Alyssa joined me today on the lake today for a relaxing fishing experience. It was the morning of the cold front and I wasn’t sure what kind of impact it had made on the fish. From heading out each morning wearing very light clothing to bundling up today, it felt weird. The fall was nowhere near but it sure seemed like it had arrived overnight! The air temps were in the mid 50’s and the cloud cover held the coolness when we set the lines and started the troll. Ironically, we didn’t have a touch for the hour we spent searching for walleye. I knew we were going to have to switch to a different species and wait for the water to warm up for them to bite. Off we went for bass and even they were less cooperative than usual. Several decent ones were caught but we had to work hard for them to bite. Slowly worked soft plastics were fished over areas that held them and every once in a while, you just felt weight. They were barely picking up the lures and just swimming off with them. If you set too soon they were gone. When the sun finally broke through the clouds and the water began to warm, the activity picked up. We were now covering less area and getting more bites! Smallies were becoming active and it showed as Alyssa managed to get into a few that were photo worthy. Plenty of the smaller ones of 2 to 3 pounds were also taken but it was the big ones I was after. Somewhere in the early afternoon she even got to play with a sturgeon that had taken the jig again. This was short lived when it took to the air beside the boat and spiraled around the line causing it to break. Although it was brief, she still felt the strength they had in the 30 seconds it was on. The bass were coming more readily now & we were finally able to concentrate in specific areas, not having to move around as much. I knew it was just a matter of time before another sturgeon was hooked and this time it was a beast. Alyssa had a battle that she would remember for a while! It overpowered her so much that her arms and hands were in pain when I was finally able to grab the tail. When I lifted it aboard for the pic, she was shocked to see the actual size of this prehistoric beast. It wasn’t easy for her to hold this thing but somehow I managed to snap a few pics before the release. I could tell she was exhausted by her face in the pics and decided we should go back to trolling for the remainder of the day. I knew she wanted to take a few walleye home for a dinner and concentrated in specific areas looking for bites. The water had warmed up by almost 3 degrees and I hoped this would make them more active than they were this morning. The first few reels to fire were smallies and unfortunately not what we were looking for at all. Eventually a reel went off that sounded a lot more like the targeted species and I was right. I slid the net under a legal 3 pounder and we had the first fish in the livewell. The next one was even bigger and unfortunately had to be released at 24 inches. It took a little while before we were blessed with another hookup but somewhere along the way in, it just came unpinned. There were two other smaller ones caught while checking the lines but only one of them was legal enough to be kept and we called it quits. This was a day filled with variety and another relaxing one spent on the lake. Alyssa managed to get three different species of fish and one truly giant one that I’m sure she will remember for a while. A great day for fishing!!

Due to the local ramp being packed with people today, I decided on a small road trip to another body of water. Christiane & I thought that with the 100 Year Festivities scheduled, we should fish elsewhere. I’ve been hemmed in before at the boat ramp and knew it would be another one of those days with all the activities for the park area. She was, wanting another lunge but this time it would be on heavier tackle, if we were lucky! We arrived at a respectable 10:30 A.M. and were fishing by 11:00 searching for those hateful creatures. Winds were out of the SW at 5 to 10 knots making the heat wave almost bearable as we set the lines and waited. Somewhere around high noon the long line started that beautiful howl and we were locked! Christiane had probably one of the best battles she ever felt from these fish, for heavy tackle. The headshakes were incredible as she reeled the fish to the boat for me to boga. Although the battle lasted less than three minutes, we quickly landed and photographed the fish before release. I revived her and then let Christiane take over for the actual release. It would be the first time she actually held one in the water and finally knows what they are like when ready to go. As with all hateful creatures like these, she was left with a face wash! A small price to pay for getting to play with one of these I guess! We trolled for almost 90 minutes more with nay a touch and realized that we were lucky to have gotten even the one. I packed everything in and decided to try a couple of places for smallies instead. The first spot didn’t seem to have any life on it at all and I spent very little time looking for the bass. I hit another area a short distance away and just like the first place, it seemed void of fish. Christiane did manage to get one to commit to the jig however and was soon battling a smallie over 5 pounds. I knew it was big when it took to the air a couple of times. Once in the net though, I realized it was more like 5 ½ and not just five. If you’re only going to get one, this was definitely the one! We tried a little longer in this section and still never saw any fish. Off to another location and hopefully better results. Unfortunately the last couple of places were both the same. I really didn’t feel like running all over the lake to places I knew held fish, so we just packed it in. Christiane was satisfied with her day, catching a couple of trophy fish. We had accomplished what we had set out to do with the troll and the bass was just a bonus. By 3:00 we were leaving the water and with approaching weather on the way, glad to be on the road. Overall, a very relaxing and satisfying day!!

Darren was with me again today, looking for a variety of fish species. We set out under clear skies and humid conditions shortly after 7:30 with air temps already in the 70’s. The water had a ripple on it as the winds were blowing light from the SW. Walleye was our first quest as I set the rods to troll and it didn’t take long before we put a couple in the livewell. We were jumping around today to try & get in as much action as possible and switched it up quickly to bass. First cast, Darren hooks into a three pounder on a spinnerbait and I thought he was going to just crush them. To our amazement, it was the last one on the blades and we were forced to switch it up for a much slower presentation. Senko’s were used to entice several others into eating but it still seemed rather slow for here and I decided to move again. It was our next spot that kept us locked down as it was just stuffed with smallies. What started out as just a stop turned out to be an area that we held in for over 3 hours! Senkos and tubes accounted for all of the bass and there were many. Darren even managed to land his very first sturgeon and was amazed that it actually ate a jig. He had one other on briefly but lost it on a jump when it came unpinned. A couple more areas were fished for bass with similar results and then we headed back to the troll in search of more walleye. Two more were landed and several smallies as well before we called it a day and headed back to the ramp to take out. Although there were plenty of bass caught, there were no pics taken as 3.5 pounds was the largest and not photo worthy. Overall, a fairly productive outing with plenty of action from the bass and a bonus sturgeon added to the day as well!!

Part 1: I managed to have a full boat today when Kris & his faithful companion Sam joined James & Brian for a day of fishing. Although he was only dropping them off at the ramp, he decided to hop in for the trip. His dog was an added bonus and I was happy to have her along! She took to the boat like she had been there all her life and loved the ride to our first fishing spot. Both Brian & James were more accustomed to fly fishing for trout and although they had caught bass before, they weren’t of any size. They were all in for a real treat! The weather was a beautiful one with a light chop on the water and air temps already in the 70’s. Water temps were still holding somewhere around 74 degrees and I knew the fish would be active. Most of us were working senko’s but one guy was throwing a spinnerbait just to search out the aggressive biters. Unfortunately, the ones that did hit him weren’t reacted upon quick enough and just came off. A lack of hookset caused them to just spit the lure out before they were really on leaving him with nada. The senko bite however was a different animal with James locking up on his very first cast. Although it was only 2.5 pounds, it was still an incredible fight and he was impressed by the power of these smallies. After that, everyone wanted a piece of the action and I switched to the soft plastics for all. Plenty of pickups were had but the hookups were a different story. They were having a hard time with the waiting period before setting the hook and missed a bunch of fish along the way. There were several smallies hooked but less than 50% came to the net. Hopefully they had gotten the bugs out of this technique enough to improve at the next spot. I relocated and let the games begin! It was on this flat that everyone graduated from bass fishing 101 and a great improvement was seen. They were all holding their own now and plenty of bass of all sizes were getting landed. We also managed to pick up a few prehistoric creatures on tube jigs as the sturgeon were eating as well. Everyone had a turn at the wheel so to speak as we did a full rotation on these creatures. I think Brian’s was the heaviest at close to 25 pounds, but all the others were 15 or better. Fishing for the smallies was our priority, but you can’t help throwing to these giants as well!

Part 2: Brian & James were jumping boats this afternoon and heading out for lunge, so I headed back closer to the ramp and switched gears. They had all caught plenty of bass into the early afternoon hours and now were ready for a change. I decided to set the lines and try for some walleye for them to dine on that night. The conditions looked perfect with a good chop from the SW and I knew we would score. The first couple of reels to go ended up with smallies before a walter finally committed suicide. It was a perfect size at just around 18 inches and would make for a great meal, but we needed a couple more. We covered the area searching for others but the lures went untouched. I would be getting a call soon to have these guys switch boats and was under the gun with time. Eventually one of these reels went off but it was a scary howl and I knew it wasn’t a walleye. I pulled the rod from the holder and applied pressure to the line when this thing went straight into the air. It was a lunge and the jump was spectacular. Too bad the lure pulled free from the fish and stuck it in the side causing the battle to be all but over. Brian reeled this fish in completely lassoed and on the surface. I think it only came alive when it neared the boat and went wild. It was going to be a challenge to get this thing into the boat and I was forced to use a bass net instead of the boga. Although it wasn’t a big fish, it was still his first Muskie and one well worth a few pics. During the release, the phone rang and I knew it was that time. We transferred a couple of guys and I decided to stay out with Kris and Sam for a little longer and try for more walleye. I set the lines ad started trolling close by when another reel started to scream. I thought we might have a second lunge but was a little disappointed to see that it was only a northern of around 8 pounds. By now the weather had taken a turn for the worse and there were storm systems lurking north of us that I was monitoring closely. As long as the wind didn’t switch, we were alright! We kept trolling and managed to land a couple more smallies when I saw the land north of us disappearing. The skies had gone black and the system was coming right towards us and quickly. In came the rods and we bolted to the shore! The winds were still from the SW but we ran face on into giant white caps from the north, rolling 4 footers. It looked like a tornado and we were right in its path! I had about three minutes to get there and get the boat on the trailer before it hit. The waves seemed like they were from all directions and big! Ironically, we never really got all the rain but we did get hit with the wind as I loaded the boat and pulled out. As fast as it came in, it was done and pushing out over the water to the other side of the lake. Within minutes, we were back in the sunshine and light winds once again. It was definitely a strange experience and I was happy to be out of its path and on land. Kris & Sam weren’t too disappointed either as it had been a long day. Sam had chilled out several times during the day but never really slept with all the excitement going on. She was too excited every time someone hooked up and really reminded me of the dog I once had. I know they would both be tired tonight but Sam would be the one really recharging her batteries and a zombie for the next 12 hours. What an incredible day!!