Craig & Derek were with me today for the first of many outings scheduled by Craig this fall. He knows the potential of this cold water period and has had many successful trips in the past! Multiple high fives and several fish in the 6 pound plus range has kept him coming back year after year. Would today be one of them? I was hoping for a little better weather than the last two and was pleasantly surprised to see calm conditions for the start. I knew it wouldn’t last but was ready to take advantage of it while we could. Water temps fell once again and the air temps were 44 degrees when we began. I prayed for some sunshine but was only rewarded with the same old crap! Fortunately we were able to fish the first couple of hours with little to no pain and monopolized our time well. Craig hit the first one quickly and I knew there were more. It may have only been a 3.5 pound fish but there were bigger ones around! The fishing was quite slow but both Derek & Craig were picking at them, so I stuck it out. With each fish came a slight upgrade in size and Craig picked up one, slightly under 5 pounds. I had a feeling that it was just a matter of time and stayed in this area a little longer than I had originally wanted to. We weren’t looking for numbers, just size and getting a bite or two every once in a while wasn’t a problem. Hunting for giants is a patience game that most people can’t comprehend but when the time is just right, it happens. Sometime late in the morning Craig set into what seemed like the bottom, only to have it move. We both knew that this was the one and when it took to the air, we had confirmation! It was enormous and real mean! Several attempts at getting off from jumps had our hearts in our throats until I was able to get a shot at her. She was officially in the net and we could breathe again! Usually Craig manages to wait until the last trip of the season to get his six but this time it looked like he succeeded early. I didn’t want to stress the fish out too much and decided to place her in the live well to recuperate for a while. Believe me, the waiting period was painful! For almost an hour, we didn’t know whether she was a high five or over six and this was shear torture. Throughout this waiting period there were several more fish but nothing compared to the pig, swimming in the tank. When we finally took her from the water, it looked like she had shrunk! What we had thought was giant, somehow got shorter. Although she was a balloon, she wasn’t more than 20 inches or so and this had me worried. When the scale finally settled, there was another sigh of relief. She was 6.38 and a real trophy of a smallmouth. I can only imagine how much more she would have weighed had she been longer. Either way we were satisfied to say the least and after several pics, she was released back to where she belonged. I knew the remainder of the day would be good but after something like this, could it get any better? A combination of baits and areas had us making adjustment after adjustment, all the while bringing up the numbers count. The weather played havoc on us as it was a roller coaster ride from hell. Wind, waves and heavy rain at times had us just going crazy. It even layed down once again late in the afternoon and became a virtual mirror. As usual though it was short lived, before winds and rain began once again and it started all over. Despite all that Mother Nature threw at us today, we came out on top with both size and numbers. Craig had taken the pressure off and still had three or four trips left to just relax. He wouldn’t though and is now hoping for several more sixes or maybe one above seven. If anyone can do it, he can as he is determined to beat his earlier Lake Eerie giant of 6 pounds 12 ounces this spring. This topped his six ten here last fall and gives him something to shoot for once again. I can hardly wait to see the outcome as I’m sure there will be plenty of chances in the weeks to come. Great day and an even better starter fish!!

Day two started out a little better than day one, but as we were to find out later, it’s twin! We did get on the water a little earlier than yesterday and were actually fishing before 9:30 in cloud & sun. Winds were blowing out of the W/SW at about 15 to 20 knots as we headed to our first spot. The morning air was a little chilly at 54 degrees but with any luck it would climb higher during the day. Water temps had fallen slightly and were now below 58 degrees. Darren, Mark & Dave all got on the board early this morning with a number of fish caught in the first hour. Although the largest may have only gone in the mid 3 pound range, they were still strong fighters. Darren was climbing above all the rest, slamming several more than Dave & Mark combined and letting them know as well. Intermittent rain had us thinking “Déjà vu” and I didn’t like it! Another thing I didn’t like much was the wind direction, as the weather forecasters were wrong once again. It was a strong west wind instead of SW like predicted and was now gusting at over 40. It was blowing so hard at times that the rain was actually horizontal to the water! I had no choice but to hold the boat in the waves and take the punishment, allowing them to fish. Despite all this hell, everyone still continued to catch bass and made the best of it. In the afternoon we had a slight break in the weather and at one point it layed down completely. This was a welcomed treat but unfortunately short lived. Within a few minutes after it died, the winds and rains were right back on us and more intense. Along with this misery, the temps fell and now it felt more like December rather than October! Mark was the only one brave enough to keep at it while Dave & Darren took a break behind the windshield. By sticking at it, Mark was rewarded several times and with some of the better fish of the day. It did manage to clear up afterwards and everyone was able to get back to fishing for the remainder of the day. So much so that Dave bumped out Darren’s 4.5 pounder and took the big bass award with one just under 5 pounds. Dave & Mark had a long drive ahead and were hoping on leaving a little early, so they stopped fishing just after 4:00. Darren was travelling back with me and was in no hurry to leave, so he kept casting looking for another fish or two. Eventually after countless attempts to get the last fish, I was forced to make a few casts and closed it out with a three pounder on the second one. After all, we couldn’t wait all day now! Darren threw a few more casts as I headed to deep water, packing it all in for the day. The conditions were less than perfect to say the least! In the two days on the water, these guys had managed to catch plenty of fish and sever really good ones were in the mix. Today, Darren took the numbers and Dave managed to regain the “Big Fish” award. It was definitely a test of endurance as these last two days tried our patience to the max. Fortunately, the fish came through and everyone left feeling fully satisfied until the next competition. This annual shootout was another successful one, full of plenty of things to remember and weather took “Top Honors” this year!!

Darren, Mark & Dave joined me today for their annual fall smallie fishing trip. This would be their third or fourth year in a row and the competition was on. After several detours for various reasons, we finally hit the water somewhere around 10:00 A.M. The weather would be the biggest problem on this day as high winds and rain would plague us throughout. Boat control would be difficult at best and I was prepared. With an on & off rain and ominous storm clouds all around, a 25 to 40 knot wind would just be perfect! Despite the rock & roll run to our starting location, we arrived virtually dry. Dave wasted no time connecting with the first three fish before either of the others even had a bite. By covering a rock & weed flat with search baits, I was able to determine what the fish were doing. I soon switched everyone to the same bait and the game was on! Now the competition was in full as both Darren & his brother Mark joined in. Although we were in pretty good waves, they still managed to hook up on a regular basis and the numbers were climbing. Ironically, most of these smallies were in the 2 to 3 pound range and I just kept covering water looking for the giants. The weather was a roller coaster as it was jumping back & forth from intermittent rainfalls. Every time Darren would take his jacket off, it would soon start again! There was even talk of breaking the zipper so that he would have to leave it on! At one point in the day it even seemed like the wind died completely, but that was really short lived. I think it was just a pause before the really heavy stuff began! I could see the rain and waves in the distance generating and I knew we were going to get crushed. When it finally arrived, it did with a vengeance and the fishing just died. We went from one foot waves to almost three foot seas and the rain seemed like it was coming at us, sideways. This lasted for almost an hour and the air temps dropped too, adding a little more hate to this day. When the rain finally stopped, the sun came out and it felt like Florida. Too bad the winds didn’t disappear, but at least the fish were feeding once again. Throughout all this hell, Mark never skipped a beat as he just kept casting in all directions. He was rewarded several times as he managed to land a few more decent sized smallies. Eventually, Darren & Dave thawed out and also started catching a few more of their own. The bet today was for the biggest and the most and by days end, nobody could figure it out. I think it was the brothers that came out on top with Mark landing the largest and Darren the numbers. All I know is that the last hour of the day was the most pleasant. The arrival of the sun definitely was a welcomed blessing after all the pain & suffering we had endured throughout this day. I hope tomorrow brings less misery as it’s round two of the competition once again. With a little help from “Mother Nature”, we might just have a more enjoyable day on the water!!

Mark was in from Arizona and looking forward to catching his first smallmouth bass today. We met at the ramp by 7:30 and were on our way soon after. As with yesterday’s weather, today was a carbon copy with high sun and intense winds. They were once again blowing 10 to 20 from the SW with stronger gusts at times. Water temps fell slightly due to the overnight lows when we hit our first location. I had him throwing a spinnerbait to try and find some active fish but after 10 minutes, switched him up to a jig. Nothing seemed to be moving and we needed to slow down. He was having a difficult time with the head winds and missed the first few strikes before he finally connected with a good one. Unfortunately, slack line and a jump had this one long line released! After struggling to get only a few more pick ups, I decided to see what was going on and also made several casts. They were just mouthing the jigs and I missed several myself before adjusting once again. This time I switched him up to a jerkbait and instructed him with a demonstration cast and was instantly crushed. Apparently, they wanted this bait as he too had several shots at fish afterwards. After catching a few of the smaller ones up to 3 pounds he finally landed a real nice one over 4 pounds that was photo worthy. Having caught mostly smaller largemouth before, he was amazed at how strong these smallies actually were. Although he did have plenty of shots at fish in this first area, the winds kept him from landing most of them. I decided to pull out of here and hit another section of the lake when things slowed down. We were pressed for time seeing as how it was to be only a half day outing and I wanted to get the most out of this day. I wasn’t sure what to expect but as we neared the area we were to fish, I realized that we were fully exposed to the wind and this was going to be a challenge for the boat control. I actually had to get well above the area and have him throw from the back of the boat just so he could stay on the spot. It wasn’t the best presentation, but it was the best choice in these winds. Mark managed to get into 3 or 4 fish in the short time there and almost all of them came to the net. This too was a challenge as every time we landed one, it seemed like we were a hundred feet from where we wanted to be. I had to motor back up and reposition each & every time. Eventually, I decided that this was too much trouble and shifted over to another area less windy. Here too we were faced with light hits from the bass and only had a few shots without success. Another move had identical results once again and I was beginning to wonder what was going on. The onset of the full moon may have played a big part in their negative attitude with night time feeding going on. One more attempt at relocating had identical results and we called it a day. It was close to 1:00 and we were done! Although the fishing wasn’t what I had expected, Mark still had a great time and caught more fish than he’s use to back home. Bigger & better is always a good thing! Tough fishing but a great day to be on the lake!!

I had a full boat today with Patrick, Chris and John all looking for a great day on the lake. Unfortunately, everybody else was out there too! With this unbelievable heat wave we’ve been experiencing, everyone with a boat was on the water. The air temps reached into the 70’s once again and the water temps actually went up to 62.5 degrees. High sunshine and a SW wind of 10 to 20 knots were also present as we headed to the first area to fish. We spent a few hours trolling, looking for that Holy Grail. Without any success, we pulled the plug on this and immediately headed to an area in search of smallies. Within the first few casts everyone was hooked up and now they were finally catching fish. Cranks and jigs were responsible for all the action and someone always seemed to be locked up. For several more hours we jumped to different sections of the lake, all the while catching almost immediately after we arrived. Although there weren’t any real giants landed today, there were still plenty of three to four pounders brought to the net. With holiday commitments scheduled, they called the day early. By 4:00 they were on the way to their destinations and I was headed home too. It wasn’t a fast & furious day like I am use too but given the time allotted for bass, they fended very well. It was still a great day for fishing!!