Darren was looking for a few big bass today and I knew just the place. We took a road trip to another lake in hopes of some action in deep water. I had the ministry out just a week ago and knew we would get into a similar bite from the abyss! The conditions were almost perfect with a light SW wind of around 5 knots and sunshine scheduled for the day. Boat traffic should be light, I thought, with this being a Monday. Unfortunately we both forgot that a holiday for most of the country was taking place and it felt like the weekend traffic was back! We started in an area with some sign of life and it didn’t take long before Darren was locked up. Although not the size we expected, 3.5 pounds was still nice to see! Immediately after the release, he was tight lined again and another fish slightly smaller was brought to the net. I needed to gain boat control and also had a line down just to judge the drift but wasn’t fending as well. I was zero for two so far before I finally locked up on a beauty. Somewhere along the way up, this one too came unpinned and the zero was back. I did however redeem myself on the next drop with a healthy 4 ponder and the skunk was off of my back! We made several attempts at finding the biggest fish in the area and managed to get into a bunch of fish along the way. The numbers were there but not the caliber that I was hoping for and then it happened. A double header and both bruisers! I got the first one to the net but when Darren’s fish decided to take to the air, it got off. Wow, that could have been ten pounds of smallies instantly! Fortunately he also redeemed himself almost immediately with one pushing 5 on the next drop and all was forgotten. We both missed our share of quality bass and landed a few, but the better ones were hard to keep on this morning. We decided to try another area considerably shallower with a different presentation. For the next couple of hours, we attempted to catch fish from different places on a variety of lures and soft plastics. The results were much smaller bass and not any numbers either. Knowing that our best chances were in the depths, we pulled the plug here and relocated to slightly similar spots as the morning. Apparently it was the right decision as immediate hookups were had. Fish of all sizes were being taken now and after catching a bunch of medium sized smallies, a big one or two was taken. This lasted until the end of the day with a lot of water being covered. Every time we had a rise from the bottom, some action was had. Although we didn’t see high numbers today, we were definitely into quality bass from the places we fished. Despite all the traffic on the lake, the day ended with satisfaction all around. By concentrating deep we were able to get the big bites while fishing over the non pressured bass. A quality day all around!!

Chris & Betty were back with me again today for their second round of bass fishing. They had fished with me about 10 days earlier and left wanting more! Would this day be as good as their last? I picked them up at the hotel at 7:00 and proceeded to the ramp for more “lip ripping”! With another beautiful day in the forecast, I was sure we’d get em! Water temps were around 74 degrees and the air was to reach into the 80’s with mostly sunshine. A light wind from the SW went 10 to 20 by afternoon causing a slight change in technique. The morning bite was slow but they caught regardless on a variety of baits. Soft plastics, cranks and spinners did the trick, but I wasn’t satisfied. We soon switched gears and went much deeper. A quick demonstration on how to drop shot and they were in the game. Numbers of fish were getting caught but mostly of average size. I repositioned the boat in a different zone and they began getting into some of the larger ones. Although there wasn’t anything over 5 pounds, there were several high fours brought to net. As the afternoon got later, we saw more & more cruisers coming out for the weekend. They were setting up positions in all the usual areas and not caring about who was in their path, getting there. Quite a few of their rollers bounced us around and some splashing actually came over the back. Weekend warriors on a Friday, lucky us! Regardless of this, they still kept catching and that was all that mattered. With each drift, rods were bent and fish were landed. By 4:00, after landing a few more decent fish, we called it a day. The action may not have been like their first trip, but the numbers were there. We just had to change techniques in order to get the fish to bite today. With summertime comes relocation and this was definitely a perfect example of how they move. Solid action was had all day with just a slight adjustment in both location and presentation. Enough to keep anyone happy, as Chris & Betty both left satisfied. I hope some of the techniques used here will allow them to increase their catches when they get back home. Overall a very successful day, again!!

After a couple of postponements this season, Hughes was finally out with me today. He brought his son Olivier and his girlfriend Stephanie as well, for some smallmouth bass fishing. Winds were light for the start and air temps were hot & humid. We began on a flat, throwing a mix of baits and hooked up almost immediately. Hughes tossed a spinnerbait for aggressive biters and was rewarded with several violent hits. Both Olivier & Stephanie tossed soft plastics and unfortunately missed several fish before finally connecting with a few of their own. Stephanie wasn’t too familiar with fishing but after a little coaching she was able to hook into some decent fish too. We fished a series of places, both shallow and deep but managed to get more bites shallow. Boat traffic was usual for the weekend with people running all over, without any idea of what was below. We even saw a big “Scarab” run through water as shallow as 3 feet & covered with a hard rock bottom. Still don’t know how he didn’t hit! To make matters worse, he ran back through the same area about 20 minutes later and never touched a rock again. I think he should buy a lotto ticket! Later on in the day, the skies darkened and the winds picked up considerably causing us to make a dash for the boat ramp. After checking the radar I realized that we were going to get hit before 2:00 and we unanimously called the day. Although it could have been longer, they still managed to get into plenty of bass up to almost 4 pounds. Overall a good day regardless of what “Mother Nature” had to say!!

Stephane was back with me again today and this time he wasn’t alone. Martin joined him for only his second time fishing in 20 years. This was going to be a challenge! We met up before 7:00 and were headed to our first location soon after. Bass was on the menu and they were about to slaughter them good! Water temps were still around 73 degrees and the air was going to exceed 80 degrees by afternoon. I was glad we had gotten an early start because the lake was about to become a zoo with all the mid day cruisers! Well for only fishing once before, Martin caught on quickly and both he & Stephane were fast into fish. They may not have been huge but it was a good start for them before getting into the bigguns. The two places we hit first had loads of fish and catching them wasn’t a problem. In three hours or so they landed both numbers and some quality as well. Eventually we hit an area that had the better ones and unfortunately more were lost than landed. For some reason most were coming unpinned, but not all. They did manage to get a few over 4 pounds making for some great pics. This went on for the better part of the afternoon as well and plenty more fish were added to the numbers. We even trolled for a while in the afternoon to add a few walleye to their dinner menu. Knowing that the boat ramp was not going to be pretty, we pulled the plug around 4:00 and headed back. As with all weekend traffic here, I had close to 45 minutes before I was out. It’s amazing how people have no courtesy for others around them at boat ramps. This one really needs someone stationed there to do crowd control. Between cars parked in trailer slots illegally and boats tied to the dock for hours at a time, it’s frustrating at best most weekends. Throw in alcohol and it’s just insane! Oh well, at least the fishing was great today!!

I had been contacted by the Quebec ministry to do a deep water smallmouth experiment and spent three days collecting specimens with them. They were trying to evaluate the mortality vs. survival rate from fish caught in excess of 30 feet. Due to the high number of tournaments held each year, this had become a concern and they were given the green light to set it up. Cages were placed in specific locations to hold these fish and large enough to allow them access to various depth ranges. After catching the fish, they were tagged with micro chips, measured, weighed and a blood sample was removed for DNA. The fish remained healthy in the livewell throughout the day but due to their air bladders over inflated, they were upside down the entire time. Fizzing was to be done only if required after being placed into the cages. By simulating the effects of a typical tournament day in captivity, they wanted to monitor how the fish reacted. As with any tournament, the largest possible fish were only wanted and this wasn’t a problem. We had fish in the 4 to over 5 pound range in the well pretty much every day and managed good numbers for their experiment. For three days, we collected smallmouth bass and everyone caught their share. In fact, I think everyone had personal bests by the time it was all over! I was fortunate to meet up with different people each day and everyone was great. What helped however was the fact that they were all fishermen and caught on immediately, fishing deep. Kudos to the biologists and ministry guys for their efforts in trying to preserve such a tremendous fishery! Overall, it was a great three days of fishing with plenty of quality fish for the experiment. Hopefully the results will be positive and help improve fish released after being held captive. I’m sure this is just the start of a long process of information & gatherings, geared towards protecting an already great fishery. I can’t wait to get back out with them and see the results!!