Jim & Marie were back for their annual two day fishing trip and yes, they brought bizarre weather once again. Their track record for big wind is just amazing! This time however, they arrived and we had an unbelievably heat wave. Temps were going to reach above 80 degrees today but the afternoon was forecasting gusting winds in excess of 40 knots. I decided to take another road trip for fear of not being able to get on the lake locally. We arrived and were fishing before 8:30 and it didn’t take long before Jim was hooked up. Marie on the other hand was having a difficult time getting use to the presentation and struggled to get bit. With a little instruction, she began working the bait better and managed a few takers too. Jim was on fire, hitting fish after fish on almost every other cast for a while. I moved around some and kept them on bass, but the floating weeds were becoming a problem. If they didn’t hook up quickly, they surely would have fouled lines. Eventually I pulled the plug here and headed to another area further away, hoping for cleaner waters. It wasn’t too bad, but the fishing was slower and Jim only managed a couple of decent bass before we moved again. We took a long run to an area I hoped would produce bigger bass and we weren’t disappointed. Jim hooked up first and battled a real nice one to the boat that was the largest so far today. A few pics and a quick release had them right back at it. Marie was having a little difficulty with tangles in the reel and beginning to get frustrated. Fortunately I was able to get all of them out, with just a little effort. I tried to show her why it was happening and eventually she made the necessary adjustments, correcting the problem. She began making better casts and not long after, was also hooked into a good fish. Between the two of them, they had multiple chances at big ones and managed to get several of them to the net. There was even a double header that had me netting both at once! Throughout the entire morning we had almost no wind but it was about to change. I could hear the trees moving in the distance and it was an eerie sound. It was almost like something out of a Steven King movie! The noise became louder & louder until it was upon us and we had no choice but to relocate. Waves were building and boat positioning was next to impossible now so we pulled the plug and ran back to where we had began. At least we might be able to fish there with the direction of the winds! We spend the first part of the afternoon exploring new areas, picking a fish here & there and on a variety of different techniques. The winds were really blowing hard now and we were limited to where we could fish. I tried one last spot for about an hour and Marie put on a clinic. She must have landed 10 fish to Jim’s 1 showing that she had leaned the technique quite well. A few of them were also photo worthy and I shot several good pics before calling the day. With the winds intensifying and the skies looking sketchy, it was time to go. Rain was coming and we didn’t feel like sticking around for it! The run back was a little roller coaster like but we made it and stayed dry in the process. Today’s fishing had a variety of conditions that caused many changes in techniques. The results were definitely worth the effort! All in all a pretty good day with plenty of fish landed along with some real quality too!!

Darren and his brother Mark were back today but this time we had to relocate. The forecasted winds wouldn’t make it possible to fish locally so a road trip was in order. Along with the winds we were expecting quite a bit of rain and that would make it even more pleasant to fish! We hit the water and I was surprised to find that we were the only boat out. I guess the weather had everyone fishing from their couch today! I decided to try shallow and see if there were any active fish and Darren hooked a good one on his second cast. We really thought that they were going to bite but that was the only one shallow for almost an hour. I quickly switched baits and locations after seeing this and they both started boating fish. Although mostly in the mid range, there were a few really good ones in the mix too. Late in the morning we started getting a light sprinkle and visions of dark skies were upon us right after. From that point on, the weather took a roller coaster ride with gusting winds and heavy rain at times. We even put the cover up at one point to try and hide from the downpours! Tough to fish from but a whole lot dryer! I made adjustments and they continued catching fish even during the miserable, wet blow! Later in the afternoon, the rain stopped and the sun even came out for a bit but the winds remained big. Both Darren & his brother caught fish throughout the day but as we got later in the afternoon, they were fewer. By 4:00 after catching a couple more, we pulled the plug and headed back. I could see in the distance the dark skies and knew we were going to get another downpour soon. Fortunately we made it off the water before it arrived and stayed in front of the weather all the way home. Although a little disappointing, they still managed to catch a number of fish and several of them were photo worthy. The best fishing is still ahead with water temps above 60 degrees presently. High number days and trophy catches will be the norm when it drops into the low 50’s, signaling a feeding spree that you don’t want to miss. With only a few days open in October and more in November, I hope to take advantage of the great weather and fish every day that I can. Contact me if you want to experience some of the best bass fishing of the season. Fall is football time and that’s exactly what the smallies will be resembling in the coming weeks. Better fishing days ahead!!

Darren & his brother Mark were with me today for the start of their two day trip. Their annual fishing usually has a third body, but this year they were only two. We hit the water before 7:30 and began trying for sturgeon. A few were landed in the morning before we switched it up and headed elsewhere to target smallies. Once I found them, there were plenty! At one point, Darren was getting hit on about every other cast. Unfortunately, he was losing almost all of them too! Not sure the reason behind this, but it was happening. His brother on the other hand was having difficulty just getting bit! We fished here for a while and although many fish were brought to net, it was a small percentage of what it could have been. I relocated to a few other areas and had some success but it wasn’t until I hit the last spot that they began hammering them once again. This time they were both getting bit and landing about half of the hits. Some of these fish were above average and definitely photo worthy! Darren was once again getting more hits but at least Mark was also hooking up. With limited fishing time remaining in the day, they requested a move for walleye. Off we went to spend the last hour or so in deeper water for the golden one! It didn’t take long before I located what I was looking for and Mark was tight to an over on his first cast. Several more overs as well as keepers came aboard in the time we spent fishing. Now both Darren and Mark had their slam for the day! They had no problem landing these fish and managed to take a few smaller ones home with them for dinner. By 4:15 I called it quits and began packing things up to leave. Darren made one last cast and was locked up once more. It’s always tough to leave fish when they’re biting but we had plans and needed to go. Today was the first of a two day trip and with any luck tomorrow will bring similar results as well. Who knows, maybe it will be even better if the rain & winds predicted hold out. Only time will tell what Mother Nature has in store!!

Glen, Todd & Tony were with me today in pursuit of the giant one! We rolled out about 7:30 in chilly conditions that saw frost on the boat. A light NW wind wouldn’t be an issue anchoring up this morning! I quickly set the lines when we arrived and the waiting game began. Glen was up first and after moving due to the gobies, we got bit quick. He was into the first fish of the day and it was acting large. These guys all fish the big O, so fighting large fish wasn’t a problem. Glen was just enjoying, battling his first sturgeon and this fight was intense. It took to the air shortly into the battle and Todd somehow managed to capture a great pic. For the rest of the time, it dogged under the boat plenty and never wanted to leave the bottom. Eventually after about 20 minutes and several good runs, he finally brought her to the surface. Yuup, triple XL! I netted his beast and prepped for the pics. He was barely able to lift it on his own and bear hugged his catch. We shot fast and released her immediately after. Great starter fish! Todd was up next and managed to land a juvenile one that took his turn out of the rotation. Poor guy! Tony waited a while before he got his chance but when it came, it too was big. He fought this one for over 10 minutes and also had a great jump captured on film by Todd. Plenty of long, powerful runs later, he brought the fish up enough for us to see. Although not bigger than Glen’s fish earlier, a close second. Instead of the usual tarp for taking fish pics, he decided to lift it out of the net to save time. With a little difficulty, he managed to remove her and we got our pics no problem. More time to fish! She was returned and we were back in the game in just a couple of minutes. The remainder of the day saw several rotations as well as moves to stay on the fish and many more were boated. Glen even managed to land a nice drum in the mix! This day flew by with all the fish & great company and before we knew it, it was time to leave. The weather had started out barely above freezing but warmed up enough to make it quite comfortable in the end. Light NW winds stayed light but switched to a SW sometime in the afternoon giving us a little more heat. Definitely no suffering, except while fighting the fish! We ended the day just about 4:00 & headed to the ramp. They had a long drive back to the Toronto area and would have plenty of time to talk about today, along their way. I’m sure they would be ragging on Todd as he managed to land the three smallest sturgeon of the day. Way to take one for the team Todd! Great day and an even better bunch of guys to spend it with!!

Busy day today with double, half day trips booked. I began with Adam & his family for sturgeon early and spent the first three hours trying to hook them up. After several moves due to those pesky Gobies, we finally had a take and Andy was handed the rod for the fight of his life. With a little guidance and coaching, he started to understand how to play the fish, but was still struggling due to its size. Adam was use to fly fishing for smaller trout and had never dealt with something this size before. To him, it was like trying to reel in a bus, going in the opposite direction! He literally had no control over this fish after about five minutes. At first, she remained close and under the boat but eventually went wild, twisting and rolling and began going away. The line counter reached almost 250 before I decided to unpin he anchor to help him out. Andy was already exhausted and chose to pass the rod to his father in law for a break. I never like chasing fish but thought that it was either tangled or somehow foul hooked, when nobody could gain line. About 15 minutes passed before we saw color and they were shocked! I don’t think they had realized just how big this fish was, but they knew now! I had him steer the fish towards the boat and was able to net her without any problem. I also had a confirmation as to why they  couldn’t reel the fish in as it was massive! The hook was perfectly positioned in the corner of the mouth but this fish was large! Not having dealt with anything of this size before, I don’t think they understood how to fight it properly as the fish controlled them. We set everything up for pics and now they really felt the weight. It took two of them to lift it up for the photos and even at that, they couldn’t hold it for long. I shot fast and we released it immediately, watching her go straight back down. There was no reason to set back up so I just packed everything in and headed for bass. Andy wanted to try them on a fly & I had brought a couple of rods for him. A Clouser pattern had him locked up on his first cast and battling a nice fish. He had never caught a smallie before and was amazed at how hard they fight! I would have loved to take some pics but decided to release it due to how badly hooked it was. It released perfectly! We stayed on smallies until close to noon with everyone hooking up and I headed back for the afternoon switch. They were thoroughly satisfied with their first experience, fishing the waters in Montreal and with any luck, will return for more.

Frank was with me for the afternoon and had a couple of friends along as well. They opted for walleye and we made a long run to a place that had been holding some good fish recently. Frank had been with me earlier this year, had a great day trolling up plenty of pike & eyes and was hoping to have another banner outing today. With a little instruction, they began catching fish quickly and it never let up! I refined the areas and also their techniques to increase the number of walleye caught. The entire time spent during the afternoon had plenty of action allowing me to harvest a few fish for the table. I allowed them to each keep a couple and released all the rest. Plenty of overs were also returned in the time we spent making this afternoon extremely productive. The 4 hours or so that we fished just flew by and before we knew it, the day was done. These guys were amazed at just how many fish they caught in a short period of time and left wanting more. Who know, with all this warm weather we’ve been having, they might just get back out again! Great fishing was had by everyone today!!