It had been a couple of years since I fished with Ranjan and his dad, but today they were back once again for more action. They had brought along Peter this time to show him what bountiful fishing was right in his own back yard and he was in for a real treat. We were scheduled to fish yesterday but due to Hurricane Irene coming through on Sunday, I thought an extra day’s wait was the right thing to do. Post frontal conditions are tough at the best of times, not to mention post hurricane! Although we still had strong winds from the SW at 10 to 20 knots, it was a far cry from the gusts over 40 that the storm had brought a couple of days before. We had overcast conditions and tough fishing early in the morning and I had to move around plenty just to get the few bites we received. With the water taking a beating, the temps had dropped almost 4 degrees and were at best 68.5 and some areas held barely over 66. I knew I had my work cut out for me! By trolling I was at least able to find warmer water and cleaner sections of the lake and once I did, the reels started to fire. We were now into fish and I was glad! Most of them were pike but at times like these, I’ll take them gladly. Ranjan wanted to take a few fish home and pike were officially on the menu! We even managed to get into a few smallies and a nice walleye in the same areas and things were looking up. So much so that the clouds gave way to sunshine and the activity began to grow as we continued to catch even more fish. They had wanted to fish for only a half day so I relocated to another area in hopes of putting a few walleye in the boat to go along with the pike they were having. This proved to be the right move as the next place provided us with a couple more decent fish in the slot. Along with these, Peter even managed to land his personal best smallie and all was good. He and Ranjan fish plenty but only from shore and never really get to see quality fish like these and were quite content to be in open water. Despite the tough start to the day, things did improve and we managed to turn a slow day into one filled with plenty of excitement, just by covering water. All in all, a successful end to a post hurricane day!!

Patrick & his son Frederick were with me today looking to land a bunch of different fish. The weather looked to have the makings of a nice one with sunshine & air temps expected to reach into the upper 70’s. Winds were light from the SW and the water temps were still holding around 73 degrees when we set the lines & began our troll. I had great expectations as I was out the previous day and just slammed them in the same areas! Unfortunately, today was a totally different animal and we had to work hard for each & every bite we received. The first fish never even set off the reel and was only found to be there when checking the lines for weeds. It turned out to be a tiny largemouth and was released immediately. We managed to get several pike and a couple of smallies while here but it just didn’t have the feel of yesterday. A change was necessary and we packed it in for the troll and decided to go casting for smallmouth bass elsewhere. By now the sun had gotten up high enough to warm the water, triggering an activity like they had never seen before. Soft plastics accounted for the many bass they were to play with in the next several hours and there were a lot. Fish from two pounds all the way to over four were landed over these areas and Frederick was really enjoying the catching part. So much so that his father extended the half day trip into a full day when he asked his son, what he wanted to do. There was no question as to his answer! At one point another sturgeon was hooked up and Frederick got to see the raw power of these giants. He managed to get it close enough for me to glove and they both couldn’t believe just how big it actually was. I helped Frederick hold the beast for a few pics his dad just had to have before he released it back to the lake. We continued fishing this area, catching a few more here & there before moving off to a similar location not too far away. It was here that Patrick managed to lock up several times on a jig while his son kept throwing a senko to the roaming smallies nearby. Both of them managed to hook up on many more but the landing ratio wasn’t that good. I think the fish were just holding the baits and not actually taking them completely. Time was getting on and I wanted to hit a few more areas before calling it a day, so we packed up and moved once again. It was on this spot that I realized that Frederick had mastered the senko, when he slammed into a bass pretty far away. Once it took to the air we saw that it was a big one and he battled it like a champ all the way into the net. At well over 4 pounds it was surely the largest one of the day and he did it all on his own! He had gone from not catching on previous trips to landing a pile today and graduating with top honors! His interest was peaked and now he just wanted more & bigger. I’m sure that his father won’t have a hard time getting Frederick back on the water, the next time he heads out. They had both managed to hook up plenty today and were anxious to try these techniques on their own. With all the fish landed today, Frederick still hadn’t managed to get a walleye and this surprised me completely. I made one final stop in another area and set the lines to troll. This was a welcomed rest for his son as he was feeling a little tired from fighting all the fish throughout the day. The fish weren’t jumping in the boat now and I really had to hit the areas precisely in order to get bit. The first reel fired over a tiny refined spot and I knew it was what we were after. Bad luck was definitely upon us as the fish just came off while Frederick was reeling it in. Shortly after another reel screamed and I could tell that it too was of quality. I never even got to hand off the rod as this one also came unpinned, almost immediately after I got it out of the holder. Being pressed for time, that was all she wrote! I pulled the remainder of the lines and we were out of there. Although Frederick hadn’t landed any walleye, he did manage to catch plenty of other fish and had a blast today. I’m pretty sure the next time they’re out on their own, it won’t end in a skunk. With the knowledge they acquired today, their fishless days should be a thing of the past. Overall a pretty good day despite the difficult start!!

We left home shortly after midnight, aimed for the Toronto region of Lake Ontario in search of some silver. Somewhere along the way, we encountered rain that was more like a monsoon than a rainstorm. It was coming down so hard that even the wipers weren’t clearing the windows fast enough. Along with this, we had an electrical storm that turned night time into day! It was so bright that it became blinding every time it flashed. I wondered what kind of impact it would have on the fish! We held off at the dock when we arrived for quite a while as storm after storm passed over us before we ventured out. It wasn’t pretty out there as we were to find out and average 4 footers were rolling strong from the SE with fives & sixes thrown in for laughs. There was no way we would be able to fish into the waves so we ran to the furthest area and trolled back in the giant rollers. It was like being in an amusement park on a hell ride! Fortunately the fishing didn’t seem to suffer from all of this and a bunch of kings fell victim to the presentations being offered. Greg was on his “A” Game and the conditions didn’t seem to matter. The weather forecast called for the winds to diminish and switch west by mid day and we hoped they were right. Unfortunately as usual, they weren’t and west was east all day! They did reduce slightly though and in the afternoon we were able to troll in all directions. The bite didn’t seem slow for us but Greg was thinking it was and kept moving and switching up baits looking for the mother load. He may never have found it but he did pick at them pretty good and by the time it was all over we had boated almost 20 kings up to 25 pounds. We fished until 5:00 until we had enough and pulled the lines for the day. Everyone was kind of tired by now from the long day and it was unanimous. Despite Greg’s attempt at improving the hookups for the day, we definitely were happy with the outcome and couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Everyone would be getting a good night’s sleep and the fish would be in trouble!

Alyssa joined me today on the lake today for a relaxing fishing experience. It was the morning of the cold front and I wasn’t sure what kind of impact it had made on the fish. From heading out each morning wearing very light clothing to bundling up today, it felt weird. The fall was nowhere near but it sure seemed like it had arrived overnight! The air temps were in the mid 50’s and the cloud cover held the coolness when we set the lines and started the troll. Ironically, we didn’t have a touch for the hour we spent searching for walleye. I knew we were going to have to switch to a different species and wait for the water to warm up for them to bite. Off we went for bass and even they were less cooperative than usual. Several decent ones were caught but we had to work hard for them to bite. Slowly worked soft plastics were fished over areas that held them and every once in a while, you just felt weight. They were barely picking up the lures and just swimming off with them. If you set too soon they were gone. When the sun finally broke through the clouds and the water began to warm, the activity picked up. We were now covering less area and getting more bites! Smallies were becoming active and it showed as Alyssa managed to get into a few that were photo worthy. Plenty of the smaller ones of 2 to 3 pounds were also taken but it was the big ones I was after. Somewhere in the early afternoon she even got to play with a sturgeon that had taken the jig again. This was short lived when it took to the air beside the boat and spiraled around the line causing it to break. Although it was brief, she still felt the strength they had in the 30 seconds it was on. The bass were coming more readily now & we were finally able to concentrate in specific areas, not having to move around as much. I knew it was just a matter of time before another sturgeon was hooked and this time it was a beast. Alyssa had a battle that she would remember for a while! It overpowered her so much that her arms and hands were in pain when I was finally able to grab the tail. When I lifted it aboard for the pic, she was shocked to see the actual size of this prehistoric beast. It wasn’t easy for her to hold this thing but somehow I managed to snap a few pics before the release. I could tell she was exhausted by her face in the pics and decided we should go back to trolling for the remainder of the day. I knew she wanted to take a few walleye home for a dinner and concentrated in specific areas looking for bites. The water had warmed up by almost 3 degrees and I hoped this would make them more active than they were this morning. The first few reels to fire were smallies and unfortunately not what we were looking for at all. Eventually a reel went off that sounded a lot more like the targeted species and I was right. I slid the net under a legal 3 pounder and we had the first fish in the livewell. The next one was even bigger and unfortunately had to be released at 24 inches. It took a little while before we were blessed with another hookup but somewhere along the way in, it just came unpinned. There were two other smaller ones caught while checking the lines but only one of them was legal enough to be kept and we called it quits. This was a day filled with variety and another relaxing one spent on the lake. Alyssa managed to get three different species of fish and one truly giant one that I’m sure she will remember for a while. A great day for fishing!!

Due to the local ramp being packed with people today, I decided on a small road trip to another body of water. Christiane & I thought that with the 100 Year Festivities scheduled, we should fish elsewhere. I’ve been hemmed in before at the boat ramp and knew it would be another one of those days with all the activities for the park area. She was, wanting another lunge but this time it would be on heavier tackle, if we were lucky! We arrived at a respectable 10:30 A.M. and were fishing by 11:00 searching for those hateful creatures. Winds were out of the SW at 5 to 10 knots making the heat wave almost bearable as we set the lines and waited. Somewhere around high noon the long line started that beautiful howl and we were locked! Christiane had probably one of the best battles she ever felt from these fish, for heavy tackle. The headshakes were incredible as she reeled the fish to the boat for me to boga. Although the battle lasted less than three minutes, we quickly landed and photographed the fish before release. I revived her and then let Christiane take over for the actual release. It would be the first time she actually held one in the water and finally knows what they are like when ready to go. As with all hateful creatures like these, she was left with a face wash! A small price to pay for getting to play with one of these I guess! We trolled for almost 90 minutes more with nay a touch and realized that we were lucky to have gotten even the one. I packed everything in and decided to try a couple of places for smallies instead. The first spot didn’t seem to have any life on it at all and I spent very little time looking for the bass. I hit another area a short distance away and just like the first place, it seemed void of fish. Christiane did manage to get one to commit to the jig however and was soon battling a smallie over 5 pounds. I knew it was big when it took to the air a couple of times. Once in the net though, I realized it was more like 5 ½ and not just five. If you’re only going to get one, this was definitely the one! We tried a little longer in this section and still never saw any fish. Off to another location and hopefully better results. Unfortunately the last couple of places were both the same. I really didn’t feel like running all over the lake to places I knew held fish, so we just packed it in. Christiane was satisfied with her day, catching a couple of trophy fish. We had accomplished what we had set out to do with the troll and the bass was just a bonus. By 3:00 we were leaving the water and with approaching weather on the way, glad to be on the road. Overall, a very relaxing and satisfying day!!