I had the pleasure of fishing with someone today that would put most clients to shame. Rahe brought his son Enzo along and I knew it was going to be a great day. Anytime I have a kid on the boat, things are always great! Today was going to be no different as Rahe informed me that he always comes in second when fishing with his son. We met at the dock by 7:30 and were fishing within minutes. Smallies were what they wanted and smallies were what they were going to catch. With flat calm conditions upon us and a cool morning as well, I knew we would be crushing them today. Water temps were slightly above 61 degrees and the high today was going to reach the upper 70’s. Not much of a fall so far! First up was Enzo on the spinnerbait and it might have even been on his first cast. Although both Rahe & Enzo fish plenty, it’s always limited as they fish from the shore. Today was going to be a real treat with all the open water places I would bring them to. I believe that his son had chances at about 5 or 6 fish before Rahe finally connected with one of his own. By throwing the spinnerbaits, they were finding fish and getting hammered in the process. There’s no mistaking the hit from a smallie on a spinnerbait. It’s about as subtle as a brick upside the head! Now that they had both broken the ice, I figured that I would change up presentations and have them throw some jigs for the non aggressive ones. Apparently it worked as they locked up almost immediately and the numbers were soaring. Rahe was still behind and as luck would have it, that never changed. This little guy was like a machine! I refined some of his techniques and like a sponge; he absorbed all the information immediately. He was so focused on what was going on that the fish never really had a chance. I don’t remember exactly how many fish were landed on our first stop, but it was a lot. After most of them had either been caught or stuck, the balance became nervous and just wouldn’t eat. Along with the flat calm conditions and crystal clear water came the lethargic bass and it was time to relocate. I decided to try another area with some current as dead water never works out well when fishing smallies here. A quick run to another section of the lake had Enzo locked up on his first cast once again. It didn’t seem to matter where we were, he just caught them everywhere! I had them stay with the tube jigs for the remainder of the day, all the while catching some great smallies. As with each & every move, Enzo was right on the money, hooking up immediately after arrival. I even tried a few areas that hadn’t been producing well all year and they managed to hook more than the year combined. It was just one of those days when everything came together and both Rahe & his son Enzo caught fish all day long. Smallies from two to over 4 pounds were caught all day long and even a couple of walleye at the very end. All I can say is that despite his attempts to come back, Rahe still took a back seat to Enzo today. Final count; Enzo 37 & Rahe 31! Definitely not a bad day to be on the lake!!

Lonnie had been trying to hook up with me for a while now and today was the day it would happen. He needed some pics for a magazine and I knew just the place. We met around 8:00 and discussed our game plan. He was hoping for something over 5 pounds and would be thrilled to have some shots of fish over 6, if it was possible. I told him about yesterday’s outing the night before and I don’t think he slept a wink. Talk about a kid in a candy shop! I decided to go straight to the sweet spot and we ran there in flat calm conditions. The morning air was a cold one with temps around 40 but it would soon give way to the 70’s, a little later in the day. Bluebird skies were upon us and I knew it would be a tough sell on these bass. We would actually be doing more hunting than fishing as everything would have to be just perfect in order to get the giants to eat. It began a little slow with mist rising from the water as we tossed jigs along a current break. Although we did catch a few smaller ones, they weren’t what I was after. Once the sun came up a little higher and the mist burned off, I knew we would do better. I switched up baits for Lonnie and he hooked up on the very first cast. When it took to the air, we both saw how big she was and couldn’t wait to get her in the net. It was a little nerve racking at the time but eventually I scooped the fish up and brought her into the boat. I figured it would go over 5 pounds but Lonnie needed an exact weight, so out came the scale. This thing was to top out at 5.48 pounds and the pressure was off! He had exactly what he wanted and although it was a big fish, I wanted more. More, more, more & bigger, bigger, bigger! That’s my motto when it comes to trophy smallies and I wasn’t about to let up. I had him get right back in the game and he just kept hammering them for a while. Fish from 3 to over 4 pounds just kept hitting and he just kept catching. Although we moved around plenty, we just couldn’t get the real giant I was looking for. I wanted a 6 and wouldn’t be satisfied until it happened! Several hours later in another location, Lonnie set into a beast. When she went to the air, his heart just about stopped. I had visions of 7 pounds and actually thought she might be one. What seemed like eternity finally came to an end when I got a shot at the monster and took it. She was officially in the net and he could breathe again. The scale was the next step and we pulled both of them out. I wanted an accurate account of its size and weighed her on both. Lonnie’s went 5.95 pounds and mine registered 6.05. Close enough to make an average that would be 6 pounds. I know for a fact that my scale weighs light from all the tournaments I have fished and believed this one could have weighed even more. Bottom line either way was that she was at least six pounds and now Lonnie definitely had the shot he was looking for. Afterwards, he regained his composure & went back to casting again, looking for another giant smallie. He may not have gotten any more big ones for the remainder of the day but he was absolutely thrilled with the earlier results. He had caught a couple of real big fish and several other quality ones as well in the 5 or so hours of fishing. I may have stayed out longer and gone to other areas had it not been for the spectacular, early day bite. It’s always a lot easier to relax when the pressure is off and it disappeared early enough to capture a second fish even bigger. He had accomplished what he had set out to do and did it in style. I decided to call it a day and he agreed. Back we went to the ramp with a sense of relief, knowing that this day would be one etched in our minds for quite a while. At least until the next outing when we will both be looking for that elusive 7 pounder of course!!

Matt, Sabrina and Ryan were fishing with me today and we were looking for some real trophy smallies! After a quick stop at Tim Horton’s, we headed to the lake in hot pursuit of hogs. We had another day with winds from the N N/W and this would surely mess up any drift & drag possibilities. It would be a casting kind of day! Water temps were still close to 62 degrees and although the air temps were almost 70 degrees by the end, it still felt cold with the wind. I targeted strictly big fish areas, looking for a five or six pounder and finally came across one such place. Matt was the first to nail a huge smallie on a jerkbait and I instructed him not to try & power the fish to the net. Tiny hooks and big fish can end poorly when over pressuring these mean smallies and I wanted him to land this one. Fortunately, he did just that and we soon had one over 5 in the boat. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the size of this thing, along with the others! This would surely be the largest bass he had ever landed and without actually weighing it, I called it an honest 5. Back it went and we did to, looking for bigger & better to follow. It was quite a difficult task to get another one but eventually Sabrina was landing one even larger. This one had eaten a senko and with the larger hook buried in its mouth, I wasn’t as worried about the fight. She eventually brought it boat side and I slipped the net under one closer to 6 pounds. As with the previous one, we took a few pics and released her immediately. It had been a slower than usual morning without any success but we were definitely making up for it now! With a little protection from the wind here, I thought I would try a drift just to see if there were any deeper fish willing to take the jigs. Matt was quick to find out that there were, as he boated one around 3.5 pounds almost instantly. Not long after he hooked another and a slightly smaller one was also landed. He seemed to have the only hot rod and didn’t stop there, hooking yet another even larger. Unfortunately this one took to the air and threw the jig on the jump. Oh well, two out of three isn’t bad! With the action really slowing down, I decided to try another area and it was here that all three began hooking up regularly. Ryan was now throwing a spinnerbait and just hammering several decent ones. Matt was killing the smallies using a tube and Sabrina was catching some too. She even managed to land the largest one in this area that topped out over 5 pounds! We hung in here for a while until they just stopped biting and headed to another area closer to the ramp to finish up the day. Unfortunately only one more fish was hooked there and it came unpinned when she took to the air. It looked to be a pretty good one and may have been another in the 5 pound class! We pulled the plug on this day soon after and headed in. What had started out to be a slow day really turned around and both size and numbers were had by all. I think Matt has a better understanding of what lives here now, after landing his personal best smallie. I know the others won’t forget the fishing either as they all hooked & landed plenty of quality smallies today!!

Sam & Martin joined me this morning, looking for some smallie action. Fall had already begun and it was time to start crushing them! We hooked up around 8:00 and wasted no time getting on the water. Strangely enough, the water temps were above 62 degrees, but the bite was on! Air temps would climb to just over that and a mix of cloud & sunshine stayed with us all day. Crankbaits and jigs would be the top producers today and both had their place. By covering water, the crankbait would find the fish and the jigs would vacuum the rest of the ones that didn’t want to chase. In one area, I think Sam landed almost a dozen and they were all on the crank. For whatever reason, they wanted the bait but Martin had a hard time following in Sam’s tracks. Both were throwing identical lures, but it was Sam that was landing fish on almost every cast. I immediately switched Martin to a jig increasing his chances and he was locked on the first cast. Pretty much every area we fished had similar results and numbers were soaring. Some of the fish reached the 4 pound mark for the day but nothing really giant was even seen. I think the water temps are still a little too warm to drive the bigger biters into the feed mode. With all this warm weather upon us for the next several days, it won’t get any better either. Regardless of the lack of bigguns, the numbers game was a real pleasure for both Sam & Martin today. Overall a very successful fishing day!!

Yuan was In Montreal on business from China and wanted to fish today for smallmouth bass. Who was I to deprive someone from halfway around the world out of experiencing our tremendous fishery! We met at the lake around 7:30 only to find the weather people were wrong once again. Quelle surprise! I couldn’t even launch the boat with three to 4 foot waves rolling directly onto the ramp. Plan B had us taking a road trip to another place where hopefully the conditions would be a little better. After fighting the morning traffic we arrived and all looked good. Yuan was use to fishing in China and on a good day receiving 4 or 5 bites from 12 to 15 inch largemouth bass. Boy was he in for a day to remember! The weather wasn’t exactly picture perfect with low clouds, cool air and the chance of precipitation. Although the winds were still present, they were doable and only caused me some discomfort with boat control. The first stop had him throwing a diving crankbait off a point and within a few casts, he was locked up. It may have been only average to me, but the 2.5 pound smallie was a giant to him. He couldn’t believe the raw power of these fish as I attempted to slip the net under his catch. Eventually, after several jumps and countless powerful dives, I succeeded. His first Canadian Smallmouth was officially behind him! A couple of quick pics and back to casting he went. Within the next 10 minutes he did manage to get a couple more but I quickly realized that there were better places to be and relocated. He was picking up one here & there and then I hit the jackpot. For the next few hours he was locked up on practically every cast. He caught a bunch of fish of all different sizes on a crankbait and then it went dead. I immediately switched him up to a jig and soon after, it all changed. He was back in the groove getting hits on every cast for a while and landing plenty more bass. There were so many fish in this area that even when he lost one, another immediately ate the jig. I think he believed that he was in heaven with all the fish he was into! This was something he had never experienced before and was more than happy to participate in catching as many as he could. As many times as he got snagged in the rocks, he would get hit when it popped free. There was even an incident that tangled the line in a knot around the rod and he had to hand line a four pounder to the boat. The action was so fast & furious that he skipped lunch in order to keep catching! We moved around a bit when things slowed and eventually got into an area that held some of the bigger smallies. These things were so vicious that they were attacking the jigs while we reeled in for another cast. I had one pinned by the boat and he threw in right next to the fish and almost had the rod tore from his hands with a fish almost 5 pounds. Each time we relocated, this happened all over again! There were so many fish being hooked into that he actually lost count of how many he had. I don’t even want to estimate how many were landed or even lost for that matter! All I know is that by the end of the day he was sore all over from the power of these bass. I don’t think he would have been able to fish a second day after being beaten up from these bass on steroids! Smallies rock and now he finally realizes what all the hype is about. By fishing for green bass all the time he hadn’t gotten to experience what a brownie could actually do. I know he won’t forget today anytime soon! His business has him travelling to this area almost every year and I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen the last of Yuan from China. What a way to be initiated into smallmouth fishing!!