More Cruel Winds

Andre and Gerard were with me today and yes it was another windy day! The big NE blow has been with me for over a week and just won’t go away. It definitely makes fishing a challenge! Instead of making a drift for walleye, I had to slowly go against the current, amongst all the floating weeds. Their die off at this time of year usually goes downstream with the current, but opposing winds are stalling their movement. Just a pain in the butt!

We stuck with the reverse drift for several hours this morning and managed a few walleye, perch, bass and one large northern pike. I eventually made a long run to another location, in hopes of less wind. Apparently, it was the right choice as the waves were considerably smaller and we were able to fish effectively. They casted a dropshot rig over a flat and managed several good smallies. We also tried for sturgeon and had one big bite, landing a nice fish in the process.

I had made another move to an open water spot, but soon found out that it was next to impossible to fish. Our next spot saw a few smallies and one more walleye landed before we pulled the plug here too! Any open water area with current was difficult to fish today as the winds were opposing the flow, creating big waves. I decided to try one last place in hopes of a few more fish before we would be done.

I saw that the waves had subsided some where we had begun and decided to stop and try drifting for the last 30 minutes of the day. I would still have to use the electric motor to pull the boat downstream, but it was doable. Gerard soon proved that with a nice 22-inch walleye and a few pics were taken before their reluctant release. Rules are rules! Soon after he managed another one and this time it made the cut and entered the livewell with the others. Andre also hooked into one as well and their limit was complete. We fished a little longer but never caught anything else, before we called it for the day. Today was quite a challenge, as usual, but we made it work! I covered plenty of water to get the job done and had to bypass lots of good areas, due to the terrible conditions. Regardless, they were taking fish home for dinner and had a great time as usual, catching many other fish. I’m just hoping that this NE wind finally blows itself out and we can get back to normal. There’s still plenty of good fishing left in the season before I store the boat and I want to be out every day that I can. It was definitely a tough, but rewarding outing!!