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Rick & Danny were in for a great time, catching big fish today! They wanted sturgeon and that’s exactly what we were going to get. We hit the water at 7:30 and headed right to where I hoped they would be and set the lines. Although I was marking them, it took a while before we had our first hit and Danny was finally locked up. Rick had been with me last year and landed plenty, so it was his brother that took the first rod. It may not have been a real monster but the fight was still a great one. Danny couldn’t believe just how hard they fought as he brought a smaller one to the boat. We both wanted him to get a bigger one so Rick decided to let him have the second one as well.

We waited almost 15 minutes for the next fish to hit but this time it was definitely better. Danny reared back and set into dead weight! He now realized what we were talking about as this one made several good runs and hung tight to the bottom the entire battle. Eventually after 5 minutes or more he brought the fish to net and several pics were taken before the release. This fish may not have been giant but it was still quality and Danny’s biggest fish to date. I knew there would be more and reset all the lines anticipating our next bite.

After a couple of small ones, Rick finally got his first big fish to fight. I had picked up a couple of left hand retrieve reels specifically for him and he was loving the fact that he was able to reel on his side. Ten minutes passed before we even caught a glimpse of what he was into and it was definitely larger than all the previous ones landed. I netted his fish and took a few pics before releasing it to the water again. I still don’t know why anyone would kill one of these creatures just to eat it!

The whole day went like the morning with numbers of good fish being caught. They got to battle lots of fish, both small and big but unfortunately no real monsters were landed. Despite this however, they both had a great time and some incredible fights catching sturgeon. Tomorrow we will be back out but looking for other species instead. Bass, walleye and a possible musky will be on the list and with any luck, all three will be landed. The first two won’t be a problem and we’re crossing our fingers on the third. Only time will tell!

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Neil & Mike joined me today, in search of the giants! Neil had heard about these dinosaurs and was hoping to tangle with one of his own. I knew his wish was about to come true!

We launched in a brisk 45 degree air temp and I was glad that I had brought my fall rain gear. I immediately headed to an area and idled around, looking for the perfect spot. Once I found what I was looking for, I dropped the anchor and set the rods. All that was left now, was the wait!

They had decided that Mike would take the first rod and it wasn’t long before we were bit. I wanted to show them what was needed and picked the rod up when the fish hit. I quickly reared back and we were locked! Much coaching was needed for Mike as he didn’t fish very often, but with plenty of instruction from both of us, he was able to bring the fish to net. Although not a real giant, it was still the biggest thing he had ever caught and well worth several pics before the release.

Neil was up next and I really wanted him to tangle with a beast. Well, as luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened. He picked up the rod when the fish bit and reared back on an absolute monster. We soon saw exactly how big, when it took to the air and showed its size. I don’t think Neil ever imagined that he would be locked up on something this big, in freshwater! The raw power of these sturgeon really needs to be experienced, in order to be believed! He fought it for almost 15 minutes before I was able to slip the net under his catch. The battle was over but the hard part was about to begin. He now had to hold it for the pics and it wasn’t going to be easy. We took many shots with the fish on his lap and a couple of him standing for comparison. He torpedoed the beast back immediately when we were done and it shot right to the depths from where she had come from.

I reset all the lines and we waited for what seemed like eternity. Just when we were about to make a move, I picked up one of the rods and accidently set on a fish. It had bit at the exact time I began reeling and I passed it off to Mike knowing it wasn’t very big. I also saw a fish biting on the last line and grabbed the rod, setting into another heavy weight. I immediately gave the rod to Neil making it an official double! Mike had the small sturgeon to the boat and I did a quick release. This allowed Neil to pass the last line over to Mike so that he could battle something much larger. Although it was quite the fire drill, we managed to make it work! Mike was about to land something that would dwarf his first personal best! We got a confirmation minutes later when it went into the air and showed itself for all to see. It was large and about to beat him up good! The battle lasted almost 15 minutes once again and multiple hard runs were made before I slid the net under his catch. He was relieved but not for very long as it was time for the pics! Mike struggled a bit but eventually managed to get it up on his lap for some great shots, followed by the release. They had both officially landed giants and my work was done!

We decided to try for one more and I reset all the lines hoping to get Neil one last fish. I guess we waited about 15 minutes and he grabbed one of the rods, setting into another good one. This fish fought harder than all of the fish previously caught and I really thought it was going to be another monster. Although it never jumped, it took him for many long runs and from side to side, multiple times. About ten minutes passed before we saw what he was into and I netted the last sturgeon of the trip. We still took several pics and returned it to the water, packing everything up for the day. We were going to fish for something much smaller now!

Over the last couple of days I had installed a new electric motor on the boat and was about to see it in action. I prepped a couple of drop shot rods and headed to an area for bass & walleye. The Motor Guide Xi5 would take a bit of getting use to but I was really looking forward to the anchor feature, to be able to hold on specific spots. Well as soon as I was where I needed to be, I set it on and went about my business. I was now able to leave the motor and do things without drifting everywhere! It didn’t take Neil long before he was tight to a nice smallie and I loved the idea of netting his fish and not having to return to the spot afterwards, by motor.

We held in this area for a while, shifting slightly to get better angles and Neil managed to catch a bunch of bass in the process. Mike however kept losing his fish as he wasn’t use to fishing and this technique was causing him difficulties. I eventually opted for other areas in hopes of better success!

Our next stop wasn’t much better as we had officially lost our wind! The lake was an absolute mirror and it wasn’t easy for either of them now. Drifting was at a snail’s pace and no bites were had. I moved once again and got on top of a high number of fish, but would they bite? The lack of wind definitely wasn’t helping the cause and I had to change up techniques one more time. I pulled a couple of jigging rods out of the locker and demonstrated how they needed to be fished. Neil managed to get one of them to bite and reeled in a nice walleye. Too bad it went over 22 inches though and a pic was all we got! We moved around hoping for more but the bites were really light and the fish were missed. Time for another change! As I was marking all kinds of fish in this area, I decided to try drop shotting but this time with the worms. Almost on cue, Neil was hooked up but it was a perch. There were large schools of perch with larger walleye and bass mixed in and the worms were getting the perch. Not surprising! Neil hadn’t caught a perch in years and was happy to see some of the larger ones he was getting. Mike also was getting a few but I wanted the predators! At one point, Neil definitely hooked into something substantially larger but with the small hook, it came off while reeling in.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon with similar results and eventually called it a day. Our primary emphasis today was on the sturgeon and the results were epic! Both Neil & Mike had landed monsters and checked another species off their bucket list. The late afternoon struggle to catch smaller fish had not been as great, but there were still a number of fish landed regardless. Overall the day went pretty much as planned and I know that if we had remained fishing for the beasts, there would have been plenty more caught. All in all, a great day of fishing!

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I had the pleasure of fishing with a couple of Sheila’s from down under today. Magali & her friend Amy were in Montreal and wanted to catch some Canadian fish. I was about to make their wish come true!

We headed out shortly after 7:00 in a NE wind that was still hanging around, causing me headaches. My usual drifts were upset by the opposite movements but I was still managing to make it work. Amy was the first to lock up on a fish and she soon had a walleye in the net. It was also a keeper and went into the livewell for them to take home for dinner. I later found out that it was also her birthday and hoped to make this a day to remember! We made a bunch of passes over the fish, marking all kinds of them, but bites were few & far between. I kept at it for a while and although they did have several more hits, they just kept coming off. Time to move!

Our next spot wasn’t loaded but on the first drift, Magali locked up on a nice smallmouth bass. She had never seen one before and was amazed at how hard they fought. Soon enough she was holding it for her first Canadian, fish pic! Too bad this was the last fish from here and after about a half hour of dodging mats of floating weeds, we headed elsewhere.

I was now on a spot that required more casting in a current and drop shotting would be the way to go. Magali was up front with me as I held the boat in the current and instructed her on what to do. It didn’t take long before she was tight lined on another smallie. Although not really what we were looking for, it was nice to see! We were on a quest for more walleye for them to bring back to eat tonight. Several more smallies were also caught before Amy switched spots, coming up front to try her luck. Although the back of the boat is a good place to get bit, the front gives you much better control. She was beginning to realize this as she landed a number of good fish. One of them was even a walleye and it accompanied it’s buddy in the tank! Eventually we stopped getting bit and I relocated once again.

The next place was a shallow bite and Amy had a big bass engulf her soft plastic lure. It was great, because it was all visual! She had seen the entire strike as the bait disappeared. This was definitely her birthday fish! A few pics later she was releasing her catch for someone else to enjoy. We covered a bunch of water and only landed a few more fish with Magali bringing a couple of really good ones to net. More pics and releases and we made another run to a distant area to continue our quest.

This place was definitely holding some good fish as Amy hooked into a nice big, rock fish! She thought she was stuck before I instructed her to set the hook and hang on! Rocks don’t move and this one was definitely going crazy. It also brought a small pod of other bass out of the shadows and hopes of a double header was on my mind. Unfortunately we had to settle with just one, but it was another good one! We fished the entire area after and only managed to get one other bass in the process. I didn’t even see many cruising which caused me to believe that they just weren’t here! Off to another place again!

I had wanted to get them a few more walleye and decided to return to a place that should be holding them. I think that Magali hooked up on her very first cast and this one turned out to be a Walter that went straight into the box, after a quick pic. It was her first decent eye after catching a much smaller one this morning and deserved a photo. We went right back it and managed to bring one more walleye and several more bass into the boat afterwards. One of the smallies turned out to be Amy’s largest of the day and a well deserved pic was taken once again. Once this area stopped producing, I decided to try one last spot before we ended the day.

I headed back to where we began to see if the fish were more cooperative. The winds had diminished considerably and we were actually able to get a partial drift, almost in the right direction. I also set them up with jigs instead of the earlier drop shot rigs and gave instructions on how to fish them. Not long after, Magali hooked into a nice big eye and definitely her best one of the day. I had to get a better pic and showed her how to hold it properly. It was way over the slot and we released it quickly afterwards. I think she hooked up again on her very next cast and this one was acting even bigger. We soon realized why as she had a musky on the end of her line. As it got closer to the boat, it jumped and soaked both of us when it hit the water. Sizzling runs on light tackle and a great fight soon ended when I netted her catch. I didn’t want to stress it out more so I kept it in my grip for the pics. She was perfectly fine with that when she saw the teeth on it! The release was instant and it bolted away unharmed. One more walleye was landed afterwards but several more strikes were also missed. We ended the day shortly after and definitely on a high!

It’s not often that I have the pleasure of fishing with only women and it definitely makes for a relaxing day on the water. Today was just that as we fished many areas and caught in each & every one. According to them, this was by far the best fishing day they ever had! They landed several species and ended with a bang. The bonus of the day was that they were going to be able to eat their catch and I couldn’t wait for their review. It may be winter down under in Australia right now, but it’s definitely summertime up north. Along with the great fishing, they got to experience some unseasonably warm temperatures for this time of year. Definitely a win, win kind of day!

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Another trip to the Raisin River yesterday ended with a trim switch and relay replacement after an issue on the water. The trim had been acting up lately and today it just stayed on, in the up position, leaving me to work on it while on the water. I managed to get it down to be able to run back to the ramp and I was quickly on my way for repairs. Intermittent problems are always difficult but they figured it out and had it fixed in a couple of hours. I also had a few adjustments done on the kicker adding to the time! The rewiring and switch change in the handle was the longest. I never knew there were so many small parts in the throttle! As always, they got me back up & running for my next outing!

Herm had drove in from upstate New York and hoping for walleye today. He fishes with me each fall for smallies but today he was looking for fish to eat. I figured this wouldn’t be a problem and we headed out before 8:00 searching for the gold!

The calm waters that we had been having lately were no longer as it was blowing 10 to 15 knots and out of the NE. This would definitely be a challenge! Usually Herm arrives with either a hurricane or rainy cold front in the late fall but today we only had the wrong wind direction. Piece of cake, or so I thought!

Our drifts over the shoals would now be against the flow and this was not going to be great for the fishing. He landed a few perch in the first 15 minutes and lost a couple of other fish that may have been walleye. We were drop shotting, but it wasn’t going great! I decided to try casting up current and bringing the rig back slowly while the boat drifted up current as well. This also didn’t work as well as I had hoped and not long after, I switched to a jig and began casting it to see what would happen. We had been marking all kinds of bait and big fish so I knew they were around. Now we just needed them to open their mouths and eat! Well on the very first cast, one of them did just that and we had a high end keeper going into the well. This was to be the start of the catching and I was glad something was finally working!

In the next three hours, we made many upstream drifts and managed to land plenty of fish. Too bad we only had a total of five in the livewell for Herm to take home. Although there were more caught, most of them were overs and released to fight another day. I decided to make a move in hopes of filling his limit!

Our next spot was a small area that had been good the last time out and I was looking for a repeat today. Unfortunately it only spit out one really good fish around 25 inches and we were headed to another place again.

This turned out to be our last stop of the day when Herm began catching both bass & walleye. He finished the limit pretty quickly and now we were culling up to better quality eyes. We stayed here for about three hours or so all the while hooking one fish after another. By the time it was all said and done, he had a great limit of Walters to bring home with him.

By moving around we were able to pick at the fish pretty good today and pound on them in our final spot. Herm had travelled far but it was worth the trip! He had a great time and landed loads of fish in the process. For a late September day, it also felt more like the end of July as the temps were in the 80’s. High humidity was also attached making it feel more like the 90’s! I guess the wrong direction wind wasn’t so bad after all as it was definitely better than no wind with these temps! Another great day for fishing!

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Rochelle & her husband Doug joined me this morning for a half day of fishing. We met at 7:30 and headed out in the fog! Visibility was good enough to get where we needed, but it got thicker afterwards. At one point it became so thick that we couldn’t see a thing! We fished this area and although I was marking plenty of good fish on the bottom, they didn’t seem to want to eat. The light N/E wind wasn’t helping either as our drifts were terrible. It felt like we were anchored! They actually had to cast the rigs instead of the usual drifting technique, due to no movement. A couple of small fish were landed but I needed to make a drastic change if we were going to catch better fish. I decided to use the kicker and slow idle over the schools having them toss behind as we were still moving. Sort of like a trolling drift! It obviously worked because immediately Doug landed a nice high end keeper and we had our first pic of the day! It was released and they went right back in, with them missing several more strikes on the hookset. I decided to make a move as we had been over these fish for quite a while, unsuccessfully.

The next area wasn’t looking too good as I was barely marking anything. They dropped in and I slowly moved them down current with the aid of the small engine, looking for fish. When I did see something, Doug was immediately rewarded with a nice smallie. A great fight and several jumps later, it was in the net, ready for the photo shoot. We continued the same technique after the release and Rochelle managed another bass, slightly smaller. Unfortunately this was all they were going to get here and I decided to move back to where we had begun.

Weeds were floating all over the surface now, making for difficult fishing and the winds had increased slightly from the east when we arrived. Add to that the insane amount of dog pecker knats and the conditions had gotten worse! I tried using the same presentation but only a few small fish were landed. I decided to try another technique and was rewarded on the first cast with a jig. Time for a change up! I pulled out a couple of other rods and coached them on how to fish the baits. Doug caught one and missed several strikes and Rochelle landed a small walleye. We had covered the area now for almost an hour and this was all we had to show for our efforts. Time to pack up and head to another area to finish our day!

I stopped on a spot that usually moves me at about 1 knot but soon found out that it was terrible here as well. I tried drifting it and saw that we were being moved sideways and at 0.3 mph. I showed them how to drop shot vertically and immediately Rochelle had a nice smallie on the line. Too bad it didn’t stayed pinned when it went into the air and threw the hook! At least I knew there were fish here and that it was fishable! Doug was fending about the same as he was missing fish too. I didn’t like the speed and direction we were going so I decided to move the boat along with the aid of the electric motor, trying to remain vertical. They were still having difficulties keeping fish on and dropping almost every one they hooked. At one point, Rochelle hooked into a monster smallie and I thought she finally had a picture fish. It jumped and actually stayed on the hook which was a good thing! I turned to get the net and before I could return, I heard a terrible snap. The fish had gone under the boat, around the electric motor and broke the leader, leaving her heartbroken. Not to cry over spilled milk, I tied on a new rig and we made a couple more unsuccessful drifts, with only missed fish. By 12:30 we were done!

Although this day didn’t turn out like I expected, plenty of chances were had. The conditions made for tough fishing and not being use to these techniques made it even more difficult. Our numbers were definitely down today and could have been much better if the fish stayed on. Despite all of this, Doug & Rochelle still had a great time out on the water. Half days like these always make me wish we had more time and I’m sure that if it had been a whole day, we could have rebounded with a good afternoon bite. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to get even the next time out!