Randall, Jack & Thomas were with me today, for a very interesting outing! A heavy rain delay had us meeting a bit later than usual and we still headed out in plenty of the wet stuff. The SE winds made for a rough ride in the beginning but soon calmed the further we were out.

Once we arrived at the first spot, I raised the roof to reduce the amount of rain falling on us. Within minutes after setting the lines, Jack was into a nice walleye to start the day. Before I could get the pic, another reel fired and Thomas also brought a good one to the boat, for a nice double shot. What a great way to get the day started!

I had expected the rain to let up sometime around midmorning but as usual, the forecast wasn’t right. It took until after 12:30 before we were actually clear of the wet crap, but it didn’t matter as plenty of fish were caught throughout. Although only pike were landed, some of them were really good ones!

I had hoped to get everyone into an afternoon drop shot bite and when the skies cleared, we headed to another area to give it a try. The winds had also stopped and I wasn’t sure if we would be able to get a good drift where I wanted to fish. Once we stopped, I downed the roof and let the boat drift to see what I was up against. It wouldn’t be easy but with a little help from the electric motor, it was definitely doable!

Randall was the first to hook up and he did it quickly! Within the first couple of minutes of the drift, he managed to land 2 nice smallies. The others weren’t as lucky, but that soon would change.

Multiple passes were made along a deep, hard bottom and a good number of walleye were brought to net by Jack & Thomas. It seemed that whenever one of them hooked up, the other followed. A little bet had been going on the entire day and Thomas eventually tied up with Jack, later in the afternoon. Randall was only a few fish behind and trying to make a strong comeback!

With limited time remaining, I shortened the drifts to a small section that had been producing. By refining the area I was able to keep someone on fish, each time. Randall picked up a few more and began closing the gap, while Jack just kept losing his fish. Still tied with Thomas it took until the last few minutes for him to finally keep one pinned and win.

Despite all the miserable weather for the first half of the day, I was able to keep everyone on fish. The second part was even better with clearer skies and easier fishing. At least for most part, as there were quite a few fish missed by all. In the end though, it was a very successful trip with plenty of fish landed and even a few walleye going home for a tasty meal tonight. Great times were had today!

Sandro and his sons, Mateo & Vasco were with me this morning for another mixed bag day. All three of them slammed, making for an incredible fishing trip!

Winds were out of the NE as we ventured across the water to our starting location. Although a little rough in places, it was nothing compared to a few of the outings this season!

With rods in, I began a troll as all three of my guests were pretty new to the fishing game. This would at least put plenty of fish in the boat until we switched up to casting.

Within the first 5 minutes Vasco was tight to a really good fish and I soon realized why. He was locked up on a nice walleye! After a little coaching, he soon had it close enough for me to net. Although too big to keep, it did make for a nice pic before being released.

The winds were blowing opposite the current as I worked the area and trolling with the wind was a whole lot easier than against. Boat control was a little sloppy at times as I manned the 4 lines and steered the boat too. Thankfully the electric motor helped with keeping the rig straight!

The bites weren’t fast & furious this morning, but we did have plenty of chances. Most were pike but several walleye also came out to play. In fact, they were even able to put a couple of them in the box to bring home with them tonight.

As the morning passed, the numbers continued to climb. Mateo & his brother took turns fighting fish and a few of those times, they were even doubles. Sandro eventually got into the game as well, landing a few of his own too!

I had wanted to teach the boys how to cast properly and after stretching their legs on shore, I made my way to an area for bass. They both picked it up quickly and Vasco hooked into a big smallie on his very first cast. It hammered him boatside making for a crazy fight! Not wanting to hold it for a pic, his brother was more than happy take the shot!

I had all three throwing soft plastics here and despite plenty of fish in the area, it was Sandro that fended the best. He managed to land three nice bass in the time we spent there.

Wanting everyone to hook up I decided to change locations again so that Mateo could also complete his slam. By positioning the boat properly I had him toss right to where I knew the fish were. It didn’t take long before he was battling another nice bass. Mission accomplished!

Time was passing fast and I had hoped to try a little drop shotting in an area closer to the take out. We made our way to open water and I set them up for the drift. Too bad the winds weren’t making it easy, blowing opposite to the current flow. I was forced to pull the boat downstream with the electric motor just to get us moving.

We made several passes over the area and they managed to get into some bass and a couple of walleye before we were done. I would have liked a different wind direction today, but by making a few adjustments, I made it work. They had all landed plenty of fish and slammed with three different species as well. This was definitely a successful day of fishing!

After a weather cancellation/postponement yesterday, I was back on the lake this afternoon with Val & his wife Julie. We hit the water a bit earlier trying to beat the heavy rains and barely managed to get set up before the skies let lose.

First order was the roof and I set it up as soon as we reached out destination. With lines in, we began our troll in a light drizzle and big west winds. I guess the cover wasn’t going to be 100% waterproof today!

I don’t think we were trolling for even 3 minutes before the first reel screamed and Julie was into a nice northern. Not having done much fishing before, I instructed her on how to fight the fish and soon after, it was in the net. She would be having plenty more practice in the rest of the day!

The action really picked up just prior to the storm and pike after pike were reeled in by both Val & his wife. When the winds grew, the heaviest downpour also happened and I was forced to turn the boat and troll downwind so as not to have as much of the horizontal rain enter the boat.

With all this happening, one of the reels howled and Val fought a really heavy fish. When it stayed down, I knew exactly what he was into and soon netted his catch. It was a giant walleye and definitely his personal best! After a few pics in the miserable pouring rain, she was released to grow again. Yes, fish do bite in the rain!

We fought through the worst of the weather, all the while catching fish. In fact, they were even able to put a few keeper walleye in the boat that were destined for their dinner table tonight.

Just like most weather systems, the post frontal conditions saw an increase in the winds and the lake grew even bigger. I stuck it out with the troll for a little longer than I had wanted, knowing that it would be worse elsewhere.

After landing many more fish of both species and not much time remaining in their trip, I shifted gears and went somewhere to cast. Val had hoped to catch bass and I brought him somewhere that was holding plenty. Too bad the winds were worse here and the waves weren’t making it any easier. Just feeling the baits while fishing was next to impossible, but Val did manage to land one nice bass from this area. Julie was still working on her casting skills after I instructed her and was fending quite well, despite the big blow.

After realizing that this casting in 3 footers wasn’t working out, I pulled the plug and headed back towards the boat ramp. The run was exactly as I had expected and I took it easy along the way. Threes soon became fours in some areas and I tried to remain in the troughs & crests instead of going with the rollers.

With time remaining, I thought I’d stop in the open water and try a little drop shotting. It may not have been easy with all the floating weeds but we somehow made it work. Val missed a couple of bites and Julie landed a nice keeper walleye before we were done.

Today may not have been the nicest for fishing, but at least we were alone everywhere we went. The fishing was pretty good and that’s all that counts! Julie & Van enjoyed another great day of catching and even managed to take a few fish home too!

We had an earlier than usual start of 6:00 today, due to the forecasted temps for the afternoon. Rob joined James and bass were the targeted species. We would be spending the entire day in search of the old bronzeback!

Our first spot wasn’t what I had expected as only a couple of fish even showed up! James unfortunately missed both of them and despite our efforts, we were forced to move to another area. I was hoping it wouldn’t be the same!

The second stop saw Rob getting on the board quickly and James still struggling. It wasn’t for a lack of trying as they both had missed chances! The fish weren’t really feeding by the looks of their follows and I tried several different baits with similar results.

Another move was made to a different location and I was beginning to see a pattern. Rob had the only fish here and we covered the area entirely! Even the seagulls were sleeping on the rocks! Definitely not a good sign!

A couple more moves were made with plenty of other chances, but most were failed attempts at landing the bass. It wasn’t until I ventured offshore to a reef that things started to change! On Rob’s first cast, he connected with a quality smallie and it had plenty of friends!

I had switched locations so much that I was about to go deep when we hit a place that seemed loaded with good fish. To my surprise, some of them actually wanted to eat! For almost 2 hours, we had action and despite many, many missed strikes, they still managed to land a good number of our targeted species. The action was just insane as there were fish competing for their baits!

With less than a couple of hours remaining in their day and still no wind, we made a long run in search of something different. I had found an area absolutely loaded with sturgeon a couple of days back and brought all the necessary tackle to fish for them today. Hopes of raising the roof and dropping the lines in for a final kick at the can were soon destroyed however, as the fish were gone. I ran all over looking for them but could only mark one fish here and there. Not worth anchoring on!

In the end, we were forced to drop shot another area for bass & walleye. Although it wasn’t great under these conditions, they still managed to get into a few smallies and a bunch of small eyes. Ironically with about 30 minutes remaining, the winds started to blow from the SE and they picked up pretty good. Too bad they were from the wrong direction, creating a two foot chop on the water and making boat control harder. After a couple more drifts, we packed it up and headed back.

Although we got an early start, it really didn’t matter as we were in the heat all day. It may not have been the best fishing, but despite the struggle they managed to catch a bunch of nice bass. The bonus walleye at the end were all released as nobody wanted to take any of the keepers home, including myself. Overall, a tough but rewarding day!

I spent only a few hours on the water this morning due to the heat and thunder storms in the afternoon. Christiane & I concentrated on bass and found some good ones in the process. By checking about a half dozen places, I now have more locations to be able to fish, with upcoming clients.

Not many pics today but still fun nonetheless!