Warren & Nathan were with me today on what turned out to be the nicest one, so far this fall. Although the air temps were a chilly 38 degrees at the start, they climbed all the way to the 60’s by afternoon. Sunshine & no wind and it was the perfect setting for today’s outing! Water temps were amazingly almost 56 degrees at the highest and the fish should be active. We began with a troll for the mythical one and unfortunately, it remained a myth. By mid morning we pulled the plug and headed for bass. With Warren on a blade and Nathan on a soft plastic, they began combing the water in search of big bass. Ironically, it took a little longer than I had expected but eventually they found em. Warren hammered a nice one and seconds later, Nathan was locked up as well. Both smallies were decent fish but I wanted bigger! The search continued and Nathan nailed another but this time it was much bigger. Into the livewell for a few pics later and back to the task at hand. By covering a few different zones they were able to monopolize on where the big ones were and we found them. They were schooled here and all we had to do was slow down and pick them off one at a time. In the next couple of hours, many big ones were hooked & landed and many more hooked and lost. For some reason most of them weren’t staying on but they were definitely here. Soft plastic accounted for the bulk of these fish with some of them well over 4 pounds. At one point Nathan spent about 5 minutes battling another sturgeon and I had to chase it with the electric. We were about 500 yards from the hookup when I was finally able to grab it for the pics. Quite a battle on only 10 pound line! We motored back to the area producing all the bites and hooked a few more before pulling out. A relocation was in order as we had picked at them pretty good here. I tried a deep water drift, but soon found out that this wasn’t the place to be and moved again. The next area was slow as well but at least it put a few fish in the boat. By drop shotting a ledge, a couple of smallies and a nice walleye of about 7 pounds was brought to net. Too bad they hadn’t stacked up in this place yet as that was all she wrote. It was time to pull the plug and off to the ramp we went. Although the fishing had many a dead period, there were definitely some quality bass landed today. Fish from 3 to over 4 pounds were the norm and they put several of them in the boat. Too bad we couldn’t have monopolized on all the others we missed. Regardless, it was still a really pleasant day to be on the water with these beautiful fall conditions & they had pics to prove it!!

The scheduled winds for today had me changing plans and hitting a body of water with the least pain. They were to blow at 15 to 25 knots out of the west with 30 plus gusts added in just for fun! Hugues, Pierre & Rashid would be in for a real treat as we headed out for a day of bass fishing. First fish of the day came from Pierre on almost his first cast as the others looked on in awe. He wasted no time bumping up the numbers as not long after he was into a few others as well. Both Hugues & Rashid weren’t so lucky but they did eventually get in the game. Smallies from two to four pounds were getting caught and everyone was on the board. Hugues had the largest but today it wasn’t all about size, but rather the numbers. They were hoping for a day filled with plenty of action and they were going to get it! With each shift in location, there were plenty of fish hooked, lost & landed. It was strange too as everyone seemed to take their turn in dominating different areas. In one location, Hugues would be catching many more than anyone and the next spot it would change to Pierre. Rashid even had his moment went he went on the “Power Play” with Pierre & Hugues badly tangled up. This went on throughout the day with little amounts of dead time spent fishing. If we went more than 5 or 10 minutes without action, I relocated and found fresh fish willing to eat. At one point during the afternoon, I set Hugues up with a crankbait to try & locate a piece of structure in open water. He had never fished one of these with any success and was thrilled when he locked up with what turned out to be the largest fish of the day. What a battle it gave him too as she really didn’t want to come to the net. Once I finally scooped it up, the hooks just pulled out. I informed him that this was a common thing and why I set the drag so light. Tiny hooks usually require less pressure as they can pop out any time on smallmouth bass, when battling them to the boat. As this was his first fish on a crankbait, it meant more to him as well and the size was a real bonus! We resumed fishing the area and everyone had several more hookups on the soft plastics. Hugues went back to the crank in the next spot and immediately was back into another fish. Although smaller in size, it was still a nice chunky one of over 3 pounds. Back to the drop shot set up and another bruiser was on! This one was so mean that while fighting her, the rod broke above the ferrule and I had to hold it for the fight. We eventually tag teamed the 4 pounder to the net and all had a good laugh. It’s only a rod and I’ve got plenty more! We jumped around to several more spots and picked at them a little more before we decided to call it a day. Everyone had caught their fair share of fish today and enjoyed it thoroughly. We snapped several pics of some of the largest fish caught and headed back to take out. Despite the hurricane like winds while fishing today, it was quite spectacular. Many fish were missed or lost but they definitely landed the bulk of their hookups. Hugues may have been the only one in this group of three that had fished with me previously, but I’m sure this will all change. Both Pierre & Rashid are already talking about getting back for more of this incredible bass action. Overall, who could ask for anything more!!

The annual bass trip for Darren, his bro Mark & their friend Dave was officially here this weekend. To say it was interesting would be an understatement! Day 1 had us driving for well over two hours before we launched the boat. An unexpected tournament on the body of water we were to fish had us making a U Turn and heading elsewhere. Looks like it’s time again, for these guys to push one out every weekend until freeze up! It’ll be fun trying to dodge the unexpected for one more season! The second body of water had a pile more boats all over the areas we fished too. I guess they didn’t get the invite! With this to be the nicest day forecasted for the weekend, it wasn’t a surprise to see so many people out. I on the other hand actually pray for high winds and foul weather for this exact reason! All things aside, we had to make the best of the situation and go fishing. Sunshine and cold morning air temps along with a 10 to 15 knot wind from the west was what we were faced with when the lines were dropped. I idled over a deeper flat, marking plenty of fish before I gave the signal to let em drop. Game on and they were ready! The side bets were first fish, biggest fish and most fish for the weekend and they were pumped. We back drifted over what seemed like miles of water with little action and this was surprising. Fish were marking all over and only Darren hooked up once. At least he had the initial side bet won and it couldn’t be broken! This was a similar occurrence throughout the day and had me juggling presentations and locations all over. They caught fish on all kinds of baits but not really one particular type. In the end, Darren & Dave tied for most, Darren had first and Dave had biggest. Looks like Mark was the “Biggest Loser” today! Oh well, there’s always tomorrow! Day two saw a total opposite of the first one when we arrived and readied to launch. Unlike yesterday when there wasn’t a spot left to park, today it looked like a ghost town. With the exception of a duck hunter, the fair weather fishermen were no where to be seen. You gotta love bad weather! Scheduled today was rain & mist, east winds and just perfect weather for fishing. These guys were no stranger to misery as a usual trip has at least one day with miserable conditions. Last year saw hurricane winds for two straight days and a horizontal rainfall that seemed more like a monsoon. Today would be a walk in the park! First location had Mark throwing a crankbait and locked up immediately! We knew it was going to be a great one with a start like this and looked forward to the possibilities of better things to come. Darren was next and within a few casts was also tight to a nice big fish. This first spot had produced plenty of quality and after it slowed, we relocated and did it all over again. By adjusting presentations and positions in specific areas, we were able to monopolize on the bites and pick them off one at a time. A combination of lures, both hard & soft accounted for the hookups and there were many! It sure was nice to be alone like it use to be and not have to be bothered by every Tom, Dick & Larry again today! We were able to fish slowly in the dropping water temps and it proved to be a productive method as fish after fish were landed. Everyone was catching and that’s just the way I like it. Despite the not so perfect conditions that most prefer, I’ll take this any day of the week. A light mist was falling and they were catching. With the exception of only a few short periods of slowness, they never really went more than a few minutes in between bites. Regardless that they were all wet & cold, we stuck it out until almost 4:30, when we pulled the plug after one last fish. Mark started the day with first and ended it with last. That’s gotta be worth something! Despite not caring about the outside conditions during the day, they all really enjoyed the drive home in a nice warm truck. It’s amazing how you don’t notice just how bad it actually is, when you’re catching fish! It was definitely a perfect end to an even more perfect day on the water!!

Rahe and his son Enzo were with me today and what a day it was going to be. Although the morning was cold, the sun made it feel warmer and the lack of wind helped as well. I knew based on yesterday that we would have a tough bite until the sun heated everything, creating movement. It was slow at first but they both picked a few here & there. Enzo even landed another sturgeon on one of the spots for smallies! Sometime after 10:00 it began as Enzo got crushed on a spinnerbait. A chunky 3.5 pound smallie was his prize and a few pics were in order. Not to be outdone by his son, Rahe locked up on one of his own. This fish was considerably larger and unfortunately came unpinned on a leap. Feeling the pain, Rahe reeled in fast to make another cast only to have one even larger try to eat the blades again. Wow, two big fish missed on only one cast! We covered the area thoroughly and they picked a few others in the process. These fish were just starting to become active and the blades were the way to find them. I did realize quickly however that they weren’t eating well and as with yesterday, made some adjustments to increase the odds. I prepped a senko for Enzo and a soft jerkbait for his dad as a backup rod. Next fish that showed, there would be a throw back rod ready! They were both getting hits, follows and blowups on the spinnerbait but not many were staying hooked. I immediately had Enzo toss back a wacky rigged senko and within seconds his rod was bent. Another 4 pound chunk gave him quite a battle until it eventually was in the net. Rahe had a few fish try to eat his bait but somehow he struck too soon and was left holding the bait, literally. I decided that a demonstration was in order and ran him through the drill. You really need to pay attention to the fish and their attitude as you work this lure. I showed him how to turn a follow into a strike as I manipulated it and got crushed. His next cast had him also changing the bass’s attitude and locked up solid. By paying attention to how these fish were reacting, they were both able to hook several more quality fish here. With the sun up high now, I continued to cover water and shifted to another area nearby. It was here that Rahe got the confidence he needed as he managed to land several other quality fish. Enzo was back on the spinnerbait for a bit and got ploughed pretty good, as well. There’s nothing better than getting slammed by a smallie while reeling a spinnerbait as fast as you can! Both were picking at them here but the numbers weren’t great. Although the fish were all quality, I wanted more! I switched Enzo to a crankbait and he banged another close to 4 pounds almost immediately. Another adjustment on working this lure had multiple followers and a couple of them were turned into eaters. This whole time, Rahe was tossing his bait over various bottom types and hooking several of his own. Between the two of them, there was enough action to keep anyone occupied. As the day was getting on, I decided to change everything up completely and show them another technique. Rahe had wanted to see what all the hype was with drop shotting and they were about to experience it first hand. A vertical presentation was needed over this deep water and once instructed, Rahe was hammered. Unfortunately he missed the fish, but now knew what to expect. Enzo on the other hand didn’t as he was seen with bent rod in hand and battling another 4 pounder for a while. Eventually I was able to slip the net under this football and snapped a few quick pics before the release. At only 12 years old, he already has loads of experience fishing many different techniques and it shows! It doesn’t really matter what I show him as he catches on immediately. Most times, he out fishes his dad but today they were almost equal. They both had their share of chances and managed to land plenty of big smallies in the process. After another demonstration of casting a drop shot to deep water, we were done for the day. The annual fishing trip together with me was officially over and they both had new techniques to continue with. Although most of their fishing is done from the shore, these would prove to come in handy on many areas they fish. Today was another successful, big fish day and they would have plenty of memories and photos to share!!

After another no show yesterday, I headed to the water to meet 3 guests this morning. Overnight cold had us hooking up around 8:30 instead of the usual 7:00 time. Air temps were a balmy 36 degrees but expected to climb into the low 50’s by days end. With this being a long weekend, I knew we would have plenty of company on the water and just hoped we’d be alone in a few areas. First stop had Sam locked up on a crankbait on his very first cast. It’s always bad luck to start that way and he was no exception! His bro Hassan and their friend Nick continued to reel in fish on a drop shot rig while he flailed the water in search of his second strike. The other two were catching fish here & there but Sam was just washing lures until I set him up on the same rig and the games began. The cold morning temps seemed to have most of the fish just tapping the baits and not really crushing them. Many a fish was missed and or lost in the process! Once the sun got a little higher, the bite turned on but not all over. Although they caught fish pretty much everywhere we stopped, it wasn’t the numbers I had anticipated. Eventually I hit one place that they all began catching on both crankbaits as well as bottom baits. The competition was on and Hassan was in the lead. Numbers were climbing and so was the overall size. Plenty of other boats were fishing all around but I never really saw anyone catching. I figured that we would take the slow approach as the fish were pretty lethargic this morning and obviously it was the right move. The peak period didn’t occur until after 1:00 when the sun was at the strongest. The last few areas had multiple hookups from everyone and plenty of double headers. Fish from two to over 4 pounds were coming aboard on almost every cast for quite a while. As long as they were biting, we were staying! Each time it began to get slow, I made slight adjustments to increase the bite again. This went on for almost three hours, really bringing the numbers way up. By the time they were ready to leave, everyone had their share of fish for the day. Although Hassan may have won in the total count, Sam had big fish of the day. Nick on the other hand was on a quest for the Multi Species award and finished with a slam for the day. He had added a northern and a walleye to his bag of fish. By adjusting to the fish, they were able to have a banner day on the water. All went home completely satiated!!