Doc was my afternoon client and after yesterday, we hoped for even bigger! He had fought and landed some good fish but I really wanted him to tangle with something larger today. Not the best conditions or time of the day but we headed out in pursuit of even one big bite. We arrived to find that the conditions hadn’t changed, but it had gotten even hotter. Thank god for the top or we would have suffered more than we did! Immediately after the lines were in the water, the cover went up. Finally, shade! I knew it was going to be difficult but had the confidence to stick it out in the chance that we would tangle with another giant. Plenty of goby bites had me monitoring the lines, checking them often. We moved a couple of times as well to get back on the fish as all we had to show for our efforts were false strikes. Eventually our wait was rewarded when I felt the fish pick up the bait and raised the rod to lock it up. We were on and Doc was about to land his largest fish yet! It acted kind of strange for a while with just dead weight and not much movement. This is usually a sign of something epic in size! Doc muscled it up and it went right back down. It was like trying to lift a heavy anchor. When it finally realized it was hooked, the line took off. Although I expected the fish to jump, it never really left the water. It just stayed under the boat going from one side to the other, causing Doc to do the sturgeon shuffle around the two motors. This went on for at least ten minutes before we caught a glimpse of what he was dealing with. It was not only large, but it was oh so long! I hoped it had the girth to go with the length and once in the net, I realized that it did. Definitely his personal best! We had quite the ordeal with the taking of the pics but somehow managed to get a bunch of good ones before the release. Slimed and exhausted Doc washed up while I reset the lines, hoping for another. Later on after multiple drive byes, I felt another bite and locked her up solid. Doc took the rod and proceeded to do battle with another monster. It acted a lot like the last one with docile movements but plenty of weight. Runs were short  but heaviness was on the other end of the rod throughout the entire battle. Just like the previous fish, this one hung under the boat most of the time with the exception of a few long runs. No jumps but several line rises making us think she was about to breach. After what seemed like 15 minutes, Doc finally brought it up for us to see. It was equally as long as his first one but much wider! He steered it towards me and it was ours. I wasn’t looking forward to getting her in the boat and didn’t know how Doc was going to manage to hold it for pics. I literally had to pick it up and place it in his hands, on his lap. Damn near threw my back out doing it too! Even at that, Doc was struggling as he never really got a good hold on the fish. I shot quickly in fear of the fish moving and after many good pics, we both heaved it over the side & back into the water. This was a beast and topped the first fish earlier, considerably! We were done here and cleaned everything up, heading for much smaller fish to end the day. We fished bass & walleye for about an hour and boated many of them before calling it quits at 5:00. What an unbelievable afternoon of fishing in some of the worst conditions, but we got it done. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring but it’s gonna be tough to top today. Regardless, we’ll be there giving it a try. Who knows, maybe he’ll tangle with one even bigger! Tough act to follow but I guess anything’s possible!

Mark, AKA Doc was with me today due to a scheduling error. What was supposed to be a regular musky week with another person, ended with as a mix up in the dates. With plenty of time on his hands and me a couple of free days this week, we hooked up for some big fish action. Although he had caught sturgeon before out west, they weren’t the giants that some of those rivers produce. He was anxious to tangle with a few of these river monsters! We left the dock shortly after 7 and headed to our first stop in hopes of a hookup. With lines set, all we had to do now was wait. The anticipation is half the fun because you really never know just how big the fish will be until you finally get bit. Well, we did just that and Doc was tight to a good starter fish, as I call them! He was now feeling the power of these prehistoric dinosaurs and loving every minute of it. When it finally jumped we saw exactly what he was dealing with and knew what to expect. A long, lean male was what he had and they generally fight the hardest. Their torpedo like shape allows them to maneuver better than the big fat females and battle much harder. He fought it like every big fish he fights and he’s fought plenty over the years all over the world! Eventually he brought it boat side and I was able to get it in the net. There’ll be no skunk in the boat today! I could tell when I lifted the net in the boat that it wasn’t too heavy and Doc posed for several pics before a release.  We went right back at it and not long after he was into another fish. This time however, it was coming in easier and I knew it wasn’t a sturgeon. He had a kitty on the line and a good one at that. A few more pics of the cat, another release and we were back at it once again. The next fish dock reeled down on turned out to be one of those large ones that I had been hoping for. It was all muscle and gave Doc a run for his money. Long, hard pulls and heaviness was what he was dealing with as he tried to bring this thing in. When it finally jumped, it was way out there and he got a great view of his giant. The battle lasted all of 10 minutes with another couple of jumps along the way. As with the first fish, he fought it great and I was able to land it without any problem. He may have ended the fight but the hard part was just about to begin! Now he had the job of holding it for the pictures and that wasn’t going to be easy. Big and slippery were two of the hardest things to deal with, when taking photos. We somehow managed to prop it in his hands and I got a bunch of great shots before launching it back in the water. Exhausted, slimy and a little sore, he was ready for the next one! We had been dealing with flat calm and hot, humid temps so the top had to go up! What a difference when you’re in the shade! I set the lines once again and made a move or two, but wasn’t getting bit. As it was nearing lunch time I decided to give it only a couple more minutes before I’d move again and we’d eat lunch. Well that didn’t happen! Just before noon Doc reared back on what seemed to be a decent fish and the fight was on. This one was larger than the previous one by the way it was pulling and Doc almost got a rude awakening while fighting it. He was pumping it to the boat when it decided to launch itself at us about three feet from the back corner. We both thought it was coming in! After last week’s experience, I really didn’t want another. It sounded directly to the bottom and Doc pumped it back three or four times in a tug of war. Many long runs and another jump, fortunately further from the boat and it was finally tiring. It looked so huge swimming alongside the boat when I netted the monster. Doc had trouble holding the last one but this one was gonna be even worse! I prepped everything and somehow managed to bring it in the boat, with difficulty I might add. I had to give Doc a hand lifting it up and we both had a hard time with the fish being so strong. Once propped, I shot fast as we didn’t know how long we had. The release wasn’t pretty but we got it done and the fish swam off quickly. We really needed a break now and after getting the lines back in, we ate lunch! I was hoping for one more bite and after quite some time, we got it. I think this fish fought the hardest and it never jumped. The battle was long and hard and lasted the longest. This fish may not have been the largest but it was long, lean and another hard fighting male. After a bunch more pics, we agreed to go fish for something smaller. A long run to open water had us on the fish immediately as I instructed Doc on what to do. Once he got the hang of it, he put on a clinic! I wanted him to take a few walleye home for dinner and started fishing with him, but that soon ended. He was boating fish hand over fist and of all sizes. Shortly after 4 we called it and headed to take out. He had landed several huge, hard fighting fish and finished off with dinner fish. He would be dining well tonight! I will be seeing him back tomorrow afternoon as well as Thursday of this week due to openings and hope the fishing is as good. I know he will be anxiously awaiting a return as well. Great day all around!!

William and his son Peter were with me this morning on another unbelievable day of weather. Flat calm water and bluebird skies along with high temps for the third straight day! Although the morning air was a little chilly we knew that it would change pretty quickly. Peter, at only 7 was an amazing fisherman and hoped to tangle with a sturgeon today. As they were only doing a half day, I wasted no time in getting set up. Well it didn’t take long before we were into the first fish and William took the rod to battle his largest fish of his life. I wasn’t sure what we were dealing with as it never jumped showing its size. In just under 10 minutes he was able to bring the fish to net and was shocked to see just how large it actually was. He had a hard time holding it for the pics but finally got a good grip on his catch allowing me to snap a few shots. I wanted Peter to fight one but it had to be the right size or he would have to receive help from one of us. Not long after releasing the first fish, I noticed a bite on one of the rods and seconds later was hooked up. I handed the rod to his son and told William to reel in the other lines. I had noticed movement on the middle rod when I locked into this fish and as luck would have it, William grabbed that rod and we had a double. I really don’t like two at once and knew it was going to be chaos. As Peter seemed to be doing well, I decided to clear the other rod at the exact moment that the little guy’s fish went airborne. It was a monster compared to him and seconds later William’s also took to the air. They were almost clones and I definitely had my hands full. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do and just concentrated on Peter’s fish with him. William was seeming to be doing alright but I still needed to get these fish into the boat, sometime! I’ve never come across a situation like this before and was just happy that the two fish never really crossed lines during the fight. After what seemed like an eternity, or 10 minutes, I saw Peter’s fish and was able to get it in the net. At that exact time, William also had his up to the surface and I decided to try and take the second one as well. It wasn’t easy but we managed and now I had two big sturgeon laying in the giant net. Father & son had doubled up and fought fish almost equal in size, only to land them at the same time. There was plenty of laughter and talk as I unhooked their catches. I think we were all amazed at the fish but what we were overlooking was the fact that a 7 year old had just fought and landed something almost equal to his own body weight. I was caught up in the moment but took the time to congratulate this little champ on his amazing accomplishment. He had done it completely on his own and during a time of major chaos! Although the battle was over, the hard part was about to begin, starting with me getting them into the boat. I heaved them over the rail and somehow managed to not hook any of the mesh, on anything along the way. Part one was over but now  I had to figure out how to get the pics done. There was no way Peter would be able to hold his fish so I decided that a floor shot would have to suffice. William picked his up and the little guy remained below holding the sturgeon’s tail. I quickly shot multiple pics from different angles before releasing them both back to where they belonged. It was going to take a while to calm down after this. Laughter was all around as everyone talked about this insane feat of accomplishment. Not wanting to waste any more time, I reset the lines and hoped for another fish. We were lucky enough to hook up about 20 minutes later and Peter was ready for this fish. It was a perfect size for him after what he had just gone through. In about 5 minutes time he brought it to net and now had 2 sturgeon under his belt. I knew that if I propped it in his hands he would be able to hold it and did just that. We were quick to shoot the pictures for fear of the fish kicking and injuring one of the other. I tossed it right back after and thought we’d try one more time seeing as these fish were biting good this morning. As luck would have it, we did manage to hook up on one more but after a couple of minutes, the hook popped out. I gave them the option to switch up for bass and walleye and they gladly jumped on the offer. We packed up and headed to cast for a different fish! The lake was like a mirror and the heat was becoming almost unbearable so I knew what I had to do. I gave a quick demonstration and hooked up immediately on a walleye. They went to work on catching their own and Peter picked up two walleye pretty quick. His father was having a difficult time but I refined his technique and he too was now hooking into fish of his own. In the last hour or so we managed to land a bunch of good bass & walleye before ending the morning trip. They had wanted to bring a couple of walleye home for dinner, so I livewelled two for them to eat.  It had been a great morning, filled with all kinds of exciting things and both William & his son Peter were fully satisfied with the outcome. We were done for the day and apparently just in time too as the lake was getting a little too busy to stay out. I was really glad it was a half day and pulled out, zig zagging around all kinds of people blocking both the parking lot and ramp. « Weekend Warriors » will be done after today and I can’t wait to get back out tomorrow with practically no traffic on the water. A great half day of fishing was had by everyone today and hats off to Peter who impressed us all!!

Another morning and another « No Show »! Waiting with the boat in the water for someone that never even made it to Montreal drives me crazy. Several texts later I find out he’s still back home, wherever that was and isn’t coming. Claimed someone left me a voice message about a week before telling me he wouldn’t be able to make it. Must have left it with someone else! I never got it! I wasn’t about to waste the day regardless of how pissed off I was and headed out regardless searching for new walleye areas. I also called Christiane and she would be coming to join me shortly too. I did find some really good fish and after about 5 overs, got the call to pick her up at the dock. We headed right back to where I had been fishing and I continued hooking into fish. Christiane was having a difficult time detecting the bites but with a little coaching, she was soon hooking fish. Along with the walleye were many big smallies with most of them tournament caliber. We stayed until about 1:00 and after several limits of walleye were landed, we headed back. I had kept enough for us to take home for dinner. Too bad too because today’s client wanted to take a limit home with him. Definitely his loss! We were on our way back and having fish for dinner! A disappointing but productive & relaxing day on the lake!!

Eric and his son, Nathan as well as his father in law Bill were with me today looking for some sturgeon.  The conditions were perfect to be able to hook them up! We had no problem with the anchor holding with barely a ripple on the water and were set up quickly. With three lines in we waited anxiously for a bite. The first fish of the day felt rather small so I passed the rod to Nathan. At only 11 years old I wasn’t sure if he would be able to land a sturgeon and I knew this was something else. In the end, he managed to bring a nice smallmouth aboard and although a little disappointed, still happy to have landed the bass. We resumed our fishing after several photos and Bill was the next one to get the rod. He was locked up on a definite sturgeon this time and it was a screamer. It peeled off so much line that I wondered if he would be able to get it back. It turned out to be a long battle and after about ten minutes of fighting this thing, we were able to bring it to net. I told him it was a good starter fish and wanted bigger! We were immediately back at it after some pics and although it was a while longer before the next bite, it was well worth the wait. I reared back on one of the rods and thought it was a catfish by the way it was acting, I handed the rod to Nathan once again. Although it felt big, I was sure he could handle this one and instructed him on what to do. Well, a couple of minutes into the fight we got the surprise of our lives when while pumping the fish up, it torpedoed out of the water. Not only wasn’t it a cat, but it was a good sturgeon too! This little guy was about to land the largest fish of his life. He fought the sturgeon like a champ and I think it was mostly adrenaline taking over that allowed him to do it. It wasn’t really a long battle, but it was still close to 10 minutes and definitely long enough for someone this young. He was thrilled and exhausted when I finally netted his fish and glad the fight was finally over. I would have loved for him to be able to hold this thing alone for the pics, but there was no way he was going to be able to lift it. This fish was about half his body weight, so his dad gave him a hand as we shot multiple pictures. Back it went right after and back we went as well. I know the little guy will be talking about his fish for quite some time and bragging rights will keep it in the conversation with his family too. We resumed fishing and I really wanted Eric to battle one of these monsters next. By now we were really late in the morning and there was a lot of boat traffic all over the water. This caused us to switch from the rod holders to holding them instead. Everyone knew what to do and out of nowhere, Bill started reeling and was locked up! I cleared everything out of his way and he generously offered the rod to his son in law to fight. Eric now had a chance at battling his first sturgeon and felt the power they delivered. The fight was quite spectacular and so was the first jump. I always love it when they take to the air as it gives you a good idea of just how big they really are. This one was large! All I know is that the fight lasted about ten minutes and when it was over, Eric felt it in his arms. Mostly the rod holding arm of course as this is what takes most of the beating. It was a great fish and worthy of many pics before being returned to fight another day. The afternoon saw us bouncing around a lot both from the traffic waves and relocating to new spots. Almost each time we moved, we got bit pretty quickly. If we didn’t have to constantly re bait the hooks due to the goby minnows, I’m sure we would have caught many more fish! We had a couple of disappointments while Eric was battling big fish when the hooks pulled out and left him with an empty line. Bill managed to get into another one and although smaller than the usual ones, it was lean and mean. In fact, this fish fought harder and longer than any of the others we had throughout the day. Nathan got to fight and land what I thought might have been a catfish but turned out to be an Eel. I hate snakes so we did a boat side release with just a water shot. After a few more moves, I got a good bite immediately after the lines were in and reared back on a big fish. I told Nathan it was a small one and handed him the rod once again. This time he had practice and fought it even better than his first one earlier in the day. Everyone was in awe as his sturgeon took to the air and proceeded to scream line from the reel. He hung on for dear life and muscled the fish in only to have it take everything back out from him again. This fight would have been tough for an adult and this little guy was putting on a clinic! He may have been hurting all over but he wasn’t going to give up! He was bound and determined to land this fish by himself. When I was finally able to net it he practically dropped from exhaustion. Saying he was glad the battle was over was the understatement of the day! Not only had he battled a giant, but this fish weighed almost as much as he did. His father took most of the weight for the pictures but the prize was definitely all his! He now had what may have been the largest sturgeon of the day and something to brag about at school and amongst his family too. We regained our composure, reset the lines and tried for one more bite before we had to leave. As luck would have it, Eric did get bit but it turned out to be a drum or sheep head and we called it a day. I don’t think any of them had anticipated how this day would go and were 100% satisfied at the outcome. We headed back and they relived all the memories that occurred throughout the day. They will be doing that for quite some time now as they have plenty of pics and video to show everyone they know. Great day with great people and one very happy kid! I hope to see all of them again, someday soon!!