I had booked today off so that I could take my brother and his grandson fishing. The weather was great but the winds were blowing big from the SE. Looks like we’re fishing on the south side of the lake today!

We started out casting for bass with soft plastics and Mike managed to get a few decent fish. My great nephew Mason managed a good one as well and both were on the board. Although the fish were there, most of them were just cruising around without any intentions of eating! This became frustrating and I decided to give sturgeon a shot instead. Mason was able to land a couple of good ones before we went back to bass again, somewhere else.

With fish still cruising, we remained back and made longer casts, hoping they would eat. This turned out to be the ticket and Mike managed a couple of big ones that unfortunately ate the soft plastisc deep. To save the fish, I carefully removed the baits and released them quickly, without pics. Mason had a really big one on too that he saw cruising, but unfortunately it came off on the first jump. It was definitely big!

Being as hot as it was out, we decided to call it a bit early this afternoon and made the long run back. Both my bro and Mason had a great time out and got to see and play with plenty of fish. The highlights of today would have had to be Mason’s PB bass and the huge sturgeon he landed. I’m sure that he’ll be talking about this day for a long time and remembering the time spent with his grampa on the water. Great times were had by everyone today!

Scott & Chris were back again this year and looking for some smallie action. As luck would have it, we were in yet another NE wind and it was big. It wouldn’t work out well for drifting and dropshotting but we’d make it work, somehow!

I tried the area that had produced well yesterday afternoon but with the wind against current, we were going backwards. Even with the electric motor pulling us with the current, it wasn’t working out and I pulled the plug quickly. I was going to have to go shallow and try casting!

After a long run in the waves, we stopped in an area that was somewhat sheltered and Scott landed a good bass. Too bad it was the only one from here! I moved again and hit another flat that should have been loaded with smallmouth. All we could get bit from was a big northern pike that Chris managed to land.

We jumped around for the rest of the day and picked a bass here and there until one area had numbers. The winds had diminished significantly and we were actually seeing plenty of them swimming around. Some of them bit but most of them didn’t want to know anything about us. Time for another change!

I switched it up and managed to get into a few sturgeon for the boys. In about an hour, they landed three and lost one other before we moved to our last area for bass again. It wasn’t long before Scott was tight to another good one and Chris soon followed with one of his own. Unfortunately, this was all she wrote! They were unable to get any others despite marking plenty of fish in the area. We eventually called it a day and packed it in. Scott and Chris managed to make it work on another difficult fishing day. Mother nature didn’t help much as she blew out of the NE for a good part of the day, before laying down. These fish haven’t quite moved into their summer spots yet and are still scattered. I’m sure it won’t be long before they settle into the areas in numbers, making them easier to catch. I can’t wait!!

Another double trip today saw Greg in the morning and Yu and his gang in the afternoon. It started out a little slow as we trolled almost the entire time this morning hoping to get Greg some pike and walleye. Unfortunately, he had only a couple of fish on the line that came off during the battle. In the end, we had to settle for dropshotting and bass.

The afternoon saw much better action as everyone landed bass. There were a few doubles along with a triple header as well. Most of the bass were good size and put up quite the fight.

This day may have been a little slow to start but the fish finally turned on in the afternoon. When they are off, they are off and when they are on, they are definitely on! Today was a perfect example of this. Thankfully, they turned on in the end!!

Brahm and his grandsons, Max & Sam were on the boat today, spending quality time. The two teens were with me again but a few years older than the last time out. With any luck, they would all catch plenty of fish today.

We began dropshotting over a flat and although a tough bite, both bass and walleye were landed. After a couple of hours, we switched up to trolling and boated many more pike and walleye. With the winds blowing big from the NW, it was a challenge to find the fish. Oddly enough, they were shallow and I focused on this once I had located them biting. The trip was cut short however when they decided to call it a day, a couple of hours early.

It was nice to see Brahm back again today with his two grandsons. They definitely had some quality time before the boys headed off to college this fall. The fishing may not have been on fire, but the action was steady. No fish kept today but some good keeper eyes were landed and released to fight another day. Great times were had by everyone!!

The intense daily heat caused me to change my afternoon trip to the morning, when a cancellation occurred. Afternoons were just too hot lately and at lest the morning starts out cooler. Eliza and her husband Ceril, along with their young daughter Emma, were with me today for a half day trip. New to the sport, I decided that trolling would be the best option and headed out in big westerly winds to our starting spot.

We weren’t in the water long before the first reel fired and Ceril boated a good keeper walleye. It was followed up by a pike when Eliza reeled the second fish in. The rest of the morning saw many other fish eat and most of them came to the net. In the end, they were able to take a couple of good walleye back with them for their dinner tonight.

I think we were all glad to have switched the hours today to a morning trip as the heat built up quickly. We were leaving at just the right time, before it became a real scorcher! Overall, a good half day of fishing and an even better decision by everyone in the end!!