Last day out with Tim and the search for big smallies had us fishing the slowest we had all week. The day started out with a snow fall overnight and light fluffy flurries throughout the morning. Temps were right around the freezing mark and climbed all the way to 33 degrees by days end. Winds were from the west at 10 knots and turned to the NW by mid morning, blowing closer to 15 knots. It was an interesting day to say the least! Boat control was almost impossible with the cross winds and feeling the baits wasn’t any easier with all the slack being blown into the line. The first few smallmouth that came aboard were rather on the smaller side and breaking the 3 pound mark was the best we could do. Many missed fish were also being seen as they were picking up the baits and dropping them almost immediately. I tried a few slower, deep holes and finally located some of the bigger ones there. Unfortunately, they were walleye and only the occasional smallie, but they were eating. We hung in there as long as we could but eventually moved when the winds really made control difficult. For the remainder of the day we jumped around to all the better places all the while trying to locate a trophy but came up short once again. Many smaller fish in the 2 to 4 pound class but no real giants today. The largest fish would have been the walleye of over 6 pounds but she wasn’t what we were looking for. By 3:30 we were losing our light and decided to call it a day. Overall, a slower than usual day but considering the conditions, we still made out alright. Many fish were caught but just not the ones we were searching for on this last day of the month. Maybe December will bring bigger & better as an early Christmas present for the next person out!!!

Tim & I were back out again this morning, looking for another shot at the big smallmouth bite. Christiane came along as well, hoping to increase our chances of some quality fish. We had almost perfect conditions with cloud cover and less than a 5 knot wind from the W/SW. Water temps were 46 degrees and the air temps were somewhere around 42. I realized quickly that the bite was a slow one when our first fish came while dead sticking the jig in a deep hole. After that we all slowed down even more and began hooking up everywhere we fished. Plenty of decent smallies were being caught from shallow to deep as we covered water in search of the real giants. At one point we even got into a pretty good walleye bite and boated a bunch of 3 to 5 pound fish. The real giant today wasn’t a bass, but rather a huge walleye of almost 30 inches. After a few quick pics she was released back to continue her cycle next spring. Fish this big really shouldn’t be killed for the table! There were many good fish caught today with the largest bass only topping the scale at 4 plus pounds. It didn’t really work out for the big ones for us as there were boats all over looking for the same thing. Although we came up a little short, we all had a great time catching a bunch of fish in some incredible, late November weather. This may have been Christiane’s last chance at a trophy smallie for the season but I will be back many more times looking for yet another trophy!!

I was back out again today with Tim and Mike hoping for, « The Big Bite »! We hit the water shortly after 10 A.M. and were into fish almost immediately. The weather was a little better than the last time we were out but the fog was still quite present. Fortunately, the visibility was more than just a few feet making the running not as dangerous. We weren’t going to see any sun today as there were lots of clouds just drizzling on us the entire day. Air temps were in the low to mid 40’s and the winds were out of the W/SW at around 10 knots giving us a pretty good drift. Ironically, the water temps hadn’t fallen very much and were now holding at 47 degrees. Tim drew first blood as we drifted over deep water and brought a nice 3 pound walleye to the net. Several more drifts later and only a few more smaller bass had us looking elsewhere for the mother load. We jumped around again and found small pods of decent fish in each new area we fished. There were also 3 more walleye caught up to about 4 pounds in between the smallies. With the heavy cloud & fog over us we knew that the afternoon would be rather short and tried many more areas just looking for the bigger ones, only to come up a little short once again. Although there wasn’t anything landed over 5 pounds there were still several others close and everyone had a hand in catching them. Shortly after 3 o’clock we were getting ready to head out and caught several more before we called it a day. The darkness comes early now and without the sun, even earlier! We weren’t able to find the ones we were looking for, but there were still plenty of decent sized ones caught throughout the day. Considering what « Mother Nature » had dealt us, I think we made out pretty good on this not so perfect day!!

Well, Tim & I were back on the water again today but this time without Mike. The weatherman forecasted a sunny day with highs near 50 degrees and we were really looking foreword to seeing it. We drove through an intense fog to get to the launch area and I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to get out. With the aid of GPS we managed to go slowly through the fog taking care not to hit anything. The air was so cold at 34 degrees with all the dampness that the 47 degree water temps were creating a thick fog bank and it felt more like London. With no wind at all I knew we would be having this for quite some time. It didn’t take long for us to hook up once we arrived but it was a really eerie feeling not being able to see anything in any direction. Several smaller bass up to 3 pounds or so were taken in the first few hours but nothing much bigger was even seen. We carefully moved around all the while searching for bigger bites but were still only getting them in the same size range. With the dampness in the air the fog didn’t seem like it was ever going to leave us and it didn’t! We were stuck in this soup bowl the entire fishing day and the air temps never exceeded 38 degrees. Although many bass were caught we were never really able to find anything larger than maybe 4 pounds but considering the conditions, we were satisfied. It was like fishing at dusk for the entire outing and by 3:30 we were contemplating calling it quits. Fortunately by now the fog had opened up just enough to be able to run safely but it was still present. We caught a few more bass in the last 15 minutes or so and then headed back. I didn’t want to be on the water any longer than necessary and definitely didn’t want to leave in the dark. The fog was beginning to gather a little more with the day’s end nearing and another hour would have had us not only in the dark but also fogged in once again. Considering the conditions, we fended fairly well and had plenty of action throughout the day. I still want to know where the weatherman got his forecast from though!!

Well today was a real treat as Tim was back but this time Mike tagged along just to show us how it was done. We began the day in cooler conditions than yesterday and a 10 knot wind from the north. Cloud cover was present all day despite the weather forecast of sunny skies! Air temps only made it up to around 46 degrees and the water was warmer at 47.5. First drift through an area, Mike was locked up and soon landed a beautiful walleye of 4 pounds or better. Looks like he’s caught his dinner for tonight! With the contradicting winds and current I decided to do some casting after only one fish was caught while drifting through. This is where Mike put on a clinic for us as he just pounded them for over an hour. We managed to catch a few of our own but Mike was definitely on fire as he seemed to be locked up on almost every cast. After a painful demonstration of how it was supposed to be done, we relocated to another area nearby and Tim locked up almost instantly. Another beautiful, clone walleye was also brought to net and I thought we were going to crush them once again. Unfortunately, the winds had almost died completely and with them, the bite. Now the bass were acting a little different and bites were more difficult to detect as they were just barely tapping baits. You really had to be on your game to detect some of the hits as it just felt like a weed when they picked up. We moved all over for the rest of the day all the while picking a few fish here & there. As it neared closer to 4 o’clock we were ready to pack it in and roll out of there. Mike’s fishing skills really shined today as he managed to school both of us on this not so perfect day. We had to contend with all sorts of conditions and adjust several times in order to continue to be on fish. Hopefully tomorrow will bring sunshine and a different attitude from the bass as we’ll be back for more smallie action. I think I’ll take the points off of Mike’s hooks this time in order to level the playing field allowing us all an equal chance!!