of the elusive sturgeon. In the past they had seen some true giants and were looking to see a few more of them again. Hopefully the fish would cooperate!

We began shortly after 7:30 due to the cold morning and headed out in a NW wind. Although it wasn’t big, it was still a little choppy for the run. Once I arrived, the fish started marking and I was sure we were going to have another great day!

Surprisingly, it took longer than I expected for the first bite and it was even after our first move. The winds were turning the boat sideways and making the bites harder to detect with all the rocking from the waves. It wasn’t until they subsided that we began to hook up!

Alex was first at bat and did battle with a decent fish that put up a great fight. No jumps, but plenty of good hard runs! He had been low man on the sticks last year and only managed to land a small fish, while the others caught larger ones. Not this year!

Next up was John and when I set into the fish, I knew it was big! He was in for a tough fight with some serious long runs. The first one took him out almost 150 feet before turning. This was a strong fish and he was going to be on it for quite a while! After a good ten minutes it finally looked like he was starting to gain and a few minutes later, I had it in the net. This was a really long sturgeon and it definitely had some weight! He sat for all the pics before returning the beast back to where it belonged!

Sal was new to this but was about to get a crash course on what not to do when I passed him his first bent rod. Before I could even remove the drift sock, he had the line under it and almost lost the fish too! Getting yelled at was all part of the game and he was well informed long before by everyone! Who doesn’t love a little chaos while fighting a big fish! I eventually untangled the mess and he brought in the smallest fish of the day. Seeing as how it was his first ever sturgeon, the guys took a few pics for him before being released.

We had done a full rotation now and were finally getting bit more often. I was sure it would continue and remained in the same area, expecting many more fish. These sturgeon didn’t disappoint us either as plenty of others were fought throughout the day. Everyone battled many more fish and several rotations occurred again. It wasn’t until we neared the end that the fishing actually began to slow down. A few more decent ones were landed before we called it quits on this DDD!

Today was definitely a lot better than their last years outing, with many more fish being caught. Everyone had plenty of shots at good fish but it was once again John that landed the biggest fish of their trip. Either way, these three guys were all happy campers when it was all said and done. I only hope that the remaining days of the sturgeon season are equally as good!

Neil was back today along with his Nephew Ryan, hoping for a little sturgeon action. I only hoped that the water wouldn’t be like yesterday with the huge waves! Forecasts were for a light east wind but we all know how that goes!

We headed to the area in a N/W wind that didn’t seem too bad on the run. Once we arrived however, it was rolling more than expected and made it difficult to see the bites with the rods in holders. At one point, we were forced to fish with rod in hand just to detect any nibbles. So much for the light winds!

I had adjusted locations a couple of times and only seen a few small fish come aboard. In fact, the winds switched around to a N/E and were actually turning the boat sideways. After several hours of painful fishing again, I decided to relocate altogether. We were headed for bass and hopefully better results!

Somewhere along the route, I marked several big fish while running and immediately slowed down to investigate. As luck would have it, I had stumbled onto an area holding what looked like big sturgeon. Change of plans, we were going to give it another try!

I reset up all the rods and searched the area to find what I knew were sturgeon. With the wind blowing from the opposite direction, we required the aid of the drift sock just to keep us in position. We weren’t anchored for more than 5 minutes before I saw the first bite and reared back on some substantial weight! It was time for Ryan to get beat up!

I could tell by the way this fish fought that it was a monster and cleared the way for him to do battle. It may not have jumped but the runs were long and the fight was intense. His was by far the biggest thing I had seen in a while and I definitely wanted to boat it for the pics. The struggle to bring it in lasted close to 15 minutes before Ryan was actually starting to gain on the beast. He had it within ten feet of the boat before the rod went slack and the fish was gone. Somehow the hook pulled free and his sturgeon was lost before anyone cold even see what he had. I knew by the battle that it was likely one of, if not the biggest one so far this season. Talk about being deflated! Ryan was just devastated by the outcome and hopefully he would forget the loss with another of equal size!

We regained our composure and set the rods back again, looking for more. Well more we got as it was one fish after another for the next few hours. Although they may not have been the calibre of Ryan’s first one, it definitely made for interesting fishing. The numbers of good fish was nice to see and we remained here until the bites stopped. I also made one more move and spent about 15 minutes longer, but the show was over and the fish were gone.

With limited time in the day, we packed the tackle up and headed somewhere else looking for a few smaller fish to catch. After yesterday’s epic end to the day, I decided to go back to where we had smashed the walleye. Hopefully it would be the same!

The wind was still blowing from the east and I had to use the electric motor just to move downstream. We made several passes and marked fish, but unfortunately never had a touch. They were just glued to the bottom in these conditions and didn’t want to move!

I jumped around and hit a couple more places before finally getting into a few fish on the last spot. Both bass & walleye were landed before we called it a day. I stayed out about 30 minutes longer just to get the job done before pulling the plug on this day.

Neil & Ryan had seen the ups and downs today but the highlight had to be the sturgeon fight that Ryan had. It was so intense that even his legs were shaking in the end. I know we were all disappointed but Ryan will probably be having nightmares about this one for quite a while. With any luck, he will be able to get back out before the season is done. If not however, there’s always next year for his redemption. He can always relive the agony of defeat by watching the video his uncle shot while battling the beast!