Sam fished with me today and brought along a few family members as well. His had his two young children and his father. Sam Jr. was 6 and his daughter Mia was 5 making for an interesting time on the water. Although his son had fished with me before, this was the first time for Mia and I wanted to get them both into fish. We started late in the morning and I decided to look for the numbers, settling on a walleye spot. After a quick instruction to Sam sr. I started baiting the lines for his kids. All of a sudden I was going for the net, because he was locked up with a decent walleye. I guess he caught on quickly! I put it in the livewell as they were going to take a few back home with them tonight for dinner and resumed baiting the kids lines. It didn’t take long before Sam Jr. was hooked up and he brought to net a really nice over that was released right after several pics. His daughter was also landing a few of her own while the bite was good and everyone was having a great time. Sam was hooking several walleye and handing off the rods to his children as well, keeping them constantly occupied and on fish. Although it was cool and we could have used a little more sunshine, the bite was hot and that’s all that mattered! Both kids managed to land a lot of fish in the short time we were out. Towards the end I began making a few casts, hooked up and passed the rod to them to land as well. The time flew by and before we knew it, we were done. Sam didn’t want to stay out too long with his children, keeping them interested for the next time. This was a great idea as they never lost interest and left wanting more. We finished the day with a couple of overs and pulled the plug by 2:30. In only 4 hours of fishing they had managed to land about 20 walleye making this a great day all around. Who knows, maybe the next time they might land a sturgeon even heavier than them. I know Sam Jr. is already wanting to try for one on his next trip! Great day of fishing!!

Greg was back again, along with Andrew & Kevin, looking for more of those monsters. Kevin had a taste yesterday but we were only able to fish for about 90 minutes at the end of the day. Hopefully he would get to feel the pain this time out! A light rain was falling when we reached our destination but it didn’t matter as the winds were from a good direction and light for the start. After all the lines were in, I raised the top to give us more shelter. I’m really glad that I didn’t remove it yet, as the protection it provided was perfect today! First up was Kevin and I handed him a loaded rod to do battle with something large. Now he felt the power of these fish and the burn in his arms. She was definitely heavy by the way it acted. Although there were no jumps, the runs were significant of weight and he possibly had the one we had been looking for, for the past two days. By now Kevin was in total pain but wouldn’t give up. He had been informed of how difficult it was to land these things and was now experiencing it firsthand. It was already 20 minutes into the fight before we were able to get a view of his fish and when we finally did, everyone was in shock. This was undoubtedly the largest one by far! I eventually got a shot at this goliath of a fish and somehow managed to get her in the net. Although we had caught plenty of huge fish in the last couple of days, this one dwarfed them all. It would definitely be a two person job for the pics! I readied everything while keeping her in the water, before hoisting her into the boat. Both Andrew & Kevin held this mammoth for the pics and we shot quickly to preserve her. The release was something out of Jaws 1 as she slowly swam away. We reset the lines and hurried to get them back in the water, in hopes of another one. By now the rain was no longer a mist and was falling pretty good. Thankfully being under the cover, kept us dry! They managed to get a couple more good fish soon after and then Kevin was back up. As luck would have it, Andy handed him the rod and it was game on! He was now doing battle with another giant and still suffering from the first one of the day. This fight was identical to the previous one he had and after almost 30 minutes of battling the fish, we saw why. I was netting something even larger than the one he had already caught! Although happy for Kevin, there was a little envy from the others as they had hoped for one of their own. He had flown in the day before and now had the two largest ones under his belt, in just a few short hours of fishing. Talk about winning the lottery! As with the first one, we prepped everything and shot fast before releasing the giant back to where she belonged. I’m just glad it was us that landed her as some of the other boats would have probably killed her for food. Unbelievable! After composing ourselves, we were back at it hard, waiting for more River Monsters! Although we never really got into any more of that calibre, there were plenty of other great fish landed throughout the day. The rain fell heavy at times along with the arrival of a cold front, causing the winds to increase. We managed a few more fish and eventually the anchor slipped and we were done. The guys had a long drive back home and had decided to leave a little earlier than usual, so this was a sign. They all had their fill of fighting fish and were all suffering from the battles. Kevin had been broken since before 9:30 so my work was done! I was hoping to crush him by noon but completed the job ahead of schedule! I’m sure they will have a lot to talk about in the truck, unless some of them fall asleep from the sheer exhaustion of the day. These past three days had produced high numbers of big fish and exceeded their expectations tenfold! Not in their wildest dreams did they ever imagine it would end this way. Although they had never fought and landed fish this size in fresh water, all three of them now had another check off their bucket lists. Mission accomplished!!

Today I had the pleasure of getting on the water with a good friend and fishing guide from Lake Ontario. Greg Amiel, « fishing4tails », is an amazing multi species guide specializing in salmon and trout on the Big O and huge walleye on the Bay of Quinte in the fall. He also fishes bass & musky on some of the inland lakes when the weather or people dictate it. Well today, it was time to check another species off his list! He brought along Andrew, who has fished with him many times over the years and between the two of them, it would be great. We arrived at our first spot of the day before 8:00 and set up quickly. With lines in, I informed them on what to look for and what to do when they saw the bite. We were blessed with almost no wind so keeping the rods in the holders wasn’t going to be a problem. After some goby action and a few drive byes, the first fish finally took and Andrew was into a beast. It was right about now that he realized what I was talking about when I told them how hard they fought. This thing just pulled line from the reel and then exploded into the air. Andrew had fought many big fish before and knew how to handle a rod, but this thing was definitely in control! The fight was just insane as run after run happened every time he thought e was gaining. Eventually after about 15 minutes, I was able to net his fish. I told him that although a good one, it wasn’t the one I wanted for them to see. A good starter fish but only on the high average end in my books! Many pics were taken and a quick release so that we could get back in the game. Greg was up next and unfortunately his first sturgeon turned out to be a juvenile and not worthy of a pic. I think he was a little upset when I tossed it back but in his language, it was only a shaker! As this fish was only small, Andrew decided to let him get the next one too and it didn’t take long. When the rod started to bounce, Greg reeled down and set into something with size. He was finally locked up and it was big! Andrew picked up the video and began filming Greg through the battle. I’m not sure if this one was live on Facebook but there were several times that they were.  Although it never jumped, it definitely gave him a run for his money as he manouvered from one side of the motor to the other. At least ten minutes went by before we were able to see what was attached and it was a good one. I eventually was able to net his fish and complete a second Bucket List, of the day! Plenty of pics were taken once again before the release and we went right back at it. After a couple more smaller ones, I decided to relocate to another area and apparently the move was a good choice. Within 5 minutes, they were locked up once more and I believe Greg had the rod again. He had set into something pretty big while holding the rod and Andrew told him to hang on to it. This time the fish torpedoed into the air behind the boat for everyone to see and it was spectacular. The fight was definitely a hard one as with all the males out here. Females tend to just dog and make smooth but hard runs while the males are insane. These things make blistering runs and usually go airborne at least once during the fight. Greg’s fish did just that! When he finally brought it to net, after about 10 minutes, it was confirmed. A decent male had beat him up and he loved every minute of it. We didn’t want to waste too much time so we shot fast and reset the lines for more. Throughout the morning they both landed many other quality sturgeon and were trashed from all their battles. It was nice to inflict a little pain on Greg as he has done to his clients so many times in the past. Both Andrew & Greg were a little sore and I wanted them to be a lot more sore before the day was over. The afternoon was no different with many, many more hookups and epic battles. They both shot video of most of the battles and plenty of photos of their catches. I had planned on ending the day around 4:00 and just before, Andrew had talked about reeling in the lines. I held off a few minutes longer and almost on cue, he set into what turned out to be the largest fish of the day. In fact, I think the jump that his sturgeon provided will remain etched in his mind forever! It breached about 50 feet in front of him and completely out of the water for everyone to enjoy. It was so heavy that throughout the fight he never had control. It must have taken 20 minutes before she tired enough for me to net. Andrew had started the day with the largest fish and ended it with an even bigger one. I don’t think either of these guys had ever imagined in their wildest dreams, that they would have had a day like this. They were both slimed, sore and totally exhausted from all the giant fish they had landed but looking forward to tomorrow. Once we were finished taking pictures, we headed back to take out. To say this was a great day would have been an understatement. It was epic! There was an unbelievable amount of poundage that came aboard this boat and every one of them was returned to live another day. I’m looking forward to returning tomorrow and hurting both of them once again. What are friends for!!

Greg & Andrew were back this morning for round two of the sturgeon Olympics! We left the dock around the same time in similar conditions, hoping for another banner day. The start saw virtually no wind and perfect conditions to anchor up in. We wasted no time getting into the fish as Greg was locked up quickly. It took to the air almost immediately and headed right back to the bottom after. The males are just so powerful with blistering runs and great aerials and this one was no different. Unlike the summer when we can get up to 3 jumps out of the fish, now we’re lucky to get even one. Several minutes later, we took some quick pics, returned the fish and got back in the game. A few smaller fish were caught and our first relocation was already happening. I won’t stay where the little ones live! In fact a little one was even landed as I reeled up one of those damn Goby minnows. It ate the worms and somehow managed to get hooked. Our next location proved to be a good move as Andrew boated a quality fish just minutes after we arrived. In fact, both of them hooked and landed several other good fish throughout the morning and into the afternoon. It’s too bad that there were a few boats in the area keeping the fish they caught. We saw two other boats with fish hanging over the side and that’s just sad! A couple more moves had Andrew & Greg both landing fish again, before we headed back around 2:00 to pick up one of Andrew’s friends. He had just flown in and we were getting him at the dock to fish for the remainder of today. Kevin wasted no time getting there too as we saw him standing by the truck when we arrived. I don’t think he waited more than ten minutes after we had set back up, before he was fighting his very first sturgeon. Although not big, it was his first! The next one was quite a bit larger and beat him up pretty good. Despite the fact that it wasn’t really giant, it was quite a bit bigger than the first one and took a while to bring in. As with all our sturgeon, it was released back unharmed following a couple of pics. We moved to another area after about 15 minutes and Andrew set into something big and passed Kevin the rod. This time he was dealing with one of the larger fish and it nearly took him out. He fought it for almost 5 minutes before the hook just pulled free. A little disappointed, he was also somewhat relieved! It was almost too much for him to handle right out of the gate! We remained in the same area due to the other boats and never got another bite. By 4:00 we were gone! Tomorrow would be another day and all three of them would be back for more. They joined me at a restaurant for dinner and we all shared a few laughs before parting ways. We would hook up again in the morning for another shot at some big sturgeon once again. Kevin would be getting the rod first and hopefully it would be a really big one. I needed to crush him on a monster, but we would have to wait and see!!

Rick was back today with Dave and my brother Mike, as well. Dave & Mike had no idea what was in store for them but Rick was ready for a little payback. He had battled all kinds of big fish yesterday, knew exactly how they were going to fight and wanted to watch them get beat up. We rolled away from the dock after 7:30 and headed through an eerie fog in the distance. Fortunately it wasn’t pea soup thick and we were able to run without any danger. I was sure it wouldn’t take long before we were locked up and set the rods in anticipation of a bite. It was determined that my brother would take the first fish as he trash talked Rick the day before. Time for redemption! I don’t think he fully understood just how strong these fish were when I handed him the rod that I had just loaded. We all just sat back and enjoyed the show as he tried to bring the fish in. Many long runs occurred and each time he thought he was gaining, he wasn’t. The fish took everything back out and more! This battle lasted at least 15 minutes before I was able to get the net on her. He was exhausted  and thought it was over. He didn’t realize that the tough part was coming when I had him hold it for the pics. It took everything he had just to get a grip on his catch and lift it up for the shoot. By the time it was all over and he had released his first sturgeon, he was totally exhausted. As well, complaining about how much the left forearm hurt! Dave was to be up next and when I felt the bite, seconds later I was locked and handing off another rod. With a little instruction, he finally got in the groove and thought he was in control. When his fish breached, everyone saw it but me. I was still clearing the area for him to do battle but they were sure it was huge compared to the first one. This fish knocked the crap out of Dave as he struggled to gain line. It just wanted to remain on the bottom wherever she was and took it out further than he reeled in. After 15 minutes he looked like he was actually gaining but it still took another 5 minutes before I officially had her in the net. Relieved, he could finally breathe now! At least until the pic! I knew he wouldn’t be able to stand holding the fish, so I told him to take a seat as we placed the fish in his hands. Several angled shots later, the release was done and she swam away unharmed. I still don’t understand why people kill these creatures to eat! Dave was up net and after a move or two he was locked up and putting on a clinic. He had battled so many on his own yesterday that no instruction was required. He was still taking a beating but at least he knew what to do! He brought to net his fish, after about ten minutes and the photos were taken once more. We reset the lines again and plenty of other fish were caught including a hungry keeper walleye. It was released back just like all the sturgeon as nobody was keeping anything today. Rick and Dave had eaten the walleye last night from Rick’s catch and didn’t need any more! Throughout the remainder of the day, many more sturgeon were landed including an even bigger one for Dave making him the champ of the day. We ended the afternoon with one last giant from Rick around 4:00 and called it quits. Everyone was suffering in exhaustion from all the fights they had from the powerful dinosaurs they landed. All I heard was how sore their backs and arms were. I definitely brought grown men to their knees in pain, battling these monster fish all day! It may take them all a few days to recuperate but not me. I have more people to beat up tomorrow once again and plan on inflicting as much punishment as possible. Plenty more to go around for anyone willing to take the challenge!!