Spent another day on the water, with insane winds once again! Although difficult, Vern & I actually held on a spot and managed a couple of sturgeon, in 3-foot rollers. Not an easy task indeed! Afterwards we moved around and found a few other fish to play with. Bass, walleye and even perch were landed before we just called it a day. We stuck it out and finished the day a little beat up, but Mother Nature didn’t win. Lately, most days are a challenge and this was no different. Can’t wait for the next challenge!!

Philippe and his wife Julia, along with their father’s, Ben & Marc, were with me today. They were hoping to get some sturgeon, followed by smallmouth bass fishing. The weather looked pretty good for most part, with the exception of freezing cold morning air temps. Couple that with the big SW winds coming and it was almost a perfect, average day. At least it wasn’t raining!

Within 10 minutes after setting the lines, we had a bite and Ben soon fought his first ever sturgeon. It was a good one and went airborne almost immediately. I love when they do that, as you get to see exactly what you’re fighting. It was a great battle and Ben loved every minute of it. Several pics were taken before it was released unharmed.

Two more sturgeon were hooked up and others got to fight their own, before we changed species. Philippe was the only one not to play with one, but it didn’t matter. He had already caught some of the largest white sturgeon out in BC and these failed in comparison to the reel giants out west!

We had pulled the lines when the winds began and now, we were doing battle with a different animal. Trying to hold and fish in these conditions was a real treat for them. It definitely didn’t make things easy, but somehow, they managed. I’m sure that everyone had bites that they never even felt and fish were lost. Julia managed to land the largest ones though and I wasn’t surprised. She was fishing the slowest and benefitted from her presentation.

I had covered plenty of good water and seen all kinds of fish on the sonar but they just didn’t seem to want to eat. Although we picked at them here and there, it was really a slow bite. I eventually made a long move in the big waves and relocated to another area offshore, in hopes of a few walleye. Hopefully this would be a better bite!

A large open water flat was what I targeted and I was marking good fish! Several drifts over nice marks only resulted in a handful of bites and one landed Walter. Fortunately, Marc was having fish for dinner as it went straight into the livewell. After multiple passes with only lost fish, I decided to try another area before we were done. They wanted to call it earlier and we were pressed for time. One more drift in these winds saw a couple of fish hooked, but unfortunately, they both escaped the net and livewell when they came off. We were officially done for the day!

Today was another interesting outing with plenty of opportunities. It seemed like the fish were acting strange with lighter than usual bites and plenty of rejection. Slow was the ticket and if you weren’t fishing this way, you weren’t catching! Despite all the challenges today, they all had a great time and landed some really good fish in the process. Better weather is forecasted for this week and I only hope that the fish react better. Fall is the time for both numbers and size and the best is yet to come!!

Finally, a nice day to fish, with sunshine and very light winds from the south west. Adhiraj was in for a great afternoon, starting with sturgeon. I headed to an area that had been producing and set up quickly. It didn’t take long before we got bit and he had his first sturgeon on the line. Although not big, it did give a good fight. About ten minutes after the release, another rod got bit and a second sturgeon was on the line. This one gave him a much better fight and he thoroughly enjoyed the battle. More pics and another release and we were back in the game, hoping for bigger. Never two without three!

We had waited quite a while with one other missed strike and were ready to pull out and go for bass. A last-minute bite turned out to be the one I had wanted and it felt big on the set. Adhiraj was about to experience the sheer power of these beasts! Not only were the runs powerful, but the jumps were spectacular too! The fight lasted almost 10 minutes, before I was able to slip the net under his catch. This was definitely the one I wanted to see him catch and several pics were taken before her release. Right down to the wire and the wait was worth ever minute, for this fish!

I decided at the start that we would split the day on sturgeon and bass and now headed for the smallies. We began with aggressive baits and mostly missed strikes. A couple of hookups ended in lost bass, making me switch to a slower approach. Once the dropshot came out, everything changed! We spent the remainder of our time fishing slowly and boated plenty of good fish. Being from Texas, Adhiraj was used to catching largemouth but enjoyed the smallmouth much more. Every brownie fought so much harder than the greenies! Unfortunately, the afternoon passed quickly and before we knew it, it was time to go.

Today went just as planned with the conditions adding to our success. We were able to hold perfectly and see each and every lite bite from the sturgeon. Although the bass didn’t cooperate as hoped, a slight adjustment put plenty of them in the boat. Overall, it was a very successful, half day of fishing!!

Finally, back on the water today, with Yvan! He was celebrating a birthday and treated himself to another fishing trip with me. He was hoping to catch some smallies on a fly rod and I was sure I could grant that wish!

We headed to an area far away as the winds were supposed to build during the day, making casting more difficult with the fly. I positioned the boat so that he would be able to present the fly to where he needed to be and it didn’t take long. Locked up! He was not only going to get his wish, but he was going to be catching plenty more! We remained in the rea for several hours and he kept picking at one fish after the other. In fact, we both lost count of just how many he landed. Not a bad thing!

Eventually he changed to a different setup and began catching them on a variety of baits too. The fish were everywhere and we weren’t moving! I spent the bulk of the day within a quarter mile of where I began, hopping from spot to spot. Very little time passed between hookups and the action was non stop all day.

With limited time remaining, I thought we’d change it up and make a big move. I stopped on an area and we began dropshotting a big flat. Within seconds, Yvan was tight to a walleye and it just kept getting better. We landed many others and he boated a really good one as well. Both perch and walleye were caught in the last hour and we actually left them biting. We had run out of time!

Today was a great one filled with plenty of good fish on a variety of presentations. From fly fishing to spinning, he had it all. Even with the winds blowing strong, we were able to monopolize on the areas fished and take advantage of the sheer numbers of fish present. Who could ask for a better birthday!!

Shut down by the winds for a couple of days, I was once again cancelling this morning’s trip, due to the weather. Torrential rains and winds greeted us as we idled out, only to return back minutes later, to wait out the storm. After almost an hour, I was forced to send them home instead! After another half hour or so, I pulled the boat out and readied it for travel, back home. The rain eventually stopped and so did the winds. The skies even cleared, bringing nicer weather! I would be be able to salvage the afternoon client.

Stephanie was flying solo today and we headed out just before 11:00 am. By now, the winds had picked up and the lake was once again rough. Go figure! I headed offshore to an area holding good fish but after 4 drifts without even a touch, I decided to try something else. We headed over to find some sturgeon and try for them. It had been incredible the last couple of times out, but today was a different animal. Several days after doing so well and now the fish were gone, due to the weather. I idled around, all over, in search of groups of these dinosaurs, but nada. I was forced to pull the plug and make a really long run in 3 footers to hopefully get on the fish.

After our long, grueling travel to the spot, I was beginning to second guess my move. Despite this, I decided to set up and prepped the rods, in hopes of a miracle. Rod holders were pretty much useless so we were forced to hold them instead, feeling for any light biters.

After about 15 minutes, Stephnie had what seemed like a possible bite and I instructed her on what to do. Seconds later the line was tight and the rod was bent. Fish on! She did battle with her first ever sturgeon and although not giant, it was a decent one. She was thrilled and so was I to see that something actually bit in these conditions. Several pics and a release later and we were back in the game, hoping for more.

Another 20 minutes had passed without anything happening and then it did. I felt a few tugs and reeled into another fish. Stephanie was passed the rod and her second sturgeon was on the line. This one was insane and after swimming directly at the boat, decided to run around the motor, tangling the line. I had to trim it up and even at that, it was tough to untangle the disaster. I don’t even know exactly what I did, but it worked and the fish was free. Or so I thought! Turns out that he had decided to head to the front of the boat and around the electric motor that held us anchored in place. I had to stop the hold and lift the motor out of the water, in order to free this fish once again. This sturgeon had tried all the tricks to get off, but in the end, found its way into the net instead. Talk about an ordeal. This was an insane fish! Stephanie was elated to have caught her second sturgeon and it was a clone of the earlier one. We tried for a little longer after the release, but the winds had gotten even bigger, making it more difficult. Time to roll.

After packing everything away and strapping things down, I headed back in the direction of the boat ramp to finish off the day. The run was nasty to say the least, running with the huge rollers. We did manage to stay dry however, all the way back. The last 30 minutes were spend drifting and dropshotting close by and a couple of walleye and 1 mooneye were caught before we were done.

Today was a very interesting one to say the least. Mother Nature has been showing her teeth lately and I don’t like it. Between cancellations and battling the elements, it has been a grind. I only hope that she calms down some so that I can take advantage of the fall bite, before the boat gets stored. Plenty of days left before the end of the year and I want to be out as much as possible. Hopefully better days ahead!!