Mike & Corey joined me this morning for one of the first road trips this fall. By 8:30 we were launching and praying for another tremendous day of bass fishing. Too bad though, as the conditions were too perfect & we paid for it in spades! Flat calm, mirror like water had everyone thinking the same thing and I believe another tournament was going on. Boats were buzzing like bees the entire time we were on the lake! With the bright skies, warm air temps and heavy traffic, it wasn’t a wonder that the bass were spooky. We slid over some areas where we could actually see them and they just bolted away. Even long casts weren’t working well as short strikes and pushes were the norm. Mike did however connect with a beauty for the second fish of the morning when he set into a fish over 5 pounds. I know that if we remained here and refined the area like I usually do that there would have been even more. Only problem was that there were so many boats near us that they just kept coming closer & closer. I guess it’s alright to fish on top of each other when you’re competitive and money is on the line! I got so fed up that I decided to just move all together and head elsewhere. This time we completely changed it up and went drop shotting in the depths a few miles away. It didn’t take long when we sent the lines down to actually connect with some fish. Ironically, they kept getting off on the way up. Both Mike & Corey weren’t too familiar with the deep water technique and were missing more than they were landing. I had to get a line in to see what was going on and managed to land 3 fish in about 15 minutes, but also lost a few others too. Mike brought a couple to the boat as well and things were looking up for another drift as now I knew the bass were there. All of a sudden, I saw other boats at the beginning of our drift and things just changed. A couple of boats had run by and punched waypoints in as they passed us. I had seen just about enough and relocated to another area in hopes of solitude. Unfortunately that was not to be as each & every place I wanted to fish had boats so close that I would just be donating key areas for free. By 1:00 I made a judgment call and pulled the plug all together! It wasn’t fair to Mike & Corey and I wanted them into fish. We drove all the way back to where we had began opting for another lake. Despite all the traffic on this water, at least I wouldn’t have to contend with all the spot suckers! We ran to one of the areas that had been producing decent walleye lately and it didn’t take long before they were both locked up. By drop shotting over schooling fish, they were able to land several good fish in a short time. As the sun started to drop lower late in the afternoon, the fishing got even better. The walleye went on the feed and both Mike & Corey were continually locking up. They even managed a few good smallies in the mix too! With such a nice day upon us, I extended it until almost 6:00 before we called it quits. We had lost a few hours travelling to the other lake this morning and I wanted them to enjoy the day completely. In golfer’s terms, “the back nine was best”! I was able to salvage the day with a major adjustment and alleviate all the pain & suffering from the morning. I know this won’t be the last time I’ll encounter bass boats like today but by picking the shittiest weather possible, I’ll at least be able to fish. Tough day but we made it work!!

This morning saw us fishing local again, under even more adverse conditions. The first day was beautiful, the second one howled & the third one had a cold front and terrible winds once more. Some people think I have the best job! We dropped the boat in shortly after 7:30 and tried our hand at trolling for muskie. Winds & waves were pretty good looking for them and I really thought we had a good shot at scoring. Although I did mark a few that resembled the hateful one, it wasn’t to be. By 10:00, we were done with this and relocated to an area in hopes of some smallies. I headed through 3 footers in order to get to where I wanted and drifted over a series of rock piles hoping for better results. As if on cue, Marie locked up as soon as we neared the first one and killed the skunk! She had managed to draw first blood each day, so why would today be any different! I really thought we were getting ready to hammer them but with the winds blowing so strong, we drifted through quicker than expected. I needed to have them both throwing with the wind, so boat control was limited. As long as I slowed the drift, they could make multiple casts to the best locations. After Marie landed a few bass, Jim hooked up as well but not what we expected. Ironically, he had nailed a nice walleye of 22 inches from the same area. With low cloud cover and cold front conditions, they had come in shallower and taken up residence on the same spot. This fish looked beautiful with a really golden color, giving the Quebec name “Dore” its significance! After a couple of pics, she was returned to grow even more. With the winds not getting any better, we continued our drift in hopes of more action. Although we didn’t get the numbers, the fish were good size and most eager to eat. When I had covered all the zones I wanted, I picked up and returned to the better areas once again. Both Jim & Marie hooked a few more and when we neared the spot that Jim had hooked the walleye, he connected with another. This one was slightly bigger and looked just as nice as the first one. As always, the second pass is never as good as the first and I realized this quickly. With not too many places to fish in this big howl, I thought I’d try another slightly calmer one further away. When we pulled in, it wasn’t too bad but it didn’t take long before the winds increased. Along with this, came heavy rain adding to the misery. Now I really didn’t have much control as nobody wanted to face the rain. All we could do was roll with it and try to stay on the fish. They did manage to get a few more but the waves just kept getting bigger with the rains. We felt like a cork on a pond in this and were out of the zone quickly. There was no way I was going back for another pass either, as I would have swamped the boat trying to get there. Talk of calling it a day was in the boat but I had one more trick up my sleeve. I had them toss the lures out and we drifted like a troll over the area, aiming for a few waypoints nearby. It may have been difficult to keep the lines clean but Marie did manage to land another walleye out here. Once the heavy rains let up, we decided to call it quits. Although still blowing, we headed back to the ramp and ended this torture. They had a mix of conditions in the three days of fishing and overcame all of them. The only plus in this was that we never saw another boat on the lake today. I guess I will have to fish on the worst possible days from now on!!

Marie & Jim have a track record for hurricane like conditions and yesterday was an anomaly. The conditions this morning were more like what I was accustomed to as it was just howling! Today would definitely have us changing locations with forecasted winds in excess of 30 knots. There would be no way we would be able to fish the lake and opted for another location. We needed some sort of shelter and I knew just the place. With many islands to block some of the wind, the waves wouldn’t be too bad. We began the day trying for muskie, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. A couple of hours trolling for those hateful creatures was all I could stand before pulling the plug. Off we went for some bass and after some nice ones, it happened! Marie had managed to hook into what we were looking for earlier and landed a small muskie. Although not the size we were previously targeting, it was the right species nonetheless! After a few pics we resumed our search for bass and picked some more decent ones from this area. Although we weren’t hammering them, they were catching. I moved around plenty looking for a concentration but never really found one. We hit as many areas as possible, getting bass from almost every one but water temps were still too warm. The fall bite wasn’t happening yet and I shifted gears to drop shotting and deeper water nearby. Many more bass were caught but the average size wasn’t what I wanted and I just kept searching. Eventually I hit one isolated spot and found a concentration. Unfortunately with the winds, it was hard to hold and I spent more time trying to reposition when ever someone hooked up. We were able to pull a bunch from here until the winds just got out of hand. Even in a somewhat sheltered area, we were getting blown around and I continued on in search of more. We never really pounded them today, but still caught fish regardless of these hellish conditions. Despite “Mother Natures” howl, we were lucky as the forecasted rains never really hit. We had all prepared for the worst and only gotten the winds. I think we ended up fortunate as it could have poured on us all day long. Overall, a decent day to say the least!!

This was the first of three days that Jim & Marie were fishing with me and it was picture perfect. I had gone out yesterday scouting new areas for them and found several good places to fish. With weather so inconsistent the fish were shifting frequently and I needed a back up! After picking them up at the motel we headed directly to water, wasting no time getting started. It was to be a day of no wind, bright sunshine and temps into the upper 80’s. Even the water warmed up and rose to almost 67 degrees in this heat wave! Marie drew first blood as always and I wasn’t surprised. What I was surprised about though, was the overall size. I hadn’t seen small fish in this area all season and it wasn’t over. She nailed another one of equal size on her very next cast! I didn’t want to waste too much time here so I moved quickly over the flat. After a couple more small fish, it was time to relocate. I also decided that we were to go deeper and set up the drop shot rigs. Multiple drifts over mid lake humps produced several other fish, but once again not the caliber I was looking for. Eventually we tried a deep breakline and finally found some better ones. Marie had managed to get a couple on a spinnerbait and Jim landed a good one on the deep side, on a drop shot. A couple of other areas had seen double headers, some walleye and even a sturgeon for Marie. We really covered water just looking for the mother load! We jumped around plenty and they caught everywhere we stopped. One of the last places finally produced the best fish for Marie and ironically it was also on a blade. By days end, she was up on Jim by a couple of fish. Nothing that couldn’t be changed tomorrow! I definitely believe that the weather was way too nice for us today and the fish really didn’t cooperate like I expected. We’ll have to change it up tomorrow in order to turn it all around. Possibly fishing another body of water as well!!

Today I had the pleasure of three generations in the boat with me. Marvin, Mitch & his son Ben were looking forward to spending the day together and hopefully catching a few fish as well. The chilly morning air greeted us as we headed to our first location, setting the lines for a walleye troll. Lately I had been getting big fish each day and I was confident the reels would fire. Water temps were on a steady drop with the morning showing barely 63 degrees. We even had a nice light chop to move most of the floaters away! The last few days had seen giant piles of vegetation in most of the areas I trolled, making my work constant. I literally had to go from one rod to the next in rotation to ensure they were clean and then start all over again! This would be a pleasure as I could keep the lines in the water for much longer without attending to them. I had decided to troll into the zone producing while searching for additional fish nearby. When we neared the sweet spot, the first reel went off and it was game on. Too bad it turned out to be a pike but at least we weren’t skunked! Not long after, another one fired and although the right species, too small and immediately released. When the next one hit however, the line went out enough for me to realize it was big and I cleared the second line just in case. While I was attending to the rod, the third one started screaming and we had our first double. Mitch was into one of those 5 pounders but I wasn’t sure what his father had. I decided to clear the last rod and went into neutral. Once along side the boat I saw Mitch’s was barely hooked. Without applying too much pressure, he maneuvered it close enough for me to slide the net under and the hook popped out. These fish weren’t crushing the baits this morning and we were getting lucky landing them. I always have two nets on board and immediately grabbed the other for Marvin’s fish. As luck would have it, a 7 pound northern was attached to the lure and he definitely had the bait. All three hooks were imbedded in his mouth and I knew he meant business! Some quick pics before the releases and back to trolling we went. In the next hour we managed to put 4 walleye in the livewell for their dinner and released a few more under sized ones too. The fishing wasn’t fast & furious, so I thought we’d change it up a bit and try casting for some bass nearby. Mitchell had the hot hand here as he tangled with three decent ones on a stick bait. Too bad it was all that wanted to eat as the others never had a sniff! Off to another spot and this time we were to drop shot for some deeper bass. Once they were instructed on the technique, it was time to get serious. They both had their chances and hooked up several times, but didn’t put too many in the boat. As luck would have it, most of them came unpinned before we could bring the fish aboard. I was surprised to see that they weren’t getting many fish as I was marking all kinds of them on the sonar, drifting through. We eventually gave up here and tried our hand at trolling lunge for the remainder of the day. This was equally as rewarding and eventually put everyone to sleep! Fortunately, I did stay awake to control the boat! Sometime around 3:30 we pulled the plug and called it a day. Regardless of how slow the fishing was, they all had a great time. They were also taking a few fish home for dinner and really looking forward to their “Catch of the Day”!!