Back on the water this morning after hitting another lake yesterday for some toothy critters. Albert & his son Nicolas had requested a morning of fishing and we were going for some giants. The winds were blowing pretty big when I dropped the boat in the water and 2 footers or better were average. Today however it was out of the SE instead of the usual northern direction. I don’t think these guys realized what was about to happen when we arrived and I set up! I was hoping that the first fish would be a smaller one and lucked out pretty quickly. I felt a take, set on the fish and passed the rod to Nicolas for him to fight. He had a hard time controlling the sturgeon but after 5 minutes or so managed to bring it to net. A perfect starter fish and one that he could hold! Several pics later we were back in and waiting for our next bite. Plenty of false strikes and some goby nibblers later, it happened! This one was large and took plenty of line on the initial run causing me to think about unpinning. Although it never jumped, I could tell by the way Albert was struggling that she was going to cause him pain. After close to 20 minutes of battling the sturgeon, it was confirmed. Definitely the biggest thing he had ever fought! Albert was relieved when I finally got her in the net but I told him it wasn’t over. Holding the fish for the pic was going to be even more difficult! I prepped everything and instructed him on what to do. His son even had to give him a hand with the tail in order to lift it off the floor. Not the prettiest pics but we got it done and released the fish back right after. In the next couple of hours they landed several more as well as a drum with multiple moves to stay on the fish. I really wanted them to get into something epic and eventually I set into the one! After the drum was released and before I could get the line back in, I noticed another rod getting hit. When I set on this one, it didn’t move. I knew it was the fish we were waiting for and handed the rod to Albert. He had already battled a big one earlier and I was sure this one was much larger. Although we never saw it until the end, the length of the battle indicated that she was definitely huge. Albert had a difficult time during the last 5 minutes of the fight as the fish stayed under the boat, going from one side to the other many times. He & his son both took turns on the rod trying to wear the fish down. After 15 minutes of this tug of war, I was finally able to net the dinosaur and they freaked at its size! I think Albert knew that he was in trouble after the last big one as I prepped for the pics. There was absolutely no way they would be able to stand up holding the fish so I just told them to take a seat for the shots. Even at that, I had to help lift her up and onto their laps as the overall mass of the fish made it almost impossible to do. About all Albert could do was bear hug this goliath so as not to lose his grip. I shot fast and we got her back in, just as quickly. She took off instantly and went right back to the depths from where she had come from. In fact, we got to see her on the sonar heading down! Mission accomplished! Another beast in the books and probably one of the top three for the season so far. As we still had some time left before noon, I reset the lines in hopes of one more fish. As luck would have it, we hooked up and Nicolas fought his last big fish of the day. This one actually tried to attack him during the battle when it jumped 3 feet from the boat. Not overly large, but still a great fish for the last one of the day. We pulled the plug after taking more pics and packed everything up, ending the morning. I think they would have been happy with just the first fish and never thought they would have landed so many big ones in one day. They had battled a bunch of sturgeon from small to XXL and experienced the best fishing of their lives. All this in a half day too! I can only imagine how many more they would have landed if we were out for the entire day. We ran back in almost flat calm conditions as the winds had died off late in the morning. This not only made for easier fishing but also a smooth ride back to the ramp. Despite a light sprinkle at times, the weather held out great completing a perfect fishing day. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I see Albert & Nicolas as they are already talking about a return trip for possible bass & walleye. Hopefully the results will be the same and they will have another great day of fishing. Today was definitely one to remember!!

Beau & Chasse spent the afternoon with me, fishing for those brown bass. They were from North Carolina and usually had largemouth to target, but today we were after the smallies. Our winds were once again out of the NE but not as big as usual. I headed to an area that I thought might be holding fish  and covered plenty of water, with only a handful of bites to show for our time. Chase had picked up a couple on soft plastics, but Beau only had blow ups on top water. It wasn’t until I handed him a jig that he started getting into the fish. Although a few more were caught, it still wasn’t great. I made  couple more moves and finally landed on what I wanted. Both of these guys were throwing soft plastics and many more fish were being caught now that we found them. Until now, Beau’s largest smallie was only 1.5 pounds, but he managed a couple today that were pushing four. There were plenty of 2 & 2.5 pound fish that fought like fours, but that’s smallies! We remained on this area for the balance of the time and they boated several more before we called it a day. Half days go by so fast! Given more time, I would have ran them to other areas for a mix of walleye & bass but time was up. I know Chase had caught his first smallie today as he didn’t fish much back home. Beau on the other hand started fishing tournaments a few years back as a non boater and had plenty of big fish under his belt. Now he had another personal best smallie too. With any luck they will be back again next year and we can try and get a few more species as well. Definitely a great afternoon fishing for the brownies!!

Due to the giant NE winds today, Chris & Don weren’t able to fish musky as scheduled. Instead, plan B was to hook up with me for sturgeon, if it was doable. Although we were trying, I still wasn’t sure it would work! Wind against current is never a good thing and this was 15 to 25 knots worth. I dropped the anchor to see if we could fish and was surprised to see that we were be being blown up stream. It was the first time that this had ever happened and I had to do a few other things just to position the boat correctly. It was a go! With rods in hand, Chris was the first to lock up. It was a juvenile and although he fought like a champ, came in quickly. The next bite was on Norm’s line and he was about to land his first sturgeon ever. This thing was big, but we didn’t realize how big until it took to the air. It was going to be a long battle! Norm was feeling the power these fish possessed, as well as the burn. Many times he thought  he was gaining when the counter went down, but it always climbed immediately after. This fish made multiple long runs before eventually coming to the boat for me to net.  He was thinking the hard part was done but it was only getting started! I prepped everything before bringing it aboard for him to hold. This task was not easy, but with a little help he got it done. Several good pics were taken and the fish was released unharmed. Norm had battled a real giant of a sturgeon and the day had just started! We reset the lines and continued fishing in the hurricane like winds and were immediately tight to a fish. Chris had hooked into another line screamer and loving every minute of it. What had gone from a scratched day of musky fishing was now looking like an amazing one for sturgeon. They had determined after the first big fish that it would take one even larger before they would require any more pics. They just wanted to fish! Less work for me was fine and fish we did. Chris had about a ten minute battle before bringing his fish to net. Just another average monster and nothing special! A quick net release and we were back in the game again. Even with these miserable winds the fish were biting. Throughout the rest of the morning as well as the afternoon, we kept getting bit. Most of the fish hooked into were long battles and they were huge. Unfortunately only one was the caliber of the fish photographed earlier and all were water released quickly after. The numbers climbed all afternoon despite the winds, as Chris had the hot hand hooking up most. Right around the time we were supposed to leave, the winds turned to east and now we were in trouble. It was next to impossible to fish so we decided to pull the plug on an absolutely unbelievable day. They had finished in the double digits and all fish were released to fight another day! What had looked like their fishing day wasn’t going to happen, turned out to be one of the best days ever with just a species change. Beats spending the day in the hotel! We headed back to the ramp in 3 & 4 footers but it didn’t matter. Our work was done and Mother Nature lost! Just another day in paradise!!

Thoughts of another no show had me heading out alone this morning in search of a few new areas to scout. Fortunately, late in the morning, Andreus contacted me and we arranged to meet before noon. I told him that he would still have 4 hours to fish and likely hook into a few sturgeon. The winds had been light all morning but when we met before noon, had generated into 15 to 20 knots from the SE. Waves were pretty nasty at the ramp for the pickup and I had to really pay attention when heading back out. I was sure that we’d be able to anchor in the big winds and headed to the « Land of The Giants »! I prepped a couple of rods after locating some fish and got the anchor & lines in quickly. Well it didn’t take long before I felt a good bite and when I set into her, I knew it was big. Andreus was about to get the fight of his life! With a little instruction he was able to battle his very first sturgeon, with some difficulty. This fight lasted about 20 minutes and was just grueling. All this fish wanted to do was stay close to the boat on the bottom and changed sides constantly. Although there were a few good runs, it wasn’t what I was use to seeing. I was beginning to think that it may have been fouled until Andreus was able to bring her up for us to see. Now I knew why, it was exceptionally long and large! A few more short surges down to the bottom and eventually Andreus brought it to net. This was an incredible starter fish! Although the battle was over, the fight was just about to begin. Now he had to lift it for some pics and unfortunately he was alone. I even had a difficult time heaving it into the boat, so I knew he was in trouble! Once he got a hold of the fish, he couldn’t even stand up from its sheer weight. I had to help him and even at that, he ended up sitting for the pics. It was definitely one of the top three fish this season, if not the largest! When he was ready to release it, I had no choice but to help if I didn’t want her released into the boat. What an absolute gorilla! Exhausted but thrilled, Andreus regained his composure as I got the lines set for more. We were back in business looking for another bite when I noticed something hitting Andreus’s line. He loaded the rod and had a good hookup that turned out to be a juvenile and it came in quickly. At least he knew what to expect now and we quickly released it to get back in the water. We made a short move and located another concentration that had us hooked up almost immediately after resetting the lines. This fish was powerful and went insane right from the start! In fact we got to see just how big it was when it rocketed into the air with a spectacular leap. Another long battle, several more pics and a release & we were looking for bigger. Andreus was soon tight to one when he felt a good bite and loving that he came out today. This was proving to be the best day he had ever spent fishing and it wasn’t even done yet! More leaps and runs and an incredible fight and Andreus was now not needing any coaching. He had enough practice to know exactly what was required and did it perfectly. This was the third big fish of the day and again worthy of more pics. I made one more move after releasing the fish and set up on another group in hopes of a last hookup. This time we waited a little longer but got one and Andreus was battling yet another monster once again. I told him that it’s not always like this and to enjoy it while it lasted! This fish came up behind the boat for a jump and wasn’t even able to get more than half its body in the air. Large was the word of the day! Another long fight and painful holding for the pics had us trying again, after the release. Unfortunately, time ran out and we were done. What started out as a day that didn’t look like it was going to happen, turned out to be an incredible one filled with giant fish. I’m sure Andreus was glad we were able to get together in the end as he’s already thinking of another outing this week. He’s got the fever and wants more! Hopefully if we are able to hook up,  things will work out. You never know what happens as there are too many variables involved. From wind & direction to fish activity, you just never know. I do know that if the conditions allow, we should definitely have another shot at a repeat day. Only time will tell!

William and his father Daniel were with me today, for one to remember! Last fall Daniel had purchased a gift certificate from me for his son’s birthday and today was the day. He even tagged along, not aware of what was in store for them. William had always wanted to land a big sturgeon and I was going to try to make it happen. We headed out from the ramp shortly after 7:00 in the coldest morning in a while. It felt more like November than late September! The NW winds that blew in three days before had brought an incredible cold front with morning temps in the single digits. It also dropped the water temps significantly causing the fish to readjust to the shock. I wasn’t sure what the sturgeon bite was going to be like but had to try. We set everything up and had to hold the rods again with the big NW winds blowing 10 to 15 knots. I informed them what to feel for and despite all our early efforts, it took a while to get bit. I had relocated 3 or 4 times and only had one walleye to show for our time. A couple of possible biters may or may not have taken our baits but who knows? I did finally feel a take and loaded the rod for William to fight. Our wait was not in vain! We cleared everything for him to fight the fish and just watched. I could see by the way the line was rising that we were going to get a jump and  gave them  heads up to watch. When it breached, it was giant! I don’t think William had ever thought in his wildest dreams that he would be battling something this large today. For the next 20 minutes he endured plenty of pain while trying to tame this beast. Although it didn’t really make any long runs, it’s overall mass & weight just dogged all over. Each time he reeled the fish up, it went right back down and he had to start all over again. When he finally did bring it up for me to net, it looked even bigger than before. William had officially landed his first ever sturgeon and it was a gorilla! I prepped everything for the pics and heaved it into the boat, with a little help, placing it on the tarp for protection. Now it really looked giant! I showed him how to hold the fish and shot multiple pics before he released her back to fight again. What an absolutely great starter fish to have landed! They were still in awe at what had just happened but I got the lines back in as quickly as possible to try and lock his father up too. Within 5 minutes, I was able to set into another monster and Daniel was locked up. This battle was a little different as his fish took plenty of line. It may have lasted 5 minutes less, but it wasn’t any easier! I finally netted her and we went through all the same instructions on what to do for the pics. It was so big that he had to bear hug the thing just to get a grip on it. Multiple angled shots were quickly taken and the fish was released again. Now they had both landed an absolute giant of a sturgeon, but I wanted more! I reset all the lines and it didn’t take long to get a third bite. Unfortunately after a couple of minutes of fighting the fish, it came unpinned from William’s line. Oh well, let’s get another! Once again, it didn’t take long for another bite and this time I locked up on her good! William was into his second big sturgeon and I could see the line rising behind the motors. I informed both of them to look back and we all saw the spectacular leap from the fish. He fought it with ease, after battling his previous monster and had it to the net in under 10 minutes. There was no need to get the lines back in as I wanted to get them some walleye for a BBQ dinner tonight. Cedar plank fish was on their menu and I was determined to fulfill the request. We spent the remainder of the afternoon hammering walleye & smallies on a variety of soft plastics. They would be keeping 3 walleye and all the others were released. By the time we were done, they were both amazed at how many fish they had landed not to mention their size. It was definitely the best day they had ever experienced fishing and it won’t be the last time we meet. Talk of coming back soon is already brewing in their minds! We parted shortly after 4:00 as they had fish to clean and dinner to prepare. For once it wasn’t me! This day couldn’t have gone better if we had planned it. For once it seemed like all the stars aligned and the fish gods were kind. Happy belated birthday William!!