Darren & I hit the water this morning and were surprised to see that it wasn’t raining, yet! The forecast called for rain, heavy at times and plenty of it was coming our way. Well, we weren’t on the water for more than 30 minutes before it began and it just never let up. We had decent temps of about 50 degrees, but heavy rain throughout the entire day. The water temps were about 54 degrees again with little change from the day before. This was only the second time that the “auto Bilge” pump kicked in since I’ve owned the boat, and it went off many times during the day. If there was only one good thing to say about today it would have to be that at least the fish were biting! We managed to get into plenty of bass ranging from 1 to almost 5 pounds with the majority of them being around 3 pounds apiece. Despite the lack of enthusiasm between us, we were too busy catching fish to worry about how wet it was and continued casting. By 4:30 P.M. we were considering packing it in and got into more fish that delayed our departure, slightly. We did however leave about 15 minutes later and almost in the dark because of the heavy cloud cover surrounding us. Although this wasn’t the most picture perfect day to be out on the water, we did manage to stick it out and endure what “Mother Nature” had thrown our way!

After a few days off, I was back on the water with Norm & Alison once again. Norm was still looking for a personal best, larger than 4.7 pounds and was hoping today was the day. We began the day in frosty conditions that had the air temps hovering around the freezing mark, but eventually climbed to over 50 degrees by afternoon. Winds were light and from the east at less than 5 k and it was sunny all day. For a cold start, it really warmed to a beautiful fall day. The water temps had dropped as well, and were now barely over 54 degrees too. Within the first 5 minutes, both Norm & Alison had multiple chances at bass and managed to land several with a couple over 4 pounds right away. Most of the fish were a little on the smaller side at 2 to 3 pounds and it seemed like they had to weed through them in order to get to the larger ones. This action was constant for a while and then we had a slow period that caused us to move around and try to find more active fish nearby. After picking a fish here & there, we thought a move was in order and relocated altogether! This wasn’t to prove to be the best choice either as there was only one fish landed with many others seen just roaming around the area. Eventually we decided to go back to where we started and there, they began to catch once more. Lots of fish were being caught and some decent ones too but Norm was still looking for something a little bit larger. He did finally manage to capture back to back in two casts, a couple over 4 pounds with the largest going 4-3/4 pounds. Several more bass were caught as well in the next few hours before we decided to call it a day and headed off the water. Norm had finally captured something that he could be proud of and now had a personal best broken that he had held on to for over 10 years. Too bad it wasn’t over five, but that’s for another day! Both Alison & Norm had caught plenty of fish with several really good ones throughout the day and with this beautiful weather we had, there was no suffering involved. Next time out, he’s shooting for one over five!!

It had been a long time since Jay had been out fishing with me but today he finally managed to clear his schedule. Too much work and no play isn’t good for the body, unless you’re fishing that is! We didn’t get on the water too early with the cold air temps and began somewhere around 9:00 A.M. instead. I don’t think it took more than a minute for Jay to be locked up and he knew it was going to be a great day. The sky was overcast all day with absolutely no sunshine, contrary to what the weatherman had forecasted and the air temps barely reached 50 degrees at best. Fortunately for us, there was very little wind and this made conditions bearable. The water temps had fallen to just over 57 degrees and rose to only 57.5 by days end. We fished mainly tube jigs slowly on the bottom, but Jay did manage to take a few bass on a spinnerbait that hit like a freight train. There’s nothing more violent than a smallie hit on a spinnerbait in the fall! He caught fish all day with very few slow periods and that really gave him the confidence he needed to fish the jigs. I think that by the end of the day he had landed 8 or 9 bass that topped the scales above 4 pounds, but nothing above five. He also managed to catch plenty of fish between 2 & 4 pounds and this made for the best day of smallmouth bass fishing he has ever experienced. Despite the dismal weather for the day, we were able to convince several bass into biting. Oh yeah, another walleye as well! Overall, a pretty good day on the water with plenty of action to keep anyone tight lined!!

Craig & Herm accompanied me today on another outing looking for more of those giant smallmouth bass. We began the day almost in the same conditions as yesterday except for the lack of wind. Air temps were 38 degrees and the sun was shining making it feel slightly warmer, so I opted not to wear the suit this morning. The water temps had fallen to 57.5 degrees and eventually warmed up later in the day to 58.5 degrees. The winds remained light & variable and were barely noticeable until later in the afternoon with the arrival of clouds. The bite was a little slower during the morning and in some areas you practically had to dead stick the baits in order to get bit. We were catching plenty of smaller fish but the 4 pounders were few & far between. Craig caught more than Herm today, but he was also feeling slightly better as Herm was experiencing some back discomfort. It’s no fun fishing when you’re ailing! Sometime in the afternoon when the air temps reached their max, the fish seemed like they had come alive. For over 3 hours the action was tremendous and fish were being caught constantly. They were all sizes with most being 2.5 to 4 pounds. Craig did manage to catch a couple that went over 5 pounds and was thrilled to see how fat they actually were. When the action finally slowed down later on and we were only able to pick a fish here & there, we decided to pack it in and head home. There wasn’t a lack of fish caught today, just a lack of the really big ones. Overall it was still a great day to be on the water and the air temps made it even more enjoyable. Plenty of fish and even more to come!

I spent the last couple of days off just relaxing & fishing of course and was back on the water today with Scott & Manson in hot pursuit of giant smallies. It was a little chilly this morning and the first of many days to come where I decided to wear my survival suit. The air temps were barely 35 degrees and there was a slight wind of about 5 K from the N/W making it feel more like, below freezing. Fortunately, the sun was out and the air eventually warmed up to a balmy 50 degrees towards the afternoon. Water temps dropped overnight to 58 degrees but also climbed up to 59 by the end of the day. We had plenty of action all day long on both tubes and spinnerbaits as both Scott & Manson hooked up frequently and landed about 75% of their bites. Manson definitely had the luck today landing 3 fish over 5 pounds and many more 3 to 4 pounders. Scott also managed to bring aboard numbers of bass in the same size range, but just wasn’t lucky enough to get those big bites. They probably caught an equal amount of fish by the time we called the day and were both extremely satisfied with the results. The falling water temps that we will be receiving in the next few days should activate the bass on all bodies of water and I can’t wait to see what happens afterwards.