Hassan & his father in law Christopher joined me once again this morning on what looked to be an ominous day with strange weather. We managed to get in the water just after 8:00 and were into fish almost immediately. The skies were showing signs of threatening storms brewing and I knew it was just a matter of time. Winds were out of the NE and light when we started. Water temps were above 73 degrees and the air was even warmer. Although the humidity was present, it felt really damp and extra clothing had to be worn in order to stay comfortable. The first fish of the day turned out to be a sturgeon as it attacked the slowly dragged tube and took to the air. I could see the bait hanging from its fat lips and too much pressure caused it to tear out when she went to the air. Several bass were taken afterwards and one walleye before thunder was heard in the distance. Once the lightening appeared, it was a mad dash back to the ramp and the shelter of our vehicles. Clouds were moving in two different directions and I had déjà vu from a previous trip. It didn’t take long before the skies let loose and the storm was upon us in full force. We had to stay in the trucks for over a half hour before it was safe enough to get back on the water. I wasn’t sure what if any impact this had on the fish but went right back to where we began, just to see. Apparently, it had none as Hassan locked up almost immediately. The winds were now blowing from the SW and with the aid of the current, allowed us to present the baits perfectly. With the aid of a drift, the jigs were remaining in the fish’s strike zone longer and they were eating them pretty good. A bunch more bass were taken along with another decent walleye before we switched to another area a little further up the lake. I knew we could have had more success by staying but needed a change of scenery. Once again, the drift & drag allowed us to cover water effectively and a couple of fish were taken quickly. I slid out a little deeper to see if we could improve on the size and it was here that Hassan locked up on a bruiser. We never got to see the fish and based on the bent rod, it was big! Somehow the jig just pulled out and he was left in disappointment. He shook it off and got right back in the game and minutes later was battling another big fish that also ended badly. Way back in the distance we all saw the monster bass take to the air and the tube jig sail back to the boat. Judging by its mass, I estimated her to be in the five pound range. Shortly after we called it a day and headed back to the ramp somewhat satisfied with the results of the day. It could have been worse if we weren’t able to return to the lake this morning but Mother Nature cut us some slack. All in all a pretty good day!!

Will & Kristin met up with me once again this morning and we hit the water shortly after 7:30. The previous weather forecast called for rain showers and cloudy skies but we were in sunshine and beautiful conditions. Air temps were already in the mid 70’s and it had the makings of another great day! I began in an area looking for a few more walleye to take home and was surprised to come up empty. We all had several hits and a few hooked up but nothing came to the boat. A quick change had us concentrating on bass afterwards and it didn’t take long before Kristin had her first fish on the line. l came back soon after with a few of his own and it was on! We caught fish in every area we stopped and although it wasn’t fast & furious, it was still great. The sunshine and lack of wind made fishing enjoyable, even with all the boat traffic. The morning fishing was good but not what I expected so by afternoon I was looking for another area in hopes of bigger and more smallies. I found such a spot after lunch and the action began. We had several doubles and plenty of bass were coming aboard now, along with a few walleye. We had wanted a couple for an appetizer and we had them! I could tell that Kristin was starting to feel the lack of sleep catch up to her and decided to spend the last hour or so trolling. This would enable her to relax more and I was sure we would get into several fish as well. As luck would have it, the first reel to fire had a feisty smallie attached and she was back to fighting another bass. A nice fish of almost 4 pounds was landed but it wasn’t the largest of the day. She had managed to top 4 earlier and several close to that size as well. Will grabbed the next reel to scream and he was into a big fish by the looks of it. I expected him to have an over slot walleye by the way it was fighting but soon realized that it was a northern of almost 8 pounds. Strangely enough, it stayed down through the battle and acted like a walleye the entire fight. He was happy to have added another species of fish to this trip and after a few pics, we released it back to the lake. I reset the lines and in the next 15 minutes of trolling, had just a couple of drive byes to show for our efforts. It was now getting on and somewhere around 4:30, we pulled the plug and headed back to the dock for the day. They had expected to be fishing in the rain on this trip but instead, had a day and a half of absolutely beautiful weather. Plenty of fish were caught including a first the previous day and all was good. They still had another day in the city but would remember these last couple the most. Walleye, bass, sturgeon and even a northern had satiated Will & Kristin enough to hold them over until their next outing back home. Overall a surprisingly great couple of days despite the expected weather forecast!!

I had a couple of days off this week and decided to make the best of them by scouting out new water. Some areas didn’t pan out too well but others were absolutely phenomenal! This season has been a real roller coaster ride with many of the historically good places completely void of fish causing me to go on the hunt for new ones. Thankfully, the success rate has been high and size and numbers of everything keep coming aboard daily. This day was no different as the morning saw me anchoring a quality walleye area and putting a limit of decent sized fish into the livewell for a dinner this evening. Will and Kristin were scheduled to fish with me tomorrow but arrived in the city early, with today’s schedule free. I thought it would be nice to head out for a few hours this afternoon for a little prelude to tomorrow and picked them up at the dock by noon. With bluebird skies and no wind the air temps felt like they were almost 90 degrees. Off we went to an area that I thought might be holding fish in these conditions and it didn’t take long before both were moving fish. Unfortunately with the lack of wind came the lack of current and nothing was moving well. Even the weeds were at a standstill as we casted to mostly followers. I had to go to a current break just to get some action and finally managed to get them into both bass and a few sturgeon. While Kristin was fighting one of these beasts, I managed to lock up on another and now both of them were hard at battle with prehistoric creatures on their lines. Somehow I managed to get a hold of both and landed them for a few pics. This was the first time either had seen or caught a sturgeon and added to a long list of different species. Although they did manage to catch several smallies, the area was holding many more sturgeon than bass causing me to make a move quicker than expected. Our next location was primarily a walleye zone and we stayed for over a half hour without landing a thing. Oh there were many hits, misses and partial hookups but nay a fish came to the net. This was really frustrating as I knew what was here and all they did was nip at the baits without taking them in. With time not on our side I made one final move and they picked up a few more bass before we called it a day. I had fish to clean and needed a little time to complete everything before we hit the restaurant for dinner. Somewhere shortly after 4:00 we packed it in and headed back to the dock. It would have been a shame to waste a beautiful afternoon and the lake was the place to be. With the long weekend upon us, there would surely be loads of boats on the water tomorrow. Getting an early start was just a bonus! Great day today, better one tomorrow!!

It had been a couple of years since I fished with Ranjan and his dad, but today they were back once again for more action. They had brought along Peter this time to show him what bountiful fishing was right in his own back yard and he was in for a real treat. We were scheduled to fish yesterday but due to Hurricane Irene coming through on Sunday, I thought an extra day’s wait was the right thing to do. Post frontal conditions are tough at the best of times, not to mention post hurricane! Although we still had strong winds from the SW at 10 to 20 knots, it was a far cry from the gusts over 40 that the storm had brought a couple of days before. We had overcast conditions and tough fishing early in the morning and I had to move around plenty just to get the few bites we received. With the water taking a beating, the temps had dropped almost 4 degrees and were at best 68.5 and some areas held barely over 66. I knew I had my work cut out for me! By trolling I was at least able to find warmer water and cleaner sections of the lake and once I did, the reels started to fire. We were now into fish and I was glad! Most of them were pike but at times like these, I’ll take them gladly. Ranjan wanted to take a few fish home and pike were officially on the menu! We even managed to get into a few smallies and a nice walleye in the same areas and things were looking up. So much so that the clouds gave way to sunshine and the activity began to grow as we continued to catch even more fish. They had wanted to fish for only a half day so I relocated to another area in hopes of putting a few walleye in the boat to go along with the pike they were having. This proved to be the right move as the next place provided us with a couple more decent fish in the slot. Along with these, Peter even managed to land his personal best smallie and all was good. He and Ranjan fish plenty but only from shore and never really get to see quality fish like these and were quite content to be in open water. Despite the tough start to the day, things did improve and we managed to turn a slow day into one filled with plenty of excitement, just by covering water. All in all, a successful end to a post hurricane day!!

Patrick & his son Frederick were with me today looking to land a bunch of different fish. The weather looked to have the makings of a nice one with sunshine & air temps expected to reach into the upper 70’s. Winds were light from the SW and the water temps were still holding around 73 degrees when we set the lines & began our troll. I had great expectations as I was out the previous day and just slammed them in the same areas! Unfortunately, today was a totally different animal and we had to work hard for each & every bite we received. The first fish never even set off the reel and was only found to be there when checking the lines for weeds. It turned out to be a tiny largemouth and was released immediately. We managed to get several pike and a couple of smallies while here but it just didn’t have the feel of yesterday. A change was necessary and we packed it in for the troll and decided to go casting for smallmouth bass elsewhere. By now the sun had gotten up high enough to warm the water, triggering an activity like they had never seen before. Soft plastics accounted for the many bass they were to play with in the next several hours and there were a lot. Fish from two pounds all the way to over four were landed over these areas and Frederick was really enjoying the catching part. So much so that his father extended the half day trip into a full day when he asked his son, what he wanted to do. There was no question as to his answer! At one point another sturgeon was hooked up and Frederick got to see the raw power of these giants. He managed to get it close enough for me to glove and they both couldn’t believe just how big it actually was. I helped Frederick hold the beast for a few pics his dad just had to have before he released it back to the lake. We continued fishing this area, catching a few more here & there before moving off to a similar location not too far away. It was here that Patrick managed to lock up several times on a jig while his son kept throwing a senko to the roaming smallies nearby. Both of them managed to hook up on many more but the landing ratio wasn’t that good. I think the fish were just holding the baits and not actually taking them completely. Time was getting on and I wanted to hit a few more areas before calling it a day, so we packed up and moved once again. It was on this spot that I realized that Frederick had mastered the senko, when he slammed into a bass pretty far away. Once it took to the air we saw that it was a big one and he battled it like a champ all the way into the net. At well over 4 pounds it was surely the largest one of the day and he did it all on his own! He had gone from not catching on previous trips to landing a pile today and graduating with top honors! His interest was peaked and now he just wanted more & bigger. I’m sure that his father won’t have a hard time getting Frederick back on the water, the next time he heads out. They had both managed to hook up plenty today and were anxious to try these techniques on their own. With all the fish landed today, Frederick still hadn’t managed to get a walleye and this surprised me completely. I made one final stop in another area and set the lines to troll. This was a welcomed rest for his son as he was feeling a little tired from fighting all the fish throughout the day. The fish weren’t jumping in the boat now and I really had to hit the areas precisely in order to get bit. The first reel fired over a tiny refined spot and I knew it was what we were after. Bad luck was definitely upon us as the fish just came off while Frederick was reeling it in. Shortly after another reel screamed and I could tell that it too was of quality. I never even got to hand off the rod as this one also came unpinned, almost immediately after I got it out of the holder. Being pressed for time, that was all she wrote! I pulled the remainder of the lines and we were out of there. Although Frederick hadn’t landed any walleye, he did manage to catch plenty of other fish and had a blast today. I’m pretty sure the next time they’re out on their own, it won’t end in a skunk. With the knowledge they acquired today, their fishless days should be a thing of the past. Overall a pretty good day despite the difficult start!!