Another chilly morning with NE winds again! Peter & Patrick joined me for a half day trip and we headed out looking for some active fish. It’s really hard to find them when the water is still 57 degrees!

With lines in, we began our troll and the first three bites were short strikes. Eventually one did stay pinned though and a good walleye finally came aboard. I covered plenty of water, both deep and shallow, picking at them here and there. Both pike and walleye were being caught but not the numbers I expect to see at this time of the year. I also expect the water to be above 60 degrees!

After grinding it out for a few hours, I made a move and went to a shallower troll in a different area. They both were with rod in hand now as we trolled over the rocky areas. A few more walleye & perch were landed along with a couple of incidental smallies, before we ran out of time. Difficult fishing still plagues me this season with slower than usual action due to the weather. It really needs to warm up so that the water temps can also increase. Although the fish are there, they don’t want to move much to eat. Despite this, I still seem to make it work each and every time out. Decent numbers of fish are being landed but I always expect more. Patience is a virtue and it will happen, soon! Better days are coming!!

The winds were blowing strong again this morning but George and his son Lucas were eager to catch some fish. Lately the conditions haven’t been favorable, but somehow, I always seem to get the job done. Hopefully today wouldn’t be any different!

We headed to our first spot in a big west and I set up quickly for the troll. It took about 30 seconds to fire the first reel but it soon went silent. The line had been cut by a toothy critter and the lure was gone too. In fact, the first 3 rods to get bent all resulted in lost fish. They were definitely biting strange!

I spent the 3 hours that we fished focusing in a couple of areas and managed to get them into plenty of pike and a walleye. Lucas had a blast reeling all the fish in this afternoon. By 3:00 they were ready to leave and I packed it in.

The run back was much worse than our run out but nothing the Ranger couldn’t handle. It may have been a little bumpy in the 3 footers but we all stayed dry. Both Lucas and his father had managed to catch their biggest freshwater fish and were looking forward to eating some of their catch this evening. Overall, everyone had a great time, despite the rough waters we fished today. Some of the fish even cooperated as good numbers of them fell victim to our offerings, in the short three-hour trip. The best is yet to come as the water still needs to warm up. Hopefully the temps will better in June!!

Andrew was with me today, along with his wife and son Nicolas. We began in a NE wind and apparently made the right call for our starting spot. I had barely gotten the rods in the holders when one fired! Nick was about to land his first pike and the second one went off allowing his step mother to reel hers in too. They had requested pike today and were rewarded quickly. For the next several hours, they were to have plenty of action with many rotations by all. The pike were mostly great looking and had obviously recuperated well, after their spawn.

Late in the morning when the action had slowed down, I made a move to another area hoping for a better bite. The waves were bigger when we were out in the open, with the wind blowing against the current flow. This big run however wasn’t lost once we arrived and began fishing. We were somewhat sheltered in the new area and I was confident we would catch some fish from here.

Within the first 15 minutes we had a bite and the reel fired hard! I was pretty sure what it was when I passed the rod to Nick and immediately cleared all the lines. He was into a musky and I needed room for him to do battle. Lighter pike & walleye tackle always make the fight interesting. It took him about 5 minutes before I was able to net her and remove the hooks. With the season still closed, I was quick to release his catch. It may not have been a monster, but it was his first and worthy of a few water pics before swimming off, unharmed. Definitely a welcomed surprise for everyone on board! We finished off the afternoon trolling for pike and walleye and unfortunately nothing was to top what had previously happened. Despite the slow fishing later in the day, everyone was thrilled with their experience. Nicolas was definitely elated as he had landed his first ever pike and musky today! It was a win, win on all accounts!

Chris and Jimmy joined me today for a tough, but rewarding day on the water. Plenty of walleye were caught, including a couple of personal bests! The fish were finicky in the cool 57-degree water, but we eventually found over 60 degrees where we did the best. Jimmy even managed to land his first drum as well as the boat’s first of the year, as an added bonus. It was an over all great day on the water with bluebird skies and flat calm conditions. First hot day of the season! Oh yeah, they each brought their new limit of eyes home too!

It may not have been my first outing this afternoon, but this was the first report of the season. Patrick and his wife Aubry wanted to fish and despite the big winds, we made it happen. I had to find a somewhat sheltered area in the back of a bay, just to fish comfortably. Bites were tough but Patrick managed to get some good fish into the net before we were done. Water temps still remain cold with the warmest being just under 55 degrees. The fish were quite lethargic and were caught on a variety of presentations and depths. Covering water was the ticket today! Better days ahead with the warming trend on the way!!