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July12th 2018 (morning)

Marcy & her son Elliot were with me this morning for a half day trip. Elliot was just getting into fishing and was hoping to land a few more species of fish. Largemouth were the ones he had already caught, but he always wanted to catch smallies, so I was taking him for the brown ones for the start!

Winds were out of the NW but light as we raced across the lake to hit the first spot. He had brought along a baitcaster and after a little tweaking, I had it running smoothly. I let him throw a blade for a while, but without any aggressive hits. His mother however was on a crank and boated her first two smallies before Elliot could even get bit. Way to go mom! After seeing this, I immediately switched him to soft plastics and soon after he was tight to his first ever smallie. He added to that a couple more after and was loving the power of these smallies!

I made a short move to an area close by when it slowed down and Elliot managed to land a couple more nice bass, including the largest of the day. His mother was just in awe with the surroundings and enjoying watching her son fish. She had caught a couple of bass at the start and was just wanting Elliot to have fun. That he was with each and every cast!

I wanted to work more bass areas, but each place took time and we were only doing a half day. I offered them another couple of species and techniques and they were all in. We would be trying for pike & walleye now and doing a little trolling. I knew we would get bit!

After arriving, I set up and instructed them on how to remove the rods when the fish hit. We were going over an area that held both and with any luck, it wouldn’t take long! Well, it didn’t and within minutes, a reel fired giving Elliot his first ever northern pike. Although not big, it definitely deserved a pic as it was a different species. I reset the line and a little while later, another reel went off and he was into his second pike. While fighting it, I heard a down rod scream and passed it to his mother. Doubles, finally! Without realizing it, they were into a mix match pair. One walleye and one pike were what they would be landing and it made for a great action photo too!

We had wanted to get Elliot a walleye as well but all he was catching were pike and time was getting on. He talked about going for smallies again but it would be eating into their time getting there. I offered them a chance at some largemouth and he jumped at the offer. We were closer to the green fish and got to fish for them for almost an hour before calling their day. Although we did see a few, they didn’t want to eat and we had to go. They had also seen some huge gar and a few other species, along with piles of different birds making it a worthwhile attempt.

Both Marcy and Elliot had a great time this morning catching a variety of fish and Elliot learned a few new techniques and baits to use. Although he may be young, he has the drive and desire to become a great fisherman. In the coming years he will have plenty more fish to catch and look back on today whenever he boats another smallie. You can always catch bigger and more, but you can never replace the first fish one! Today was just the start of many more years of fishing pleasure!!

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July 10th 2018

I had the pleasure of sharing the boat today with a true hockey legend! Larry Robinson was back again and this time he brought a few of his family with him. His brother Mo, son Jeff & grandson Dylan would be competing for big fish honors and we would be targeting walleye.

A quick run on the water had us starting in an area that had been producing good fish, daily. I needed to see if they would bite again and set the rods for the troll. Their option was either to pick a rod or go for the rotation. They opted for the second choice and Dylan would be first up on the rods.

I had set the lines in deeper water and began searching without much sign of life. After about 10 minutes of washing lures, I decided to move a little shallower and a reel finally fired. I knew by the way the fish hit that it was what we were after and Dylan reeled in the first walleye of the day. It definitely wouldn’t be the last! For some reason the reel didn’t go off hard, but barely clicked, causing me to think that the fish were very lethargic. I would be listening for other light biters after hearing this one!

Mo was up next and it didn’t take long for him to get on the board either. Unfortunately it was a pike and returned quickly. Several passes in the area provided us with a few more fish but the bite wasn’t what I expected. These fish were still here but not really in the mood to eat. At one point I began a much wider search and still continued to only pick at them again. It had the makings of a very tough morning!

After covering what felt like miles & miles of open water with similar results, I decided to return to where I thought they were. We trolled over the exact same areas and reels began firing with only good fish. Several high end keeper walleye were boated and made their way into the livewell. When Dylan’s turn came back around, he fought a really big pike that would hold as largest northern of the day. Larry had a great rotation too, when he took the next rod and battled a big eye. This wouldn’t be going into the livewell but made for some really nice pics and possibly bragging rights! I had returned to where I knew the fish should be and obviously they were there. I guess they just weren’t in the mood to eat, earlier this morning!

With the numbers climbing now, I wasn’t going anywhere! I just kept trolling over this spot and refining it a little more on each pass. Although not all fish were walleye, it was still nice to hear the reels fire. At least the ones with big fish as Larry was about to find out again! His next one was even larger than his previous fish and fought even harder. More great pics and a quick release and smack was now being talked. He may have only landed two walleye so far but they were both big! Might as well brag about it with this crew!

With only a few walleye in the livewell, I continued the search and managed to find several more high end keepers. Every time I swung back to one area, we hooked up! As long as I gave it a rest, we were almost guaranteed a fish or two when we returned.

I didn’t want to spend the whole day trolling and eventually moved further from the key areas and more to open water. Ironically, we put another good fish in the livewell, just by covering water!

I eventually pulled the plug here and opted for some drop shotting on deeper shoals, in the open lake. We ran to the spot in waves that seemed to be building. All morning we had been fishing in a good chop and for some reason they were now 2 to 3 footers when we stopped to fish. I didn’t care, as long as we had a good drift!

With the boat turned sideways, I explained how this technique needed to be fished and everyone dropped down. We were moving a little quickly, but good enough to get bit! After making a couple of drifts and refining their presentations, the third time was a charm. Larry managed to set on a nice walleye, and Dylan simultaneously hooked up too! Jeff even had a shot at a third one but unfortunately it was off before he was able to reel it in. Larry’s fish was a good one and joined the others in the livewell while Dylan’s fell a little short and was released.

We had made several other drifts over this area and despite marking plenty of fish, they weren’t able to land any others. Everyone had their chances, but these fish just weren’t eating well. Time to relocate!

I hit another spot further away and they continued with the drop shot for a while. The results were still the same so I decided to go back to the troll instead! With lines set, it really didn’t take long for the first reel to scream and scream it did! Jeff pounced on the rod, regardless that it was suppose to be Dylan’s turn and boated a nice smallie to complete his slam. Not to be outdone by his father, Dylan rebounded soon after with a slam of his own, when he boated another bass. Obviously the toll was working despite the dismal drop shotting over the same area!

With time getting on and a deadline to meet due to evening engagements for them, I hit the key areas again. When one of the reels went off, Mo grabbed the rod and reeled in the last fish of the day. Unfortunately he didn’t get his slam, but he did boat a really nice walleye. Several quick pics later, we released the over and packed it in.

The fishing may have been a little slow by my standards today, but plenty of quality fish were still landed. Largest pike honors went to Dylan but Larry took the cup with his two big walleye from the morning troll. It’s all about the right rotation and he definitely had that today! He may not be competing anymore but the competitive nature in him still remains. In fact, they were all in the same boat, literally! With every fish landed, plenty of laughs were had, especially when the fish weren’t walleye! Regardless of the comments and smack talk, they all had a great time together, relaxing on this family fishing trip!!

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July 9th 2018

William was back with his son Peter today and this time he also brought his brother Rodney along. The three of them were going to have a great morning, filled with plenty of fish.

I ran to an area to troll that had been productive recently and quickly set the 4 lines. I noticed that the water was a little off colored and hoped it wouldn’t affect the fishing. We even had a pretty good chop from a strong SW wind and 1 to 2 foot waves. As usual, within minutes the first reel went off notifying me of a fish. It hadn’t screamed like it usually does but rather clicked like a cold water strike. I grabbed the rod and handed it to his son to fight the fish. Minutes later we had the first keeper walleye in the net and were well on our way to a great day.

They began with a rotation and before we knew it, there were 3 walleye in the livewell. Only 1 pike had been caught so far but the eyes were definitely active. I needed to find the pike in order to bump up the numbers for the day!

We covered plenty of water and ironically it was the walleye that were mostly being caught. Although they had landed a few northerns, the walleye were leading. When the next reel fired it went off hard and I knew Peter was into a big eye again. He was struggling to reel her in, but eventually it neared the boat and I definitely knew now just how big! It took a couple of runs, but eventually I grabbed the leader and coaxed it into the net. Peter had just landed the largest walleye of his life!

After several pics were taken of his trophy catch, we resumed fishing and I began locating more northerns. A couple of them were quite large and Peter had a rough time holding them for the pics. William was letting his son take his turn on the reels and between Rodney and Peter, they landed many more. A mix of walleye and pike were now being caught but the action wasn’t what I was use to. I kept moving and hoping to bump into a group of fish that were active, but it never really happened. In one area I actually found water temps to be down to almost 68 degrees from 76 this weekend. This too may have had an impact on the fishing!

After landing a bunch more walleye & pike, I decided to pack everything up and switch gears completely. I was going to take them to another area where they would be drop shotting. William was all for that as he’d rather catch smallies with rod in hand anyway!

On our run through open water I realized just how sheltered we actually were while trolling. The lake had kicked up quite a bit and we would be fishing in 2 to 3 foot waves where we were. I quickly demonstrated what was needed and let them drop down and begin. They were all pretty new to this technique and I told them to keep a tight line if they ever wanted to feel the strike.

On the second drift, William hooked into a nice walleye that felt much better on the light equipment. I think they had all been hit but it was difficult for them to feel anything in these conditions. We were rolling pretty good with the waves and despite a couple of snags, the others weren’t as lucky. I did see Rodney’s rod load once but he wasn’t ready and missed the fish.

We made a few more drifts as the waves grew, hoping for more action and on the last one, both William & his brother hooked up. Unfortunately they both lost the fish as well from lack of tight line. They soon had another chance and at least William was able to keep his pinned, all the way to the boat. He fought a nice bass and enjoyed how strong it was on the light tackle. Unfortunately this was to be their last fish before we had to leave. I stayed a bit longer to try and get them more but with only a half day morning trip scheduled, it was time to go.

Today was a great one once again with a pile of fish landed trolling and a few more on the drop shot. Although short, it was quite productive! In the end, there were fish to take home and they had learned a new technique, for future fishing trips as well. I was also glad this was only a half day as the winds were getting stronger and the waves much larger. This afternoon would have been difficult to say the least. Thankfully the morning was their choice for today!!

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July 7th 2018 (afternoon)

A little after noon, I met Peter & his girlfriend Shan and headed back out on the lake for the afternoon trip. They were from Jersey and had driven in from Quebec city this morning to enjoy some fishing. Peter was looking for a few firsts and I didn’t want to disappoint him. We headed right back to where I left them biting!

This was the first time he had fished from a boat like this and he was looking forward to catching fish. Most of his experience had been from shore and he was limited to where he could go. Today he would see firsthand what a boat could do!

We made a long run in rough water due to all the boats out but it was much less wavy when we arrived. I wasted no time getting the lines in and showed them how to get the rods from the holders when the fish hit. It’s never easy when you’re not familiar with the down easters!

It was a little longer this time before we had the first reel fire but still in less than 5 minutes! Immediately Peter was on the rod and reeled in his first ever northern. He was on his way to getting his wish if I could get him a walleye and I wasn’t worried. I knew if we covered enough water we would see a few!

Shan definitely didn’t have as much experience as Peter but when the next reel went off, she brought in her first pike as well. It was larger than Peter’s and definitely worthy of a pic before the release. We continued trolling the area and they both landed a number of decent pike, but the walleye were eluding us. I knew they were here and switched depths to see if I could find an area that they might be holding. Several pike later, Shan got her shot at a nice golden one and brought to net her first walleye ever. Neither of them had seen one other than in pictures, but now they had their own photos! Multiple shots were taken before it was released and I went right back to searching for more.

The pike weren’t any trouble catching as they reeled in all kinds of them through the afternoon. In fact they were fighting so many that a pontoon boat thought he would get in the action too! He literally came right over to where we were and started fishing. I just trolled away and kept catching! Eventually he moved closer again, but we never saw him catch a thing. We on the other hand were just pounding on the fish one after the other, probably frustrating him even more.

With this show going on, I never lost focus on the task at hand. I was still searching for a big walleye for Peter to catch and eventually he got his wish. A little deeper water had him locked up with a really nice one that eventually made it to the net. This one really fought hard and made several strong runs at the boat delaying me from landing his catch. Eventually however, the inevitable occurred and it was over! This wasn’t just a walleye but a really big one for him and his first ever! We both shot multiple pics from various angles before he released his trophy catch! He had accomplished what he had set out to do and that was to land a couple of firsts.

I left about an hour to fish for another first for him and pulled the plug trolling after several more pike. He had hoped to catch a smallmouth and I was sure that wouldn’t be a problem either. I moved over to an area close by and had him toss soft plastics for brownies. First spot and he missed his first two on the hookset. No problem, there would be more! Second spot nada and time was ticking. The winds had dropped completely and it was scorching hot and flat. Not the best conditions, but still doable!

I headed over to the third and last area and fished it for about 30 minutes without a single taker. Although we did see about a dozen or more cruising around and big, nothing wanted to bite. In the end, we just ran out of time and pulled the plug on any chance at a smallie, for now. I probably should have left a little more time to drop shot deeper water with these conditions, but the walleye had used up more than I wanted. Regardless, he still had a great time and the next time he fishes for smallies, I know he will land some with the presentations I showed him. Always tough when you’re limited to time and we definitely were today. It’s even harder when you see them and they’re going the other way, not wanting to eat!!

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July 7th 2018 (morning)

Jorge & Melba were with me this morning hoping to catch their first pike & walleye. They were vacationing in Montreal all the way from the Gulf of Mexico and loved to fish. I knew it wouldn’t be a problem!

We raced across the lake and wasted no time setting up. I told them that they would be seeing a new technique as I set the lines and began the troll. It didn’t take 2 minutes before the first reel went off and Melba was bringing in her first Canadian walleye! They couldn’t believe how fast it had happened, but I told them sometimes I can’t even get the second rod in! I reset the line and continued trolling and once again, we had a reel fire. Jorge was into his first ever walleye too, but it wouldn’t be his last. They were in awe at just how quickly these two fish came aboard when another reel screamed and we had our first double. The day was starting out with a bang! It looked like the fish were active with the wind and cooler temps and I was going to take advantage of it while it lasted.

We had only been fishing about 15 minutes and already had 5 fish landed. Melba had her first northern, but most of them were walleye. The bite was really good for the eyes this morning and I wasn’t complaining, as I knew I could catch pike all day!

With all the lines reset, I began looking for more fish and almost instantly two reels fired simultaneously. This was getting crazy but they were loving it! walleye were mostly being landed but that was about to change. I finally managed to hit an area where it was pike after pike and they both caught one after the other. To say the fishing was good would have been an understatement! It was on fire! They had already caught a load of fish and we had been fishing for only an hour. With action like this, the numbers would definitely be high!

It seemed like everywhere I went, we hit fish. The fishing was just unbelievable and I knew why. We were in a major and everything was feeding. Even the seagulls and cormorants were diving on bait off in the distance. Fish after fish fired reels and they barely had a minute to rest! Every time I got the rod back in the holder, another one went off. Multiple reels were firing at the same time in total chaos and I loved it. At one point I even had to take another net out just to land their doubles!

Usually when action is this good it only lasts for a brief period but this morning it went right till the end. We trolled right up until 11:30 with very little down time. If 5 minutes went by in between bites I began to wonder if the lures were fouled! I always like to end on a high and told them after one more fish, we would leave. Minutes later Jorge reeled in the last pike and we were done. I packed everything up and headed back to the ramp to drop them off. I had another trip for this afternoon and I only hoped the fishing would be half as good!

Jorge & Melba had taken part in the best fresh water fishing they had ever seen. Nobody knew exactly how many fish were landed, but it was an insane number! To top that off, there were also a lot of really good sized ones too! They were leaving more than satisfied with their results and looking forward to the next time here in Montreal. They might even come back for the big fish bite with the sturgeon. This trip couldn’t have gone any better!!