The third day saw us changing plans due to the high winds predicted and we shifted locations to try & escape the worst. Unfortunately, it just didn’t matter as we were faced with 20 to 30 knot winds from the west throughout the entire day. Add to that the high volume of water traffic and we were beginning to second guess our move. The temperatures were nice though as they stayed in the mid to upper 50 degree range with the water temps close to 51. Sunshine and intermittent clouds were upon us for the bulk of the fishing day and that was also welcomed making it feel a whole lot warmer than the previous days out. Our first location saw us only staying for a brief period as the waves were just crashing on the shore causing us to struggle, just to make a cast. We decided to move and try some drifting in another area and I knew it would be at least a one drift sock day. Immediately we hooked up and the first fish was a real beauty! Although the drifting wasn’t easy, it was productive as we kept getting into fish on each pass. They were a mix of sizes and they all fought like champs. I wasn’t sure if we would be able to catch fish on any of the active baits in this wind but thought we would give it a try nonetheless. Tak began throwing a crankbait, with the wind of course, for about 10 casts without success and gave up immediately. It was just not going to happen and we went back to heavy jigs just to feel bottom. At one point there were so many boats in the area that I just packed it in and went elsewhere. We continued to catch fish pretty much all over again and we were alone! Later in the afternoon I thought we would head back and see if some of the boats had given up yet due to the high winds and was surprised to see that they hadn’t. I stayed about as far away as I possibly could and Takeshi started getting bit right away. We kept at it until about 5:00 before we decided to pack it in and call it a day once again. I hope the wind lets up slightly for tomorrow because I would love to get back to those giants once more before they relocate again. With the falling water temps in the future there’s no telling how long the big bite will last and I want to take advantage of it as long as it’s around. I think Takeshi in also in agreement with me but I don’t know if his hands can manage two more days of smallmouth. He’s already getting close to not being able to hold his utensils while eating and pretty soon he’ll have no feeling at all. Gotta love those smallies!!

Day two of Takeshi’s fishing trip saw us leaving in the rain and according to the weatherman, fishing in it all day long. Guess what? They were wrong once again! By the time we had arrived at the water it had stopped and we were only in the clouds. Winds remained pretty light too with a blow from the N/E at around 10 knots. Air temps were a welcome with the high reaching closer to 60 degrees today and that sure beat yesterday’s cold. The day started with a bang as the first few fish were all over 4 pounds and one of them was even topping five. It wasn’t fast & furious, but they were big and that’s all that matters! We fished deep and we fished shallow and caught some fish just about everywhere we went. Tak even managed to get into a good spinnerbait bite around mid day that saw several smallies violently attacking the lure. It was great to finally have some active, aggressive biters! With the water temps holding around 51 degrees, we saw a little more action on the moving baits with crankbaits producing the best. By retrieving them cross current Takeshi was able to cover the water enough to make the fish strike the lure and most were taken on the front hook. Although there were a few slow periods, the fishing was pretty much consistent for most of the day. When we were on one, we were on a bunch and the numbers rose plenty! We may not have seen any of the real giants today but there was still plenty of action to keep someone occupied. Takeshi is still feeling the pain from all the angry smallmouth he hooked not to mention the ones that beat him up during the photo shoot. I think they are the worst as they have all day to recuperate in the livewell and they just keep getting meaner as the day goes on. Hopefully he will get some sleep tonight as his internal clock still registers night when it’s actually day and he needs to be on top of his game in order to tackle these nasty fish!!

I picked up my guest for the week last night at the airport and informed him that his timing couldn’t have been better. Takeshi had flown halfway around the world from Japan to battle smallmouth bass and that he would! We hit the water this morning under not so perfect conditions once again with cold air temps, clouds and a hurricane like wind. It was blowing in from the E and that meant no drifting today. The wind was actually pushing us up current in many areas, causing us to be on top of our game. The water temps were barely 51 degrees and never really warmed today with the lack of sunshine. Air temps were around 40 degrees but felt more like 20 with the wind chill. He wasted no time getting into the fish and within the first hour we had boated plenty of decent smallies up to 4 pounds and lost even more. The wind was really a big factor making some of the hits quite difficult to detect and we were just missing strikes. Eventually, we hit several larger ones and Takeshi remembered just why he had flown 13 hours for these, « Angry Bass »! Each and every one had a mean streak and fought like champions when he hooked up and all he could do was laugh. We shifted areas quite often due to the winds and caught fish in each & every one we hit. Although the bass weren’t all the size we had expected, there were several large ones landed. I think Takeshi broke his personal best smallie several times over! We continued fishing for the remainder of the day all the while getting into flurries of activity on a mix of baits. Probably the best ones though would have to be the crankbaits that Takeshi brought from Japan. They just worked phenomenal for him and put many fish in the boat throughout the day. I’m sure glad we hit the current breaks today as it allowed him to present the right choice of lures in just the right locations. This may have been the best day I’ve seen in a long time on the river and I can’t wait to get back out once again. Although Takeshi may have had a little Jet Lag, he definitely forgot about the lack of sleep as he pounded smallmouth all day long!!

Norm was back with me once again today but this time he brought Allison along for good luck. I knew we would have a great day with her, but wasn’t too sure about getting into bigger bass as the fishing had been rather slow lately. Oh there were numbers and an occasional large fish, but not what I expect for this time of year. The weather was a dismal, cloudy day that was supposed to be mixed with sunshine, but they were wrong once more! Winds were out of the N/E at 5 to 10 knots and it didn’t feel like the 50 degrees that it reached. Water temps were around 52 where we began and it wasn’t too long before Norm was hooked up. It turned out to be a decent 3 pounder and we were on our way to better things ahead. After several fish around this size, Allison managed to get into one of her own and this one went over 4 pounds. I was shocked and thrilled to see that they were somewhat larger than a couple of days before when I had managed mostly smaller fish with only an occasional big one. From that point on, the fish were coming into the boat all in the 3 to 4.5 pound range and I knew we were in store for something spectacular today. We weren’t getting into piles of fish but the ones we were seeing were well worth the lack of numbers. In another area there were a couple over four and one over five in a small confined current break. After trying to get into a few more without success, I decided that a change was in order and went deep. It was here that both of them started to hit only fish above 4 pounds and we were on them good. I don’t remember just how many, but there were plenty! When this section of the river died, we shifted to another and it was here that Allison got into her personal best. When I saw the size of this giant take to the air, I nearly knocked her over going for the net. It weighed in at slightly over 6 pounds and was a real pumpkin. She hadn’t even managed to break 5 pounds and had jumped all the way to over six! It had taken Norm all of last fall to break the 5 pound mark and she had broken six pounds in only her second attempt. Lady luck shines once more! We knew that this would be hard to follow but kept at it for the remainder of the afternoon all the while hooking into fish ranging from two to over 4 pounds. For the first time this fall, the fishing was what it was suppose to be like and Allison had managed to start the ball rolling. I know the next time out it probably won’t be like today, but I’ll settle for even 50% if it means the fish will be bigguns! Now Norm has an even bigger quest as today’s fish was larger than his personal best just a few short weeks earlier. I’m pretty sure he won’t be getting too much sleep after today!!

Darren & Jack were back with me today after a long lapse from the last trip. Darren was going to meet me a little later, so Jack & I fished for a brief period before we ran back to pick him up at the ramp. The weather was nicer than it had been with warm air temps of almost 60 degrees under cloudy skies, right through the day. The weatherman had called for strong winds around noon that were to gust as high as 25 knots from the W and that never happened. The winds never went above a 10 knot blow at the worst and for once they were wrong for the better! I was shocked to see the water temps had fallen to 49 degrees in the first area but apparently it didn’t matter to the fish. Jack locked up in just a few short casts on a spinnerbait and was officially on the board. Within 20 or 30 minutes we had probably 10 or more bass on and even a walleye to add to our catch. It was a good start before we picked up Darren and raced off to another area to begin his day. As with Jack, Darren also was locked within a cast or two and I thought it was going to be one of those days. They both landed several smaller than usual bass in this area and I began looking for bigger ones in some other areas nearby. Pretty much every spot was holding fish, but I was seeing below average smallies and that wasn’t what I wanted today. Jack was catching most of his fish on a crankbait and Darren was into his on a tube but both of them were landing smallmouth. We literally ran all over in our quest for larger bass but couldn’t bust one bigger than 4 pounds. Plenty of fish were caught today but the caliber just wasn’t there. Somewhere around 4:00 in the afternoon, I dropped Jack off at the dock and Darren & I continued to fish after for another hour. Many fish were missed but only a couple of bass were landed on these last locations before we packed it in and called it a day. I think the next time I fish this spot I am going to concentrate on the cleaner water rather than the stained, cold stuff just to see how it goes. At least there they will have the visibility needed to intercept a moving bait. November temps in October definitely have the fish in a different mood and they are just all over. I need them to begin to concentrate in order to take advantage of the higher number spots instead of covering all kinds of water through the day. Overall, it was still a pretty good day to be on the water!!