Craig was back for a couple of days and this time he brought Herm along, both looking for that elusive 6 pounder. Although Craig had taken one on his last trip, you can never have enough and he wanted more! Herm had never landed a six and had a personal best of just under 5.5 pounds. Would this be the trip for him? We hit the water shortly after 8:00 and headed right to a big fish area, hoping for a few trophies. The weather was an overcast one with cool morning air and virtually no wind. Air temps were in the low 40’s and expected to hit mid 50’s by days end. With the water temps around 58 degrees, I anticipated great action. Herm was the first to lock up and it was in less than 5 minutes. Ironically, this bass was almost 5 pounds and made for a great starter fish. With fish like this, who could ask for more! We kept at it for almost an hour and they landed several more good ones but nothing over 5 pounds came aboard. It wasn’t until we switched locations and made a drift in deeper water that Herm locked up once again. When this one took to the air, I knew she had to be over 5 pounds and confirmation was made after I netted the pumpkin. Although she wasn’t even 20 inches, it topped the scales at 5.10 pounds and Herm had the lead. When things finally slowed down, we moved again and were surprised to see boats all over the place. There were lots of fishermen out today and it felt more like a summertime competition than a pleasure day on the water. We were now limited to where we could fish but made the best of it, moving around often. Plenty of fish were caught in the remaining hours of the day but Herm’s big one would stand as the largest today. Several high fours were landed but nothing over 5 pounds made it to the net again. We stuck it out till about 4:30 and then called it a day. Last drift, had both Herm & I locked up on rocks and I found myself retying again. Craig was the only line left in the water and before I was finished, he was battling a nice fish of almost 4 pounds. Now that’s the way to end the day! We’re back on the water again tomorrow and might hit another place, hoping for better success. This is the season for giants and we’re in hot pursuit of the pigs! Bring it on!!

I had a full boat today with two fathers and their sons looking to catch a bunch of fish. Joel was with Jake & Danny had Riley on this not so perfect weather of a day. With a light mist falling from time to time, we made our way out to the first spot and let the games begin. Air temps were barely 45 degrees and the water was in the mid 50’s. Without any signs of sunshine in the horizon, I knew it would be a chilly one! Joel got the ball rolling with a few decent fish in the 2 to 3 pound range before the others started catching and now everyone was on the board. Both kids had fished plenty before and I could tell by their casting that this was something they loved doing. Although they were more use to catching panfish and small bass, they were excited to have a chance at some really big smallies. Danny was in the back with Riley and Joel was up front with Jake & I and all was good. By covering water we were able to target these fish in their hiding locations. From deep to shallow, we moved over different sections, all the while hooking and landing plenty. They were thrilled to be catching loads of fish and thought they were pretty big until we moved to another area. It was here that I finally put a few in the livewell for later pics. Now they were starting to understand why I just kept tossing the earlier ones back as we were finally getting the larger bass on a regular basis. Everyone had their share of action and these kids were in their glory, getting beat up by all the big ones. Pictures and videos were being shot throughout the battles and I’m pretty sure they will have plenty of great memories to relive again & again! I really don’t know who caught the largest bass today and it doesn’t matter. From start to finish, fish were coming in one after another and who could ask for more. For seven year old kids, the excitement was never ending. For their dads, it was even better as they got to experience something people dream about. Taking kids fishing is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and today’s fishing was second to none. Hopefully these two will have enough drive to continue pursuing fishing for many years to come. I know after today, they will be dreaming about the next time they hook up on these powerful giants!!

Craig & Derek were with me today for the first of many outings scheduled by Craig this fall. He knows the potential of this cold water period and has had many successful trips in the past! Multiple high fives and several fish in the 6 pound plus range has kept him coming back year after year. Would today be one of them? I was hoping for a little better weather than the last two and was pleasantly surprised to see calm conditions for the start. I knew it wouldn’t last but was ready to take advantage of it while we could. Water temps fell once again and the air temps were 44 degrees when we began. I prayed for some sunshine but was only rewarded with the same old crap! Fortunately we were able to fish the first couple of hours with little to no pain and monopolized our time well. Craig hit the first one quickly and I knew there were more. It may have only been a 3.5 pound fish but there were bigger ones around! The fishing was quite slow but both Derek & Craig were picking at them, so I stuck it out. With each fish came a slight upgrade in size and Craig picked up one, slightly under 5 pounds. I had a feeling that it was just a matter of time and stayed in this area a little longer than I had originally wanted to. We weren’t looking for numbers, just size and getting a bite or two every once in a while wasn’t a problem. Hunting for giants is a patience game that most people can’t comprehend but when the time is just right, it happens. Sometime late in the morning Craig set into what seemed like the bottom, only to have it move. We both knew that this was the one and when it took to the air, we had confirmation! It was enormous and real mean! Several attempts at getting off from jumps had our hearts in our throats until I was able to get a shot at her. She was officially in the net and we could breathe again! Usually Craig manages to wait until the last trip of the season to get his six but this time it looked like he succeeded early. I didn’t want to stress the fish out too much and decided to place her in the live well to recuperate for a while. Believe me, the waiting period was painful! For almost an hour, we didn’t know whether she was a high five or over six and this was shear torture. Throughout this waiting period there were several more fish but nothing compared to the pig, swimming in the tank. When we finally took her from the water, it looked like she had shrunk! What we had thought was giant, somehow got shorter. Although she was a balloon, she wasn’t more than 20 inches or so and this had me worried. When the scale finally settled, there was another sigh of relief. She was 6.38 and a real trophy of a smallmouth. I can only imagine how much more she would have weighed had she been longer. Either way we were satisfied to say the least and after several pics, she was released back to where she belonged. I knew the remainder of the day would be good but after something like this, could it get any better? A combination of baits and areas had us making adjustment after adjustment, all the while bringing up the numbers count. The weather played havoc on us as it was a roller coaster ride from hell. Wind, waves and heavy rain at times had us just going crazy. It even layed down once again late in the afternoon and became a virtual mirror. As usual though it was short lived, before winds and rain began once again and it started all over. Despite all that Mother Nature threw at us today, we came out on top with both size and numbers. Craig had taken the pressure off and still had three or four trips left to just relax. He wouldn’t though and is now hoping for several more sixes or maybe one above seven. If anyone can do it, he can as he is determined to beat his earlier Lake Eerie giant of 6 pounds 12 ounces this spring. This topped his six ten here last fall and gives him something to shoot for once again. I can hardly wait to see the outcome as I’m sure there will be plenty of chances in the weeks to come. Great day and an even better starter fish!!

Day two started out a little better than day one, but as we were to find out later, it’s twin! We did get on the water a little earlier than yesterday and were actually fishing before 9:30 in cloud & sun. Winds were blowing out of the W/SW at about 15 to 20 knots as we headed to our first spot. The morning air was a little chilly at 54 degrees but with any luck it would climb higher during the day. Water temps had fallen slightly and were now below 58 degrees. Darren, Mark & Dave all got on the board early this morning with a number of fish caught in the first hour. Although the largest may have only gone in the mid 3 pound range, they were still strong fighters. Darren was climbing above all the rest, slamming several more than Dave & Mark combined and letting them know as well. Intermittent rain had us thinking “Déjà vu” and I didn’t like it! Another thing I didn’t like much was the wind direction, as the weather forecasters were wrong once again. It was a strong west wind instead of SW like predicted and was now gusting at over 40. It was blowing so hard at times that the rain was actually horizontal to the water! I had no choice but to hold the boat in the waves and take the punishment, allowing them to fish. Despite all this hell, everyone still continued to catch bass and made the best of it. In the afternoon we had a slight break in the weather and at one point it layed down completely. This was a welcomed treat but unfortunately short lived. Within a few minutes after it died, the winds and rains were right back on us and more intense. Along with this misery, the temps fell and now it felt more like December rather than October! Mark was the only one brave enough to keep at it while Dave & Darren took a break behind the windshield. By sticking at it, Mark was rewarded several times and with some of the better fish of the day. It did manage to clear up afterwards and everyone was able to get back to fishing for the remainder of the day. So much so that Dave bumped out Darren’s 4.5 pounder and took the big bass award with one just under 5 pounds. Dave & Mark had a long drive ahead and were hoping on leaving a little early, so they stopped fishing just after 4:00. Darren was travelling back with me and was in no hurry to leave, so he kept casting looking for another fish or two. Eventually after countless attempts to get the last fish, I was forced to make a few casts and closed it out with a three pounder on the second one. After all, we couldn’t wait all day now! Darren threw a few more casts as I headed to deep water, packing it all in for the day. The conditions were less than perfect to say the least! In the two days on the water, these guys had managed to catch plenty of fish and sever really good ones were in the mix. Today, Darren took the numbers and Dave managed to regain the “Big Fish” award. It was definitely a test of endurance as these last two days tried our patience to the max. Fortunately, the fish came through and everyone left feeling fully satisfied until the next competition. This annual shootout was another successful one, full of plenty of things to remember and weather took “Top Honors” this year!!

Darren, Mark & Dave joined me today for their annual fall smallie fishing trip. This would be their third or fourth year in a row and the competition was on. After several detours for various reasons, we finally hit the water somewhere around 10:00 A.M. The weather would be the biggest problem on this day as high winds and rain would plague us throughout. Boat control would be difficult at best and I was prepared. With an on & off rain and ominous storm clouds all around, a 25 to 40 knot wind would just be perfect! Despite the rock & roll run to our starting location, we arrived virtually dry. Dave wasted no time connecting with the first three fish before either of the others even had a bite. By covering a rock & weed flat with search baits, I was able to determine what the fish were doing. I soon switched everyone to the same bait and the game was on! Now the competition was in full as both Darren & his brother Mark joined in. Although we were in pretty good waves, they still managed to hook up on a regular basis and the numbers were climbing. Ironically, most of these smallies were in the 2 to 3 pound range and I just kept covering water looking for the giants. The weather was a roller coaster as it was jumping back & forth from intermittent rainfalls. Every time Darren would take his jacket off, it would soon start again! There was even talk of breaking the zipper so that he would have to leave it on! At one point in the day it even seemed like the wind died completely, but that was really short lived. I think it was just a pause before the really heavy stuff began! I could see the rain and waves in the distance generating and I knew we were going to get crushed. When it finally arrived, it did with a vengeance and the fishing just died. We went from one foot waves to almost three foot seas and the rain seemed like it was coming at us, sideways. This lasted for almost an hour and the air temps dropped too, adding a little more hate to this day. When the rain finally stopped, the sun came out and it felt like Florida. Too bad the winds didn’t disappear, but at least the fish were feeding once again. Throughout all this hell, Mark never skipped a beat as he just kept casting in all directions. He was rewarded several times as he managed to land a few more decent sized smallies. Eventually, Darren & Dave thawed out and also started catching a few more of their own. The bet today was for the biggest and the most and by days end, nobody could figure it out. I think it was the brothers that came out on top with Mark landing the largest and Darren the numbers. All I know is that the last hour of the day was the most pleasant. The arrival of the sun definitely was a welcomed blessing after all the pain & suffering we had endured throughout this day. I hope tomorrow brings less misery as it’s round two of the competition once again. With a little help from “Mother Nature”, we might just have a more enjoyable day on the water!!