July 7th 2018 (morning)

Jorge & Melba were with me this morning hoping to catch their first pike & walleye. They were vacationing in Montreal all the way from the Gulf of Mexico and loved to fish. I knew it wouldn’t be a problem!

We raced across the lake and wasted no time setting up. I told them that they would be seeing a new technique as I set the lines and began the troll. It didn’t take 2 minutes before the first reel went off and Melba was bringing in her first Canadian walleye! They couldn’t believe how fast it had happened, but I told them sometimes I can’t even get the second rod in! I reset the line and continued trolling and once again, we had a reel fire. Jorge was into his first ever walleye too, but it wouldn’t be his last. They were in awe at just how quickly these two fish came aboard when another reel screamed and we had our first double. The day was starting out with a bang! It looked like the fish were active with the wind and cooler temps and I was going to take advantage of it while it lasted.

We had only been fishing about 15 minutes and already had 5 fish landed. Melba had her first northern, but most of them were walleye. The bite was really good for the eyes this morning and I wasn’t complaining, as I knew I could catch pike all day!

With all the lines reset, I began looking for more fish and almost instantly two reels fired simultaneously. This was getting crazy but they were loving it! walleye were mostly being landed but that was about to change. I finally managed to hit an area where it was pike after pike and they both caught one after the other. To say the fishing was good would have been an understatement! It was on fire! They had already caught a load of fish and we had been fishing for only an hour. With action like this, the numbers would definitely be high!

It seemed like everywhere I went, we hit fish. The fishing was just unbelievable and I knew why. We were in a major and everything was feeding. Even the seagulls and cormorants were diving on bait off in the distance. Fish after fish fired reels and they barely had a minute to rest! Every time I got the rod back in the holder, another one went off. Multiple reels were firing at the same time in total chaos and I loved it. At one point I even had to take another net out just to land their doubles!

Usually when action is this good it only lasts for a brief period but this morning it went right till the end. We trolled right up until 11:30 with very little down time. If 5 minutes went by in between bites I began to wonder if the lures were fouled! I always like to end on a high and told them after one more fish, we would leave. Minutes later Jorge reeled in the last pike and we were done. I packed everything up and headed back to the ramp to drop them off. I had another trip for this afternoon and I only hoped the fishing would be half as good!

Jorge & Melba had taken part in the best fresh water fishing they had ever seen. Nobody knew exactly how many fish were landed, but it was an insane number! To top that off, there were also a lot of really good sized ones too! They were leaving more than satisfied with their results and looking forward to the next time here in Montreal. They might even come back for the big fish bite with the sturgeon. This trip couldn’t have gone any better!!

July 6th 2018

Joe had contacted me a while back about taking his son out fishing and today was the day. They brought one of his friends, Mathieu along and the three of them looked forward to catching some fish. Mateo was just getting interested in fishing and had yet to catch one on his own. Mathieu had caught about 4 fish in his life so just landing something would be great! I was looking forward to putting them on as many fish as I could in their half day on the water.

As we headed out, I could see that the winds were blowing pretty good and wasn’t sure where I was going to start. They were out of the NW and the waves kept growing, the further we got from the shore. I decided to try a flat that I fished the day before and stopped to drop shot it. This only lasted about 20 minutes before I realized that it was impossible. We were drifting cross current making it a lousy presentation and I cut our losses quickly. We were going to run and fish where I knew we would be able to catch.

The boat ride wasn’t pleasant but we managed to arrive safely and I was able to set up where I wanted. I was surprised to find that there were pretty good sized waves here as well but I set the rods and began trolling. Within 2 minutes the first reel fired and Mateo had a fish on, briefly. The second one Mathieu got to fight but it too came unpinned shortly after the hookup. We were not having a great start but I knew it would change!

I moved slightly shallower with the troll and locked up Mateo on a small northern. He brought this one to net, finally landing his first fish ever! With lines back in we didn’t go far before another reel fired and Mathieu got to fight a pike of his own. Simultaneously, a second reel fired and Mateo was into a double. As luck would have it, they both landed their fish and we had our first double header of the trip. A few quick pics and we were right back to the fishing again!

They were both having a great time catching pike but I was surprised with this wind that we hadn’t gotten any walleye yet. The next reel went off and I handed Mateo the rod with something heavier. As he brought it closer I realized that he had a good sized walleye on the end of the line and instructed him not to give it any slack. We were going so fast with the wind that I had to put the motor in neutral to give him a chance. I finally grabbed the line and dragged the fish into the net. It was way over the slot and would make a great pic for Mateo for his first walleye too!

As the morning passed, the winds intensified and so did the waves where were fishing. I wasn’t looking forward to the run back but carried on regardless. They were catching fish and nothing was going to stop me from getting them into many more! In fact throughout the morning, they had multiple chances at both walleye & pike and landed about 75% of the ones they hooked. Mathieu & Mateo never expected to catch this many fish each and they were having a great time. Joe was just relaxing on his first day away from work in months and videoing most of the action. We had multiple double headers and even one triple that turned into a double when one of the fish got off. The action was great but as time passed, we got closer to leaving. A few more fish later, it was noon and I pulled the plug for the day. I had extended their morning a little longer due to the kids, but now it was time to go. I packed everything up and readied for the ride back home!

As soon as we got under way, I could see that it wasn’t going to be easy and took my time heading into the wind. The waves were big and as I neared the channel, they grew even bigger. We were in three to 4 footers constantly and over 5 from time to time. I was definitely glad to be in this boat for safety reasons! It reminded me of the giant waves from the great lakes during past tournaments!

We finally made it back to the dock with just a little splashing on everyone, instead of taking waves over the bow. A bass boat would have been a different story! It’s amazing what these boats can do in big water and today, it was big! I think the kids enjoyed the roller coaster ride almost as much as catching fish! They both ended in the double digits and some quality ones at that!

This may have been the first time Joe was with me but I think I’ll be seeing him again this season. Mateo loved his experience fishing and is looking forward to having another, real soon. I too look forward to getting them back out and into more and different species of fish. Who knows, maybe even a sturgeon bigger than them!!

July 5th 2018 (afternoon)

Keenan & his family were waiting when I dropped off the morning group and I did a quick turnaround. This time I decided to do a little drop shotting, not too far away. I stopped on a big flat and showed them what was needed for this technique. It didn’t take long before Keenan junior was locked up! His father also hooked something but unfortunately it was lost before the net. The first fish of the day was a walleye and just made the legal size for the well. I added it to the two from this morning and they were well on their way to a great meal.

Pretty much everyone was catching fish except Chamal but not for lack of trying. He probably had more chances than anyone! It was about to change though, when his mother hooked something and handed him the rod. This time he managed to land a nice walleye that went into the livewell with the others. Maybe his luck was about to change, or not?

We had made several short drifts over the rocky area and they had picked many fish in the process. Chamal however just kept losing everything he hooked and it was getting very frustrating. Most of them were bass and they tossed the hook on the jump. The others were all losing a few as well but they managed to bring some of them aboard. With a little competition going on, every fish counted! Numbers and longest were what they had going and things were changing quickly as the day passed.

The afternoon heat was almost unbearable, but thankfully we had the top up providing some shade. I had also noticed the water temps had risen from this and were now over 80 degrees. I was really glad they were working the bottom with this set up as nothing was moving.

With both bass & walleye being landed and lost, I decided to remain in this area and not move around too much. Less time running and more time fishing meant more chances of getting bit! Chamal was definitely having that as he would have had double digits if it weren’t for losing most of the ones he had on. In the end however, after his mother landed a really nice walleye, he hooked up on a large toothy critter. This was going to be the biggest fish of the day, if he could land it! I didn’t have an easy time getting it in the net. It tangled in another line and made several big runs before it was finally landed. At least this one came aboard! It was definitely the biggest fish of the day and wouldn’t get broken either. Numbers however went to his mother as she powered over her son Keenan in the end.

We called the day just about 4:00 with everyone having had a great time. Although Chamal may have lost most of his fish, he still landed some and had the longest fish of the day with his last pike catch. They were also taking a limit of fish back home with them from their day. Apparently this was their best fishing trip ever. Still hearing that a lot but it never gets old!!

July 5th 2018 (morning)

I had two trips scheduled for today and met up with Sophia’s family this morning. They were looking forward to getting out on the lake and catching fish as we left the dock. It was already a roaster and I knew it would only get worse! Air temps had remained in the mid 80’s overnight and would likely be in the 90’s by the end of the day. When will this heat wave break?

I decided to troll an area that I hadn’t fished for a while and managed to get her son Christian into many small fish. A mix of bass & walleye were landed but very few of them made the reel fire. We just noticed the rods bent or something trailing behind the boat most times! We did land a couple of keeper eyes that went into the livewell for someone to take home, but most of them were unders.

After hitting all kinds of good looking areas with not much to show for our efforts, I decided to make a long run to see if I could troll up some bigger fish. With lines in, I covered water and eventually found an area holding some pike. Christiane now had 3 different species that he had never caught before as he brought the first northern into the boat. Several minutes later, he landed another much larger and things were starting to look up! I had slid a little shallower and apparently the fish were here. Multiple reels fired as the size and numbers started to climb! Christian was in his glory reeling everything in and eventually he hooked into a big walleye. He had only boated smaller ones so far and I was happy to get him into a quality eye. While we were taking pics, I noticed another rod loaded and informed his dad, Ivor. As soon as I did, another reel howled and we had an official triple! Sophia had to take the third rod as Christian had his hands full with a fish already! I was able to net the two pike at the same time and now everyone had landed fish. Great photos were taken before releasing them and going back to the troll.

In the last hour we had many more fish, both lost and landed including two other doubles. I would have loved to stay here and pound on the fish, but I had another group to pick up and needed to go. One more fish and we were done!

What had started as a slow day turned full circle when the fish began biting. They all landed some really nice pike and Christiane caught three firsts, including a big walleye. This half day had been a great one and everyone had an0 excellent time, despite the intense heat!!

July 4th 2018

What a great way to spend your July 4th holiday, fishing in Canada! Jim and his son decided to try their luck at a half day, on the local waters of Montreal. He came all the way from Texas to hook up with his son who is schooling in the city. I planned on making it worth their while with variety of fish!

We headed out shortly after 7:00 and I decided to try a little trolling in an area that I hadn’t fished this season. The changes in the last few days from the extreme heat had me thinking that this spot might already be holding some good fish. Unfortunately after 30 or so minutes of washing lures, I pulled the plug and made a long run to somewhere I knew they would catch.

We arrived to flat calm waters and extreme heat, but I was sure the fish would bite! Within 10 minutes, the first reel fired and Kayden reeled in his first ever northern. It may not have been the biggest, but it was his first! We continued the troll and not long after his dad also brought to net, another pike slightly larger. We were definitely on the fish here and I was hoping to get them as many as possible. In a couple of hours they boated many fish each but they were all northerns. I wanted to see if we could get into some walleye and it wasn’t working out here! Time to move to another area and change up tactics.

I ran to some open water that produced yesterday and hoped it was still working. We didn’t have a stitch of wind and I knew the drifts would be slower than I preferred. Jim lost a fish almost immediately when a smallie ate his bait and instantly took to the air. He rebounded with a small walleye that was unfortunately under and had to be released. It was next to impossible to get a good presentation here and after a couple of passes with nothing to show in the well, I relocated.

I moved over to another area with more current and now we were drifting much better. Almost instantly Kayden hooked up and brought a keeper walleye aboard. I knew they needed more than one fish for their dinner and made several passes, looking for another. They did manage to catch some others, but they were all too small. Jim even landed a nice smallmouth and although fun, not what we were after. Eventually however he did hook into a keeper and it soon was in the livewell with the other one.

I stayed out about an hour longer than I was scheduled to in hopes of a third one, but it never happened. We eventually called the day by 12:30 and made our way back to the launch.

Although Jim & his son Kayden had 2 keeper walleye, but they definitely boated plenty of other fish today. They both enjoyed their July 4th holiday together doing something they love, fishing! To top the day off, they’ll be dining on fresh fish of the day. Who could ask for anything more!!