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Neil & his son Jake fished with me today, under not so perfect conditions! We started with sturgeon and moved around after, just looking for places that we were able to fish. It would be another tough day on the water!

I made a long run in big waves, to reach the area I wanted to begin. We were trying for sturgeon but I knew it wouldn’t be easy with the waves we had. An anchor was even required to aid the electric motor in holding our position! Despite all our efforts, we still came up empty for these beasts. Jake did however catch his first ever drum when his dad passed him the rod, after feeling the bite. We had been forced to hold them, due to all the bouncing from the rollers. Although we relocated many times, it just didn’t happen today!

I soon switched gears and decided to drift an area for smallies. They were both dropshotting and with the aid of the electric motor, we were actually able to stay vertical. Jake was even surprised, when he hit into a decent smallie and brought it to net. It had been a long time since he had landed the drum and was happy to finally get one on his own! Too bad that was all she wrote and we were forced to move again!

The winds had increased considerably as the morning passed and I decided to try what I thought would be a protected place to fish. Upon arrival, I saw that it was anything but that! We were now in 3 & 4 footers trying to cast for bass and it wasn’t easy. The boat was bouncing all over and we drifted out of the area way too fast. A couple of large bass were hooked into, but they came unpinned in these enormous waves. Several more passes later we decided to pull the plug and just leave. It was way too difficult to hold here!

Based on the wind direction, I made a choice to fish a place that should have much less waves and ran there to give it a try. At least here we would be able to stand up while casting!

Neil quickly hooked into a pike upon arrival and passed Jake the rod once again. It was definitely a good sign! Jake even managed to nail a nice smallie a little further away that I think may have set the hook itself! At least there were signs of life and some fish were biting from here!

What I had thought was going to be great, turned out to be, not so much! A couple of other bass were missed in the next hour and I was forced to leave altogether. We didn’t have too much time remaining and I hoped to get them into more fish before we were done. Drastic times call for drastic measures! Out to the big open water we went!

This was to be our final fishing spot and hopefully it would produce! They would be drifting over a deeper shoal in 3 foot waves hoping for a few walleye bites. Jake was quick to hook up and nailed a big smallie that started out as a walleye. It had remained deep throughout most of the fight but took to the air as it neared the boat. I quickly netted his fish on one of the jumps and hoped there would be more.

We had drifted out of the area while taking pics and I ran back to make another pass. Neil instantly nailed another smallie but not nearly as big as his son’s previous one. I was also marking all kinds of bait and walleye on the bottom and it wasn’t long before we started to see a few golden ones!

The remainder of the time saw many more fish come aboard and they were all walleye! Enough so that Neil was even able to bring 4 nice ones home in the end! I stretched out the day a bit hoping to get him a limit, but it just didn’t happen. On the last drift he did manage to hook up again and passed the rod to his son for the last fish on f the day. It too was a walleye but unfortunately over the slot by a few inches and immediately returned after the pics.

What had started off slow, ended with a bang as they finally got into some action. Active fish were cooperating in the last hour or so and we couldn’t have been happier. Although we were still fishng in huge waves, at least fish were biting! It couldn’t have ended better on this tough fishing day!

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Adrian joined me this morning, along with his mother, father and 85 year old grandfather. They were all just hoping to catch some fish. With a good west wind at the start I knew what I had to do. I would begin with a troll and hopefully it would produce some quick bites!

The ride was a little bumpy as we headed to our first spot to fish. Once we arrived though, it seemed a whole lot less windy than the run we had just made. It would make for easier boat control while trolling!

I quickly set the 4 rods in the holders and I don’t think it took 2 minutes for the first reel to fire! Adrian’s father landed his first northern of the day and the skunk was officially out of the boat. Soon after, we had another reel fire and this time it was actually a smallie. Adrian got to fight this fish and it really gave him a hard time! Eventually it did come close enough for me to net and a few pics were had before the release.

We kept at the troll for a couple of hours and managed to get several more northerns. For some reason however, the walleye just eluded us. I finally gave up altogether and shifted our attention towards deeper water and a little drop shotting.

Our first spot did produce some walleye, but they were all under the slot and had to be released. Several passes later and a couple more small walleye, we pulled out of here and headed to another area much further away. I was sure we would be at least able to get into some good smallies from there!

With 3 rods working, we drifted over various depths until I zoned in on where we should be. Once I figured it out, the bass started coming aboard quickly. Both Adrian & his father hooked and landed several good fish and I also hooked into a few of my own. I planned on passing the rod to either his mother or grandfather, but for some reason, they didn’t want it. Oh well, I just had to land them myself!

With the time passing fast, I decided to hit a few other areas and went to an offshore shoal for walleye. We continued our drift & dropshotting and Adrian’s dad was into a nice walleye almost immediately. This one fell in the slot and immediately went into the livewell for them tonight. Next pass, his father was tight to another good eye, but unfortunately it was over the slot and had to be returned. It did make for a great pic however before being set free!

We made multiple passes over the area and although I was seeing plenty of fish, catching them was a different story. There were so many baitfish marking that I think the walleye just didn’t need to eat! Adrian did manage to hook into another keeper eye, but it was unfortunately lost right at the boat.

We hit a couple of other spots in the remaining hour or so and despite seeing fish and having a few bites, came up empty. In the end, we called the day a few minutes early and just packed it up.

Adrian’s family had a great time today and managed to get into a bunch of good fish. They had wanted some quality time with his grandfather, having lost his wife recently and enjoyed a day of fishing. At 85, they didn’t want to expose grandpa to anything and wore their masks for most of the day. I guess you can’t blame them for wanting to protect him from this damn “Covid” crap! Another great day all around!

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Dimitri and his friends, Petros & Stamatis joined me this morning for a half day of fishing. After yesterday’s outing, I gave them the option to fish for sturgeon, but they opted to go for bass. Bass it was and away we went!

I decided that if we only had a few hours, I would begin on an area holding only quality. Bigger is always better and this place had the goods! Two of them were tossing blades looking for an aggressive bite while the other one was using soft plastics and a slower presentation. Hopefully both would work!

It took a little while to locate where the bass were positioned, but they finally contacted with a beast. Stamatis had hooked into a giant and as it took to the air, his line went limp. I knew he had lost the fish but didn’t know why until he reeled in. As it turned out, the smallie had broken his lure, leaving him with only the top half. This was a very disappointing start to his day!

Not long after retying another lure for him, Dimitri slammed a monster from the same general area. His was also huge but I think the previous one was even bigger! At least this time it stayed pinned and made it into the boat! I think the fish was his personal best and several good pics were taken before the release.

A few more bass were missed and lost but eventually Petros landed one of his own. This was also a really good fish and definitely bigger than anything he’d caught. He had managed to take it on a slower presentation with the soft plastics. More pics were taken before another quick release and now everyone had sampled the power of the smallie!

I remained in the area for quite a while and several more good fish were caught and or missed before relocating to another spot further away. We were hoping for more big fish action and covering water to get it!

The winds were blowing pretty good this morning from the south and I was limited to the areas we could fish. Add to that the dark skies from heavy cloud cover and visibility in the water wasn’t great. I was trying to stay pretty shallow in hopes of intercepting roaming schools but finding only isolated singles or small pods. At one spot, Dimitri even landed a walleye from less than 3 feet of water!

Time was passing quickly as these guys casted both rocks and weeds, anticipating their next big bite. Unfortunately missed fish were more common than the actual landing of bass and I decided to take a few casts as well. Big mistake, as I immediately hooked and landed another beast! Petros also had another giant hit him and get off when it took to the air!

One last move before we were done and Dimitri was hammered as soon as his lure landed, on a very long cast! I think his fish must have jumped four times as he reeled it towards the boat. He was able to bring it aboard though and we had the final fish of the day. We did hit one more area before we were done but with the big winds and waves, came up empty!

The short day overall was just about as I had expected. Not lots but quality! They had opted to fish for bass instead of sturgeon and due to the winds, I was glad. I’m not sure if we would have been able to anchor up in the conditions we were dealt. In the end, the results were as good as they could have been. A couple of personal bests were had and they got to see the power of the smallie. The cool nights will only make it better in the coming weeks as the numbers increase in the shallows. Hopefully the weather will allow us to get out and take advantage of the big bites that the fall brings! I can hardly wait for more!

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Karen had contacted me last week asking if I could bring her & her dad out fishing. He had loved to fish all his life and wasn’t able to get out on his own anymore. I gladly told her that we would make it work! Hopefully the fish gods would feel the same way!

We met up at 11:30 and headed out to try our luck at a little sturgeon fishing. I had brought the gear along just in case and after asking Richard if he would like to try & catch one, was glad I did. He had never landed one and I wanted to tick it off his bucket list!

After idling over the area for a few minutes, I settled on a spot that showed some signs of life. I quickly rigged & baited the rods and casted them out, hoping for that first bite. With three lines in the water, surely we would get bit!

I’m a big believer in the 10 minute rule when I don’t see anything on the sonar and after waiting for what seemed like forever, I pulled the lines and searched again. I really wanted to get Richard a big sturgeon and was going to do everything in my power to make it happen!

The conditions were great for using the rod holders to detect any bites, but the weather wasn’t the best. Although we had flat calm waters, we were under bluebird skies with intense sunshine. Midday is never the best time to try for these beasts but we were giving it our all, in hopes of locking up!

We had been anchored for well over an hour and made several moves before I finally set into something heavy. I quickly passed the rod off to Richard and it was game on! He was officially locked up and it was a big one. Seconds after giving him the rod, the fish breached and I saw exactly what he was dealing with. It was one of those monsters and I knew he was in for a long battle!

Richard’s mobility wasn’t the greatest and this fish really tested him to the fullest. He was fighting the sturgeon from a sitting position and had to shift areas several times during the battle. We also got to witness a couple more spectacular leaps from this fish with one of them being only a few feet from the boat! After close to 15 minutes of battling the fish, it finally came near the surface but the fight wasn’t quite done. It immediately went into an alligator roll like they do so often and completely wrapped itself in the line. I released the spot lock and slid down, netting his prize!

I think they were in awe as I hoisted the net into the boat with an enormous sturgeon still inside. I had prepped the tarp for the pics before and even layed it over Richards lap for the pics. There was no way he would be able to hold this thing for even a second without it! We shot many photos before I tossed it back where she belonged. Richard had officially landed his fist sturgeon and it was a beast!

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the same area, and although we caught a few more fish, nothing compared to that first one! They did boat a Redhorse sucker, a channel cat and another small sturgeon before we were officially done.

This day couldn’t have gone any better than it did! Richard had landed a fish of his lifetime and was all smiles afterwards. In fact he was still smiling even after we were out of the water! I was also very happy that he had gotten to do battle with the strongest freshwater fish that swims in our waters. This was just another great day for fishing! Who could ask for anything more!

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Avi & his family were with me this morning but we got a later than usual start. We met at 8:30 and I headed out, looking to get his kids into some trolling action. Hopefully it would all work out!

The run to our starting spot was less than smooth as we were in 2 to 3 footers most of the way. It wasn’t going to be easy as the water temps had fallen almost 10 degrees since the last time I fished the area. Regardless, I was going to give it a try!

With all four lines in, it took a bit longer than I hoped to hook into the first fish, David battled his pike to the boat and the skunk was officially out. I knew it was going to be a grind this morning with the cooler water temps, but stuck at it for a couple of hours anyway. In the end, everyone landed fish and we missed several more as well. When the bite died, I decided to switch gears and head somewhere else to try for walleye & bass.

The conditions were pretty good for what I wanted to do but I wasn’t sure how it would be with this many people in the boat. We began drop shotting an open water shoal and despite marking all kinds of bait & fish, only one perch was caught. I’m sure they missed a few, but these fish were reluctant to commit suicide and just refused our offerings all together.

With very little time remaining in their trip, I moved to one final area in hopes of hooking up. Five rods in the water drifting over a rocky bottom wouldn’t be easy! One smallmouth was caught but many weights were lost by the others. I always say that if you drag, you will snag and that’s exactly what happened! We made about three passes and although a few more fish were missed, that was all she wrote!

It was definitely a tough 4.5 hours but everyone landed fish and that’s all that counts. They all left happy and had great memories along with many pics of their day. This was definitely the most people I have ever had in the boat! Although there were 7 of us, at least 4 of them were children. The overall weight was still less than having 4 adults! Tough to move and fish but we managed to make it work and everyone had a good time. I think however that the next time Avi comes, he’ll be bringing a few less bodies with him. Just saying!