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August 3rd 2018

Another double booking today had me doing both a morning and an afternoon trip. Gino and his gang hooked up with me at 7:00 and we headed on the water looking for some big fish. What difference a day makes as today the lake was flat calm. I wasn’t sure how the fishing would be without a chop but we were going to find out.

With four people in the boat, I needed to troll and set the lines searching for big fish. It didn’t take long for the first fish to hit and one of the boys was tight to a pike. Soon after the other one also landed a northern and things were beginning to look like the lack of wind wasn’t going to be a problem. Gino was up next and brought in the first walleye of the day that immediately went in the livewell. hopefully it wouldn’t be the last!

I covered lots of water picking a fish here and there before hitting one area that had better action. We went through several rotations with good pike but the walleye were eluding me. Tony was still happy getting these northerns but I wanted some big eyes and kept at it in search of some gold.

As the morning began to wind down we hit several more pike and one other walleye before we had to leave. Half days go by so fast but I needed to be back at 11:30 to pick up the next group and packed it in after a couple more fish.

This morning may not have gone the way I had hoped but there were still plenty of fish caught by everyone. Although mostly pike, they did manage to get a couple of good eater sized walleye that they would be bringing back. Overall a very successful 4 hours of fishing!

Chris and his group were waiting at the dock when I returned and soon after I was back out on the lake again. This time I was going to try an area not too far away that I hadn’t fished in a while. I had hoped that the fish would be here but if not, we wouldn’t be there long.

With lines in, I trolled a section looking for walleye but could only manage a couple of skinny pike in the half hour we fished. I quickly pulled the plug and relocated to a totally different area and for another species. We would now be in search of some smallmouth for the gang to catch.

Ironically the first place produced a northern before several bass were landed. I think they actually lost more than they caught though as these fish weren’t very active. We had zero wind and almost no current making for terrible fishing.

The second place was a little better as it seemed like I had some current and several more fish were taken from here. They even managed a nice walleye on soft plastics that was a surprise. This was a smallmouth area and I’m not use to seeing eyes here! Everyone was hooking their share of fish and about 50% of them were making it to the net. Time to relocate again!

This would be the last place we would have time to fish and thankfully it had more fish. Almost immediately Chris was tight to the first bass and I think the others followed right behind. What started as a triple ended in a double though but it didn’t matter. There were obviously fish to be caught.

They slowly fished the area with soft plastics and picked at many other bass before we were done. Another half day trip had passed by so quickly and it was already 4:00. Time to head back!

Chris and his guys were in for a bachelor party and I think a nap was in their future before heading out on the town tonight. With the high heat & humidity we had, it completely drained us all. I was happy to be off the water for the day and they were glad they got to experience some great smallie action. The conditions could have been a little better, but there were still plenty of fish landed today!!

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August 2nd 2018

Robert and two of his sons, Alex & Arthur joined me today for another excellent trip. Big waves greeted us as we headed out and an alternate course was needed. I wasn’t able to run the same route as I usually take and had to surf the waves just to get there.

Once we arrived, I saw that we were still going to be fishing in 2 footers or better and set the lines regardless. I knew that the big winds would have the fish fired up and confirmation was made almost immediately. Alex was into a decent northern and the day began! They were on rotation and after Arthur landed another pike, his father brought to net their first walleye. It immediately went into the livewell as they were wanting to take a few home for a meal.

The downwind troll was definitely the easiest as it required very little concentration while fishing. The up wind troll however wasn’t as easy as rogue waves were always wanting to come over the bow and I really had to focus on when to hit the gas. It was also more difficult when fighting a fish as the wind was rotating the bow in various directions whenever I left the wheel. The fish however didn’t seem to care as they were biting in both directions!

Throughout the morning the action was fast & furious with plenty of rotations going on. We had many doubles and several triple headers. We even had the first quad that I’ve seen in quite a while! This wind was making the troll more difficult but the fishing was great! They landed several more keeper walleye and returned a bunch of overs as well. The pike were feeding like it was their last meal too!

By early afternoon after catching unbelievable numbers of pike & walleye, the winds began to diminish. Unfortunately the bite did as well and I found myself covering more water to get bit. After several other fish, I decided to pull the plug on trolling and switch to drop shotting in another area in hopes of more action. I packed everything up and headed to an open water spot that wasn’t doable earlier in the day.

With less wind I was able to position the boat for everyone to fish and instructed them on what to do. Arthur soon hooked up and battled his first smallie of the day. Although not more than a couple of pounds, it was a good way to get started. We made several drifts over the rocky shoal and a few more fish were hooked into. Unfortunately only Arthur was able to bring anything to net and another walleye joined the others in the well. Their biggest issues were all the floating weeds stirred up from the giant winds. It was hard to keep the lines clean and they had to reel in often and check their baits. Eventually I just moved to another spot, hoping for cleaner water.

The second place saw Arthur landing another small walleye along with his brother, but their dad wasn’t fending as well. He was yet to even have a real hit! Arthur however had multiple chances but only managed to get into a small percentage of the fish before he locked up on something big. This thing peeled line several times and doubled the rod over something fierce! It turned out in the end that he had hooked into a big northern and it was also the largest one of the day. This thing was definitely worthy of a few pics!

With time almost over I hit one final area and they continued the drop shotting. Each drift was short due to the size of this place, but they hooked lots more fish. Robert even managed to get bit and landed a few walleye too! One of them was large enough to join the others in the well and now he was officially taking home a limit. They even had a triple header at one point landing three small eyes!

By 4:00 we were done and I headed back to the ramp. They had seen an unbelievable amount of fish today and fished two different ways in order to get them. The trolling bite was definitely the best with the big winds earlier and put the most fish in the boat. Drop shotting was also a nice way for them to finish up their day as they got to feel all the hits. This combination of techniques enabled them to monopolize on the numbers, in the areas we fished. I’m sure they will be remembering today for quite a while as the best fishing they have ever seen. With any luck I will be seeing them back, sometime in the near future. What a great day for fishing!!

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July 31st 2018

Last day of the month and still trolling up walleye every day! Darren wanted to get into the big ones and came out with me today, hoping for a few. I was sure we would see some with the chop we had on the water and headed to an area that had been producing.

With the rods in, we began our search for gold and it didn’t take long before we were able to locate some. Nothing big to start the day but the first few were still overs and had to be released. Eventually we were able to put a few high end keepers in the well for Darren, but we were still searching for the sows!

What had began the day as a good chop on the water eventually died off and became barely a ripple. This wasn’t going to be good for us at all, but I still continued to go through the motions regardless. A few more of the reels fired in the next couple of hours that had some overs and one really nice one, so there was still hope! I covered plenty of water concentrating on the key areas and Darren managed a couple more good ones as well as many keepers. The big girls were eluding us today but I wasn’t done!

By mid afternoon, with the top up, we focussed our attention on a little deeper water and Darren finally hooked into a much better eye. This fish turned out to be the largest of the day as we soon found out. Although he did manage to bring in several more slightly smaller ones, as well as some good northerns, there were no other bigguns!

Time was winding down and I wanted one more fish before we called the day. As luck would have it, a reel went off hard and as soon as Darren removed it from the holder, it was gone! I hate not knowing what was on the other end of the line as it seemed large. Oh well, that’s fishing!

On our way back to the ramp, we were flagged down by another jet ski that seemed in distress. Turns out after trying to boost their battery without any success, I was forced to tow them back to a nearby shore. We may have lost 30 minutes of our time but you never leave anyone stranded on the water, ever!

Today may not have been the banner day that I was accustomed to but there were definitely plenty of good fish landed. Darren had caught some high end keepers, a number of overs and one really nice eye. I’m sure that if we hadn’t lost our wind, the outcome would have been different. Big chop equals big fish and active walleye. Instead we had to settle for flat calm and it was definitely a slower day because of it. Regardless, this was still a good day and plenty of nice fish were landed!!

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July 30th 2018

Another full boat again today with Mark, Dawn and her 2 daughters, Grace & Abby. They hadn’t fished much and I knew exactly what to do for them. We would be trolling up plenty of fish in the hours we would be out!

I managed to get all the lines in before we had our first hit, but the reel didn’t fire. Instead, the rod just bent and bounced a little indicating that there was a fish. I hoped this wasn’t what we were going to see all day! Grace took the rod and reeled in her first ever pike. It was also her first fish and now we were on the board! Her sister Abby was up next and not long after, she too was bringing in a fish. It was another pike and just about the same size as the previous one.

With both kids having caught fish, it was time for Dawn & Mark to get in the game! I kept trolling with the wind and pretty soon another reel went off with Dawn fighting her fish. Our first pass was to yield 4 pike and 1 keeper walleye allowing us a full rotation, plus one. Everyone was able to bring fish in pretty quickly and I knew it would only get better!

Although we did have our dead periods during the morning, plenty of good fish were landed by all. Big walleye, pike and a few keeper eyes were brought to the net often. The winds were even in our favor as they blew from the right direction, for a change. There was a nice chop on the water and that always makes for better fishing!

By afternoon, the sun and heat had me raising the roof for a little shade. It definitely made for a more comfortable troll as we continued our search for more fish. We seemed to be locating them in pods as each time they landed one, we almost always caught a few more afterwards. Too bad there were long distances in between!

They had all brought in their fair share of good fish with some really big walleye for pics. At the same time, they were also able to livewell a few keeper walleye for dinner tonight. It was a win, win for everyone!

The last couple of hours in the day were no different with some big fish and a few more keeper walleye. The kids were having a good time catching fish and many rotations were had. I think by the time it was all over, Dawn may have had the biggest walleye an Mark the largest pike of the day. Either way, nobody seemed to mind as they all had their share of big fish today!

As the day wound down, I began packing things up and stored the top for our run back. I always like leaving on a high and left the lines in to catch that last fish of the day. Right on cue, a reel fired and Mark brought in a keeper walleye to end it. A great way to finish up another successful day on the water. Now we were ready to leave!

I may have had to work a little harder today to get the number of fish I was use to seeing but in the end, it all worked out. Everyone had a great time and plenty of quality fish were boated by all. This would be a part of their vacation that they would be remembering for a while. They would also be tasting some fresh fish tonight! Who could ask for a better way to end the day!!

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July 29th 2018

After spending a couple of days on Lake Ontario for salmon, I was back on the water this morning with a couple of clients. Joel & his son were in from the UK and about to experience the time of their lives!

We wasted no time heading to our first spot despite the rollers from SW winds. After being on the big pond, these waves were nothing! A quick orientation on the rod holders and they were ready to catch fish. Joel had fished plenty but his son Theo was pretty new to everything and was handed the rod when the first fish hit. He brought to net a small northern and it was also his first pike ever!

We trolled around the area and managed a couple more fish, including a nice keeper walleye and then it happened. One of the reels fired and Joel was into a big fish. I could tell by the way it was fighting that it wasn’t what I was use to seeing and brought the other two rods in for the fight. Confirmation was soon made when we saw the fish and he couldn’t believe the size of this thing. He was hooked into his first, ever seen, musky! After a while I was finally able to boga grip his catch and brought it aboard for a few pics. We released it soon after and watched as she made her way back to the depths. I told him it would be all downhill after that fish but reset the lines anyway.

We covered lots of water and I managed to put them on plenty more fish. Both walleye & pike were landed throughout the morning and some of them were pretty good size! All these fish were new to both of them and Joel already had his first Canadian slam. I was pretty sure I would be able to get his son one as well by targeting the smallies, little later in the day. In the mean time, we were focussed on the task at hand and that was trolling the area we were in.

We continued searching for more big eyes and both of them landed several before I decided to switch it up. I had wanted to leave some time to drop shot deeper water and try for a few smallies. I pulled the lines, packed everything up and headed elsewhere.

I stopped on a shoal in the middle of the lake and prepped the rods for them. I also explained what would happen and how to set on the fish when they bit and we began. On the first drift they both had bites but were unable to monopolize on them. I was also fishing some to show them what was needed and landed a couple of small walleye from this area. They were however about to catch on real quick!

After a couple of fishless passes, I moved over to another rocky area and Joel immediately was tight to a crazy smallie. It leaped 3 or 4 times while he fought it before I finally managed to get it into the net. It was also his first ever bass and made for his fourth species today. I really wanted Theo to experience this as well and worked with him until he was able to hook up one of his own. He finally caught a nice bass and obtained his first Canadian slam as well. A little while later he hooked into another and landed this one to take the lead. It was now 2 to 1 but it was going to change! They both had multiple chances in the remaining time, but his father was able to bring a few more in the boat before we were done.

Today was both an excellent day and a great learning experience for Joel and his son Theo. They had gotten to see a couple of different techniques and landed all kinds of fish while doing so. Apparently back home the fishing is so bad that this was more than they could land in a year! To me this was just another average day on the water, but with a bonus fish of course! I guess we’re just blessed with the fishing over here!!