Peter & his wife Lynn were accompanying me today on a local lake for some smallmouth bass action. We hooked up around 8:00 and were headed to the first spot shortly after. It was a strange morning as overnight fog blanketed the lake and GPS was a necessity. Air temps were warm at the start and made their way into the 60’s by afternoon. Winds were light, but eventually went to a gusting blow from the SW at 15 to 20 knots, creating a nice roll. Peter began with a second cast hookup on a spinnerbait and it was game on. Glad he didn’t get one on his first cast, it’s bad luck! Lynn wasn’t having much luck, as she missed her first three fish on a jerkbait and was still at zero when I decided to switch locations. We had covered this place pretty good and only had a handful of biters eager to try. The second section of this lake was where everything changed. Lynn was about to take a commanding lead as she boated several decent smallies and all on jerkbaits. A new love for this lure was immediately made and she was the first at having pics taken. In fact her first three fish were photo worthy! Eventually, Peter had just about enough, after she landed a couple more and agreed to toss another jerkbait as well. It was all uphill after that as he too, started to lock up on some quality bass. Now both of them were equally catching and fish of all sizes were coming aboard. He even had a few that were photo worthy and got into the “Kodak Moment”! I mixed it up a little and shifted around with a variety of lures when the action slowed and they managed to add to the numbers. A soft jerkbait was getting a few of the not so eager ones to bite and even a senko picked up one for Lynn. I was amazed to see the water temps had risen but wasn’t totally surprised with all the sunshine we were having. It was now at almost 58 degrees and going in the wrong direction. It’s fall and that means falling water temps with the falling air. This has been one unbelievable year for hot weather and it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna end anytime soon! We kept at it for a while and a few more decent bass came to net before we just threw in the towel. Another change to drop shotting an area was cancelled as two boats were just too close to settle in. Plan B had to take over and I went to an area I hadn’t fished in quite a while. Water levels had risen and we now had enough water to be able to get out to this place. Unfortunately, only a couple of bass were taken but I’m sure there must have been more. We relocated to another area nearby but it too was a bust. With skies looking like they might dump on us soon and the winds really starting to kick up, we decided to call it a day. Darkening clouds were all around and it was just a matter of time before we were gonna get wet. The run back was a little bumpy at times and I’m sure we ran through several 3 foot waves to get there. Although this was the first time out for Lynn and her husband Peter, I’m sure it won’t be their last. They may have waited a few years to hook up but it was worth it. They had both seen what fall smallmouth fishing is all about and landed a bunch in the process. Who could ask for anything more!!

Craig & Herm were in for their first fall hunt for smallies today and what a day it was. We started in the rain and drove in it all the way to the launch. When we arrived, it stopped and we were able to everything in dry conditions. We dropped the boat in and ran to the first spot relatively smoothly but with a pretty good east wind and chop. Once we arrived, it didn’t take long before the rain started up again and back into the wetness we went. From this point on, wet would be the theme of the day! It didn’t matter though as bad weather keeps all the flies out of our way and today there weren’t any other boats around. I wish every day could be just like this! We tried a variety of presentations without anything and eventually went to deep water and a slow drag. Craig locked up first and brought a great starter fish to the boat soon after, that was a real bruiser. Herm followed up with another but considerably smaller and I thought we were gonna just crush em. How wrong I was as only one other three pounder was to be caught from here and another move was in order. Next location, another big one came to the boat and things were looking up. Craig managed a couple more bruisers and they both caught a few other small ones before we just pulled the plug and ran to another location all together. This area had produced only 4 huge fish, but today wasn’t about the numbers, but rather the size. As the rain was pouring nicely upon us still, we made a long run to fish another area looking for more smallies. Ironically, it proved to be even tougher until I moved to one spot that just seemed to be loaded. The winds were blowing on this section and by covering water we were able to find a good group of decent bass willing to eat. In the last hour or so of the day, close to 10 quality bass were landed before we called it quits. The winds were kicking up even stronger from the east now and unanimously, we pulled the plug. Craig had managed to start the first of several fall trips off with a bang and definitely got what he had come for. Hopefully the next ones will be equally as rewarding and Herm will get his too. Once back at the ramp, the rain stopped and we were able to get out of all the wet raingear comfortably. It was ironic to have such a strange weather pattern today with all the rain, but I don’t think we could have asked for anything more. No boats and big bass were the best reward. Bring on more foul weather!!!

Mike & Cory hit the nail right on the head with what was sure to be the nicest day of this fall. We hit the water around 8:00 and headed directly to an area that had produced on previous days. With any luck, they would have another high numbers day today! With sunshine and highs to reach almost 70 degrees forecasted, I knew we would have company on the water. Along with the warm temps, there was a high SE wind predicted that would gust to over 25 knots. This would make boat control quite interesting to say the least! Even trying to feel the bites would be a little tough with lines bowing in the wind and they would have to be on their “A” game. Cory hit the first fish immediately with a crankbait but it was also on his first cast. Never a good idea to hook one like that as he was about to find out! Mike was showed a drop shot rig and after several casts and a learning curve, he found one willing to eat. It wasn’t big like I had hoped but he was on the board. It didn’t take me long to figure out that these fish weren’t chasing down and changed Cory up to the same set up. Now with both on the bottom, they were finally able to start picking at them. I had to move around a fair amount as the numbers just weren’t there and by switching locations, found several eaters. We fished for quite a while all over some of the key areas before switching up completely to try for another species. Although we did work at it for almost two hours, it just wasn’t to be and back we went to the bass. Hopefully now that the air had warmed almost to the max, the fish would be a little more cooperative. Well, they were and almost immediately they had a double. Several casts later, another double and things were looking up! Winds were also at their max and blowing directly into our faces making all control very difficult. I really had to watch closely as bites were being missed and positioning was switching by not doing so. They did manage to have many shots at the fish and monopolized on most of them, despite the winds. As long as they were biting, I was staying! Eventually however, it slowed enough to make me shift areas and I found another pod for them to pick at for a while. It was getting on in the day and I really wanted to get them more and bigger so after I accidently picked one over 5 pounds, we moved again. The last couple of spots produced a few more decent fish until they had another double. Mike had locked up with a nice one and was forced to net his own as the current break was too strong for me to leave the bow. Almost on cue, Cory also locked up but this time it was a giant. He was fighting his personal best and I wanted to make sure he landed it. I now had to leave the front and start drifting away just to be able to get a shot at her, but managed to scoop up the 5 pound beauty quickly. It may have taken all day but Cory had accomplished what he had wanted. This fish deserved several pics before her release and we shot many. They went back to fishing a few other places, landing a couple more bass before we finally pulled the plug on this summer like day. Although it may not have had the high numbers I had hoped for, it was still well above most peoples expectations. They had caught plenty of fish and tangled with even more. Cory even had his best smallmouth ever and would be taking memories of the catch back with him along with some really great shots. A perfect end to a perfect day!!!

Warren & Nathan were with me today on what turned out to be the nicest one, so far this fall. Although the air temps were a chilly 38 degrees at the start, they climbed all the way to the 60’s by afternoon. Sunshine & no wind and it was the perfect setting for today’s outing! Water temps were amazingly almost 56 degrees at the highest and the fish should be active. We began with a troll for the mythical one and unfortunately, it remained a myth. By mid morning we pulled the plug and headed for bass. With Warren on a blade and Nathan on a soft plastic, they began combing the water in search of big bass. Ironically, it took a little longer than I had expected but eventually they found em. Warren hammered a nice one and seconds later, Nathan was locked up as well. Both smallies were decent fish but I wanted bigger! The search continued and Nathan nailed another but this time it was much bigger. Into the livewell for a few pics later and back to the task at hand. By covering a few different zones they were able to monopolize on where the big ones were and we found them. They were schooled here and all we had to do was slow down and pick them off one at a time. In the next couple of hours, many big ones were hooked & landed and many more hooked and lost. For some reason most of them weren’t staying on but they were definitely here. Soft plastic accounted for the bulk of these fish with some of them well over 4 pounds. At one point Nathan spent about 5 minutes battling another sturgeon and I had to chase it with the electric. We were about 500 yards from the hookup when I was finally able to grab it for the pics. Quite a battle on only 10 pound line! We motored back to the area producing all the bites and hooked a few more before pulling out. A relocation was in order as we had picked at them pretty good here. I tried a deep water drift, but soon found out that this wasn’t the place to be and moved again. The next area was slow as well but at least it put a few fish in the boat. By drop shotting a ledge, a couple of smallies and a nice walleye of about 7 pounds was brought to net. Too bad they hadn’t stacked up in this place yet as that was all she wrote. It was time to pull the plug and off to the ramp we went. Although the fishing had many a dead period, there were definitely some quality bass landed today. Fish from 3 to over 4 pounds were the norm and they put several of them in the boat. Too bad we couldn’t have monopolized on all the others we missed. Regardless, it was still a really pleasant day to be on the water with these beautiful fall conditions & they had pics to prove it!!

The scheduled winds for today had me changing plans and hitting a body of water with the least pain. They were to blow at 15 to 25 knots out of the west with 30 plus gusts added in just for fun! Hugues, Pierre & Rashid would be in for a real treat as we headed out for a day of bass fishing. First fish of the day came from Pierre on almost his first cast as the others looked on in awe. He wasted no time bumping up the numbers as not long after he was into a few others as well. Both Hugues & Rashid weren’t so lucky but they did eventually get in the game. Smallies from two to four pounds were getting caught and everyone was on the board. Hugues had the largest but today it wasn’t all about size, but rather the numbers. They were hoping for a day filled with plenty of action and they were going to get it! With each shift in location, there were plenty of fish hooked, lost & landed. It was strange too as everyone seemed to take their turn in dominating different areas. In one location, Hugues would be catching many more than anyone and the next spot it would change to Pierre. Rashid even had his moment went he went on the “Power Play” with Pierre & Hugues badly tangled up. This went on throughout the day with little amounts of dead time spent fishing. If we went more than 5 or 10 minutes without action, I relocated and found fresh fish willing to eat. At one point during the afternoon, I set Hugues up with a crankbait to try & locate a piece of structure in open water. He had never fished one of these with any success and was thrilled when he locked up with what turned out to be the largest fish of the day. What a battle it gave him too as she really didn’t want to come to the net. Once I finally scooped it up, the hooks just pulled out. I informed him that this was a common thing and why I set the drag so light. Tiny hooks usually require less pressure as they can pop out any time on smallmouth bass, when battling them to the boat. As this was his first fish on a crankbait, it meant more to him as well and the size was a real bonus! We resumed fishing the area and everyone had several more hookups on the soft plastics. Hugues went back to the crank in the next spot and immediately was back into another fish. Although smaller in size, it was still a nice chunky one of over 3 pounds. Back to the drop shot set up and another bruiser was on! This one was so mean that while fighting her, the rod broke above the ferrule and I had to hold it for the fight. We eventually tag teamed the 4 pounder to the net and all had a good laugh. It’s only a rod and I’ve got plenty more! We jumped around to several more spots and picked at them a little more before we decided to call it a day. Everyone had caught their fair share of fish today and enjoyed it thoroughly. We snapped several pics of some of the largest fish caught and headed back to take out. Despite the hurricane like winds while fishing today, it was quite spectacular. Many fish were missed or lost but they definitely landed the bulk of their hookups. Hugues may have been the only one in this group of three that had fished with me previously, but I’m sure this will all change. Both Pierre & Rashid are already talking about getting back for more of this incredible bass action. Overall, who could ask for anything more!!