Serge & his father, Raymond joined me today on Lake St-Francis for smallmouth bass. It was a tough start to the day as we had received a heavy electrical storm overnight that seemed to move all the larger bass away from their usual haunts. The air temps were a chilly 60 degrees at the start of the day but went up to 90 degrees by the end. Sunny skies turned to a mix of clouds & sun early in the afternoon with strong winds of 15 to 25 knots and even stronger gusts. Waves reached 3 to 4 feet in some areas that we fished making boat control extremely difficult. Water temps were at 76 degrees and rose a degree or two during the day. A couple of smaller bass around 2 ½ pounds were caught early on Senko’s and Raymond had a four-pounder throw a crankbait when she went air born. We eventually got into some better fish when I decided to go out to deeper water and fish a combination of rocks & weeds. Serge nearly had the rod ripped out of his hands a few times as the smallies hammered his spinnerbait. These fish were schooling and there were always a few following when one was hooked. I think that more bass were lost than landed however as it seemed like each time they jumped they came off. Both Serge & Raymond landed several fish around 3 pounds in this area on a combination of lures. When the fishing slowed down, we relocated to another area and took a beating in the waves trying to fish. A few fish were caught, but we decided to get out of there soon after due to the large waves we were in. We jumped to a series of places and caught a few more fish up to 4 ½ pounds later in the afternoon. All in all a good day with about 15 fish caught and plenty more lost.

I was back on Lake St-Louis today with Hugues & Pierre for smallmouth bass. We had winds from the S/SW at about 10 to 15 knots for the start of the day that increased to 15 to 25 from the W/NW by the end of the day. Air temps were cool for the start, but went into the 80’s by afternoon. The water temps were low 70’s on the lake and upper 70’s in the shallow weedy bays. It took both Hugues & Pierre a little while to get use to fishing texas rigged tubes, but once the first bass was landed, they were sold. Most of the day was spent fishing this way due to the weeds & rocky areas that we were fishing. There were even 4 walleye caught as an added bonus along with the 15 or so smallmouth up to 4.5 pounds. Unfortunately, more bass were lost than caught on this strange weather day. After a lesson in pitching tubes for largemouth bass in heavy weeds and only catching two bass, I decided that we would go back for smallmouth once again. Many more fish were seen, but only a few were caught as we headed closer to the boat ramp & fished a few more shoals. The winds had already switched direction and increased in speed causing problems with the boat control. This was the first time this season that I actually ran out of power for the electric motor and had to keep the boat positioned with the main engine. A few more fish were caught again, but we had to call it quits when lightning began and a huge storm front began moving in. We made it back, but not before we all got poured on when we ran straight into the heaviest of the rain. All we needed was 5 minutes earlier to avoid this misery! All in all, a great day with plenty of action of all kinds!

I fished another tournament today on Lake Champlain. Marc & I fished a Bass Quebec event that had almost 60 other teams competing as well. We finished 7th with a 5 fish total weight of 17.41 lbs. The winner had their 5 best fish weigh in at over 21 lbs. Both largemouth & smallmouth bass were caught and we went to the scales with a mixed bag. Tubes, senkos & spider grubs accounted for the 20 or so fish that we managed to land today. The largemouth were taken in 6 feet or less of water and the smallmouth were mostly taken from deep water, between 20 & 40 feet. The weather was a cool temp of less than 60 degrees in the morning but warmed to over 80 by the afternoon. The winds were light & variable making for a smooth ride on the lake. Water temps were still hovering around the 75-degree mark, but the lake color was pea green due to an algae bloom. Without the wind, this is a common occurrence on Lake Champlain! The Vermont State conservation officers stopped us not once, but twice on the lake to check licenses & I68 passes. Be aware that Lake Champlain has a single permit allowance that only applies in certain regions. Make sure that you know which one is needed for the area you are fishing! Check out the rules & regulations on line if you are not sure! It could be very costly if you don’t!

I had the pleasure of fishing with Dwane from Texas today. He had never experienced smallmouth bass before and was going to see why bass fishermen preferred them, over the largemouth. We started out with sunny skies and light winds of 10 knots from the S/SW. Air temps were in the low 70’s and the water temperature was around 75 degrees. Senko’s, tubes & spinnerbaits accounted for the 25 or so bass that we caught up to 4.5 pounds. The first fish of over 4 pounds gave Dwane a better respect for these bass, as it must have jumped about four feet in the air when he hooked it. One location had schooling smallies that were all over the lures for a while. Unfortunately, more fish were lost than landed! It was a feeding frenzy that was unbelievable! These fish were all in the 3 to 5 pound range and chasing anything that we were able to throw at them. Unfortunately, a storm chased us off the area and sent us running for cover! We tucked in under a bridge and had lunch while we waited it out. Once it was clear, we went right back and hooked up immediately on our first three casts. Plenty more fish were caught & lost in the next hour as well. When the fishing slowed we headed to other areas and picked a fish here & there before Dwane lost what was to be the largest bass of the day. We will never really know how big it might have been, but that’s what fishing stories are all about! All in all, a great day on the water with plenty of pictures and memories to take back home to Texas!

My cousin Geoff & his son Michael were in from the Toronto area and joined me on Lake St-Francis today. They had caught smallmouth bass before, but nothing like what they were about to experience! We started the day with a S/SW wind of 10 to 15 knots in overcast skies and the air temps were a cool 70 degrees with light humidity. Water temps were hovering around 75 degrees and never really rose throughout the day. We began by casting crankbaits and senkos for the bass and found them to be really inactive for the first hour or so. A couple of smaller fish under 3 pounds were caught before Michael finally landed his first trophy. This fish was in the 5.5 class and a real thrill for him to fight. Geoff followed up right after with a long, skinny post spawner of 3.5 pounds that should have been closer to 5 as well. I knew that the fish were finally coming alive and decided to cover some water. By spending more time in specific areas, we were able to monopolize on the most productive locations and hooked up everywhere we went. It wasn’t long before both of them were catching 3.5 to 4.5 pound bass regularly. Michael even managed to get another monster of 5.5 pounds on a crankbait that really gave him the fight of his life! Late in the afternoon, the rain began to fall and the wind died off making the fishing quite a bit slower. We caught more fish, but had to really work for them once the lake went calm. Close to 25 fish were caught today with the bulk of them being 3.5 to 4.5 pounds. Overall, an excellent day with plenty of memories and pictures for all to remember on this Trophy Smallmouth day!