Jim & Marie were back with me for their annual fishing trip and in for a surprise. I hadn’t told them what it was, but I knew they would enjoy it as much as everyone else. I picked them up at their motel at 7:30 and we were fishing not long after. I hadn’t been on the water since last Monday and wasn’t sure what to expect today. The past week had horrible conditions with hurricane like winds and plenty of sideways rain. Water temps had fallen to 57 degrees and muddied up quite a bit. Hopefully this would help the bite as fall was definitely upon us! I decided to start with the big fish spot in hopes of both of them landing giants early in the day. Once we were set up, it didn’t take long before Jim was into his first sturgeon and it was quite a battle. This thing made several runs and then just dogged it on the bottom. The fight lasted a while before those bubbles finally appeared and a sighting soon followed. Neither of them had expected to see a fish this big on the end of Jims line and were amazed that they even lived in our waters. I hoisted it aboard and it even looked bigger in the boat! Jim held it up for a few shots before torpedoing it back to the depths. We returned to the fishing in hopes of Marie getting one but after an hour or so of just misses, we pulled the plug. I had plenty of water to cover and wanted to hit as many areas as I could for bass. What I hadn’t anticipated though, was all the other bass boats buzzing all over the lake. Apparently there was another tournament going on and I had company. This was going to be interesting as they were everywhere. In fact one area that I was hoping to fish, had boats on it all day long. Each time one left, another pulled in making it impossible for me to stop there. I wasn’t going to expose Jim & Marie to those tournament guys and went elsewhere. I headed further away and gave some shallow areas a try only to find out, they weren’t there. Marie caught the only decent fish of four pounds by covering water with a blade bait. Jim had been tossing a stick bait and managed to get a couple of northerns. Along the way they also managed a few smaller bass before we just left the shallows completely. I really wasn’t seeing any activity here and thought a deeper and slower presentation might be more productive. We relocated on an edge and I decided to mix it up a bit. Jim would be working a jig and Marie a drop shot in hopes of a few pickups. Well, Jim was tight lined almost on his first cast and things were looking up! He managed to land a nice four pound smallie and I thought we were in store for plenty more. Unfortunately this was to be the only bass from here but several walleye were caught afterwards. I tried another area nearby and once again Jim was locked up quickly. Both bass & walleye were landed here as well but all by dead sticking the jigs. For some reason, these fish didn’t want to move much and needed a really slow delivery. After several more fish and even more missed strikes, we moved again. We were going to try for the sturgeon once more as Marie still needed to fight one of her own. I set up in hopes of her tangling with something but Jim was the first one to lock up. He offered her the rod but she wanted him to fight it and flat out refused his kind gesture. Jim was on his own and had to fight another beast for a while before I would be able to bring it to net. Marie was watching how much strength this fish had and having second thoughts of fighting one. I finally netted his fish and it was slightly larger than the one he previously caught. A few more pics and another torpedo release and back to fishing we went. This time Marie contacted with one and it was game on! Not only did she finally hook up, but it was a giant! I could tell by the way it was acting that this was going to be a long battle and warned her to conserve her strength. At one point I could see the line rising and knew what was about to happen. I told them to wait for it and right on cue the monster leaped straight out of the water, boat side! It was huge and we all got a fantastic view of her Olympic, leaping dinosaur! Fortunately it had used up energy by jumping and Marie was gaining line back quickly. I had hoped for a quick fight and was glad the bubbles were starting. Soon after I slid the net under and brought this monster aboard. There was absolutely no way she would be able to hold it up for pics alone. Jim had to give her a hand and even at that, she struggled. It was released to fight again and Marie was exhausted from the fight. What a way to end the day! There was absolutely no way we were going to reset the lines and ended on a high. Although the bite may have been a painstaking one today, they still came out winners. They had managed to land plenty of decent fish with a couple of big smallies and topped it off with some real giant sturgeon. Who could ask for anything more!!

Darren was back once again with his brother & their friend Dave for the weekend. It had become an annual trip for the trio for several years now and each time it’s eventful. What would this one bring? Thoughts of a cancellation for Saturday were met with a definite no as all three wanted to fish. The miserable weather left us no other choice than the sheltered river as high winds and heavy rains were in the forecast. We spent the entire day fighting all the elements to land many fish but relatively small for this time of year. Although they didn’t catch the quality that I had hoped for, they did manage to wet a line and that was all that mattered. Tomorrow would be another day! The second half of this trip began on another puddle and I had a few surprises in store for them. Darren had already experienced the power of the sturgeon but both Dave and Mark didn’t know what was coming. We headed out in a 10 to 20 knot wind from the SW, but figured it had to be more enjoyable than yesterday. Bluebird skies were also a welcomed treat after yesterday’s heavy rainfall! I set the rods in hopes of a quick hookup and wasn’t disappointed. Darren was back in the game, as if he had never left! He was locked up as the others looked on in disbelief. I had told them we were fishing for big walleye until this point, but had to come clean. They could see by the way the fish was pulling that it wasn’t small and knew something was up. The lengthy battle had them wondering what kind of fish and I let them know, they were sturgeon. Not having ever fished for these creatures, they both wanted their shot at hooking into one also. After Darren landed the fish, Mark was up next. This was a quality one that had him in pain almost immediately. I could tell by the fight that it was one of the above average beasts and knew he’d be hurting by the end of the battle. After what seemed like forever to him, we finally got a view of what he had hooked into. Shortly after, it was in the net and he was relieved. I don’t know how much more of this he would have been able to handle! I had him hoist the dinosaur up for a few pics and the moaning started all over again. It was returned to the water and happily bolted to the bottom. I had wanted to get everyone into at least one but needed to take a couple of sheltered breaks to attend to kicker issues. The first time it was to untangle a mess of fishing line that accidently made its way into the prop and the second time to reconnect the linkage cable that had popped out again. These unscheduled breaks were cutting into our fishing time and hurting our chances of other hookups! The winds were blowing pretty good when we made it back out and waves were in the three foot range when we reset the lines. Fortunately it didn’t take too long for Darren to hook into another and this one was big. After a lengthy battle I netted probably the largest sturgeon so far this season. At over 67 inches it was next to impossible to hold up for pictures and Mark had to assist his brother to make it happen. I still needed to get Dave into one and after a little longer, his rod was finally bent! He may have had the smallest one of the day but it was still huge by anyone’s standards! In less than five minutes he muscled the fish boat side and right into the net. This was not only his first sturgeon but definitely his personal best fish by far. We had succeeded in everyone landing at least one and decided to head for another species. With the lake really rolling now, I knew it wouldn’t be easy and had to jump all over the place in order for them to get bit. The remainder of the day saw a mix of walleye, perch and bass under adverse conditions. Big waves made it hard to detect strikes and many fish were missed because of it. We eventually pulled the plug around 5:00 and called it a day. This trip may have been the most difficult so far but by making many adjustments, it was memorable once again. The giants that they landed today will more than make up for the smaller fish they caught yesterday. Yearly trips like these aren’t all about catching fish anyway. It’s a chance for them to all get together and chill from work & family for a weekend. Catching fish is just a bonus but today, it was huge!!

Christian & Jacques joined me this morning on another interesting journey! The weather would be the biggest factor as we had all kinds of changes throughout the day. To begin with, we started out in overcast skies that turned into a giant fog bowl in the middle of the lake. I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t see the other side and drove directly into the soup. The rest of the run would have to be by GPS as visibility was only about 50 feet. I carefully headed to our starting location and it felt strange once I arrived. I knew the fish were there by the sonar but couldn’t see anything else, anywhere! We set up and it didn’t take long for Jacques to hook into the first sturgeon of the day. He had never really fished much and required a little coaching in order to conserve his strength. The burn came early and he was starting to struggle with this dinosaur in under five minutes. Fortunately he didn’t have too much longer as bubbles were starting to show now. Eventually I netted his fish and hoisted it aboard for a few pics. I don’t think either of them had realized exactly what we were after by the looks on their faces. With a lot of difficulty, he raised the fish up for the pictures and torpedoed it back right after. I know he wasn’t ready for another one and reset the lines in hopes that Christian would hook up next. As luck would have it, he did and now it was his turn to experience the raw power of these fresh water sharks! It was definitely a struggle for him as well but I could tell by the look on his face that he was loving every second of this fight! Although slightly smaller than his son’s, it was still a good size and gave him quite a battle before going into the net. We hadn’t been fishing for more than an hour and they both had their personal bests! It could only get better, or so I thought! With the fog still upon us it was an eerie feeling catching these things without being able to see far. Although I could hear other boats running in the distance, we remained safely where we were and kept fishing. Several more hookups and a few early releases were had in the next couple of hours. A few of them even came to net for more pics! Eventually the fog did lift and we were finally into sunshine and warmer air temps. Unfortunately the winds had started blowing more, causing us to vacate this area and head for another species. I decided to try trolling as it looked like the most productive way to fish. We were into about three footers now, out of the SE and although somewhat difficult, it was still doable. One of the rods looked more bent than usual and when I checked it, I knew why. There was weight on the other end and Christian began to reel in a decent walleye. I measured it after the netting and it went just over the slot causing us to release it back to the water. Not before several pics for proof though as it was Christian’s largest walleye to date. We only landed a few more smaller fish before changing to a different approach. The wind was intensifying and I didn’t know how much longer we had before pulling the plug on this day. With a cross wind to the flow I had to really stay on the small engine to slow down the drift. They were drop shotting now and it wasn’t easy. By slowing the boat down I was rolling the occasional wave over the back deck while attempting to stay on the spot. Although they missed more fish than they landed, they still managed to bring a few to the net. Unfortunately only one legal walleye was landed but some smaller ones were also caught. Several decent smallies also came to net as we attempted several passes in this hell. Eventually after bringing a few rogue waves over the deck, I had to call the day. In the last hour the rollers got much larger and each time I went back for another pass I could see the effect. We still had to take out and I knew by the wind direction that the ramp wouldn’t be pretty. I readied the boat for a bumpy ride and headed to the dock in fours & occasional fives! I made sure that I didn’t take too long once we arrived and was out in only a couple of minutes. The back deck and floor took a few big rollers once on the trailer and I was glad we were done. Safety always comes first and I really pushed the envelope today! We had stayed out until 4:00 and that was more than I had expected. Even with all the weather changes, they managed to catch a bunch of fish and some really big ones too. "Mother Nature" may have won out in the end but we put up quite a fight. We had endured everything she threw at us and came out winners. All in all a pretty good day!!!

Darren was out with me today, but this time he brought along his dad Al & Dwight. Dwight was in Montreal visiting family and Both Darren & Al wanted to show him some great fishing. I decided to head straight to the big fish area, so they could tangle with a sturgeon or two before switching to smaller fish. The lake was rolling pretty good for this time of day & I hoped it wouldn’t get bigger! Winds were out of the SW at 10 to 15 knots making it more difficult than I liked, but not impossible. We set up and I don’t think it took 3 minutes before Darren was locked. He was into one of those average giants and it was game on! He fought this beast for quite a while before the bubbles arrived and a sighting soon followed. Both Al & Dwight were shocked to see the size of this fish and even more in awe when I hoisted the beast into the boat. Darren on the other hand was just relieved as he had spent plenty of time fighting this thing and was totally spent. Pics and release as usual and back to the task at hand! It didn’t take too long for the second one to arrive and it was Darren, once again that was tight lined. He decided to pass the rod over to Dwight so that he could enjoy the fight, but I just think that he wasn’t ready to do battle with another one so soon! As Dwight was use to fishing for quite a bit smaller fish back in the Philippines, a little coaching was required. He was already feeling the burn and I showed him a few tricks to help with the battle. Eventually the fish tired, but not before tiring Dwight out first! I think he was happy to see me finally net it and glad the fight was over too. Definitely his largest fish to date and some pictures for proof were required. We turned it lose afterwards and decided to try for one more before switching species all together. Wouldn’t you know it, Darren locked up again and this time his fish was big! He would have loved to pass the rod to his dad but it would have been too difficult for him to fight. Darren would feel the burn one more time! I knew by the length of battle and the way this fish didn’t want to come up that it was large. Darren also knew as he was the one hanging on through this rodeo ride. The sheer power of these things is amazing to feel and I was glad that I wasn’t the one holding the rod. When the fish finally showed, we saw why it took so long! It was giant and almost 5 feet long. Darren had a hard time getting a hold of her for the shots, but somehow found the strength for a few quick ones. Over the rail she went and back down to the bottom without any signs of fatigue. Darren on the other hand was ready for a different species! We packed it up here and went for bass & walleye elsewhere. I thought they could all use a break and opted for the troll. It was more work than I would have liked due to all the floaters but it would give them all a break. Eventually one of the outside reels fired and I passed the rod over to "Big Al" for the fight. Moments later I was netting a nice 4 pound walleye that was returned after, due to the slot. Not before several pictures though! We resumed our troll and managed one other pike and a whole lot of weeds before relocating. The winds had picked up considerably and drop shotting was what we were about to do. I moved around until I started marking some fish and instructed them to toss the lines. As with the morning, Darren was first to hook up once again. He was tight to a really decent northern over 8 pounds, but not what we wanted. We were searching for a few walleye for Al & Dwight to take back with them. In the next couple of hours they managed to land 6 walleye, a few perch and a couple of decent smallies. They also lost several others due to the rollers they were trying to fish in. Darren landed one more big smallmouth on his last cast and then we packed it in for the day. I don’t think that any of them had realized that the sturgeon were as big as they were when I mentioned we would be fishing for them today. It’s always fun to watch people fight them that are use to much smaller fish. Although mother nature blew hard today, we managed to get everything done that I had wanted. On top of that, they were bringing a few fish home for dinner tonight and Dwight would finally get to try Canadian walleye. Overall a pretty successful day of multi species fishing!!

Hugues & his son Oliver were fishing with me today but not until 10:00. With a few hours to spare, I decided to have the kicker shifting cable looked at before meeting up with them. Long story short, the cables were changed and I was on my way by 9:30. I headed straight to the ramp and we were fishing soon after, for giants! Oliver brought a friend and co worker with him for the day and I knew everyone was in for a real treat. I set up in a zone and informed them what to do when someone hooked up. Chris was first and into a pretty good one almost right away. He felt the pain with this fish and never realized the strength of these creatures! After a lengthy fight, I was finally able to get it into the net and aboard for some pics. It was definitely his personal best and first sturgeon ever! He returned his prize, bolting right to the depths it had come from. When the lines were reset, Hugues was into another fish soon after. Although a little smaller than Chris’s, it still fought him quite well. He had this one aboard quickly and after several shots returned to the water. Although we had a few other hits, they never really locked on. Sometime a little later, Hugues set the hook on something that didn’t move. This one seemed considerably larger than his first and really gave him a workout. The burn was intense as he fought this dinosaur and lasted much longer. Once the bubbles started to appear, I knew the end was nearing. The only thing left was a visual and we soon got that as well. Fortunately his fish cooperated and curled once in the net. Hugues may have been exhausted but he managed the strength to hold it for a few pics before the release. He really wanted his son Oliver to battle one and they decided the next rod would be his. Well as luck would have it, Hugues rod went tight and once the other lines were brought in, a hand off was made. Oliver would finally get his chance and we could hardly wait to hear him complain. When you’re use to reeling in small fish you can’t imagine just how strong these things actually are. He was finding out though and moaning the entire time! At one point, the line started to rise and I knew what was about to happen. I didn’t realize just how close to the boat it was until it leaped completely out of the water, almost hitting the side. We had gotten a look at probably the most unbelievable tail walk, ringside! Thankfully it wasn’t a couple of feet closer or it would have landed in the boat. The battle was intense and Oliver was definitely getting exhausted. A little while later I netted his fish and a sigh of relief was had. He was completely spent! Just holding the fish for a few pics was a challenge but we managed nonetheless. We resumed the fishing afterwards and only landed one more smaller fish before shifting gears completely. They had done well on the giants and deserved something a little smaller. I headed over to an area holding numbers of bass but had a rough time fishing it due to all the boat traffic. A combination of picture perfect weather and heat had everyone owning a boat back on the water today. W were seeing the fish but not able to entice even one into striking the offerings. I had no choice but to relocate to other sections of lake. The remainder of the day was spent drop shotting open water with a combination of bass, pike & small walleye landed. By 6:00 we called it a day and pulled the lines to head in. I had extended the afternoon due to a late start and apparently so did everyone else. The water was still full of boats in all shapes and styles. Hopefully this will be their last outing and the majority of people will be taking them out for the season. Weekends are always busier but lately it’s just crazy! Fortunately the wait at the ramp wasn’t bad and we were off the water in only a couple of minutes. Although they didn’t catch great numbers of fish today, the poundage was definitely there. They had all done personal bests and loved every minute of it. Hopefully the air & water temps will drop soon and trigger a feeding from all the bass & walleye. It’s just a matter of time before the lake is almost completely barren of boats and only fishermen will remain. I can’t wait!!