Isabelle & her son Justin were with me this morning on another flat, calm outing. We got rolling around 8:00 and proceeded to an area to try for a variety of species. With the lack of wind, I knew we were in for a tough bite and that the bugs would be insane. The floating weeds weren’t much fun either as I had to constantly monitor the rods. I had my work cut out for me today! Once the lines were set, we trolled around looking for takers and had a quick bite from a bass. Well, the reel didn’t go off but the fish took to the air, throwing the lure instantly. The next fish was a northern of about 4 or 5 pounds and Justin finally had his first fish of the day. Although not what I was really after, it was welcomed nonetheless as we were struggling under these conditions. The morning cloud cover should have had most fish on the prowl, but it seemed to have the opposite effect with several short strikers getting off instantly. I tried deeper, shallower and everything in between, but suffered with the results. We did however manage to land one legal walleye trolling and at least they had that to go home with. I knew that if they were going to have a meal, I would have to change things up and relocate. A few perch, a couple of short walleye and several lost fish on the strike wouldn’t feed a family of five. The morning cloud cover had given way to clear skies & the bright sunshine turned the day into a scorcher. By afternoon, it would get even worse! I can honestly say that this would prove to be one of the top three days of the summer, for heat & humidity. We took a quick shore break mid day and stretched, allowing me the time to instruct Justin on casting techniques. Our afternoon would be one without trolling as the flat water required a change up. We would be casting instead and starting on smallies. With a little fine tuning, it didn’t take long before Justin was making decent casts and it showed. He had a pick up on a senko that resulted in a hookup and now he was battling his first bass. Although it did take him all over the place, he handled it well and eventually came to the net. This completed his “Grand Slam” for the day, but it wasn’t over yet. We relocated again for more walleye when the bass just followed the baits, showing very little interest. Even they felt the lack of flow in the current and refused the slowest bait we could fish. I had another area near by that might just turn this day around and headed there with high hopes. We would all be throwing jigs to entice the walleye and hopefully able to put a few more in the livewell. Justin’s casting had escaladed into a distance thing now and I had to teach him a little control. Too far would mean weeds here and he needed to be right on he edge. Once he got the hang of it he began to hook a few, adding to the livewell and their dinner. Isabelle was slowly working the jig in the back of the boat and finally hooked one of her own. It looked like a good walleye by the bend in the rod and I was pretty sure it wouldn’t make the cut. Sure enough, it measured over 22 inches and although worthy of a few pics, needed to be returned. We went on a little rally for a period and managed to put a limit of fish in the boat. Several short ones were also released and Justin had taken a few of them too! When it really went dead I decided to try a little more trolling, just to see if things had changed. Well, it didn’t take long before we had our answer as a reel screamed and Justin was into another good walleye. We managed to get one more and pulled the plug for the day, after another northern came aboard. We had endured the 80 plus temps & high humidity, lack of fish cooperation and nasty “Dog Pecker Knats” long enough. Regardless of all these disadvantages, today was a successful one and Justin passed “Fishing 101”! He had also landed perch, pike, walleye & bass and was contributing to tonight’s dinner. I hope that he continues to fish on his own from shore, keeping the desire going. Taking a kid fishing is a good thing but by teaching them to fish, it only increases the interest to continue on their own. Hopefully his passion for this sport will be contagious and become a family affair. I’m sure his mother would like nothing better as today brought back memories from her past. All in all, “A Great Day for Fishing”!!

Stephanie had contacted me earlier in the season, requesting info on fishing with her fiancé. They were from New Brunswick and she wanted to treat him to a day while they were here on vacation. Today they would experience smallmouth fishing like never before! To date their personal bests might have been 2.5 pounds and I assured them that they would definitely surpass that many times over. We hooked up just around 8:00 and were fishing soon after. They were about to learn a new technique as drop shotting was on the menu. I sent the first line down, instructed them on how to fish with the rig and within 3 minutes, Stephanie was locked up. It may not have been a giant to me but a three pounder was still her biggest bass and required a quick pic. From this point on, things were looking up as they were about to have plenty of action for the remainder of the day. Both of them caught on quickly and were hooking up regularly with fish over 4 pounds. A few doubles were had as well and they were having a blast. I don’t think they expected action like this let alone the size caliber they were experiencing. When people start complaining that their wrists and arms are sore, it’s been a great day! They even had a side bet going for the smallest fish that had the winner being served dinner. Well Stephanie was happy to win this one as any cutting of vegetables tonight would be out of the question. Instead she would be relaxing with a glass of wine on the deck! With very few slow periods throughout the day, they were pretty much into fish constantly. Later in the afternoon they doubled up again and managed to bring two giants aboard for a nice pic. It was like clockwork, whenever I slid over the right areas. Drop it down, lift a couple of times and set the hook! There were many times when they got crushed immediately after it hit the bottom too. As the afternoon was getting on and Stephanie’s arms were beginning to get tired, we decided that one more each would end the day. That took less than 5 minutes and we were on our way! It had started with a bang and ended with an explosion! Both Stephanie & her fiancé had never imagined fishing could be this good. They are going to have a hard time fishing back home after catching as many quality fish as they had today. Something tells me this won’t be the last time I see them. Talk of a return trip is probably already in the making and possibly before next summer. Who knows, I might even see them this fall when the fishing gets good!!

Russell & his son Thomas were with me this morning, looking for a day of lunge fishing. Thomas had caught a few on his own up north and wanted more! We would begin by trolling for them in overcast skies and hope for the best. They were aware that these were hateful creatures and there were no guarantees that they would cooperate! We spent a total of four hours in broken periods without even as much as a rip. Gotta love washing lures! The only thing we had to show for our efforts was a 6 pound northern that hit a bait, trolled at 5 miles an hour. We did however get into some decent smallies both in the shallows as well as deep drop shotting. The lake was like a mirror but fortunately there was no sunshine and the temps were almost comfortable. Late in the afternoon after the pike, we switched up completely and spent a little time trolling for walleye. This was a welcomed treat as the reels fired often in the short time we fished. They were able to get a few fish to take home and landed several others in the process. Just before we were ready to call it a day, another reel went off and it didn’t stop. I wasn’t positive but had thoughts of what it was. I decided to clear the other lines just in case and we just waited. We had trolled for these hateful things for over half the day and Thomas was locked up on one with the lighter tackle. Go figure! He had the fish on for a few minutes and I actually thought it was going alright when it made a last run and came unpinned. I had only caught a glimpse of it in the water but it was definitely a good muskie. Like I said before, hateful! We licked our wounds and decided to call it quits. It was definitely not going to happen today and throwing in the towel seemed like the best thing to do. They were however taking home a few fish for dinner if that was any consolation. By losing this fish, Thomas only wanted more and the fever will continue until the next time he hooks one. More, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger is the saying and the disease never goes away! Good luck to him on his next endeavor for the most hateful creatures on the planet!!

Lee had contacted me the day before, hoping to get out with his parents for a half day of fishing. As luck would have it, I was open and we met up around 8:00 this morning, in hopes of their very first fish. They hadn’t fished before and I thought the troll would be the easiest method for everyone. I set the lines and began searching open water, looking for the first bite. It didn’t take long before we were into them as a combination of Walters, pike and smallies attacked our lures. A few of the walleye were over 5 pounds and made for some nice pics. Along with these fish there were also a couple of greedy perch whose appetites were bigger than they were! With a light breeze out of the north, the air temps were quite comfortable this morning and the floating weeds weren’t bad either. I was able to keep the baits relatively clean through most areas allowing us more strikes. In the four hours they were with me they must have caught a total of 20 or more fish and mostly quality as well. For their first time fishing, I think they really enjoyed themselves, catching a variety of species. Seeing as how I had the rest of the day open, I thought I would head back on the lake with Christiane, after dropping them off at the dock. No sense in cutting the entire day short! We immediately went back to a troll and her first fish of the day was a 7 pound walleye. Not a bad way to start! After getting a couple of smaller ones for our dinner, I thought we’d switch it up and go target smallies. She hadn’t fished them much this season until last weekend and definitely had the bug. We hit a few shallow spots and managed to get several good ones with a couple pushing 5 pounds. The remainder of the afternoon saw a mix of trolling walleye & casting smallies before we headed home. I was glad I hadn’t pulled the plug after the morning trip as many more fish were caught afterwards. To make matters even better, the ramp was relatively free and I was out in no time flat! I wish more days could be like this one!!

Cliff had planned a friend’s bachelor party and a half day of fishing was geared for the start of today. We met up at 8:00 and hit the water in search of some walleye. The water was flat calm and with the sun, would trigger plenty of those pesky, little bugs. We took advantage of the lower light and caught several walleye & pike in the first couple of hours before heading for bass. At least they had a few in the livewell for a later meal! The flat calm conditions were like the kiss of death as absolutely nothing was moving! We hoped the bass would react differently and ran to another area to give it a try. It was here that we had more action and the guest of honor locked up on several nice ones. The others were having a hard time getting the hooks to the bass and unfortunately missed all of their chances. We covered plenty of shallow water but only managed to land a handful of bass in the process. With time not being on our side, I decided to head back & try for a few more walleye. I had hoped that the sunshine would have moved the fish to cover, making them easier to target. Well we didn’t hammer them, but we did pick up a few more along with some pike and bass. They had additional plans for the afternoon and called it a day. At least they were able to fish for part of it and get into some decent fish in the process. Although the morning was fun, I’m sure their second half of the day will be even more enjoyable!!