A Big N/E Trip

Jim & Marie were back for their annual fall fishing trip and they once again brought the wind. We were going to experience a big north blow for the entire time they were here. I was also going to have to switch puddles and fish!

The first day saw us taking a road trip and heading east. The winds would be much more tolerable where I was going and hopefully there would be fish. First cast by Marie saw a healthy 2-pound bass and I really thought we were going to hammer them. Boy, was I wrong! She had only one more smaller bass hooked on a crank, but it came off before reaching the boat. Our second spot produced nothing and we were on the move again. I was going to have a tough time today by the way it was looking!

Although the day began slowly, we managed to grind it out. There was only one spot that gave up any numbers and we stayed there for the entire time they were biting. Jim did however pick up one nice walleye from the area and it made for our first pic of the day.

The entire afternoon saw us covering water with a fish or two here and there, but no concentrations. The water levels were extremely low and I think this had the fish set up differently. More current was definitely better today! Although it wasn’t what I had expected, they did manage to catch a bunch of fish and that’s all that counts. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better!

Day two saw us heading to the usual body of water that I focus on most of the year. The winds weren’t great, but they seemed doable! I was going to give it a try and hoped for more and bigger today.

We made a long run to get the day started and began shallow to get out of the worst winds. They were blowing pretty good from the N/NE but were somewhat less where we were. As usual, Marie got the day started with the first bass, but it didn’t take Jim long before he too contributed. I had them both dropshotting and plenty of fish were caught and or missed while we were here. When it got slow, I moved offshore a bit and they continued to catch again. Today was the total opposite of what yesterday was, with each place holding numbers. Size was a different story but our next place did have several good ones landed before we almost ran out of time.

With the day passing quickly, they didn’t have much time left in their trip. I thought I would try one last area in the middle of nowhere to complete the day. It was here that they landed quality and I couldn’t leave them biting. I had to extent their time as it was just too good! Both Jim and Marie managed to catch their biggest fish of the trip and we only left when they stopped biting. Talk about a great way to end the day!

Water levels were definitely one of the reasons for tough fishing, but the NE winds were the biggest culprit. Mother Nature made fishing tough, as usual, but we overcame her wrath! It may have been a challenge but adjustments in presentation and moving around gave them the success they had. It’s always a great time when they are here and this trip was no different. I can’t wait for them to come back again next year!!