Joe, Bob & Dusty joined me today for another Rock & Roll day! They were hoping to get into a few sturgeon and despite the conditions, we did just that. The difficult part was trying to anchor in sustained 25 knot winds with stronger gusts. After multiple attempts, I finally managed to get the two anchors to grab and we were holding. We set the lines and waited in anticipation of our first bite. I had told Joe that if we were able to anchor in the wind, that we would get bit. With rods in hand, they had a long wait as the lines kept getting full of weeds from the drifting debris. I had to check them frequently and clean them but eventually it became less and less and Bob finally got bit. He was locked up and things were looking up! Although not a huge fish, it was a good sign and the fight was better than anything he was use to. After about 5 minutes I slid the net under his catch and everyone was pumped. He held the fish for a few pics and released it back so we could hook up again. Lines in and 10 minutes later, he hooked up once more and brought another to net. After the release, it didn’t take long before Joe was also locked up and battling one of his own. These last two fish weren’t too big and although they fought great, didn’t take the others out of the game for long! By now, Bob was wondering what he was doing wrong but didn’t realize it was luck of the draw. Good things come to those that wait and that’s exactly what happened! When he finally got bit, he reared back on a decent fish. We found out just how good when she took to the air for all to see. It was large and he was in for the fight of his life! It beat him up pretty good in the 15 minute battle. By the time he brought it to net, he was feeling the pain in his arms and back. I informed him that the worst was yet to come! He now had the pleasure of lifting it up for the pics and put on a great comedy show. I wish I could have gotten it on video instead of waiting for the still pics. When he stopped fumbling with his fish, we shot fast and he tossed her right back where she belonged. Now everyone had landed fish and all we were missing was a giant. Not long after resetting the lines, Joe heaved back and was into another good one. After several minutes it took to the air and I told him, he was in for a long battle. This was the one I wanted for them and Joe was about to do battle with the largest thing he had ever hooked. Many long runs and just sheer heaviness put a beating on Joe’s arms and back in the 20 or so minutes he fought it. At one point we could see the rod shaking, or was it Joe’s arms? When I finally got it in the net, I realized that it was even bigger than I thought and needed help to lift it into the boat. As hard as that was, Joe was about to have an even tougher time holding his monster catch. We really needed to shoot fast once he lifted her and even at that, he had to rest it on his knee for the pics. Putting her back was also difficult as he fumbled it over the railing due to all his spent energy. He was totally exhausted now and didn’t want anything to do with another fish for a while. I got the lines back in the water and began the wait once again. The afternoon saw a number of others caught and missed as everyone had their chances. Despite the horrible, relentless winds today, they fended quite well. They had all landed big fish and felt the power of these dinosaurs! I’m sure that given the opportunity, they would have done this again tomorrow. Unfortunately for them, I was already booked and they headed back home. Who knows, maybe I’ll see them again as I do have one more available day at the end of the month before it closes. All I know is that everyone had a great time landing fish they had never caught before and got beat up in the process. Who could ask for anything more!

Scott, Manson & Corey were with me today on another windy outing. I had to cancel yesterday’s clients due to the giant rollers on the lake, but ventured out this morning in what I thought was somewhat less. They were blowing from the W/NW at 25 knots with higher gusts at times, causing us many problems to fish. Boat control was difficult to say the least and I had all three of them casting in different directions as we drifted. At one point I had to leave the small engine in gear just to be able to maneuver the boat with the electric motor. Despite all these headaches, fish were caught! Manson managed to land a few and Scott lost a few but Corey was still trying to get his first hookup. The wind was blowing so hard on the area I wanted to fish that they couldn’t even feel their baits. They endured the pain and suffering  throughout the day and all of them were able to land some decent smallies. Manson boated a few of the better ones that I only took photos of, just because it was tough to leave the electric. I had to shoot fast so not to drift all over! Most of the areas I wanted to fish, I never even got to due to the conditions, but late in the day I tried a couple. Manson managed to catch a few more bass & both Scott & Corey followed soon afterwards. We couldn’t make this work for long as the gusts picked up causing the drift to be way too fast. I decided to end the pain & suffering and called the day. These guys had fished hard and endured plenty of headaches, but did manage to catch a bunch of fish regardless. It may not have been what they were accustomed to at this time of year but under the circumstances, they did great! I really hope the winds die off soon!

Craig & Herm were back with me again for their first trip this fall. They would have 2 of the wettest days in store for them, but would the fishing be good? First cast from Craig this morning said yes as he landed a giant trophy smallie. There were 2 footers from the east, with horizontal rain, but he didn’t care! A few casts later he had another heavy fish on, but it soon came unpinned in the rollers and left him a little disappointed. He went right back in however and was rewarded with another monster only a couple of casts later. This was definitely doable and who cares that we were in a monsoon! The boat positioning was next to impossible but I somehow managed and many more fish were landed or lost in the time we spent here. It’s always difficult drifting in conditions like these, not to mention feeling the bites! Eventually it became impossible as the wind & rain intensified and I was forced to move elsewhere. Both Craig & Herm had chances at good fish and probably landed about 75% of their bites. Throughout the entire day, we fought through some of the most miserable conditions and caught plenty more fish. Herm even managed to land another trophy in the afternoon, rewarding him for his efforts on this horrific fishing day. We actually stuck it out until almost 4:00 when we called it quits. We all had enough and just wanted to get dry and warm! Tomorrow will be another one filled with misery once again and there’s plenty more hate to come!

The second morning saw us back out in similar conditions. The rain was much stronger while we drove to the water and we hoped it would let up for the launch. We decided to go right back to where we had started the day before, and unfortunately it was next to impossible to fish. Herm managed to get a northern on his first cast but it wasn’t what we were after! The water had muddied up so much that it was too difficult and after another small bass, we just left. I made a long run to somewhere else and found the fish to be more finicky than the day before. I was marking them but the bites were terrible when they actually bit. I think most of them just looked and didn’t eat! I tried shallow, mid and even deep but had a hard time putting anything significant together. Although they caught fish pretty much everywhere we went, there was no real consistency. The winds were out of the NW today and once again the rain was falling almost horizontally. In fact, I think the conditions were even worse! Although the fish were around, they were reluctant to bite much under this severe cold front. What had began as 48 degrees eventually dropped throughout the day and settled on a balmy 37 degrees. No wonder we were all cold! Although we did manage some good fish today, there weren’t many pics as nobody wanted to hold them up for the camera. I ended up with only ones hot,  just to prove that we were out on another horrible day. Yuup, we’re all crazy! We stuck it out as long as we could stand it, but when the winds intensified late in the afternoon, we unanimously called the day. The waves had built up larger than earlier making fishing even more difficult. Time to go! I think the highlight of the day was when we stopped at a Tim Horton’s for coffee. That and the heater in the truck of course! I just hope the next time they’re back in couple of weeks, that we don’t have a repeat of this misery again. We could all use a couple of days of flat, sunny conditions. Better times ahead, I hope!!

Sam brought a gang with him today for a multi species outing. He had Stephan, Phil & Gaurav, making for a real full boat! We headed to fish sturgeon immediately and had the lines in before 9:00. Although a slightly later start than I was use to, they would still be in for a great day. I told them to pick numbers to see who was up first and as luck would have it, Sam had first rod. He also got lucky with the fact that it was giant too! When I set into the fish, I knew the battle would be a long one and handed him the rod. He fought it well and almost 20 minutes later, the results were in the net. Large! He had a little difficulty picking the fish up and we had to settle for a curved pic, but it was still great. Back she went and Gaurav was next on the list. He got lucky with a smaller than normal one and was happy to see it after watching Sam’s battle minutes before! Phil was also nervous and happy to land a small fish as well. When Stephan was up he wanted big, but unfortunately boated one in the medium size instead. As we had done a full rotation, I was hoping for other big ones but another juvenile sturgeon was boated when Sam’s turn came back around. The next fish felt a little bigger and Gaurav began to get nervous until I got a visual. He was hooked into a big catfish and the exotic species of the day! I shot a group photo of them and also returned the kitten back to the lake! We moved around a little more and I finally held in an area that looked better and was soon rewarded. This time when Phil was handed the rod, I knew it was a good fish. We also got confirmation when she jumped behind the boat. Yuup, it was going to be a long battle! Although smaller than Sam’s earlier fish, it was still large to him. About 10 or 15 minutes later, it was alongside the boat and I slid his catch into the net. A few quick pics were shot and we were done! They had wanted to fish for bass and we were off to target them for the remainder of the day. I had to teach Gaurav everything about handling a spinning rod as today was the first time he had ever fished. He caught on pretty quick and it wasn’t long before he was battling a smallie as well. He had managed to land a slam on his very first time, ever fishing! The rest of the gang was also getting into fish but this spot was difficult for me to hold on and I eventually moved to a more open area, allowing everyone to cast. It was from this point on that rods were constantly bent and fish were being netted. The size was also impressive as most of them were quality! We moved around a bunch in the area and found active fish all over, making for a great afternoon. We had also been lucky with the weather as the rain only started after noon and never really got heavy. It was more of a mist than anything and even the skies weren’t very dark. I was also happy that despite the wind out of the east, it wasn’t what they had forecasted for today. They were lighter than expected allowing me to have better boat positioning for everyone to cast. After a few more good smallies, we decided to head back around 4:30 and take out. The day had been an excellent one and everyone was satisfied with the results. Plenty of fish were caught and a couple of real giants as well. I’m sure I’ll be seeing at least some of these guys again, before the season draws to an end. Sam & Stephan both know that the best is yet to come! They’ve both experienced the fall smallie fishing before and don’t want to miss out this year. Overall a very successful day on the water!!

Jim & Marie were back for their second day and it had the makings of another windy one again. Forecasts were for west winds up to 25 knots with gusts and I hoped to get them into fish quickly this morning. We began with sturgeon and managed to get several, with the quickest hookup this year. I don’t think it even took 2 minutes and we were on! Marie battled the sturgeon and after almost ten minutes, she landed a nice one. Jim hooked into one not long after the release and it too was decent in size. I made a couple of moves trying to locate the larger ones and anchored up in places I normally wouldn’t have. The numbers just weren’t there and I had to settle! Marie managed to lose a pretty good one, not long after, when the hooks just pulled free. The next fish was even smaller than the first one but it fought great nonetheless as Marie fought it to the boat. In a last attempt at a good one, we relocated once again and gave it another 15 minutes. Fortunately, I felt a bite and loaded the rod for Jim before we were done. I could tell by the weight that this was a larger fish and settled back to watch Jim’s fight. After about 5 minutes we had a confirmation when his fish took to the air. It was definitely a much better fish! He continued to battle it for about 10 minutes longer before she was finally in the net. Although I was hoping for more, this size and larger, I was happy that we got at least one. We shot several pics and returned her before packing it up and going for bass. I had wanted the sun up and we had spent most of the morning in the clouds. Fortunately, we had some breaks in the sky and it looked good. The winds were blowing 10 to 15 knots from the west, but I was sure they would get into some. I had located schooling fish just a few days earlier and went straight to where they were. It didn’t take long before Jim was tight to a bass and it was a good one too! Marie also hit one quickly, confirming they were still around. Both fish were the calibre I was searching for and made for great pics! Jim managed several more of the same size but Marie wasn’t fending as well. She had line issues again and switched up baits a few times to try and hook up. I also had Jim switch lures and he boated several more bass in the time we were there. I decided to relocate after it slowed and idled to an area much further away, while we ate lunch. It was here that we remained for the balance of the day. I had found the mother lode and both of them were hooking up constantly. In fact at one point, Marie was putting on another clinic! She was just wailing on one bass after another, on almost every cast. With the winds blowing strong, there was a good chop on the water making boat positioning tough. Several times I had Jim go to the back to net Marie’s fish while I stayed on the electric motor. It’s times like this that thoughts of a different motor with an anchor button come into mind! Regardless, we managed and they pounded on the fish all afternoon! I had planned on taking them for walleye to complete their slam, but these fish were biting too good to ever make the move. It was the right choice to remain here, as Jim landed the biggest fish of their trip. Their two days of fishing had seen high numbers of quality bass and made for one of their best trips ever. I know Marie will remember this one as she rebounded each afternoon to put a beating on the bass! Add to this the sturgeon and you have the icing on the cake! It’s a shame they live so far from here as I think we’d see each other more.  Two days pass by so quickly when the fishing is this good! I’m just glad that despite the winds, we at least didn’t have the rains that are coming. They usually have both, but this time they lucked out and experienced tremendous fishing instead. Hopefully this will continue in the coming days but Mother Nature has some nasty weather on the way. I guess they are getting out of “Dodge” in the nick of time! Great fishing with even greater people!!