Scott was with me once again and this time he brought Chris along, hoping for a big bite. The weather was definitely in our favour for holding, but would the fish cooperate!

I arrived in the area and began marking some fish almost immediately. A couple of them looked like the ones I was looking for and I decided to start right there. As always the pesky gobies decided to bite first and I was back at checking and re baiting the hooks often. To make matters worse, we were only able to land a few sturgeon in the several hours fishing and they were all small. After one last red horse sucker and multiple moves, we decided that we weren’t going to stay any longer. Time to switch to another species!

I knew Scott & Chris wanted to bring some walleye back with them, so we targeted the eyes. With a couple of drop shot rods in hand, I was forced to use the electric motor to move the boat along, with the lack of wind. Scott hooked up pretty quickly and brought a nice big fish to the boat that was unfortunately way over the slot. Great pic but he wouldn’t be eating this one tonight!

After several passes, we finally had a light wind starting and I was able to drift the area more effectively. I made several passes and was marking plenty of fish but the bite was slow. Scott managed to land a couple more walleye around the same size, but Chris was still not on the board yet. He missed several bites while we were here but just couldn’t seem to hook up! I decided to try for a while and unfortunately was in the same boat as Scott when I brought a big over to the net as well. Both of us had keepers on a bit later and Scott was the only one to actually make it to the livewell before we ended it for this area.

I had one final place that I wanted to fish and it was here that the guys got into them pretty good! They had to filter through many smaller ones to get keepers, but the numbers were great. In the end, they managed to take 5 nice fish back with them before we were done.

Although the sturgeon fishing was tough, they did manage a few small ones this morning. The afternoon backup plan came through as well as the walleye definitely bit better. The day may not have gone as I had hoped but there were still plenty of fish caught. They were even going home with a few of them to eat tonight! Plan B comes through once again!

Neil was back again today along with Mike, for some sturgeon action. I was hoping that it would be as good as the last trip I had, only a couple of days ago. Would the fish cooperate was the question!

We set up in the usual area after marking several good ones and waited for our first bite. Too bad the gobies were enjoying our presentation more than the targeted fish! I had to constantly re bait the hooks and monitor the rods as they were relentless. In fact we made a couple of nearby moves just to try and get away from their piranha like nibbles. In the process we managed to land 5 juvenile sturgeon and one small walleye. Not really what we were looking for, but better than those annoying minnows!

We had spent a number of hours anchored up in search of a big fish, but weren’t really having much luck. I wasn’t even marking much now, each time I made a move! Talk of going for another species was on everyone’s mind and then it happened! I saw a good bite on one of the rods and set into some substantial weight. The rod was instantly passed to Mike and it was game on!

After having landed a few smaller sturgeon today, Mike was thinking that this too was a small fish by the way it was coming in. I however knew better, from setting the hook and told him to keep the pressure on and reel quicker! The rod wasn’t bent like it should have been, due to the fish coming at him and in a split second it breached right beside the boat. Instantly the line screamed from the reel and the fish rocketed to the bottom. It also went to the opposite side of the boat as quickly and I had to bury the rod in the water as I went around the motors. This little issue happened a couple more times and I had to take the rod from him every time to ensure that the line didn’t get tangled in the prop.

Mike was beginning to feel the pain after several long runs and nearly 15 minutes. Each time he had it within 30 feet, the fish ran out double or even triple that in line. It was quite funny watching the show! Eventually he managed to bring it close enough for me to net and the battle was over. He was relieved too as his back was feeling the burn!

Everything was prepped for the pics when I found out that Mike wouldn’t be able to hold the fish. He had back surgery the year before and didn’t want to chance anything. No problem, Neil would take over for the shoot! She was sent on her way right after and although we attempted to hook into another, it just wasn’t meant to be. We eventually pulled the plug and went for something else.

I decided to take them to an area for smallies and set the rods up with a couple of different baits. Neil was tossing blades and Mike was on a soft plastic, hoping to get bit. After covering the area and only seeing one fish actually attempt to hit, I tossed in a jig and was tight almost instantly. A quick change of baits for both had several more fish brought to net after, but the bite still wasn’t great. I realized that these fish just didn’t want to eat and by fishing slowly, was at least able to put some in the boat. Time to make another move!

Neil and Mike had hoped to bring a few walleye home so I headed to another area to give it a try. The winds were out of the east and not favourable for what I wanted to do so I used the electric motor just to move in the right direction. Despite marking schools of walleye, we had no luck here and didn’t stay long. Limited to time, I made one final attempt at catching something to eat and moved once again.

We had only about 30 minutes remaining as I stopped on a flat and almost instantly Neil hooked into a fish. He passed the rod to Mike and grabbed the other only to have a double. Both were walleye and they were also keepers! We covered the area and they were able to put two more in the box, along with catching a few unders before we were done.

Today was not the banner day I had hoped it would be as we worked hard for every bite we received. At least there was one quality sturgeon landed along with some fish for them to eat. Even the bass were a little slow, but they did manage to get a few of them too! In the end however, it all worked out and everyone had a great time on this cool fall day. Hopefully the sturgeon will be back on the bite tomorrow as I have plans to fish for them again! We’ll just have to wait and see!

Chad & his son Charlie had rescheduled a bad weather trip a while back and today was the day. We would be going for walleye as they were hoping to get something for the BBQ. Hopefully the fish would cooperate!

Although the winds weren’t big, they were bad for a drift. Blowing at about 5 knots from the north had me adjusting with the electric motor to cover the area I wanted. It wasn’t easy but it got the job done!

With only a morning to fish, I wasted no time getting to an offshore area and set both of them up with a drop shot rod. Charlie managed to catch the first three fish consisting of 2 big perch and a keeper walleye. I was marking all kinds on the sonar and thought it would be easy to get a limit, but I was wrong. Many bites were had but not much was coming aboard. Chad did catch his first walleye on one of the drifts but they weren’t jumping in the boat today!

I decided to try another presentation and made one cast to see if it would work. Immediately I was tight to another walleye that joined theirs in the well. A quick switch to the same baits had them both landing another fish apiece. I really thought we were on to something but unfortunately that was all she wrote. The winds had died completely now and I was seeing fewer fish, with almost all of them pressed to the bottom in a negative feeding mood. It was about to get a whole lot tougher!

We spent a bit of time trying to persuade something to bite by casting the area instead of slowly moving over it and Chad hooked into a nice smallie. Great fight but only one! Time to try something different!

With time passing quickly I decided to hit another area for bass and had them casting soft plastics. Surprisingly only a couple of bass actually were seen hitting the baits but none of them got pinned. It was almost like they did it with a closed mouth!

One more move had us washing baits again until I decided to go back to where we had begun. I kept them out almost an hour longer than expected, due to an afternoon cancellation and managed a couple more walleye before we were done. At last they had a limit of fish for their half day!

It may not have been the easiest to get the fish to bite but with the conditions and full moon period, I wasn’t surprised. After a small flurry of activity in the morning, the fish just went dormant! Despite the tough fishing, Chad & his son still had a great time on the water and a few fish to eat. Who knows, maybe they’ll be back again during the hard water period for more!

I had a group of four with me today, all looking to catch something big and I knew just where to go! They had rescheduled from a few days ago when it just wasn’t fishable due to the giant winds, but today the water was like glass. I was sure we would have a much better time!

After looking around for a brief period, I settled on a place that showed some potential. With three lines in, we waited for our first bite. Unfortunately it took some time before something other than gobies actually bit. We had already moved once and were finally getting a little action when I set into a sturgeon. As it turned out, this fish was just a young one and didn’t really put up much of a fight when Dave reeled it in. The next one wasn’t much bigger either as Curtis found out soon after! We were in a day care area and I needed to make another move, quickly!

Garnet managed to get the third fish and at least this time the size was somewhat better as he did battle with a decent one. I was still looking for something much larger and continued to make adjustments in hopes of finding the real giants.

Although it didn’t really matter, I added a fourth rod to the holders and we were now loaded for bear. With the additional rod came another move and the next time we got bit, it was the real deal. Matt was officially into a quality beast of a sturgeon and likely the biggest fight of his life!

Although we never saw what Matt was fighting, I could tell by the way it was acting, she was big. It made several good runs that had him feeling the pain. It may not have jumped but the fight was a long one and lasted over 15 minutes. When he brought it up to be netted, we all knew why! As I slid the net under his fish, he was relieved that it was all over. Or was it? Now he would have to hold the fish for the photos and this was even harder than doing battle with her. He struggled, but we managed to get a few quick pics before the release.

We resumed fishing afterwards and it didn’t take long before we had another big fish on the line. I think it was Curtis that had this one and after seeing the last fish, we hoped his was equally as big! Many runs were taken before he was able to bring it to net. It may not have been quite as large as the previous fish but it was close! He held it up for more pics and torpedoed it back to where it belonged.

We had managed to get into a couple of other junk fish before another sturgeon actually bit. Matt had been taking a long break after his earlier beast and was now back up, doing battle with another one. He was well rested but soon tiring with the fight from this fish as it looked like another giant. With 15 minutes passed and still no sign of the fish, I knew it was probably larger than his first. I was actually able to net it somewhere around the 20 minute mark and a sigh of relief was had by Matt! A little exhausted from doing battle with another beast, he somehow managed enough strength to hold it for a few quick pics before the release.

After resetting the lines, it didn’t take long before our next bite! I had set into another one and Curtis was hooked up on, what he thought wasn’t big! When it decided to breach, his opinion quickly changed! Now he knew exactly what he was dealing with and it was going to be a long fight!

Sometime close to 20 minutes later I was wishing for a bigger net. I had managed to slide the fish into the bowl but its nose had jammed in one of the openings not allowing it to actually fall into the net. It was a struggle to fold the fish, but eventually it dropped into the net properly. The battle was officially done! I think Curtis found his inner strength when the adrenaline kicked in to hold the dinosaur for his pics. She entered the water right after and went straight to the bottom where she belonged.

They had wanted to keep some time to try for walleye in the end and after one more fish by Dave, we packed it in. The SW winds had picked up a bit too and I was looking forward to hitting an area in this wind. We would be drop shotting open water and it would definitely help!

I set up the four rods and began the drift and it didn’t take long before Curtis was hooked up. Although it was the right species, it was the wrong size and had to be returned. His next one however was a good keeper and went into the livewell. He also landed 3 other keepers in the time we were there and added them to the livewell too. The others weren’t fending as well with only Matt catching one perch. I’m pretty sure everyone had hits but just didn’t realize that they were fish and missed the strikes. We had only about an hour on the spot but it was well worth stopping as Curtis would be eating fish tonight!

Today couldn’t have gone any better than it did with everyone landing sturgeon. Some of the fish were truly giants and likely the biggest things they would ever see. The icing on the cake however were the walleye that Curtis managed to put in the boat in the short time we fished them. Conditions couldn’t have been any better either with practically no wind all day. We may have had times when it rained but with the roof up, we all remained dry while fishing. It was definitely better than a few days back when we postponed the trip. The 3 & 4 footers wouldn’t have been much fun to fish in and sturgeon would have definitely been out as anchoring would have been next to impossible. Today was a great day filled with plenty of memories of all the monster fish they had caught! Great day for fishing!

I had the pleasure of fishing with an old tournament friend today. Patrick joined Christiane & I for a great day, filled with all kinds of fish. He even managed to catch a giant!

We all hit the lake shortly after 7:30 and decided that we would try for the sturgeon first. It had been a good early morning bite the last couple of outings and I hoped today would be the same.

With lines in and no wind, the rod holders really came into use as seeing even the lightest bite was no problem. Although we were plagued with the goby nibbles at times, I was on fish and didn’t want to move too soon. After re baiting several times, I finally saw a good bite on one of the rods and set into some weight. Pat was in for the fight of his life!

The dead weight of his fish confirmed that this was the one we wanted and he did battle for over ten minutes. Trying to bring the fish from the bottom was not easy as it remained deep and took several good runs as well. It had to be big because it was next to impossible for him to gain much line and keep it on the reel. Every time he was able to get some back, the fish took everything and more. After a while though, he wore the fish out and was able to bring it up for me to net. It was enormous!

Although Pat had previously caught sturgeon, I found out that he hadn’t landed anything this size before. He would have great memories and some truly great pics to remember his catch! As always, the fish was returned unharmed to fight another day!

We reset the lines and it didn’t take long for Christiane to have a fight of her own. It didn’t seem to be as big as the previous one, but fought great just the same. In fact, it breached soon after being hooked showing us exactly what she was dealing with! Several good runs were made and the fight was as always, great! In a little over 5 minutes she had it beside the boat for me to net and soon after, held it for some pics. They were both officially on the board!

The next several hours saw us making a few more moves and landing many more fish. Sturgeon, channel cats, Redhorse suckers and walleye were also added to the mix. Most of the fish however were the targeted species! We even wore our buffs for a pic, to embrace the Covid Times!

We had stuck it out until about 1:00 and were now ready for a move. I was going to take them for bass and hoped the fish would cooperate. The overcast skies from the heavy clouds and misty rain had me believing that the fish would still be somewhat shallow and I knew just where to go.

Christiane nailed the first fish on a blade and Pat wasn’t far behind. He was throwing a soft plastic and managed to get five or six others before we finished the run. I could have gone back for another pass but decided to hit a new area instead, looking for much bigger fish! I had also livewelled some of the larger ones from this place and took a few pics, before releasing the fish back to where they had been caught.

Our next area was covered quite thoroughly and Pat managed to land the only smallie from the entire place. One or two other follows were seen but unfortunately didn’t take!

With time passing quickly I decided to make a long run and hit one final spot. I hoped the action would be better there! It was beginning to load up for the fall and should be holding more fish.

It didn’t take long for a confirmation as Pat missed a bass on his first cast. I immediately set Christiane up with the same bait and between the two of them they probably had 15 or more chances at bass. Some were landed but most were missed before we were done!

Today was an interesting one filled with stories of old tournament times and plenty of action. Pat managed to get is personal best sturgeon and several other smaller ones as well. Both Christiane and Pat landed a good number of different fish through all the weird weather we had seen. We had clouds, rain and eventually plenty of sunshine to end the day. At one point, I even had to raise the roof to keep us dry! Throughout it all there was never a dull moment as everyone had a great time. Many quality fish were boated making this, another great day on the water!