Reda was with me today, along with his friend Guillaume & looking for some big fish bites. We wasted no time and headed directly to the sturgeon in hopes of a few hookups. With the winds already blowing 10 to 15 from the SW, I wanted to spend as much time there before getting blown out. We were suppose to have much stronger gusting winds by afternoon and I knew it would become impossible. This has definitely been the year of giant winds! Once set up, Reda was the first to connect and it was a good one. Although not giant, it was still a great battle. We took few pics and like usual, released it back to the water unharmed. I think he hooked two or three before Guillaume finally connected with one of his own. This fish was considerably larger and beat him up pretty good. I could see by the way he was struggling that this battle was wearing him out and quickly! Eventually bubbles showed and the end was near. When he saw what he had hooked into he was shocked and relieved all at the same time. I slid it into the net and brought it aboard for the pics. It was so heavy and awkward that Guillaume had a difficult time holding the beast. Even the release was a little bizarre as he barely made it over the rail. In the next couple of hours they landed several more and Guillaume managed one really giant dinosaur that was impossible to hold. He had to sit for the photo and have the fish on his lap! This release wasn’t pretty either and the fish slid over the rail with a little more clumsiness. Although I wanted to return to the area we were fishing, the winds had a different idea. They were blowing pretty big now and a relocation was needed. I decided to hit another place nearby and try a little drop shotting for walleye. It wasn’t much better for fishing but at least we had a shot! With winds from the west and 3 footers rolling, our drifts were rather short. I repositioned many times by running back up for multiple drifts. Somehow they managed to catch fish even these conditions and that’s all that mattered. Many of the bites were never connected with due to how hard they were to detect. Reda did get most of his and put on a clinic for Guillaume at one point. He could do no wrong in one place and landed a bunch. We fished similar places for the remainder of the day and caught in each area we stopped. Eventually we just pulled the plug when the conditions worsened and headed in. As with every day lately, I can get only a small window of calm before the wind blows. It would be nice to actually have a lighter breeze than these hurricane like howls I’ve received, almost every day out! Despite the conditions, they did catch plenty of fish and some really big ones too. All in all a pretty good day to fish!!

I had a father & son join me today all the way from the State of Texas. It would be easy to remember their names as they were both the same! Chris & Chris were up for everything so that was exactly what they were going to get. We began in a smallie area that had become a community hole lately. It would be the first time that I was able to get in without multiple boats fishing it too! Chris Jr. was dragging a jig and his dad was tossing a stick bait to try and pluck some of the more aggressive ones. As soon as I showed them where to throw, it didn’t take long for Jr. to connect with a decent fish. Too bad it didn’t last as it jumped and was gone! A little heartbroken but not to worry as I was sure there were more here. Sr. managed to get one to commit suicide as he never even felt the take! All of a sudden it was there and leaping in the air to toss the hooks. Eventually he brought it to net and a chunky 3.5 pound fish was his catch. As he admired his prize, I shot several shots before it was returned to the water. A little trash talk was heard and it was only going to get worse! They both went right back in there and not long after, Sr. was locked up again. He battled a clone of the first one to the boat and I netted his second smallie of the morning. After seeing this, I rigged another rod for Jr. and got them back in the game. Unfortunately after about 30 minutes of nothing, I decided to pull the plug and relocate. I had another area nearby that should produce walleye and bass and wanted to give it a try. They both tossed jigs to a drop and unfortunately came up empty. There were plenty of missed strikes but nothing was boated so we just moved on. We were heading for the big girls now and I knew they were in for a treat! Once we were set up, it took a little while longer than I expected for the first one to appear. Chris Sr. was into a good fish and about to feel the pain! I instructed him on what to do and we watched as the fish took control. It was like trying to reel in a Greyhound Bus on the highway! He could barely gain 5 feet before the sturgeon would take back 10. I knew this was an endurance thing and informed him that it was only going to get worse. Once the fish settled down, it began to come in and Chris was finally starting to gain line. A few minutes later, it was in the net and they were shocked. It was definitely the largest thing they had ever landed and needed proof of the catch. As with all these dinosaurs, it was released to fight another day! The second hookup was much quicker and this time it was Chris Jr. that was going to feel the burn. He could barely move this thing for the first few minutes and just held on. Eventually he began to reel some line back and was able to get it closer to the boat. He felt what his dad had earlier and fought through the pain to land another huge fish. When he tried to pick it up for a few shots, I think he finally realized the actual weight. Somehow he managed to hold it for the pics and back it went. We regrouped and were back in and Sr. was tight lined almost immediately. This fish went ballistic and took to the air as soon as it was hooked. For whatever reason, it also went into an alligator death roll and tied itself up so bad that it just laid on the surface. All he could do was reel it back to the boat like it was dead! Not wanting to net this "Green Giant", I poked it with the net and it went insane once again. It was so tangled up that the gills weren’t even moving. I decided to net her and had to cut the line when I realized it was impossible to attempt anything else. No worse for wear, we tossed her back after pics and she left us in a giant boil when she hit the water. I’ve never experienced this before and hope I never will again! Our weather had changed considerably by the time we were to reset the lines and I decided that we would move elsewhere and try for some walleye. The waves weren’t so bad that they couldn’t get bit but I would have liked a little less wind. Blowing from the SW at 10 to 20 still caused 2 footers with occasional threes and I had set up correctly for the drift. Jr. had the first fish on in just a few minutes and landed a nice walleye of around 3 pounds. Our drifts were short ones and I had to move often in order to stay on the fish but they were getting bit plenty. Unfortunately most were missed strikes and ended up empty lined. Eventually they both started understanding how to react when bit and began hooking more than before. Jr. even managed to get one around 24 inches before the winds switched to NW and shut the fish down completely. We spent the next 5 drifts empty and discouraged and then it started to rain. Talk about getting crapped on! Although I was still marking them, we couldn’t get bit at all and I realized we were done. One more drift had Chris Sr. finally locked up and we were about to end on a high. He brought another 24 inch fish to net and we were done. It was definitely a strange day on the water with many different things happening. Multiple fish of various species and size along with many weather changes made it an interesting one. They had a great time experiencing it all and talks of a return trip are already in the process. As usual, "Mother Nature" threw us another day filled with amusing challenges, but we overcame!!

Darren was back again this morning, but with different people. This time he brought Vincent & Rose, relatives from the Philippines. The conditions were less than perfect as we headed to our first stop of the day. I knew that we would only have a small window of time to fish for sturgeon before it got too rough. Both Rose & Vincent had very little experience fishing and these winds weren’t going to make it any easier! They were blowing 10 to 20 knots from the SW and expected to increase more this morning. I set them all up and not long after, Darren was locked. He had wanted to pass the rod to Vincent, but they decided to watch him fight the fish instead. He had plenty of practice lately and had no problem bringing this one to the boat. I netted his fish and shot a few quick pics before returning her to the water unharmed. I really wanted to have the others hook up, but after 30 minutes or so, realized it was not going to happen. The winds had increased and we were now in two to three foot waves making it next to impossible to detect the bites. We had only gotten in about an hour of fishing time before we were forced to switch to a new area and a different species. I decided to try trolling and opted for a somewhat sheltered section of the lake. Although still rough, it was doable and we covered water looking for our first rip. I was marking all kinds of fish but couldn’t get anything to eat. Multiple lure changes and speed adjustments didn’t work either and I kept going. At one point, we had a small rip without a hookup and frustration started setting in fast. I could tell that both Rose & Vincent weren’t enjoying the conditions and tried everything to get them into fish. I thought of drifting drop shot rigs over some of the fish holding areas, but realized that they wouldn’t be able to detect the pickups. Rose & Vincent hadn’t planned on staying all day and were dropped back at the dock by 1:00. We had to run in 3 & 4 footers to get there, but we made it! Darren wanted to stay and after a short break on the shore, we headed back out only to find that the winds had increased. We were now having to drive through 4 footers with many fives, making it really difficult. I realized that getting the boat on plane wasn’t a good idea and plowed through the rough water to an area close by. I thought we’d attempt drop shotting here, if the winds didn’t blow us over it too fast! Although difficult, Darren hooked into a walleye and proved it wasn’t impossible. We did multiple short drifts over specific areas & caught more fish. Each time I had to run back up for another pass, the giant waves pounded us and plowing was the only way to get there. After over an hour of this, the lake calmed somewhat and we were in heaven. I would take these two & three footers gladly and we fished a whole lot more comfortably for the remainder of the afternoon. I know that if Rose & Vincent had of stayed till the end that they would have caught as well. Unfortunately they would have had to endure much worse conditions before it got better and they weren’t willing to wait. Mother nature may have thrown some nasty crap our way, but we stuck it out and endured the pain. Darren & I had multiple misses but caught plenty of quality walleye before calling it a day. It may have been difficult today but constant adjusting and relocating accounted for the final outcome. I only hope that the conditions change overnight, as I will be right back out again tomorrow. Today was really tough but at least the fishing was good, once we dialed in the program!!

Sam & his brother Hassan were with me today along with their father, for a little sturgeon action. We had a rather cool morning ride to our starting location, but pleasant weather for the remainder of the day. Water temps were holding just around 69 degrees, winds were light & sunshine was in the forecast. I set up in another area this time and it didn’t take long before Hassan was locked up! I know they hadn’t expected anything the likes of what was about to happen next! I tried to tell Hassan to conserve energy as it was going to take a lot out of him. I think he realized what I was referring to after several minutes of just hanging on and changed his grip completely. After what seemed like forever, the inevitable bubbles showed and the end was near. I always love the first reaction of people when things this large appear! All three of them were shocked when they saw just how big the fish was and I slid the net under the first one of the day. Pics were taken, a quick release was had and we resumed fishing once again. Shortly after the first release, Hassan hooked up again and readied for the burn from another giant. This fish was even larger and tired him out quicker due to lack of time between fights. He wanted to pass the rod to his brother but Sam refused his generous offer, wanting one on his own. By the time the fish came up Hassan was totally exhausted and happy I was able to get it in the net quickly. More pics were had with all three of them as it was tough for only one person to hold this thing. Sam finally got his wish a little later and battled another quality sturgeon. These fish were on fire and I didn’t want to move! Never leave fish to find fish is my motto and I was about to practice it. In the next few hours they tangled with many more and all three of them had multiple shots at personal bests. By the time we were ready to try for another species, it was it was early afternoon and they wanted to leave by 3:00. I had my work cut out for me at this point but managed to get them into a few smallies before pulling the plug. We had concentrated on almost entirely large fish leaving a very short period for the bass. Fortunately our efforts weren’t lost as several sturgeon were fought & landed for some really nice pics. Oh yeah, there were a couple of decent walleye taken as well that their father would be enjoying tonight for dinner. All in all a pretty good day for only 6 hours of fishing time!!

We were back at it again this morning and Jim and Marie were ready for whatever came our way. We started a little different than yesterday by drop shotting an area looking for bass & walleye. Although we did have a few quick pickups, the fish were rather small and not what I had expected. They caught a couple of small bass & one rather large perch from this spot before we moved along. With an overcast sky upon us I realized that these fish were scattered and not locked on one particular area. We would have to cover water again today! The one thing that was in their favor however, was the nice weather. Jim & Marie have a long track record of hateful conditions that tend to follow them each & every season. Hurricane like winds are the norm but we had only a light chop both days out. Now if we could only find some schooling fish! I hit a bunch of places this morning and they probably caught fish in each & every one, but no real concentration. A combination of both walleye & bass were taken on a variety of bottom baits as we moved along. We had to really slow presentations down to a crawl in order to get the fish to eat. Sometime in the early afternoon we hit the sturgeon area once more and the only fish landed came on Jim’s line again. It didn’t matter though as Marie still had the biggest one caught from yesterday to brag about! I decided to hit multiple areas in search of a couple of bites from each and increased their numbers by doing so. Marie even landed a really nice eye from our first stop this morning, when we returned to check it again. With all this going on I decided to check another area that I hadn’t fished in over a month to see if there were any fish remaining. To my surprise, they both hooked up almost immediately and we had the first double of the day. It was a shame that this occurred so late in the afternoon as this was going to be our last stop! It seemed that I had finally found a concentration and many more hookups were had in the last hour. If every fish had of stayed pinned they could have landed over a dozen quality bass from this one spot. Unfortunately smallies don’t live by our rules and 25% of them came unpinned! When the bites died completely, we pulled the plug and called it a day. Thankfully, not before rallying back from a rather slow start! Although it may not have been what I had hoped for, they still managed to catch plenty of fish in the two days here and the weather held out for a change too. Jim may have landed the biggest bass of the weekend but Marie had him on both walleye & sturgeon. I’m sure her face book cover page will have a new picture showing the proof. You know what they say, "happy wife, happy life"!!