Another Weekly Update

A condensed version of this past week was the easiest method to cover everything that happened. Plenty of new areas were located holding numerous smallies as well as walleye, once again. With the unseasonably low water levels, some of the better fish had relocated and so did I. I used this week to discover places I had only looked at before and was pleasantly surprised. Lots of big smallmouth and in some areas, high numbers as well. I was even surprised to be able to take a couple of family members out this week. On Thursday, I hooked up with my father in law and fished for four hours, until the heat drove us off the lake. He managed to land several walleye up to 5 pounds, smallmouth & a northern of almost 8 pounds. This was a successful half day despite all the floating vegetation! On Friday, I was able to hook up with my brother and get him into some really nice fish too. Several big smallies fell victim to a variety of baits and even a huge sturgeon came aboard. This was the first time he had ever battled these prehistoric animals and the raw power just amazed him. We even trolled a while looking to get him his first ever muskie and almost made it happen. When the reel went off I knew it was a giant! Unfortunately, before we could get a look at this beast the line went limp. Although disappointing, he did get to play with it for a short time and feel the strength they posses. As with most muskie, she was the only encounter we had for the day. Too bad as I would have loved to get him a better slam and take the northerns he caught right out of the mix. Oh well, a reason to come back again! Saturday I hit the water at the crack of 10 and almost wished I hadn’t. The insane ramp disaster continued as we tried to launch the boat. I really wish people weren’t like horses wearing blinders, aware of their surroundings and others within! Once I finally made it out, we were greeted with hundreds of sailboats looking more like an obstacle course. I managed to get around the worst and headed as far away from them as I could get, hoping for a reprieve. I was able to drop the lines in and troll some areas but the weeds once again made it difficult. We found certain sections less covered and concentrated our efforts around them when the reels began to fire. Walleye, pike and an occasional smallie were landed with the largest Walter weighing slightly over 7 pounds. The heat was unbearable as we moved around looking for other areas to fish. I did find one section not too bad and in less than an hour boated close to a dozen more eyes. Eventually the weeds and boat traffic just made it too bad to fish and we pulled the plug on it all together. I didn’t know what I was in store for at the ramp and figured I give us plenty of time to take out. People just seem to park on the dock lately and limited space makes it almost impossible to do anything. They have even been launching and spending up to a half hour or more tied up while they search for a parking spot on the street. Obviously too cheep to pay for a season ramp pass while others suffer at their expense! Thankfully I made it out with only minimal headaches and hopefully educated others in the process. Despite the minor weekend insanity, we did have a good half day of fishing. Mondays can’t come soon enough for me!!