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Darren, his brother Mark & their friend Dave were with me for a couple of days and looking to catch just about anything. We began a little later than usual and headed out about 8:30 in search of big fish. We were going to try for sturgeon, if the anchor would hold. Fortunately once we arrived, the winds weren’t too bad and it wasn’t a problem. I set the lines and the wait began. Several hours later and many moves too, all we had to show for our efforts was one small sturgeon. Although there was plenty of action with fish banging into the lines, none of them were real bites. We unanimously decided to head elsewhere and go for bass & walleye.

The winds had intensified as we stopped in the area and I set the electric motor on anchor to prep their rods. Love the new Motor Guide! Dave managed to get into a nice bass almost immediately but despite several other bites, that’s all she wrote! Both Darren & Mark had hits as well but the fish weren’t getting stuck. We made one other move nearby with similar results and pulled out completely afterwards. Time to switch gears completely!

I made a long run in 2 & 3 footers and hit a deeper shoal in hopes that we could salvage the day. This was apparently the right decision as we remained here for the balance of the day. Everyone caught fish and some of them were even brought back for dinner. Several over slot walleye were released along with a bunch of short ones too. They even managed to get a decent northern and a ton of giant perch from the area before we called the day.

Although today’s start didn’t pan out exactly as I had hoped, our finish was definitely better. I had moved to an area that was holding a lot of fish by the looks of the sonar and they had caught quite a few from it. Tomorrow we will be back out again, but hitting a different lake instead. Hopefully the bite will be strong from the start and the weather will hold off long enough for us to be able to fish. Giant winds are forecasted and we will be limited to the areas we are able to fish. We’re all crossing our fingers that it works out!

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Friday the 13th and heading out on the water for a few hours with a buddy of mine. Thankfully I’m not superstitious! We hooked up shortly after 7:30 and were fishing soon after. Walleye were the targeted species today as we both needed a few for dinner. Shouldn’t be a problem!

The winds were forecasted to increase in the afternoon and I hoped we’d be done by then. Presently they were out of the east blowing about 10 knots, producing only one footers on the water. As they were against the current, I decided to use the electric motor instead of trying to drift. At least this way I would be able to hold where I wanted and cast. There would be no drifting today!

As always, the first few fish were overs and released immediately. We did manage to pick up a few keepers as well as several 15 inchers that got released too. After a couple of hours, we moved on, hoping for a better bite elsewhere.

The next location wasn’t much better with only a few keepers coming aboard. A couple of overs and some smallies rounded out the balance of the fish before we shifted locations once again.

This next spot had us feeling the wind change and it definitely increased as well. What started out as an east 10 was now a south 15 to 20. We were struggling to keep the baits where they needed to be as the direction was 90 degrees to the usual flow. Once I got a lock on the exact position I needed to be at, we began catching one after the other. Smallmouth were eating practically every cast we made! I was searching for walleye but these were definitely a bonus in this depth too. We even had a couple of bite offs from old toothy that made me think we weren’t the only ones looking for dinner! Time to move again.

With limited time remaining in the day, I decided to head back to where we started to try for a few more fish. The winds were a whole lot worse now and I had to make shorter drifts across the areas I wanted to fish. We spent about 30 minutes or so and made about 6 or 7 passes before calling it a day. Although we did manage to get several more fish, we were done. We ran back in 3 footers out of the S/SE and I knew the ramp wouldn’t be pretty. It was about to get a whole lot worse too!

I had been informed by a friend a little earlier that the city had decided to remove the docks today. They were in the process of lifting them out when he pulled up an hour earlier. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the wind directly on the ramp! Another smaller boat had a big surprise too when they arrived. Unfortunately they swamped their rig big time once they pulled it up and got out. The waves just continued to roll over their transom when they went for their trailer. I on the other hand took refuge on the inside wall and made removal of my rig quickly. No water and no worse for wear!

The remainder of the season will be interesting launching in certain winds without anywhere to tie off. Plenty of great fishing still to be had for everything that swims and I won’t let a little issue like this deter me from dropping the boat back in. As long as Mother Nature isn’t too cruel, I’ll be back for more!

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A couple of years ago at this time, I had the pleasure of fishing with Buddy and his friends. Today he was back alone and on a different puddle! We hooked up about 8:00 in a heavy fog and ventured offshore to our first spot, looking for a few bites. As this was to be a half day outing, I wanted to get him into fish as quickly as possible.

The conditions looked perfect for drifting with a good SW wind and I set him up with a drop shot. We moved along nicely marking plenty of quality fish and I knew he was about to hook up. I was right and he landed his very first walleye ever! I had no idea that Buddy hadn’t caught them before and informed him that he would definitely be catching bigger and more before the day was done. Right back at it, we continued drifting over all kinds of fish but for some reason the bites were minimal. I decided to try jigging over them and immediately hooked one. Buddy did manage to land another and lose a good one on the drop shot afterwards but it was slow. I soon changed him to a jig and we went right back up to give it another go.

With a little instruction on the technique required, he was soon locked up and battling a nice eye. This would prove to be his biggest for the day and definitely worthy of a pic. We kept t it afterwards making several more drifts over the deep shoal and landed fish each and every pass. Eventually the winds picked up considerably more and I was forced to relocate to another area much further away.

I was now on a current break and utilizing the new electric motor to hold on the spot. I set Buddy up with the drop shot rod again and informed him of how the current played into the mix. He hooked into something on his very first cast, but lost the bass on the jump. Several casts later, he hooked into another and this one made it to the net for a pic. The remainder of the time had him losing several more and landing plenty as well. In fact at one point, we had a sighting of a big lunge as he reeled in a nice walleye. I guess old toothy wanted a free meal too! We eventually called it a day shortly after 12:30 and headed back to take out.

Half days are always tougher as time restraints limit the number of areas I am able to fish. Having one rod active also reduces the number of chances too! Despite these circumstances, Buddy definitely fended quite well, landing several smallies and a bunch of walleye today. He may have waited two years to fish with me again, but I don’t think it will be as long the next time. Something tells me I will be seeing him and his group next fall after the half day spent today. I’m looking forward to it too!

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Joey and his 3 daughters joined me today for what was supposed to be a half day outing. We left the dock before noon and it immediately started to drizzle. As soon as I arrived at our location, I raised the roof to try and keep them all dry. A light wind out of the east had us practically anchored so the drifts wouldn’t be easy. All 4 of them had little to no fishing experience and a complete instruction was required. I had Joey casting a jig and his daughters on drop shot rigs, with the top limiting their casting.

It took a little while for them to get use to the equipment, but eventually Joey hooked into a nice walleye. This was his first one ever and I dropped it in the well for them to take home later. Not long after, June hooked into another walleye and a picture was needed before placing it in the well with the other one. Joey also had a couple more chances, but unfortunately failed to keep the fish pinned.

The rain had increased some and the winds had switched to the south, causing everyone to be getting a little wet. It didn’t help that some of them were fishing from the open part of the boat and not under the top! I had to supply a little rain gear as the girls were also beginning to get cold from being wet and talk of calling the day was already going around.

With the winds picking up, the drifts were quicker and I was making more moves back, more often. With each return, the girls were getting colder & colder and I knew it was only a matter of time before they would call it. The next drift saw a couple more fish landed as well as some missed. I could see that the winds had fired up the fish and expected more action, but they were just about done! We made one last drift and landed a couple more walleye before packing it up and returning to the dock. Our half day trip had been cut in half again due to the miserable conditions. Joey and his girls had seen enough!

After bringing down the top and packing everything up, I ran back in the fog to take out. Of course once the boat was on the trailer, the rain stopped! I could also see way off in the distance, sunshine was on its way. I’m sure that if they hadn’t been so wet & cold that we would have returned to continue fishing. Unfortunately that was not the case and they were done! They also didn’t want to take the walleye home with them and the girls released one each at the dock. I guess it was their lucky day! Despite the short outing, everyone had a good time fishing for their first time. Although there weren’t loads of fish landed, it wasn’t too bad for the two hours we fished! Mother Nature didn’t completely win today!

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I had the pleasure of having someone today, requesting bass on the fly. Although I have had plenty of fly fishermen in the past, it had been several months since the last one. Peter was looking to get a personal best and I knew exactly where to bring him. Until now, all he had caught were fish up to about a pound. He would surely break that today!

We started in an area that should have given him plenty of quality fish but for some reason it was slow. In fact, after many casts all he was able to catch were weeds! I decided to make a cast with conventional tackle and immediately hooked a good one. They were definitely here but we needed to figure out how to get them on a fly! A few changes later, he finally got his wish and hooked into a real nice one. No problem breaking his old record with this fish! After a great fight, I netted his catch and pics were taken. He went right back at it and managed a few more smaller ones afterwards. I decided to make a move to see if we could bump up the numbers as well as the size and relocated nearby.

This next area had more current and I held on the edge, allowing him to swing the fly. It didn’t take long before he was tight lined again but it was even smaller than the last couple of fish he landed. I repositioned several times with similar results and decided to move again. This time I was going to try shallower to see if was any better.

Our next move was to a rocky area surrounded by plenty of weeds for cover. I don’t think he was expecting to get hit immediately and was surprised by the take. This bass immediately took to the air and threw the fly before he could tighten up completely on the line. It was the big one that he wanted and as fast as he hooked up, it was gone! A little disappointed, he was right back it looking for more! Several casts later, he hooked into another heavy fish and it didn’t stay pinned for long either. Although we never saw it, he knew it was big by the weight. More disappointment and right back at it again! A couple more lost fish later, I had to check the hook for sharpness. It was sticky sharp and not responsible. It was just bad luck! We covered this area thoroughly and he did manage to land a couple of fish, but they weren’t the ones he wanted. Time to move again!

I headed back to where we had started and tried working the areas above as well as below but the results were the same. It wasn’t until I made a few casts that we saw any action. I hooked into another quality fish and brought it to net. He continued casting as well and may have missed a couple of strikes. As we were nearing the end and readying to leave, I casted in to where he had made multiple casts and hooked a really large one to end the day. It definitely seemed like they didn’t want the flies but I’m not sure why. I had switched them several times thinking that a pattern or color change might make the difference, but it didn’t. It’s usually harder to get bit with a fly and today was no exception. We had worked areas that were holding fish and barely picked at them. I have a feeling that a little sunshine might have changed their attitudes, but we weren’t that lucky. Overcast skies were what we were dealt and tough fishing was what we had. Peter did however manage to land a really nice fish and lose several others even bigger during his trip. If we had of remained for the entire day, I may have made a few more adjustments that might have put more fish in the boat, but we’ll never know. All that being said, it was still nice to see someone tangle with these smallies on a fly rod, even if most of them came off. He had many other strikes that were apparently short ones as most of the fish were missed. Hopefully the next time out, these fish will have adjusted and become eager to eat. Only time will tell!