Scott, John & Chris joined me today for another fun day on the water. What started out as a rainy one soon turned into just overcast skies for the duration. The strong winds would be a different story however as they forecasted gusts over 30 knots for the afternoon. I would have to move around and find sheltered areas to fish!

They began tossing baits on current breaks and Scott hooked up on his very first cast. His fish was a real good one and a great starter fish. Generally it’s bad luck to catch a fish on the first cast, but this area had plenty. He was soon into another one slightly smaller a few casts later and things were about to get ugly. John also began catching bass and within the first hour they landed a bunch. It was just Chris that hadn’t brought one to the boat yet and he wasn’t about to either. We decided to make a move for unforeseen reasons and were heading somewhere to fish walleye instead!

I set them all up with drop shot rods and made a demo cast on what to do. Within 30 seconds I was tight and the first of many walleye was landed! For the next several hours, fish after fish came aboard, but they were mostly small to medium sized keepers. I wanted something bigger and made a few moves looking for the larger fish. One spot produced a huge northern for me as I was also spot casting new areas. It had to be the largest pike I had seen in a while and even worthy of a pic. They got into many more walleye from here as well, with most of them being larger than the previous spot we had fished.

It was looking like the forecasts were right for winds as they began to blow big in the early afternoon. We were fishing an area now that was in the open and could feel the strength of the blow! It wasn’t easy to fish in these gusts and I decided to move back to slightly sheltered water, in order to feel the subtle bites. We would just have to remain here until some of the gusts subsided, before hitting another area nearby.

The afternoon was now closing in on our departure and I decided to hit another place before we had to go. Despite the winds still being big, I thought we’d give it a try. Well I guess it was the right decision as Chris managed to hook up on a giant smallie soon after we had arrived. It was a nice change from all the walleye he had previously caught and a beast of a bass. In fact, I believe it was his personal best smallie too! Scott also hooked into one of his own at the same time and I really thought we were into an area that was loaded. After landing both of them and taking several pics, they were looking for more. Unfortunately all they could come up with were several walleye before we were done.

This day was filled with plenty of fish regardless of the big winds and by seeking somewhat sheltered areas to fish, we were able to fish comfortably. There may not have been tons of bass caught, but the ones they did manage to land were good ones. Chris’s monster was just the icing on the cake after all the walleye they reeled in. Today’s action was practically nonstop throughout the day with very little slow times and they were even taking a few of the smaller eyes home to eat tonight! Just another great day for fishing!

Val was back again today but this time he was with me for the entire day. Although we started later than I am use to we were still going to be fishing longer than usual. Hopefully he would have a great time catching both bass and walleye!

We headed to the first area in hopes of a quick hook up and that we did. On a demonstration cast, I was tight to a good one and immediately handed him the rod to fight the bass. It wasn’t long after bringing in the fish that he began to hook up on his own and numbers of smallmouth were landed. A few of them were really good ones too!

I knew with this nice weather that we would be having company and tried to focus on one area as much as I could. Unfortunately it wasn’t long before the boats started coming and we were forced to relocate and change up the techniques we were using. I decided to move away from the others and try a little further offshore. After landing several more bass it became insane with boats and we had to pick a spot that I hadn’t really fished hard this year. Despite landing a few other smaller bass from this area, I wasn’t feeling the love! We were going to make another move and switch to another species. It’s always bad when a client says “let’s get out of here, it’s way too crowded”!

We made the long run to our next area and were both glad we had decided to move. At least here we would be alone and able to fish wherever we wanted!

I tried one place and didn’t stay too long when we weren’t able to hook anything. The second area however was loaded and for the next couple of hours, plenty of fish were landed. In fact, Val had no trouble getting a limit of eaters for him to take home! We were into them good now but weren’t able to land anything of size from here. It took right up until almost the last ten minutes before Val actually got into a quality eye. He could tell by the weight that it was better than all the others we had seen. This would be our first fish from here that was photo worthy!

Despite all the boats out today, we were still able to get into plenty of fish. I would have liked to stay fishing smallies a little longer, but the heavy traffic had us pulling the plug early. Thankfully I had a backup area that kept producing for the rest of the day. In the end, Val managed to catch plenty of fish and that’s all that counts. Another day without any wind with Val was also a great thing!

Darren was back again today for another shot at some big smallies. I knew he would get into them as the weekend traffic was over, leaving more water for us to fish. Hopefully not too many fish were relocated again!

Our first spot produced several decent fish for Darren, but nothing really big. It wasn’t until we were a few hundred yards away that he managed to get into a couple of nicer ones. When I realized what was going on, I switched techniques and for a while, the action was nonstop. Bass after bass came aboard and more of them were quality than not. As much as I would have liked to refine this area, I was forced to keep moving due to two other boats moving in. They had seen multiple fish come aboard and slid over to where we were. Time to move on as I wasn’t about to educate them!

We were completely off the spot now and covering water thoroughly for a while when I noticed the two boats leaving. They hadn’t caught a thing from what I had seen and got discouraged quickly. Once they were gone, I moved back to where we were getting the fish and it started all over again. We began catching more smallies of various sizes and I realized we had made the right decision to have left. Lately there has been so much pressure on these waters that I have to fish in a defensive mode almost all the time. A small price to pay for quality fish, I guess!

With the sun hitting the water all over now and temps rising nicely, I decided to give the shallower waters a try. In fact, I thought I’d make a few casts as well just to see if anything had moved in! Immediately I was tight to a good fish but didn’t realize just how big it was until it was right beside the boat. It was a giant! Now I wish that I hadn’t made that cast!

I had wanted to leave some time for Darren to catch a few walleye and around 1:00 we switched species and made the move. For the remainder of the day, he hammered walleye until we were done. They may not have been big but there were plenty. He finished up by catching 3 more, just while I was prepping the boat for the run back.

Today was a pleasant day on the water with light winds as well as boat traffic. It was finally nice to be fishing when it wasn’t a weekend of insanely summerlike weather. The past couple of days saw everyone taking advantage of the Indian summer we were presently in. I’m sure that after this heat wave I’ll be seeing much fewer boats out. Bring on the cooler weather please!

Alexandre & his son Thierry were joined by Alain & his son Jordan, hoping for a good day of walleye fishing. We were going to try and get in as much time as we could, before the scheduled winds arrived. Hopefully Mother Nature would be kind to us for a while!

Alexandre had seen the pics from just a few days back and was looking forward to possibly catching some big walleye of his own. He started off with a bang! On his second or third cast, he was into a nice one that definitely wouldn’t be a keeper! This was just the beginning of another insane day!

Once I had everyone oriented on presentations, it wasn’t long before they were all catching fish. I refined the areas and slowly moved around, searching for the fish. It seemed like every few minutes I was netting someone’s catch. They all managed to fight their fair share of big fish, along with a good number of keepers. In fact, getting a limit of walleye was not an issue!

Throughout the day we saw a mix of both walleye & bass but it was Alain that hooked into the monster of the day. He somehow managed to have a lunge eat his bait and eventually landed his first ever musky. We shot several pics and returned his catch quickly.

Although the winds did pick up at times, it never really got out of hand enough to end the day. I was worried this morning when I saw the reports and informed them that we would stay as long as we were able. In the end, we finished just about the same time as I would have done. The last hour was probably the slowest period of the entire day and they still managed to boat several good fish.

I don’t think anyone had imagined the fishing to be as good as it was today. Right from the start they began catching and they never looked back. It was one fish after the other for the entire day! The fall fishing is at its prime right now and although the weather remains nice for the moment, it definitely will change. I only hope that I can fish through this entire month once again as the last couple of years have shut me down much earlier than expected. Only time will tell!

Mario joined me today with his friend, hoping to catch some fish to eat. They would be fine fishing just about anything but walleye & bass were what we were after. Hopefully the bite would be as good as the day before!

They began by throwing a dropshot rig along a current break and both had hits almost immediately. New to this technique, they unfortunately missed the fish due to their hook sets. Several casts later, we had our first bass of the day and it was a good one. I think they expected to keep the fish but I informed them that it was to be released and not to worry as they would have better fish to eat!

They only managed one more smallie from this area but I landed several good ones trying various techniques to see what was working the best. I eventually decided to go and do a little trolling on the outside edge, as the boat traffic was building and it wouldn’t be getting better, anytime soon!

The trolling bite wasn’t what I had expected but they did have a few chances. Unfortunately they pulled the hooks out of the fish by applying too much pressure when reeling them in. I would have to rethink what I wanted to do next as the areas I wanted to fish were filling up fast with other fishermen! It was becoming a zoo with the mild weather now and it was only a weekday! What would the weekend bring?

We tried various methods and spots when they became available, but the only thing that saw fewer fishermen was the trolling. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to be getting bit with this method and I wondered why. I was marking plenty of fish in the area I was covering and decided to take one of the rods for a minute to try. It didn’t even take the minute and I was locked up almost instantly! There was something with the way they were fishing the baits that wasn’t working because the fish were definitely hitting! I passed the rod to one of them and let them bring the fish in. Although not a giant, it was a good one and released after they took a few pics.

We had spent several hours trying to manoeuvre around the other boats to get a place to fish and I had seen just about enough. Add to that the strong SW winds and it was time to pull the plug on this area. We were going to try for walleye now and I packed everything up and left. Along the way I actually counted 14 other boats in sections of this area and was glad to be social distancing from all of them!

As soon as we arrived in the new place, I instructed them on where to cast and what to do with the dropshot. It may have taken them several missed strikes but eventually they both got the hang of it and began catching fish. There were a few that made it into the livewell and some others that had to be released. The good news was that they were both catching fish and we were away from all the other boats. We were alone too!

We spend the remainder of our time fishing a few different spots and they managed to catch enough fish for a limit of walleye. They would both be having fish for dinner!

Although this day didn’t go completely as planned, I did have a backup that worked out well. We may not have been able to get the bass we wanted but at least the walleye bite was great. In the end, they both caught plenty of fish and even managed to bring a few of them home. They would be eating good tonight!