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!!

After several attempts at getting out with me, Phil was finally able to wet a line this morning. We launched about 7:30 in a pretty big north wind, gusting over 15 knots. We would be fishing in overcast skies for a while along with 2 footers, at least! I set up in the same general area as I had the day before but the wind was blowing us upstream making for a faster troll. At times, I had to shift into neutral, just to slow the boat down! Phil hit a few fish in the first 15 minutes but not the size I was looking for. We kept at it and managed a couple of smallies and one decent walleye after, then pulled the plug when the sun finally came out. The few fish I had been marking disappeared to even deeper water causing us to change up techniques. We drop shotted the deeper edge for a while without even one hit and once again changed it up. I had to relocate due to the winds and eventually got on an area that was loaded. Between jigs and drop shots, we had action for almost 2 hours before returning to the first spot and the troll. The wind had diminished considerably while we were casting but increased again when we started trolling. Just our luck as conditions were almost exactly the same, plus sunshine! A couple of fish later, we were moving on and changing up completely. Big waves from the wind had me thinking of musky and a total change occurred. I made a long run to another area in hopes of a bite or two and prepped everything to troll. We were going to spend the last 90 minutes of our day trying for the « Hateful One » and washing lures. After about 20 minutes of covering water, we checked the lines and found that the long line had something attached. Yuup, we had a small lunge! Scored! We took a couple of pics and released it to grow. I made several passes and we eventually had a reel go off. Unfortunately after one head shake in Phil’s hands, the lure started to vibrate again and it was gone. I told him that it’s never two without three and to get the line back in quickly. Soon after the other reel fired and we were locked. There’s a lot of truth in the three theory and it was true in this case. Phil managed to reel in another small musky and we scored for a second time. Too bad that was all she wrote but not for a lack of trying. We fished for about 30 minutes longer without another touch and called it a day. By grinding it out we had accomplished everything we had set out to do and turned today into another multi species outing. Phil also managed another slam with all the fish he had landed today. There was even a small sturgeon released earlier in the day making it official! Plenty of fish were landed  on this beautiful November day. I just hope the weather holds out a little longer allowing me to fish through the entire month. Who knows, maybe right into December like last season!!

After a few quick texts yesterday, I was able to book up today without a problem. I guess so with temps reaching into the 6o’s forecasted for the day! Scott & John would have a great day catching a bunch of quality fish right from the start. It took Scott about 3 minutes to lock up on a nice eye while on a slow troll. He lost a couple of others when the hooks just pulled out later, but rebounded with more decent fish soon after. John also added a smallie and another good walleye as well and had a couple of missed ones too. Of all the walleye landed, none were of the keeper size this morning! We moved around a bit searching for even bigger ones and eventually shifted to the smallies for a while. Scott definitely had the hot hand as he started pounding on the bass with jigs. He hooked some real nice ones too amongst the school we had found! I think John’s jig was defective as all he managed were weeds! When the action slowed here, I decided to make a run to another area further away and amazingly, it was void of fish. I covered a lot of water and eventually intercepted the fish I was searching for. It was here once again that Scott hit into several nice ones with the largest bass of the day being caught. As I was limited to time, I decided to go back close to where we had found the first school of smallies to see if they were still active. Unfortunately they weren’t but John hooked into another walleye in slightly deeper water. He had broken that long dry spell and things were looking up! They needed to be back at the dock by 2:00 and time was counting down. I headed to another walleye area that I fished the day before, in hopes of hooking more fish. I had done well here yesterday before getting bit off by something toothy near the end. Wouldn’t you know it, John locked up on the very first cast and it was big! He had hooked into what I think had cut my line as he was tight to a lunge! Quite the fight on a light line outfit and a tiny jig! He fought it for almost 5 minutes and circled the boat trying not to get bit off. Eventually I was able to get the larger net under her and brought it aboard. Although not a giant by musky standards, it was a great fish for the tackle being used! We shot several quick pics and released her unharmed. Now the walleye would be able to roam the area once again without the fear of being eaten! In fact, Scott ended the day moments later with the first high end keeper. It too was released and we were on our way. It would have been a shame not to have fished today with the conditions provided by mother nature. We topped out in the low 60’s for air temps and little to no wind, with sunshine all day long. This was definitely the nicest it was going to be for the remainder of the season. I’m pretty sure we’ll pay for it soon but in the meantime, we’ll take it! Overall, a great day to go fishing!!