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After a little break I was back on the water today with Jack & Fahib. They had booked a morning trip on line and looked forward to catching some fish. Cold front conditions weren’t going to make it easy and especially with the north winds we were receiving!

Our first stop had us drifting sideways while the current took their baits downstream. After about 20 minutes with no hits, I decided to move to another area a little further away. They doubled up almost immediately with one bass and one walleye! This area wasn’t any easier as we were still going sideways and missing all my waypoints! I decided to relocate once again as I would have a better chance of making short drifts out of the current.

This turned out to be our last move and for obvious reasons! It was loaded and I was marking all kinds of fish and bait. Unfortunately it was pressed tightly on the bottom and getting anything to bite was tough. It didn’t get much better either, as they were both losing just about everything they hooked. For whatever reason, the fish were just coming off! I had to slow them down on their hook sets before some of them actually started coming to the boat! I think by some of the bent rods they previously had that several of their fish were pretty big! For the next few hours we made short drifts in the wrong direction, over specific areas, and they hooked several species. Perch, walleye, pike & bass all came aboard, giving both of them slams! The bite wasn’t a great one but at least now they were landing more than they were losing. I had hoped to get them into more fish than they had lost but that didn’t happen. We even tried a troll over the fish, but I knew the result before I even started! We eventually just ran out of time and after a couple more fish, headed back to take out.

The half day trips are always more difficult as inactivity usually changes at some point during full days. Today they had to endure poor wind direction and a cold front. I’m sure that by sometime this afternoon, the fish would have cooperated and actually fed. Unfortunately it was over for us and we were done. Despite the slower than usual day, they still caught a bunch of fish and had a really great time. Fahib will be heading to the eastern provinces next week and who knows, maybe he’ll catch some saltwater fish to add to the list of species he landed here in Montreal today!

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David & Chris joined me this morning, for a day of multi species fishing. We started out around 7:00 and wasted no time setting up for the bigguns! Unfortunately only two small ones cooperated and we quickly decided to move to another location.

I gave trolling a shot but after about 45 minutes and only two pike to show for our efforts, I pulled the plug on this as well. We were going to try for walleye next as I was sure they would be able to catch a limit of keepers to take home!

I ran to an area that I had only fished for a couple of hours total recently and began the drift. Unfortunately there was almost no wind and what little current we had barely moved the boat. They started out with drop shotting and despite marking all kinds on the sonar, hooked only a handful of perch. One walleye was landed though that made it into the tank as a low end keeper! These fish were pressed to the bottom and not moving with the lack of flow. I decided to try something different and almost immediately hooked into what may have been the largest walleye landed this year. No pics and a quick release and I had David throwing the same presentation. I had tried a technique that worked many timed under similar conditions and apparently it was working again!

After a quick demonstration , David was landing some big walleye! His personal best came in first and a bunch more overs in the next couple of hours too. I was trying to get them a few keepers but having a difficult time keeping the big ones from eating. After several more fish, I just switched Chris up as well and rid him of the drop shot. Although he missed many fish, he did catch one and it was a good keeper. On a lighter note, his dad managed to land many more as well as a couple of really good smallies. I even hooked a northern for the second time and netted the culprit that had bitten me off a little earlier. I knew this for sure because he still had the sinker attached to the drop shot hanging out of his mouth!

The lack of wind & flow had caused us to make a few changes and the results were success! They had caught plenty of fish today with only a few minor adjustments. David had even managed a Grand Slam without even knowing it! We had remained on fish for the bulk of the afternoon and just picked at the walleye, but they were large! In the numbers of fish landed only 3 of them were keepers. What a great afternoon for giant eyes! I can’t wait to get back out and see if there’s a double digit fish in the group. Hopefully someone will find out in the coming weeks and land their personal best again. Only time will tell!

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David, Hassan and his brother Sam were with me today, for their first time this season. A late start of about 9:00 saw us heading out in a pretty good chop from the NW. A quick stop for the big ones saw only one taker so we didn’t waste too much time pursuing any others. We packed it up and headed straight to a great bass spot.

The winds had increased considerably causing difficulty for them to feel the takes. Many, many missed hook sets were had by all, causing plenty of frustration. Although they did land a good number of nice bass, they probably could have boated 4 times that if they hooked everything. This streak of bad luck continued on the second area too with Sam dropping the largest fish of the day. It jumped and we all saw just how big it was and it was huge! These guys had the opportunities, but fell a little short on closing the deal!

I had remained somewhat sheltered where we were so far, but now it was time to move. We packed up and strapped everything down to make a long run into the eye of the needle. Yuup, we were heading to the middle of the lake where there was no protection from the winds!

Once I arrived, I showed them what to do as we were going to be drop shotting open flats. I had a small area that would need multiple drifts to find the fish and they were going to be short ones due to the wind speed. First drift, they hooked several big fish and only Sam was able to land his over walleye. Hassan missed a couple and dropped a heavy fish after battling it for over 30 seconds. The bad luck continued!

We were getting close to the departure time and on the last drift, they all had chances once again. Unfortunately only David was able to keep his fish pinned due to the delayed hook set. He reeled in a huge walleye that finished his day with a bang!

We called it afterwards, ran back to the ramp in big waves and were able to stay dry all the way. Gotta love the Ranger! Despite the conditions and shorter than usual day we had, there was still plenty of action for everyone. Too bad most of it ended in missed fish but some days are just like that. At lease everyone was able to catch their fair share of bass and a few bonus walleye in the end.

Cooler than usual nights now will be dropping the water temps and more fish will start to become active. Fall is definitely getting closer and that will mean big fish days, both in numbers and size. I’m sure there will still be warm days, but overall it will remain cool. Even better days ahead!

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Luigi & his son were with me today on another body of water. It was nice to have a change of scenery and fish solely for big smallies! They had wanted to learn about current breaks and how the fish relate to different depths. They were definitely going to learn!

We met up around 7:30 and headed on the water to check some deep areas. I idled over a few of them and settled on one that looked good. Drop shotting was going to be the presentation of choice and it didn’t take long before they were reaping the rewards. Rob managed to hit the first bass and it was a good one too. Seeing as how they were coming up from deep water I didn’t want to waste time taking pics. A very quick release was made as soon as the hook was removed and it bolted right back to the bottom unharmed. This day was already successful with his first deep water fish coming aboard, but I was only getting started!

We made several drifts over specific areas and I showed them that boat control was the most important factor in getting bit. A vertical presentation was used and keeping the line straight down was very important. Basically, dragging is snagging and we never lost a single rig all day! Luigi even managed his personal best smallie by doing this today, with two monsters. Rob landed many good fish as well but already had a giant smallmouth under his belt that would be difficult to match.

I moved around some during the morning, switching depth zones as well as locations and staying on current breaks all the time. Every area we fished held bass but the size was dependant on the depth we were in. Patterns were developing and I now knew what was needed to find the big ones!

As the day progressed, I jumped to a shallower pattern to see if there were still some big ones there too. First spot we hit produced a monster for Rob but it seemed to be the only one. Several more areas later without a single fish, I was beginning to wonder if it was worth the effort. We were seeing some good ones cruising around and that made me think that it was just a matter of time before we hit one. Sure enough, Rob set into what turned out to be the largest one of the day. It was a real pumpkin and had the length to go with it as well. Several pics later it was back swimming to be caught another day!

It was mid afternoon now and they had to be on the road by 4:00, so I decided to take them back to the deep to see if we could end with a few more good ones. It was definitely a good choice as both Luigi & his son managed to land more huge smallies. They had many chances but only monopolized on about half of the hits they had. Luigi lost several that seemed hooked but did land the one that counted in the end. He brought to net his second giant of the day and likely beat his personal best from earlier this morning! A very quick pic was taken and the fish was released unharmed, bolting straight back down to the bottom. We remained here a little longer and landed a few more fish before pulling the plug and heading back.

They had experienced exactly what they wanted to learn and now had a better understanding of how to fish deep water and current breaks. I’m sure that from now on they won’t be afraid to try fishing deep everywhere they go. By understanding how to read the water, they should always have good fishing from now on. My greatest reward will be if they contact me again, telling me that it produced on their own waters. This was definitely a great day of fishing and an educational one as well. It was also nice to have a change of scenery, with giant smallies as a bonus!

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A later than usual start and an early finish had Darren & I fishing limited areas today. We started out with a troll and despite many short strikes, only managed a couple of fish. I had noticed something strange with the water and figured out why on our next spot. There was very little current! I think they reduced the flow from one of the dams upstream. Add the zero wind and it felt like we were anchored!

We had to cast the drop shot rigs here instead of the usual drifting technique and It didn’t take long before there were fish being caught. Several keeper walleye and some bass were landed with a few other fish being lost too. I really would have liked to fish this area longer but it wasn’t producing as well without the movement and I decided to pull the plug and try for bass somewhere else.

We arrived on a shallow flat that had been holding good fish the last couple of weeks and it didn’t take long to find out that they were still here. Soft plastics were the ticket and fish after fish were landed. Although mostly medium sized, there were a few pretty big ones too! Eventually the bite just slowed completely and we were forced to move once again. I knew that we were pressed for time and that Darren wanted to bring a few walleye home so we decided to resume the troll.

Back at it again with the sun higher and the water flat, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After about 30 minutes of washing baits, I had my answer. Nothing was moving except us. I relocated again and tried it in another area with exactly the same results. Without any wind or flow, the weeds on the surface were also insane and the lines were covered with them constantly. It was impossible to keep the rods clean!

As there were only 30 minutes remaining before we had to pull out, I decided to look at a couple of areas that were in deeper water. I was shocked to see that one of them was setting up pretty good and showed signs of life on the bottom. So much so that as soon as I told Darren to drop down, he was locked up. The drop shot rod was loaded but we never got a chance to see how big the fish was as it came unpinned before it reached the boat. The winds had also began and were now blowing enough from the south that we were able to make a drift. With the time remaining, several good fish were landed including an over walleye that Darren caught on the very next drop. It killed me to have to pull out of here but we had no choice. Darren had to pick up his kids from school as his wife became sick and wasn’t able to do it as planned!

Although time was cut short, there were a number of fish landed today and we ended with bang. I can’t wait to get back out again and refine the area we last fished and hopefully find the mother lode. It will have to wait a couple of days though as tomorrow I will be on a different pond looking for giant smallies in the deep. Looking forward to the change of scenery!