I was back out again today with Sam & his brother Haissan and W even joined them as well. We began shortly after 9:00 in a terrible 20 knot wind from the NE and definitely felt it in the fishing. It was tough to detect the bottom let alone a bite and everyone was getting snagged in the process, even more than usual. Water temps were around 45 degrees with all the cold nights and the air temps were in the low 30’s. Fortunately it was bright sunshine all day but unfortunately the wind chill made it feel like it was well below zero. I believe it was W that hooked up first and started the ball rolling with a chunky 3 pounder as we dragged jigs along a breakline. Sam & his bro were also hooking up but having a hard time landing the fish, as they kept coming off before the boat. At this time of year you really need to give them a bit more time before reacting and a 2 to 3 second pause on the hookset always seems best. It didn’t take long before this all changed though and everyone was into bass up to 4 pounds. Several double headers were also had as multiple fish are not uncommon when you’re on schooling bass! I had informed them that the morning bite would be a little slow but ensured them the afternoon would more than make up for it. Sometime after one o’clock, they went active and it was just insane! Haissan had the hot hand as it didn’t seem to matter where he casted, the rod was always bent. From two pounds all the way to over four, he just pounded them! It was his brother Sam that managed the biggest ones though and boated two solid fish over 5 pounds. One of them was in the high five range and just bloated! I hadn’t planned on holding as long as I did in this area but the Golden Rule has always been “Never Leave Fish Biting”! We hung in till the end just moving around slightly and always seemed to relocate on top of more active fish. By 4:00 I decided to call it quits and it was unanimous. They had all caught their share of bass and many huge ones too! This was surely the end of a perfect day despite the winds that we were faced with. They had managed to endure the cold N winds and somehow it didn’t seem so bad when they were fighting the smallies. We headed back in a beautiful sunset signifying the perfect end to a perfect day!!

Scott & Tom joined me today for their annual fall fishing trip, in anticipation of a repeat of last year’s success. We hooked up shortly after 8:30 and were on the water looking for giant smallies soon after. The weather was an overcast one with winds out of the NE at 10 to 20 knots making the drift & drag almost impossible. Temps were in the mid 30’s to start and I don’t think they even made it to 40 by the end. The only good thing was that we weren’t getting rained on! Water temps remained low at about 48 degrees and never really changed throughout the day. Although we tried spinnerbaits, they just weren’t active without the aid of sunshine and had to focus on the jigs petty much all day long. Fishing was tough but the rewards were good when they bit, as most of the fish were at least 3.5 pounds with many over four as well. I think Scott had a couple that surpassed the 5 pound mark but nothing like last year’s 6.5 behemoth. Both Tom & Scott caught their fair share of fish in a variety of depths but the 15 to 25 range proved to be the best and we decided to stay focused there. Tom even managed a good walleye over 3 pounds that ended up going home with them for the following night’s dinner! We all thought that we might get a break in the weather with sunshine seen in the distance but it never seemed to arrive where we were. By 4:00 we were getting a drizzle instead and decided to call it a day. Foul weather always seems to plague them in the late fall and this year was no exception. Fortunately, they always seem to have good fishing though and that’s all that matters!!

Hugues & Gilbert were joining me today on a local body of water looking for some smallmouth bass action. We met up around eight and were on the water not long after. Overcast skies were going to be with us and I don’t think we saw the sun all day. Temps were in the low 40’s with winds blowing west at 5 to 10 knots as a light rain fell. We arrived on the first location and they started casting jigs hoping for a quick bite. After many unsuccessful attempts at finding a fish I needed to cast & see if they were actually there. The first cast yielded a chunky 3 pounder and a confirmation as well. On the third cast I nailed another about the same size and I was sure they were stacked! I think that Hugues & Gilbert were having a hard time feeling the bottom and not staying in the strike zone. Once they slowed down & started snagging up, they also began hooking up as well. From the moment the first fish came aboard they knew what to look for and fish were coming in on a regular basis. We mixed it up between casting and drifting but they were more successful at the drift & drag. Unfortunately, they were also more successful at snagging up as well and spent plenty of time in the rocks. At this time of the year you need to be right in the fish’s face and getting hung up is all part of the game! We covered plenty of water looking for numbers of bass and found a few areas that were holding them pretty good. By drifting along the current breaks we were able to monopolize on the volume of fish and there were a few double headers when we got into the zone. Later in the afternoon we slowed down in an area that had been producing and casted to a small break. I think the guys pulled a half dozen nice fish from the spot with the largest going over 4 pounds. Gilbert took away the big fish of the day from Hugues earlier 4 pounder and now had the bragging rights. The day ended with both of them really close but Hugues managed a couple more than Gilbert and he had the numbers. Overall, it was a pleasant day despite the off & on rain and wind shifts to the north and they caught a load of fish. What a great way to end the year for those two as I’m sure they will remember this day for at least 6 months until they’re back out in the spring for trout & salmon. Gotta love the fall bite!!

Mike didn’t feel like going out for lunge with his client today so the three of us decided to hit smallies instead. Charlie was coming off several great days of fishing and wanted to unwind with some phenomenal bass action before returning back home. I thought yesterday was glorious but today blew it away completely! Sun, sun and more sunshine along with the temps around 70 degrees was what we had when we hit the water. They had called for intense winds from the SW blowing 25 to 30 knots but I didn’t care. It may have made boat control a little more challenging but it was definitely a doable thing from my boat. As with every day on the water lately, there were adjustments needed to ensure the big ones got caught and today was no exception. We started on a current break and drifted several passes along the deeper edge to capture the first dozen or so decent bass up to almost 4 pounds, then changed it up. Casting along similar stretches accounted for the next bunch of fish with a few going over 4 pounds and one definitely above 5. Shallows were the next area we hit and with the blowing winds, I thought it would be great. It wasn’t even mediocre! Although they scored a few fish, there were a lot more casts than there were hits. A weed drop off was hit next and it was here that I found bunches of fish but they were tucked in pretty tight and difficult to detect the hits from. Once more some quality smallies were taken before we decided to drag open water with the strong SW winds. Here there were more hits but also many more snags and break offs to contend with so we called it a day. There was definitely no suffering from today’s weather and several quality smallmouth were caught. Many different methods were used to entice them to bite and every one of them was effective at one time or another. It was almost a shame to call it a day but we all had somewhere to be that evening and agreed on the next fish. Less than 3 minutes later we were done and on our way. I know I will be paying for the weather somewhere along the line but until then, I welcome it with open arms!!

Sam & his two brothers joined me again today on one of the most beautiful days so far this fall. The weather was a bluebird one with really light winds from the S and air temps in the 60’s. Water temps warmed to about 52.5 degrees as the day passed and all was great. The fishing was a little tougher though as it seemed they didn’t really want to bite. Although tubes were working somewhat, they were catching slightly smaller fish than usual with the drift & drag. I thought the larger ones might be in tighter so I had them throwing more blades to try & contact active fish. Sam hooked up three times in less than 5 minutes while his brothers looked on with envy. He even managed to miss several others while the other two never had a touch. I’m not quite sure why but he was in the zone! Finally, all were getting hit and many more fish were being missed with only a few actually being brought to net. Back to the tubes we went and I just covered water looking for a small pod of fish that they could monopolize on. Haissan managed the big fish of the day when he finally locked up on a bruiser in the mid fours. Several other smaller ones up to about 3 pounds were also taken during the afternoon along with one walleye before we called it a day. The bites weren’t fast & furious despite the beautiful weather today but there was still plenty of action. I hope this weather stays around a little longer as I could get use to it once again!!