All Grown Up

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Mike joined me today along with his two kids. Ryan & Chloe are all grown up now and look quite a bit different than they did some 10 years ago. Time surely flies!

We hit several areas at the start hoping for quick bites, but the lack of wind and current wasn’t helping. Both Chloe & Ryan managed to get into some bass at the first place, during the tough bite. I knew it was going to be a grind today with intense heat & humidity, along with absolutely zero wind!

It didn’t take long before I realized that deep was the place to be. With surface water temps closing in on 80 degrees, the bigger bass would definitely be relating to cooler water. I quickly relocated offshore, setting them up with the drop shot rods.

Within a few minutes after starting the drift, they began to understand, as everyone was now catching fish. Mike had struggled in the first few places but quickly rebounded with some quality bass. Both Ryan & Chloe also had multiple bass attack their baits and managed to land over half of the ones they hooked. Not a bad average for someone never having fished deep!

With the heat becoming almost unbearable, I decided to raise the roof for a little relief. These over 90 degree days always make it a challenge to stay cool and I needed some shade. Ryan on the other hand took a different approach, by jumping in multiple times throughout the day. Not a bad idea!

We continued the deep water fishing for a few hours making several long drifts until the wind began. Unfortunately when it started, it was coming from the SE and the fish just shut down! I was also having a hard time keeping them vertical with the cross current winds. Time to relocate!

After fishing deep for so long, it was going to be a nice change to try a little shallow casting with soft plastics. It would also be much easier fishing, if the fish were there!

I think Ryan hooked up on his very first cast and it was big! Too bad he wasn’t ready and lost the fish when it took to the air in a spectacular jump. Mike was into several others afterwards and Ryan rebounded with more of his own. Chloe however was having a hard time getting bit and ended up without a strike. I tried to help her out by passing the rod when something hit, but unfortunately it didn’t stay on long enough for her to get a hook set.

After a while fishing shallow, the winds finally began to blow a bit harder. They were also coming from the SW and visions of walleye fishing once again crossed my mind! We were going back to where we had started in hopes of getting a few fish for them tonight!

In the last hour or so, they managed to catch a couple of decent walleye and miss a few others. It wasn’t what I had hoped for but at least they had some fish for dinner!

I’m glad I made the change to deep water early today, allowing everyone to have plenty of action. These dead calm, hot days are never easy to fish. After the early morning bite, fish just seem to shut down and nothing moves. Deep water at least gives you plenty more options!

It was nice to have Mike and his family back out again today and see them all grown up. Hopefully they will be back later this fall for another kick at the can when the smallies move back shallow. Plans are already being made!