Sam, Hassan & Dave were with me today, for one more kick at the can! They wanted to get out again before the weather put them into a hibernation mode, longing for the spring thaw. We hit the water at the crack of 9 and were fishing soon after! Winds were non existent and the air temps were actually quite warm at about 50 degrees. This would not last however as the forecast called for a drop in temp with an oncoming north wind a little later. Water temps were 41.5 to 43, depending on where we were and the fish were really lethargic. So much so that on the first drift through an excellent area, no one hooked a thing. I made a couple of blind casts on the second pass and landed about 8 pounds of bass, signifying that they were definitely here! If they were to catch anything today, they were going to have to slow down and really pay attention. The bites weren’t aggressive and some of them wouldn’t even feel like a bite at all today! In frustration, I decided to move from here and try casting other area in hopes of them having better luck at hookups. Dave was the newbie in the group and ironically, he was doing better than the other two. In fact, he managed to get the first decent bass over 4 pounds landed and followed it up with another soon after. Eventually, Sam & his brother joined in and they all had the skunk out! Just when everyone was really enjoying this warm fall day, the wind picked up and the temps began to fall. In only a short time, they had gone from no jackets to bundling up with hoods. Fortunately the fish hadn’t felt the sting and were still biting, somewhat! It was difficult at best for them to detect hits and I had to inform them to slow down more and really pay attention to their baits. I’m not really sure just how many fish they missed today but I think it was about 75% of their takes. These fish were going to have to commit suicide in order for them to hook up and I wasn’t going to let that happen. It seemed like every time I made an example cast, I got bit and landed a fish. I think it was after the fifth or sixth bass that they finally caught on and began to slow down to the speed they needed. In fact, several of the bass caught were from dead sticking the jigs on the bottom! It was from this point on that the fish started coming aboard and the numbers finally started to rise. Dave even hooked into something that had us all wondering, as line began peeling off the reel. I actually had to follow the fish as it was going everywhere! After several minutes of battling the unknown, we finally saw that it was a sturgeon. It may not have been a large one but it was his first and one heck of a battle. Once landed, we took a few pics and released this prehistoric animal back to the water unharmed. They all went back to fishing and as we slid along a deeper edge, they began to hook up regularly. I’m not sure if they had caught on or if the fish just became a little more active, but something was working! Several more nice bass and even a walleye were taken from here before we shifted to another area further away. Sam had managed to land one bass that may have topped the scales over five pounds along with many others slightly smaller. In fact, everyone had caught fish from this small loaded section before we moved. They were all feeling the chill in the air, but Sam was feeling it the most. Thankfully, he was catching bass and not thinking about the cold as much from this new area! All three of them had multiple chances at fish but only caught a small percent of their actual hits. Somewhere around 2:30 there was talk of pulling the plug, but they managed to hold out a little longer before throwing in the towel. The cold had set in and they were done! In less than 6 hours of fishing, they had all managed to catch their fair share and ended the season on a high. Although today had the potential of an incredible day numbers wise, monopolizing on all the takers wasn’t in their favor. Fortunately however, they did catch a bunch and that’s all that counts! Today would make the long cold winter ahead a little less miserable. Only four more months before open water and springtime fishing, I hope!!

Ross was back with me again this fall and this time he brought along Jim, from a southern state. Last year, he had landed a personal best smallie of 5.4 pounds on his birthday, what would today bring? We hit the water shortly after 8:00 and as usual, were into fish immediately! Although the weather was a crisp one, the sun was shining and this made it quite comfortable. Air temps began in the mid 30’s and barely climbed over 40 degrees by days end. The water temps were somewhere around 47 or 48 degrees and the fish were active. With a light wind from the north blowing less than 5 knots, I knew they were in for a treat today. Once the learning curve passed, both Ross & Jim began to understand the difference between rocks and fish. This significantly improved their hookups! It was like a bouncing ball as it seemed like as soon as one of them locked up, the other wasn’t far behind. There were plenty of doubles in the mix today bringing the numbers way up, quickly. Jim hadn’t caught many, if any smallies before being from down south and couldn’t believe just how strong they fought. Both Ross & I explained that this wasn’t their full potential and he should try them in the summer when the water temps were higher. Nevertheless, he was more than happy to tangle with some of the finest fighting, freshwater fish that swim! We moved only a few times throughout the day as every time we stopped, we fell on piles of active bass. Never leave fish to find fish! We had found fish and were going to catch every one that bit before we up and left these areas. The morning bite was good and once the sun got up warming the air, the afternoon bite was even better. Ross may not have broken last years personal best, but he definitely had a blast trying. We fished right until 3:30, all the while catching bass until the final drift. I really don’t know how many bass were landed today but the numbers were pretty high. These fish were really active all day long and it was great to see them eating everything we threw at them. I’m sure Jim will go back home having a new favorite freshwater fish after today. Another great day to be fishing!

After several productive days of fishing walleye alone, I was back out with Daren once again. We hit the water around 8:30 under overcast skies and a howling SW wind, gusting over 25 knots. I knew boat control would be the biggest challenge today but was confident enough to attempt it nonetheless. Upon arrival to our first area, I instructed Darren on technique and let him loose. I’ve always said that I’d rather be lucky than good and what happened next, was reason why! First cast, locked up and he was battling a huge fish. I wasn’t quite sure why he couldn’t bring it up from the bottom, but once I caught a glimpse, I understood. I had started him in a decent walleye zone hoping for a few dinner keepers and wouldn’t you know it, he’s hooked a trophy eye! I eventually netted the beast and thought she might go 10 pounds and placed her on the scale for confirmation. At 9.74 pounds, she was a beauty and Darrens personal best. Several pics later she was released back to the depths from where she came and I thought it might be all downhill from that moment on. We tried holding in this area for a bit but the winds didn’t make it easy to present the offerings. After a few bass and several missed hits, we relocated and I set up somewhere else. I repositioned the boat, utilizing the horrific winds in our favor and it was game on. We were now getting into some real quality bass and they were coming in almost as fast as we could get the lines wet. There were plenty of fish in the four and high four range coming aboard and we were on them big time! For several hours we fished almost comfortably despite the grueling winds and managed to catch plenty of bass in the process. I almost thought that the wind let up at one point and shifted over to try our hand at some more walleye. I was immediately brought back to reality when we made our first casts. It was still howling! A slight adjustment on the angle and we were fishing comfortably once again. Darren managed to get into several biters but they weren’t staying pinned until one finally made it to the net. A beautiful 18 inch walleye was soon swimming in the livewell for his dinner tonight. Several casts later he hooked another giant of a fish but only managed to keep it on briefly. It was very possibly one of similar size to the starter fish he landed on his first cast of the day. Hard head shakes and sheer heaviness left us both disappointed with the end results! We went back to fishing and tried to shake it off but the not knowing was the worst. Another walleye was landed soon after and a second fish of almost equal size joined his buddy in the tank. Several more misses and a couple of smallmouth later, we relocated once again. We were back into jumbo smallies from this new spot almost immediately. We decided to work over this new area, as I was sure there was plenty of bass sulking on the bottom, in the depths below. The remainder of the day saw us just picking at them, but when one was hooked, it was a good fish. Somewhere after 3:00 we pulled the plug and called it for the day. We had highs as well as lows but despite the roller coaster ride, today was just short of phenomenal. Weather of this caliber in November should be welcomed with open arms, as it won’t be long before the hard water fishing will be the only game in town. I don’t know how much longer I will be able to milk this season but I’ll be there to the bitter end, literally! Another great day full of big bass action and a few more surprises!!

Alain & Cindy joined me today for what turned out to be their best fishing this season. We hit the water somewhere after 8:00 and they were hooked up on the first drift. Water temps were almost 48 degrees in some areas and 46 in others. Air temps were a little cool but mid 40’s for this time of year is a welcomed thing! We had on & off sunshine throughout the entire day and light winds from the north. A mix of fishing styles were tried but slow was always the rule as they put a beating on many a smallie. I think it was Cindy that took top fish today with several close to five pounds. Although there weren’t any real big ones landed, there were definitely plenty of fish in the 3 to 4 pound range making this a great numbers outing. They caught fish all day and never really went any length of time without someone hooked up. They even had many double headers along with the pile of single fish landed! By the time it was all over, they had managed to catch so many fish that they lost tract of the count. That’s not a bad thing to have! We fished until about 3:30 and decided to call it a day. They had caught more than their fair share of fish today and were satisfied with leaving a little early. Overall this was definitely a great day to go fishing!!

Scott, Chris & John were back with me again today, looking for a little redemption. Their last couple of outings were great for the smallies, but not so for those mythical creatures. Would this change today? We hit the water around 8:00 and were fishing not long after in flat calm conditions. The sun was starting to warm the air and things looked good for us, but those hateful beasts had other ideas. After about 90 minutes of washing lures, we switched it up and went to catching. Smallies were now the target and they were about to put a hurt on them! I don’t remember who drew first blood but both John & Chris were tight to a fish almost upon arrival. Chris had been back boated after his previous trips, something about favoritism! This apparently didn’t matter as he was about to put a beating on both the bass and the others in the boat. He had found the small hole behind the boat and repeatedly casted into it, hooking up plenty. While the other two did hook into fish up front, Chris didn’t skip a beat from behind. Eventually they were all holding their own and many fish in the 2 to 4 pound range were being boated. I don’t think anyone managed to land a five today but quality fish were the norm. We skipped around a bit but concentrated on certain areas more than others. Water temps were almost 48.5 degrees and these bass weren’t everywhere. When I found a concentration, I held there long enough for everyone to thin them out. The bite lasted all day and despite the other no eating hateful ones, the smallies were more than eager to take the baits. We fished until about 4:00 and called it soon after for the drive home. It would be dark soon and backing into my driveway after the light sets is always a treat. People just have so much courtesy in them when it comes to blocking their path home! This was one of those days when being on the water was a pleasure and most of the fish actually cooperated. Plenty more just like it, I hope!!