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July 21st 2018

 

Alyssa was back with me again today and this time she was with Yanick. He also brought his two sons, Henri & Jacob and all of them were in for a surprise. I don’t think they were expecting to catch as many fish as they would see today!

We headed out shortly after 7:00 and straight to our first spot, hoping for a few quick bites. The boys were really excited about catching fish as I set the lines and explained how it would work. We were once again trolling as this had been the most productive method lately and there were too many bodies in the boat to be casting today.

We hadn’t gone 3 minutes when a reel fired and Jacob had his first northern of the morning. With a little help from his father, he managed to bring the pike to net. A few pics later it was released and shortly after, Henri too had his first pike of the trip. Although both fish were small, I knew there were going to be much bigger throughout the day!

The bite wasn’t a great one this morning but I did manage to find fish here & there keeping it interesting. Somewhere around the third or fourth rotation, I decided to try another area and made my way to deeper water. Almost on cue, one of the reels screamed and Yanick grabbed the rod from the holder. This was to be our first walleye, but unfortunately it wasn’t a keeperr. In fact, it was way over the legal slot size! It did however make for a great pic before releasing it back to the water. As quick as she was back, another reel went off and simultaneously a second one as well . We had a double header and they were both good walleye! Once again though, they were overs and only pics were had!

Things were looking up after the last couple of fish as I continued trolling the deeper water, searching for more. We were now firing reels often with a mix of fish species and everyone was getting a chance to fight more fish. The bite stayed good for a while and I remained in the area taking advantage of it while it lasted.

The temps had risen during the morning and the little wind we had disappeared, making it a whole lot hotter than I liked. Time to raise the roof and enjoy the comfort of the shade! With the bimini up, we continued trolling the same areas, picking up fish frequently. A couple of other boats were also in the area and it was starting to be difficult to remain on the spot, so I just trolled out of it completely. I had other places to fish and didn’t need the traffic!

I realized quickly that this was the right decision when the reels began to fire again. We had multiple doubles and a triple, that ended in another double. Both walleye and pike were being taken and some of them quite large! It was definitely not a good day for keepers! So far all they could get was one upper end slot fish, but had landed so many more! This didn’t look like it was about to change anytime soon either as the bite just got better when the wind picked up. It was blowing pretty good out of the S/SE and the fish were on fire. each time we had a reel rip, it was almost always a double. Big pike & bigger walleye were getting caught and returned immediately after. The fishing was just unbelievable! They were landing more fish than they ever could have imagined!

It was later in the afternoon and the fish were still pretty active, but not quite as much as before. I now had to work the areas a little more to get bit. It didn’t matter though as the numbers were already pretty high and anything else was just a bonus. Eventually I dropped the roof and readied the boat for the return, all the while keeping the lines wet. After a few more fish, we pulled the plug and headed back. It was almost 3:00 and I wasn’t sure how bad the dock would be to take out. The SE wind would be blowing right on the ramp and I didn’t know what to expect!

As luck would have it, The waves weren’t too bad and I had a spot immediately. Within minutes we were off the water and done for the day! They had all experienced some great fishing and I’m pretty sure they will be talking about this day for a while. Not only did they catch all kinds of big fish but in the end they also managed to take 3 keepers home with them for a pretty good meal. All in all I think today was a success! Plenty of numbers, size and enough fish for dinner tonight! Great day for fishing!

 

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July 18th 2018

 

After countless Emails to juggle a scheduled date, Mark & I were finally able to make it work! He brought along a couple of friends/co workers and we hit the water by 7:00 this morning. When asked what they wanted to fish for, their reply was, « anything that is biting »! I love those answers too!

I was going to start out by trolling for walleye & pike and see how it went before making any alternate decisions or changing up. It had been really good lately and I hoped it still was as two of the three had never fished for either of these species, being from Florida.

I set the rods and they were in awe at how I trolled on this water. In fact, they said they might even give it a go back home next time they encounter similar conditions! With rods in & lines set, we awaited our first rip!

I had gone about ten minutes without a strike and wondered if the cold front and NW winds had something to do with it. The water had muddied up some as well and temps had fallen to 72 degrees. I covered plenty of good water before I finally heard that lovely sound and we officially had the first pike of the day! It took a while before we managed the second one, but when we did, it was a double header! One nice northern and a good eye were what they landed and now our confidence was building.

We trolled over all kinds of depths looking for active fish but the bites were only here & there. I couldn’t get a handle on their location or they just weren’t very active, yet! Eventually I moved to slightly deeper water and changed my trolling direction and this is when our success also changed! I had finally cracked the code and big walleye were being landed. In fact, they went three in a row in just seconds apart! We were now landing fish every few minutes and with only one other boat in the area, far away, they had to move on in. Apparently they had seen the net too many times and decided to get theirs. Boy were they in for a surprise!

We were now on good fish and hooking up on a regular basis with both pike & walleye. The other boat however wasn’t as fortunate as they never hooked into a thing. Despite them being almost on top of us at times, I just stayed out of their way and continued firing the reels. Right location, wrong presentation I guess! Eventually they just trolled out of the area in a straight line, barely visible in the distance.

As we were only out for a half day, I really wanted to get them as many fish as I could and made shorter trolls over the most productive areas. Plenty more good walleye & pike were landed in the remaining time and I eventually pulled the lines by 12:15. They had arranged a pick up for 12:30 and I didn’t want their driver to wait.

I don’t think any of them they had expected such a productive morning of fishing. What had started out a little slow, turned full circle when I made a few adjustments. By paying attention to detail I was able to refine a small section that was holding a good number of quality fish. They also got to see just how productive this technique can be and hopefully will be able to utilize it when faced with similar conditions. They left with good intentions of coming back, possibly later in the year. Hopefully when the big sturgeon are biting! Great day of fishing with a big fish bite!!

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July 16th 2018

 

Patrick was with me today, hoping to learn about different species of fish. He hoped to catch them on a variety of techniques and I knew he would. The last time we fished together was winter and he learned how to use a flasher to increase his chances. Today he would understand a whole new concept in open water success!

We hit the water just about 7:00 and I decided to check an area not too far away for walleye. We would be trolling in order to cover the water quickly, searching for the fish. Unfortunately this didn’t work out as I had hoped and all we received for our efforts was one pike.

The next area wasn’t much better but at least it put one small walleye in the boat that never even fired the reel. I found it while checking the lines! After seeing this, I immediately pulled the plug on trolling and decided to have him drop shot a slightly deeper area nearby.

A quick demonstration had me hooked up on my very first cast and a keeper walleye went in the well for him to take home. The next cast I was also locked, but this time I gave the rod to him to fight the fish. It was a nice smallie and he was now starting to understand this technique. Patrick’s first few casts were a little quick but eventually he began to work his presentation much better. It’s all about the feel with tight line and not being too quick on the hook set! After slamming a few and not landing them, he was coached again into what was needed and he finally started to keep them pinned.

We remained in this spot for quite a while as Patrick was hooking fish on almost every cast. He landed a limit of walleye and several smaller ones that we released along with a few really nice bass. I think he finally got the hang of this technique! Unfortunately the area eventually went quiet and we were working way too hard for very few bites. It was finally time to move!

With the sun high and the heat & humidity almost unbearable, I thought we would give trolling another try. I headed to an area that I was sure would produce and we began fishing. This time however, I raised the top for a little more comfort! There was virtually zero wind when we started but at least it felt nice with the roof above us and we were now in the shade.

It didn’t take long for the first reel to fire and Patrick was now getting to see how effective the trolling could be. He landed a pretty nice northern and was just happy to see action so quickly. Several more reels also screamed in the next 15 minutes as well and they were also pike. I was hoping to get him into a big walleye and was now covering water, in search of something large!

Several more pike were taken before we finally had a good rip on one of the reels. I could tell by the way the fish was staying down that this was the right species. By the looks of the fight, it was also large! As Patrick brought it closer to the boat I realized just how big it really was. It was a giant! Fortunately it had eaten the lure good and stayed pinned all the way into the net. I told him that this was without a doubt the largest walleye brought aboard my boat this season! It was also his personal best making it that much sweeter! Needless to say, we were going to take several pics before releasing her and I took shots from a few different angles. He had the pleasure of putting this sow back and she swam away unharmed! We had finally gotten the one fish I was searching for and I was glad we made the move!

I reset the lines and kept trolling a little longer, adding a few more pike and another over to the numbers. I was covering the same area that had produced the big eye when one of the reels fired and Patrick was back into something heavy again. Just as I thought, another nice walleye! It wasn’t as large as the first one, but it was definitely a quality fish! More pics and another release and back to the troll. I didn’t want to stay much longer, but had hoped for a big pike to give him a great slam. The next fish that hit was a surprise as it went airborne before the reel even went off. It was a big smallie and unfortunately jumped the hooks on its next leap. Oh well, crap happens! He did finally manage to land a really good northern however adding to all the other big fish he had caught today. Time for something new!

I told him that he was going to learn patience while fishing soft plastics for smallies and he was all for it. I stopped on an open water flat & rigged the rods, demonstrating the proper way to fish the baits. Well I kind of knew what was about to happen next! As soon as he got bit, he slammed the hooks, coming up with air. I had told him to wait and count to five before setting but instinct took over. The next fish was the same thing and he was losing them as fast as they were biting. I actually had to show him an example when I got picked up and demonstrated patience and proper rod positioning before pulling back on the hook set. Hopefully he would now understand! A couple more missed fish later due to quick sets and he finally calmed down. He was now aware that if he continued, he would never land anything!

This place had a lot of fish and at least he was getting plenty of chances. He finally waited on the next fish and when he slammed the hooks home, it stayed pinned. The remaining fish were no different as he was landing every one of them now! He had learned patience and was rewarded with several good battles from aggressive smallies. He couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the day. One more fish and we were done!

Today was a great learning experience with Patrick seeing some new techniques. He had caught fish a variety of ways and some really big ones too! He also had a limit of walleye to bring home with him, for dinner tonight. I don’t think he could have had a better, educational day!!

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July 15th 2018

 

Another bachelor party booking this morning had Adam, Kevin & the groom to be Dylan on the water by 7:00. A little early considering they really didn’t get to sleep much last night! The three of them were a little slow but that was perfect for what we would be doing. We were going to be trolling as Dylan was looking for some big pike. I just hoped they’d be biting like yesterday!

After setting the lines and giving them an orientation, I began the search. It didn’t happen as fast as I had hoped, but eventually, one of the reels went off and Dylan landed a small northern. Definitely not what I had expected, but at least we were bit! As I continued along, I realized that the fish weren’t very active and hoped it would change, soon. Although they did land a few more pike and we had a couple of drive byes, the action just wasn’t there. I worked all the areas both deep and shallow but only picked at the fish for the first couple of hours. Things were going to have to change soon, or we were going to have to relocate!

Sometime before 10:00 the action began to pick up. I had gotten two bites simultaneously and monopolized on both of them. The pike were even getting bigger and it looked like everything was beginning to wake up! I could only hope I was right and that things would get better!

I decided to try covering some of the same water we fished earlier and wouldn’t you know it, the fish cooperated. I think they were there all along but just not interested in what we had to offer. Let’s just say that now the light switch had been turned on and they were finally feeding!

The next couple of hours saw the action that I was accustomed to and the reels fired off every couple of minutes. They even managed to get three keeper walleye that were livewelled for them to eat tonight. Along with these fish were loads of northerns and two really nice over walleye. I was just glad to finally see action!

I stuck it out a little longer due to the slow start and managed to get them into several more decent fish. I was also bound and determined to leave on a high and worked the area until we got one more fish. Just like one last cast, there has to be one last fish when trolling!

Although it may have been slower than I had hoped for at the start, we rebounded to finish on a high. They all landed plenty of fish by the time we were done and would be sampling some of their catch tonight. I’m just glad that these fish finally woke up before our day was done. It’s always tricky when you’re under the gun and limited to time. Sometimes it pays to stay put and have the confidence when you’re in an area that you know holds fish. Today was one of those times!!

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July 14th 2018

 

I had a full boat today with Laurence and his friends. Chuck, Doug & Kevin were all about to have the best day of their lives and didn’t even know it. I would be trolling up pike and walleye and they were gonna be big!

We hooked up around 8:30 as they wanted a slightly later start and motored across a light chop on the water. It was once again out of the SW and I was glad. Too bad it wasn’t going to stay!

I wasted no time setting the lines and informing them on how to remove the rods from the holders. It didn’t take 3 minutes when the reel went off and they had their first walleye of the day. This may have been the first but it definitely wasn’t the last! With all lines back in, we continued and soon after had another good eye locked up again. Doug & Kevin managed to bring in a couple of nice ones that were both overs. Great for pics though!

This morning started out with a bang in the overcast skies and very light drizzle. The rain had let up immediately after we began fishing and the cloud cover felt great. Sunshine was eventually coming but in the mean time we were quite comfortable. The fishing also helped, as we went through two full rotations in no time. Everyone had caught either pike and or walleye and they were loving it! Plenty more fish to come!

As I covered water, reels fired off continuously and fish after fish came in the boat. Big pike and big walleye were being landed making the fishing seem effortless. The only problem was the rod removal from the holders. For some reason, even with all the practice, two of them were still having trouble. We were also losing a few fish because of this, but it didn’t seem to matter. There were plenty of fish still being caught.

As the morning passed the clouds started to give way to the sun and other boats also arrived. It even got to a point where I had to put the top up due to the high heat & humidity. We had lost any wind we had earlier and needed to be in the shade! I’m not quite sure what the other boats were doing but it definitely wasn’t catching. I think in the total time I only saw 2 or 3 fish boated. We on the other hand put a beating on the fish right through the day. Laurence even managed to fight a couple of nice smallmouth bass that made his day too! Pike after pike and walleye after walleye were being caught and there wasn’t very much down time in between fish. They had several doubles and one almost triple during the day as well. In fact one of the doubles in the afternoon turned out to be a pair of big eyes that made for a great pic before the release. This day was just about perfect!

I don’t know how many fish were landed today, but it was pretty high. Along with the numbers, they also had great size for both walleye & pike too. We had decided on a 4:00 return time and as it neared, I began prepping the boat for the return. While I was storing the bimini top they landed even more! We were going to leave the fish biting today and that’s always a good thing. Especially when you’ve been catching them all day long!

I don’t think any of the guys had ever expected such a fantastic day of fishing. Right from the beginning, the rain stopped and the fish started biting and they never stopped. It was one of those days where all the stars are aligned and you could do no wrong. Even with the minor difficulties and losing several fish, the numbers of fish landed was just insane. I don’t think I could have asked for anything more. I know the four of them will be talking about this day for quite some time. For a change, the story won’t be about the one that got away!!