Rich was back for the third or fourth time this season, in search of big bass and walleye. He would also be joined by his girlfriend in the afternoon, in hopes of getting her a few bites too. Hopefully the conditions would let us get it done!

We ventured out in a light NE wind that made it difficult for drifting. What we were able to do however was locate the walleye on the Livescope and cast to the schooling fish. It was good to see them, but their attitude wasn’t great! Most of the fish didn’t want to know anything about us or they just followed the baits and didn’t eat. We did however get plenty of decent fish and a few overs in the time we fished. Floating weds and a reduction of wind was making it even more difficult to get bit and the high sunshine didn’t help either. Eventually we just gave up on the walleye and headed elsewhere for bass!

We pulled up on an area that was holding good fish the last time I was out and Rich began casting. It didn’t take long before the confirmation was made and Rich loaded up on a good one. The next hour or so saw plenty of others and he was hammering them good. Slight bait changes saw many more smallies before we departed to pick up his girlfriend. It’s always hard to leave them biting!

The winds were completely dead when Jen arrived and I decided to hit a walleye area first in hopes of a few more fsih. We worked it hard for about an hour or so and struggled to get bit. The fish were still there but in a bit of a funky mood and they weren’t eating. Only a few of them managed to come aboard so we opted for plan b and the smallies. We were going back to where we left them biting!

Rich didn’t waste any time once we arrived and was into another big fish on his first cast. He also hit a few more after, confirming that they were still here. With a little help, Jen even managed to get several bites and boated a couple of beauties, including her personal best! They had to work hard for their bites, but the size was definitely worth the effort! Almost every fish was big from here making the stay very worthwhile! So much so that there was never a need to hit another area before we were done. By 4:00 we headed back to take out.

Overall, today was a great fall day both for fishing as well as the weather. Despite the slow walleye bite at the start of the morning, there were still a good number of fish landed. The bass fishing however was on fire with big fall smallies! There were so many footballs caught today that it felt like a different lake! All I know is that they both left completely satisfied with the outcome and Rich can’t wait to get back out again. Plenty of fall fishing action ahead and hopefully mother nature will allow us to stretch it out into the next month, before we’re done. Great day for fishing!!

Day 2 with Herm and it was a beauty! A very light NE in the morning and flat calm in the afternoon. The fishing wasn’t too bad either as plenty of bass and walleye were landed!

We started out dropshotting and jigging, deep open water flats and it didn’t take long to hook up. I think Herm barely made it to the bottom when he was locked up on a good smallie. Walley and perch followed and there were many! We covered water and anchored where the volume was and got into them big time. We had a good luck charm helping us when a pigeon decided to land in the boat to rest. We could tell that it was exhausted by the way it was breathing. That and the fact that we were so far from shore! It actually stayed with us for a couple of hours, until I ran it back to shore. Once back at the dock, it flew a short distance and landed on the ground, no worse for wear! This was definitely a first for me!

Herm & I headed back out, but this time I decided to try for smallies, due to the flat calm conditions. Apparently, it was the right choice as he just hammered them for the remainder of this trip. High numbers of quality bass were fought and landed, by dropshotting. We decided to call it a bit earlier as we were going out for his birthday dinner. By 3:00 we were done and ready to roll.

These last two days on the water were amazing despite changing conditions, with plenty of fish. I split the days up between walleye and bass and Herm caught them both! Today however was picture perfect for the end of September. The weather was cold in the morning but warmed up to a beautiful day in the end. Loads of fish also cooperated, making the entire trip end with a bang. Oh yeah, dinner was great too, as we sampled some of the fresh fish from the day before! Great way to end, on a high!!

Herm was back for a couple of days, and this morning we headed out in search of some walleye. I had been getting them pretty good lately, but today we had a hateful north east blow. I only hoped that we would be able to fish the open water areas effectively and put a few of them in the boat!

The wind and waves weren’t going to make this easy, but I had a few methods that might help. There was to be no proper drifting, but we did manage to slowly drift against the current. It worked somewhat, but casting up current while drifting worked even better. We managed to put a limit of walleye in the boat in the morning and released plenty of shorts as well as a pile of perch. When the fish began to refuse our offerings, I decided to make a move. This time however, we were heading for bass!

We had been dropshotting all morning and I continued with the same presentation where we were. Herm also wanted to catch a big bass on an ultralight rod and was into one on his very first cast. Too bad it didn’t stay on when it decided to jump! I knew there would be plenty more chances and not long after he was hooked up again. This one was even bigger and it did stay pinned all the way to the net. He had gotten his wish with the largest bass of the day and did it on an ultralight rod & reel!

We continued in the same area for a few hours and managed to get into lots of bass. Not all of them were big but plenty were and Herm had a blast with his light tackle. When this place slowed, I decided to head back to the open water once again to see if we could add a few more walleye to the livewell.

The waves hadn’t gotten any better when we arrived, but I knew it was fishable after enduring the hateful NE winds this morning. We finished up the last hour of the day here and were lucky enough to put a few more keepers in the box before we were done.

Today was an interesting one to say the least, with no rest from the wind. We fished through the big blow and managed to make it work for both bass & walleye. The entire time was spent out in open water rocking and rolling! It would be nice to finally get on solid ground, as we headed back to take out. Despite the not so perfect conditions, today was still a great day and Herm caught plenty of nice fish. He also managed to get a few to take home. Who could ask for anything more!!

Karen was back again today with her father Richard and son Liam. Her dad loves fishing and looks forward to their annual trip with me each year. Hopefully they were going to have a good time today!

We began a bit later than usual but were into fish almost immediately. I had stopped on a shallow area and Richard was tight to a nice bass on the first drift. He also followed it up with another one soon after and things were stating to heat up. The weather was also beginning to warm with a slight NE wind and bright sunshine. With each pass, someone was fighting fish and we even had a couple of doubles as well. Karen managed to land a walleye that fell short of the cut and was returned to grow. Liam was also getting bit and finally managed to keep a few nice bass pinned. He had missed the first few, but these ones made it to the net!

I had made several passes with the aid of the electric motor, due to the slight breeze from the NE and things had slowed down. It was time to make a move! I ran to an offshore area in deeper water in hopes of getting a few walleye for them to keep. Richard wasted no time locking up but it turned out to be a nice smallie instead. Not what we were after, but fun to catch! In the next couple of hours there were several walleye landed including one big over and a few keepers. Plenty of smaller ones were returned, along with a bunch of perch and more smallmouth bass. It wasn’t easy fishing this area as we had literally no wind and floating weeds were everywhere. Keeping the lines clean was becoming more and more difficult so I decided to pull the plug. We were going to try for sturgeon instead!

I had planned on fishing the usual area but kept going when I counted almost 15 boats anchored up for sturgeon. I decided to try another spot instead as this weekend parking lot was way too busy! At least we would be alone where I decided to fish. With lines in, we waited for the first bite that never really happened. Not long after we were anchored, the wind got stronger from the NE, rotating the boat sideways. W were now rocking from the waves and this made it almost impossible to see any bites. I relocated a few times and each time marked plenty of fish. Too bad we couldn’t remain positioned to take advantage of them! At one point, we were actually turned around 180 degrees with the electric motor holding us in a downstream position. It was then that I pulled the lines and threw in the towel!

I decided to finish up the day closer to the ramp area and was pleasantly surprised to see only a slight wind from the NE when we arrived. It would be a slow drift but at least it was fishable. The last hour saw several smallmouth and a few walleye caught before we were done. It had been an interesting day to say the least! Despite the difficult conditions, they still managed to catch a good number of fish today. In the mix were a few walleye for them to take home as well. Overall, it was a pretty good day of fishing!!

Andrew made a long drive this morning in hopes of catching his first ever sturgeon. I told him that the fish were on the smaller side so far and that the big ones had been nonexistent. It didn’t seem to bother him much as he was on a quest to catch as many species as he could in his lifetime. This would be another bucket list check!

I had marked a few small fish and decided to set up in the usual area to see if we could get a bite. Well, it didn’t take too long before we did and he quickly added another fish species to his already huge list of fish caught. Although not big, it was a sturgeon and his first one ever! Plenty of pics were taken to add to the database of fish pics he already had before we resumed fishing.

The second bite came shortly after the first and this fish was a sturgeon as well. Right on cue, the second rod fired and I set into another fish and placed the rod back in the holder for him to reel in. He swapped rods with me and managed to catch a double. Although both small, they were sturgeon! It also made for a great pic, holding the two juveniles! He managed to catch another small one a little while later, along with a decent smallmouth bass. Seeing that this area was like a daycare, I decided to try a move to another spot hoping for bigger fish.

I was pleasantly surprised to see plenty of marks on the bottom when I arrived. I immediately set the lines hoping for a quick bite, but was surprised when Andrew reeled in another smallmouth bass. The fish I was marking were definitely sturgeon and I knew that if we were patient, we would be rewarded.

It took a while before the first sturgeon bit a line, but at least it was a bigger fish. In the last few hours, we had many more bites and Andrew landed quite a few others, including a personal best channel cat. We also had two other double headers that he boated himself as well. Andrew may not have landed the giant today, but he definitely felt the power of these fish. Several times he had drag screaming runs from sturgeon, making him want more. He definitely will be back in the future for another shot at a true river monster and I can’t wait to see him do battle with the beast. Today was just a sample of what these things feel like. The best is yet to come!!