After two postponed attempts, today was the day that Pierre finally got out! He had promised his son, Marc- Andre a fishing trip for his birthday last month and today it would happen. His son had brought along his friend Shawn and they were about to experience a great half day of fishing! Due to my usual boat ramp being closed for festivities today, I was forced to use an alternate one further away. We headed out in a NE wind that put 2 footers on the water and I was glad. Chop is always better than flat calm and I knew we would get them today! Water temps were hovering below 67 degrees and wouldn’t get much better under all the cloud cover we were in. Once again we were able to run a full spread of rods as there were 4 of us on board. Well just like clockwork, I was forced to adjust our location as the fish were non existent once again! This is really getting old, but it definitely makes me think each time I’m on the water. I wonder if summer will ever arrive! In the first hour or more we only had one small walleye and a tiny pike to show for our efforts and then it happened. I had located fish and they were active. In fact, it was in an area that had never produced before! I had slid off some of my waypoints and gone to an unknown section of the lake when one of the reels started to scream. Marc-Andre was to battle a nice walleye that thought it was a bass. This feisty 3 pounder peeled line off the reel and just didn’t want to come in. With the waves and three other rods in the water, I struggled to finally net his prize. As they were hoping to have a few fish for dinner, it went in the livewell after a few quick pics. The next reel to fire soon became a double header with one walleye and one smallmouth. Shawn & Pierre were next up and two more fish were soon landed. I had planned on relocating elsewhere but after this, decided to stay. First rule in fishing, “Never Leave Fish to Find Fish”! We weren’t going anywhere as I expanded on the area that was giving us action. For the next couple of hours we picked at them pretty good. In fact, the fishing was so good that there was very little time between hookups. Strangely enough though, it all shut down abruptly causing me to wonder about something. Sure enough, when the next reel fired and Shawn was up to bat, I had my answer. He tried to reel the fish in but it had other ideas. There was more line going out than coming in. Yuup, another lunge! Without really knowing just how big it was, I had to laugh at the little guy while he struggled with this beast. Pierre finally took over when he couldn’t hold on any longer and even he had a tough time. As it came close to the boat, she took to the air and gave us a picture perfect view of jaws! I didn’t think it would end well but eventually had her in the boat. Not to over stress the beast out any more than she already was, we shot the pics quickly. I had her back in the water in under a minute and it didn’t take long before she left me with a nice face wash. I didn’t mind at all as she was no worse for wear! I think they will all remember this for quite some time and have great pictures to view as well. I regrouped after all this chaos and finally had the lines back in the water. Not knowing if anything still remained, I attempted another troll nonetheless. It wasn’t like before, but we picked up a few more walleye in the next hour or so. By now the kids were getting a little bit bored and we called it quits after reeling in the biggest walleye of the day. We were finished and I was clearing the lines when I noticed a big bend in one of the rods. Marc-Andre landed his personal best for this trip. For whatever reason, the reel never fired. Instead this 25 inch walleye just swam along with the lure in its mouth until we reeled her in. This would be the freebee of the day, but not really all that uncommon. Many times on previous outings, I have found some of the biggest walleye attached to lures without a sound. We finished pulling the lines and I readied the boat for the nasty run back. By now it was cruiser central and the waves were from every direction. We already had a two foot roll on the water from the NE winds and now we had a washing machine like surface to contend with. The kids thoroughly enjoyed some of the roller coaster areas we encountered while Pierre & I just braced ourselves. Fortunately I was able to get the bow up just right and ran back mostly under 30 all the way. Despite the tough start to the day, we rallied afterwards and turned a so-so start into an incredible finish. I know that both these little guys will remember their outing and all the quality fish they landed. Pierre on the other hand, will always remember his fight with freshwater “Jaws”!!

Reda finally made it out today and brought along his father to enjoy it as well. He also had Guillaume to accompany them making it a great trio! With 4 people in the boat, I was able to run a maximum rod spread to monopolize on the troll. With this being a long weekend, I knew the lake would be crowded and tried to get an early start to the day. Although we only left the dock after 8:00, it was still before most of the cruisers and sailboats began! Sunshine & light winds had us trolling 65 degree water in anticipation of our first bite. It’s been a grind this season with the fish on the move each day and today was no different. I thought I would start in an area that had produced the last time out, but soon found myself looking for new water once again. Eventually we had a reel go off and Reda’s dad was the lucky one. Not only did he get to fight the first fish, but he was into something big! The line was screaming off the reel and I knew what he had! When it took to the air in a tarpon like jump, we all knew as well. He had come all the way from France and was now battling a nice lunge. This fight went on for over 10 minutes before I actually managed to get her in the net. I made sure we got several good pics before releasing the muskie back to the lake unharmed. She swam off within seconds despite the long battle and they were in awe! None of them had ever seen a lunge before and they just witnessed why the apex predator was so sought after! With adrenaline high we reset the lines and began trolling again for walleye. Once I located them, the reels started going off pretty good. We had a combination of both pike and walleye with the emphasis on the eyes. Although nothing huge, they were still fun nonetheless. After getting their fill of trolling, we switched gears and went casting for smallies. I soon realized however that there was a tournament on the lake when I discovered several bass boats in areas I wanted to fish. I stopped in one place and ironically we had it to ourselves! Within seconds they were catching bass on crankbaits and loving it! In fact, in less than 30 minutes, there must have been about 15 smallies hooked from 2 to 3.5 pounds. Talk about a quick limit! When the action slowed, I decided to move to another area nearby. This only produced a couple of fish and another move was made. This one was a little further and equally as good. With the water high and really dirty, they only managed to catch 3 or 4 smallies and I pulled the plug again. I had wanted to drop shot close to the ramp at the end of the day and headed in that direction. By now the lake looked more like rush hour on Decarie and I had to maneuver carefully with all the cruisers. I ended up taking an alternate route to our destination as there must have been 20 or more going through a small narrow pass. Along the way we decided to stop and try our hand at a troll again as the water temps had warmed up slightly. I knew that with the sunshine and chop on the lake that there would be a few active fish. It didn’t take long before reels were going off and once again pike & walleye were being reeled in. They wanted to take a few fish home so I livewelled a few of them for later. We didn’t stay on the troll for too long as I had set them up to drop shot some deeper water further away. Here it didn’t take long either as all of them were quickly into fish! Bass, walleye and a few perch were taken from these rock piles, but more were lost than landed. These fish were really scattered all over this area and eventually we opted for another troll. With very little floating weeds present, they held the rods instead of placing them in the holders. Reda seemed like he was on fire as he boated several small walleye and a couple of bass before Guillaume finally hooked up. We finally called the day around 5:00 after the last fish was landed. They had experienced a difficult day on the water but monopolized on all the areas we fished. To them it was a great day, but to me it was below average! Although we landed plenty of good fish with a nice bonus lunge, I had to cover a lot of water in order to accomplish it. Once the water cleans up a bit and the visibility gets better, so will the fishing. Overall a good day of fishing under these conditions!!

St-Jean Baptist day on the lake and I expected it to be a zoo out there! We even had to find another place to launch as the usual ramp was closed for the day with festivities scheduled. I picked them up at their Hotel shortly after 7:00 and they were pumped. After yesterday’s banner day on the water, they were excited for what today would hold. I decided to go directly for smallies as this was the last species for them to get a personal best. Being from Maryland, the smallmouth is pretty scarce. Although they exist, they tend to be on the smaller side. Norbert had caught a bunch before but less than two pounds was the largest he had taken. Nick had never landed one and looked forward to catching his first. The winds were blowing pretty good this morning and were scheduled to gust to almost 30 knots by afternoon, so I took advantage of this situation early. They were only 10 to 15 from the west presently and definitely doable where I was headed. I set them both up with a crankbait and instructed them on how to fish it, with emphasis on the tiny hooks. No hooksets and sweep sideways was the theory but broken when the first few fish hit. Nick managed to lose two or three before he settled down and listened to the original instructions. Tiny hooks and strong bass tend to cause a lot of lost fish when too much pressure is applied. Along with raised hooksets, there were plenty of ways to mess it up! When they finally caught on, an instant double was their reward. Obviously there were a lot of fish here as Nick had lost two others on the same cast before hooking up! Although 3 pounds was the biggest so far, I expected better fish to come. A couple of quick pics and back to the task at hand! I think they lost more fish than they landed but were happy with the ones they did get to the net nonetheless. In the end, 3.5 pounds proved to be the largest and I went searching for bigger and better nearby. It was difficult to locate the ones I was searching for and after multiple area changes; 3.5 pounds still remained the best. By now the winds had kicked up pretty good and I knew I could get a good trolling bite happening if they wanted. They quickly accepted the challenge and we were off to another area a few miles away. I wasn’t sure what these fish were doing but knew I would find out soon! Within an hour I had figured them out and was now into a pattern that was working just fine. Big fish were coming aboard regularly and both pike & walleye were the mix. Although Nick was big fish winner for yesterday, it turned full circle today. Norbert managed to land a 6.25 pound walleye and a 7 pound northern to add to the 3.5 pound smallie earlier in the day. He had slammed beautifully! We stuck it out till 4:30 when the final reel screamed and Nick put another 5 pound walleye in the net. Now that’s the way to end the day! I had said that we would pull the plug at 4:30 and right on cue, the fish struck the lure. They definitely finished with a bang and had a great two days just catching all kinds of quality fish. They had memories, pictures and even some walleye fillets to go home with. Something tells me that this isn’t the last time I’ll see them. Talk of next year is already being tossed around and there may be a few more bodies tagging along too. A great two days of fishing and loads of personal bests!!

Norbert & his son Nick were with me this morning, both looking for personal bests. Although they had caught walleye before, they were on the small side and hoped for some bigger ones today. Pike were pretty much non existent back home and I knew I could accomplish that, many times over! After picking up their licenses, we hit the water in a heavy fog. Visibility was alright, but the fog was all over and we had to be careful while running. This proved to be in our favor as we never saw a boat all day! Seeing as this was a long weekend, it was a pleasant surprise. We set the lines and trolled the area for a little while before the first reel fired. Nick was into a nice northern and glad to catch his first ever pike. His dad had botched up a net job when he was younger! Quick pics and back for more as another reel fired with a good fish. This one was a nice walleye and talk of fillets was on their mind. Into the livewell this 18 incher went and back to trolling we did as well. By now they were elated as Nick had managed to fulfill his wish with these two fish. All that was left was a smallie and we had two days to get him that! Not long after we reset the lines, another reel fired and I could tell by the fight that he had a good walleye. When I finally caught a glimpse near the boat, I realized that this would be his trophy! Anyone that says walleye don’t fight, have never experienced these ones. This fish made multiple runs and ripped plenty of line from the reel in an attempt to escape, but eventually ended up in the net. They were both excited to see how big it was and once measured, went just under 27 inches. On the boga it was almost 7 pounds and many pics were taken before it was released. Wow, how could you top that! Well we did as plenty more big fish were caught throughout the day including a northern over 8 pounds, four walleye between 5 & 6 pounds and multiple others as well. We even had a rally late in the afternoon that saw a triple header of walleye! Who could ask for anything more with all the fish they landed throughout the day. It was a banner one with very little down time and nobody else around to get in our way. By 3:30 we decided to pull the plug as I had several fish to fillet and we were going to eat a few of them for dinner. Blackened Cajun Walleye was on the menu & they couldn’t wait!

After several successful scouting days on the water this week, I was really looking forward to today. Roger & Robin were with me and hopefully the fish would bite again. We launched shortly after 7:00 and I immediately went to the area that had produced the better walleye yesterday. Winds were blowing out of the NW at 10 or so knots and were scheduled to increase later in the day. Water temps were 62 degrees and stained. With all the rain lately, higher than usual levels had really caused the lake to be mud. In fact, there was floating debris in many areas just like the spring. We set a spread and trolled the area looking for active fish for about an hour before I realized they weren’t going to cooperate. I immediately shifted to another shallower place nearby and fired off several of the reels. Too bad most of these fish were pike or “Slough Sharks” as they called them. We did manage to get one walleye here but it was on the smaller side and another change was about to be made. I thought the water might be warmer on the other side of the lake and opted for the run. It was here that the reels went off plenty but once again most were small pike. Robin did however manage to land a real nice walleye of 4.5 pounds, but apparently it was alone. With winds lying down the dog pecker knats were inevitable and they didn’t disappoint! We combed this place for quite a while until we were fed up of the anorexic northerns and went casting for bass. Ironically, other than a couple of follows and one jump off in this area, they weren’t to bite. I know that I could have moved shallow and probably managed a few small males but I was after the larger, post spawn females instead. Oh yeah, another big walleye was on briefly as well! Our last stop was to be in a place that should have put out a combination of fish but for some reason, they too weren’t cooperating. Winds were up now and blowing 20 or more out of the NW creating a nice roll. Two more short strikes and one 2 pound walleye was all we saw for this place. They had wanted to leave by 3:00 and unfortunately we were now out of time. It was definitely a day full of light bites & short strikes where we fished. Other than all the skinny northerns, the action was hit & miss, literally! Roger had warned me at the start of the day that he was bad luck so we just blamed it all on him! Despite everything, they still caught a bunch of fish and left content. I do hope however that our weather begins to look more like summer and soon! Between rain, wind & cold, the fish aren’t really settling into their summer locations as of yet. One day they are there and the next day, gone!!