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Lars and his son Niels were in Montreal from Copenhagen and fishing with me for the day. They had hoped for a few new species of Canadian fish and I didn’t want to disappoint them. We headed out shortly after 7:00 and they began catching walleye & smallmouth right away. By drop shotting open water flats they were both able to land several good fish and put a few walleye in the box for their dinner tonight. They had done a house vacation exchange and were staying at someone’s home instead of a hotel, allowing them the luxury of dining on their catch. We made several drifts and once the bite slowed, we moved to another area and began it all over again. This time however they were landing mostly bass and Lars was loving it! They had never felt the power of the smallie and enjoyed each & every one of them. I assured them that there would be much larger ones landed later in the day! As with the first location, this one too slowed and I thought we would give trolling a try, looking for a larger eye.

Once we arrived, I explained what to expect and showed them a new technique. Fortunately Lars was familiar with the rod holders and needed no explanation on how to remove the rods when a fish strikes. Good thing too as it only took a couple of minutes for the first reel to fire and they were into another species. I knew we were going to be catching many northerns and didn’t bother to take pics of these as they had caught bigger ones back home. I was searching for larger walleye and eventually after several more pike, managed to get Niels into his first ever walleye. Not much different from their zander back home, but nicer looking! While we were readying for a pic, another reel fired and Lars had a big eye as well. This would definitely make for a great pic! Another species ticked off the list of Canadian fish to catch! We resumed fishing for a little longer and after several more pike, Lars finally got a shot at a much bigger walleye. This one was closer to 25 inches and I quickly took care of netting his prize. He would now have a great pic of a golden version of their zander to show everyone back home. After the release we decided to pull the plug on trolling and I prepped some rods to cast for bass. I knew they would be loving this technique too!

I arrived in an area that had been putting out some real nice fish lately and instructed them on how to work the baits. As with every new technique, it didn’t take long before Lars was battling a really nice smallmouth and much larger than the ones landed earlier on drop shot rigs. He fought this thing like a pro despite only having experienced them earlier this morning. This fish was definitely worthy of a pic and his largest so far for the day. We stayed in this area for a couple of hours, all the while catching plenty more quality bass, before heading elsewhere. I wanted to check something out that I hadn’t fished before and we all took advantage of the long run by having lunch along the way.

When I arrived we set up and Lars managed to get another species under his belt. He had landed his first ever sturgeon and although not large by my standards, it was still great by his. We moved quickly after and went back to throwing soft plastics for bass, catching many more in the process. We covered plenty of water and they caught fish everywhere we went. Both Lars & his son Niels had bent rods pretty much every time I looked over and they loved every minute of it.

With the day nearing an end, I hoped to hit a few more areas before we were done and the first one was definitely a great choice. They continued to catch piles more fish and even had a couple of doubles in the process. One last stop had me wondering why they weren’t getting bit and it didn’t take long to realize why. This last fish proved to be the icing on the cake for Lars as he battled his first ever musky to the boat. He had seen pictures of them before but now he was experiencing one first hand! The light bass tackle & tiny bait had lured this fish into eating and Lars was almost in shock. He posed for a few quick pics and the fish was released unharmed. That would be it for the day as I told them both that anything else would just be a let down!

We headed back and they were all smiles from the day they had just experienced. Lars had managed a Canadian Grand Slam, catching all new fish. Who could ask for anything more? Oh yeah, they were also going to be dining on fresh fish that they had caught during the day as well. Now that’s a vacation to remember!

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I had Louis back again today and this time he brought along a couple more friends. Martin & Richard were about to experience drop shotting at it’s finest! Louis had done quite a bit of it the last time he was with me and needed no instructions. As I positioned the boat for them to begin, I saw that there was not much current where we were. I had to make several adjustments in order for them to be able to present their baits correctly. It was game on after that as everyone began hooking up. Singles, doubles and even quite a few triples were had as fish after fish came in the boat. They wanted to bring some walleye home to eat, so we dropped a few of the keepers in the livewell for them. Along with the eyes there were also several good smallies landed as well that were released afterwards. We had made numerous drifts through the area and then while positioning the boat with the kicker, it happened again. The linkage popped out of the shift cable and It was stuck in neutral once again. I had the piece replaced only a couple of days earlier and it was back out once again! I spent the next 10 minutes working on it and finally managed to pop it back in making the small engine usable once more.

We repositioned to another area to drop shot but the light winds had died off completely making drifts even more difficult. Although they managed to catch a bunch more fish in the next little while, I thought we’d mix it up a bit and do something different. As it was nearing lunch time, I headed over to an area to troll making it more relaxing for them. It was also becoming a real scorcher with the sun so I raised the roof to provide plenty of shade! With lines in I began trolling and almost immediately the first reel fired. Richard fought a nice northern to the net giving him a third species for the day. While they continued to eat, more fish ripped the drags and were brought to net. Although most of them were pike, there was one nice 23 inch walleye landed giving them a great pic of the catch. I could see that the troll was a bit of a struggle with no wind & high sun so around 1:30 or so, decided to drop the roof and go for some smallies nearby. They were all for it and we packed up and made the run to cast soft plastics for the bass. For about 90 minutes, they were into some good brownies and loving the casting bite. I had also set a dead line and managed to hook into a sturgeon that Louis battled to the boat giving him a nice slam for the day.

With only about an hour remaining in their fishing day, we decided to return to deeper water and try drop shotting once again. They had hoped to bring a few more walleye home with them and as luck would have it, put two more in the boat. They had caught several others, but they weren’t in the slot and had to be returned. Some really nice bass were also battled before we pulled the plug on the day.

This trip more than met everyone’s expectations as the numbers were off the chart today. I have no clue just how many fish they landed but I know it was a lot. In just the first three hours they had managed to battle doubles and triples hand over fist! Along with the landed fish there had to be at least as many missed as well making this one of the best days so far this season. I think the rising water temps have finally got these fish active and with almost 75 degrees showing, it can only get better! The sturgeon bite will be happening soon for the dinosaurs and Louis already has a date reserved for later in the month. He’ll be back for some more great fishing and who knows who will be joining him this time. All I know is that he’ll be wanting more after the next trip too! Another great day for fishing!

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Strong and his wife were with me this morning along with their two children, Brandon & Jasmin. They didn’t have any expectations of what they were going to catch as their last guided fishing experience, yielded absolutely nothing! I can never understand how this happens and told them not to worry.

We hit the water just after 7 and raced to our first location to begin the troll. Pike & walleye were our targeted species and it didn’t take long for the first rod to be bent. Brandon got the morning started with a good keeper walleye and into the livewell it went. I was hoping to get them a few fish for dinner and we got started on the right foot! With 4 lines in, I was sure we would have a great number of fish coming aboard throughout the morning. The fish on the other hand weren’t cooperating as the next five reels to scream ended in slack lines. They just weren’t eating well and keeping them pinned wasn’t easy! We finally kept one attached but it too fell off in the net. In fact so many of them did the same for quite some time! It was very strange seeing this, but we worked through it and eventually they started eating much better. Jasmin reeled in one fish after another with a little help from her brother and had big fish for a while with her pike. Eventually her brother Brandon landed one a little bigger and the title changed. They also both landed several really good over walleye that were released after some great pics. The bite went on for the entire time we trolled but eventually I pulled the plug and switched locations. I spent the last hour of the morning drop shotting open areas looking for more action. With 4 lines in once again, we drifted over deeper water and they landed a bunch of small walleye and Brandon boated one nice smallie as well.

Time really flies when you only have a half day to fish and today went by quickly. None of them ever imagined a day of fishing having so many quality big fish! This was by far the best day they had ever had on the water and everyone left completely elated! I only hope their next experience proves to be the same as I gave them a number to call. A great guide for salmon on Lake Ontario, right near where they live.

This morning was just another great day for fishing and an even better one for landing high numbers of fish. I think summer has finally arrived and now the fish are setting up where they should have already been many weeks ago. Plenty more great days ahead!

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I had a last minute booking Friday evening for a half day morning trip today, with a pair of Mike’s. They needed to be back in the city before noon so we hooked up at 6:00 instead of the usual hour. We would fish until 11:00 giving them plenty of time to get back.

I wanted to get them into some drop shot fish right away but the light NE wind had other ideas. We tried to drift but the direction was making it next to impossible to get a proper presentation. Although they did manage a few small fish, I wasn’t satisfied with the results and moved to where there was more current. We spent over 2 hours making multiple drifts and they managed plenty of quality walleye and some average smallies. They had a good bet going on and one of them had a walleye close to 4 pounds in the lead. I was making great drifts in this area and returning back each time with the small engine to look for more fish. Unfortunately this changed after about 6 drifts when the gear linkage popped out locking me in neutral. Although this wasn’t the first time it had occurred, it was the first time I couldn’t fix the problem on the water. The plastic piece that held the shifting rod had worn down too much to hold in place and we couldn’t use the kicker any more. We were planning on spending the last couple of hours trolling for pike as neither of them had ever caught one, but had to change those plans. This was not going to happen and I made an alternate decision and brought them casting for bass instead. This adjustment was definitely the right decision as the remaining time was spent catching all kinds of smallies on soft plastics. In fact, the big fish bet was also won here as the other Mike (aka Pitch) landed a nice bass over 4 pounds and took the lead with only 15 minutes to spare. They had caught all kinds of fish in only a half day of fishing and the minor adjustment had kept them catching throughout the entire time. The decision to go for bass when we weren’t able to troll for pike was a backup plan when the motor issues occurred. Decisions like this are why I am always able to keep clients on fish and I wasn’t about to let a little problem like that stop them from catching.

From the time we started until the time they ended, the action was pretty much non stop. There were lots of fish landed and another high numbers day was had. They also missed plenty of others either on the hook set or while fighting them to the boat. This was one of those days that they will be talking about for quite some time! More great fishing days ahead!

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Steve, Andy & Paul joined me this morning for a half day trip. The conditions were horrible to do what I had hoped but we gave it a try regardless. It didn’t take long to realize that wind against current was not going to allow us the drop shot drift that I needed. Time to go to plan « B » once again! I headed elsewhere and opted for a troll instead. With 4 lines in, I knew we would have more action than we had at the start. Within 3 minutes, reels were firing and we spent about an hour pounding on the northerns before switching to a casting bite. I prepped the other rods with soft plastics and we headed to a bass area a little further away. With a few quick instructions, Andy locked up on the first good brownie. The action was great with many fish being hooked by everyone. They enjoyed the hard fighting smallmouth and we stayed in this one area for the remainder of the morning. Although there were many fish missed and lost during the battle, they still managed to bring to net over half. We ended the day with a few more quality bass before returning to the dock.

Despite another curve ball from the old reliable biotch, « Mother Nature », we still pulled off a win. A few minor adjustments had them into fish pretty much all morning, Although they enjoyed catching plenty of pike, it was the raw power of the smallmouth that liked the best. Pound for pound there’s not a stronger fighting freshwater fish around. Who wouldn’t love catching them all day long!