After cancelling several trips due to insane winds and heavy rains, I was finally back on the water today. This time however it was with my wife and we were going for walleye! A quick stop to have the main engine tightened up and we were on our way!

We were only planning on staying for a few hours, but wanted to see if we could catch a few for dinner. Apparently this was not going to be a problem as the area was stacked! For a while it was every cast and several of them made it into the livewell.

We had been in the same spot for about two hours when it began to rain, or something like that. Turns out that it was more like hail! We had a combination of wet & frozen precipitation for a while that finished off our day pretty quickly. I decided that we would end it sooner than expected and after several more fish, we called it a day.

We were fortunate enough to be able to run back in mostly sunshine and no more rain. The clouds had broken up and we were in clear skies for the trip. It turned out to be a good thing too as once we arrived at the docks, it started to rain again. It didn’t really matter though as we were done and had a great day! Plenty of great fishing was had and there were even a few prisoners coming home with us tonight. Not bad for only a few hours of fishing!

Another day with NE winds but at least today, they were less! Tino & Milton were with me, looking for some walleye action. Milton wanted to keep some and hoped to be able to catch a few for dinner tonight. I only hoped that the fish would bite!

We headed to an area and I decided to check and see if I could mark anything in a usual fall spot. As luck would have it, I saw a bunch of good fish in the mid-range and knew exactly what to do. We were going trolling!

With rods in hand, I began the slow troll over the areas where I had seen the walleye. We went for a distance before Tino set into one and things were looking up. He slowly brought to net a good high end keeper and Milton was excited. It was looking like they would be having fish for dinner!

I was seeing plenty of marks on the sonar and slowly trolled the area looking for more. Next up was Milton and he brought another good keeper to net as well giving them a second walleye in the tank. Things were starting to look up!

I kept at the troll for quite a while going over hook after hook with little success. Bait changes were made and still no takers! We continued covering the water and eventually another fish was hooked into by Milton. It was a real nice one and made for a great pic but that’s all. This time it was an over and returned back to the water immediately after.

For the next couple of hours our luck wasn’t great. They were catching fish but not the size Milton was hoping for. These ones were all overs and some of them were pretty big! Eventually I slowed down more and Tino land another big over on a drop shot rig. I made a few casts to see if I could help and also hooked into another big walleye. It’s not a bad thing when the fish are too big, except when you want keepers.

After quite a while I decided to make a move to an area where I was sure they would be able to catch a few more to eat. On Tinos first cast, he hooked into a good fish, but this proved to be a smallie. Great fight but wrong species! We switched from casting to drifting and despite the difficult wind direction to the current, managed one other eye in the keeper size.

The remainder of the time was spent going to a couple of other places and catching smaller fish. Unfortunately they were unders and returned as well. On the last area however, one more keeper came aboard giving them another fish for their dinner.

The days preceding today were filled with giant NE winds and I’m sure this was partly the reason we struggled. The water was also very stained and off color pretty much everywhere we tried. They did see some great fish however, but not for consumption. It’s always a good thing to catch big fish, just not in this case! In the end, they managed to catch a bunch and brought home several for their dinner tonight. They also got some really great pics of the big ones too!

Scott & Chris joined me today, in hopes of catching some sturgeon. Unfortunately the winds were too big and from the opposite direction, making it impossible to anchor up. We would be taking a road trip to another body of water just to be able to fish!

After battling rush hour traffic, we finally arrived at the launch and headed out to catch some bass. The waves were pretty big here as well, but at least they would be fishing! I had also noticed that the water was quite dirty from both the wind and rain we had received recently and this would make visibility difficult. Hopefully the fish would still be able to find their baits!

On the first spot, they managed to catch several smallies and Chris actually got his wish, by landing a small sturgeon on light tackle. The battle was epic!

We jumped to another area shortly after the fish slowed and continued catching plenty more smallies. With each move there were similar results but the winds were not making it easy. I tried to find sheltered areas where they could fish comfortably but it wasn’t happening. We were in wind and waves all day long!

After catching several more fish from a really dirty and cold spot, I decided to head back to a couple of places that had produced earlier in the day. We were late in the afternoon now and I wanted to get them into as many more fish s possible before we were done.

In the last hour they managed to land a few more bass each, but the size was not what I had expected. Most of the fish that were caught today were average, with only a few decent sized ones. At least they were able to fish!

We finally ended the day around 4:00 and headed back to take out. This was one of those days where you had to settle for what Mother Nature allowed you to fish. We were fortunate enough to spend it in an area that was actually fishable and salvaged the day. Hopefully in a couple of weeks when they are back again, we will be able to get to where I want and fish more comfortably. Only time will tell I guess!

I was back on the water again today after yesterday’s outing. Although there was no report, plenty of small walleye were caught and the guys even managed to bring home a limit of them! Today was a different story with Jim & Matt holding out for the sturgeon bite. I only hoped it would work out!

We were set up and in less than 15 minutes, had or first bite! Matt took the rod as he hadn’t caught one before and it immediately took to the air. It wasn’t a giant but it was a really good starter fish!

The fight lasted over 5 minutes with some powerful runs and dogging on the bottom. Eventually Matt managed to bring it up and he officially landed his very first sturgeon! Several pics were taken and it was returned to fight another day.

We went through a series of smaller fish for a while before Matt managed another decent one. The fight was great for the fish’s size, but over in less than 5 minutes. Jim had been with me last year hoping for another big one and shortly after, he got his wish. I reared back on some serious weight and handed him the rod to do battle! This was definitey the one we were looking for!

Although Jim’s fish never breached, the powerful runs were awesome. It ran out so much line and each time he reeled the line in, the sturgeon took off again! This went on for over 10 minutes until the runs got shorter and Jim was able to bring it to the net. This was definitely a much better fish!

We had reset the lines after releasing the last fish and now other boats were beginning to get closer. I hadn’t seen anyone hook up the entire time we were here, but they had seen us fighting fish, multiple times! It was only a matter of time!

The hookups continued to come and Matt soon battled another good fish, bigger than his first one. This time however the fight was deep and the sturgeon never came off the bottom. It’s always a good sign when these beats act like submarines!

Matt enjoyed his battle with this fish and after 10 minutes, he finally brought it up for me to net. It was a long one, but not too thick. It was however bigger than the first one he had landed earlier in the day. I shot several good pics and he returned it back to where it belonged.

We made a move or two and managed a few other smaller sturgeon before we pulled the plug on this area completely. I had wanted to do a little searching in a couple of other areas nearby and it seemed like a good time to explore.

The first spot seemed void but our second area showed some signs of life. I anchored up and in less than 15 minutes we had our first bite. As it turned out, this was a feisty sturgeon that fought like a champ for its size. Jim had it right to the boat in no time, before it took off right back to the bottom. This turned out to be the only bite from here, so I decided to make a long run to another place that I had checked earlier this morning.

With limited time remaining in the day, I idled around and anchored up on a bunch of fish. This was the first time I fished here this year but it seemed like there were better numbers of big fish on the bottom!

We had been holding for about 20 minutes when one of the rods started to bounce and I set into a decent fish. Matt took the rod and fought it for about 5 minutes before I slid the net under his catch. The water was a bit colder where we were and the battle didn’t last nearly as long! Despite marking plenty more big fish, this turned out to be the last bite we had and by 4:00, we were done.

Overall today was a great day filled with plenty of action. They had done battle with numerous fish, both small and large. Hopefully the remaining days for sturgeon will be equally as good and the weather will cooperate enough for me to fish them. With only a week left in the season, I want to get in as many days as possible, searching for these giants. Who knows, maybe someone will catch the biggest fish of the year and their lives too!

Eric had hoped to be able to fish for sturgeon today, as he had this species on his bucket list. The winds were already blowing hard from the west and expected to increase as the day went on, but we were going to give it a try!

Unfortunately anchoring up in the big waves didn’t last and we were forced to vacate the area much sooner than I wanted. The electric motor just didn’t have enough strength to hold us firmly in position with the 40km west winds. Also we were bouncing out of the water constantly, adding to the problem!

I decided to search another area in hopes of locating a few fish to try for, but ended up pulling the plug on this species altogether. We were going to try for walleye instead. Even this wasn’t easy as a slow troll over the area only produced one quality bite. Although I was marking fish, they didn’t seem to want to eat. We even tried dropshotting with a slow drift and this didn’t work either. After several passes in both directions, I called it quits and moved to another spot further away.

The run to the next place wasn’t pretty with waves building from the increased winds. When I arrived to fish, I realized that it wasn’t a good choice and had to abort. We just couldn’t fish here in a cross wind and 3 to 4 foot rollers. It was more like an ocean than a lake! I headed to another small spot nearby and found it to be the same. These two places were supposed to be guaranteed spots and had been holding plenty of fish in the previous days. Too bad we wouldn’t get a chance to see it today!

I finally decided to completely abandon all the areas I wanted to fish and head back to the other side, in hopes of smaller waves. This proved to be interesting at best! I was surfing 4 & 5 footers the whole way back! Once we arrived, I saw that it wasn’t much better to fish. At least we were closer to the ramp though and thoughts crossed my mind of ending the day!

We stuck it out all afternoon and moved around plenty, trying to get into more fish. At one point later on, I moved back out to a flat that I hadn’t been able to fish earlier. It was here that we remained for the balance of our time. With each drift there were multiple hookups and several other smaller walleye came in the boat. Some were keepers that were released and others were unders. All I know is that somehow we managed to salvage the day, despite the wrath of Mother Nature!

Today wasn’t easy, but Eric had a good time regardless of the hell we went through. It’s not always about the fishing, but rather the journey getting there. Having a boat that can handle conditions like today doesn’t hurt either! All I know is that I was glad to finally have it on the trailer at the end of the day. I’m sure that our bodies will be sore tomorrow after the roller coaster ride we had today!