Darren finally made it out today and we did it all! Although the winds were blowing 10 to 20 from the NE again, I decided to start with walleye, for a change. Once located, we managed to catch several good ones but it was a slow bite! The fish seemed reluctant to eat and we really had to finesse them into taking our baits. Eventually, we called it and headed somewhere to try for bass.

A long run was made to get to where I wanted to fish and this too was a challenge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many inactive fish, trying to hit our baits. It didn’t seem to matter what we threw. I changed up many times and felt the hits or saw the boils, only to come up swinging at air. They were either hitting with closed mouths or just nipping at the lures! Eventually I found a bait that had them chomping but you really had to fish it slowly. We finally managed to get a bunch, before switching to another species as well.

Time wasn’t on our side with the day passing quickly, but I saved the last hour or so to try a musky troll. It had been a while since I had trolled, but I was confident that we could get bit! The last line had been in for less than a minute when the first reel started screaming. We were on! Darren grabbed the rod while I cleared the other line and it was game on! Not long after all the thrashing and jumping, I had her in the net. It was a beautiful, clean looking fish and a decent size too! A few quick pics later, it was released unharmed.

We resumed the troll and unfortunately never had another hit. That’s musky fishing, I guess! Darren had experienced the complete package today, saving the best for last. From walleye to bass to musky. What a day! The weather even cooperated in the end with beautiful blue skies and very little wind for a change. Who could ask for anything more!!

Leslie was back with me today and he brought a friend and his son. We met at 11:00 for a 4-hour trip and headed straight to try for sturgeon. Winds were out of the NE and blowing at 10 to 20 knots, causing a good roll on the water. Here we go again!

Upon arrival, I knew that this was going to be a challenge once again, as the boat was sideways. With the wind opposite the current direction, it had positioned us so that I had to place the rods all on one side to fish. Although not easy, I did mange to get one bite and the little guy landed his first ever sturgeon.

We had decided that we would only give sturgeon a short try and soon changed up to fish for smallmouth. Dropshotting was going to be the method and it didn’t take long before the action began. The first few fish were all big ones and the bite was good for a while. I covered plenty of water after the original area slowed and never really got into them again. On our last location, we hit another group and managed to finish the day with a bang. Lelie and Chev landed a handful more good ones, before we were done. Today may not have gone as planned but there were definitely some nice fish caught. Half days are always harder when you only have 4 hours to get it done. By splitting the time between two different species, we definitely reduced the number of fish caught. Overall, it was still a great day with absolutely beautiful weather in the end, when the wind stopped blowing. Great times were had by all!!

Spent another day on the water, with insane winds once again! Although difficult, Vern & I actually held on a spot and managed a couple of sturgeon, in 3-foot rollers. Not an easy task indeed! Afterwards we moved around and found a few other fish to play with. Bass, walleye and even perch were landed before we just called it a day. We stuck it out and finished the day a little beat up, but Mother Nature didn’t win. Lately, most days are a challenge and this was no different. Can’t wait for the next challenge!!

Philippe and his wife Julia, along with their father’s, Ben & Marc, were with me today. They were hoping to get some sturgeon, followed by smallmouth bass fishing. The weather looked pretty good for most part, with the exception of freezing cold morning air temps. Couple that with the big SW winds coming and it was almost a perfect, average day. At least it wasn’t raining!

Within 10 minutes after setting the lines, we had a bite and Ben soon fought his first ever sturgeon. It was a good one and went airborne almost immediately. I love when they do that, as you get to see exactly what you’re fighting. It was a great battle and Ben loved every minute of it. Several pics were taken before it was released unharmed.

Two more sturgeon were hooked up and others got to fight their own, before we changed species. Philippe was the only one not to play with one, but it didn’t matter. He had already caught some of the largest white sturgeon out in BC and these failed in comparison to the reel giants out west!

We had pulled the lines when the winds began and now, we were doing battle with a different animal. Trying to hold and fish in these conditions was a real treat for them. It definitely didn’t make things easy, but somehow, they managed. I’m sure that everyone had bites that they never even felt and fish were lost. Julia managed to land the largest ones though and I wasn’t surprised. She was fishing the slowest and benefitted from her presentation.

I had covered plenty of good water and seen all kinds of fish on the sonar but they just didn’t seem to want to eat. Although we picked at them here and there, it was really a slow bite. I eventually made a long move in the big waves and relocated to another area offshore, in hopes of a few walleye. Hopefully this would be a better bite!

A large open water flat was what I targeted and I was marking good fish! Several drifts over nice marks only resulted in a handful of bites and one landed Walter. Fortunately, Marc was having fish for dinner as it went straight into the livewell. After multiple passes with only lost fish, I decided to try another area before we were done. They wanted to call it earlier and we were pressed for time. One more drift in these winds saw a couple of fish hooked, but unfortunately, they both escaped the net and livewell when they came off. We were officially done for the day!

Today was another interesting outing with plenty of opportunities. It seemed like the fish were acting strange with lighter than usual bites and plenty of rejection. Slow was the ticket and if you weren’t fishing this way, you weren’t catching! Despite all the challenges today, they all had a great time and landed some really good fish in the process. Better weather is forecasted for this week and I only hope that the fish react better. Fall is the time for both numbers and size and the best is yet to come!!

Finally, a nice day to fish, with sunshine and very light winds from the south west. Adhiraj was in for a great afternoon, starting with sturgeon. I headed to an area that had been producing and set up quickly. It didn’t take long before we got bit and he had his first sturgeon on the line. Although not big, it did give a good fight. About ten minutes after the release, another rod got bit and a second sturgeon was on the line. This one gave him a much better fight and he thoroughly enjoyed the battle. More pics and another release and we were back in the game, hoping for bigger. Never two without three!

We had waited quite a while with one other missed strike and were ready to pull out and go for bass. A last-minute bite turned out to be the one I had wanted and it felt big on the set. Adhiraj was about to experience the sheer power of these beasts! Not only were the runs powerful, but the jumps were spectacular too! The fight lasted almost 10 minutes, before I was able to slip the net under his catch. This was definitely the one I wanted to see him catch and several pics were taken before her release. Right down to the wire and the wait was worth ever minute, for this fish!

I decided at the start that we would split the day on sturgeon and bass and now headed for the smallies. We began with aggressive baits and mostly missed strikes. A couple of hookups ended in lost bass, making me switch to a slower approach. Once the dropshot came out, everything changed! We spent the remainder of our time fishing slowly and boated plenty of good fish. Being from Texas, Adhiraj was used to catching largemouth but enjoyed the smallmouth much more. Every brownie fought so much harder than the greenies! Unfortunately, the afternoon passed quickly and before we knew it, it was time to go.

Today went just as planned with the conditions adding to our success. We were able to hold perfectly and see each and every lite bite from the sturgeon. Although the bass didn’t cooperate as hoped, a slight adjustment put plenty of them in the boat. Overall, it was a very successful, half day of fishing!!