Jim & Marie were back again for their annual 2 day fishing trip. It seemed like it was going to be a wet one but this was better than the big winds they usually bring! We hit the water in a dark, overcast sky that also saw mirror calm waters. I was looking for some big smallies for them to tie into and knew exactly where to go.

Jim may have gotten the first fish but it was Marie that brought the big one to net. She boated a 5 pounder quickly in the day, with hopes of others to come! Jim also managed to land several good ones and Marie caught several more on a drop shot before we were finished here.

The second stop only showed small fish and we quickly moved to another area to fish. Here the bass were short striking the baits but we did manage to get a couple of really good ones. Our next area was a long run away and it too was a little disappointing. I had to get really shallow in order to find the fish and most were just in the 2 pound range.

Another move to an offshore rip saw plenty of action on the jerkbaits. Multiple fish came from here and some pretty good ones too. We remained on the school until they flat our refused to bite any longer before switching locations again. The day had passed quickly and with limited time remaining, I decided to change it up a bit. We were heading for walleye!

It didn’t take long once we arrived for the first high end keeper to make its way into the livewell. I needed a fish or two for dinner tonight! Marie followed it up with a really good one which turned out to be her personal best walleye. It was a beauty and gave her a great fight for an eye! Several pics later it was returned to grow even bigger. In the remaining hour or so, they managed to boat a few more nice walleye and a smallie. Oh yeah, several perch as well!

Although the fishing was a little slower than I would have liked today, there was still plenty of action throughout. Tomorrow is another day and I think we may start out a bit deeper to see what happens. I think there are still plenty of quality bites to be had in the abyss!

Pierre, Eric & Jacques were with me today on a quest for walleye. We started out with a nice SW wind, drifting over rocky flats and they wasted no time hooking into the first few fish. Unfortunately the winds diminished and so did our drifts! Many more fish were landed but unfortunately most were on the small side and had to be released. A few smallmouth and a couple more keepers later, I decided to relocate. On top of that, there were so many boats in this area that the fish were being pressured and I wanted no part of this crowd!

I made a long run to an open water area where we spent the remainder of the day. Plenty more fish were landed and also lost or missed, but there was always action. A few smallies were also caught but walleye were the main target and we picked at the better ones all afternoon. The winds made it a challenge to cover this spot, blowing from the SE and then straight east. The electric motor had to be used just to move over the flat and fish! We pulled the plug shortly after 3:00 as everyone had seen enough and we were done.

Today was another great one filled with lots of action and they all got to take fish home with them in the end. Hopefully these conditions will continue for many more weeks to come as we are now into the fall period and you just never know. Mother Nature has a way of humbling us all and keeping the fisheries protected with her insane weather patterns. Plenty more great days ahead!

Nick’s day was cut short today as he didn’t bargain for the weather. It was rough and we at least managed to get him his first ever walleye. He landed a few before we were done!

Dominic & his son Justin experienced a windy day on the water with me today. A big NW blow saw a cold start and it took quite a while before the sun warmed us up. I spent the day fishing areas that were actually fishable as it would have been too tough to go to where I wanted. Good news is that Dominic managed to get his personal best walleye with a really long fish. All other keeper sized walleye were released to fight another day!

A few days off saw me back at it with Rich & Kevin today. They were interested in fishing for smallies and I focussed on bass the entire day. Rich hit a nice one on the first spot with a blade and I thought they were going to get into them good. Unfortunately it was the only fish landed from here, despite a few other missed strikes and break offs.

I swung over to another area nearby and Rich managed a couple of keeper walleye, along with several smaller bass. Kevin wasn’t as fortunate with a couple of small bass and another break off. There was something going on with his line and I wasn’t sure what it was!

What was supposed to be a sunny day seemed like never ending clouds. I really needed the bright skies to be able to see what I was searching for in the shallows. Although a few more fish were landed from this area, it wasn’t what I had hoped for with the water being so low. A lack of current had the fish pushed out and Rich even managed to catch a decent sized northern because of it!

Our next spot proved to be a great choice as the guys landed many fish from here! They both saw some topwater action and boated quality bass from the surface. Soft plastics were used to entice the other fish that didn’t want to come up and a dropshot rig for the balance as well. They really worked the area over not leaving any feeding fish when were done!

The last couple of hours were spent out deep, dropshotting for bass in up to 32 feet of water. I wasn’t sure how many were left with the falling water temps but was pleasantly surprised to see there were loads. Both guys landed lots of fish before we were done!

Today was a great day, despite the dark overcast skies for most of it. Once we began to fish deep, the sun came out and warmed up the air. The bite was consistent throughout the day but most of the shallow fish were a little reluctant to chase. A mix of presentations from top to bottom and everything in between were used to make this a successful fishing day. I know the guys really enjoyed the topwater action, but versatility was the word of the day. Can’t wait to get back out!