Sam, his brother Hassan and their friend Stephan were with me today, for their fill of fall bass fishing. We hit the water shortly after 8:30 and headed to our first stop, hoping for a few quick bites. Overcast skies were upon us but sunshine was expected sometime during the day. Little to no wind was going to make this  a pleasure as I usually get hurricanes lately! I decided to have them drag jigs along an edge in deeper water and it didn’t take long before Hassan was locked up. Although not big, it was the first fish of the day and welcomed. We had a few more fish boated but the action wasn’t what I had expected so I relocated and Sam was rewarded with a nice one on his first cast. This was definitely what I was looking for and I hoped there would be more. His brother also missed another one almost immediately after his hook up, but we’ll never know how big! We made multiple passes in hopes of others just like this one but fell a little short on the size. I wanted the sun to come out so that I could try something different but decided to give it a shot, regardless. The cloud cover was so thick that it looked like it would never clear! I instructed them on what to do and demonstrated on a couple of casts. We were covering water and I was sure they would begin catching more. Both Sam & Hassan had a few chances but unfortunately the fish threw the hooks not long after they locked up. I made a few adjustments slowing them down some and then it began. From that point on, they were into fish for the remainder of the day. I had cracked the code, so to speak and the fish were getting hooked. Although they did lose quite a few, they landed way more  and some were real quality too! Stephane caught several as well but not the numbers the other two were into. He was having a little difficulty feeling the bites and after a little more instruction, he locked up on a good one. I think a lot of his problems were lack of confidence and that hopefully changed with this fish. The three of them managed to boat many, many more fish in the last few hours, right up until we were done. Somewhere around 3:00 we pulled the plug and made our way back to take out. They had a tremendous day of fishing and for a change, the weather held out. The only thing I would have changed would have been the sun. We managed to get less than 30 minutes of it during the entire day, contrary to what the weather had forecasted. Go figure! All in all I think everyone was completely satisfied with the outcome and they all had some real good bass as well. Fall is definitely trophy time and today was a perfect example of what to expect. Big numbers of fish along with big fish too! Hopefully the weather will remain decent for a few more days and not lock me out too soon. I can’t wait to get back out and hammer more of the feeders before the winter arrives. With any luck, I will go right into the next month, once again this year!!

Peter was finally with me today after a weather cancellation took him out, just a couple of weeks before. The winds were so big that I had made the decision, not to venture out. Better safe than sorry! Today we would be trying for that elusive, hateful creature and hopefully getting him, his first one. Although it wasn’t raining when we began, the clouds were low and an occasional mist was present. Temps were just over 40 degrees and not expected to climb much higher. The water had also fallen slightly since the last time out and was anywhere between 45 & 47 degrees, depending on location. I started trolling and ran him through the drill on setting lines and waited. We did this for almost 2 hours and unfortunately had only 2 pike to show for our efforts. I decided to switch it up with the heavy cloud cover and we headed for walleye somewhere else. It didn’t take long before we were into our first targeted fish of the day. Peter reeled in a nice 20 incher and into the livewell it went for him to take home. I set back up and another good fish was boated soon after as well that also joined his friend in the well. We covered the area thoroughly catching a few more eyes and a bass and finally shifted to casting a smaller spot. Peter hooked into another decent smallie and we also boated more walleye in the several hours spent here. I thought we would try our luck at trolling a little deeper before leaving and Peter landed several more eyes including a couple of really decent overs. I had wanted to try for musky again and waited until the last couple of hours in our day to begin. We ran to another area further away and set the lines once again. It didn’t take long before the deep one fired and I knew Peter had his first ever musky. Although not large, it was still his first and he was happy. We reset the lines after a quick release and soon after, had another reel scream. Unfortunately by the time Peter had it in his hands, I could see the rod tip vibrating from only the lure. It was gone! We continued our troll for the remainder of the day with only a pike and pulled the plug just before 3:30 when the clouds & mist were making things darker. We had successfully managed to catch both species of fish that we had set out to do and left with a sense of accomplishment. Peter had also checked another species off his bucket list and with any luck, the next time out it will be upgraded too! Great day for fishing!!

Warren finally made it out with me today for what could very well have been his last outing of this season. With the winds still howling, I was left with very few options as far as where to go. We dropped the boat in shortly after 8:00 and began our fishing. The winds were blowing pretty good from the SW again and made boat control a little tricky. We tried covering water right away and although I was marking fish, they didn’t seem to want to budge. I realized that we were going to have to slow down even more and opted for a drift on the bottom. Sure enough, the first two fish were quality and ate pretty good! It was hard to get the right line and speed but we somehow managed and Warren landed his largest bass of the season on one of the drifts. A little while later, a nice big walleye was also boated from the same area. Things were beginning to look up, or so I thought! As difficult as the winds were , they got even worse when they switched to the west and the waves grew. I really can’t catch a break! We tried a variety of presentations as well as different locations but caught limited fish in the process. I kept trying to fish in the wind but feeling any takes from the fish was growing more & more difficult. Eventually I switched areas and techniques completely and we began catching again. At least I had some control where we were and focussed on deeper water and various break lines. We mixed it up through the afternoon with shallow, mid and deep water but eventually returned to what was working best. For the remainder of the day, we stayed in one small area and covered it thoroughly. There was very little time between hookups and many more quality fish were landed. I don’t usually get into a good bite late in the day but stayed a little longer due to the action. Sometime after 3:30 we called it a day and headed back to the ramp. Today was the third straight day of giant winds and difficult fishing conditions. Despite all that mother nature had thrown at us, we endured her harsh conditions and caught fish. I’ve been able to get into trophies daily, but would love to see less wind sometime just so that people could feel all the bites they’re missing. Crossing my fingers for this week with the warm temps that it will lay down enough to get back in the great walleye bite. Plenty more days ahead and openings for anyone still interested in getting out before the ice arrives. Contact me for available dates!!

Craig & Steve were back again this morning and the winds were even stronger. They were blowing out of the NW once again even though they were listed as SW. Same thing only different! At least the sun was shining and it was suppose to stay all day! We began working offshore and although I was marking all kinds of fish, they just weren’t very active. I decided quickly to change it up and slowed down drifting jigs on the bottom. First pass, they had a good double and I thought we were on to something. A couple more passes later and still nothing to show for our efforts, I changed it up once again. I now had them casting a different area as I somehow managed to plow through the intense winds on the electric and Craig hooked into a real giant. It even cooperated by coming directly at the boat, allowing me to get a quick net on her. She was a monster and comparable to his first fish caught several week s back. We knew the bite was going to be tough with these winds but worked through it and Craig was rewarded with a beast like this. It deserved to be released immediately after a few pics and not livewelled like most others would have done. We continued with the same approach and Craig boated another smaller one not long after. It was definitely the way to go under these conditions. I now had the two of them up front with me and as difficult as it was charging into the wind, Steve set into another good one almost immediately after Craig’s was released. This was also giant and fought like a champ in the cold water. When I finally got her in the net, we realized that it was even bigger that the previous one Craig had landed. Things were beginning to happen and although we weren’t catching numbers of bass, they were definitely the size we wanted. We once again shot several different angled pics of his catch and released her right after. They had both managed to catch a trophy already and there was plenty of time left for even more! I stuck with this approach and covered lots of water hoping for others, but it was a while before it occurred. Craig eventually set into another giant and had it coming to the boat when it decided to take to the air. All of a sudden the hook was tossed and his fish was gone. Too bad too as it looked just like the two other monsters! Although a little heartbroken, we carried on and soon after, he hooked into another. This too was large, but not as big as the one that he had just lost. We were on to a pattern that was giving us only quality and weren’t about to change unless we had to. Well, the winds switched direction and seemed like they were letting up slightly now, so I decided to go back to the deeper water and resume drifting. I think it took Steve about 3 seconds to hook up and another big fish came to the net. Quite a switch from yesterday’s numbers game! I made a few more passes and both Craig & Steve landed several more beauties before we were crushed with yet another wind switch. It went from a hard west to an even harder SW increasing our speed to almost 2 knots. This was way too fast and I had no choice but to change up once more. I needed boat control and this location wasn’t going to allow us to have it. Another move and a new technique had us right back in the game as Steve wasted no time hooking up. For the remainder of the day, it was fish after fish and very little time in between. They were of all sizes but several of them were the calibre we wanted. We stuck at it until about 3:15 before we pulled the plug and called it a day. Despite the insane winds and direction changes, I was able to make all the right moves, keeping them on fish throughout. These last two days were challenging to say the least! I was happy to have a couple of good sticks in the boat with all the difficulty and the results showed it too. They had come here in hopes of catching big fish and had done just that! I know Craig is looking at coming back soon and I hope the fishing is a little easier. If not though, I know we can get it done! After seeing their success these last couple of days, we’ll just have to make the necessary adjustments to make it happen once again. Tough fishing but very rewarding!!

Craig was back again today and this time he brought Steve. He was here only three weeks before and was tight to a giant on his first cast. Would today prove to be as good? Miserable conditions on the previous trip saw two straight days of rain and wind. Today we would only be faced with the wind but it would be blowing 25 knots with gusts up to 40 from the NW. We wasted about an hour trying for another big fish where he had caught his weeks earlier. Unfortunately the winds made it too difficult to fish and we ended up coming back sooner than we expected. The waves were going to make fishing difficult no matter where we fished today so we just settled in and got it done. Plenty of missed strikes caused them to refrain from setting immediately and the slower approach began to put fish in the boat. Although most of them were two pounders, there were several much larger. If I was on an area that was just producing small fish, I didn’t stay long. Craig managed to get the largest one of the day and although not as big as his first trip, definitely welcomed! These two guys fished hard and I covered all kinds of water to get them on the fish. We weren’t lucky enough to be fishing sheltered areas today so we all took a pounding in the exposed waters. Throughout the day, they stuck to it and although there were some dead periods, they still managed to catch plenty of fish. I would have liked to see more of the bigger ones but I always want that! Sometime around 3:30 we called it and headed back. They still have tomorrow with me and hopefully the winds will allow them the luxury of feeling the bites a little better in the open areas we fish. Who knows, maybe the weather guys will be wrong and the 25 knot winds forecasted from the SW won’t happen. Doubtful but one can always dream!!