Mike & Cory were finally with me today after several attempts at hooking up this season. Work always tends to get in the way! Unfortunately we were going to get wet and once I launched the boat, we wasted no time getting away from the rain upon us. I was able to escape the worst of it, or so I thought, when I stopped on our first spot. With rain all around us we were fortunate to be in a small pocket where we could get set up. Once the lines were in however, we did get crushed and it wasn’t from the fish. It poured for about 20 minutes but they were at least fishing. I was marking all kinds of fish on the bottom but only an occasional one was taking their offerings. There was a lot of moss floating through the water column and every time they reeled in, it was on their lines. Although they did manage to catch a few bass and even had a double, I wanted to relocate. When the rain finally stopped we made our way back to the ramp to check on Mike’s sun roof. He was pretty sure he had closed it but needed confirmation. It was and we went to a couple of areas nearby, trying our luck at drop shotting once again. Limited success had us not staying long when I saw the same thing all over. Plenty of fish marking but not many takers! I tried several places with similar results after these and they just picked at the fish in each one. Mostly bass were being caught with a few perch and an occasional pike but I still wasn’t satisfied. I decided to see if the sturgeon would cooperate a little better and went to check them out. For well over an hour and a half we tried for them but unfortunately it wasn’t happening there either. I was marking plenty but they just weren’t active as Cory was the only one to have a shot and he missed the take. Mike was more interested in bass fishing, so we decided to devote the remainder of the day targeting them. Soft plastics in the shallows for one and a small crank for the other had both locked up almost immediately. I wasn’t sure if the fish would still be here with all the overcast & waves but received a quick confirmation with their double. This move proved to be the right one and they had better success here for close to two hours. I continued searching different sections around with success in every one. Mike was definitely enjoying the raw strength of these bass in the shallows! Late in the afternoon when the sun finally came out I gave them the option of trolling for walleye, or trying for the dinosaurs once again. We would give the beasts 15 minutes and move on if it wasn’t happening! As luck would have it though, it only took 10 before both of them simultaneously were locked up. Cory’s decided to take to the air and made a spectacular leap in front of us before throwing the hook. I wasn’t too disappointed as Mike was tight to his. This battle lasted quite a while before I tailed the fish and brought it aboard for a few pics. Quickly released, they wanted more and we set the lines in hopes of Cory getting his. Mike wouldn’t have been able to reel in another one after the last battle, so they decided Cory would be up if someone got into one. Guess what, Mike nailed another and it was game on! I don’t think Cory really expected what was going to happen next but he fought the goliath beast like a champ. The battle was lengthy and once we got a glimpse of the fish we knew why. I really need to start bringing a net! He actually brought the fish to the boat five times without being able to have it landed. Each time I tried to grab it, she sounded right back to the bottom and the battle continued. In the end, we had to figure something out as I knew this method wasn’t going to work and Cory was getting exhausted. I finally decided to try one of the nets just to get the head in and grab the other end so as not to allow her to sound again. Well it worked and with everyone’s help, we managed to bring her aboard. To say Cory was a little excited would have been an understatement. He was relieved! As she lay on the floor of the boat they stood there in awe at its sheer mass. I had to put a tape on her and was actually surprised to find out it went over 64 inches. All I know is that she was as fat as she was long and they both had a hard time holding it up for the pics. I shot several quick ones and had them torpedo her back as quickly as possible. The battle had been a long one and I knew she was tired too, but as soon as she hit the water, she bolted away like nothing had even happened. There was no way we were resetting the lines again so we just packed up and headed back. This was the nicest it had been all day with sunshine and very little wind, making the run back a relaxing one. It also gave Mike & Cory time to build up their strength again after battling the creatures from the deep. I don’t think either of them will forget this day anytime soon and they have pics to prove it. I may have to mix these fish into my regular fishing from time to time when conditions allow. Provided of course that the clients can handle all the pain that comes with the battle and today’s crew know that first hand! I guess that’s what they mean when they say, "The Fat Lady has Sung"!

Valerie & Max joined me this morning for a regular start of 7:30, under picture perfect conditions. It began with a cool morning air as we headed to our first spot of the day. Drop shotting deep rocks produced several bass & walleye before we shifted due to someone thinking he could just troll all around us again. He saw us net a couple of fish and moved in just like everyone usually does. People are unbelievable! I immediately pulled out and headed elsewhere. We hit another spot for smallmouth and I had Valerie tossing blades with Max cranking the shallows. After a couple of decent bass I was amazed to see Max hook into a walleye in only 3 feet of water. It’s definitely been a strange year! I resumed the fishing and unfortunately Max was the only one catching. Valerie had a few hits and a couple of follows but wasn’t able to close the deal. Time to change locations again! This time I made a long run in hopes of finding more fish shallow so they could cast soft plastics. It proved to be the right move as there were quite a few aggressive fish cruising around eager to eat. We hung here for a couple of hours with plenty of action before I had to leave to meet someone on the water. As they were pretty far away I thought a middle point would be best but arrived before. I decided to have both drop down while waiting and almost immediately Max was into a three pounder. No need to waste time when there’s fish to be caught! After the meet, I thought we would try back where we were previously but changed my mind along the way. I had run over an area that held big fish and gave them the option. They agreed and we began trying for the dinosaurs that lived down deep. Valerie & Max both hooked up at almost the same time but unfortunately Max’s fish came unpinned. It was a good thing though as she was into a giant! it was so big that she had to pass the rod to Max for a while so she could rest her arms. She resumed a little while later and was able to bring the fish close enough for me to grab. I didn’t have a net big enough to land this beast and was forced to do the two glove thing. I even had a hard time bringing it aboard and was happy to see the battle over. Just taking pics was difficult and after several good shots I returned her, apparently no worse for wear! We went right back to it and Valerie hooked up once again. This time the battle was shorter and she landed the fish somewhat quicker, with very little help. More pics and back in they went once again, when Valerie hooked up one more time. This time however, Max got the rod right away. She wasn’t ready for another battle and he was happy to accept it. When we finally caught a glimpse of the fish, I realized that it was even bigger than her first one. Several times it went to the depths but each time he managed to bring the goliath back. Unfortunately a little too much pressure had the hook pull out and back down she went. A little disappointed that it got off but not too much! These things are almost impossible to get aboard without a net and I wasn’t upset. They had their fill of the sturgeon so we headed back to something a little tamer. Smallies in the shallows and less of a fight! The remainder of the afternoon saw plenty of action from both of them and I was able to rest my back too! By the time it was all done, they had battled with loads of fish and landed lots of pounds doing it. This was their first time out with me but I don’t think it will be their last. I fully expect them back in the fall when the smallies are at their biggest and feeding before the freeze. I don’t think either of them could ever have imagined a day of fishing like this. The fish gods were definitely shining on them today!!

Leonard was with me today along his grandson Erin and Joel his father came along too. A later start than usual of 9:00 had us wasting no time getting the lines wet. We began drop shotting an area that had been very productive over the last couple of weeks. Today however it was a little slower, with only a few smallmouth landed. We were actually looking for walleye but found them smaller than normal. In fact, the entire morning was slow with nothing to show in the livewell for our efforts! I realized with fishing this difficult that trolling was our only option and readied everything, in hopes of better results. Once the lines were set, it didn’t take long before reels started to fire and the remainder of the day saw plenty of action. Walleye, pike and bass came aboard of all sizes and everyone was getting their share. In fact, they had no problem taking a limit of walleye home for a family dinner. As I was the one filleting their catch, I decided to pull the plug just after 4:30. They would be having fresh fish for dinner! Unfortunately no pics were taken by me today but there were many shot by them. A rough start to the day ended with quite a bang when a little adjustment was made. Great back nine as golfers would say!!

Today I had Arie & his two boys, Jake & Ryan out fishing for a good numbers day. It was actually a half day that began at 10:00 and finished shortly after 2:00. I had figured that trolling would be the easiest method and set the lines right after the top went up. It was suppose to be in the mid 80’s today and there was barely a breeze, so I knew we would fry without it! Well it didn’t take long before we were into fish but without the reels firing once again! The two outside rods had large bends in them and both kids were reeling in their very first walleye. As they were of legal size and Arie was hoping to have some fresh fish for dinner, they went directly in the livewell. Water temps were over 71 degrees and should have been warm enough to trigger aggressive strikes but both fish were just there. I hoped this wouldn’t last all day as it’s always easier to hear reels go off. We resumed our fishing in hopes of more fish to come and were rewarded soon after with another walleye. Unfortunately it was short and was immediately released. After several more walleye of various size, Jake was finally into a rather large northern. Large for him that is! With a little help from his dad I was able to bring the fish to net and we took several pics before the release. Although the action wasn’t what I had expected, we were picking at the fish pretty good. Eventually with the water warming, the fish got active and reels were finally going off like they should. At one point we had simultaneous activity that had all four reels scream and a reel fire drill. Two of the fish were walleye and the other was a larger northern that ate two lines. This guy had an appetite and had taken two of the lures at the same time. Talk about greedy! It was pretty funny watching the fish come in with a couple of lines hanging out of its mouth. Although only three actual fish were landed I had to call this a quad! The action had picked up considerably and there wasn’t too much of a gap between fish now. Every few minutes someone was reeling in a fish and the kids were getting their fill. I had decided that with the two species a piece I would try for a third and slid into a zone that held smallmouth. As luck would have it, the fish hit right on cue and Ryan got his first slam! The bass was only a couple of pounds but it counted as an official slam! We reset the line and continued looking for another bass so that both brothers would have one and filtered through several walleye & pike before it happened. In fact it happened in spades when we saw the fish take to the air. By the looks of it, she was at least 4 pounds and gave Jake a hard time getting her to the boat. So much so that it took out two other lines in tangles that had me dong some fancy foot work. With help from his dad I was able to net the beast and realized that it was much larger than we thought. Not only was she long but she had fed really well after her spawn, looking like a real football. So as not to keep her out of the water too long, I made the photo shoot quick and released her immediately afterwards. After retying a couple of the lines and fixing the other two, I set them back and pretty quickly we had another screaming rip that I was sure was a northern. It had gone off so hard that it had to be a pike. To my surprise it was a big walleye and the largest of the day. They were hoping on taking this one home but I knew it was a good over and told them why it had to go back. More pics and another release and back to fishing we went. Our active period had slowed now and I was really moving around plenty to get only a few bites. We managed to pick up a few more before pulling the plug all together. These kids had their fill of fish and were looking forward to going fast again so we called it a day. I decided to leave the top up for the run back and took it slower that I normally would. Once out of the water, Arie followed me back to my place as I was filleting the fish for his dinner tonight. His two boys had caught the most fish ever in a single day if not in total and were going to be dining on their catch. I know there would be stories told at the table and some of them would actually be true tales of their day on the lake. Like all fishermen, some others would not! Great day for fishing!!

Hugues was with me today for the 8th year and this time he brought new blood. Andre was along but for the first time and I hoped it would be as good as it had been. The lake was looking a little nasty upon arrival and I knew it would only get worse as the day went on. The winds were suppose to be from the SW this morning, blowing 10 to 20 knots but in actuality they were out of the NW. Waves were already 2 to 3 foot making the run to our starting location a little bumpy. I had decided to begin in an area that was slightly protected so as not to beat them up too early. With one guy on a crankbait and the other a spinnerbait, I had it covered. They were to fish for the active ones right away and I would slow them down after the fish stopped biting. Well, I really never changed them up as they were locked on plenty of fish with these presentations for well over an hour. It seemed like every time I told them three more casts, someone would hook another fish and we’d stay a little longer. Eventually I just decided to pull the plug and search for larger fish somewhere else. They had played with numbers of average fish and now I wanted them to catch a few giants! On Hugue’s very first cast in the new spot, he got crushed on the spinnerbait and was tight to a good bass. This one just beat him up and went aerial a number of times before I was able to get her in the net. As it was quite windy here, I decided to put the fish in the livewell alongside the earlier caught walleye, for pics later. This area was holding several more bass as we saw when Hugues was fighting his. There had to be about 6 others with it and they were all in the same size class. I had a good feeling about this place and decided to concentrate here a little harder. Once the spinnerbait & crankbait stopped producing, it was time for a slower presentation. Out came the jigs and it was game on! In one area I think Hugues had 5 fish on in 5 casts. Although they both lost a load of fish, they landed a bunch as well and refined their jigging skills. They realized that by slowing down their movements, they got more bites. This would come in handy in a few weeks as they were heading on a fishing trip to remote location. Any new techniques would only help them in landing more fish where they were going. We remained in this area, moving around the entire morning and part of the afternoon due to the winds. When I finally decided to leave it was about 2:00 and the lake was rolling pretty good. Fortunately the winds had switched to SW, but were blowing 20 to 30 knots now. It wasn’t going to be easy but I was going to show them another technique and with any luck we might catch a few more fish in the process. Drop shotting was next on the list and they were looking forward to giving it a try! When I finally settled in and started the drift, I realized we were going to get wet. I was slowing down the drift with the small engine and rogue waves would periodically roll over the back and onto whatever was in their way. Namely Hugues feet! He had been warned but didn’t care as today was much better than what he was use to. In the past, he had a track record of bad weather in the form of rain or electrical storms. Today was a walk in the park and the fishing was spectacular! When I finally set them up and explained the do’s & don’ts they began hitting fish. Both walleye & smallies were eating their presentations and there were lots. The last two hours of fishing had been just like the rest of the day with fish coming aboard constantly. The weather hadn’t effected the fishing. In fact, I think it fired them up as the action was all day long! I don’t really know how many fish they caught today but I do know that it was more than they had ever hoped for. With several different techniques & presentations used today, all had worked. They would be ready for their fishing trip and looking forward to using all that they had learned on this extraordinary day! After a couple more fish landed, we called it a day. I’m pretty sure neither of them would forget this "Wow" day anytime soon!!