I was back on the water again today trolling for pike & walleye all day. Their father Vivekanandan, who was in town for a couple of weeks, visiting family, accompanied Ranjan & his brother Raghav. We met at 7:00 A.M. and headed on the water shortly afterwards and began our troll almost immediately. The weather was nice with clouds & sunshine and a light breeze of 5 knots from the N/E causing a slight chop on the water. The air temps were in the 60’s but eventually climbed up to over 80 degrees by days end. Water temps were 72 to 73 degrees and even slightly higher in the shallows. The bite was really off during the morning hours and I had to work hard to get into the fish that we did. There were more short strikes than actual hook ups and even the ones we caught barely had the hooks in them. I moved around plenty with only a few pike and walleye landed before I finally got into them in the early afternoon. In a few short hours, there were probably close to 20 pike caught in all sizes with the largest going about 5 or 6 pounds. A couple of smallmouth were also landed and even a small largemouth was in the mix as well. Later in the afternoon, I decided to head back to where we had began in hopes that the fish finally turned on. I don’t think we were trolling for more than 5 minutes when a reel fired and Ranjan brought to the boat a 4-pound walleye. This was a great sign and I thought we were about to hammer the fish, but reality set in quickly. Another large fish was on and fighting hard, but the hooks pulled out causing us to be left just wondering what it might have been. A double header shortly afterwards had the same end results with both coming unpinned. Ranjan’s father had another decent fish on again and once more it too came off before we could see what it was. Ranjan fought another bass right to the boat and before I could land this one, the 3.5-pound smallie shook the hooks free. We fished a little longer and landed another pike and missed a couple more before we just gave up and called it a day. I don’t know if it was due to the cold temps overnight, the N/E winds or anything for that matter, but the fish were really off most of the day. We probably landed about 50% or less of the possible fish today. Ranjan’s dad did however manage to take home a couple of northerns and walleye to sample at tonight’s dinner. He had never tried these freshwater fish before and was looking foreword to seeing how they differ from the saltwater fish he’s use to from back home. Although it was a tough day, there were still about 25 fish landed throughout the day making this trip a successful one for all. Unfortunately, no pics today!!

After spending several hours of unsuccessful trolling for muskie with my wife Christiane yesterday, the furthest thing from my mind was heading out today to do it again. Unfortunately, a buddy of mine from out west was in town for just today and he convinced me otherwise. We hit the water at the crack of 11:30 A.M. and set the lines in hopes of hitting another lunge to add to the three that he landed with me last year. The winds were out of the W/NW at 15 to 20 knots with even stronger gusts. Water temps remained around 73.5 degrees and the air temps were in the 70’s. Although they called for sunshine and occasional clouds for the day, they lied! There was very little sun and lots of cloud cover making this look like a big fish kinda day! I guess it was about 45 minutes into the troll when the deep line started to scream. I mean it really went out and I knew it had to be a big fish! By the time I removed it from the holder and passed it off, I had the feeling that she was huge by the power of the headshakes. Last year the largest fish Keith landed was about 45 inches and he thought that was enormous, but he was about to see what really big was all about! I cleared the other shallow line to give him room to fight the fish and was glad to have done it when we both caught a glimpse of the beast. Its head came out of the water like a bad scene from Jaws! When it was close enough to the boat, I grabbed the leader and boga gripped her to remove the hooks. It had the entire plug in its mouth and I had to cut 2 of the trebles out not to harm the fish. When everything was ready, I took a couple of quick shots and a measurement & safely released her back to the lake. What a way to start the day with a fish that went 50 inches! It was definitely his personal best and the longest one in the boat this season, so far. We trolled for a little while longer and landed a small pike of about 5 pounds, but had no more strikes from muskie. I decided to change tactics and we began casting lures for bass & walleye. Keith landed a few perch and a small walleye on a spinnerbait before we relocated once again. The same thing happened again with a few more small fish and another relocation was in order too. Here he managed to get into a bass of about 3 pounds before a quick release and lost another larger fish on a spinnerbait that could have been a pike or muskie before we called it quits for the day. He had to be at the airport to fly back to Calgary and needed to leave early. We decided to pack everything in and head back to the ramp. Although there weren’t too many fish caught today, there was definitely one that counted. We had come out hoping to get into a big muskie and succeeded! This was all that mattered to both of us and he was ready to head back out west with the memories of today still fresh in his mind. By the time he gets back home, he will be able to remember it even better when he sees the pics! All in all a great day with a huge lunge to add to the memories!!

I hit the water a little later than usual today with Steve, Greg & Joe for a mix of fish. They were in town on business and met me at the ramp around 11:30 in the morning for a day of sunshine & high humidity. The air temps were already in the mid 80’s and eventually peaked somewhere in the 90’s by the afternoon. Along with the high humidity were the “Dog Pecker Knats” due to no winds! Water temps reached almost 74 degrees in some areas but averaged 73 where we concentrated. We began trolling for Muskie as soon as we hit the water taking advantage of the moon, but had no luck. Off to the smallie areas we went and it didn’t take too long before Steve was releasing bass on a spinnerbait. Unfortunately, he hadn’t caught them before and they didn’t count! Greg managed to get into a few of his own on a crankbait and pretty much the same thing happened there with a quick release before he finally managed to land one and that did count. Joe was getting pick ups on a senko and also managed to land a few of his own. We covered water in this area seeing a few fish here & there but none that were really large enough for my liking so I just kept moving. All 3 lures and baits were working and none better than the other until we changed locations and the crankbait out produced all. Greg had the hot hand hooking into multiple bass of all sizes and a couple of decent ones in the high 3-pound range. Steve managed to land a nice walleye of over 3 pounds on a spinnerbait and Joe captured a few smaller bass on a senko too. With the scorching heat and midge driving us all nuts, we opted for another changeup and went trolling with lighter tackle for walleye, pike & bass close by. When the first rod fired, Steve took it and lost what felt like a heavy fish before we could see what it was. I hate the unknowing! Next up was Joe and he landed a smaller walleye of a couple of pounds. We trolled for a while longer without much happening and had a couple of drive by’s but only managed to get one other small walleye and called it quits for this place. With the sun getting lower in the sky and cooler air temps, I thought we would give the muskie another try and set the lines out, trolling again. I don’t think we had them in the water for more than 10 minutes when the long line set the reel to screaming. I grabbed the rod from the holder and passed it to Greg, seeing as it was his turn and we cleared all the other lines to give him room. This fish had power as he ripped more line from the reel even with the drag locked down pretty tight. I could see be the wake behind the boat that it was a good one and waited for him to bring it along side so that I could grab it with the boga grip. The fish was well hooked and made a couple more runs as it neared before I had it safely secured. I only had to cut one hook as the other was in a location that was easily removed. A couple of quick pics before an easy release and the 43.5-inch was back to the water and bolting to the depth from where it came. Everyone was now pumped and wanted more! Unfortunately, we trolled for another hour or so without even a touch and called it a day. Although it was a hot and sticky day that physically drained all of us, it ended on a high note as Greg landed not only his first muskie, but also the largest fish of his life. Great day to be on the water!!

Mike & Joe joined me today on a local lake for another multi species day. They were looking to see if they could catch a few walleye for the table, so I set the lines out to troll. The weather started a little cool with the air temps around 60 degrees but climbed way up to the low 80’s by the time we were done. Winds were out of the S at 10 to 15 knots and the water temps were barely 70 degrees. I don’t think we had the lines in the water for more than 3 minutes when the first reel went off and Mike was into a nice smallie over 3 pounds. Soon after, Joe also landed a smallie a little smaller and we were well on our way. Eventually, Joe got hold of a nice walleye of almost 4 pounds and into the livewell it went. We had a few misfires and then a double header of smallies a little later and then Joe managed another walleye of about the same size again. The action wasn’t fast & furious, but they were definitely hitting in the area we were trolling! Mike also added to the walleye with one a little smaller for the dinner table. One anorexic northern and a few more smallies and we decided to try our luck to see if we couldn’t hook up with a muskie. I relocated, set out the lines and began to troll a weed edge hoping for just one hit. Maybe 20 minutes into the pass, the deep line screamed for a couple of seconds and then went silent. Another drive by! I hate when that happens. The lure was over deep water and there weren’t any signs of weeds when I checked the bait, so I knew it was a fish. This was to prove to be the only hit we were to have as I trolled for about 90 minutes hoping to lock up. Back to searching for walleye with the lighter rods and an instant hook up of a pike was had. I really thought we were going to get them good, but only managed one other fish in the next 45 minutes. Fortunately, it was a walleye and Joe reeled it in again. They had to leave by 2:00 P.M. so we called it a day and headed back to the ramp. There were lots of fish hooked and landed today, but not the numbers or size that I am so accustomed to. Luckily for them though, walleye is on the menu for tonight’s dinner!!

Today I fished with Fred once again, on another local lake for big smallies. The weather was a little strange as we encountered rain along the drive and waited it out for 5 minutes at the boat ramp before heading out. Clouds were all around us and the winds were out of the S/W at 10 to 15 knots causing the lake to be a little rough. Air temps were around 62 degrees at the start and 85 degrees by the end of the day. Water temps were down again at 71.5 to 72 degrees at best. Fred began throwing a spinnerbait with all the chop as I thought the fish might be a little more active under these conditions. I tossed a tube at the same time to see which one would work better, but he was the first to hook up. After missing a couple of strikes, Fred was into an honest 3.5-pound smallie and thrilled when it came to the net. He also got hammered by another not long after the first and managed to bring this 4 pounder to the net as well making for his personal best smallie. We moved around a little more picking a fish here & there, but never really found any concentration. Eventually, I offered to switch it up a little and give trolling for muskie a try and he happily agreed. Fred had never landed a muskie and looked foreword to the possibility of getting into one of these toothy creatures. With the rods in the holders and the lures down it took only 3 minutes for the deep line to go off. The reel screamed and I grabbed it from the holder only to feel the last tug and then the vibration of the plug. I hate short strikes or drive by’s! This was to prove to be the only hit we were to have after trolling this area for over an hour and I suggested that we go back to smallmouth for a while now that the sun was out. We fished all over the place with only a few strikes and fish to show for our troubles, but they were decent fish in the 3 to 4 pound range. Fred eventually got into another bruiser on a tube and I netted his second personal best of the day at over 4 pounds. I didn’t weigh the fish but it was 19.5 inches and real fat. Definitely a quality bass by anyone’s standards! We got into a few more a little smaller and thought we would give the lunge another try so off we went to troll once again. This time we had the rods in the water for almost 15 minutes when the shallow line went off and really screamed out plenty of line. I knew it had to be a good one by the amount of drag that went out and immediately grabbed the rod from the holder to give to Fred. Wouldn’t you know it, the damn thing came off once again! This time I felt the power of the headshakes and it wasn’t small. Too bad all I had to feel after that was the lure wobbling. Twice we were ripped off and I wasn’t pleased! We trolled for almost 45 minutes after that without another touch and decided to call it a day. It was a really tough day with almost no cooperation on the part of the fish at all. I fished through the major and never really saw any difference, as the fish remained inactive throughout the entire day. It was definitely a tough bite, but still rewarding by Fred hitting his personal best in bass. Too bad we couldn’t have gotten at least one of the two muskie that made the reels fire as that would have also been a personal best again. Oh well, that’s fishing!!