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June 13th 2018

Darren & Howard decided to book with me today, hoping to get into more high numbers. Although we got a slightly later start than usual, we were on the water just about 9:00. We quickly headed to a spot hoping for fast action and they weren’t disappointed!

I began the troll with three lines in and about one minute later the first reel went off. Howard grabbed the rod at the same time a second line screamed and we instantly had a double. One pike & one walleye were their reward as they held them up for a few quick pics. That’s how you get a day started!

The conditions couldn’t have been better, with a nice chop on the water from the SW. Lately I’m seeing more high wind days and from every direction but the SW. It was finally nice to have current & wind going the same way!

With lines back in, I knew it wouldn’t take long before they were both fighting fish again and I was right. Another reel fired almost immediately and soon after, a second. Another double of the morning and more pike came aboard. In the next couple of hours, there were many more fish landed with a mix of pike & walleye being seen. There were also several other doubles and even a triple header to add to the numbers. A couple of the walleye made it into the livewell for them but most were overs and released after a few shots. Eventually after milking this area pretty good, I decided to relocate not far from where we were.

With slightly deeper water here, I switched up a few baits and it didn’t take long before the first fish was on. Darren was tight to a good northern and the fight was better than usual. These fish had been feeding for a while now, after the spawn and were real healthy. A quick release and back to trolling, looking for some large eyes. I covered plenty of water and we picked at them good but I wasn’t satisfied with the results. Although a couple of walleye were landed, most of them were pike and I moved again.

I decided to try a little shallower water in hopes of finding what we were after, gold! Clouds were upon us now and conditions were occasional rain, with complete overcast skies. Perfect for the walleye to cruise open water shallows! Within minutes we had a rip and Darren boated yet another large walleye. It seemed like he had the hot hand on the right rods and the right bites. Although they were taking turns on the fish, Howard almost always managed to get pike. Either way, they were catching all kinds of fish and that was all that counted!

I had covered a lot more water than I wanted with very little results before I decided to head back out deeper. The area we had started in was where I was going and as soon as I neared it, reels began to fire again. A few more doubles were also had along with many single hook ups. We decided to remain here for a while and catch as many as we could!

Thunder storms had been forecasted for this afternoon and I knew we were already lucky with the weather, so far. When the skies darkened all around us and it began to rain, I decided to make a long run to another area closer to the ramp. I had also seen a clearing and thought we might be lucky with the rain.

When we arrived I realized I had made the right move as it was flat calm and not raining at all. I set the lines and let the games begin! Reels also began to sing once more and although we started out with a couple of pike, walleye were what we caught most. In fact we ended the day with another double and they were both keeper eyes!

Howard & Darren had decided to pull the plug about 3:30 with the weather coming and I was in agreement. Better to get off when we were dry than to scramble in the rain!

Their day may have been slightly shorter than most but the fishing was still on fire. I don’t really know how many they landed but it was the usual amount for this time of year, lots! They even managed to bring a few keeper walleye home with them as well making this a great day once again. Plenty more of these still to come!!

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June 10th 2018

Another day on the water and another slaughter fest for pike & walleye! Anya & Rocky were going to experience the best fishing of their lives and didn’t even know it!

After a mix up on meet times, we finally got underway just after 7:30. Trolling is the name of the game at this time of year and it didn’t take long to get the ball rolling. In less than one minute after the three lines were set, one of the reels started to scream. That’s how you do it when you promise quick hookups! Rocky got to battle her first ever northern, but it wouldn’t be her last. She had been told from friends back home that they weren’t easy to catch and I just laughed. I told her that by end of day, she would be sick of catching so many of them!

The morning was a little chilly at the start but the fishing was on fire as they both boated so many fish in the first hour that we just lost count. Pike after pike were ripping reels and multiple hookups were happening every couple of minutes. We also had several double headers that are always fun! We even had a triple that put a little chaos into the day!

Anya hadn’t fished much in her lifetime, but got into it pretty quick with all the action. Rocky on the other hand had been fishing since the age of four and loved every minute of it. She didn’t have much time to rest as reels were going off every couple of minutes. Quite often one turned into two and double headers were frequent! The action was so fast that all I kept doing was going over the same area multiple times to get bit. My plotter screen eventually looked like a spider web and needed to be erased in order to find the waypoint. With this many fish being landed it was inevitable that other boats would move in and at one point I counted a total of 7 others in the area. Absolutely unbelievable! Fortunately I only needed a small section and kept circling it, getting bit. They even managed to land a couple of bonus walleye, but unfortunately they were overs and had to be released. I think we must have spent over three hours in this area before making a move. Too many fish to leave!

Our next spot was supposed to be a quick stop but the fish had other ideas. Again, in less than one minute the first reel fired and I knew we would be hanging in here for a while! Several pike were landed and they were all good ones. Lately this area had been putting out larger than normal sized fish and never disappointed! In fact when the next reel fired, Rocky hooked into a really big fish that turned out to be a musky. She was elated to get her first ever lunge and couldn’t believe their strength. Although small by my standards, still a nice fish to have caught! It was much larger than all of the pike she reeled in and a whole lot meaner during the fight. I mentioned to her that the fish was still out of season and we released it quickly after removing the hooks.

Multiple passes were made, with many more fish being landed. We even had another triple header on a turn that consisted of two pike and a walleye. Unfortunately one of the pike ran into the walleye, popping the hooks! They ended up landing two pike instead. I probably could have stayed here and finished the day, but I had other areas I wanted to be by late afternoon. After another 30 minutes of catching, we pulled out and changed spots again.

After a quick pit stop for a bathroom break, we ran to another section of the lake, hoping for more action. This would be the last spot of the day and I knew it would put plenty more fish in the boat for them. With rods in, it took about 2 minutes before Rocky was fighting another northern. I was hoping for a few more walleye for them and covered plenty of water, searching for gold!

A number of pike were boated before we finally stumbled onto the walleye and it was a double! Several pike later, another one made its way to the net and I knew we were finally on them. Unfortunately between the heavy cloud cover and the time of the day, they landed only one more before we called the day. Not before catching at least 6 more pike though!

The numbers of fish hooked and brought in today were unbelievable! There’s no way to tell just how many they caught and that’s the way it should be now. Post spawn has finally gotten them back to feeding and with the water warming, more active as well. Anya & Rocky hit the nail on the head today with their timing and boated more fish than they ever could have imagined. I’ve been hearing that a lot lately and expect it to remain this way for a while longer. Summer patterns are still far away and I will be taking advantage of this trolling as long as it remains good. It’s simple and effective and right now, the best method for high number days! I can’t wait to get back out again!!

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June 9th 2018

Scott booked a half day morning with his sons Owen & Ryan, hoping for some great action. We headed out shortly after 7:30 on another windy one, looking for pike & walleye. Waves were coming from the west with the 10 to 20 knots winds, making for a bumpy ride.

Our long run had me setting up in an area I hadn’t fished in several weeks, looking for better results. Well it didn’t take long for the first reel to fire and Ryan wan into a good sized pike. While I was unhooking it, another reel fired and now Owen was into a fish of his own. I could tell by the way it was staying down that it was a walleye and we soon had confirmation. It was his personal best and deserved a few pics before the release. We reset the lines afterwards, but only managed a few more pike in the time we remained. Off to another area we went!

I had decided to try an open water spot and again it didn’t take long before the reels went off. A couple more pike and another really good walleye made their way into the net. Both Ryan & Owen were landing nice fish but I wasn’t seeing the numbers I expected. Time to relocate again.

This next area is where we spent the remainder of the morning, catching fish! Scott had decided to extend the half day into a full day, but his sons would be dropped off at the dock by noon. I wasted no time setting up! The remainder of the morning saw a good number of fish landed with most being pike. Several walleye were also caught and they were all good sized overs. Owen managed to get another giant matching the previously caught one from this week. It also bumped his personal best walleye from earlier in the morning! As the time was getting closer to noon, we decided to get one more fish before leaving. Ryan landed what he thought was going to be the last pike, but his brother beat him with the double when I was bringing in the lines.

We headed back in the west winds but soon realized that they had grown in size. We had been fishing in almost flat calm conditions where we were and welcomed a slight breeze from time to time. Five minutes before we were to leave it picked up big time and now we were back to running in crappy conditions once again!

Back at the dock I realized that this area was where I was going to spend the remainder of the afternoon. We dropped off Owen & Ryan and made our way out to a few shoals to fish. Trolling them in these conditions wasn’t going to be easy and with only two rods in action, less productive.

In the next couple of hours I covered plenty of area, coming up with only a few walleye and bass. With the conditions worsening, I had no choice but to venture further offshore in the waves. They had gotten big enough that I wasn’t able to troll directly into them anymore. I had to bypass plenty of good waypoints trolling on an angle! Although we did manage to get fish, there weren’t too many. In the end, Scott had just one keeper walleye in the livewell that eventually was released. A few others were caught but borderline keepers and returned to grow. At one point we thought he was into another good eye but soon found out different as it neared the boat. It was just a really long, skinny northern looking to fatten up from the spawn.

The afternoon went quickly despite the slow fishing and 4:00 came fast. I wasn’t too disappointed to get out of these roller coaster conditions either. It had made for a very difficult second half of the day. Regardless, there were still enough fish caught, only not the caliber I had hoped.

Scott had stuck it out for a full day but the best fishing was during the morning when his sons were with us. Multiple fish hookups occurred during the late morning giving them a great experience and Owen a personal best, twice! Unfortunately finding keepers today wasn’t quite as easy. They were all overs, or unders and had to be returned! Despite the difficult conditions in the afternoon, the day was still a success. I’m sure the next time Scott heads out with his sons, they will have a better understanding of what to do. Hopefully he will get them into as many fish as they saw today!!

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June 6th 2018

Three generations in the boat today with Irving, his son Eric and grandson Aiden. I hoped for a nicer start but the cold front continued! Air temps were about 55 degrees and the water was barely 58 when we started. Add to that a cold north wind and you have about the worst conditions for this time of the year. I don’t think they were ready for this either as they were way under dressed! All three came in shorts and sandals! Ouch!

We launched regardless but I remained close to the take off as I was sure we would be heading back. With lines in, I trolled several areas and despite seeing plenty of fish on the sonar, most were reluctant to eat. We picked up a few small bass but the walleye were not cooperating! One fish here & there was all we could manage in these conditions and the wind wasn’t making boat control easy either. Luckily we did have a triple header though that ended in 2 pike and another small bass!

I moved over a bunch of rocks on flats, covering water as much as I could to hook up. Some small walleye & bass were boated and something huge hooked into. Eric did battle with a heavyweight for a few minutes and I even had to back up on it to regain all the line he lost! As I was pretty sure what had happened, I wasn’t too excited! When we caught up to his fish and got over it, all it wanted to do was go back to the bottom. Eventually the hooks just pulled out and the battle was over. This had snagged sturgeon written all over it!

By now everyone was starting to show signs of freezing causing me to rethink where to go next. Irving was even talking about going home! I suggested that they call for more clothing and they agreed. Irving’s wife would deliver a care basket of warm clothes for them to wear.

With limited time to fish before her arrival, I headed out further to a reef nearby to try our luck. Almost immediately they were into a walleye but it was barely 15 inches and released. We fished all over this place and never had another hit! I shifted to another shoal closer to the ramp and barely had time to fish it before we got the call. Back we went!

The clothes were a welcomed gift as Irving was starting to shiver and the others weren’t very comfortable either. With everyone better dressed now, I decided to make a big move, making a long run to an area that had been producing the last few trips. It was here that the day was to begin!

I set the lines and began trolling over deeper water, looking for the larger fish. First reel to go proved to be a nice sized northern and the largest, so far today. Aiden was quick to take the rod again and fight yet another fish! We continued the troll after releasing his catch and covered more water, in search of others. Although several more fish were landed, I just wasn’t feeling good about this section and decided to relocate after about an hour.

With the damp air and temps still pretty cold, I wasn’t sure whether to stay deep or move shallower. The fish just weren’t very active again and you could see this by the way they were striking the baits. We really needed the sun! I trolled over to slightly shallower water and intercepted several more fish along the way. Most were pike but Aiden did manage to land the largest walleye so far this season. I knew by the way it was staying deep that it wasn’t another pike and told him to play it with more finesse. Fortunately we were able to get it boat side and into the net. What an absolute beast! Several good pics were taken and then she was released back to where she belonged.

In the next hour or so there were plenty more pike landed but I really wanted to get them a few walleye to take home, for their dinner tonight. I pulled the plug on this area and made a move to hopefully warmer water. This place hadn’t even reached 59 degrees and had lost temp just since the weekend!

The last spot of the day was a little warmer and at 61 degrees, it should be productive! It didn’t take long for the first reel to scream and Aiden landed another northern. We continued trolling and the next fish was just what we were looking for. A high end keeper walleye made its way into the livewell and we looked for more. Between a mix of pike & walleye, the reels fired often, but unfortunately the walleye were all overs. I stayed a little longer than the determined departure time and fortunately put another couple of keepers into the box. It gave them enough fish for dinner tonight!

Despite the slow start to the day with everyone being cold, we rallied to end it with a bang! Many fish were landed and some pretty good ones at that. Aiden even managed to boat the largest walleye by a customer this season! We left the area and headed back to the ramp, completely satisfied with the results today. Another great day of fishing and another high numbers day!!

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June 5th 2018

James and his son Jay were with me today, looking to get into some pike on the fly! They wanted a slightly later start and we met up before 10:00, hoping to hook into a few toothy critters.

Conditions had changed considerably since the weekend and a cold front had arrived yesterday with lots of rain. Today didn’t look any better either! Light rain and temps that wouldn’t even reach 60 degrees were forecasted. I just hoped they would bite!

We made a long run to start, with the winds finally in our favor. They had turned into a SW and were blowing 10 to 20 knots. At least they were out of the right direction, for a change! With fly rods in hand, I showed them what we were going to do and they were happy to try something new. High density sinking lines would be used to troll the flies I had just tied. I also made up a bunch of single strand titanium leaders to ensure no fly loss. In the past I had donated many a fly to the pike and hoped, not to do that again!

I was shocked but not really surprised to see that the water was down to 58.5 degrees at the start. It had climbed all the way up to 64 on Sunday when I was out last and dropped again. Back to a slower troll and short strikes!

It took a little longer than I had expected for the first fish to get hooked but not before a few strikes were missed. They definitely were short striking the flies! James eventually landed his first ever pike and although not the size I had hoped for, it took the skunk out of the boat. His second fish wasn’t long after and this one was actually hooked in the back. I guess the fish missed the fly completely and got pinned anyway. Several other short strikes occurred before they managed another pike as the action wasn’t fast & furious. I wanted to see if it was just the flies and dropped one of the lures down on a rod to find out. I don’t think it was in the water for 2 minutes before the reel fired. Jay was happy to take the rod as this was his first pike as well. We decided to reset the rod after the release and ran 3 lines to try for more hookups.

Between the conventional tackle and the fly rods we managed to get into several other northerns and Jay even landed his first walleye too. It was a mix of lines getting the bites but we were still having plenty of misses on all of them. The pike really didn’t seem to be eating very well with the this cold front. In fact a few other fish were also landed, foul hooked! This was the most I had ever seen in one day!

After a quick break for a late lunch, I decided to make a short move to another area nearby. I wanted to see if anything was active in shallower water. It was here that they managed to get into more pike on the fly as well as the lure. I now knew there were active fish willing to bite so I pulled the hard bait for a while, increasing their chances with the fly rods. Both James & Jay began hooking up regularly now and the numbers started to climb. The last couple of hours saw more action and they were both having a great time landing fish. Jay even managed to beat his father with the numbers and apparently that doesn’t usually happen!

They were scheduled for a 4:00 pick up at the dock, so we called it a day about 15 minutes before to ensure they were there on time. Although the day may not have met up to my standards, they thought it was great. In their words, it was the best trip they had ever had! I can only imagine what they would have thought, if it were sunny and warmer! Regardless, there were still plenty of fish landed and an equal amount either lost or just missed. They even learned a new technique with fly rods that might just come in handy back in Alabama where they live. They worked hard for each and every fish today, but they were definitely rewarded for their efforts. Tough conditions but good day in the end!