Ed & Josh were with me this morning on a not so friendly day. The winds were out of the north, blowing 15 knots at the start and expected to increase during the day. We hit the water with high expectations knowing what we were in store for! It was bass we were targeting today and I raced over to our first spot in a terrible cross wind. Waves were already two footers and almost impossible to smoothly navigate, even in my boat! I set up in an area that usually had a decent current but this time it felt like the tide on an ocean. The wind was opposite the flow and it was a roller coaster ride just standing on the electric. Regardless, they managed to get into a bunch of small bass and had a great time hooking but losing most. For whatever reason, the fish just weren’t staying pinned most of the time and on their first jump, getting off. Hooks were sharp so I knew that wasn’t the problem! Despite the fact that the water was around 64 degrees, the fish still seemed active and should be eating. It was post spawn in most sections of the lake and feeding should have been on their minds. This north wind had created a cold front effect and I just had to make them slow down with their presentations. Our very next area was the same as Ed missed over 75% of the fish he got hits from. Thoughts of adding a stinger hook to the spinner bait crossed my mind but he was hanging onto a few. With each & every move the same thing occurred and eventually I decided to give it a try. Well it didn’t seem to matter because they still got off! It almost seemed like the fish were hitting with their mouths closed. Josh was throwing a small crank bait and hooking into a small percentage of what Ed was but losing almost all of his too. I decided to change it up and switched areas completely as well as species. We were going trolling and the lines were set for walleye this time! I fished a little deeper and managed to have a couple of reels fire quickly but pike were the ones that ate. We covered a lot of water before we finally contacted what we were after and Josh landed a high end keeper for Ed to take home. A little later, Ed was into another one but unfortunately it was in the 25 inch range and returned after a couple of quick pics. We kept fishing for a while longer but could only come up with pike and decided to go for largemouth just to change it up. By now the winds had blown up to their max and waves were 3 to 4 foot in the open water. We had made the run to this area just before it got insane and I planned on staying here for the remainder of the day. For the next several hours they picked at the largemouth as we covered the area thoroughly. A few of the places produced multiple hookups but most were just one fish here and there. The water temps were actually a little warmer here with 70 degrees being seen in a couple of spots. The skies were looking threatening and I could see storms in various areas and readied for the worst. As luck would have it though, we never got more than a light sprinkle. The city looked like it was getting crushed and south of us as well, but we were safe! Ironically we had dodged a bullet and were glad to be fishing where we were! After the storm passed through, it seemed like the winds had gotten lighter so we switched areas one more time to try & get Ed a few more fish to eat. Apparently it wasn’t meant to be because each time we had a shot at a walleye, it just came off. All we could manage were a couple of pike and bass and we were done. It wasn’t the easiest day of fishing but there was plenty of action everywhere we went. These cold north winds really need to leave in order for the fishing to stabilize and get better. Although difficult at times today, we managed to make the best of it and boated plenty of quality fish. Too bad they only caught about 50% of what actually could have been, but that’s fishing! We’ll get even the next time around!!

After being shut out the last couple of days due to heavy rain & high winds, I finally made it back out this morning. Nice to see" Mother Nature" was back to her usual self as I had to cancel 3 different bookings! Apparently I wasn’t the only one happy to see the change in weather either, because the ramp had an unusually high amount of traffic at 7 A.M. One "Big Ass" cruiser was dropping in and blocked pretty much everything for almost 25 minutes and caused me to launch way off to the side. Luckily I had just enough room to maneuver the boat to the outside & tie up. It was a full boat this morn as Stephan brought along his girlfriend and Martin did the same with his wife. Not usually a big fan of four on board but we’d have to make it work! I decided to start with a troll due to the number of bodies and set the lines in an area holding, prior to the weather change. I had lost almost 5 degrees since the last time out and now saw 61 as an average. Air temps were barely 60 degrees at the start but expected to reach about 80 by mid afternoon. Although not much wind was present, it was out of the NW making the air a little chilly to begin. The girls were new to this and were going to have the first rods that fired. About 10 minutes into the day one of the reels started to sound but I had to hit the throttle in order to lock it up. It was really a light bite with this water temp and was barely hooked once in the net. Stephan’ s girlfriend had caught her very first dore ever. Being from France, she was excited to finally see what they looked like & a few quick pics were taken. Into the livewell it went as they were hoping to bring a few home to have for dinner tonight. The second & third fish were also walleye and now almost everyone was on the board. Stephan was the last up and when the next reel fired, it went off hard. This fish seemed quite large and I had visions of another lunge. I immediately cleared all the lines and awaited the visual. After many good runs and a decent battle, I was surprised to see that it was actually a northern. It was a rather large one though and went just about 10 pounds! Several pics later it swam off and we continued with our fishing. Weekends are never my favorite days to be on the water for various reasons but people moving in on me are number one! That hateful cruiser that had blocked the ramp had somehow found where I was and decided to set up right next to me. I hadn’t thought he would be fishing but soon saw several rods being prepared. I immediately trolled out of the area never to return! Unfreaking believable! The next couple of locations also saw slow action due to the cold water temps but we did pick away at them nonetheless. Knowing that Stephan wanted to cast, I waited until 11:00 for the water to warm before heading shallow for bass. It was here that they managed to all catch several largemouth and a couple of them were decent sizes too. I believe both Martin & Stephan managed to land 4 pounders along with a bunch of two to three pounds as well. The girls also landed several smaller fish of their own, all on soft plastics. When the bite slowed down, they thought another troll was in order and I willingly obliged! I went back to an area close by that was extremely slow earlier in the day and was immediately locked up. Mostly pike were caught now but a couple of nice walleye were also taken. I had one more area I wanted to fish before they called it a day and decided to head over to see if they were active. I had briefly fished it this morning before the cruiser moved in and wanted to try it once again. As if on cue, the fish started to bite and they were almost all walleye! Everyone had a couple of rotations in the last hour but it was Stephan that managed to land the largest walleye of the day. Unfortunately for him, it was an over and had to be returned after a couple of quick pics. We ended the day on another fish as I was bringing in the lines and the last one bent over heavily. Stephan had caught a pike and the last fish of the day. Despite the surprise number of bodies this morning, they all managed to have a great time while catching many fish. On top of that, they were taking several walleye home for a great dinner! Another great day of fishing and nobody got hurt! Who could ask for anything more!!

Clinton & Hafey were with me this morning, all the way from Australia. They were in the city on business and thought they check out our fishing. Not having ever caught what swims in our waters, they would have many personal bests today! It was also going to be interesting because Hafey was a fly fisherman and brought some rods & tackle of his own. After a slight debriefing on the shore and rigging up one of his rods, we were ready for the lake. I had instructed him to set up the fastest sinking line he had as we were going to be trolling over some deeper water and he needed to get down. Along with the rods, he also brought a good selection of flies that I was sure the pike & walleye would take a liking to! I headed out to the area we had finished up on yesterday to see if there were any active fish still eager to eat. Clinton trolled with rod in hand this time and Hafey did the same with the fly. Would the fish bite was the question? Although marking several decent hooks suspended, it seemed rather slow and then Hafey locked up with his very first ever walleye on the fly. A keeper in the 17 inch size was what he had brought to net and well deserving of a picture. I was sure he would get more and quickly went back to trolling. Clinton wasn’t having any luck, so I decided to add another rod to the spread and placed one short line in the rod holder. As luck would have it, the reel went off shortly after and he reeled in a walleye of his own. Both of them had a new species to add to their list of caught fish now and hopefully plenty more would follow. Eventually after a couple more fish on the short line, Clinton actually hooked one of his own. Although another first, this little perch was nothing to write home about and was quickly released. Hafey managed to get one small pike from this area adding another species before I decided to relocate, to hopefully greener pastures. The next area had us out in open water where I had been catching a combination of pike & walleye and we went right back to the same spread. After a couple of northerns on the short line I decided to pull the rod as it was the only one getting hit. Being a short line and the first bait through, it wasn’t a surprise! Both Clinton & Hafey managed to catch a few northerns, but it wasn’t on fire here. I kept moving around looking for active fish and eventually after a few more fish decided to try a little shallower. This time however they would be casting to new weeds in 5 to 8 feet of water looking for the pike moving offshore. It wasn’t fast & furious but they both managed to hook into several smaller ones and enjoyed doing the casting thing. Hafey had set up a lighter rod with a sink tip and missed several before realizing that he had to wait a couple of seconds before setting on the fish. I found the water to be extremely cold here today and saw that it was barely over 62 degrees, telling me to slow down considerably. After changing to a lighter fly and smaller strips Hafey started to hook up. In fact he even landed a couple of pre spawn largemouth on their way into the shallows! As we weren’t targeting them, I didn’t feel guilty and just kept moving! By mid day the water had warmed to almost 67 degrees and I decided to try offshore once more to see if the pike & walleye were active. As with before, the short line was the reel to fire most often but now they were at least catching on their rods too. I kept moving around looking for the active ones but was never able to lock onto them like I wanted. Each area had several eaters but nothing to write home about. By late afternoon we were back to where I had began the day in hopes that something had changed. Fortunately they did have better luck and Hafey even landed a couple more new species in the process. He had caught one perch and two smallmouth bass here and thoroughly enjoyed the bass. I told him he was about 4 days too early! With the season only opening on the 13th, I was unable to fish for them and had to settle on the pike and walleye. Still it was nice to see him tackle something he had never caught before! We finished the day here with a few more eyes as well as small pike before calling it a day. They had experienced something different and managed to catch a bunch of new fish in the process. Hafey was a great fly fisherman and I would have loved to had him a little later in the season to put him on the smallies. Despite a slower day than what I am accustomed to, it was still a high numbers outing and they both left fulfilled. For me it was just nice to be out on a weekday and not have to be looking over my shoulder all the time. There definitely weren’t many boats out today and it was a pleasure just to be on the water. Catching fish was an added bonus!!

I was back out again this morning with Danial & James, hoping for a repeat of yesterdays success. We met up at 7:30 and it didn’t take long before they were fishing. The weather was great at the start with sunshine and light winds and the air temps were already 70 degrees. With conditions like these, the water would definitely warm up during the day! It had been fluctuating between 62 & 67 degrees and the fish were lethargic because of this. I set the lines and began trolling a deeper shoal in hopes of a quick bite or two and wasn’t disappointed. Almost on cue, one of the reels went off and a keeper sized walleye soon came to net. As they weren’t taking anything back with them, it was quickly released after. The next reel to fire was from a healthy northern about 6 pounds and things were looking up. A few more of each species and a roaming smallie later and we were relocating. I wanted to see if they could catch some larger eyes and knew just the place. we weren’t there 5 minutes when James was tight to a really good fish and I knew he had quality. It felt just like dead weight with a head shake every now & then. It was an over and went almost 24 inches in the net! Definitely one I was looking for and I hoped there would be more. Danial had the next rod and when it screamed I knew it too was big! He was into another one just like the first and a personal best as well. Several quick pics and back she went unharmed. When things slowed I moved again and now they were getting pike from this new area. Although not big, still fun to catch for them and the day was looking up. We kept moving to different areas each time it slowed and by doing so, were able to monopolize on the active fish. From deep to shallow, we got bit everywhere! Late in the afternoon after catching plenty of fish, I decided to try an area that had been putting out some real quality walleye hoping for a couple of giants. this time however I had them fishing spinning tackle and holding their rods to feel the bites. In the last couple of hours of the day, they managed to catch many more keeper sized walleye and a few overs as well. James had the best luck as he landed one over 25 inches and a small musky about 37 inches. We held out for that last bite just long enough for James to capture his first ever lunge making today their best fishing day ever. I think their expectations were surpassed early in the morning and by the end of the day, tenfold! Neither one of them could have ever dreamed of a day like this and I’m glad they got to experience just what our waters have to offer. They literally had all kinds of personal bests today and caught plenty of fish in between. Days like these don’t always occur but when the conditions are just right, they happen often. Hats off to "Mother Nature" for not always being cruel. Today was surely a day to remember and both of them won’t be forgetting it anytime soon!!

Rick & Dan were back once again for their annual fishing trip, but this time Dave didn’t accompany them. Instead, Dan junior was here with his uncle and dad and looking forward to battling a few fish. I hooked up with them before 8 o’clock and immediately hit the water. After yesterday’s outing, I knew exactly where I wanted to start and it wasn’t long before all four rods were set. The weather was a little cool this morning but temps were suppose to rise into the mid 70’s by afternoon. Water temps were down again and were now barely over 60 degrees. The winds were out of the NW but not suppose to get any stronger than 10 knots and very fishable. I knew with the overcast skies and colder water temps that the fish would be a little lethargic. In fact I was marking them but they weren’t moving on the lures! I really had to slow down and eventually one of the reels made a few clicking sounds signifying a fish was there. I immediately hit the gas to lock it up and Rick had the first official walleye of the day. This fish barely made a sound and would have probably gotten off had I not done what I did. The next reel to go off was Juniors and he was soon reeling in a northern pike of just a few pounds. A little later he had a good rip and was tight to a big fish this time. When I finally saw the fish I realized that it was a walleye and went for the larger net. These fish weren’t fighting at all and just swam to the boat with barely a head shake. Once in the net we saw just how big she was and had to weigh her due to their side bets. They had one for first fish, biggest fish and overall most fish. This 6 pounder was a definite contender! After a couple of quick pics she went right back to the water. We too went right back to trolling and junior had another fish rip the reel once again. This time I netted a smaller walleye that was in the slot and it joined the earlier one in the well. In just a few brief minutes, junior had taken two of the three categories in their bet! I had worked pretty hard for the few fish they had caught and decided to leave for hopefully greener pastures! We fished our next area for almost 30 minutes marking plenty of fish but without a touch. Time to relocate again and this time it was quick. Within a few minutes, junior had a good rip but wasn’t quick enough with the rod holder & it was gone! By now Dan was beginning to wonder why his lines weren’t firing and then he got one to go. They had picked rods in the morning and Dan was left with the third pick. He would have to settle for the long, high lines and didn’t have a choice. This time however, I was in shallow water and he finally had the advantage. Another walleye came aboard and joined his friends in the livewell. We had a bunch more action here but unfortunately they were all pike afterwards. Time to leave again and now I made a long run to hopefully warmer water and more aggressive fish. This next place proved to be a little better with plenty of action. Mostly pike were being caught but Dan did get a really nice walleye that took out his son Junior. His went 7 pounds on the scale and was 1 pound larger than the previous one to beat. Sometime mid afternoon I decided to change up the rod spread and hooked them all up with spinning rods so they could actually be in control. Well it took a little while before we got back on the fish but eventually they started hooking up. Dan & Rick were machines for a while with Junior literally taking a back seat to their success. In fact Junior never caught another fish for the remainder of the day while they just pounded on them! We even changed locations and hit another walleye spot before calling it a day and the same thing happened there. Being in the middle has its downfalls as the outer rods have a larger fishing area. Dan & Rick did manage to land another 6 or 8 walleye in the remainder of the time we fished and Junior just watched. We pulled the boat out and called it a day just after 4 o’clock. I had a bunch of fish to clean as everyone was having fish for dinner. Despite a slower than expected start, the outcome was pretty good. Once the sun came out and the water warmed up, the fish started to bite. We’ll be back out again tomorrow and I think Junior will be looking for an end seat, so to speak. There will be no more middle spot for him again! Can’t wait to see what’s in store for them next!!