Today was a totally different one than yesterday with the winds laying down. Although they were still blowing at the start, it was completely doable and we headed out in pursuit of the smallies.

Rick & Dan were with me this morning but were only fishing half the day. An afternoon booking would have me turning around with the second group after dropping them at 11:30. We had several hours to “get er done”!

I wanted to go back to where we had crushed the bass on the first day, but to my surprise there were 4 or 5 boats already fishing the area. Looks like a tournament was on today! In fact there were plenty of boats all around causing me to find a place that we could fish. The area we chose had a boat blazing through with fast moving baits and we were able to fish nearby and wait for him to leave. By slowing down both Rick & Dan managed to boat several nice bass before I decided to make a move.

I headed offshore to a spot that I hadn’t hit yet this season as bass fishing only opened a couple of days before. Too bad many others don’t abide by the rules too! We actually remained here for the rest of their trip because the fish were cooperating. By fishing the transition, they were able to land many quality smallies and they even had a double header too! I had planned on making another move but I just couldn’t pull myself away from here. As long as they were catching, we weren’t going anywhere!

The remainder of the morning saw us making slight adjustments in presentations and the fish just kept coming. We finally called it around 11:15 after one final fish and headed back to the docks. I was meeting the next group by 11:30 and these guys had a long drive back home!

The three days they spent fishing may not have been what I had expected, but adjusting to the water temps made it a successful trip. Unfortunately Mother Nature had a nasty streak in her on the second day but we salvaged it by going green! Largies are always a good backup plan!

Mark & his father Dave were with me this afternoon and I hoped to get them into action like this morning. I would be changing it up a bit by starting out with a troll and set the 3 lines in as soon as we arrived on the spot. Too bad we trolled for almost an hour with only one pike to show for our efforts!

Not wanting to waste any more time, I changed the trolling gear for bass rods and headed to another area to cast. Within minutes after instructing Mark on what to do, he had his first bass of the day. In his life he had landed maybe 3 fish and I told him that that would all change today!

They fished through this first spot and managed a few more with several missed ones as well before we made another adjustment. The next place was a little tricky as I had to figure out where the fish were due to the extremely low water. Where I usually fished was almost dry!

By moving around a bit I was able to see that the fish had dropped into a nearby deep area and once we found it, it was game on! For the next couple of hours there were many fish landed as well as missed. I would have liked to take more pics of the larger ones, but most were hooked deeply and I didn’t want to stress them out too much, after removing the hooks! They were getting the bites but not reacting in time to get a proper hook set.

Eventually the action slowed in this area and I made one final move to another spot to finish off the day. We spent the last hour here with plenty more fish coming aboard, before we were done.

Mark may not have caught a lot of fish in his life but today that all changed. He learned how to cast properly and boated a good number of bass. In fact he never imagined that he could catch that many fish in a half day after having landed only 3 fish in his life! It was definitely a challenge today but it all worked out in the end!

Rick & Dan were back this morning for another day of fishing. This time they were joined by my brother and hopefully it would be equally as productive as their previous day. All I wanted was for the forecast to be wrong as giant winds were expected!

We headed across the water to our first spot in 2 footers and I decided to take refuge in an area for largemouth bass. All the smallie spots would be a real challenge with the winds today!

I don’t usually target largies when I fish bass but under the circumstances we didn’t really have much choice. It was blowing quite hard and open water was not the place to be!

It didn’t take long before we had our first encounter with a bass when Mike latched on to a really good fish. He had thought that it was a weed by the light bite and unfortunately it took to the air and tossed his bait. Not the way I wanted to start the day but at least we had confirmation that they were here!

A little while later Rick hit another and this time he managed to get it into the boat. This too was a really good bass and well worthy of several pics! A few missed strikes followed before Rick locked up on another one. All the bass we were seeing were quality and this one was no different.

With the water temps still holding around 65 degrees, these fish weren’t moving far to get the baits. We had to really slow down in order to have a chance at catching anything. I held in each place and had them make multiple casts to all the water before moving on. It was a challenge but the results were definitely worth it!

We spent the entire morning fishing this place and although many chances were had, about 50% of them turned into landed bass. Eventually we had to make a decision about where we would go next but our choices were very limited.

I attempted holding on an open water reef that had been very king to Rick & Dan yesterday but trying to keep them on fish in 3 to 4 footers was next to impossible. Plan B soon went to plan C & D and we were no better off. With each attempt at another move, reality set in. This wasn’t looking very good!

After having attempted multiple spots to fish, it was unanimous. We were officially done! Now all I had to do was get back to the ramp, safely. The open water looked more like an ocean rather than a lake and I knew it was going to be a little splashy on the way back. White caps were more pronounced now and the waves were much bigger. Three footers were average with occasional 4’s & 5’s every once in a while! Fortunately we were in a Ranger and I knew it wouldn’t be a problem.

After tacking multiple times along the way back, we were finally at the dock and still dry. When we looked out all we could see were walls of white with many wind surfers enjoying the big rollers. It definitely looked nasty out there!

All things considered, we managed to make it work but the fishing was still tough. It felt like I was handcuffed, not being able to get to places that I wanted to fish. Tomorrow is another day and both Rick & Dan will be fishing the morning before heading back home. Hopefully Mother Nature will be a little kinder with the winds allowing me to put them on plenty more fish. We’ll see what the morning brings!

Rick and Danny were back for their annual trip and this year it fell on the bass opener. We would spend it targeting smallies and hopefully Mother Nature would be kind!

Our first stop was a disappointment as not one fish was caught. In fact, not one strike was even had! I quickly adjusted locations and soon after presentations as well. We were forced to slow down with the water being below 65 degrees and the results soon changed.

Rick drew first blood but his brother soon followed with a few good fish of his own. As much as I wanted to have them throw crank baits, it just wasn’t working. We ended up on a much slower technique that seemed to be working. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

With each move we made, more fish came aboard. I was actually surprised to see that they were in such good shape right after the spawn. Most of the ones caught looked more like summertime fish than post spawn. They were thick and not all beat up!

Later in the morning the winds began to blow and the easy fishing soon ended. Now we were going to have to make another move to try and find an area a little more sheltered. Unfortunately, there weren’t any, where we were! The winds were out of the west and blowing straight down the pipes. We would have to take the punishment where I wanted to go!

This area proved to be a good choice as the bulk of their fish came from here. We spent a couple of hours refining certain sections and fish after fish came aboard. Most of them were pretty good ones too!

With the skies looking a little threatening I made one final move to another spot nearby. Unfortunately the winds picked up even more and in the distance rain was seen. After a few more fish, we packed it up and headed back in the direction of the ramp. I had planned on stopping on one or two more areas before the end of the day but things soon changed. The west winds had big rollers and we all decided to call it a little early.

Despite the dangerously low water this season, I was still able to find some fish for them to enjoy. It’s too bad that we weren’t able to get an aggressive bite going but at least we adjusted quick enough to change the outcome. Plenty of bass were caught in the end and overall this was a very successful opening day to the bass season. I can’t wait to get back out again tomorrow for round two!

Richard & his wife Jasmine were with me this morning, for some pike & walleye action. With today being his birthday, I hoped to get them into a bunch of fish and even some walleye to take back home.

Within 2 minutes after setting the lines, we had a strike and Richard reeled in the first walleye of the day. I had to cover plenty of water to get more bites but both pike & walleye were caught from this area as well. Jasmine seemed to only be landing pike while Richard added another walleye to the livewell. It should have been two but one of them didn’t make the cut. It was a half inch too long and returned after a few quick pics! Even a few bass were caught while trolling for the pike & walleye!

We stayed fishing the area for several hours and despite catching a bunch of fish, it really should have been more. Plenty of short strikes were had and a few fish even came off while being reeled in! The cold water definitely had these fish inactive and I really had to work for every bite we got!

Sometime late morning I decided to change areas and headed to another place further away. It was a change but apparently quite similar to where we were. Here too we had more short strikes than actual fish landed. Many more pike & walleye were taken and even more fish short striking the baits. I guess they really weren’t in a feeding mood!

With weather moving in, I decided to get closer to the ramp and try a little drop shotting. On the very first drift a couple of walleye were landed but both fell short of the slot. Two drifts later we were forced to pack it in when the storm began to cover some of the nearby shore. Waves had built as well with the wind increasing and we were done. Just in time too as it began to rain during the take out!

Despite all the missed fish today, Richard and Jasmine had a great time on the water. Many fish were landed and they were able to take a limit home with them in the end. I guess they’ll be eating fresh fish, for dinner tonight!

Darren brought along his family this morning for a tougher than usual outing. We hit several areas and never really got on a great bite! Some of the fish that actually hit, even fell off either in the net or while reeling them in. Our first good bite made it all the way to the net before throwing the lure from being lightly hooked. Add to that the flat calm and cold water temps and it wasn’t surprising that it was tough.

We did manage to get into some good fish before they were dropped back at the dock at noon. I just wish that there could have been more!

Darren & I headed back out for the afternoon in similar conditions and again struggled to get bit. Although we did catch fish everywhere we stopped, we had to work hard at getting bit. In the end, the last hour proved to be the best as the wind began to blow from the SW, causing a few more fish to become active. We called it before 4:00 and headed off the lake for the day.

The ramp was once again a real shit show as idiots were out in full bloom. Between people not knowing how to launch, take out or even park, I was glad to be out of there. I couldn’t even pack everything up when I was out and had to drive halfway up the street and as far away as I could in order to get things done. I think I am eventually going to stop fishing weekends until the fall as I may wind up in jail if I don’t! Absolutely total chaos! This ramp is out of control!