I was back out again this morning with Reda and his father. His dad had invited a friend along & I was looking forward to finally running 4 rods. The weather was looking overcast and expected to remain that way for the day. In fact, there was a chance of showers and I think that kept most people from being on the water. I immediately ran to where the pike had grouped up yesterday and thought we’d beat on them for a while before going for walleye. It took about 90 seconds for his dad to hook into the first fish and I really thought they were going to hammer the mother load. To my surprise it was a loner and I had to keep on the move. The water temps were significantly lower than yesterday but I wasn’t surprised. We were here much earlier than usual and the cool nights were responsible for the drop. It would take a while this morning, if at all, for them to climb. The clouds might keep them low and the bite might never get red hot but we had all day. In fact, I had Reda cast from the bow while we trolled over plenty of water just searching for warmer temps. He hooked several pike while we trolled our way into 56 degrees. A few more northerns and decent walleye were landed before I decided to make a big move. I would come back later in the day but for now we were out of here! The next location didn’t put out even one fish and now I was really changing up. I moved to a series of reefs with cooler temps of 52 degrees and Reda’s dad was locked. Another walleye of 22 inches fell victim to a reduced bait and I was finally on to something. A quick pic and a release and we were back in the game. Not too far from the first one, they were into another slightly smaller one and this time it was a keeper. A few adjustments had us into fish and I kept it going with another over moments later. Along with the walleye, there were pike and one pre spawn smallmouth. The water was so cold that this fish hadn’t even began to move shallow to do the deed! We stuck it out for a while, catching more here before I had to leave when another boat moved in on us. He began trolling right in our prop wash line about 100 feet behind. And so it begins!  I thought we’d check out the starting area again but didn’t stay long. I headed in and let them cast for a while as they wanted to try their luck this way. About 15 minutes in, I saw two of them sitting with rods in their hands as the boat moved along on the electric. Looks like they got tired quickly so back to trolling we went! I set them back up and moved along with similar success. A fish here & there had me moving once again in search of the warmer water. I had left something until the last few hours of the day in hopes of sunshine but we never managed to get any. Oh well, time to try it regardless! It didn’t take long before someone hooked up and started the ball rolling. In the last couple of hours there were multiple hookups of keeper walleye as well as quality overs. At least we ended on a high today and they got to take a few fish home for their dinner tonight. By 4:30 we were done and on our way to the ramp. Although a little slower day than I had hoped for, not surprising with the overcast skies and cooler water temps. It will only continue to get better in the weeks to come. Plenty more days open if anyone needs to wet a line and bend a rod!!

Michel & I hit the water at the crack of 10:00 this morning looking for some eyes. No sense starting too early when the nights are as cold as they are. By focusing on the warmest part of the day, we hoped on monopolizing on the bite. It proved to work out pretty well as both pike & walleye were on the feed and the water was on the rise. He hooked into some quality walleye, but not the ones he was hoping on leaving with. There were more overs landed today than keepers and although nice to catch, didn’t put meat on the table. I probably could have gotten him into close to 100 pike as well, but after pounding on them for quite a while, decided to relocate to another area. Each move had its benefits as we got into fresh fish every time we changed spots. Water temps were ranging between 52 degrees in the morning to just over 60 degrees by afternoon. The water temp increase had the fish active and many more came in the boat with the rise. We spent a total of 6 hours on the water and caught plenty of fish throughout the day. Despite Michel’s track record for some of the shittiest days spent weather wise, today more than made up for them. It was picture perfect with no wind, sunshine and a pleasant 70 plus degree air. Even with all the big fish landed, he still managed to leave with a few fish for the dinner table. Hopefully the next time he wets a line, the weather will cooperate once more and the fishing will be equally as good. All I know is better fishing is ahead and I’ll be pounding on them each & every time I’m out!

Today was the 2nd time this week that I had waken early to head fishing. Darren & I were going on a road trip and met up at 4:00 in the morning in hopes of catching a few silver bullets. Niche was on the menu & although I hadn’t fished this lake since last year, I had loads of confidence that it would be a success. By the time we had reached our destination and prepped all the rods, we were 2 hours into the day and itching to get bit! The trees were pollinating pretty good and the surface was covered with all kinds of junk, making it difficult to fish clean. We had to improvise and watch the lines constantly but it paid off. The first reel to fire was a deep line and the skunk was about to leave the boat. I was surprised that the niche didn’t jump but with 47 degree water I guess their metabolism was real low. Once boated we realized that it was of legal size and someone was having fish for dinner tonight! With livewell running and the line back in, I noticed something busting the surface behind the prop wash. As luck would have it, there was another one locked up again. We almost had a double! This one actually made one leap in the air and I saw that it was a little bigger than the first. Our fish was to have company in the tank soon! We reset the line and went back to trolling but success was short lived. After about 2 hours of nada, I was ready for a move. Apparently the other boats around us had the same idea as they were already gone. I hadn’t seen anyone hook up nor a net pulled out so I guess we should have felt lucky for the two we had. I however didn’t feel that way and opted for a long run to an area that usually produced well. Ironically only one small brown was caught here and we shifted to another spot again. I wanted to try a really shallow sandy area and concentrated on finding warmer water and of course, niche! Eventually I stumbled onto 53 degrees exactly where my waypoints and icons were and a reel let go. The scream was unbelievable and I knew this was a larger fish. It went into an aerial display and we hoped to bring it to net. Unfortunately she had other ideas and pulled the hooks a short distance behind the boat, on one of the runs. This was our one & only chance here so I decided to return to the area we had began. It was completely void of boats and we had it all to ourselves. I mentioned that this has happened before & I’ve crushed the salmon because of it. Well, guess what? It was about to happen once again! Afternoon sunshine always heats the water up and activates everything around. The first reel went screaming within minutes of our arrival and it was game on! The third & fourth fish were so close together that it should have been a double. The high line was finally producing and produce it did! We had multiple rips from one area and I just kept at it until it died. Afterwards I went looking for more and came across another of similar results. Again, multiple fish were taken and released followed by even more. This was how I expected it to be today but judging by the water temps, wasn’t surprised. We now had 52 degrees and they were on fire. In the last couple of hours we had landed all kinds of fish and missed many more. What had started slow, ended with a bang as we packed up to be on our way. The weather was sunny all day with a slight breeze from the south and a high of 80 plus degrees. Who could have asked for more. Overall a very successful day for our first nichin’ trip of the year!!!

First booking of the year had its ups & downs as Scott, Mike & Russell would experience. We met at 7:30 and hit the water soon after. I had been out scouting the lake yesterday with Jean and had hooked up in under one minute. I hoped to repeat the luck this morning! With water temps around 48 degrees I slow trolled around searching for warmer water and hopefully northerns. I covered plenty of area and finally managed to get into some warmer temps around 50 degrees and the first pike was found. Unfortunately the 2nd one was long after and quite a distance from the first. I even resorted to a planer board to see if this gin clear water might have them spooked a bit and they hooked into the largest northern of the day. I was sure the warmest part of the day would be the best and was convinced that it could only get better. I moved around plenty and covered a lot of good water from shallow to slightly deeper with limited success. Sometime after 11:00 we really felt the heat and water temps were on the rise too. With another move we were into a fish almost immediately and it was heavy. As luck would turn out it was a walleye and it didn’t matter that the season wasn’t open for them as it was definitely an over. We quickly shot a few pics and returned the post spawn fish back to the water unharmed. We were back in the same area from earlier that had produced a couple of northerns and had another reel fire soon after. This too turned out to be a walleye and even bigger than the first! I was determined to locate the pre spawn pike and stayed on the deeper water in search of them. Too bad we only found eyes as they seemed like the only fish biting. Eventually we trolled back to the shallower water and unfortunately it too was void. I fired up the big engine and made a long run to another place in hopes of better success. I had found 55 degree water the day before and hoped for even warmer temps today. To my surprise it had cleaned up considerably and was now down to 48 degrees. Winds had pushed the warm, stained stuff completely out of this area and I was forced to go on the hunt once again. I finally hit an area of dirtier water and the temps began to climb. At over 52 degrees, one of the reels fired and amazingly it too was a walleye. Not what we were after and a little bit of a disappointment, we headed out completely. One last attempt at pike in another section put out a couple more fish but not the targeted species again. We ended the day with a bunch of nice fish and they had some good pics and memories for their efforts. Tough day but still a good one! It will only continue to get better with all the warm weather in the weeks to come. Can’t wait to get back out!!!!

A well deserved vacation to Cuba was where we were last week! Christiane & I spent 7 perfect days in absolute sunshine, without the cold. Average daytime temps were in the 90’s and the breeze was warm, for a change! Cervasa’s, Mohito’s and relaxation were on the list and I threw in a little fishing just for a change. By trolling from a Catamaran I was able to land a Bull Shark, small Tuna (bonito) and several barracuda. With Ernel doing most of the work sailing, I just fished! He had a better understanding of the area than most and actually used his phone as a GPS. With several waypoints already entered from previous trips he was able to return to certain areas for specific species. I’d have to say that his best one was a shoal 6 km offshore holding plenty of barracuda. This is where we had the most hookups and some of the best fishing. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and I’m now back home in the deep cold once again. Reality sucks! With the boat in the driveway, I’m ready for the season opener for pike on May 1st. I’ll be jumping between local waters and distant ones for trout & salmon in the next few weeks. Regardless of this cold, the fishing should be hot. Plenty of days still available for anyone looking to wet a line and start their new season off with a bang. Call or book online for the open dates. Tight Lines to come!!