Alain & Cindy were with me this morning for a frigid spring fishing day. I knew we were going to have a tough time when the water temps were more than the air temps but hit the water early, nonetheless. We began with 32 degrees and I think by the end of the day it might have even climbed all the way to 40 degrees. With a strong NW wind blowing 15 to 25 knots it felt more like the 20’s. Water temps were at best 43 degrees and somewhat stained with all the north winds lately. My set up was going to be two deep lines and only one shallow line as I was marking plenty of bait down and hoped for a quick biter. This wasn’t going to happen however as it took until almost noon for one of the reels to go off. Cindy was quick to react and was tight to a heavy fish on a deep line. As she was fighting hers, the other deep one went off and now Alain was battling a heavy fish as well. I was pretty sure that they were both lake trout as there were plenty of head shakes and some weight was definitely there. Well to everyone’s amazement, Cindy was the only one with a laker on the end of her line. I was surprised to see that Alain actually had a Northern Pike on his and concentrated on the better fish. Both were netted and only one released as the 24 inch laker went into the livewell. We weren’t going to be skunked today! We continued fishing this area and as usual, boats started to gather. It really doesn’t take much for someone to get excited and fish right on top of another boat! Unfortunately, we managed to hook up twice more in the next 20 minutes and both were pike of equal size. Seeing as how Cindy & Alain were feeling the cold, we decided to head back to their place on the lake and break for lunch. It’s really nice to have that option and I was quickly in agreement! I thought this would be a good time to take a couple of pics and they decided to release the laker afterwards. This was to be its lucky day! After lunch we headed right back to where the action had taken place and made sever unsuccessful passes through the same zone untouched. Off to other places with similar results and finally we stumbled into a warmer area of 43 degrees and the long, high line went a screaming. Alain was tight to another heavy fish and I really hoped it wasn’t a pike! We were thankful to see by the boat that it was of a trout persuasion but weren’t sure if it was a brown or a laker. It was a big one though and that’s all that mattered! Eventually I was able to get a better look at the fish in the waves and slipped the net under an even bigger lake trout than the one from this morning. It would have gone about 25 inches or more and was a real fatty! Into the livewell it went and back to fishing we went as well. Despite all the moves and water we were to cover afterwards, we weren’t to hook up again. Somewhere after 4:30, we decided to call it a day and I dropped Cindy off at the dock, released the laker and headed back to take out. Although we were to only land two trout today it was still a great one. It wasn’t my first trip of the season but they were the first lakers of the year. Previously I had boated many a salmon but on a different lake. Reports hadn’t been done up but there will be a pic to follow. Overall it was a pretty good day for the initial trip, two days after the season opener. Can’t wait for tomorrow!!

It seems like just yesterday when I stored the boat in preparation for a long, hard winter. Where did it go? With any luck, I will be back on the water soon enough to take advantage of the early Walleye bite. Insane days with high numbers of both walleye & sauger are short lived as the season closes abruptly by March end. Mother Nature has the upper hand here as she decides whether or not I get out in the boat. Although this winter hasn’t been the best for anyone wanting to ice fish, there are still alternatives. Open water trout & steelhead are abundant on both sides of the border and certain rivers are producing daily. Lake Ontario tributaries are easy to access for those wanting to do a little leg work and can be quite rewarding as well. This bizarre winter has kept me busy, but not in the way I had intended. Instead of mixing up the hard & soft water fishing, I have been focusing on the business at hand. Preparation of the 2012 season has had me concentrating on revamping my website. It has been long overdue! There will be several changes made to both the locations as well as the pics sections. With a variety of fish species now being targeted, it was time to advertise them all. Although bass will always be the favorite, multi species fishing has allowed me to extend the year even longer. From the novice to the experienced, there’s something for everyone to enjoy! Bookings have begun for walleye in March, trout & salmon in April/May as well as pike & walleye opening in May. When bass season opens mid June, I will be targeting all species and fishing right into December once again. Be sure to check back soon at http://www.advancedbassin.com for updates and any booking days you may require. It won’t be long before we’ll be wetting lines and hitting the open water for another great season. Enjoy a few pics from this winters fishing. Tight Lines Everyone!!

Just when I thought it was over for the year, Darren calls and wants to go back out! We hooked up at the boat ramp before 9:00 and readied for the chilly morning run. The forecast called for a high of just above freezing but it definitely wasn’t there yet! In fact, if it weren’t for the sunshine, the 28 degree temps would have been bone numbing. A lack of wind also made it feel a whole lot warmer as we raced to our first area to fish. It didn’t take long before we realized why we were here, as a chunky 3.5 pound smallie came aboard. I hadn’t been on the water since the previous week and was surprised to find the water temps about the same. A 44 degree surface water temperature had these fish somewhat active and we were about to take advantage. I was on a quest for big fish and decided that a run & gun approach was to be the game plan. We would try to hit as many areas as we could today and hold a little longer on the ones that produced quality bites. After Darren landed a few more 3 pounders, we were off to our next spot in pursuit of heaviness! Water temps were a little cooler here with 41.5 and I knew the active ones, wouldn’t be many. Although we managed to get a few, they weren’t the large ones I had hoped for and shortly after, we were on the move again. Similar results were had at the next couple of stops and we just kept searching for bigger & better. Once I found a little warmer water, we located some bigger fish. A four pounder was the first to get landed and one over 5 pounds soon followed. I thought we had hit the mother load but soon realized that we had caught the only two eaters in the area. It was a fine line today between running & gunning and fishing slow enough to take advantage of the biters from each area. Our sunshine had been blocked by a heavy cloud bank early in the morning and air temps were feeling much colder. Ice was gathering on the guides and constant cleaning was necessary. The high percentage plan was soon adjusted to a finesse approach and a major slow down. We returned to a couple of areas that had produced earlier and changed our presentations to increase hookups. This was obviously the right decision and many other fish were landed with this technique. Fish of all sizes were now falling victim and the action was picking up nicely. In one particular refined area, Darren must have landed close to 10 fish in as many casts! They were definitely here and we were going to milk it before relocating again. Eventually the bite slowed to a crawl and I was forced to shift in search of others nearby. We picked at them, but not to my satisfaction and another move was necessary. One final stop before calling it a day and we managed to get them pretty good, once again! I think there was a bunch of fish in this small area as we both landed and lost several more. I’m sure we could have stayed longer and picked at the bass until dark, but the cold air had us rethinking this option. We had managed to cheat Mother Nature into December and wanted to end on a high. It’s not too often that fishing this late occurs and we were both content to throw in the towel. Plenty of fish were caught, including a dinner walleye for Darren today and we were done. A long term look at our future weather tells me that this may not be the last time the boat gets wet. I think I will be back next week to fight again!!

Sam, Hassan & Dave were with me today, for one more kick at the can! They wanted to get out again before the weather put them into a hibernation mode, longing for the spring thaw. We hit the water at the crack of 9 and were fishing soon after! Winds were non existent and the air temps were actually quite warm at about 50 degrees. This would not last however as the forecast called for a drop in temp with an oncoming north wind a little later. Water temps were 41.5 to 43, depending on where we were and the fish were really lethargic. So much so that on the first drift through an excellent area, no one hooked a thing. I made a couple of blind casts on the second pass and landed about 8 pounds of bass, signifying that they were definitely here! If they were to catch anything today, they were going to have to slow down and really pay attention. The bites weren’t aggressive and some of them wouldn’t even feel like a bite at all today! In frustration, I decided to move from here and try casting other area in hopes of them having better luck at hookups. Dave was the newbie in the group and ironically, he was doing better than the other two. In fact, he managed to get the first decent bass over 4 pounds landed and followed it up with another soon after. Eventually, Sam & his brother joined in and they all had the skunk out! Just when everyone was really enjoying this warm fall day, the wind picked up and the temps began to fall. In only a short time, they had gone from no jackets to bundling up with hoods. Fortunately the fish hadn’t felt the sting and were still biting, somewhat! It was difficult at best for them to detect hits and I had to inform them to slow down more and really pay attention to their baits. I’m not really sure just how many fish they missed today but I think it was about 75% of their takes. These fish were going to have to commit suicide in order for them to hook up and I wasn’t going to let that happen. It seemed like every time I made an example cast, I got bit and landed a fish. I think it was after the fifth or sixth bass that they finally caught on and began to slow down to the speed they needed. In fact, several of the bass caught were from dead sticking the jigs on the bottom! It was from this point on that the fish started coming aboard and the numbers finally started to rise. Dave even hooked into something that had us all wondering, as line began peeling off the reel. I actually had to follow the fish as it was going everywhere! After several minutes of battling the unknown, we finally saw that it was a sturgeon. It may not have been a large one but it was his first and one heck of a battle. Once landed, we took a few pics and released this prehistoric animal back to the water unharmed. They all went back to fishing and as we slid along a deeper edge, they began to hook up regularly. I’m not sure if they had caught on or if the fish just became a little more active, but something was working! Several more nice bass and even a walleye were taken from here before we shifted to another area further away. Sam had managed to land one bass that may have topped the scales over five pounds along with many others slightly smaller. In fact, everyone had caught fish from this small loaded section before we moved. They were all feeling the chill in the air, but Sam was feeling it the most. Thankfully, he was catching bass and not thinking about the cold as much from this new area! All three of them had multiple chances at fish but only caught a small percent of their actual hits. Somewhere around 2:30 there was talk of pulling the plug, but they managed to hold out a little longer before throwing in the towel. The cold had set in and they were done! In less than 6 hours of fishing, they had all managed to catch their fair share and ended the season on a high. Although today had the potential of an incredible day numbers wise, monopolizing on all the takers wasn’t in their favor. Fortunately however, they did catch a bunch and that’s all that counts! Today would make the long cold winter ahead a little less miserable. Only four more months before open water and springtime fishing, I hope!!

Ross was back with me again this fall and this time he brought along Jim, from a southern state. Last year, he had landed a personal best smallie of 5.4 pounds on his birthday, what would today bring? We hit the water shortly after 8:00 and as usual, were into fish immediately! Although the weather was a crisp one, the sun was shining and this made it quite comfortable. Air temps began in the mid 30’s and barely climbed over 40 degrees by days end. The water temps were somewhere around 47 or 48 degrees and the fish were active. With a light wind from the north blowing less than 5 knots, I knew they were in for a treat today. Once the learning curve passed, both Ross & Jim began to understand the difference between rocks and fish. This significantly improved their hookups! It was like a bouncing ball as it seemed like as soon as one of them locked up, the other wasn’t far behind. There were plenty of doubles in the mix today bringing the numbers way up, quickly. Jim hadn’t caught many, if any smallies before being from down south and couldn’t believe just how strong they fought. Both Ross & I explained that this wasn’t their full potential and he should try them in the summer when the water temps were higher. Nevertheless, he was more than happy to tangle with some of the finest fighting, freshwater fish that swim! We moved only a few times throughout the day as every time we stopped, we fell on piles of active bass. Never leave fish to find fish! We had found fish and were going to catch every one that bit before we up and left these areas. The morning bite was good and once the sun got up warming the air, the afternoon bite was even better. Ross may not have broken last years personal best, but he definitely had a blast trying. We fished right until 3:30, all the while catching bass until the final drift. I really don’t know how many bass were landed today but the numbers were pretty high. These fish were really active all day long and it was great to see them eating everything we threw at them. I’m sure Jim will go back home having a new favorite freshwater fish after today. Another great day to be fishing!