This was Brian’s lat day with me and he was hoping for some walleye to take back home. We decided that they would be the priority today and went directly to work, trying to fill his limit. It wouldn’t be an easy task as the winds were blowing once again from the east and this time they had a little north in them as well. In fact at 10 to 15 knots from that direction, we were in 3 footers! The water temps had fallen to 52 degrees, along with the air temps and we could feel the chill running to the area to fish. I set the first line in and it fired before I could even get the second one in the water. Wow, now that’s a quick bite! This would be an easy day, or so I thought! Brian reeled in a very nice starter fish that was just shy of 20 inches and on his way to a quick limit of eyes. After releasing it into the livewell, I reset the lines and went back to work. We trolled through the area uncomfortably with the waves occasionally rolling over the bow. They were big and I had to be careful to watch for the rogue ones, not to fill the boat. I did manage to find a few more biters but some of them were short striking and coming off before we could even reach the rods. Fortunately though, there were a couple of others that weren’t so lucky and we now had 3 in the livewell for Brian to take home. I was marking all kinds of fish up high and plenty of bait and knew it was just a matter of time before we would score a big one. The next fish to strike was that one and now Brian was into a real beauty. We weren’t sure exactly what it was as the waves were surging and more pressure was added to the already heavy weight at the end of the line. When we finally caught a glimpse, I saw the white tip and knew it was the right species. This one turned out to be just shy of 26 inches and weighed in at 6 pounds on the nose. She was fat and definitely well worth a few photos before the release. We went back to the troll and managed only one more for the livewell, along with a pretty skinny northern. I was still marking plenty of fish but for some reason, they weren’t really active anymore. It almost felt like they were digesting after a big meal and had no interest in any of our offerings. After plenty of painful attempts at getting another fish or two, we pulled the plug here and decided to try for bass instead. With the winds having calmed down considerably, I figured we could at least get a bunch of smallies before resuming our quest for the walleye. Off we went for a long run and once we arrived, I realized that the water color wasn’t what it should be. This area had obviously taken a pounding from yesterdays gale force winds from the east and today’s blow as well. It was almost gray in appearance and I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be when Brian made his first cast. He had a couple of follows and a few fish on, but they all came off before they could reach the net. I relocated once again to another area nearby with similar results. The next place was a little better as it produced a few nice fish up to 4.5 pounds, but not the numbers I had expected. We switched gears, covered more water and managed several other smallies that were quality ones before leaving all together. I searched deep water with the electronics trying to find where the schools might have gone but was never able to find the mother load. I think they were still there, but not eating! Water clarity was below par and a few fish were taken exactly where they should have been, signaling their presence. It was time to relocate and maybe even change species once more! A failed attempt at this for a while had us resuming our quest for the walters afterwards. Back to the troll and hopefully a few more bites! This wasn’t to be however as we marked loads of fish almost everywhere we went along with plenty of baitfish as well. I switched areas a few times and had the same results in all. With the full moon approaching, it may have had a hand in the inactivity as the early morning bite was the best. I have had similar results before during this period and wasn’t surprised at the results today. One of these times I will have to get out and fish the dark part of the day just to see what happens. Although we may not have had another banner day on the water, it was still a pretty good one. It started off with a bang and Brian had fish going home with him. He had endured 4 days of fishing without any two being the same. Weather patterns were so inconsistent, each and every day! Fortunately, we made the best of it and managed to boat plenty of quality fish, giving him many photos and memories to take back home to Alaska. Hopefully he’ll be back next year for more of this incredible smallmouth action. Worst case scenario, I may have to pay him a visit and fish for trout & salmon in the “Great White North”!!

Brian & I headed back out this morning for another round of bass beating. We hit the water around 8:30 in a serious east wind and some of the biggest waves this fall. With a relatively long run ahead of us to our first location, it wasn’t pretty! I’m sure there were three & four footers in some areas, but we made it. After yesterday’s success, Brian was ready for whatever “Mother Nature” threw our way. We had gone from mirror calm to hurricane like overnight but it wouldn’t stop us from another successful day. Boat control would be the issue today in the current against wind conflict, but I was use to that and well prepared. Brian wasted no time getting into the first big fish as he brought a high four to the net in the first 5 minutes. We slowly fished this area hoping for more and he was rewarded once again with another of about the same size. His next fish would be one we would both remember as the fight was just unbelievable. Once hooked, this smallie decided that deep water was the place to be and smoked the line from the reel. I’ve never seen one take so much line and head so deep as the abyss was where she went. We actually thought that he might have foul hooked this fish! After a lengthy battle and plenty of boat positioning, I finally slid the net under the beast. This was as fat as she was long and was definitely the largest smallie he had ever caught, so far! We placed her in the livewell along with the others for some later pics and resumed fishing. It would definitely be a tough act to follow but he was in for the challenge. In the next hour or so there were a few shots at some other big bass but unfortunately only one more made it to the net. I decided that a move was in order when these fish shut off & relocated right after releasing the bass. I didn’t want to be travelling all day with them in the well and preferred returning them back to the same area after the pics. With many islands all around, I tried to find some sheltered sections to get to our next spot. I wanted to make it as painless as possible and succeeded in finding the right routes. This next place would have Brian hooking fish on almost every cast for quite a while. They were all sizes and he was into them good! When the bite slowed, I adjusted his presentation and he was back into them once again. We moved around hitting small areas with concentrations and kept pounding on more & more fish throughout the afternoon. A variety of baits were used to entice some of the fattest fish of the fall today. I wanted to fish a few more spots before we called it quits and each & every one held active bass. Brian managed to up his numbers as well as his personal bests a few more times before we ended. One of the last fish of the day was to be the biggest of the day as well and we were both glad to have stopped in a few more places. To say he ended on a high would have been an understatement, he was in awe! As we headed back to the ramp, all he could talk about was the fish that tried to spool him and the beast at the end. I wonder what tomorrow will have in store for us? I just hope he gets some more great weather so that we can end on another high. Maybe we’ll be able to get him another “Grand Slam” filled only with big fish catches!!

Brian & I decided to try another body of water today in hopes of a variety of fish. He really wanted to get some walleye and I knew just the place! I think we were on the lake and had the lines in the water just around 8:00, trolling for the eyes. There was barely a ripple on the water and the temps were right around 56 degrees. Sunshine and a little cloud surrounded us with air temps hovering at 53 degrees and expected to climb into the mid 60’s. The first rip happened in less than 5 minutes but unfortunately didn’t stay pinned. Shortly after, another reel fired and he was locked up. I was marking all kinds of fish in this area and knew it was just a matter of time before we were into them. After a good little battle on light tackle, I slid the net under his first walleye. It fell right into the slot at just over 19 inches and was going to be dinner tonight. I reset the line and trolled around the same area when another reel fired. This time however it turned out to be a northern of about 8 pounds and released immediately. A couple more drive byes & the other reel fires. This one was acting like a big fish and I really thought he had a good photo Walter. To both our surprise, it ended up being a lunge and really took him for a ride. After a lengthy battle on the light line, I got a boga locked on it and brought him into the boat. Several pics later, it was released and bolted to the depths. Wow, a slam in less than an hour! I was sure he wouldn’t have a hard time getting a “Grand Slam” as we were going to spend most of the day fishing for smallies. When the next reel went off, another walleye locked up and was also in the slot, so it joined its buddy in the live well too. Right after resetting the line, we had a strong fish attached and I thought it might be another lunge. When he finally got it close, I realized he had another species and an official Grand Slam. This was a smallie and had us both fooled as it never even jumped once. I continued trolling the area and he picked up one other walleye and missed a few rips before pulling the plug entirely. The water had gone completely flat and the bite had died when the sun rose high in the sky. Off to another place where we tried for walleye for a bit, with only a few smallies to show for our efforts. I decided it was finally time to go to the cream cheese and ran to an area that I knew was loaded with bass. It didn’t take him long to lock up and it was a real beauty. When it went to the air we had visions of a five, but once in the net, it ended up in the mid fours. He continued casting the area after a few pics and was immediately into another bruiser. This went on for almost an hour as he picked at them regularly. When the action slowed, I relocated and he was into them once again. I think he had 5 or 6 straight casts with quality bass ranging from 3.5 to 4.5 pounds. It was a feeding frenzy and we were right on them. It seemed like he could do no wrong! I don’t know exactly how many he nailed but it was plenty. As with the previous area it eventually died and we moved on. The same thing happened on the next spot and several more fish were brought to net once more. For the remainder of the day, we just kept moving and he just kept catching. Somewhere after 4:30 we decided to call it a day. I had a few fish to clean and we had reservations for 6:00. He would be trying walleye for dinner and bringing the rest home to the great white north. Being from Alaska, he has plenty of salmon & trout, but the walleye scene is pretty scarce. I’m sure we’ll get into them again in the next couple of days and fill him out a good limit to take back. The worst that could happen is he has to catch many more bass instead. I’m sure he can handle that too!!

Today was the first of a four day trip for Brian, all the way in from Alaska. We headed on the water around 8:30 and were faced with similar conditions as the previous day. Winds were blowing at 20 to 25 knots from the W/NW with heavier gusts at times. Looks like we would be limited to specific areas once more! The good thing about today was that it was suppose to reach into the 60’s with mostly sunshine. I ran to the first area and noticed a pile of fish in deeper water before I arrived causing me to turn around & do a drift. It didn’t take long before we were doubled up but they were mostly smaller fish and not what I was after. I idled around and made a few more drifts with several other small to medium bass getting caught along the way. Eventually I slid into where I had originally wanted and Brian hooked into a real good one, over 4 pounds. Hopefully this would be the first of many more to come! We really worked the area after this but it seemed like he had caught the only big fish willing to eat. It seemed like we were catching everywhere we fished, but they were either small or medium in size and I wanted better. He threw a crankbait for a while over some shallow rocky areas but only came up with one decent fish that had me wondering what was going on. I continued the search and managed to find him several more good fish in slightly deeper water but still not the ones I wanted. With the water rolling pretty good, I wasn’t able to fish all the areas I had planned on fishing and tried to find cleaner water. As with all the other places, fish were found on almost every one and they were a mix in size. From off shore humps to shallow rocky shoreline, they all held some bass. Late in the afternoon we noticed that the winds had switched and were now blowing light from the north. I changed areas and we were actually fishing in almost calm conditions. This was the first time in a couple of days that it was really easy to control the boat and I had Brian locking up on almost every cast. As with the fish previously caught though, they were mostly small to medium in size. We did manage to land a couple of better ones before another boat decided to pull over and anchor. Brian couldn’t believe his eyes when a boat full of Asians thought it would be a good idea to just join us where the fish were biting. They literally anchored about 20 feet from us! I just kept drifting until I was almost banging boats with them causing these idiots to pull anchor and move. Unfortunately, they only went about 50 feet but at least they were out of our path. You gotta love these guys! They vacuum everything in site and nothing ever gets returned no matter what size it is. Limits don’t apply either, as they keep everything they catch. Looks like the game wardens might be getting a call real soon! We stayed in this section until it was time to leave and Brian landed many more fish before we called it a day. Although it may not have been the banner day I had hoped for, we still caught plenty of fish under tough conditions. Hopefully the high winds are gone for a few days and the water can settle down, allowing me to complete all the areas to be fished. The bigger fish will surely turn on soon and I will be there to take part in catching them!!

Today may have been a great day to fly a kite but it was a tough one for fishing. The winds were howling at 15 to 25 knots with much higher gusts! They were suppose to be coming from the W/SW but from where I was, it seemed more like a W/NW. White caps were all around and boat control was about to become a real challenge. Stephane was back with me this morning and he picked another beauty of a day. Three weeks ago he had managed to get a high wind day but also heavy rain as an added bonus. At least today wouldn’t be wet, we hoped! I instructed him on how to work a drop shot set up with a fish cooperating on the demonstration cast. This is a common outcome while showing people what to do! He was soon into the first of many fish within the first few casts as well and loving it. Although they may not have been the caliber I wanted, he was well on his way to getting them. This area produced a pile of fish in the first hour or so before we slid into the next hole and started all over again. With each relocation, there were more fish hooked and landed as well as missed or lost. The winds were not making my life easy with boat control and I had to pay close attention to how we were positioned in order for him to get hit. In fact, several of the better areas were absolutely impossible to fish, despite out attempts at trying. We were going to have to settle for the ones that weren’t too bad and I wasn’t thrilled with the results. Eventually after a mediocre morning filled with smaller than normal fish, I bit the bullet and headed into the blow. I fired up the kicker and used it along with the electric to better my boat control in the heavy winds. It was here that Stephane managed to land several of the better fish for the day and things were looking up. We held on a rock reef in 30 knot winds as long as we could stand it before pulling the plug and heading to what I thought would be a lot calmer. The run to get there was a little rough but once we arrived I soon found out the winds were almost as bad. There were also white caps here and it felt like the winds were from a different direction once more. I guess I wasn’t the only one that thought this as there were 4 other boats fishing close by too! Gotta love the weekend traffic, even at this time of the year! We fished here for a while and adjusted our presentations to pick up several other fish before leaving to find greener pastures once again. Back out in the open water, we ran through huge waves to hit one final spot for the day. A long drift along an edge with the drop shot fished vertically had just a couple of hits and we pulled the plug for the day. Stephane had managed to catch a load of fish and was happy with the outcome, but I had wished there were more large ones in the mix. Either way, we had succeeded on what was definitely one of the worst days to be in open water. Hopefully there won’t be too many more of these, for the remainder of the season. I can handle high winds, cold & rain but hurricane like conditions are not the easiest to fish in. This was just one of those days!!