After a client postponed, I figured I’d get Christiane out for the day. She hadn’t been fishing once this season and was definitely due! We didn’t get an early start and that may have been our demise as the boat traffic started earlier than anticipated. Although we were on the water shortly after 10:00, the boats were all over the place when we arrived. I wanted to try for sturgeon & catfish and headed somewhere that I hoped they would be. Once I arrived, I started marking them immediately and wasted no time getting the anchor down. About two minutes after I had the lines in, Christiane set into our very first fish. A quick battle by a small sturgeon but it did show us that they were here & eating! Another bite immediately after and this time it was a really good catfish. I now had confirmation that the two species were both here and they were active. So much so that the sturgeon were jumping all around us. We stayed as long as we could until the boat traffic just got out of hand, causing us to leave. It’s always hard to anchor when boats are blowing by you all the time! Christiane still managed to land a few sturgeon, one great catfish and an ugly American Eel. Could have done without that last one! We headed to another area and I began marking what looked like sturgeon once again but after 20 minutes, left when we couldn’t get bit. I opted for trolling after this and had to put the top up when it just became too damn hot! This was rather slow but I never went to any areas that I knew had fish. I was just covering water searching for other areas to keep for clients. We managed to land one walleye slightly below the high end of the legal limit and into the livewell it went. The cat would be eating well tonight as we were having burgers on the bar b. She definitely eats better than most animals when it comes to fresh fish! With the heat getting almost unbearable and the boat traffic already there, we both decided to call it a day. Four hours on the lake was about all we could take with the lake packed with every type of boat. I was glad to see when we got back to the ramp that nobody else was there and pulled out immediately. Although a short day for me, it was still a very productive one. I had found the sturgeon and catfish that I wanted and could now add it to the other species I already had. My customers will definitely have their choice of fish to choose from the next time out. Hopefully many more grand slams will be coming their way soon!!

Stephan joined me today for a little bit of everything! We began the day targeting walleye and managed to scratch up a limit, with several others too. The reels weren’t firing well so I had to hammer down again, just to lock them up. This 68 degree water temp needs to climb in order for the fish to become more active. Hopefully a warm trend with no more north winds will cure that! Along with the walleye this morning, we also had plenty of encounters with decent sized northerns. I worked hard at trying to get him into some large eyes but couldn’t seem to find anything over 22 inches. Some days are just like that, I guess! We mixed it up a little in the afternoon by heading into heavy cover, in search of a few green bass. Ever since I brought him into the jungle a few years back, he’s always wanted to go back. Well, today he would get his wish! Once I found the right cover, he began hooking up on some pretty decent largies. Although some of them left him hanging on weed stocks, he fended better than average bringing several of the bigger ones to the boat. Due to the lack of wind in this area, we decided to spend the last bit of the day back in open water. The run there felt great too! I trolled the areas and managed to get him into a few more walleye and northerns before we called it a day. Back at the ramp, I ran into a ton of people due to all the festivities they had for the holiday. Although a little difficult, it was still better than most busy weekends! We pulled out with ease! Despite the heavy traffic on the water today, Stephane still had a great day landing a pile of different fish and even had some to take home. Who could ask for anything better than fresh fish for dinner tonight!

I was back on the water this morning for a half day with John, Eric & Randy. Being from Indiana they wanted to fish for smallmouth, so I headed to an area that I was sure would be holding. I set them up with the usual spinnerbait & crankbait rods and it didn’t take long. John drew first blood after Randy missed one and Eric doubled up while I was netting the fish. It was a chunky 18 incher and worthy of a pic. Eric had brought his fish to net by this time so why not a double pic! I could see after a while that the fish weren’t chasing the blades too much and handed Randy a tube rod. After a little instruction, he was getting bit almost every cast. Unfortunately, he was also dropping just about every one as well. After several more smaller bass we pulled the plug here and moved offshore before the winds got bad. We were expecting another big blow from the SW and I wanted to take advantage of the 10 knot winds we had before they hit 25. We covered a lot of water and picked at them throughout, but the fish really weren’t chewing well. I switched up baits plenty and they caught on everything being thrown, just not big ones. With the winds still not howling yet, I made a long run to another shallow flat that I was sure would produce. Unfortunately after about ten minutes, the winds arrived and were now blowing strong. So much so that three foot rollers were upon us instantly. I had to relocate again just so they could fish comfortably. I made another long run to a semi sheltered section of the lake and they began the search. Lately the Poplar trees have been pollinating so much that it looks like a snow squall at times. This was one of those times and the surface of the water was blanketed with cotton. Reels were jamming up and pieces were being reeled in on the lines. It was so bad that even after getting into a few more fish, I just had to leave all together! I was pressed for time with the half day, so I decided to go back to where we had started to try and get a few more of the fish that Randy missed. Another snow squall area but we stuck it out regardless! Although the fish were still present, only a few more got caught before we pulled the plug. They had a lunch scheduled with their wives and had to leave. They may not have landed a load today, but definitely had their chances! The run back was a little rough as we were going with the wind and had to surf three to four foot rollers. Everyone stayed dry and so did the boat! I definitely don’t miss my bass boat on days like these!

Stephen & his father Patrick were with me today for Father’s Day. It was a gift from his son! We hit the water just after 7:00 and headed out in less wind than I expected. Although it was blowing 15 knots or better from the SW, the waves weren’t too bad. I ran to the first location in 1 to 2 foot chop and immediately began fishing. We actually had a slower start than usual and only managed a handful of fish in the first hour. With the full moon upon us the reels were barely making a sound. Several times the fish was just on the line causing me to believe that they just weren’t very active. Eventually we began getting more bites but they were all pretty much garbage hits. I was once again forced to hammer down the throttle in order to lock them up. Stephen was hoping to take a few walleye home for dinner but that was not looking good. We did catch plenty of them, but they were all overs. Throughout the entire day, we only managed one slot fish and it too was released in the end. Sometime before lunch, the winds picked up considerably and so did the boat traffic. It was hard to tell which was which as the waves were from almost every direction. I wasn’t liking what was going on here so after picking at them all morning, I decided to relocate. We made the long run to an area I hadn’t fished in a while to see if the fish were more active. I managed to find both walleye and pike in extremely shallow water and the reels were firing hard. Once again however, all the walleye were too big and we were forced to return them after a few pics. It was going to be another day of the overs! I milked this area until the fish just stopped biting and moved on in hopes of finding another group of active fish. With only one walleye in the livewell for Stephen, time wasn’t on our side. I decided to return to where we began in hopes of adding to his total. I was shocked to see that the waves were quite a bit larger than when we left. In fact, the water was also very colored with all the turbulence from the boats as well. We dropped the lines and almost immediately had a double. Unfortunately pike were what they caught! I moved along checking several other areas and managed to get into a bunch more fish, but they too were also northerns. Right around 4:00 we decided to call it a day and headed back to the ramp. It was quite a roller coaster ride with these waves and we were running with them. It definitely felt like Lake Ontario rollers! What a zoo it was when we arrived at the dock. Jet skis and boats all over the place. Not really an easy take out with the waves pounding on the dock and no room to park. Fortunately I had a couple of people with me that could hold the boat from taking a pounding on the wharf. We may not have accomplished dinner for Stephen but both he & his father Patrick had a great day. Plenty of fish were landed and they both saw new techniques that will aid them on some of their future trips up north. Although the walleye were all too large, I guess that’s not a bad problem to have!!

After yesterday’s scouting trip, I knew exactly where I was heading this morning! Andy & I had unanimously decided last week to postpone until today, due to the hurricane like winds. It just wasn’t safe for us to venture out! We were only fishing a half day so a 7:00 start was agreed upon. I don’t think it took 3 minutes before the high line fired and he was into his first keeper of the day. Andy had wanted to learn a little more about walleye feeding locations and how to target them. I had been on the fish since opening day and although plenty changed, I was still on them good! The techniques I was showing him would come in handy for the lake he usually fished. We moved plenty this morning catching fish in almost each location we hit. From deep water areas to shallow flats, the fish kept biting. At least until the lake went flat calm and the sun got high! From this point on, it became a struggle to get them to move much and bites were few & far between. Plenty of northerns were caught along with some good eater walleye but no real giants today. Not until the very end! I decided to switch to two deep baits instead of one high and moved out a bit to where I wanted. After a couple more walleye and several pike, our time was winding down. One last pass and we would be done for the day. As luck would have it, one of the reels fired and Andy was into another pike. I decided to leave the second line in the water and dealt with the northern. As we were about to pull the last line to leave, it got hammered. Adam felt quite a difference in this fish as it wouldn’t budge. It was just heavy! He really wasn’t gaining on the fish, so I decided to back up to reduce the amount of line peeling off the spool. I had known from the start what he had but when we finally got a glimpse of his fish, we both knew for sure. Andy had never landed a musky and was hoping this would be his first. I had brought the big net this morning and was glad to have it on board. Lately the musky were being landed with the aid of a Boga grip but not today. In fact with the season officially opened, we would be able to have a pic instead of water shots. Into the net she went and Andy was all smiles as the fight was officially done! It was also a lot easier to remove the hooks while the fish was swimming in the net. A few quick shots later and Andy was releasing his catch back to the water. We watched her swim off perfectly, disappearing into the depths. What a great way to end the day. He had learned a bunch of walleye techniques and this was the icing on the cake. Last rod, last fish and one more off his bucket list. We were done!!