I knew by the wicked cold front last night that this morning was going to be a challenge. Phil joined me on the lake with a couple of his sons to see what we could accomplish. Ari had boated plenty of good fish in my boat last season but this was a first for Eli. In fact he had never caught a walleye, but this was about to change! We hit the lake just after 7:30 and ran in a pretty decent roll from the NE. Once we arrived I saw that the water temps had fallen, to no surprise. I was marking fish though and at least this was encouraging. We set the lines and started to troll for about three minutes when the first reel fired. Unfortunately it was a pike and so were the next few including a triple that at least Phil got to take part in. Eventually after about 10 minutes or so, Eli finally got his first walleye. Although not huge, it was a keeper and went into the livewell for them later tonight. We continued trolling with the NE winds in about a two foot roll and marked all kinds of fish on the bottom. Unfortunately that was where they wanted to stay and we had to work hard for each bite we received. I covered plenty of water throughout the morning both old & new and picked at fish here & there. Then the wind died and I knew we were in trouble! The damn « Dog Pecker Knats » arrived and brought along their friends the « Caddis ». We had tons of flies all over us and the fishing amazingly, got even more difficult. I had to work even harder now for each & every bite we got. I decided to try a few other waypoints from last season, seeing as how this area was almost dead and apparently it was the right move. Not all of them produced but the ones that did, really did! We boated many more eyes including a couple of personal bests for Eli over 4 pounds. Still not giants, I searched on looking for bigger & better. Eventually he brought to net one over 5 pounds and was now, all smiles! Late in the afternoon I found one small area that was holding quite a few fish and we picked at them pretty good. I think our percentage between pike & walleye was 60/40. Not bad considering how many pike this lake actually has. We stuck it out until just after 4:00 and I ended with everyone catching another fish before we headed back to the ramp. The last three fish were remarkably all walleye as well. Despite the difficult conditions for fishing we still managed to boat a great number of fish by anyone’s standards. I on the other hand know that if we could have had stability in the weather, the outcome would have doubled. Either way, it was still a great day of fishing as plenty of fish were played with all day long!!

Alan brought along a couple of coworkers today looking to catch a few fish for the table. One of them was local and the other all the way from China. Walleye was on the menu but the conditions weren’t great. We started off with winds from the west blowing 20 knots or better, with even stronger gusts. I had a long run and managed to keep everyone dry and not in pain from all the pounding. We set the lines as I instructed them on what to do and began. The first fish of the day was once again a double and they were both walleye. One keeper and one over were what we were rewarded with and each one was placed into different waters. These conditions were tough to troll in and I found myself off course several times while making turns. Despite the poor boat control, we still managed to catch several pike and walleye. Everyone was reeling in fish with some of them being kept while the bulk were being released. A couple of rather large perch even found their way into the livewell for the dinner tonight. Sometime late in the morning, the winds actually diminished and trolling became simple once again. I was able to cover all the water I wanted and managed to hook into pike and walleye regularly. We built up the numbers and thought things were going great until it started blowing even harder than earlier. I was actually glad it was only a half day trip as we were now trying to fish in three footers. When waves are like this about the only troll you can do is downstream. I had no choice but to cover all the area quickly and continue with the wind at our back. Many more fish were landed before we finally pulled the plug with the last double of the day. Considering that I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to get out this morning, I think we did really good. It still turned out to be a high numbers outing and all three of them couldn’t believe that they had landed as many fish as they did. Mother nature may have thrown a curve at us this morning but we still managed to hit it out of the park. Great day on the water!

I had a half day booked this morning and we decided to get an early start. Peter & Alan met me around 7:00 and we headed right to an area that had been loaded. Peter was with me last year and had experienced the unbelievable sturgeon fishing. This time out he brought another friend along for the experience. Being the nice guy that Peter was, he offered the first fish to Alan. Big mistake! I instructed both of them on all the ins and outs with the rods and set the lines. Very shortly after they were in, a down rod fired and Alan was into the first fish of the day. It was heavy and I was pretty sure it wasn’t what we were after. Immediately, we cleared the other lines and I stayed on the motor, trying to give him the angle needed for the fight. After maneuvering the boat all over in the wind, we finally saw what was attached. Yuup, a monster lunge! Alan had never caught one before and was thrilled at the possibility of landing this fish. Well after several minutes of battling this monster, I was finally able to put the boga grip on her and this fight came to an end. I kept the fish in the water and carefully removed the hooks all the while making sure her head was under water. Despite the fact that it was out of season, it was also out of my control. I informed them that all pics would be in the water and held on until she was ready to be released. She swam off nicely and no worse for wear! After the composure was back we set the lines once again pursuing our targeted species. With the NE winds creating a nice one foot chop on the water, the fish were on fire. They fought and landed multiple pike & walleye all morning, right up until the thunder started. I did a quick check on the radar and made a decision to run back to the ramp when I saw what was coming. We even caught a glimpse of lightning making that decision easier! I pulled  off the water and waited the storm out on land. No fish is worth dying over even if we did leave them biting! As luck would have it, the system passed us by and within an hour we were back to pounding fish like crazy. Pike & walleye were coming in the boat hand over fist. Plenty of doubles and even a few triples were had today. By about 1:30 we pulled the plug but not before they each landed one more fish apiece! I’m sure both of these guys will remember the day with everything that went on. It started with a bang, had a different bang in the middle and were banging fish the entire time. Sounds like a « Bang On Day » to me!!

Hassan was unable to hook up with me this week so when Saturday opened up, he didn’t hesitate. Along with him were Jo & Hicham,  giving me the opportunity to run 4 lines. We started in an area hoping for some keeper walleye and weren’t disappointed. Unfortunately they only managed to land 3 legal ones, but it was a start. Hassan also caught several large northerns that he didn’t want pics of and they went back immediately. Seeing as how we were fishing closer than usual to the shore, I was able to see other boats around. In fact one of the boats was staying in a particular area just pounding on the bass. I guess he had a special « Catch & Release » permit! Not enough game wardens around! We continued our troll but with only three lines out, as they wanted to hold the rods. Almost immediately, Hassan got hit so hard by one fish that the line began to scream from the reel. I wasn’t sure what he had but knew it was big! It wasn’t until the fish was close to the boat that we could see in the dark water and were all amazed when we realized it was a catfish. Not only was it a cat but it was enormous! Once landed, I instructed him on how to hold the beast & took several pics. It was released unharmed! Not much happened afterwards except for a few smaller eyes. I decided to make a long run to another walleye area in hopes of bagging a few more keepers for them. I tried a few places that I hadn’t been to this season and managed a couple more eyes and several other northerns. Constant moving eventually got us into a better quality bite as everything here was large. Only one walleye was landed though, but it was a good photo fish. By late in the afternoon, still without any wind, the bugs became insane. The heat wasn’t much better either and everyone agreed on another run back to where we started. I think it was because they wanted the bugs gone and a little air conditioning! Once back to where we started, a few more walleye were captured bringing up their count. Today was a little slower than I was use to seeing but there were still plenty of fish caught. The flat calm conditions had our numbers down, however they all  managed to catch good fish. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a little wind. Lately it’s either flat calm or hurricane like. Looks like « Mother Nature » is back in fine form again this year!!

Danial was with me today from Oohlala Mobile and he also brought a couple of coworkers. I had informed him recently that the bite was great and he jumped on the first open day! Flat calm conditions greeted us for the start but big winds were expected by afternoon. Not sure which one would be worse! After a quick orientation on the technique we’d be using and some practice, removing the rods from the holders, we were set to go. Although the other two had done practically no fishing before, I was sure the day would have them looking like pros by the end. Danial was with me several times in the last few years and knew exactly what to expect! Right on cue, the first reel to fire turned out to be our first double and so it began. From this point on, the fish were in trouble! A light N/E breeze had the air temps a little cool and the water temps back to 57.5 degrees when we began. I was trying to find warmer water and kept hooking up in the process. Tough to beat that! I had noticed that the bites were rather light and needed to throttle down on many of the hits. Some of them were even coming off while being reeled in. Not a good sign and I knew it was going to be a tough bite unless the wind arrived soon. We spent the entire morning marking fish and picking at them regularly, but not to my liking. Numbers were high but could have been higher if all the singles were doubles like the start. I was expecting warm temps today and had installed the bimini top just in case before I left home. Apparently it was a good decision as we unanimously agreed to put it up when the sun became unbearable. No wind and sun meant a scorcher! Along with all of this heat were tons of midge & caddis flies that were hatching by the billions. They were relentless! The fishing remained pretty much the same all morning with the lack of wind until sometime after noon. We could actually see and feel the switch in direction when it began. In fact so did the fish as this is when all the action started. Waves were coming at us from the W/SW and the air temps felt like an oven.  Reels were screaming and the fishing picked up considerably. We had doubles constantly along with some triples and even a quad. Most of the walleye were also caught during this change, as I expected. For the next several hours right up until it was time to leave, fish were being landed constantly. Despite the difficult boat control at times, it was great! I really don’t know how many fish were fought today but the numbers were once again, high! All I know is that everyone had plenty of time at the rods making this another unbelievable fishing day. After putting everything away and strapping things down, we ventured back to the ramp in the big waves. Thankfully we were in a Ranger and stayed completely dry, even in the 3 to 4 footers we were travelling in. Just another day in paradise!!