Ryan & his dad Mike were to fish with me today and we all hoped « Mother Nature » would be kind as rain was in the forecast. Overnight it changed to 40% showers and things were looking up! The drive to the lake saw overcast skies and occasional sun, but that was soon about to change as we neared the water. We had a cold wind from the north at 10 knots making the 64 degree weather feel more like 54 where we began our day of fishing. Water temps had dropped to the mid 60’s from 70 just a few days earlier scattering the fish all over. Senko’s were our first lure of choice and shortly after produced a few smaller than average fish for both Mike & Ryan. We fished throughout the shallower waters in 4 to 10 feet of water and hooked into a fish here & there before I decided to try the deeper waters nearby. This was to be a good choice as Ryan began to hook up with tubes in water 10 to 20 feet deep. Several of these fish were decent in size, but not exactly what I was looking for and I opted for even deeper water again. When we began to drag spider jigs in 20 to 30 feet of water, Mike almost instantly hooked into a better fish in the 4.5 pound size. This was to prove to be the largest smallie of the day but several others slightly smaller in size were both landed & also lost. There were probably a dozen or more bass caught & released with at least that number lost too! We were fortunate with the weather today as the only rain came in the form of a shower that lasted less than an hour in the middle of the day. By 5:00 PM we were ready to call it a day and I began to pack everything up for the boat ride back to the ramp. Ryan’s enthusiasm for fishing was incredible as he wanted more. I’m sure that if we had decided to fish until dark, he would have gone along with us. I continued to drift over some of the better deeper water weeds & rocks while he made several ‘Last Casts ». On about his third or fourth cast, he finally hooked up with something and had me scrambling for the net. A bonus walleye of close to 6 pounds was soon netted and placed into the livewell for their dinner. It’s really great to see kids with the love of the outdoors instead of just sitting at home playing video games on the computer & TV. Ryan’s desire & drive to fish will provide him with many more memories that will hopefully continue for the rest of his life. Hats off to his dad for starting him at an early age! At 12 years old, he already has excellent casting skills and learns everything shown to him quite quickly. I hope to see them both again, real soon!!

Once again I fished with John today, but had to opt for the St-Lawrence River because of the high winds forecasted for this area. They were gusting at over 30 knots throughout most of the afternoon and even on the river we had whitecaps! Any other body of water would have had us looking for sheltered areas in order to fish. The air temps reached almost 80 degrees and the water temps were 69 to 70 degrees in most areas. Sunshine and occasional clouds greeted us for the entire day and except for the wind, it was perfect. Unfortunately, the fishing wasn’t perfect! This was to be the day of the lost & missed fish as over 75% of the smallies were never landed. On John’s first cast with a spinnerbait, he had an aerial display from a 4 to 5 pound smallie that lasted until the second leap. A short while later, another huge bass did the exact same thing and came unpinned after the second or third jump as well. We moved around plenty on this day but only managed to pick a fish here & there with no real concentrations found anywhere. Several fish were either following our offerings or just nipping at them, but never really committing to the hooks. This was real frustrating as many of them were quality fish! We stuck it out as long as we could and decided to call it quits around 5:00 PM when we had seen just about enough. At the end of the day there were about 10 or 12 fish caught, but many more lost or just seen following! A tough day to say the least. I’m beginning to hate full moons!! No pics today, but here’s a few from last season.

Once again, John & I fished another day on another local lake. The weather was a little different than we had been use to lately as today was mainly sunny. The winds were out of the S/W at 5 to 10 knots creating a 1 foot chop on the water. The air temps went into the low 70’s and the water temps actually reached over 70 degrees in some areas. The fishing was a little tougher today as we experienced the full moon period. John still managed to catch close to 20 bass weighing up to 5 pounds on a variety of lures & baits. From spinnerbaits to tubes & senko’s, the bass still fell victim to his offerings. Shallow water of 2 feet produced some bass but the better fish came from 10 to 15 foot depths. Most of the deeper fish were the larger ones as well! All in all a pretty good day!

John & I were back on another lake once more today and this time it was a numbers game! The weather was pretty much a replica of yesterday with overcast skies and very little wind until late in the afternoon. Air temps were once again in the mid 60’s and the water temps were also just below 70 degrees. No muskie today, but plenty of smallmouth as John got into close to 35 fish by himself. They were all sizes but the average would have gone over two pounds with plenty nearer three. The best ones were around 4 pounds and there were a few of them as well. Tubes accounted for only a small percent of the fish today as we switched over to Senko’s early in the day. The fish were on rocky areas surrounded by some weeds and feeding on minnows and crawfish. I guess the fall feeding mode has finally arrived! Another pretty good day of smallmouth fishing was definitely had today!!

I had the pleasure of fishing with John & Dave from California today on a local lake for smallies. They had just returned from a successful Caribou hunt in northern Quebec and were to spend a few days in Montreal before flying back home. John had fished with me last year, but it was the first time for Dave. He was in for a real treat! The skies were overcast and there was little to no wind present. Air temps reached the mid 60’s and the water temps were holding just below 70 degrees. Dave drew first blood with a spectacular leaping Muskie that he hooked on a spinnerbait. It would have weighed around 10 pounds and was his first one, ever! John just concentrated on the smallmouth and landed around 10 or so throughout the day. Most of the fish were in the 3.5 to 4.5 pound range with his two best surpassing the 5 pound mark. The quantity wasn’t there, but the quality definitely was! Slowly dragged tubes were the ticket today as the bass were really in a negative feeding mood where we were. By the end of the day, there were around 15 bass & 1 muskie boated and released. All in all, a pretty good day!