Anything & Everything
June 24, 2026
Yvan was with me today and flying solo! He was up for anything so we were going to do it all, starting with a troll. Flat calm conditions, for a change, greeted us and a couple of smallies were the first to come aboard. They had completed their spawn and officially moved offshore to bulk up. A pleasant surprise, but not really what I had expected from the place we were fishing! We held in the area and managed several more fish including pike, walleye and another smallie, before moving on.
The second spot yielded a bass, casting small cranks, on the very first cast. Although there were plenty of fish in the area, we only managed one more bass and a surprise, long nosed gar! It too ate the crankbait!
I tried a couple of other shallow spots for smallies and we only managed one bass on soft plastics. I found that the water closer to shore was quite stained and I think this was accounting for the lack of fish in the areas. Time for another changeup!
I decided to troll again and hit a weedy area nearby in hopes of a few more biters. We did manage another half dozen fish and this time they were all northerns. I think we had a walleye or two on the hooks but unfortunately, they didn’t stay pinned for confirmation!
As time was getting on, I decided to make a long run in hopes of bigger and better fish. I tried trolling again in this place but had to pull the plug quickly when I couldn’t keep the rods clean. The floating eel grass on the surface was so annoying that I relocated altogether to avoid the hassle.
This new area was definitely a lot better with almost zero floating vegetation. The wind had also picked up slightly, adding to the improvement. We trolled once again over key waypoints and ended with several more pike. The last fish to fire the reel turned out to be a high-end keeper walleye and signaled the end of our day. I always like to end on a fish and this was definitely the way, to call it a day!
Yvan may have been up to anything at the start of the day and everything was what he got! We covered plenty of water and caught many a fish in the process. In the end, he had slammed on the fish species and even saw an exotic one in the mix. The gar was definitely not something you see every day. Overall, it was a great day to spend on the water!!
