Craig came back for his last trip this fall and brought new blood with him today. Steve was going to see smallmouth fishing at its finest! We managed to get through the misty rain while driving and hoped it was over for the day. A trip wouldn’t be complete for Craig without some misery from Mother Nature! Although we did start fishing with an east wind and a light drizzle, it ended early in the morning and never reappeared again. In fact, when the rain ended, the winds also started blowing from the south and they were warm. It definitely had the makings of a real great day and it showed. By the time we reached our destination, there were 6 other boats in the general area. I was going to have to make a few adjustments if we were to compete with them. A few smallies were landed by Craig on jigs but I felt like we were always fishing used water. Eventually we shifted from there and the games began. I had figured out an area that no one was fishing and both Craig & Steve were into quality smallies. By adjusting the presentations and locations, I was able to monopolize on the larger fish and we were alone. At least I thought so until another boat came in and started casting. Not wanting to let it bother me, I instructed them to just keep fishing while I moved around, ignoring the intruder. We had many more hookups and a few double headers that had us quickly forgetting about the boat. The entire day was like this with plenty of action right until the end. Despite all the other boats around, I was doing something different that had the fish eating. It was just a great day for fishing and Steve couldn’t believe how good it actually was. We fished until about 3:30 and decided to call it a day after a few more fish. Steve actually landed a couple of walleye right at the end with the sun getting low. He had a great initiation into Canadian smallmouth fishing and couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come. We would be back again and hopefully the fish would be willing to cooperate once more. It was going be tough to sleep, for them tonight!!

Scott, John and Mark (aka Dacca) were here this morning, hoping for loads of smallmouth bass action. We met up before 8 and soon after, were heading to the first spot to fish. Although the air was below 40 degrees this morning, at least it wasn’t raining, yet! The last few days on the water saw loads of precipitation and it was nice just to start dry. Overcast skies would keep the warmth at a low today as sunshine would be almost non existent. Water temps had also fallen a bit and were now barely over 52 degrees from all the cool rain. John & Scott had knowledge of the technique being used but Dacca was new to it and needed a little coaching. Although he did miss the first few strikes, he caught on fairly quickly and was soon landing bass. It didn’t take long before all three were holding their own and the bass were losing. John managed to put the first couple in the livewell for pics later as Dacca & Scott kept catching bass of all sizes. Most of the fish in this area were a little on the small side with a three pounder being about the best. At one point I think Scott went 7 casts in a row with a fish on! It was loaded and they were taking advantage of this situation before some idiot decided to join us. He actually dropped anchor about 20 feet beside us and thought he’d fish there! When confronted, he just said, “You don’t own the water!” What a piece of work! The others wanted to move over and beat the crap out of him but I just made it impossible for him to fish and eventually he had to move. All the years of fishing tournaments had me in defense mode and positioning the boat perfectly, blocking any casts he was to make. Lately it’s been a regular thing with people on the water and I really don’t know why! Fish are everywhere and eagerly eating as the water temps fall. Why be such an ass? I quickly shook it off and the guys resumed their catching, almost on cue. After they had their fill of all of these little guys, I finally moved on and proceeded to another area near by. It didn’t take long before the other boat came back when he saw us leave and ironically, stayed there all day. We got a good laugh from this and went back to the business at hand! Dacca was really feeling comfortable fishing now and once we got in the zone, he proceeded to shine even more. Scott & John were hooking up a bit but Dacca seemed like he was locked up each time he casted. He had an angle to the rocks that apparently were holding plenty of fish and taking advantage of it too. This went on for about ten minutes before I shifted and he was out of the zone. Now John & Scott were taking advantage of their angle and the roles were reversed. Eventually they must have stuck all of them, because the bites just stopped. The next area may not have had a lot of fish, but it was holding better quality. It was here that Scott landed the largest of the day and boated a bass in the mid fours. He also missed another of equal size almost on his next cast making me think that there were a number of them here. After they landed a few more smaller ones, the action died and we were forced to move again. By now the rain was falling and we were in a light mist, reducing visibility considerably. It didn’t stop these guys from catching however as they went right back into action. In fact, Dacca was back with his almost every cast hook ups! John managed to get what we thought was a heavy fish only to see that it was a 20 inch walleye. Bonus fish of the day! This area had plenty of action but was difficult to fish properly as many a rig was retied from all the snags present. The rest of the afternoon saw highs and lows as the fishing got a bit slower in these conditions. I think there were more misses than catches but there was still plenty of action. We finally ended by about 3:30 with a couple more bass and headed back to take out. They needed to be on the road by 4 and had landed their share of fish throughout the day. Scott & John knew what the fall brings but Dacca had seen the spectacular fishing, first hand. He had an unbelievable day on the water and caught plenty of fish in the process. He was also taking home a nice walleye for his dad and that would be the icing on the cake. A perfect ending to a great day of fishing!!

After having to cancel a few days this week due to hurricane Sandy’s winds, I was back out with a trio of fishermen. Scott, Manson & Cory were with me for their annual fall trip, looking for some big smallie action and they had it in spades. Although the winds were light from the SE, we were going to get rained on by mid morning and I hoped for some quick action. Water temps were hovering at 55 degrees, very uncommon for November and the air temps were almost the same. I believe in was Manson that hooked the first smallie and it was a dandy. It was definitely a four pound plus fatty and just the start of things to come, as Scott & Cory followed with several of their own. The three of them were all locked up within the first ten minutes and I knew it was gonna be a “Great Day For Fishing”! With no other boats around, I was able to concentrate on some of the isolated spots that I had refined over the years, without constantly looking over my shoulder. Drop shots & tubes picked up several of the better fish while out over these deep water areas. Scott even landed the smallest walleye I have ever seen at only 7 inches in length. Although really small, it‘s a great thing to see, knowing that we have a future with fish like these. We shifted locations frequently to try and find active fish but I soon realized that this was not the best way to go. They were picking at the baits and not getting pinned too often, making me think we had to slow down instead. Once we adjusted, all three were back into fish regularly. At one point, they even had a triple, so I knew it was working! Although showers were upon us, the fishing made it alright and nobody was complaining. Plenty of action was had all morning and it even picked up in the afternoon. Cory had monopolized on one lure and smoked the crap out of the bass with his do nothing approach. Manson didn’t fend as well with this but hammered them with another presentation and put the biggest bass of the day in the boat. Scott on the other hand was getting them with both techniques and lost his largest fish late in the afternoon. A tangle up with Corey had the fish unpinned after the jump but not before Corey hooked up too. He tried reeling in quickly to get out of the way & got crushed in the process. In the end, both fish won! Although slow & steady was the way to go under these conditions, it was almost like watching paint dry. Corey didn’t think so though as he was into fish on almost every cast. Dead sticking the bait soon paid off as he finally brought the biggest fish of the day and his personal best to net. A group shot of some of the afternoon catches was taken before we decided to end this day. It was getting on and also getting darker with all the overcast and mist and they had caught plenty of fish. Today was an action packed one with some real quality fish and we ended it on a high. As we parted at the ramp, all talk was on how great the fishing was and how they couldn’t wait to get back next year. Too bad it’s 12 months away as the fishing will only get better in the weeks to come!!

I headed to the water this morning with a couple of guys, that were looking for an action filled day. Masood & Moazzam were hoping to have one of those outings that had fish biting all day and that’s just what they received. With the onset of Hurricane Sandy on the way, most people held off from going out and I planned on taking full advantage of this. After yesterday, it would be nice not to be looking over my shoulder all day long! Overcast skies and light NE winds were what we began with but it was to get much worse throughout the day. I think it only took 2 or 3 casts for Masood to get the ball rolling and land the first bass of the day. He missed a couple more after that and then both of them picked up a few smaller ones up to 3 pounds. It was a little slow here and I knew the fish couldn’t be too far, so I moved out to deeper water near by. One cast later, Masood was locked up again and simultaneously, Moazzam was tight to another one as well. Although smaller than I had hoped for, these two pounders were just fine in their eyes! They already had more action than they see on most days and it had just begun. I kept them casting the same depths and they landed several more before moving off to another area near by. I wasn’t happy with the overall size of these ones and pushed on to find bigger & better. The next spot had Masood into one of those bigguns that I was searching for and now they knew why we were on the move. He was locked up with what was to be his personal best smallie and I wanted to bring it to net. After several leaps and a line screaming battle, the fish was ours! Although not a 5 pounder, it was close & definitely the largest smallie he had ever taken. Several pics later, it was returned back to the water to grow even more. Not far from there, he managed to get into a spot that saw him land 4 fish in as many casts. Moazzam was picking at them as well but not as frequently as his friend. Between the two of them however, it seemed like someone was almost always fighting a fish. We remained here as long as they were hitting and monopolized on all the possible bites. Eventually we had to move as it seemed like we overstayed our welcome when hits were few & far between. A couple of other smaller areas held only a handful of fish, so I didn’t stay long there either. We eventually stopped in a place that I knew would hold numbers and both guys were into bass almost immediately. This reef had a high volume of bass in all sizes and was where Moazzam was to get his best ones for the day. By making long casts, they were both able to cover the entire shoal and find fish in different depths. While Masood was working a crankbait, Moazzam caught on a different set up all together and hooked some big ones in the process. One was covering water and the other was on the bottom just to see what the activity levels of the fish were. Moazzam found out as he finally located some big fish and brought to net a couple in the 4 pound range. It didn’t take long to switch his buddy up and now they both were concentrating on the bottom. Several pics were taken of Moazzam’s fish before they were released and they both had personal bests for the day. We spent well over an hour just in this area alone, catching many more fish before relocating. It seemed like every time I mentioned one last cast, someone hooked up and we stayed a little longer. A slight adjustment along a current break for Masood and he cranked his way to several more, smaller bass. I thought we’d try a few areas after, that may or may not be holding fish, but were prime spots for bigger bass. Unfortunately, while refining one of these places, I locked up on a real big one! It would have been much nicer to have seen it pinned to one of the other rods! Although difficult to hold with wind against current, they did manage to land several more decent fish from here before moving once more. Moazzam also picked up a slot walleye from one of the holes and decided to take it home for dinner. With the winds howling, I thought we’d try and find some different areas slightly less painful to fish. The shift was welcomed as I slid back into a tiny section, totally protected from the winds. Too bad the fish didn’t want to be there though as only a couple of small ones were caught! With time running out, I decided to try one last area before ending the day. The fish here weren’t too big, but there were several more added to their already high numbers count. By the time it was all over they had both caught more fish than they had taken all season. They also had a couple of personal bests for them to remember from today. Despite the high winds and difficult fishing conditions, many a bass came out to play. Who could ask for anything more!!

Craig & Herm were back again for the second day and wondering what it would bring. It seems like every time we get together, something interesting occurs and this time would be no different! We hit the water before 8 under a heavy overcast sky that made day feel more like evening. With no wind present, the already 54 degree air temps were a welcomed treat. So much so that there were plenty of other boats thinking the same thing and out fishing as well! We rolled into our first area with high expectations and it didn’t take long before Herm was locked up. He managed to get a decent bass of 3 pounds or better on the third cast and started the day off with a bang. After boating another of equal size Craig finally got in the game as well. His fish looked to be over four pounds when it took to the air and suddenly, it got a whole lot heavier. He had thought that maybe the fish had buried itself into either rocks or weeds because he could barely move it. Right away I had a bad feeling and it was quickly confirmed as I slid the boat over towards his line. Yuup, there lies the problem! We were witnessing why these things are the apex predator as a huge muskie had the bass crossways and locked in its jaws. It was like a scene out of the movies without all the scary music! That poor bass didn’t see it coming and instantly became bait! This cat & mouse game went on for almost 10 minutes as we stayed right on top of the show. I followed the fight as Craig carefully tried to keep pressure on the two fish. If I could have gotten a shot at the lunge with the boga we may have had some incredible pictures. I guess she just got tired of being pulled around and finally let the bass go. What a mess the bass was too as it looked like someone had tried to scale the poor thing. Scars and scrapes all over and a couple of open wounds as well. I took a few quick pics and released it back to the water and amazingly it bolted to the bottom. I don’t know if this 4.5 pound smallie will survive, but you just never know. I have caught bass before that looked like they had escaped the grips of muskie and healed over, so maybe this one would too. We regrouped after this shit show and went back to the task at hand. Although a couple of smaller fish were taken from here afterwards, it had slowed considerably and we relocated. Too many fish too little time! The next place had hookups almost immediately as well but nothing of any size. We covered water with both Craig & Herm catching on different lures but we wanted bigger. With all the other boats around I knew I would have to try something different and headed out to deeper water. I had some small areas that should hold fish and if they did, they would be good ones. I finally located exactly what I wanted and Craig was locked almost immediately! It was definitely a quality bass and soon came to the net. Another boat nearby saw us and casually started to move towards where we had hooked it. I love these guys!! I immediately went into tournament mode and placed the boat in between, so as they couldn’t hone in. It was a difficult spot in heavy current and I was sure they would just drift by but heard the beeping sound of a waypoint being punched in as they did. These %$#&@ guys make me sick!! I guess he’ll be checking it out the next time they’re on the water now that he knows where we were. After all, it’s definitely easier to find fish when others have done the work for you!! We held here for a little longer so as not to have them swing around and Craig managed to get a couple of other big bass in the process. Eventually we shifted areas once again and went back to just covering water with search baits. They managed to catch several other fish with a few decent ones in the mix before I pulled the plug entirely and headed for boat free waters. I really wanted to be alone and was glad to see no others nearby when we arrived. Almost instantly Craig hooked up on what should have been the biggest fish of the day only to have it come unpinned on the jump. Although upset, he went right back at it and soon afterwards, was locked again. This would be the largest one of the day as I slid the net under a bloated pumpkin! Instead of taking a pic, I released it into the livewell and had them right back in the game. Craig managed to get one other decent bass from here, but that was all she wrote! We took a few pictures of his trophy, put her back from where she came and ran to another area for more action. In the last couple of hours of the day there were plenty more quality bass caught. On our final stop, Herm hooked into his best fish of the day before we called it quits. They had both tangled with more bass today than the previous one and some surprises to boot! I think the earlier attack will be a story that we will remember for quite some time. Although not the first encounter that I’ve seen like this before, it was surely the most entertaining. I only wish I had gotten some sort of underwater footage as it would have been something to watch over & over again. In a few weeks Craig will be back again and who knows what surprises lie ahead? Maybe this time we will have more stories to tell and possibly pics to show as well. We both can’t wait to see what’s in store!!