Rick & Dan were back once again for their annual fishing trip, but this time Dave didn’t accompany them. Instead, Dan junior was here with his uncle and dad and looking forward to battling a few fish. I hooked up with them before 8 o’clock and immediately hit the water. After yesterday’s outing, I knew exactly where I wanted to start and it wasn’t long before all four rods were set. The weather was a little cool this morning but temps were suppose to rise into the mid 70’s by afternoon. Water temps were down again and were now barely over 60 degrees. The winds were out of the NW but not suppose to get any stronger than 10 knots and very fishable. I knew with the overcast skies and colder water temps that the fish would be a little lethargic. In fact I was marking them but they weren’t moving on the lures! I really had to slow down and eventually one of the reels made a few clicking sounds signifying a fish was there. I immediately hit the gas to lock it up and Rick had the first official walleye of the day. This fish barely made a sound and would have probably gotten off had I not done what I did. The next reel to go off was Juniors and he was soon reeling in a northern pike of just a few pounds. A little later he had a good rip and was tight to a big fish this time. When I finally saw the fish I realized that it was a walleye and went for the larger net. These fish weren’t fighting at all and just swam to the boat with barely a head shake. Once in the net we saw just how big she was and had to weigh her due to their side bets. They had one for first fish, biggest fish and overall most fish. This 6 pounder was a definite contender! After a couple of quick pics she went right back to the water. We too went right back to trolling and junior had another fish rip the reel once again. This time I netted a smaller walleye that was in the slot and it joined the earlier one in the well. In just a few brief minutes, junior had taken two of the three categories in their bet! I had worked pretty hard for the few fish they had caught and decided to leave for hopefully greener pastures! We fished our next area for almost 30 minutes marking plenty of fish but without a touch. Time to relocate again and this time it was quick. Within a few minutes, junior had a good rip but wasn’t quick enough with the rod holder & it was gone! By now Dan was beginning to wonder why his lines weren’t firing and then he got one to go. They had picked rods in the morning and Dan was left with the third pick. He would have to settle for the long, high lines and didn’t have a choice. This time however, I was in shallow water and he finally had the advantage. Another walleye came aboard and joined his friends in the livewell. We had a bunch more action here but unfortunately they were all pike afterwards. Time to leave again and now I made a long run to hopefully warmer water and more aggressive fish. This next place proved to be a little better with plenty of action. Mostly pike were being caught but Dan did get a really nice walleye that took out his son Junior. His went 7 pounds on the scale and was 1 pound larger than the previous one to beat. Sometime mid afternoon I decided to change up the rod spread and hooked them all up with spinning rods so they could actually be in control. Well it took a little while before we got back on the fish but eventually they started hooking up. Dan & Rick were machines for a while with Junior literally taking a back seat to their success. In fact Junior never caught another fish for the remainder of the day while they just pounded on them! We even changed locations and hit another walleye spot before calling it a day and the same thing happened there. Being in the middle has its downfalls as the outer rods have a larger fishing area. Dan & Rick did manage to land another 6 or 8 walleye in the remainder of the time we fished and Junior just watched. We pulled the boat out and called it a day just after 4 o’clock. I had a bunch of fish to clean as everyone was having fish for dinner. Despite a slower than expected start, the outcome was pretty good. Once the sun came out and the water warmed up, the fish started to bite. We’ll be back out again tomorrow and I think Junior will be looking for an end seat, so to speak. There will be no more middle spot for him again! Can’t wait to see what’s in store for them next!!

This morning saw a good chop on the lake to start the day, from the SW. It was blowing about 15 knots and I was looking forward to getting everyone back on the fish again. With air temps to reach the 80’s by afternoon I hoped for a quicker bite in the cooler morning air. I wasn’t disappointed as Junior claimed fame to the first official walleye of the day, almost instantly. He was back and ready to kick some butt! We had began over deeper shoals and everyone had an equal shot at the fish with the lures provided. Today however, Junior had picked an outside spot and his dad was in the middle. Things would definitely be different this time around! We spent the first hour or so covering the zone meticulously and they managed to put 6 walleye in the boat to take home. Our next move was a distant one and it started almost as soon as the lines were in the water. All three of them were into walleye here with a few incidental catches as well. I covered the shoals thoroughly in order to monopolize on the feeding fish. A slight move after this area went cold, had them tight lined once more and everyone was talking trash. Although Junior was in the presently in the lead, Rick was right behind. It was still early though and things could definitely change! They caught fish each time we relocated and some areas produced several doubles with the moves. The middle man today wasn’t fending as well as the other two and Junior was happy for his new location. With three guys trolling, the outside two always have a better shot at the fish. Regardless, Dan was still catching and happy for Dan Junior! With the sun at its peak for heat and a lack of wind, it became a scorcher by mid afternoon. Although windless, there were still plenty of waves with all the boat traffic! I still can’t believe sailboats out on windless days and there were plenty of them. Even saw a bunch "sailing" with their motors running! The afternoon was a little slower than the earlier part of the day, but they still managed to catch a bunch more fish to bring up their numbers. Mostly walleye came aboard as I had to leave the pike zone due to all the followers. So many people out on the weekends tend to have that effect when they see you catching! I can’t wait for Monday! We hit one more spot with time running out and Junior added a few more fish to his total. He had come out on top today by only one fish but he had also caught the first one this morning giving him two categories. I believe Rick had big fish of the day with a 6 pound walleye and Dan, had just the middle! We finally pulled the lines after 5:00 and headed back to the ramp. As luck would have it, there was no one blocking it and I was able to pull out in under two minutes. Their two days of fishing had given them really high numbers of fish and some pretty big ones too. On top of that, they were also leaving with some tasty treats as there were walleye going home with them today. All in all a pretty good two days of fishing with loads of laughs and plenty of memories!!

Today was Darren’s first trip of the season and what a way to begin. We met up about 7:30 and hit the water quickly before the crowds arrived. As this was the weekend and the weather was spectacular, I anticipated the ramp to become insane! It was already 70 degrees and sunshine was forecasted throughout the day. Air temps would also get into the 80’s and that would draw the crowds for sure. I decided to set the lines not too far from where we began and soon after we had our first walleye in the boat. Although not a large one, definitely a keeper! Darren wanted to take about three home and this one was the perfect size. We didn’t stay long here and soon ran to another area much further away, after catching only one. I hadn’t fished it this season and had an idea it was going to be loaded. Water levels were so high that I found myself trolling inside my waypoints & icons to get bit. Here we had a mix of pike & walleye and once I found the key area, it was game on! The pike were looking real healthy from their spawn and getting quite thick. The walleye ranged from 3 to 5 plus pounds and were also looking great. After things slowed, I decided to give another place a try and it too was loaded. Once gain Darren was into fish immediately and it seemed like every three to five minutes at least one reel would fire. Many times too, both would go off simultaneously! Although I was targeting walleye, it was nice to see so many good sized pike in the mix. We remained here for quite a while as the fish just wanted to eat. Never leave fish to find fish! By now Darren had his three walleye in the livewell and although we could have legally harvested a dozen, the rest were released to fight another day. By mid afternoon I was beginning to have to work much harder to get the bites and decided to relocate once again. I tried a couple of reefs to see if we could drum up a few more fish before we called it a day. After getting a couple more of each species, we pulled the lines and headed back. Boat traffic was at its peak and waves were from every direction despite no wind. Dog pecker knats and caddis flies were also in full force making sitting next to impossible. His appetite to fish was definitely satiated today, with high numbers of quality fish. Today was really, "A great Day For Fishing"!!

Ron and Pablo were with me this morning and hoping for great action. They weren’t sure if the day would even happen as weather forecasts called for big winds. Fortunately that was yesterdays report and today it was a little lighter. We still had a 10 to 20 knot blow from the W and waves in the 2 to 3 foot range though! This made boat control difficult at times and staying on my icons somewhat challenging. We hit the water at 8:30 and it didn’t take long before Pablo was into a fish. He had contacted a northern and was happy to have gotten the first one. Although not that large, it was a start. Ron hit the next one and this time he was battling a nice 3 pound walleye in the big waves. After resetting the lines, Ron hooked into another heavy fish. I figured pike again and in these rollers it felt a whole lot bigger. They didn’t care what they were catching as long as they were locked up. I had placed only one rod in the holder as they wanted to hold the other two and feel the strikes. Line counters were what we started with but after an equipment malfunction, I switched them to spinning rods. Obviously it didn’t matter as they still continued to land fish. Pike & walleye were being caught every few minutes as long as I stayed on the mark. Water temps were still a little cool for this time of year and holding around 60 degrees. Air temps were mid 60’s but felt colder with the strong winds. A lack of sunshine had the fish pinned to the bottom and making contact was the only way for us to get bit. We were scheduled for a half day of fishing and held out until 1:00 before heading in. Fortunately not before Pablo landed his biggest pike of 8 pounds and Ron a rather large walleye. In just a little over 4 hours they had battled plenty of fish and had a great time doing it too. Considering the previous weather forecast, they were quite happy with the outcome! I’m sure they’ll be back for more, sometime soon!!

I was back out this morning with Reda & his dad for another mixed bag day. They were also joined by Guillaume allowing me to run a four rod spread. Overnight temps were chilly and I knew the morning wouldn’t be the best time of the day. Water temps were around 57 degrees and the bite started slow. We had to resort to working soft plastics on the bottom to entice the few fish that wanted to eat. Several walleye and perch were caught, along with a couple of incidentals. When the skies finally cleared the clouds away and sunshine was upon us, I switched gears completely. We were going for pike as that was what they had requested. Unlike the usual method however, they chose to cast instead. It took a little longer to locate them this way but when I finally did it was game on! In just a couple of hours they managed to land plenty of post spawners and had a bunch of others follow or just get off. They also managed to hook into and land a sturgeon that would have gone about 20 pounds. Sometime in the afternoon they took break and I set up offshore for the troll. It didn’t take long before the first reel went off and Guillaume was bringing in the reward. It was a nice walleye over 5 pounds and well worth a photo before the release. Back to the troll we went and about ten minutes later another reel fired. It was a clone of the first. Guillaume managed to land the two largest walleye of the day in less than 15 minutes of trolling. I can only imagine what the outcome would have been had they chosen to troll earlier! The skies weren’t looking too good so I decided to get a little closer to the boat ramp in case of a storm. I had checked the radar and noticed that we were directly in the path of some rain and wanted a quick escape should it become electrical. We set up in a few areas I had nearby and drifted jigs over a flat. Many more fish were taken in the last couple of hours with this method and the rain stayed minimal. One more quick troll to see if we missed any fish and one pike & a walleye later we opted to pull out. They had caught their fir share of fish and were taking a few perch & walleye home for dinner. Despite a rather slow start, they ended with a bang. Overall it was a great day to be out and amazingly enough, the boat traffic was light. I can only hope for more days like this one in the weeks to come. The fishing will only get better as the water warms and high number days will be the norm!!