After a phenomenal day on the lake yesterday, refining more new water, I was back out today with Armin & Aerie. Although the conditions weren’t the same, I was sure we would have similar success. Due to the July 1st festivities at my usual boat ramp, I was forced to launch elsewhere with its closure. I had found another area closer to major boat traffic and had no alternative but to bite the bullet and use their site. The morning launch was great as most people weren’t on the lake yet but what would the afternoon return be like? We hooked up around 8:30 and headed to an area where we were to troll. Flat calm conditions were blessed with floating weeds everywhere as I set the lines. Weekend boat traffic is always the cause when people don’t know the lake. They race their boats through shallow weedy areas and become lawn mowers! I had thought we would get into them pretty good but was surprised to find that it was a grind. I was getting more short strikes than actual hits and wasn’t sure why. At one point a reel screamed so much that I knew why, lunge attack! It leaped behind the boat and proceeded to rip more line from the reel before I managed to finally lip grip it with the boga. It may not have been a large fish but they were excited to have landed their very first muskie. After this incident, we began hooking up a little better and now they were actually landing several fish. Bass, pike and small walleye were coming aboard and all was good! My biggest problem was trying to keep the lines clean as the floaters were just insane. Every couple of minutes I was forced to bring the lines in and clear grass from the lures. Even with the rod tips in, they were collecting somewhat. Eventually I just pulled the plug on this area and headed somewhere else where they were to try drop shotting. Seeing as how they had little experience, I instructed them in what to do and soon after they were locking up on bass. Although smaller than I wanted, the action was pretty good and we stayed here for a while. We even got to see why there was so much floating vegetation when huge cruisers ran through shallow water behind us. That area was just a giant weed flat and they had no clue it was there. Lucky they didn’t hit the inboard motor as the gravel would still do some damage! The wind started to pick up and I thought we might do a little better trolling so we ran to another spot and gave it a try. Although the floaters were still terrible, the fish were still here as the reels began firing almost immediately. Some pike were getting caught along with a few walleye but not the size I was use to. I wanted them to take one or two home and was working the areas hard in order to get bit. Eventually a nice one just under 20 inches came aboard and now they had dinner. We pulled it in just under the wire as they decided to call it a day around 2:00. By now the lake traffic was at a max and I knew it would be interesting heading back to the new ramp. I was right as I had to dodge sailboats, cruisers and many other smaller vessels through narrow passages just to get back. Wow, I’m sure glad I don’t have to use that ramp too often! Despite the short day on the water, I think they both have a better understanding of the type of fishery we actually have. Hopefully they will return again and refine their abilities even more. Overall, a successful day despite the weeds & long weekend traffic!!

I had a couple of half day trips the past two days that proved to be quite interesting. The first one started with a group of three that ‘Mother Nature” didn’t want to let on the lake. We actually had cancelled the evening before and awoke to completely different conditions, than forecasted. Instead of steady rain & high winds, it was only overcast and almost flat calm. Not wanting to waste the entire day, I decided to head out on my own and check a few new areas. Somewhere around 10:00 the phone rings and Alex wants to know if they can still head out, seeing as how the weather wasn’t too bad. By 1:00, they were at the dock and shortly after, on the lake. With the onset of foul weather on the way, I immediately headed back to where I had found fish and had the reels going immediately. They landed several smallies and a bunch of walleye in the 3.5 hours we were out and despite the high winds and rather large waves that rolled in when the arrived, they still had a blast. I think it was Britney that managed to land the largest walleye at almost 5 pounds but everyone had held their own too. We had somehow managed to cheat “Mother Nature” and found our way out on the late arrival of her nasty weather. By the time we got off the water, the winds were rolling 3 footers as a steady 20 knot wind was blowing. Although the conditions were less than perfect, it all worked out!! On my way to the lake Thursday morning, I received a call from Darren informing me that he wanted to fish a half day. I headed out solo for a couple of hours and was back at the dock by eleven to pick him up for the afternoon. Winds were almost non existent and the high sun had the heat somewhere in the 80’s. Humidity was pretty high as well but that didn’t matter as the fish were going to bite! We trolled & casted and caught smallmouth and walleye, but found drop shotting to be the best. In one area it was almost every cast for a while as fish after fish were coming aboard. Most of them were walleye but several smallies were landed as well. The walleye were perfect size for eaters and a few 17 to 18 inch fish were harvested. Although there were no real big ones in this area, the action had us quite content to stay. Eventually I shifted gears again in hopes of bigger fish and headed elsewhere. We reset the lines for a troll and apparently it proved to be the right choice. For the last hour or so, we managed to hook several big eyes and a few of them were in the 24 inch size. Along with the walleye were a couple of large pike and a smallie or two but at least there was action. I pulled the plug shortly after 4:00 as Darren had to pick up his son at day camp. We were back at the ramp by 4:15 and parted ways. What a great way to spend the afternoon, fishing for Walters & Bass!!

A late afternoon fishing day was what we had as Greg could only manage to get away after lunch. We hooked up just before 2 o’clock and headed out to see what we could accomplish before sunset. High heat & humidity was at max as I dropped the lines in & began the troll. Greg was from down south and never had any experience with pike or walleye before and very little smallmouth action as well. My mandate today was to give him the slam that he wanted by completing all three species. With the air temps in the mid to upper 80’s we were grateful for the 15 to 20 knot winds from the west. Water temps were climbing and were now almost 73 degrees. The first reel to go had managed to hook into a small northern around 4 pounds and he was on the board. Next to fire was another of about the same size and shortly after, a walleye almost made it into the net before escaping just inches away. Not a problem though, as I was sure we would have others! I wasn’t happy with the results so far and widened my search, looking for a concentration. By covering water I was finally able to figure out what the fish were relating to and focused on a specific area when the reels started to go. Greg was now landing fish every few minutes and finally got his walleye, closing in on his slam. In fact, he managed to land several more walleye and bumped up the size to nearly 5 pounds. I kept trolling this section and expanded on the area until I was sure I had reached their outer limits. Several more northerns, a few walleye and the final smallie completed his slam soon after and his expectations were met! All that was left now was more & bigger! Things had slowed slightly but we were still picking at them, when the short line started screaming. By the time he popped it from the holder, there was over 50 feet of line gone from the counter and it was still going! I knew this was a big one and immediately brought in the other line. When he reached over 125 I realized I would have to back up to regain some of the lost line. Heavy head shakes and blistering runs were constant and I was pretty sure what he had hooked into. We were finally able to get within 20 feet or so and then she surfaced. Yuup, it was jaws! He was tight to what looked like another giant lunge and tickled to death about the possibility of a Grand Slam. The big waves made it difficult to manage this beast and careful maneuvering was needed in order to get the fish close enough to the boat to land it. I actually had to get up wind and drift down towards her before I finally got the boga in her mouth. Greg was elated when he held her up for a few quick pics! She immediately went back in the water and shortly after, swam off no worse for wear. What a day he was having and it wasn’t even over yet! We went back to trolling and I informed him that it was all down hill after that one! Fortunately it wasn’t and he continued landing several more fish of all three species once more. As it was getting on, I decided to pull the plug on trolling and head to an area where he could cast for some smallies instead. I tried him on a spinnerbait, but the fish were just bumping the bait signaling that they weren’t interested. Immediately I switched him to a senko and it was game on! He was getting bites frequently now and landed several decent bass up to almost 4 pounds. Now he realizes what all the interest is about when it comes to smallmouth. He loved the overall power they all have and the fight they give compared to their brother the largemouth. After wearing out our welcome and landing about ten or so we moved once more and switched to a drop shot set up. Now I had him casting a deep break and it didn’t take long before he landed a small walleye. With the sun getting close to the horizon I knew we didn’t have much time before departing and held him in the sweet spot. A few more bites later he landed a nice walleye of 17 inches and that was all she wrote. We packed it up and headed back to the ramp to take out. This had been a trip to remember and he had experienced it all in a brief period. Not only did he accomplish what he had set out to do but he added the bonus fish to the mix. Who could have asked for anything more!!

Phillip joined me early this morning and we were looking to fish another half day before the major heat arrived. A 6:30 meet time had us on the water quickly and we were off to the first stop of the day. Water temps were hovering around 70 degrees still and a west 10 put a nice chop on the lake. Cloud cover made the already 75 degree temps bearable at least for the present time. Later in the day however, the 90 plus temps may not feel the same! Phillip had wanted to learn a few techniques and today he would accomplish this. As with yesterday though, he began on a spot throwing spinnerbaits to aggressive smallies. Several mid sized fish hammered the blades and the action was fast & furious for a while. We refined presentations and managed several more fish with tubes & senkos when they refused the blades and bumped up his numbers. Drop shotting would be the next technique and he was about to get a crash course in fishing it. Multiple hits resulted in a few smallies and a couple of walleye and he was convinced of its effectiveness. I worked the area thoroughly before shifting presentations and going tighter to the weeds for more. Now we would be working tubes and hopefully picking up the ones that weren’t on the deep drop. Well as if on cue, they bit! Both walleye and bass were eating the offerings and another crash coarse in refining the area was experienced. In a short period he had learned two new techniques and both of them had resulted in many more fish. I hadn’t fished the next area yet this year and wasn’t quite sure what to expect with the low water levels. A combination of spinner baits and senkos were used to entice more smallies but none of the really big ones were landed. I kept moving, hoping I would stumble onto the mother load of giants but never really found them. We picked at the fish, covering plenty of water before moving once more and going back to the drop shot technique. Although it wasn’t fast & furious, we still managed a few more bites from larger bass and all was good. The air temps had really climbed now and the high sun & humidity made it almost unbearable. Add the dog pecker knats and it was way over the edge. We needed to fish while moving due to the lack of wind and shifted gears to the troll. He had wanted to take a walleye home and I was on a quest! I dropped the lines in and started covering water in search of dinner. First rod to fire had a northern of 5 pounds attached to the bait and so did the second. I moved away from this area but was soon to return when we went a long time between bites. On the way back he did manage to land one walleye around 17 inches and definitely had a meal for two! I still wasn’t satisfied and kept at it despite the fact that we were only to fish half day and reset the lines back in anticipation. The next reel to scream definitely had the winner of the day and he was soon to bring a 24 inch walleye to net. A personal best for him and a quick pick before the release. Back we went and just as before, more reels went off bringing a couple more larger walleye aboard. One was 18 plus and the other was a fat 22.5 incher that got returned. He had only wanted to bring one fish home so the smaller 17 incher went back to the lake as well. We spent a few more minutes catching a couple of other pike and then pulled the plug on this heat wave day. Phillip had accomplished what he had set out to do by learning a few new techniques and was bringing dinner home too. We had also managed to turn a half day into a full one & that was a bonus. Overall, a very productive day on the water!!

I hit the water this morning with Buddha & his faithful companion Norm, or was it the other way around. We were on a quest for smallies and it was to be the first time that I fished for them, exclusively this season. The walleye bite has been way too good to change up completely! It was going to be a hot one and I knew we wouldn’t be lasting the entire day with the big guy on board. Air temps were to reach the mid 80’s with high humidity and the winds were to diminish to almost nothing by mid day. We stopped on our first location and Norm started slinging spinnerbaits for the brown bass in hopes of a few violent hits. Well, first cast he was crushed and loved the feel of being violated again! This carried on for over 30 minutes on just about every other cast before it slowed enough to warrant a change up. When we began throwing tubes, it started all over again & many more smallies came aboard. Back to spinnerbaits and a location change and Norm was back in the grove. We hadn’t moved very far but it was enough to get a few more aggressive fish to react to the blades once more. I hadn’t been able to introduce Norm to the “Drop Shot” last season and decided now was the time to let him see it in action. I had a place nearby that broke to deep water and we were going to cast the drop. Well as luck would have it, he caught on as quickly as I had anticipated and it wasn’t long before we were doubling up. Both walleye & smallies were falling victim to the offering and it was a blast! When the action slowed, I decided to move once more and get him right back on the blade bite as he enjoyed the hits so much. I tossed a tube jig to the outer drop as Norm began chucking the spinnerbait to more aggressive smallies. We were both catching, but I was the only one bringing in walleye as well and then it happened. Norm knew by the boil and hit that he wasn’t in Kansas anymore! What he had hooked into was a nightmare in his eyes and he wasn’t happy. Most fishermen would have been thrilled, but not Norm as he was locked up with a big old lunge. I knew by its size & the tackle he was using that we would be here a while and settled in for the long awaited bitching. Norm has a history with muskie that initiated a few years back when a lunge ate his bass while he was fighting it. Although he did land the beast, the bass became history and thus began the feud! This time however, it was direct on the spinner bait and considerably larger. When I was finally able to get the boga on her, I realized it was a fifty plus. The battle wasn’t as long as I thought it might be. Norm muscled her to the boat quickly but not for the fish’s sake. He just wanted it off his line so that he could get back to casting for smallies. It was a win, win situation as the muskie wasn’t stressed out as much as she could have been with a lengthy battle. Although I held her before the release, I could feel the power and knew she was ready. Off she went to harass more of Norms bass another day! When Norm finally stopped complaining about those “Hateful Creatures” we went back to fishing. Poor Buddha had worked up quite a sweat during the fight and needed to be cooled off before we relocated. He got a dunking right where we were and came back a new animal! We hit a few more areas and Norm caught a couple more smallies before we pulled the plug completely and headed in .By now the heat was unbearable and we were ready. The wind had died completely and the damn dog pecker knats were in full force. Although we had only fished a half day, it was a productive one and we were satisfied. Well mostly, except for Norms beast! Gotta love the unexpected!!