Angelo brought his two sons, Alex & Damian out this morning for a half day trip. They were young and loved fishing but hadn’t really caught much in the past. Hopefully this was all about to change!

I decided that a troll would be the best thing for everyone and stopped in an area that I had confidence. With the lines in, we covered water searching for our first bite and hopefully before the rain began. The skies were pretty bad and by the looks of the radar, we were going to get something soon. I raised the roof quickly and minutes later a light rain started to fall. At least everyone would stay dry!

I had made a couple of passes in an area before one of the rods bent and Alex was into his first ever northern pike. Unfortunately this was the only one from here, so I moved on! I knew one section that had been holding good fish and began trolling over to it, hoping for another hit along the way. As I neared the area another reel fired and this time Damian took the rod and landed his first walleye. It was a nice one, but definitely an over that would only receive a few pics before being released. Both kids were now on the board and after a couple more pike each, their father took a turn catching one of his own.

We covered plenty of water searching for active fish but despite catching many pike, the walleye were almost nonexistent ! In fact, the fish we were catching weren’t really very active either with several of them falling off in the net. A bunch of short strikes were also had from many other fish before I could even get to the rods!

After making several passes in the same area, Alex finally managed to bring another walleye aboard and this time it was a high end keeper. We were also still catching pike but working hard to get them to stay on the hooks! All I could do was go through the motions and remain on the fish.

Time passed quickly this morning and with the end nearing they managed to land a bunch more good fish. Another walleye was brought in and I’m pretty sure an even bigger one was lost while reeling in the fish. It was definitely not a banner day for active fish but they still managed to catch a good number of them before we were done.

It was nice seeing the two boys with a passion for fishing and with any luck they will continue to enjoy it as they grow up. Hopefully they will be back out again with their father and maybe the fish will actually be active for them the next time. Either way, I’m sure they will enjoy spending time on the boat, just catching anything that bites!

Sean saw a whole different kind of fishing today than he was used to. Being originally from Australia, he had fished mostly for Barramundi, but today he was targeting pike, walleye & smallmouth bass. Three fish he had never caught or ever seen before!

After yesterday’s success, I decided to start where I had ended and headed to the area immediately. The conditions were a little different with a big NE wind pushing against the current. We were running in two & three footers for most of the time but I knew it would be calmer when we arrived.

I set the lines and began the troll looking for a bite and it didn’t take long, Sean landed his first ever northern and was happy to see the pike. Soon after we were into another and this time it was much larger. I told him that it was just the beginning and that he would be catching plenty more!

We covered the water and I focussed in spots that produced, until they didn’t. Fish after fish came aboard and we even saw a few double headers too! Unfortunately all I could find were northerns in these places and decided to move along in search of some walleye.

After catching many more pike, we finally hit a small area where he landed his first walleye. It was definitely a keeper and went directly into the livewell with hopes of more to come. After several more fish, another larger walleye joined his friend in the well and Sean was well on his way to a great dinner.

We spent a lot of time trying to get more walleye and managed to hook into many more pike in the process. Fortunately he did manage another Walter and now there were three! This would definitely be enough for his family, with two young children and his wife!

I had been battling an opposing wind the entire morning and fended well under these conditions. Somewhere around 1:00 I decided to pull the plug and head somewhere else to see if I could get Sean into some bass. He had fished for largemouth before but never smallies and I needed to complete his slam!

We made a long run and stopped on a shallow water spot that I hoped held fish. To my pleasant surprise, it held the mother lode! On back to back demonstration casts, I hooked into smallies and it was game on! I quickly passed the rod for Sean to fight the bass and soon after had him casting the baits to others nearby. He caught on fast and was locked up on his very first cast, but unfortunately the fish threw the hook on a spectacular jump. Slack line was the cause but he would have plenty more chances to come!

For more than an hour we remained in this area and he picked up many more bass. No real giants but all good fish! There were however a few monsters swimming around that just seemed to refuse the plastics we were throwing. Even with a few changes, they still ignored our offerings!

I had hoped to put a few more walleye in the box for Sean to bring home and after fishing for bass, decided to give it another try. We slid out to deeper water and casted an area that held some fish. With limited time remaining in the day we were able to add three more walleye to complete his limit. Now he even had fish to spare!

Today was a great day to be on the water and Sean completed his slam with a bang! He managed to capture the three species we were targeting, many times over. Not only did he learn about our freshwater fish but he was about to taste probably the finest eating one as well. This was definitely a great way for him to end his first experience fishing in Canada!

Wissam was with me today and had requested that I teach him how to fish. He really hadn’t done any before and wanted to learn how. I should have an easy time as he was alone and would be receiving 100% of my attention!

We began with the basics and I took him where he could cast comfortably. He picked up the casting quickly and was now trying to catch a few bass. Although we spent almost 2 hours covering the water and he had several chances, the fish just didn’t cooperate. They short striked us and even the ones we had pinned, came off before nearing the boat. I wasn’t worried though, as we had the whole day!

With the first step completed I decided to try a little deeper with a drop shot set up. Carefully he casted the rig out into deep water and learned the retrieve quickly once again. We spent about 30 minutes trying to get into fish but only managed one keeper walleye. Once again it wasn’t for lack of trying as there were several other fish that just came off. It seemed that with zero wind and a big lack of current these fish were not in the mood.

Our next spot was quite similar with many casts and only a couple of short walleye to show for our efforts. I really wanted him to catch some fish and decided to make a long run to another area that had produced well for me this past week. Hopefully it would all turn around soon!

With the flat calm waters and overcast skies, visibility of the shallow water was difficult to see. I needed to find the rocks and even see a few bass cruising around if we were going to get bit. Unfortunately the flat calm all changed as the winds started to build. We covered plenty of this shoal without even a sniff and I made a short move to a deeper break nearby. It was here that Wissam finally landed his first smallie and the skunk was officially out of the boat! Too bad it was the only one we even saw from this spot!

The winds had built up pretty good by now and I decided to switch gears completely. I wanted to show Wissam a few different techniques and I decided to try a troll. It had been quite a while since I trolled due to the weeds and I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. All we could do was try!

After setting everything up, I explained in detail what we were doing and almost on cue, one of the rods bent. Unfortunately when I took it out of the holder to pass it to him, the line went slack. Bad news, good news I guess! At least I knew it was doable and we were able to get bit!

Not long after the first strike we had a second one and Wissam landed his first ever northern pike. A quick pic and we went right back to the troll, hoping for more. I covered a bunch of water and some more fish hits were had. Ironically most of them were only bending the rod and not really firing the reels. I found this strange in 74 degree water temps! Hopefully this would all change soon as I was nearing the area I really wanted to fish!

As if on cue, the reels began screaming and many times too! We were now getting into multiple strikes and from both walleye & pike. There were even several double headers that saw Wissam going from one rod to the other as soon as the first fish was in the net. It was absolute chaos at times and I loved it!

We spent the remainder of the day trolling and fish after fish came aboard. It had been a long time since I had been able to troll effectively with all the terrible weeds floating all over the lake. Water levels had risen and most of those weeds died off giving way to being able to fish. Also the fish had seen a big rest from me! Their vacation was officially over and I was back to pound on them again!

The entire day was a learning one for Wissam as he got to see all kinds of new techniques. From fish identification to learning how to cast, he had seen it all. The highlight would surely have to be the trolling we did as he saw just how effective it could be. This was definitely a crash course in fishing for him that he’ll be remembering for quite some time. Both the bad and especially the good times when he began to catch fish! Without even realizing it, Wissam had slammed on his very first time fishing! I don’t think there are too many people that can say they’ve done that!

Chris & Gino were on board this morning for a half day trip. They were hoping to catch a few fish and I knew just where to go. Yesterday’s trip had me rethinking some of my old spots and we were headed there to give it a try. With any luck they would all produce!

A slight change in plans had me going to another area when I noticed a boat fishing exactly where I was headed. It didn’t matter as I was sure the fish would be there too!

It took a little longer than I had expected for anyone to hook into the first bass of the day, but not for lack of trying. Chris had missed 4 or 5 fish but Gino hadn’t even gotten one hit as of yet. This soon changed when he finally got bit! His first bite turned into a hook up and this fish was soon fighting all the way to the net. One hit, one landed bass! He even rebounded with another soon after that had him going two for two. Chris finally got on the board as well with his first fish of the day and things were finally turning around.

We had spent some time in this area and only managed a couple of good bass, but there were a lot more missed opportunities. It was time for a move and I headed to where I wanted to start, now that the boat was gone. Hopefully they left us some fish!

This area saw both of them throwing soft plastics and not long after, Chris set into another quality bass. It was beginning to pick up as he brought this one in as well. It was tough for me to see exactly what I was searching for with the haze and big chop on the water from the west winds. I’m sure we missed a bunch of the area due to this but they still managed to get several other hits. We even landed one by hand while trying to untangle a messed up line that developed on Gino’s rod!

I moved around to several other spots and some of them produced a few more fish. They may not have been the calibre I was looking for but they were the right species! With time passing quickly I decided to try one more area on our way back in hopes of finishing with a bang.

Right down to the wire, both guys managed one last bass each and we were done! It had been a bit of a grind today with the fish being mostly inactive where we fished but it all worked out in the end. Chris & Gino may be better known for handling a football with the Alouettes, but today they caught a different kind of football. These ones may not pay much but they sure were fun to catch!

Leslie & Eli joined me this afternoon for some great smallmouth bass fishing. I hadn’t seen Leslie in several years and it was good to have him back! It was the first time for Eli but he managed to catch on and land a number of fish as well.

As soon as we arrived on our first spot, Leslie wasted no time getting the ball rolling. He was throwing soft plastics and enticed a few bass into taking his offering. Each time he hooked up, there were others as well, showing me that this place was definitely holding some quality. Although we weren’t able to monopolize on any doubles, we picked at the singles for a couple of hours.

Eli wasn’t getting nearly as many fish as Leslie but eventually he slowed down enough to get bit. Ironically his first three fish were rather small by comparison, but at least he was on the board!

As I moved around slowly over the vast flat of rocks, they both continued to catch fish. The average size of these bass was definitely worth fishing slowly here! I remained as long as they were biting and catching, before venturing to another area nearby.

Our second stop was similar but the size of the fish wasn’t. Leslie managed to get a few smaller ones before landing one big enough for a pic. This was the size I was searching for and I only hoped there would be more!

We fished this area for a while and landed a few other fish but only saw the bigger bass swimming. For some reason they were spooky and weren’t in the mood to eat so we just continued to another area much further away.

With time drawing near to the end I wanted to get more fish for both Leslie & Eli before we were dome. I hit two other spot in the time remaining and had a couple of good sized bass before it was over. One of them was another large smallie and I would have liked to stay longer to see if there were more. Unfortunately we were done and I headed back to take out!

Today was a great day with pretty much no wind and high temps. The fish were active on the first place they fished but we had to work harder on the other spots. All in all I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome with plenty of quality fish being caught. Hopefully the weather will continue to remain warm and the fish will stay active as well. After all we are summertime and conditions should feel like this too!