Herm was in today with his grandson Hunter, looking for some bass & walleye action. A little traffic had them arriving later than anticipated and we hit the water around 8:30. Trolling was the first attempt at landing a few quick biters but the east winds and overnight lows had them lock jawed. I was definitely marking plenty of fish but they weren’t moving to eat. It was apparent, we would have to slow down and cast for them instead! I pulled the plug here and shifted to another section where I was pretty sure they would land some smallies. Well, Herm blasted one on his first cast throwing a spinnerbait and Hunter was also tight to another on a tube. Too bad only one came to net but we were sure there’d be more as it had taken about ten seconds to get bit. Ironically, it wasn’t that easy and they had to work plenty to get just a couple more bites. Despite the fact that we were able to see many swimming around, very few had any interest in eating and we were relocating once again. This time however, I headed to deeper water where I hoped they would cooperate. As with before, Herm locked up almost immediately and thoughts of many more entered our minds. There were just too many fish marking in 20 to 30 feet of water not to get bit! We made multiple drifts in different areas all the while hooking into bass between 2 & 4 pounds. Hunter was also getting use to the drop shot technique and pulled a couple of his own in as well. It wasn’t the easiest boat control with a strong SE wind and I really had to work at keeping the boat drifting correctly. Wind against current is never easy and we had a cross wind against the current today. Without adjusting the angle constantly, the lines were all over the place and nobody would get bit. We fished this area for quite some time, making multiple drifts at various depths in order to find the larger bass. The bite was actually a strange one for some reason and many more fish were missed than landed. It seemed like they weren’t eating well and not staying pinned for long. When it became evident that we had overstayed our welcome, I moved once again. As with each area today, someone hooked up right away when we arrived and it was usually a good fish too. Once we remained for a while the fishing got much tougher, forcing us to shift again. This was becoming a bit of a pain as we weren’t able to monopolize on the fish in each area. We did manage to catch pretty much every where we stopped, but they shut down quickly after we arrived and the numbers definitely weren’t there. I hit several more places and we managed one walleye and a handful more smallies before returning back to take out. I knew we were going to get crushed at the ramp and wasn’t surprised to see big waves crashing on the shore when we got back. Although we had rough water and tough conditions while fishing, we weren’t completely on the receiving end of the worst winds. The boat ramp was however and I moved quickly to ensure the least amount of pounding the boat would receive. Although it wasn’t what I had hoped for today, they still had plenty of chances and landed some really nice fish in the end. Hopefully when Herm comes back in a few weeks the fish will be in shallower and a whole lot more stable conditions will be seen. I know he’s crossing his fingers and hoping for better results!!

Although this morning was below 50 degrees at the start, it warmed up to over 70 degrees during the day. The winds had diminished considerably and we were able to get out on the lake without any problem. From 3 footers yesterday to under a foot today, west winds had fallen to under 10 knots and I was glad! We did attempt a troll for the first hour or so but I decided to call it quickly when it wasn’t happening. Time to drop shot and it didn’t take long after the lines went in. Jim hit the first one this morning and Marie followed with one of her own moments later. They were already ahead of the game today with a couple of quick fish! They even had a double a couple of times during the morning bringing the numbers up even quicker. Marie was in the front of the boat and should have had first crack at the fish based on how I was moving. For some reason, she was letting them get by and Jim was taking advantage of each & every one. As she fell behind in the score, he added to it. Every time she did land one, he followed with one of his own and the math grew in his favor. It didn’t matter though as there were plenty more fish to be caught today. We stayed in this area making multiple drifts in various depth ranges all the while catching fish. I wanted to take advantage of the conditions and eventually decided to relocate to a different area all together. It was here that Jim managed to get into a few on a tube but they were lethargic for some reason. Marie was throwing a spinnerbait but all she had was follows. I switched her up to a jig in hopes of better results but we still saw more than they were catching. Only a handful of bass were landed with a few others lost but they did catch a first. Each of them got to battle a sturgeon and this had made it all worth while. From here I switched to another sandy section of the lake and covered water until we stumbled onto a pod of decent bass. These fish are really still in a summertime pattern and not desperate to eat yet. With the water temps remaining above 70 degrees, their eagerness to eat everything in site hasn’t been triggered. To them, winter is still a long way from arriving and it shows. In a couple more weeks, this will all change and they will begin to feed on everything in site! Jim managed to get a few bass to open their mouths here and fought them right into the net. As I moved along, Marie got to tangle with a couple that unfortunately, only remained on briefly. They were definitely not hungry and it showed! Several bumps resulted in more missed & lost fish than landed in this spot. When I realized that it wasn’t going to get any better, I went back to the place that we had begun and drop shotted it once again. They both got to tangle with several more and landed about half of them before we pulled the plug for today. Despite the arrival of our first cold front of the season, we were successful. By moving around when needed and concentrating in the right areas, they had managed to land a fair amount of quality bass. Slow presentations were required in order to monopolize on the small strike zones the last couple of days. Bring on the fall and cooling water temps, as the best fishing is yet to come!!

Jim & Marie were back this year and looking forward to fishing, once again. Although I had been concentrating locally on water closer to home, today I would have to travel to another lake due to the winds. They were to blow 20 knots with stronger gusts from the west and I knew it would be tough. A quick drive had us launching in flatter water and the areas to be fished definitely looked doable! Today was a complete change from yesterday, with the weather dropping into the 50’s overnight. High heat & humidity had air temps in the low 80’s before but a cold front had severely reduced them today. The big question was would they bite? With the changes so drastic, I decided to attempt trolling for the bulk of the morning. Unfortunately this proved to be unsuccessful and we eventually pulled the plug sometime around mid day. It was time to put some fish in the boat and I knew just the place. We made another run and I set up the drop shot rods, instructing them on what to do. They had done this before and knew what was involved, making it a whole lot easier. It took a while to locate exactly what I was looking for, but when I did, rods became bent! I think it was Marie that drew first blood with a decent three pounder and we were glad to see it. This started the ball rolling and although it wasn’t fast & furious, we did pick at them for quite a while. I made multiple drifts over the area and they hooked into fish on just about every one. Most of the bass were larger than the first but there were a few smaller ones as well. I think we had 3 that were in the high 4’s and possibly one around 5 by the time we pulled the plug here and relocated. The next area didn’t produce the size but several quick bites were had immediately after we arrived. Just like the previous spot, we drifted over the edge and picked at them on each pass. Time was getting on now and after another unsuccessful spot, we decided to call it and headed back to take out. The first day of the cold front hadn’t shut us out but they did have to work for each bite they had. I’m sure if I had of concentrated entirely on the bass, they would have had plenty more action. The first 4 hours of the day hadn’t yielded a single bite and this really cut into our production. Fortunately we had come back in the afternoon and salvaged the day. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back on local waters tomorrow and they’ll tangle with many more smallies. It’s all up to “Mother Nature”!!

Darren was back with me again this morning looking for a few quality bass. We hit a different body of water, knowing that the action would be slower than usual and it was. Winds were blowing opposite the current flow and were a little difficult at the starting spot. A mix of baits were thrown including jerkbaits and spinnerbaits, but only one smaller fish was landed. Although a few big ones were seen and a couple of others followed, the action was definitely slower than I had anticipated. This was to be the way it was pretty much all morning as we covered several more places, just looking for a big bite. We even changed species for a while but had the same outcome. I decided to make a long run to an area that I was pretty sure would change our luck and we weren’t disappointed. Almost immediately after the first line hit the water, a four pounder was on! I knew they were here and we were going to get plenty more in the time spent fishing. It seemed like all the fish were big ones and real fatties as well. Darren had gotten his wish and hooked a number of brownies in the 3.5 to over 5 pound range. Unfortunately, the biggest ones seemed to be getting off more than staying pinned until he began putting more pressure on them. From that point on, the bruisers stayed locked! I don’t know exactly how many big ones came aboard but I do know that it was quite a few. Our best overall weight would have definitely been tournament worthy. In the end, we had turned a real slow day into one he had hoped for and succeeded in a solely, big fish bite! We couldn’t have asked for anything more!

Although a slow week for bookings, I spent every day on the water trying to find & refine areas holding fish. I had a special request and & I wanted to ensure that it was a successful one. Keith was in search of walleye & he was determined to get one on a fly. Fortunately for him, I had found such a spot and we headed out for his “Holy Grail”. A better day he couldn’t have picked as we had literally no wind the entire time we were on the water. Although it was a pain to fish through the floaters, we managed to get it done with little frustration. Based on the heat of the morning air, I knew we would be in an oven by afternoon and wanted to hook him up early. We had the lines in before 8 o’clock and slowly moved along in anticipation of the first fish. He casted a clouser pattern fly on a heavy weighted sinking line and stripped out just enough to stay in the strike zone. I placed another rod with the same set up in a holder and slowly moved through the area trying to up our chances. A couple of passes were made without any takes but I was marking plenty of fish close to the bottom and knew it was just a matter of time. I pulled the fly rod from my side and replaced it with a conventional rig just to see if the fish would eat. Well, 30 seconds in and the reel went off with a small bass and Keith swapped rods with me. He soon swapped back though, as a bigger bass crushed the fly while I was reeling it in and we had doubles. He had only limited encounters with the smallies before & was in awe of the shear power this one had. I quickly released the smaller one and soon netted his bass that went in the 3 pound range. A quick pick and we were resetting the lines in anticipation of more. The first walleye was next but it was tiny and fell victim to the lure instead of the fly. It was so small that the reel never even fired! A few more decent bass later on the fly rod, Keith finally had a tremendous hit while stripping his fly. Even I heard the line rip out of his hands & the drag scream from the reel. It had some weight and I was sure it was what we were looking for. The fight wasn’t great but this fish was staying down ensuring its species was a walleye. When we finally caught a glimpse, I saw confirmation and mass. This was a big eye! It measured right around 24 inches and the boga confirmed it was just over 5 pounds. The best part of all of this was that it was taken on a fly and Keith had another species to cross off his list. After a few nice pics he released his prize back to grow even more. We had accomplished what we had come out to do and he was ready for more. More bass that is, because the fight was so much better! After a few more fish in this area on both set ups, we moved to another area where he would be targeting strictly smallies. This time however he would be casting a 5 weight over flats looking for roaming bass pods. It’s a little like hunting bonefish down south and he was all for it as we began our search. A few smaller bass were moving but not the ones I was looking for and then it happened. Big blackie and it ate the clouser hard! Unfortunately when it ran, the leader broke way up the line. I retied another one and back in he went. The next fish was of equal size but it too was lost when the fly just pulled out. This was getting frustrating but I knew he would have plenty more chances and just kept searching for roamers. Soon after, he had one eat and it was game on! With little to no water below these fish, the only place to go was up. The leaps and aerials were spectacular and all on a fly. This was turning out to be an awesome first time experience for Keith and it was happening right in a big city. For the remainder of the afternoon, he played with several more bass on a variety of flies but one shined the best. It was an egg sucking leech that I generally use on steelhead in some of the tributaries off Lake Ontario. We just kept moving, intercepting pods and singles and hoping for takes. No one spot produced better than another but groups definitely had better hookups. I think the competitive nature of more than one fish had them eating a little better. As it was getting late in the day, I thought we would hit the previous area that he had caught the walleye from to see if he might hook into another. First pass and he gets slammed but a nice smallie was his prize. As if he hadn’t fought enough of them today, he now had another! What’s not to enjoy about a smallmouth fight! Once released, the hardware goes off and another big eye becomes his prize once again. After that, another smallie or two and a big one follows a giant fly I had changed to. It just kept charging the thing and eventually disappeared below. In the last 15 minutes he landed 4 more fish and missed a couple of strikes as well. What a way to end an already spectacular day on the lake. Keith couldn’t have asked for a better initiation to what Montreal has to offer. Our fishing is second to none and this is the tough time of the year. He’s thinking of returning this fall and if he does, he’ll know what I mean. I hope he makes it back as the smallies will eat him alive! Overall, the finest fly fishing day ever!!