I was back on the lake again today for the second half of the weekend insanity. David & his son Mike met me shortly after 7 and we were on our way almost immediately. It was going to be another scorcher with humidex temps in the mid to upper 30’s. With practically no wind present, we were going to fry! The water temps had been climbing each day and were hovering at 76 plus degrees due to the extended heat wave. I wanted to get Mike into fish quickly, so we went straight into a troll for the walleye and weren’t disappointed. Within 3 minutes the first reel went off and he was battling an average 3 pounder to the net. Almost as soon as I reset the line, the other down rod went off and another decent walleye was also hooked up. It was going to be one of those mornings and I was glad that I had made the decision to troll. I was on fish and they were eating! In the hour or so that we trolled, there were about a dozen or more fish landed with the majority being walleye. Mike wanted to take a few home for his family so we livewelled 3 nice 18 inchers without any problem. David had wanted to fly fish for the smallies so I pulled the plug after a successful, short early morning bite. We were off in search of big bass and hopefully would succeed as well! In the first area, we were not as fortunate with the activity as both Mike & David were casting prime water without a touch. Mike was covering this place with a spinnerbait and David was casting a fly. Although plenty of quality bass were seen, it seemed like they were all shut down. I had one pick up a senko that dropped the bait when Mike tried to set on it. They really weren’t hungry and I wasn’t sticking around to wait for the dinner bell to ring. I slid into another area quite a ways away and hooked up on one over 3 pounds on a tube just searching. Mike was still chunking the blades and David was hauling a leech pattern hoping for a take. We sighted a few nice fish just cruising the area when a big black one swam under the boat. I instructed David to keep an eye out the back of the boat as I tried to move forward to expose her. Well as if on cue, she appeared and David carefully presented the fly for her to see. It was as if we were fishing the flats for bones because he got to see the take and it was spectacular. He was locked up on a powerful, mid four pounder and she was pissed! Several jumps and runs had him loving the fight on his 6 weight rod and so did we. I decided to net the fish once she was close enough so as not to stress her out too bad. Once the hook was removed, David got to hold his prize for a few pics and feel the weight she possessed. Definitely a solid 4.5 pound chunk! A few quick shots and off she went, back to wherever she had come from. We moved around plenty and eventually got to another section of the lake that I knew was holding only big fish. I let David out on these flats and told him where to go. He was now in the middle of the lake, wading for smallies with a fly rod. What an incredible view he must have had as he was one with the fish. Unfortunately this area turned out to be a disappointing one when he broke off a real big smallie on almost his first cast. After that, all he could do was look at them swimming around. Mike had similar results as well when he lost a four pounder on the blades. Despite plenty of fish in this area, they weren’t so fortunate with the end results. They had spooked and were now just getting out of the way. This type of fishing is more like hunting as careful boat positioning, casting and stalking is required to entice these giants to bite. One wrong move and the element of surprise is gone! We pulled out shortly after when we saw that we were fighting a losing battle and moved elsewhere. It was here that David put down the fly gear and picked up a spinning rod to begin catching some of those smallies. Both Mike & David managed to get into several fish in this area as the pre frontal system lurking in the distance had them active. Now it seemed like all the fish were eating and it was about time! Too bad this was also cut short when I decided to pull the plug here and get closer to the take out. The skies weren’t looking very good and I didn’t want to get stuck with a mad dash to the dock. We actually got a chance to drop the lines back in for a troll again and landed a half dozen nice fish in 20 minutes. Once more this was cut short as I headed to the ramp quickly, with the storm right on my tail. If it wasn’t for the fiasco at the shore I would have been able to pull the boat out in time, but you just never know what to expect. I must have been in the truck for close to 10 minutes before I took 1 minute to load it on the trailer. Nine minutes too late as the skies let lose and dumped a real big load on us in the parking lot. I got soaked despite a rain jacket while prepping the boat to roll out. Between removing the fish and packing everything up, it looked like I had fallen in the lake. Oh well, you gotta love the weekend warriors at boat ramps! Overall an interesting, tough yet productive day on the water!!

A condensed version of this past week was the easiest method to cover everything that happened. Plenty of new areas were located holding numerous smallies as well as walleye, once again. With the unseasonably low water levels, some of the better fish had relocated and so did I. I used this week to discover places I had only looked at before and was pleasantly surprised. Lots of big smallmouth and in some areas, high numbers as well. I was even surprised to be able to take a couple of family members out this week. On Thursday, I hooked up with my father in law and fished for four hours, until the heat drove us off the lake. He managed to land several walleye up to 5 pounds, smallmouth & a northern of almost 8 pounds. This was a successful half day despite all the floating vegetation! On Friday, I was able to hook up with my brother and get him into some really nice fish too. Several big smallies fell victim to a variety of baits and even a huge sturgeon came aboard. This was the first time he had ever battled these prehistoric animals and the raw power just amazed him. We even trolled a while looking to get him his first ever muskie and almost made it happen. When the reel went off I knew it was a giant! Unfortunately, before we could get a look at this beast the line went limp. Although disappointing, he did get to play with it for a short time and feel the strength they posses. As with most muskie, she was the only encounter we had for the day. Too bad as I would have loved to get him a better slam and take the northerns he caught right out of the mix. Oh well, a reason to come back again! Saturday I hit the water at the crack of 10 and almost wished I hadn’t. The insane ramp disaster continued as we tried to launch the boat. I really wish people weren’t like horses wearing blinders, aware of their surroundings and others within! Once I finally made it out, we were greeted with hundreds of sailboats looking more like an obstacle course. I managed to get around the worst and headed as far away from them as I could get, hoping for a reprieve. I was able to drop the lines in and troll some areas but the weeds once again made it difficult. We found certain sections less covered and concentrated our efforts around them when the reels began to fire. Walleye, pike and an occasional smallie were landed with the largest Walter weighing slightly over 7 pounds. The heat was unbearable as we moved around looking for other areas to fish. I did find one section not too bad and in less than an hour boated close to a dozen more eyes. Eventually the weeds and boat traffic just made it too bad to fish and we pulled the plug on it all together. I didn’t know what I was in store for at the ramp and figured I give us plenty of time to take out. People just seem to park on the dock lately and limited space makes it almost impossible to do anything. They have even been launching and spending up to a half hour or more tied up while they search for a parking spot on the street. Obviously too cheep to pay for a season ramp pass while others suffer at their expense! Thankfully I made it out with only minimal headaches and hopefully educated others in the process. Despite the minor weekend insanity, we did have a good half day of fishing. Mondays can’t come soon enough for me!!

Christiane & I headed out this morning, seeing as how the fishing had been so good. We put in shortly after 8:00 and tried pulling plugs once again. Unfortunately, the NW winds had more weeds all over the area making the troll somewhat difficult. Cleaning the rods seems to be the only way to make the reels go and I had to stay on them. I miss the early season when you could troll for miles without ever checking the lines! Although there were plenty of fish marking in the deep, all we could come up with were a pike and a smallmouth. I decided to head shallower just to see if maybe they were still in from the morning and the reels started to fire. They were mostly bass but I think the couple we lost may have been the walleye we were looking for. It wasn’t until I moved even shallower that we started catching them. They were in tight and not in much water either! I had to make several adjustments and then we began catching. A bunch of walleye between 17 & 23 inches were caught and we kept just enough for dinner tonight. With the winds increasing and the boat traffic growing, I thought we would try one other area and call it a day. After drop shotting for a while and catching several smallies, I decided to try trolling this area for a change. The last 10 minutes resulted in a lost giant smallie when he took to the air and the largest walleye of the day. A quick pic of this 24 inch beauty, followed by her release and back we went. I really didn’t want to be on the lake much past noon as the amount of boats were getting thick. Even the ramp was a disaster once again, as people still think they’re the only ones on the planet. I wish there was a course in ramp etiquette they could all take because common sense seems rare at best! Despite this ending, our morning was still a success as we were having fish for dinner. You gotta love that, who could ask for anything more!!

Tracey was in from the states on vacation and thought he’d like to fish for half the day. We hooked up at the lake about 7 and proceeded to our first location. Winds were out of the NW at 5 to 10 knots and this felt great. What I didn’t like however was all the floating weeds in the area I wanted to troll. Along with the usual junk, there were giant floating mats of vegetation all over the place. Several times they choked the rods so bad that I thought they were going to break! This was really making the troll difficult as I just couldn’t seem to keep the rods clean. I never knew whether or not the lures were fouled and this posed a problem. In the couple of hours we trolled, we did manage to land a few walleye and a couple of smallies but it just didn’t seem like it was going to happen. I pulled out and headed to a spot to cast for smallies instead! Along the way I thought I would check a place that I hadn’t fished in over three weeks, just to see if they were there. Well let’s just say that this was the last area we had to fish! Immediately after arriving, Tracey was ploughed into on the spinnerbait. As soon as this football took to the air, the lure went the other way and I had my confirmation! They were here and untouched. It was going to be a crap shoot as he slowly fished around, looking for more. I think he was a little excited as he backlashed the reel on one of his casts causing me to switch up rods. He was now throwing one of the trolling rods but managing quite well. First cast, locked up! Second cast, the same thing and he was in smallmouth heaven. I attempted to untangle the reel and almost gave up as he kept hooking more smallies on almost every other cast. It finally occurred to me that they were active and I should just focus on holding him in position instead. There’s nothing better than getting slammed by a smallie whiling chucking blades. They’re just so rude! I knew that eventually he’d educate them and we’d have to slow down and finesse the remaining ones, if we were going to stay. Tubes and senkos were thrown for a while and we continued to pick at them real good. As with all small areas and pressured fish, eventually they just shut down completely. I had him throw a jerkbait for several casts and fortunately he managed to land another big smallie over 4 pounds before we pulled the plug. I thought I’d change it up a little and try drop shotting over a series of bumps for a mixed bag with the remaining time. Almost instantly bass were coming on board and even a couple of decent walleye fell victim to the rig. We fished here for about 45 minutes before returning to the dock and calling it a day. I’m not sure exactly how many fish he tangled with but it was more than enough to keep two or three guys happy. He was only one! I think he left with intentions of returning for another trip later in the season as he mentioned a few friends that would love to come back with him. It can only get better when the lake peaks and these fish school up heavily for the summertime patterns. I hope he does return as he’ll once again be in smallie heaven!! The afternoon wasn’t wasted as Keith met me at the dock as soon as I got back from the morning trip. We agreed to head back to the drop shot area and continue where I had just left off. A few small bass and a couple of walleye were taken and then I decided to make a move. Back to the trolling area I went and with less floating weeds, we were able to concentrate on fishing. The giant mats of vegetation from the morning were all but gone and now there were just the grassy ones to bother with. The fishing wasn’t tremendous but we did catch a few bass and occasional walleye. Although I was marking plenty of decent arches, they just didn’t seem to want to eat. It wasn’t until later in the afternoon when the winds picked up that they actually came alive. It was as if someone flicked a light switch on. Big ones were eating the lures more than the medium ones and we had to throw several back before we filtered through some to eat. Keith wanted to have a couple for dinner and I didn’t think it would be a problem. When we finally got three, I pulled the plug and headed in. I’m sure that if we had of stayed on the water, plenty more fish would have cooperated. The bite was just starting to happen and we were heading off. Oh well, another time perhaps! I had been up since 4:30 this morning and was rather tired. My buddy would just have to agree to disagree and we called it a day. Overall, a productive day on the lake once more!!

Alex, Marco & Enzo were with me this morning for another spectacular day, chock full of great fishing. We launched shortly after 7 AM and were rewarded almost immediately on the troll. Winds were non existent and the humidity was thick, with air temps already in the mid 70’s. Water temps were around 72 degrees and climbing and I knew the “Dog Pecker Knats” would be out in full force. We prayed for any breeze but weren’t so lucky! Despite all of this, the fish still cooperated as plenty of quality sized walleye made their way into the net. Unlike yesterday when only two of the four rods were responsible for taking the fish, this morning they all went off. I had made a slight adjustment in lures and it really showed! They were all diving around the same depth, but the high lines just took a little longer to get there. Unfortunately, the floating weeds were still a problem and constant checking of the lines was necessary to get bit. After the guys had their fill of this trolling and all the quality walleye they landed, I switched up tactics and locations. We moved to another section of the lake and began drop shotting on a steep drop. Although this was new to them, they caught on pretty quick and managed to hook up several times. There were mostly smallmouth in this area today but a few walleye managed to show up from time to time. I think Enzo caught the largest bass here as he had a post spawn fish that would have weighed in the mid 4’s, later in the season. Eventually the fish just stopped biting all together and I knew it was time for another switch up. Off we went and senkos in the shallows was the plan. We hit a flat that looked like it was deserted until I found the sweet spot. We were seeing piles of big smallies just cruising & I knew it was going to happen soon. This was the first time either of these guys had ever fished with the baits and I knew they were in for a real treat. After a quick explanation, they were in. Refraining from setting the hook quickly was going to be the hardest thing to overcome and then it happened. Alex locked up with a two pounder and brought several larger ones in with the bass. Enzo threw behind and allowed the bait to slow fall and was soon rewarded with one of his own. In the next hour or so there was plenty of action as all three of them were tight lined, often. I slid a little deeper and tossed a few tubes to the holes and locked up on what I knew wasn’t a bass. Immediately I passed the rod to Enzo and told him to hang on! He was about to have the fight of his life as the sturgeon went ballistic. Leaps and runs were followed by plenty of powerful head shakes and all he could do was pray the hook stayed pinned. Lucky for him as I managed to grab the dinosaur soon after, by the tail. He had wanted a big fish and his wish had been granted. Although it may not have been the largest of its species it was still close to 20 pounds and almost 4 feet long. Once photographed and returned we went back to the task at hand, smallies! Several other bass were hooked after this before we relocated back to the initial trolling area when the winds began. I thought we would have a better chance at some more walleye now that the dog pecker knats wouldn’t be able to hold on. I was right as the breeze not only put a chop on the lake but kept those hateful things out of our face. The bite was a little strange but it was still good. We covered lots of water and every time a reel went off, a second one fired as well. An occasional smallie was part of the mix but mostly walleye were being caught in the last hour. Alex had wanted to take a couple of fish home and now he had two 17 inchers to bring. We ended the day on another double and Enzo brought another 23 inch walleye into the boat making him the big fish champ for the day. He had a slam on large ones with bass, walleye and sturgeon to his credit. Who could ask for anything more! We pulled the remaining lines and headed back soon after with all three guys being quite satisfied for the results today. They had caught piles of fish and learned a few new techniques in the process. This may have been their first time on this lake but I don’t think it will be their last. They are already talking about a return trip in the near future. Welcome back anytime!!