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Adrianna wanted to treat her boyfriend Djanis to a day of fishing for his birthday and we scheduled today for sturgeon. They were both from Latvia and had never expected this day to turn out like it did. It was just unbelievable!

We set up quickly after arriving at our first location and within 10 minutes, hooked up. Djanis was about to fight the largest fish of his life, so far! This fish was one of those real heavy ones that never came off the bottom until the very end of the fight. It was just like dead weight and gave him a workout! After battling it for who knows how long, I eventually netted his fish and relief was finally had. At least for now that is!

Although he had won the battle, the struggle wasn’t over and he hoisted it up for several pics. I shot as fast as I could before releasing it back to the water. Now it was about to be Adrianna’s turn!

It didn’t take long before we had our second bite and I passed the rod to Adrianna to do battle with one of her own. Unlike the previous fish, this one took to the air almost immediately and showed us just what she was dealing with. It was another quality fish and she was about to feel the pain!

The fight was a typical 10 minute battle and after multiple runs and manoeuvring the rod from one side of the boat to the other, she was finally done. The pics were quite interesting as she practically hugged her catch in order to actually hold it. Right back to the water it went afterwards and we reset the lines in hopes of another bite.

I had made a small move due to not seeing much on the sonar and apparently it was the right decision. The next bite had Djanis locked up on another monster quite fast. While I was clearing the area for him to fight it, the fish breached and we saw how big it actually was. It was definitely larger than his previous one and a whole lot angrier too!

After a lengthy battle of long runs and dogging under the boat he finally brought his fish up for me to net. Exhausted from the workout, he still had enough strength for the pics and held it up for several shots. Back she went unharmed!

With the winds increasing, I was forced to drop the anchor in order to conserve some of the battery life for later in the day. We set up close by and waited for our next bite.

Although it was supposed to be Adrianna’s turn, Djanis had set into a real monster and she opted to let him keep the rod. Good thing too as it was bigger than anything we had seen so far today!

This fight lasted closer to 15 minutes and saw a couple of spectacular jumps as well as multiple long runs before eventually coming to net. In fact I decided to bring out the tarp for him to handle his fish . It wasn’t easy but somehow he managed to lift it up after the long battle and we shot fast. It was returned quickly and swam off just as fast, unharmed!

The next bite ended in disappointment after Djanis had locked up on another heavy one. It somehow broke us off in less than 3o seconds when it went crazy. It must have been the scoots or something as the leader was much shorter when he reeled it in. I quickly retied another setup and we were back in business in no time!

Shortly after I set into what felt like a small fish and Adrianna got a break when she brought a juvenile to the boat. No need for the net so I just tailed the little guy. A quick boat side release was had before we resumed our fishing.

Adrianna wasn’t as lucky on the next fish however as she was about to do battle with a true giant! When she was handed the rod it was nothing like she had felt before. This thing was heavy and although it was coming to the boat with ease, that was all about to change! The line began to rise and the fish breached in the distance showing us that it was truly a beast!

She struggled to hang on but the adrenaline took over and her inner strength finished the fight. She had been fighting this fish for nearly 20 minutes before I was able to take a shot at the dinosaur. It wasn’t easy though as I had a hard time fitting it in the net. It wouldn’t curl in the beginning and just didn’t drop down into the mesh. Eventually it did however and we were all relieved to see the fight finally over. Now the hard part was about to begin!

With the tarp back down, I heaved it over the rail and gently placed it on the floor. It was going to be a team effort for the pics this time! They would both be holding this monster, if we were going to get the job done.

I had taken plenty of shots from various angles and she was ready to be released. Djanis had also been holding the bulk of the weight and was happy to put her back where she belonged, in the abyss!

They had both decided that the sturgeon thing was done and we packed everything up to try for a much smaller species. Walleye and bass were up next and I headed to an open water shoal to get it done.

I instructed them on what to do and set them both up with a dropshot rod. It didn’t take long and Adrianne landed her first walleye. Not long after, she also landed a nice smallie, giving her a slam for the day! Djanis eventually managed to boat a few fish of his own and now both of them were on the board.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon drifting open water in some good waves and between the two of them, they managed to boat plenty of fish. They were also lucky enough to livewell 4 good keepers for their dinner tonight.

Today was an absolutely insane day of fish catching! Neither of them had ever anticipated that they would land so many big fish let alone be bringing dinner home with them tonight. They will definitely be talking about this day for some time and reliving their moments in both the pics as well as all the videos they shot. This was without a doubt the best birthday present Djanis could have ever gotten! Apparently River Monsters do exist!

 

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Peter was back again this year for another banner day! He was hoping to catch a bunch of different fish and I wasn’t going to disappoint him. With the weather expected to change throughout the day, I had it all planned out. Let’s hope she was right, for a change!

Our first species was sturgeon and it didn’t take long before he was locked up. In less than 10 minutes, we had a bite and he was soon battling a quality fish. Although it never jumped, it did make several long runs signifying its size was big. As always, it took about ten minutes before he tired and I was able to net the fish. I could tell by the length that it was a male and wasn’t surprised of how the battle went. A few quick shots later, it was back swimming and we were ready for another bite again.

Our second fish was short lived as it broke the leader within seconds of hooking up. Likely a smaller fish as those scoots are razor sharp! Instead of retying the leader, I just grabbed a spare rod and was back fishing in seconds. No sense wasting time as these fish seemed like they were on fire!

We didn’t have to wait long after the lines were both in and minutes later Peter was bringing in another fish. This time however it was a juvenile and quickly released without any pics.

I had made a small move due to not seeing any action for a while and wasn’t able to find anything worth anchoring on. As I slid back to where I had begun, I did see a few fish and ironically stopped pretty close to where I had been all along! It took about 20 minutes or so, but we eventually had our third fish pinned and this one felt really large! Peter was in for a battle!

Multiple runs and one good breach and I knew why it was so hard to bring in. This one was a female and pretty thick around. It was going to be a lengthy fight as Peter was about to find out!

After battling this sturgeon for close to 15 minutes, I finally slid the net under her and the fight was done. Now the hard part was about to begin! Peter held it for a couple of quick shots and torpedoed her back to the water after. This was it for the sturgeon now as we were done. He wanted to try for another species and was lucky to have had the action he did in such a short period of time. I really think that if we had of stayed longer that it would have continued!

With near flat calm conditions, I headed to a shallow area looking for smallies. I covered plenty of water trying to find fish, but we only managed a few small ones. Time to move on and hopefully the next spot would produce!

To my surprise, it was just as good as the previous one and after moving over the shoal, we pulled the plug all together. I didn’t want to waste time looking shallow anymore and decided to try a little deeper and much further away.

After a long run, I set up on a shoal and had Peter casting a drop shot rig in the current. It was a small area and this was the best choice for presentation. To my surprise, he wasn’t having any luck though and I decided to make a cast to see why. I was instantly hooked up on a nice smallie signifying that there was definitely life on the rocks! Peter continued casting the area after and may have had a couple of light bites, but never locked up. The winds were beginning to build now as expected and I decided to leave this area and move to an open water spot to do a little drifting.

We set up in the middle of nowhere on deep structure and I instructed him on how to drift the drop shot rig. Minutes later he was hooked up on a nice walleye and we were only getting started! For the next couple of hours we made a series of drifts in two foot waves and pounded on the walleye. Along with them, there were also several big perch and one northern. Oh yeah, even a musky got in the act as it bit me off and immediately went airborne just to piss us off even more!

These fish were feeding with the big winds and waves were building as well. We now had gusts and two to three footers were the norm. I had to drop the electric motor in just to slow down our drifts. Fortunately it didn’t matter as these walleye were on the feed! I was having great success on a jig and soon changed Peter to one as well. It didn’t take long before he was locked up and this lasted right till the end.

With limited time remaining, I made a couple more drifts and Peter landed the largest walleye of the day. He also brought to net several more keepers and a few of them came home with me in the end. By 4:00 we were done! This day had worked out almost perfectly with the exception of the non-shallow bass bite. I would have had to go much deeper in order to get it done!

For a change, Mother Nature was spot on today with the reports. I was able to plan the day out perfectly and looked forward to the big winds later in the afternoon. We had definitely ended it with a bang! I don’t know how many walleye we had landed but it was a lot. Several overs were released but very few unders were caught making this one of the better walleye bites in quite a while. I’m sure the big winds had triggered them into feeding and we were in the right place at the right time. The moved that I had made today worked out perfectly giving Peter a good mix of fish for his outing. He had caught big fish in a couple of different species and probably his personal best walleye in the end. Overall it couldn’t have worked out much better. Great day of fishing!

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Another day of sturgeon fishing saw Naomi & her father looking for their first ever beasts. We wasted no time and headed right to where there were, anchoring up in anticipation. Too bad we had to wait so long!

After many hours and several moves we finally had a bite and I reeled into the first fish of the day. Although smaller than I was used to, Naomi did fight and land a fish she had never caught before. Soon after her father also got to bring one in as well, but it too was a juvenile and not really what I wanted them to see. I hoped they would do battle with something much larger and reset the lines, looking to get them a monster.

Sometime around mid-afternoon we hooked into something with weight and Naomi finally did battle with the one she had been looking for. Although it never breached, I could tell by how it was fighting that it had some size. She fought it perfectly through multiple long runs and eventually wore it out for me to net. She had no problem holding it up for the pictures either before the release!

I now wanted her father to fight one of his own and around 3:30 it finally happened. He was officially locked up and it felt huge! As it turned out, this fight lasted over ten minutes and with plenty of long runs. Just like the previous fish however, it too never jumped. Without exerting any extra energy, it remained on the bottom and just fought that much harder. When it finally showed, we knew why! It was very large and I was finally going to use the tarp for the first time this season!

Minutes later it was in the net and I prepped everything before heaving her into the boat. I never want to hurt these fish and by using the tarp, it keeps the protective layer they have on their skin. It also makes for a cleaner boat too!

Ironically instead of him holding the fish, Naomi was the one to hoist it for the pics. She may not be big but she’s really strong, as this fish wasn’t small. Several shots later, it was torpedoed back to the water to live another day.

We didn’t have much time left but I reset the lines regardless in hopes of another bite that just never came. By 4:00 we were done and I packed everything up to leave. They had done battle with a couple of fish each and at least had one good sized one apiece! I would have liked to see more but with all the boats in the area, I was happy to have gotten what we did. They too were also glad to have finally caught a true river monster and left with the memories and pics as proof. Success all around!

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Full boat today for a morning sturgeon trip saw Chris, Jay, Ryan & Matt excited to catch their first dinosaurs. I just hoped with the strong NW winds, that we would be able to anchor up!

It was a pleasant surprise to see the winds weren’t as bad as I had anticipated when we headed out. Instead, the electric motor would provide us with a spot locked hold where I wanted to fish.

Our first attempt saw no results but our second spot had Chris locked up fairly quickly, only to end in disappointment. Somehow the fish came unbuttoned but not before we all had a good look as she breached. It was large!

I had to move again in order to get bit and this time it stayed pinned. Ryan managed to do battle with a really good fish that went airborne 3 times before coming to net. Along with the leaps, there was also a ten minute battle that had him feeling the pain. This was to be the best one of the day and he held it for a few pics before letting her go.

We stayed in this area for a while due to seeing plenty of life and sure enough, we were bit a third time. Matt did battle with another good fish that also took to the air, before sounding back to the bottom for a lengthy fight. After a gruelling battle, I finally netted his fish but it wasn’t over. He now had to hold it for the pictures. This was undoubtedly his largest fish ever and he needed proof that he had caught it. As with all sturgeon, it too was released unharmed afterwards!

With two down there were only two more to go and I hoped to get it done with our next move. Sure enough, the fish came within minutes of resetting in another location and it was game on! Jay was finally into his and after seeing it go airborne, I knew he was about to take a beating! For the next ten minutes he struggled to land his sturgeon and every time he thought he was gaining, it ran even more. Each time he reeled it closer, it took off in the opposite direction and peeled out more line. It was quite hilarious to hear him complain. He thought it would end quickly as he brought the fish nearer to the boat, but he was wrong. The fish was totally in control and it beat him up pretty good. After about ten minutes of this comedy show, I was finally able to net the fish for him and a sigh of relief was had. As funny as the fight was, having him hold the fish for a few pics was even funnier! Now he was in a whole other world of pain just trying to get a handle on this slippery beast. Somehow he did manage however and we shot several quick pics before sending her back to the depths.

Having been held by the electric motor in wind & current for more than four hours had finally taken its toll on the batteries and I was forced to drop anchor. This was the first time this season, but between the two, we did manage to hold long enough for another bite. Chris was about to get a little redemption after losing the first fish of the day!

I don’t know who was happier, but I was definitely glad to see a full rotation in the boat today. Chris was tight to another good one and fought it like a champ. Multiple long runs were had but it never breached. This battle was long as it remained down for the entire fight. Almost ten minutes later, I had it in the net and ready for more pics. Chris had no problem holding his fish and he released it soon after. We had gotten it done!

Although we tried for another bite, it wasn’t to be. I was definitely happy with the four fish they had landed and we packed up and called it a day. I had extended their morning trip by about an hour and it had paid off in the end. Everyone had their time on the rod and they had all felt the power of these sturgeon. I really couldn’t have asked for anything more!!

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After yesterday’s cancellation due to extreme winds, I was back out today and ready for a little pay back! Dan & his sons, Crosby & Jack were with me this morning, looking to catch some fish. Warren also came along, making for a full boat! I realized quickly that I was going to do a drift & dropshot as the winds would be in our favour. Although they were blowing big again, at least they were from the proper direction.

With all lines in the water, we covered an area that I was marking fish from and Crosby was soon tight to the first fish. He landed a nice keeper walleye and it was just the beginning! Each pass yielded more walleye with a mix of perch. Although everyone was having their chances, it was Crosby that was on fire. In a very short time he managed to get a slam with his additional smallmouth bass.

Today was going to be a half day and I was glad that we had gotten off to a fast start. I was also happy to see the winds diminish slightly, allowing for better drifts. It was making the subtle bites much easier to detect and the results were obvious. Everyone was hooking fish now and several more walleye made their way to livewell for their dinner tonight.

In the few short hours they had to fish, there were plenty of keepers, unders and several overs brought to net. A good number of perch were also landed along with one nice smallie from Crosby. By 12:30 we were done and packed it in for the day. We even left the fish biting!

For a first time experience, Dan & his kids couldn’t have asked for more. A good number of fish were caught and plenty more missed throughout the morning. Now that they have the bug, I expect to see them again before the season ends. With any luck, they will be out with me for something much more substantial in size. Talk of a sturgeon trip was heard before we parted and it’s only a matter of time before we’re out again. Hopefully the fishing will be as good and everyone will feel the burn from those impressive beasts! I just can’t wait!