Gilles & his father Neil had another banner day with me today catching several different species of fish. Although we began in torrential rain, it eventually cleared and they were able to fish comfortably.

The trolling bite was slow at first but we managed to get on the fish eventually. They boated plenty of northerns and one walleye from the first spot including a couple of double headers.

Our second area produced plenty of fish but the bite was also slow at first. I kept at the troll and eventually found a small section that produced the bulk of the fish, including a couple of big eyes. They even managed to put a couple more high end keepers in the box for dinner tonight!

By midday the sun was shining and the heat was upon us too. It was going to be another scorcher! Fortunately we had a strong wind from the W/SW hat helped keep us cool, sort of! I hit several places for smallies and they managed to catch fish from every one. Although not giant like the previous day, they were definitely quality fish and fought like champs!

Time passed quickly today and before we knew it, the day was done. They had both managed to get another grand slam as well and even had a few fish to go home with in the end. I know they had a great time and I expect to see them back next year for round two. Who knows, maybe even sooner!

Peter, Michael & Amanda joined me today on what was supposed to be the hottest day so far this year. Temperatures were going to reach into the 90’s and even higher with the humidex. It was going to be a real scorcher!

We began with the usual troll, in hopes of getting into some quick fish and after a couple of adjustments, managed to put the first walleye in the well. A few pike were also landed along with several missed strikes too. I only hoped that the fish wouldn’t be acting like they did yesterday, with way too many misses!

After covering plenty of water I decided to move to another area and it was here that Peter managed to bring a few big walleye aboard. It was a struggle to keep the fish on the hooks but both Amanda & Michael reeled in several other pike as well. I wasn’t happy about all the short rips and missed fish from this place and realized that with the lack of wind I was going to have to work even harder if we were to continue. After one last walleye by Peter, I decided to pull the plug and go casting for bass!

We were already near 11:00 when I made the move and set up the rods for everyone to use. I slid into shallow water and it didn’t take long before Michael was into the first bass of the day. When it jumped I knew that it was a giant and coached him on what to do to land this beast. Once in the net I think we were all in shock at exactly how big it really was and I had him hold it for a few pics. It had a strange color pattern on the body but it was in great shape as he released it back to the water, in hopes of another bite.

I had decided to try something different on one of the rods and made a cast to see if I could draw a few fish out. Immediately I was slammed and brought an even bigger bass to the net. This place seemed loaded and I was going to remain here until they stopped biting! Michael followed up with his second bass and although not quite as large as his previous one, it was still a giant! In just a few short casts he had managed to bring two absolute beauties into the boat. His father and sister were amazed at their overall size and wondered when they would get theirs. They may not have gotten the big ones like Michael but soon after, everyone was getting into fish of their own. Plenty of quality bass were taken from this area before things slowed and I had to move.

Our next location wasn’t nearly as good as the previous one but we did manage to get a few more fish from here. With the temperatures insane I only hit a couple of other spots briefly before I brought them somewhere to swim. Without the top up it felt like we were baking in an oven!

We headed to a shallower sandy place that they could take advantage of cooling off and even try fishing from chest high water at the same time. Amanda was the last to get in and casted from the boat before going in. She almost had a good bass from the deck but unfortunately it came off too quickly. I think it had surprised her and she pulled back too soon!

We remained in this area and they swam for almost an hour before we decided to resume fishing. With under an hour left in the day I wanted more! I knew they could get into a few more fish before we were done and moved to another shallow rock pike to try and get a few more bites.

Amanda wasted no time hooking into yet another beast of a bass when I heard the drag go from her reel. When it jumped I realized that it was a monster and guided her around the motors to land it. What a surprise she had when I finally netted her catch! These fish today were absolutely huge and would have been impressive at any tournament weigh in! Several pics were taken and the fish was released immediately after. Both Peter and Michael also got in the game adding a few more bass to the total but none the likes of the one Amanda had just caught.

I kept trying different areas and other sections of where we were and Amanda was locked up quickly once again. It was another giant! This time she fought it far from the boat and eventually I slid the net under her biggest bass of the day. I don’t even want to guess what kind of weight we would have had as a total for the five biggest bass today!

We fished for a little while longer and they managed to bring in several more bass and a couple of walleye before we were done. I don’t think they could have had a better day for big fish that what we had today as everyone landed personal bests. In fact without even knowing it, they all had slammed today as well. A combination of pike, walleye & bass made for the triple fish species they needed for their Grand Slams! Who could ask for anything more!

Angelo brought his two sons, Alex & Damian out this morning for a half day trip. They were young and loved fishing but hadn’t really caught much in the past. Hopefully this was all about to change!

I decided that a troll would be the best thing for everyone and stopped in an area that I had confidence. With the lines in, we covered water searching for our first bite and hopefully before the rain began. The skies were pretty bad and by the looks of the radar, we were going to get something soon. I raised the roof quickly and minutes later a light rain started to fall. At least everyone would stay dry!

I had made a couple of passes in an area before one of the rods bent and Alex was into his first ever northern pike. Unfortunately this was the only one from here, so I moved on! I knew one section that had been holding good fish and began trolling over to it, hoping for another hit along the way. As I neared the area another reel fired and this time Damian took the rod and landed his first walleye. It was a nice one, but definitely an over that would only receive a few pics before being released. Both kids were now on the board and after a couple more pike each, their father took a turn catching one of his own.

We covered plenty of water searching for active fish but despite catching many pike, the walleye were almost nonexistent ! In fact, the fish we were catching weren’t really very active either with several of them falling off in the net. A bunch of short strikes were also had from many other fish before I could even get to the rods!

After making several passes in the same area, Alex finally managed to bring another walleye aboard and this time it was a high end keeper. We were also still catching pike but working hard to get them to stay on the hooks! All I could do was go through the motions and remain on the fish.

Time passed quickly this morning and with the end nearing they managed to land a bunch more good fish. Another walleye was brought in and I’m pretty sure an even bigger one was lost while reeling in the fish. It was definitely not a banner day for active fish but they still managed to catch a good number of them before we were done.

It was nice seeing the two boys with a passion for fishing and with any luck they will continue to enjoy it as they grow up. Hopefully they will be back out again with their father and maybe the fish will actually be active for them the next time. Either way, I’m sure they will enjoy spending time on the boat, just catching anything that bites!

Sean saw a whole different kind of fishing today than he was used to. Being originally from Australia, he had fished mostly for Barramundi, but today he was targeting pike, walleye & smallmouth bass. Three fish he had never caught or ever seen before!

After yesterday’s success, I decided to start where I had ended and headed to the area immediately. The conditions were a little different with a big NE wind pushing against the current. We were running in two & three footers for most of the time but I knew it would be calmer when we arrived.

I set the lines and began the troll looking for a bite and it didn’t take long, Sean landed his first ever northern and was happy to see the pike. Soon after we were into another and this time it was much larger. I told him that it was just the beginning and that he would be catching plenty more!

We covered the water and I focussed in spots that produced, until they didn’t. Fish after fish came aboard and we even saw a few double headers too! Unfortunately all I could find were northerns in these places and decided to move along in search of some walleye.

After catching many more pike, we finally hit a small area where he landed his first walleye. It was definitely a keeper and went directly into the livewell with hopes of more to come. After several more fish, another larger walleye joined his friend in the well and Sean was well on his way to a great dinner.

We spent a lot of time trying to get more walleye and managed to hook into many more pike in the process. Fortunately he did manage another Walter and now there were three! This would definitely be enough for his family, with two young children and his wife!

I had been battling an opposing wind the entire morning and fended well under these conditions. Somewhere around 1:00 I decided to pull the plug and head somewhere else to see if I could get Sean into some bass. He had fished for largemouth before but never smallies and I needed to complete his slam!

We made a long run and stopped on a shallow water spot that I hoped held fish. To my pleasant surprise, it held the mother lode! On back to back demonstration casts, I hooked into smallies and it was game on! I quickly passed the rod for Sean to fight the bass and soon after had him casting the baits to others nearby. He caught on fast and was locked up on his very first cast, but unfortunately the fish threw the hook on a spectacular jump. Slack line was the cause but he would have plenty more chances to come!

For more than an hour we remained in this area and he picked up many more bass. No real giants but all good fish! There were however a few monsters swimming around that just seemed to refuse the plastics we were throwing. Even with a few changes, they still ignored our offerings!

I had hoped to put a few more walleye in the box for Sean to bring home and after fishing for bass, decided to give it another try. We slid out to deeper water and casted an area that held some fish. With limited time remaining in the day we were able to add three more walleye to complete his limit. Now he even had fish to spare!

Today was a great day to be on the water and Sean completed his slam with a bang! He managed to capture the three species we were targeting, many times over. Not only did he learn about our freshwater fish but he was about to taste probably the finest eating one as well. This was definitely a great way for him to end his first experience fishing in Canada!

Wissam was with me today and had requested that I teach him how to fish. He really hadn’t done any before and wanted to learn how. I should have an easy time as he was alone and would be receiving 100% of my attention!

We began with the basics and I took him where he could cast comfortably. He picked up the casting quickly and was now trying to catch a few bass. Although we spent almost 2 hours covering the water and he had several chances, the fish just didn’t cooperate. They short striked us and even the ones we had pinned, came off before nearing the boat. I wasn’t worried though, as we had the whole day!

With the first step completed I decided to try a little deeper with a drop shot set up. Carefully he casted the rig out into deep water and learned the retrieve quickly once again. We spent about 30 minutes trying to get into fish but only managed one keeper walleye. Once again it wasn’t for lack of trying as there were several other fish that just came off. It seemed that with zero wind and a big lack of current these fish were not in the mood.

Our next spot was quite similar with many casts and only a couple of short walleye to show for our efforts. I really wanted him to catch some fish and decided to make a long run to another area that had produced well for me this past week. Hopefully it would all turn around soon!

With the flat calm waters and overcast skies, visibility of the shallow water was difficult to see. I needed to find the rocks and even see a few bass cruising around if we were going to get bit. Unfortunately the flat calm all changed as the winds started to build. We covered plenty of this shoal without even a sniff and I made a short move to a deeper break nearby. It was here that Wissam finally landed his first smallie and the skunk was officially out of the boat! Too bad it was the only one we even saw from this spot!

The winds had built up pretty good by now and I decided to switch gears completely. I wanted to show Wissam a few different techniques and I decided to try a troll. It had been quite a while since I trolled due to the weeds and I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. All we could do was try!

After setting everything up, I explained in detail what we were doing and almost on cue, one of the rods bent. Unfortunately when I took it out of the holder to pass it to him, the line went slack. Bad news, good news I guess! At least I knew it was doable and we were able to get bit!

Not long after the first strike we had a second one and Wissam landed his first ever northern pike. A quick pic and we went right back to the troll, hoping for more. I covered a bunch of water and some more fish hits were had. Ironically most of them were only bending the rod and not really firing the reels. I found this strange in 74 degree water temps! Hopefully this would all change soon as I was nearing the area I really wanted to fish!

As if on cue, the reels began screaming and many times too! We were now getting into multiple strikes and from both walleye & pike. There were even several double headers that saw Wissam going from one rod to the other as soon as the first fish was in the net. It was absolute chaos at times and I loved it!

We spent the remainder of the day trolling and fish after fish came aboard. It had been a long time since I had been able to troll effectively with all the terrible weeds floating all over the lake. Water levels had risen and most of those weeds died off giving way to being able to fish. Also the fish had seen a big rest from me! Their vacation was officially over and I was back to pound on them again!

The entire day was a learning one for Wissam as he got to see all kinds of new techniques. From fish identification to learning how to cast, he had seen it all. The highlight would surely have to be the trolling we did as he saw just how effective it could be. This was definitely a crash course in fishing for him that he’ll be remembering for quite some time. Both the bad and especially the good times when he began to catch fish! Without even realizing it, Wissam had slammed on his very first time fishing! I don’t think there are too many people that can say they’ve done that!