Dimitri and his friends, Petros & Stamatis joined me this morning for a half day of fishing. After yesterday’s outing, I gave them the option to fish for sturgeon, but they opted to go for bass. Bass it was and away we went!

I decided that if we only had a few hours, I would begin on an area holding only quality. Bigger is always better and this place had the goods! Two of them were tossing blades looking for an aggressive bite while the other one was using soft plastics and a slower presentation. Hopefully both would work!

It took a little while to locate where the bass were positioned, but they finally contacted with a beast. Stamatis had hooked into a giant and as it took to the air, his line went limp. I knew he had lost the fish but didn’t know why until he reeled in. As it turned out, the smallie had broken his lure, leaving him with only the top half. This was a very disappointing start to his day!

Not long after retying another lure for him, Dimitri slammed a monster from the same general area. His was also huge but I think the previous one was even bigger! At least this time it stayed pinned and made it into the boat! I think the fish was his personal best and several good pics were taken before the release.

A few more bass were missed and lost but eventually Petros landed one of his own. This was also a really good fish and definitely bigger than anything he’d caught. He had managed to take it on a slower presentation with the soft plastics. More pics were taken before another quick release and now everyone had sampled the power of the smallie!

I remained in the area for quite a while and several more good fish were caught and or missed before relocating to another spot further away. We were hoping for more big fish action and covering water to get it!

The winds were blowing pretty good this morning from the south and I was limited to the areas we could fish. Add to that the dark skies from heavy cloud cover and visibility in the water wasn’t great. I was trying to stay pretty shallow in hopes of intercepting roaming schools but finding only isolated singles or small pods. At one spot, Dimitri even landed a walleye from less than 3 feet of water!

Time was passing quickly as these guys casted both rocks and weeds, anticipating their next big bite. Unfortunately missed fish were more common than the actual landing of bass and I decided to take a few casts as well. Big mistake, as I immediately hooked and landed another beast! Petros also had another giant hit him and get off when it took to the air!

One last move before we were done and Dimitri was hammered as soon as his lure landed, on a very long cast! I think his fish must have jumped four times as he reeled it towards the boat. He was able to bring it aboard though and we had the final fish of the day. We did hit one more area before we were done but with the big winds and waves, came up empty!

The short day overall was just about as I had expected. Not lots but quality! They had opted to fish for bass instead of sturgeon and due to the winds, I was glad. I’m not sure if we would have been able to anchor up in the conditions we were dealt. In the end, the results were as good as they could have been. A couple of personal bests were had and they got to see the power of the smallie. The cool nights will only make it better in the coming weeks as the numbers increase in the shallows. Hopefully the weather will allow us to get out and take advantage of the big bites that the fall brings! I can hardly wait for more!

Karen had contacted me last week asking if I could bring her & her dad out fishing. He had loved to fish all his life and wasn’t able to get out on his own anymore. I gladly told her that we would make it work! Hopefully the fish gods would feel the same way!

We met up at 11:30 and headed out to try our luck at a little sturgeon fishing. I had brought the gear along just in case and after asking Richard if he would like to try & catch one, was glad I did. He had never landed one and I wanted to tick it off his bucket list!

After idling over the area for a few minutes, I settled on a spot that showed some signs of life. I quickly rigged & baited the rods and casted them out, hoping for that first bite. With three lines in the water, surely we would get bit!

I’m a big believer in the 10 minute rule when I don’t see anything on the sonar and after waiting for what seemed like forever, I pulled the lines and searched again. I really wanted to get Richard a big sturgeon and was going to do everything in my power to make it happen!

The conditions were great for using the rod holders to detect any bites, but the weather wasn’t the best. Although we had flat calm waters, we were under bluebird skies with intense sunshine. Midday is never the best time to try for these beasts but we were giving it our all, in hopes of locking up!

We had been anchored for well over an hour and made several moves before I finally set into something heavy. I quickly passed the rod off to Richard and it was game on! He was officially locked up and it was a big one. Seconds after giving him the rod, the fish breached and I saw exactly what he was dealing with. It was one of those monsters and I knew he was in for a long battle!

Richard’s mobility wasn’t the greatest and this fish really tested him to the fullest. He was fighting the sturgeon from a sitting position and had to shift areas several times during the battle. We also got to witness a couple more spectacular leaps from this fish with one of them being only a few feet from the boat! After close to 15 minutes of battling the fish, it finally came near the surface but the fight wasn’t quite done. It immediately went into an alligator roll like they do so often and completely wrapped itself in the line. I released the spot lock and slid down, netting his prize!

I think they were in awe as I hoisted the net into the boat with an enormous sturgeon still inside. I had prepped the tarp for the pics before and even layed it over Richards lap for the pics. There was no way he would be able to hold this thing for even a second without it! We shot many photos before I tossed it back where she belonged. Richard had officially landed his fist sturgeon and it was a beast!

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the same area, and although we caught a few more fish, nothing compared to that first one! They did boat a Redhorse sucker, a channel cat and another small sturgeon before we were officially done.

This day couldn’t have gone any better than it did! Richard had landed a fish of his lifetime and was all smiles afterwards. In fact he was still smiling even after we were out of the water! I was also very happy that he had gotten to do battle with the strongest freshwater fish that swims in our waters. This was just another great day for fishing! Who could ask for anything more!

Avi & his family were with me this morning but we got a later than usual start. We met at 8:30 and I headed out, looking to get his kids into some trolling action. Hopefully it would all work out!

The run to our starting spot was less than smooth as we were in 2 to 3 footers most of the way. It wasn’t going to be easy as the water temps had fallen almost 10 degrees since the last time I fished the area. Regardless, I was going to give it a try!

With all four lines in, it took a bit longer than I hoped to hook into the first fish, David battled his pike to the boat and the skunk was officially out. I knew it was going to be a grind this morning with the cooler water temps, but stuck at it for a couple of hours anyway. In the end, everyone landed fish and we missed several more as well. When the bite died, I decided to switch gears and head somewhere else to try for walleye & bass.

The conditions were pretty good for what I wanted to do but I wasn’t sure how it would be with this many people in the boat. We began drop shotting an open water shoal and despite marking all kinds of bait & fish, only one perch was caught. I’m sure they missed a few, but these fish were reluctant to commit suicide and just refused our offerings all together.

With very little time remaining in their trip, I moved to one final area in hopes of hooking up. Five rods in the water drifting over a rocky bottom wouldn’t be easy! One smallmouth was caught but many weights were lost by the others. I always say that if you drag, you will snag and that’s exactly what happened! We made about three passes and although a few more fish were missed, that was all she wrote!

It was definitely a tough 4.5 hours but everyone landed fish and that’s all that counts. They all left happy and had great memories along with many pics of their day. This was definitely the most people I have ever had in the boat! Although there were 7 of us, at least 4 of them were children. The overall weight was still less than having 4 adults! Tough to move and fish but we managed to make it work and everyone had a good time. I think however that the next time Avi comes, he’ll be bringing a few less bodies with him. Just saying!

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I had 3 & 4 footers all over the water and today, flat ass calm! No chance of anything ever in between lately!

Neil hooked up with me this morning and we ventured out on a mirror like surface to fish. I would start on an open water spot, looking for a few walleye to bite. The question was, would they?

With practically no flow going on, I had to idle over the area in order to mark the fish. Once I did, we were forced to toss back and slowly slide over the schools of perch and eyes. Even by doing this, we were still only able to get a few to bite and gave up after several attempts!

Neil had brought a few rods with him that needed a little fine tuning and I was happy to help him out. He even brought a baitcaster outfit, in hopes of learning how to use it properly. A few adjustments later and he was casting like he had been doing it for years! All the reels needed a little backing to cinch the braid to the spools and we were on our way!

I bypassed the next area I wanted to fish due to another boat nearby and ran to a spot much further away, to fish for bass. I wasn’t sure how it would be after yesterday’s big winds but decided to give it a try anyway.

Neil’s first fish came on a soft plastic bait and although a little smaller than I had expected, it was a welcomed sight. I knew now that they would bite and fished the area thoroughly. In the next hour he managed to miss a couple of bites but still boated several good smallies before we were through. This place had met my expectations, giving him some really big bites!

We hopped around a little after and tried dropshotting a couple of other areas without much luck. Another change of locations was soon to follow!

Our next spot was a deep edge and Neil told me to fish while he did a little business on the phone. I made one cast and instantly boated a good over walleye! I decided to wait for him to finish before making another!

We spent close to an hour trying to catch a few other fish and managed to get several bites while we were there. Unfortunately there weren’t as many brought to net and we decided to make another move. This time were going to try something completely different. We were looking for a much bigger bite!

Neil had hoped to get into several different species of fish today and I had brought the big sticks. This would be the earliest I had ever tried for sturgeon but we were going to give it a try!

After idling around for a little while, I finally marked some fish in the area and anchored up with the electric motor. Now it was a waiting game!

I made a couple of moves, after no results and finally had a light bite soon after. Although not what we were looking for, Neil did catch an exotic species with the Redhorse Sucker, I think! It’s a bizarre creature but actually pretty good looking!

We had moved to another area and were just about to bring the lines in and give up on the sturgeon fishing when I noticed a small bite on one of the rods. I reeled back and set the hook on something small and passed the rod to Neil. Not thinking that it could possibly be a sturgeon, I continued packing up. To my surprise though, it was and although small, we did complete the quest we were on. Neil landed a juvenile sturgeon that had razor like scoots. A quick pick and we were done!

With less than an hour remaining, I decided to try where we had started in hopes of a few more eyes. I had also hoped that the wind was going to pick up later in the day but that didn’t happen! We marked plenty of perch & bait but very few walleye from the area. Neil did however land a jumbo perch giving him many species for the day. Oh yeah, I got pulled over for the 4^th time this season, by the police boat! I guess this gives me a Grand Slam too! I wonder how many more @#$%&*$ times I will be checked this year!

Although today wasn’t what I had hoped for, we still managed to get into a bunch of good fish. Neil had finally gotten a well-deserved day off from work and chilled on the water. He will be back out with me many more times before the season is over and I know the fishing will be even better. Cooler air temps will only make the water temps go down and the fish bite more. It will also reduce the number of pleasure boats out and I’m really looking forward to that! Bring on the cold!

After a few days off the water, due to the weather, I was back out again today. Christiane joined me for almost 2 hours in the morning and Val had the afternoon trip. Big winds scheduled for him once again!

With only a short period of time to fish before heading back out with Val, I decided to remain close. The winds were already pretty big but still doable as I headed to a spot to fish. After several unsuccessful drifts and only perch to show for our efforts, we tried a few more rocky areas even closer to the ramp. I just wanted to get out of the big W/NW winds!

The first spot only produced one small bass but the second one had Christiane hooked up on something big. It took quite a bit of line after the hook set, making me think that it might have been a lunge! Several minutes later I saw that it was actually a drum and netted her catch. A few quick pics and the release was done and so were we. Time had passed quickly and I needed to return to pick up Val for the afternoon.

The lake had gotten much bigger since I launched and I wasn’t sure where we could go! I tried a few of my early season areas close by and unfortunately, they didn’t produce. Several drifts over fish still hadn’t given up any bites and I was forced to make a long run in the big waves.

We finally made it to an area that seemed fishable, but unfortunately, void of fish. The winds were still very bad here but the waves weren’t as we were protected by some of the shallower weed beds. I only wish that it held fish!

I made another long run and managed to get to an area that was definitely fishable. This time however the water color was like chalk and we never even had a hit. Time for another relocation and off we went to another spot further away.

The area we stopped this time actually gave up several fish and some missed strikes as well. Too bad most of the bass were on the small side and released without pics. One walleye was also caught here and we gladly placed it in the livewell for Val tonight. Hopefully there would be more!

Time had passed with all the running around we had done and I really needed to make something work. The giant waves weren’t making it easy though, cutting off most of the areas I wanted to fish! With about an hour remaining, I decided to try another open water spot and just deal with the winds!

First cast yielded a decent bass and I thought we were about to have plenty more. The winds wouldn’t make it any easier as just feeling the bottom was a challenge! Several more smallies including one really good one were boated and released before we were done. Along with the bass was another good keeper walleye and at least Val had dinner for tonight!

Our run back was as I had expected with three & four footers greeting us all the way. I at least was able to ride the waves in the troughs & crests for most and made it back without taking any over the bow. We were officially done!

Val hasn’t been lucky lately with several of his trips being in big winds and huge waves. I hope his luck changes soon as the fall is approaching quickly and the fish are about to become very active. Better days are coming!