I took a long road trip with Norm to Lake Ontario for King Salmon today and we departed at midnight to be able to begin at first light. We decided that a two day trip would be the best way to go, due to the long drive & figured on fishing the following day till about noon. Our arrival was planned just perfect as we were on the water at first light and fishing before 6:00 A.M. The winds were out of the W/NW at less than 10 knots and were scheduled to diminish throughout the day even less. You don’t want to be on this lake in a smaller boat when it’s blowing hard! Waves were less than 2 feet at the start and that was just perfect for me to be able to troll without getting swamped. I had informed Norm of just how strong these fish were & instructed him on what he was in for, but I don’t think he expected what was about to happen. On the first line I put a magnum spoon down 60 feet and started to troll. I set the second line down 50 over 200 plus feet of water and ran a flasher & cut bait on the other rigger. I was about to put the third line in when the second rod started to bounce and I knew we were locked. Norm thought I was joking when I handed him the rod & said there was a fish on the end. That line hadn’t been in the water more than about 45 seconds when it fired and we were on our way. Although this fish wasn’t a real big one, it was the start of good things to come for the day & an indicator that I was on fish. After battling this thing for about 5 minutes or so, I slid the net under his first king of over 10 pounds. He couldn’t believe the power of this fish and was fibrillating at the thoughts of something bigger. After releasing the salmon, I began to re set the lines and was on the last one when the third, wire line rod started to go and line peeled from the reel. I had set it just minutes before and we were locked again. This fish however was substantially larger than the first and Norm was in his glory battling this beast. The line was screaming from the reel & just made it all that more enjoyable as he kept laughing throughout the entire battle. By the time the line counter reached about 350 feet or so, he was finally able to start to reel her back in and this time he spent closer to 15 minutes before I was able to get it in the net. I thought he was going to have a heart attack when he saw the size of this one! It weighed 18 pounds and after a few quick shots, was swimming back from where she had come from. We could have gone back home after that fish and he would have been happy, but I kept him there for plenty more punishment. This was to be one of those days that moat people just hear & dream about and Norm was actually living the dream! I would need to write a novel to explain everything in detail that happened throughout this day but the end result was 20 salmon landed out of a possible 20 fish on with the largest one weighing slightly over 24 pounds. Most of the fish ranged between 18 to 24 pounds and gave him amazing battles. We caught fish on a variety of spoons, flashers & flies as well as cut bait rigs. They were in anywhere from 100 to 240 feet down 30 to 90 and were hungry today. On average, we had a fish about every half hour and considering how long it took to set the lines & reel them in, there really wasn’t much down time. He just fought fish! I told Norm that the weather and fishing isn’t always like this and that we were going to stay out as long as we could in order to take advantage of this spectacular fishing. We fished till about 6:30 before we called it quits and headed back to the ramp to take out. I think Norm’s head is still spinning after having the day of his life on his very first outing. Can’t wait for tomorrow!!!

Well Norm was back from his Florida trip and after hearing about some of the days on the water lately, wanting a taste of his own. We took a little road trip and hit another lake to see if he could tangle with some of the quality smallies that I had been getting into lately. Let’s just say that today would not be a disappointment for anybody! It was a beautiful, crisp morning with sunshine and a light breeze from the north. Air temps began in the low 60’s but ended in the upper 70’s and the water ranged from 65 to 67 degrees. It had gone down slightly with the cold overnight low of barely 60 degrees and I knew we would have to wait for it to rise before the fish would become active. Although we were seeing a few fish swimming in the area we began in, they were really not interested in our offerings and barely even paid any attention. There was one 4 pounder caught and a couple of smaller ones as well but the action was too slow for my liking and we relocated. The next area didn’t prove to be much better as we saw all kinds of bass in the 4 to 5 pound range that never even looked at the offerings we had, even though we threw everything except the kitchen sink at them. At one point I couldn’t take it any longer and I made a drastic adjustment to the other side of the lake hoping for warmer water and more active fish. I stopped on a current break at the tip of an island and tried a jerk-bait to see if I could get a reaction strike. Apparently it worked because on about my third cast, a big smallie just hammered the lure. Shortly after releasing the almost 4 pounder, another 3 pounder slammed the bait and a pattern was developing. I immediately switched Norm up to another jerk-bait and he too was soon tight lined with a 3 pound fish as well. Unfortunately, there was only one other smaller bass landed after that and we relocated once again to an almost exact spot not too far away. Norm locked up on another bass close to 3 pounds on the second cast and nothing after. We slid below the current line and casted the slower water with senko’s and had many a follow but no takers. Both of us lost big fish after slamming into them and losing them seconds later. They just weren’t eating the baits and that was driving me crazy! After catching a few smaller ones and seeing many a big follow or cruiser, I slid out of this area and hit a rocky flat, offshore. It was here that Norm locked up on one, on the fly. He decided to try the fly rod for a while and managed to get into a nice fish of around 2.5 pounds pretty quickly. It had a buddy beside it and I immediately nailed the fish when I casted right to her. Doubles are always nice to see when the fishing is slow! After releasing both fish, Norm wasted no time in hooking another. What we thought was a small fish turned out to be a 4.5 pound smallie that gave him a battle he’ll never forget. This fish fought like a champ with aerials and long runs, all the while trying to get off by burying itself in the weed beds. Eventually I was able to slide the net under the fish and after a few pics, release her back to where she had come. This was definitely going to be the highlight of the day as catching a big fish like that on the fly is always spectacular. Norm almost had another huge bass with the fly rod, but somehow this big blackie managed to come unpinned when she took the air rendering him speechless. This one was equally the same size if not better and quite disappointing. It was afternoon now and I thought we would give it a try on one of the areas that we had seen so many fish cruising around, earlier in the day. Norm threw a tube and I a jerk-bait to see if they were still in the area, and immediately we had the answer. I had many follows and Norm had one on briefly before it too came unpinned. We both locked up frequently on the baits and several fish were landed up to almost 4 pounds. At one point, we had a double and they were in the high fours apiece. When all this became too frustrating once again, I relocated to a similar area a distance away. The rest of the day was spent throwing jerk-baits and tubes to these big bass with many huge ones coming aboard. Schools of 4 to 5 pound smallies were chasing the lures and most were actually eating. If it weren’t for the damn midge, we might have remained on the water even longer. They were relentless and with the slight breeze from the north, seemed to hover in our faces just trying to get into every opening they could find. Shortly after five, we decided to call it quits and head on in for the day. The run back was great, blowing all of these « Dog Pecker Knats » out of our hair and finally away from our face. I would have to say that this was the best day so far this season for size. There were more fish over four pounds landed than any other outing and even though we never broke the five pound mark, it was still a fantastic day. The fly rod smallie was just icing on the cake!!!

Jay was finally able to get away from his hectic work schedule today and join me for a tremendous day of fishing on the lake. He brought along Andy and his son Korey to join in with the fun as well and all would remember today, for many different reasons. The weather began with light winds from the N/E which intensified to 15 knots later in the morning. We were in the clouds for 90% of the day with an onset of approaching storms often. The air temps weren’t much more than 65 degrees when we launched but climbed into the mid 70’s by the end with an hour or so of sunshine. Water temps were around 65 degrees where we started as a mix of lures were sent into the lake to figure out what the bass might want. Jay threw a crankbait, Andy chucked a spinnerbait and Korey & I tossed a senko. I think we pretty much had all the bases covered with this arsenal of baits! Jay drew the first fish as a nice 3 pound; chunky bass came to the boat but soon came off before I could land it. It didn’t take long after and Jay was into the second & third fish of the morning. He was really on fire and others were looking on, jealous of his success. When Andy finally managed to get a hit, he locked up on what I thought was a huge smallmouth bass only to find out at the boat that it was actually a freshwater drum. Although it was impressive, it wasn’t what we were after and a slight disappointment in the net. This thing was between 7 & 8 pounds and was just bloated. First time on a spinnerbait and it would prove to be the exotic species of the day too! On we went in pursuit of more smallies and almost immediately, Jay had located some more. That crankbait was really hot this morning and Jay loved every minute of it. I think Korey was wanting to change what he was using as he was seeing all the action on everyone else’s rod, but not his. Although he did lose a nice fish earlier, it just wasn’t working as well as the other two lures being thrown. I informed him that it would be the bait that was going to catch the better fish and to just be patient and keep working it slowly. After several more bass from both Andy & Jay, Korey finally got into a nice one of his own and now it started to turn over. From that point on, the better bites were to come from the senko and Korey was finally convinced that the do nothing approach, was the way to go. By now the winds had kicked up pretty good and we were seeing the effects with the fish’s activity. For the next several hours, everyone was getting into bass and an occasional walleye as well. The senko though, was definitely the hot bait as several of the larger bass up to 4 pounds fell victim to this set up and I had to rig another one for a second person to use. Jay managed to feel the enjoyment of this do nothing bait as well, as he got into several good fish on his own. Somewhere in the afternoon, we decided to change it up and do a little trolling, trying for walleye and a possible northern pike. It wasn’t on fire like the bass, but we did manage to catch a few decent walleye up to 4 pounds with Korey losing the best one of over 5 pounds right at the boat. I told him that sometimes the hooks just don’t stay in and there was nothing he could do to change the end result. He did however catch a really nice pike that practically beat him up in the process. We had to circle the area that the fish bogged him down in and pull the fish free from all the weeds that it had buried into. I really thought it was a whole lot bigger than the 5 pounds that it weighed though and we all had a good laugh. One more walleye was caught afterwards before we called it a day and ran back to the ramp to take out. There was an approaching storm coming and I could see by its direction that we were in line to get wet. There weren’t any disappointed faces on the boat today, just smiles from ear to ear. All in all it was a pretty fantastic day on the water, with plenty of action for a day to remember!

After yesterday’s horrible winds and horrific conditions, I was praying for a slightly calmer day today. Ed was joining me on another lake and strong winds from any direction would roll big waves while casting. Well as luck would have it, they were just howling! Although the weatherman said 15 to 20 knots, they were more like 20 to 30 knots from the west where we were. Throw in gusts from time to time and you’ve got a real pleasant day on the water. I could see the white caps from the boat ramp and knew it was going to be a little bumpy getting to where I wanted to begin. I must admit, this Ranger is really made for big water! It cut through the 3 footers great and we both stayed dry. With all the wind from yesterday added to today, the water had quite a bit of color to it making lure choices limited. Ed began with a spinnerbait over rocks & weeds and had to work hard for his first few bites. The fish weren’t the size we were looking for, but they were really strong. With the huge waves and overcast skies, it was difficult to actually see what I was looking for and my GPS became my eyes. Without it, it would have been almost impossible to stay on the areas! Today was definitely a day to test the electric motor batteries for their strength. I ran at about 75% for most of the day until the winds subsided late in the afternoon. Although Ed had caught about a half dozen fish or so, I could see that the spinnerbait just wasn’t working that well and changed him up. I switched him to a crankbait rod and repositioned the boat once again. This was definitely the right choice as he began to hammer the bass in giant winds. It felt like he was getting into a fish on almost every cast for a while and some of them were over 4 pounds and meaner than a pit bull. The biggest one was a fat 20.5 inch beauty that managed to make it to the net, but not the largest one hooked. As with all crankbaits on smallies, you always lose a few. I could see at least one or two that were closer to if not over the five pound mark that just came off on the jump. Considering the conditions we were faced with, his landing ratio was fantastic! It was over 75% and that’s great on any day with those tiny hooks. When things began to slow down, so did we and I handed Ed a tube jig rod and told him to start fishing the deeper water adjacent. The fish were still in the area, but not actively feeding where he caught them on the crankbait and a slight adjustment got him back in the game once more. He had effectively fished these areas in 3 or 4 hours and landed close to 40 smallmouth ranging from 2.5 to over 4 pounds. I think most of the bass he had landed were over 3 pounds on average and plenty of them were in the high threes too. I thought we would change it up a bit and decided to try our hand at trolling for walleye as Ed had never landed a big one before. We headed to an area not too far away and dropped the rods in to see if we could hook him up. When the first reel fired, it was hooked to a small northern of around 3 pounds and not what we were looking for. The next time however, the reel screamed and the rod loaded up with a heavy fish. I was pretty sure by the way it was acting that it was a big eye and told him to finesse the fish in. I have had too many of these big walleye barely hooked and plenty of them had come off in the net recently. This fish stayed down and when we finally caught a glimpse, we got our confirmation. It was a big eye! Ironically, it peeled line off the reel several times giving Ed a fantastic fight despite the fact that walleye usually fight like a wet rag. When I netted the fish, I knew it would go more than 5 pounds and put the boga on her to remove the hooks. It clearly went over 6 pounds and was a personal best for Ed. After a few quick pics, we released her back to the water unharmed. Ed wanted to take home a couple, but this one wasn’t going to be killed for the table. I informed him that I had some fillets in the freezer back home and would gladly trade them off for the release. We continued to troll for a while after, but were only able to manage a few more northerns up to about 6 pounds. With limited time left in the day, we decided to try our luck at more bass and switched it up once again. I love having the luxury of adjusting with the Ranger anytime I feel the need! The water was really dirty where we tried next and other than a couple of follows, we went scoreless. We fished one more area before we were to call the day and Ed managed to hit another big blackie on a crankbait. Obviously, the stop was worthwhile as the 4 pounder was photographed and returned unharmed. He did manage to land another one of around 3 pounds on a senko as well but that was all. Despite the miserable start to the day, the overall outcome was phenomenal. Ed had managed to get into close to 50 smallies and land over 75% of them along with a beautiful walleye as well. I don’t think he will be forgetting this day anytime soon!!!

Sam & Danny joined me today on another lake for some smallmouth bass action. We got a little later start than usual and only managed to get on the water after 9:30 but wasted no time on the fish. The weather wasn’t picture perfect to say the least with overcast skies and light drizzle on & off all day. Air temps took a dive and topped out only in the upper 60’s as did the water at 65 degrees. The biggest headache today though was the winds. They were blowing at 15 to 20 knots with stronger gusts from the W/SW and had us bouncing around all day. They really made for tough line control when trying to detect any strikes! Danny got on the board first with a few smaller bass in the 2 to 3 pound range on a spinnerbait, but Sam was soon to follow. He missed a few pick ups on soft plastics by striking too soon but eventually managed to land a couple of his own. We had fish on every spot we stopped, but it was difficult to hold in the right position with the heavy winds and most likely didn’t fish at 100%. Danny had the best fish of the morning when he hooked up on a long cast almost immediately. The spinnerbait barely hit the water and the smallie was all over it, leaping all the way back to the boat. A quick pick of the 4 pounder and back she went right after. Some of the fish may have still been on their beds protecting, but the ones we were getting into today were fat & healthy. While Danny & Sam were taking a break and having lunch, I made a few casts with a tiny crankbait and soon regretted the decision. Almost instantly, a huge smallie locked on to the lure and I knew it was a good one. When it went to the air I realized that it was well over 5 pounds and backed off on the drag because of the small hooks. When we finally got her in the net, the lure fell out and she was loose. For whatever reason, the tiny trebles almost never seem to stay pinned and even the least amount of pressure can end in disappointment. I didn’t bother to weigh her, as I didn’t want to hang her on a scale just for an exact weight. I did however measure the fish and was amazed to see that she was just barely over 21 inches. With the fatness and this length I would have put her somewhere around the mid 5 pound range. Well it didn’t take long before both guys inhaled the rest of their lunch and were back casting again. This time however, Sam was throwing the crankbait and soon locked up on one of his own. Unfortunately it ended in disappointment as the fish came unpinned when it took to the air. Too much pressure on the little hooks! After losing a few fish on the lure, he finally managed to keep one on all the way to the net and it was a good one too. This fish was also over 4 pounds but slightly smaller than the one that came off minutes before. The lure was definitely getting the fish to bite but keeping them on was a different story! I eventually gave Danny another crankbait like the one Sam was using and he also had the same luck, losing his first fish. We spent a few more hours jumping from one spot to another all the while locating some very impressive bass in the process. By the time the day was done, they had landed maybe 25% of the fish they had contacted and some of the ones lost were in the 4 to 5 pound range too. I think they were fortunate to have caught what they had due to the weather & winds. It wasn’t easy trying to cast light lures into a crosswind and actually feel the strikes effectively. Floating weeds were also a problem as they managed to have them attached on almost every cast they made. I guess overall, it was a decent day despite the weather and several really good quality fish came aboard making it all worth while. Oh yeah and nobody got hurt!!