A father & daughter fishing trip was planned by Jim a few month ago and it began today. Alyssa met up with her dad here in Montreal and spent a day in Quebec city before returning back for the main event. I was hoping the weather would cooperate, but we all know how that goes! An early morning thunder shower gave way to mostly overcast skies, but held off on the rain. All stations showed thunder storms throughout the day but by viewing the radar, I realized we would be fine. First stop of the day was going to be the sturgeon and I hoped they would  bite. There was some wind but conditions looked great to get bit as I anchored up and prepped the lines. We had a number of false bites as lines were getting bumped into by some of the fish down there. The first rod I handed Alyssa ended quickly as the sturgeon didn’t stay pinned for more than 15 seconds. The next time I handed her the rod however, it was all she could do just to hang on. I coached her on how to pace herself and what to do to conserve strength as it was going to be a long battle. I didn’t see the first jump behind the boat but it sounded large! I could see that she was struggling a bit and the fish looked like it was in control. As it started to pass the boat, I was afraid of the anchor rope and went to get the bumpers in case I had to un pin. All of a sudden it took to the air and catapulted itself right onto the front deck of the boat. My worst nightmare had come true! This beast was out of water and still green. I immediately tossed the net on top of it and hoped it remained calm. I grabbed a pair of gloves and decided to try something as I knew taking any photos would be next to impossible. Jim now had the rod and my thoughts were to somehow pick it up and throw it back for the balance of the fight. This wasn’t easy as the sturgeon was pissed off and kicking like crazy. I somehow managed to slide it over the rail and it just screamed line from the reel, heading straight to the bottom. A potential disaster fixed! Jim still fought the fish for more than 5 minutes before I was able to get it into the net. This may not have been the largest sturgeon but it will be one that I think everyone will remember for quite some time! I now had the task of helping Alyssa hold the fish for some pics and that wasn’t easy either. All I could do was have her sit and prop it up on her lap as there was no way she was lifting this monster on her own. With a little more help we were able to toss it overboard after and watch it swim off unharmed. I wanted to get the lines back in quickly as I had noticed that the winds were starting to pick up. This time however, we wouldn’t be able to leave them in the holders and had to keep them in our hands. The waves were bouncing us around way too much! About 5 minutes in, I detected a bite and loaded the rod for another battle. Jim was handed the rod as Alyssa & I cleared the other two, giving him room to battle the fish. He fought it like he had been doing it all his life and tried putting the wood to it without success. As many times as he reeled it in, it went right back out and took even more line. Twice the line rose and both times it took to the air with a spectacular jump. Around ten minutes into the fight, he mentioned it was close and then it happened. The third jump was almost a disaster again when we were face to face with his fish. It had gone out of the water less than a foot from the boat and brushed the side upon re entry. I swear these things are trying to get even with me! Thankfully they don’t have teeth! Several minutes later, I was able to net it and this fight was done. Jim really didn’t want to hold the fish after he saw what his daughter went through so he opted for the floor pic instead. We released it back after and packed everything up to go for much smaller fish. Walleye & bass were on the list as Alyssa had never caught either. I set up a couple of drop shot rods and instructed both of them on the way to fish the area. On my first demonstration I got bit and loaded the rod. I passed off to Alyssa and she landed a nice keeper eye. Shortly after, she had another and this one was an over . Pics and a release and back in they went. They were both missing several bites and I was marking plenty of fish here too. Eventually Jim stayed pinned on one of his strikes and boated another over walleye. Pics and a release were all we got! Several drifts through the area should have provided more fish than they were getting but for some reason it wasn’t. Jim did however manage to hook another but this one was a smallie and it leaped in the air on the hook set. It had been a while since he had caught a smallmouth as largemouth were what he was used to. Alyssa also managed an even bigger smallie not long after giving them both an official slam. I was informed that they wanted to get off by 2:30 & when I looked to see the time, I realized we only had 5 minutes to go. They had a great day catching fish that they hadn’t experienced before and left with plenty of video, pics and memories of the day. They will be back in the morning for round two and hopefully bigger and better! Maybe this time they can battle a much larger sturgeon. Hopefully no more incidents like today though!!

Yesterday’s no show of 8 guys in the morning for a half day, was followed by today’s rescheduling due to possible rain showers. Gotta love back to back cancellations! Instead of doing nothing, I did something about it today. Christiane & I headed out by 9:30 to do a little pleasure fishing. We wanted to get a couple of walleye for our dinner and casted for them at the start. Although not terrific, we did manage enough fish to feed the two of us and of course, the cat! The weather was excellent with no rain in sight and practically no wind either. It was absolutely perfect to anchor up for a possible sturgeon bite! I headed to an area further away and once I located the fish, dropped down and set the lines. The damn gobies were relentless and I had to relocate several times before I finally was free of them. It’s impossible to stay in one place lately and keep the baits in long enough to get bit! No wonder the bass don’t hit surface much anymore. They have an all you can eat buffet on the bottom everywhere they go! It took a little while for one of the rods to get bit and I think I woke Christiane up when I hollered, « we’re on »! She took the rod and battled a big fish, by the way it acted. As I was clearing the area to make room for her to fight the fish, it jumped and she saw what she was dealing with. I on the other hand didn’t and had no idea other than the loud splash it made upon re entry. The fight was like usual, tough! These things really are mean and when they’re large, take time to land. This one was no different as it took close to 10 minutes before we even saw it. Although not a real giant, It was still big and beat her up pretty good. I ended the pain when I was able to net the thing and a sigh of relief was had. I don’t think she was ready to hold it for the pics but I wanted some shots regardless. I had to eventually help her lift it and we rested the beast  in her arms for several quick shots. I also had to help her toss it back as her arms were like jelly from the fight. I began to reset the lines and before I could get the second rod in the water, the first one got hit. One lift and we were locked up again! I passed her the rod and just laughed! She on the other hand didn’t find it too amusing. After the fish jumped, I could see her pain. This one was a monster and by the looks of it, was in contention for one of the biggest this season! After the second jump, she begged me to take the rod and I had to comply. There was absolutely no way she would be able to fight two big fish back to back with this one being so large. I never pick up a rod other than to hook up and was ready for the challenge. What I wasn’t ready for however was what was to happen next. I pumped the fish up from the bottom and must have pissed it off at the same time as it tried to take me out. I literally had to jump backwards when it leaped up, hit the motor and landed half in the backwash. I was sure it was coming in the boat but was glad that she slid back into the water. This has been a fear of mine for a while and it nearly happened. You never want one of these things to land in the boat green, as it will trash everything in sight. Including body parts! The battle lasted almost 10 minutes longer and eventually I passed the rod back to Christiane to finish the fight. Almost 5 minutes later, we were finally starting to see signs of fatigue with plenty of air bubbles rising to the surface. Not long after, it was in the net and ready for the pics. This one was almost twice the weight of the first one and I had difficulty hoisting it aboard. I knew I was going to have to lift it with her help and between the two of us, we finally got it done. I shot fast as she didn’t know how long she would be able to hold this fish. Tossing it back was also difficult but we managed to slide her over the railing and she swam off unharmed. After this, I packed everything up and pulled the plug on sturgeon. In fact, we were heading home as we already had enough fish for dinner. I’m sure that if my client hadn’t cancelled today, he too would have gotten into fish just like these. Possibly even more as I would have stayed out longer and started earlier! All I know is that Christiane benefited from another’s loss by landing yet another giant sturgeon. Tired and satisfied, we called it a day. I wasn’t about to put her through more pain despite the fact that the fish seemed like they were really active. She was happy just to leave on a high and would likely be napping back home shortly after. Another great day despite the not so great weather forecast!!

A slight break in the action today, so I headed out with Alyssa. We would be spending her birthday on the water doing something relaxing, for a change. Although a 7:00 meet time seemed early to her, she arrived awake and ready to fish. The winds were blowing pretty strong once again, so I decided to pass on any possible sturgeon action as I wasn’t sure if I would be able to anchor. We headed out to open water instead, to drop shot some walleye and smallmouth. The action was really slow but I figured it would improve as the day went on. We made multiple drifts over the best areas and although I was marking fish, they seemed in a negative state and not very cooperative. A few bites were had and a couple of small fish were landed but it was slow! I made several location changes with similar results at each stop. We did manage to get a fish here & there and one really giant smallie made it to the net on the second spot. I had hoped for some walleye for Alyssa to have for dinner and really needed to pull out all the tricks in order to get anything. Frequent drifts across specific areas yielded a few more fish with only one keeper walleye. Several other fish were landed but they were either bass, pike or short eyes. I made a decision to completely vacate this area and opted for a move closer to the channel. We were still fishing drop shot rigs but casting them instead of drifting and covering a steep break. I missed a fish on my very first cast and a couple more strikes a little later. Alyssa may have had a couple of bites as well but between the waves and the damn wind, it was hard for her to tell if they were actually fish. I moved once again and decided to try jigging while she continued drop shotting and before we knew it, she was locked up. Too bad it was a smallie and not a walleye though as we threw it back! I managed to miss a couple of good hits and land only two high end keepers. I couldn’t get another bite after and scrambled to many other areas looking for a few more fish. All we ended up landing after were short walleye and some perch. One of the perch was big enough to keep and it went in the livewell with the walleye. As we were both wanting to get off the lake around 3:00, we called it a day. Regardless of how the fishing turned out, we still had a great time relaxing and catching some fish. Alyssa was just happy to be in fresh air on the boat & enjoying a day off while fishing. We parted ways at the ramp and I headed home to fillet the fish. We would hook up again in a couple of hours at a restaurant, along with many others to continue her birthday celebration. It would be the perfect end to a great day of R & R!!

A larger group of 7 saw me requesting the help of Don, once again. He had helped me out a week ago when I had a group of 12 and was back for more. We split the group and I took the majority of them which included; Julie, Hardy, Sven & Joe. As usual, we were faced with big winds at the start and any chance at sturgeon fishing wasn’t going to happen. To make matters worse, it was also raining and not too pleasant. They had requested an afternoon instead of the perfect morning and we had to deal with what we were faced with. I decided to drop shot open water and drift with these winds. First to hook up was Sven and he landed a high end keeper walleye that went directly into the livewell after a few pics. Julie was getting into the perch and the others were struggling to hook into anything. Eventually all of them hooked fish with Hardy landing keeper walleye and Joe dropped something before I could see it to net. Sven also hooked into a really nice smallie and realized quickly that they are much stronger than the eyes! Sometime after a couple of hours, the rain let up & and the winds diminished. We made a few more drifts and I thought that the sturgeon fishing could be possible. I quickly packed up and headed to fish the deep water looking for a real beast. It’s always a slow, painful task but the rewards are definitely worth the wait. Unfortunately today it wasn’t! We held in there for over an hour with only goby bites and used up plenty of worms trying. As they were wanting more walleye action, we decided to head back and hopefully get into some fish. I think Joe was the only one that hadn’t landed any fish earlier but he changed that with a nice over. Pics were all he got from this fish as it was immediately returned back to the lake. Along with his walleye he also managed to land a jumbo perch and missed several other bites. In fact they all missed fish for some reason! We held in here until 5:00 when we decided to call the day. Everyone had caught fish and had a great time in the boat learning new tricks and techniques. Julie had started an armature caster and was now able to pitch the drop shot rig perfectly in between other fishermen. Well, most of the time anyways! The Team Building group had spent a great afternoon doing something different and found out that they all thoroughly enjoyed fishing. Don’s group had similar success on the smallies and all 7 of them were talking about doing a return trip either together or with others. Hopefully this will happen and I’ll see them again as it was a fun, relaxing day on the water without any pressure. Even Mother Nature took a break after she dropped a bunch of moisture upon us, with the usual winds! Let’s see what tomorrow brings!

Another morning, another big wind! Although it did drop some from last night, I still had constant 2 footers and didn’t know if I would be able to anchor for the sturgeon. Donald & Barry wanted a beast and I was going to try everything to get them one, or two! Once we arrived, it didn’t look as bad as I thought and I was able to hold on the very first try. I set up but there would be no rod holders today with all the big wave action bouncing us up & down. Back to rod in hand I guess! Plenty of nibblers & worm replacements and only a few possible hits in the first hour or so, then increased winds. As with yesterday, I thought the anchor would pull and we would have to change species once again. To my surprise, it moved and locked in almost immediately afterwards. Barry managed to get one small sturgeon and a smallie while we were there, but nothing big. Once the winds really picked up later in the morning, I decided to leave. We were now bouncing in 3 footers and even holding the rod wasn’t working. It wasn’t until I tried to pull anchor that I realized why we were holding so well. I couldn’t get it out! It was in there and wouldn’t budge even when I went past the rope with the motor. I eventually had Donald on the line and I tried a few different angles to get it out. Success and glad of it as I had already destroyed one anchor this season and didn’t want to cut the line and lose another. We raced to the next location and switched the rods to lighter bass tackle. I instructed them on how to use the baits and made several demonstration casts. Although the winds were blowing big, I knew the fish were here and hoped for the best. Donald was up front with me and I was trying to show him how to deal with the wind but it wasn’t easy. Between the current and the blow, he was having a hard time casting far enough to get bit. Add all the slack in the line caused a big bow and his bait was racing across the water at warp speed! I was finally able to show him a few tricks that helped with control and he began to have some action. Several fish were following the bait and one of them even pounced on it at the boat. It left him with only the hook and a little disappointed. In the next several casts, same thing with a small pod of smallies all trying to eat his soft plastic without success. I think he was moving it too quickly and pulled it out of the strike zone without a hookup. The winds weren’t making it any easier either as line control was minimal at best. We moved along and Barry had a blow up on his bait that also resulted in a loss. It definitely wasn’t going as planned and I just kept moving along looking for some aggressive bites. I tried a couple of other areas further away with similar results and was contemplating another move when I realized that the winds had diminished. I still wanted to get them a big fish and decided to give the area another try for sturgeon. I had a backup plan if it was just an illusion but as luck would have it, I was right. This was the least amount of wind I had seen since last Friday and I was excited. Anchoring up wasn’t an issue and we were back in the game! Not only were we able to hold but I was even able to raise the bimini top and fish in the shade. It was like a totally different day now and I knew we were going to get lucky. A couple of missed strikes had me wondering if it would happen and then Donald reeled into a good one. Almost in sync, I too reeled into something and now we were doubled up. Barry got the rod as I cleared his and the fights began. I saw that Donald’s fish was rising and told them to expect a jump. It took to the air and we saw that it wasn’t large, just a good one. Barry’s on the other hand seemed much heavier and eventually took line out and leaped as well. This one was large! Fortunately I was able to land Donald’s fish long before Barry’s was ready and took several pics. I could see that Barry was having a difficult time with his fish and more line was going out than coming in. To make matters worse, he had a bad shoulder and had to pass the rod off to Donald to finish the battle. Even Donald had a tough time with this fish as she was rather robust and girthy adding more weight than usual. After several attempts at bringing her to net, he finally managed and we had the beast. I don’t think I’ve had one this fat before based on the overall length. She definitely didn’t miss too many meals! Donald had thought the hard part was over but soon found out that it had just begun. Now he had to lift it for the pics and realized just how heavy she was. I had to shoot fast as he didn’t hold it long before tossing it back in the water. They had finally got to tackle with what I had warned them of and now realized just how hard they fight. I wanted to see if I could get them a bigger one and after several relocations, realized it just wasn’t going to happen. All we had to show for our efforts was the smallmouth that Barry landed. With limited time remaining before they had to leave, I made a short stop in a walleye zone to try and drop shot. This too was unproductive and after several missed strikes, called it a day. My whole focus today was to get them a couple of big sturgeon and managed one really good one and two other smaller ones. Once the winds diminished, I was actually able to fish for them properly. I’m sure that if we had calmer water all day, we would have had a few more fish to play with. At least we had a few hours to get it done and succeeded! Finally, less winds and calmer seas!!