I had a boat load of Mikes today as 3 of them came out to fish bass & walleye. For once, I had a hand trolling and it definitely made my life a whole lot easier. Mike # 1 was designated rod man and it felt good, to just concentrate on the fish as he manned all the rods! I set the lines and we began the troll under a nice chop of 5 to 10 knots out of the west. Add a slight increase in water level from all the rain we had received in the last few days and I knew we would score. Mike # 2 was the son of Mike # 3 and this day was designated to him. His dad had come in to fish Musky and planned a couple of days from the week for some action. When the first reel went off I never even had to leave the chair and # 1 was on it immediately. I could really get use to having a mate! First walleye landed and a 19 inch beauty was swimming in the well. We’re having fish for dinner! Lines checked and the next rod goes off giving up another 18 incher and things were looking up. We covered this area thoroughly and managed about 10 walleye up to 24 inches and a few bass, before shifting gears. We moved to another spot and began casting for smallies when Mike junior got crushed on his very first cast. It blasted his spinnerbait, trying to rip the rod from his hands and immediately went to the air. His dad almost doubled up on a jig too, but lost three in a row when they just came unpinned. Mike # 1 was also having similar results with a spinnerbait, but missing almost every one. He switched up to a tube and the results were the same! These fish just kept coming off and I really didn’t know why! I switched one rod up for a slower moving senko and the next four fish came aboard without throwing the hooks. Out of a possible 12 to 15, I think they landed about half. Definitely not a great average but at least we had action. When the wind layed down, that all changed! No wind equals very little movement and the fish just stopped biting. Time to relocate again, but this time we dropped #1 back off at the dock. He had an appointment and the three of us returned to a new area, hoping for bigger & better. Next stop, a big follower almost got a hold of junior’s spinnerbait, but didn’t seem to be interested. It followed the lure all the way to the boat only to disappear into the weeds. Soon after, he got crushed and a big fish took to the air with a three foot, Olympic leap. Unbelievable runs and jumps and one hell of a fight later, it was in the net. Not before tossing the blade off the lure, tearing a larger hole in her mouth and shaking the lure free as well. This is why people love to fish for smallies! After a couple of pics she was released and went on her way. The next fish was unexpected as Mike battled a sturgeon for a while. He couldn’t believe the shear power of this fish and eventually brought it close enough for me to grab its tail. Several pics later and back she went no worse for wear! We continued along for a bit and hit another area that had been holding a concentration of walleye & bass. Ironically, no walleye were caught, just smallies! They even had a double header that was the first of the day. Juniors’ fish was considerably larger as it was pushing 21 inches in length. It should have weighed over 5 pounds but fell lighter due to the lack of girth. Either way, it was a real beauty and released immediately after the pics. A few more bass were taken as well in this area and then it just died entirely. We kept moving along and I made another stop in a place close to a deep water edge. This section had been only holding big fish and today would be no different. While chunking the spinnerbait, Mike got a hold of another giant and one hell of a battle followed. He finally brought it close enough to the boat and I netted it in the air, under another spectacular leap. This was to be the largest one of the day and definitely in the five pound class, as it had plenty of girth. Unfortunately it was the only fish to be seen here and not long after we were on the move once again. After an unsuccessful attempt at the next location, we moved to a drop shot area and finished off the day. Not many fish were landed here and I wasn’t surprised. There was practically no current and all fish were small because of it. They both managed a couple of walleye & bass and we headed back to the ramp. I had fish to clean and we had dinner to eat! It was definitely a day full of action and plenty of firsts for Mike. Or was that Mikes!!

Darren was back with me again today but this time he brought a guest. His son Ethan was to be at a day camp close by at 9, so we figured, why not get him a few fish before. Ethan was all for this and after reeling in 4 nice walleye, he wanted more. Looks like Darren might have to take him out more often now as he would rather have stayed on the lake with us. After we brought the little guy back in, we headed to an area close by and tried a little drop shotting. I was pretty sure it would be a tough bite as the wind was blowing NE at 10 knots or better and opposite the current flow. I was right, the surface water was moving us upstream and the baits were going the other direction. It wasn’t easy trying to keep a vertical presentation and once I got the speed correct with the kicker, we somehow started going sideways. Although Darren did have a couple of big fish hooked, the boat control was almost impossible and I pulled the plug in frustration. This area had been putting out plenty of quality bass and I wanted more, but it wasn’t going to happen today! We headed off to another area where we would be casting to shallower fish and began tossing jigs and spinnerbaits. There were a few smaller bass landed and then Darren locked up with a real dandy. This fish was big and pissed! After an incredible fight and some spectacular jumps, I slid the net under an almost 5 pound bruiser. To no surprise, it had buddies and now I really wanted more. Unfortunately the others scattered once we landed this one and were never to be seen again. We kept moving and managed to stumble into a small pod of walleye, catching 4 nice ones, as well as another smallie. Eventually we moved off and encountered a pod of smallmouth again and Darren was locked once more. The fish looked to be another big one and I concentrated on getting it in, despite all the followers that were with her. Once in the net we realized that it was almost as big as the previous one he landed and equally as impressive. I decided to toss a spinnerbait, to try & find the group once again and just about had the rod torn from my hands by a violent strike. As expected, this fish had the pod with it and Darren almost had another beauty that tried to eat his jig, twice. These fish are like ghosts on the flats. One minute you see them and the next, they’re gone! We too were gone as I had run out of the quality stuff holding these fish and decided to try another section of the lake. We would be drop shotting in deeper water and hopefully, a mixed bag would be caught. To our surprise, these fish were all on the smaller side, but really active. I don’t know how many we caught but the largest ones were just over 2 pounds. As the day was getting on, we saw that the clouds were starting to roll in pretty good and opted for a final location change. One more smallie spot and wouldn’t you know it, a walleye came in on a jig. As were nearing the end, Darren decided to keep this slot fish and hoped for one other to take home. After a few more smallies, I switched gears and set the lines for another quick troll nearby. One walleye coming up! Five minutes or so into the troll, I checked the lines and saw we had a hitch hiker. Darren reeled in the last fish of the day and the Walter joined his friend in the well. We were getting a light mist now and I knew the weather wasn’t going to get any better. We pulled the lines and headed back to the ramp, just in time for Darren to pick Ethan up from day camp. I think Ethan told everyone at camp that he had fished this morning as he was still excited. Looks like we may have another guest more often, or at least for a couple of hours before day camp starts!!

Michel & Christiane joined me today for a little walleye & bass action. After a couple of pit stops we were on the water fishing before 8 and fighting the floating weeds once again. Air temps were to reach the mid 80’s and the water temps were hovering around 76 in the areas we were trolling. It took a little longer than I had expected but once I found them, the rods went off regularly. We even had a double header and I hadn’t had one of them, in forever! In a matter of 45 minutes we were able to land about 10 walleye and most were in the slot. Christiane had top fish with a 24 incher that made for a great pic. I was really having to work for the bites now and decided to troll outside the area hoping for a few more rips on the reels. We did manage a couple, but they were smallies and not the targeted species. Time to move to an area & cast for them! Next stop was a deep edged weed line and hopefully a few more eyes. With not much flow to the water, I had to really work hard to get the bites we had. Only 4 more walleye were landed but they were all good ones! Three of them were in the 4 to 5 pound range and nice to see. This edge has the potential for some real giants! Too bad that was all we could manage and we moved on once more. Drop shotting deeper water was next and this too was proving quite difficult as well. Without any movement in the water, the fish were holding tight and we really had to be right on top of them in order to get bit. I decided to finish off the day on a bigger flat that had been putting out plenty of smallies lately in hopes of better results. Both Christiane & Michel had their shots at several but only landed a few. These fish weren’t hammering the baits, just lightly mouthing them and not all were getting hooked. Somewhere around 3:30 we called it a day. I had fish to clean and a dinner to prepare and needed some time in order to do it. We would be having blackened, Cajun walleye on the bar b tonight! Despite the overall slow day, they still caught a bunch of fish and had a great time on the water. Oh yeah, they’d be eating some of their catch too!!

Graham & Phil joined me this morning on one of the most difficult days of the season. Between the left over full moon effects, the heavy floating vegetation and the NW winds blowing 10 to 20 knots, I would have my work cut out for me today. We hit the lake shortly after 7 and I went straight to a troll. This was not the best choice however as I soon found out. I spent more time trying to dodge big patches of the floaters and cleaning lines. All we had to show for our efforts was one walleye and a drive by in 45 minutes of fishing. I slid in a little shallower, hoping to avoid some of the vegetation and managed to keep the lines wet for more than just a couple of minutes at a time. Although the fishing wasn’t much better, they did get to play with a few smallies and one big northern just under 10 pounds. Round two and off we went to another location, where we would hopefully jig up more eyes! Unfortunately, all we could come up with here was one fish, but she was a beauty. It fell on the high end of the slot and joined its buddy in the well. They had wanted to feed a party of five tonight and I would have to pick up the pace, if they were to succeed. I figured I would switch them up to drop shots and scour the depths of a steep drop next. It wasn’t great but Graham managed to get into a couple of bass and one of them was pushing 4 pounds. I think they only caught 3 or 4 fish in the time here and it was off once again! Along my route to the next location I decided to stop on a deep reef and check to see if anybody was home. It hadn’t been producing lately and I didn’t know why! First drop and Phil’s locked! They’re finally here! As it turned out however, this fish was a nice walleye around 18 inches and an addition to their menu for tonight. In about an hour or so of fishing this reef, they had plenty of action with a combination of smallies, walleye and one big northern pushing 10 pounds again. Phil even managed to catch another walleye and lost an even larger one right at the boat as well. Eventually it looked like we wore out our welcome here and I had to move again. I thought I would try shallower to see if we might be able to locate a school of feeding bass but with the dirtier than usual water in there, they only managed to get a few small ones to commit. Off we went once again and back to the deeper humps looking for more. It was definitely a slow bite as we covered plenty of nothing water and very little, holding biters. We shifted gears once again to another section of the lake and continued with the drop shot set up in deeper water. We remained here for the balance of the day and they got into the fish pretty good! Although plenty of bass were either missed or lost on the jumps, they landed more than their share as well. By moving around plenty, I was able to take advantage of the smaller groups of fish in specific areas. The drop shot was definitely the winner today and they both realized just how effective it can be. We literally had to present the rig right in their faces to get them to eat. Not much chasing today! Hopefully things are on the upswing now and I can go back to aggressively feeding fish at least part of each day!

Mark was here on business and hooked up with me today, for a day of firsts. We hit the water shortly after 7 for another scorcher of an outing. I was glad to see the wind blowing when we set the lines for a troll and hoped it would stay this way. I immediately covered the same section that had produced many fish the day before, but wasn’t as fortunate. We only landed one keeper walleye and a few smallies in about an hour, before I moved around in search of better fishing. A combination of floating weeds and diminishing winds wasn’t making things easy as I trolled what seemed like miles of water. Although the reels were firing periodically, they were all bass and I decided to pull the plug entirely. If we were going to target smallmouth, we were gonna fish them by casting! I hit the next area and Mark was locked up on a spinnerbait as soon as I found the sweet spot. He pulled 3 or 4 decent fish before I changed up baits and we started throwing soft plastics to the fish. Several more nice bass were fought in the hour or so we were there but we had lost our wind. This was making the fish skittish and I made another change in location. It was quite some time before I actually got back on more fish and they weren’t many! We were picking one here and one there but covering plenty of water while doing it. The full moon and now, flat calm water made things a little difficult and I knew we would have to fish deeper. Next stop was a casting area for walleye as Mark was looking to better his first fish of the day. They were on his bucket list along with northerns and he needed pics! We casted & dragged jigs in the deeper water and managed several walleye but they were all kinda small. When he did land a nice one worthy of a pick, we had another boat move right into where he had hooked up. I may be use to this type of behavior but it was new to Mark. This guy was just passing by when he saw the net and decided to put the breaks on and come on over. Gotta love the mentality of fellow fishermen like this! Needless to say, we weren’t able to get back to where I needed and I relocated to another area close by. I thought we’d try a little drop shotting on a deep edge and Mark once again was locked up quickly. Although I was searching for walleye, we were getting bass and that was fine too! We remained here for a while, catching a number of small fish with many of them juvenile walleye and then the wind began. I was happy to see a good breeze blowing 5 to 10 knots from the SW and decided to give the troll another try. I knew that he would be getting better walleye this way if the fish cooperated and was right. First fish was over 22 inches and surely worthy of a photo! We picked at them for a while landing a combination of Walters and smallies and then it slowed down considerably. I soon found out why when the next reel started to scream. It took so much line that it could only be one thing, a lunge! Confirmation was had moments later when it appeared on the surface. It was big and lightly hooked with the tiny hooks from the walleye crankbait. I tried to get a boga grip on her but failed when she shook the final hook point loose and swam off. Too bad as Mark would have loved proof of this gator! We regrouped and returned to the troll but with limited success. A few more drive byes and a couple of smallie hits and it was time to leave. We had put in about 10 hours in the scorching heat and were fried. Tomorrow would be another day! Mark was back and looking for revenge today as we hit the lake once again around 7. I thought a change up was in order this morning and we were going to start by drop shotting. The strong west winds were blowing 10 to 15 knots and made for perfect boat control over the reefs. As with every new technique, Mark caught on quickly. Yesterday he was casting this set up and today we were fishing vertically. It didn’t take long and he was tight to an angry smallie full of strength. Several others were also caught in the short hour or so we remained here and then I hit another sweet spot. Each time I drifted along the weed edge, fish ate. I decided to try casting to them but it didn’t have the same result. I went back to drifting and Mark was hooked up again. This time however, he had a pike attached to the 2 pound bass that had eaten his bait. The pike may have been closer to ten pounds but soon let go of the fish when he realized that it was pulling back. Poor little thing was torn up from the jaws of the northern but it was still alive and swam off quickly. Another encounter from jaws! We switched up to trolling this area when the winds diminished to a light breeze and hit a few smallies again. I figured I would try for walleye again somewhere else and didn’t stay long when we only managed more bass. Mark was looking to land a northern and I knew just the place. We set the lines for another troll and within minutes he had his first ever pike. It may have only been about 3 pounds but it was a pike! I thought when the next reel went off that he had a largemouth but to both out surprise, it was the largest crappie either of us had ever see. It was almost 15.5 inches in length and really looked like a pie plate. I’ve fished this lake for over 25 years and have never seen the likes of this before. We trolled around some more, catching a few other pike and then shifted to a walleye spot, looking for dinner. I told Mark that we needed a couple of keepers for an appetizer tonight and we immediately went into search mode. It didn’t take long and there were a couple of 17 inch fish swimming in the livewell. Although we didn’t catch many, we did have what we needed and that was good enough. We still had a few hours left in the day and both thought of trolling deeper areas for bigger eyes. Off we went and I set the lines in once again, hoping that the full moon wouldn’t have them completely shut down. Our biggest nemesis was to be the floating vegetation here as the boat traffic had the lake all chewed up. There were weeds everywhere and right where I needed to be. Constant checking of the lures was needed to get the few bites we had and after a couple of hours of this hate, we only had bass to show for our efforts. One more stop casting for smallies and a few bass later, we were heading back to the dock. These were two of the toughest days I’ve had in a while but despite all this, we still managed to make it work. Mark had completed task and landed the two species he was after. Along with them, he also had many other firsts as well. Overall, a pretty good end to his business trip here in Montreal. Oh yeah, the blackened Cajun walleye weren’t bad too!!