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This morning’s trip had me waiting at the ramp, with the boat on the trailer, for my clients. I wasn’t sure if they would still be willing to head out with the weather we were having and was pleasantly surprised when they arrived. Game on! We were heading out, regardless that it was pouring rain. A big wind from the SW was also responsible for the 3 footers on the lake. Hopefully they made the right decision!

After a nasty run to an area far from the launch, I set up some soft plastics for them to use. Dan and his 2 kids were about to catch some smallies from this shallow flat! Alexa was the first to hook up as a nice bass came to the net. Her brother Jonathan soon followed with one of equal size and both of them were officially on the board. Their father wasn’t really fishing much as he just wanted to watch them catch fish.

We had been here for less than an hour when the rain decided to quit falling. It was almost pleasant if not for the strong winds! At least it wasn’t wet anymore and removing our hoods, was definitely a plus!

Jonathan & Alexa were hooking up pretty regular and a good number of bass were landed by both. Although the bites weren’t fast and furious, the slow presentation of the soft plastics was definitely the ticket. Faster moving baits were tried, but without any success. I was limited to where I could go with these conditions, so I just concentrated on the area we were in. By covering the water thoroughly, they monopolized on the number of fish on these flats.

This morning flew by quickly and before I knew it, we were heading back. I knew that the run wouldn’t be pleasant and I was right. We were going with the wind and surfing 3 & 4 footers all the way to the ramp. Fortunately, with this boat we never got wet!

Everyone had a great time this morning, despite the conditions we were dealt. With the rain stopping shortly after we arrived at our first spot, it made everything much more pleasant. Both Alexa and her brother Jonathan managed to catch some good fish in our short time on the water. Their father also took plenty of videos and pics of them fighting all the bass they caught. You might say that we made the best of a not so perfect situation. Mother Nature tried, but I guess she failed this time!!

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Three generations and two birthdays were aboard today, hoping to catch some freshwater fish for dinner.  Jennifer, her son Nick and her mother Bev joined me as we headed out to make it happen. I would be taking them dropshotitng on rockpiles and with any luck, the fish would cooperate!

It didn’t take long before both bass and walleye were coming aboard, but most were on the smaller side and had to be released. Eventually a few keepers were landed though and the livewell was fired up. They would be having fresh fish for dinner! Being from Florida, they were use to saltwater ones, but tonight their catch of the day was to be fresh!

The weather was just about perfect today with sun and cloud and a decent wind for the drift. Temps were also quite pleasant and remained in the 70’s the entire day, making for a comfortable outing. The fish were even cooperating as multiple hits were being had with each and every drift. I just kept rotating areas the entire time, monopolizing on all the active fish. When things slowed down, I would relocate and do it all over again. Although there were a few slow periods, someone was almost always hooked up.

Sometime in the afternoon, I moved to an area I hadn’t been to in a while and Nick landed a couple of really good fish. The birthday boy even took top honors with a bonus northern that ate the dropshot rig as well. We may not have pounded on the fish heavily from one spot but by moving around they were able to have plenty of action. It seemed that every location was holding some fish and they definitely caught from all.

A slightly earlier than usual end to the day was requested and I finished off right where we had started. Everyone managed to land a few more fish before we were done and some of them even made it into the tank!

Fresh fish was requested this morning and they would be having a great meal tonight. Several good keepers were taken back with them for the birthday dinner. Bev was looking forward to dining on fresh fish for her birthday and so were all the others. For some reason fish always tastes better when you’ve caught them yourself! They definitely had enough to feed the six people that would be eating tonight!

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a more enjoyable day with the outcome. Between the weather and the company, it was just about perfect. Oh yeah and the fishing was pretty good too!!

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Darryl & Andrew were in from California and spending their last day fishing. We began by dropshotting open water in a good chop but they only managed a few small bass & walleye. I decided to move once the light rain started and headed to another area further away, to fish in less wind.

Our second spot wasn’t great but several good bass were landed by using soft plastics. They were quite familiar throwing these baits back home and had no problem with the smallies! I did notice however that the fish weren’t eating very well and most of them came, by almost dead-sticking the soft plastics! They wanted almost zero movement!

After working the area thoroughly, I moved to another flat and it was here that things picked up. At least for Andrew! A good number of bass were caught, but just in one section of the spot. Both of them managed to hook into some quality fish but Andrew definitely had the hot hand with most of them. He was literally doing nothing and continually catching fish. Darryl did have some action and was hooked up to a real beauty, but his line broke before it neared the net. Definitely a tough break!

We spent the day dodging a few storms and always seemed to stay ahead of the worst ones. In fact, one of our long moves kept us in the sunshine the entire time, while we watched it pass us by. More fish were caught in each place and several walleye were landed as well. Both dropshotting and casting soft plastic baits were used to slowly finesse these fish into biting. They really weren’t in the mood to chase!

After waiting out the worst of the storms, I decided to make another long run, in hopes of some bigger fish. The winds had picked up considerably from the NW and we were now running in 2 & 3 footers. I arrived and unfortunately the area I wanted to fish wasn’t what I thought it would be and only one fish was missed. I moved again to another spot close by and Andrew landed his biggest fish of the day. It was also his PB for the second time today! Between them, they managed to get a handful of bass before we headed out. Time was closing in on the day and I wanted to try one more area before we were done.

I realized just how big the lake had gotten when I headed back towards the ramp. The NW winds had increased to a point that we were in big rollers & whitecaps all the way. I wanted to get closer to the shore and stopped on a flat to finish the day. Here they managed to get a few more fish before we were done.

Darryl & his son Andrew ended their vacation the way they wanted, fishing! While the rest of the family stayed in the city shopping, they did what they liked best. This was the perfect ending to a great week of sightseeing and they couldn’t have planned it better. Numbers of quality bass were caught and they were much bigger than the smallies they usually catch back home. California isn’t really known for their smallmouth, but the largemouth grow real big over there! They were treated to great brown bass action this time though and left with some real big fish caught. A great time was had by all and it was a pleasure having them out for the day. Great fishermen and even greater company!!

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With 2 half day bookings for today, I wasn’t impressed to hear that there was a 100% chance of rain scheduled! Added to the wetness, they also forecasted a big SE wind too! Fortunately, I was able to reschedule the afternoon trip, but we were on for the morning. This was the only time Keith & his son Rory would be able to fish and they didn’t mind a little rain. Hopefully that’s all we would get!

We met up at 7:00 and headed out in a steady rain. I was dressed for the occasion with a full suit and boots but they only had a rain jacket. They were about to get wet!

We made a long run, in terrible visibility and big waves out of the SE, but managed to reach our starting spot alright. I set them up with soft plastics and instructed both on how to present their baits. Being from Florida they hadn’t really had much experience with smallmouth bass, so it was going to be a learning experience.

After about 20 minutes without any fish, I decided to change Keith to a crank. Rory had missed a couple of fish on his bait and I wanted to give him another chance at redemption. It didn’t take long for Keith to finally hook up an he landed his fist smallie. Rory managed to get into a few as well on the soft plastics and things were finally starting to pick up. Too bad the rain wasn’t letting up though!

We fished the area thoroughly and changed up baits and presentations frequently in order to make it work. Several more smallies were landed along with a nice walleye in the time we remained. A few nice bass were caught on a dropshot, which was totally new to them and they were impressed! I decided that due to the miserable conditions we would remain here as long as the fish were biting. By the time we packed it up to go, the rain was much lighter. It would make the run a little more comfortable, as we headed to one last spot to fish.

The rain may have let up some, but the SE winds hadn’t as we were seeing. It was twisting and bouncing us from the direction I had to take and not much fun running! When I finally arrived to an offshore spot, I realized it wasn’t going to be easy to fish. There were all kinds of floating weeds that were going to interfere with their casts. Regardless, we were going to give it a try!

I was right with the assumption about the weeds, as almost every cast had them cleaning their lines. They did however get a bunch of bites and managed to catch both bass & walleye before we were done!

Today was a rollercoaster for sure, with the SE winds and heavy rains. Keith & Rory didn’t seem to mind getting wet as they were catching fish. A few new techniques were used that may even aid them in fishing future places on their own. Overall, it was a satisfying day despite Mother Nature’s sense of humor. At least there were plenty of fish caught!

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Jon & Andreus were with me today for a shot at some new fish. Being from Switzerland, they had not caught bass before and were hoping to tangle with some smallies. They were heading to Ungava Bay for a 6-day Arctic Char fishing trip and had an extra day to spare. Why not fish while you’re in Montreal!

We headed out in a good SW roll of 2 to 3 footers and stopped on an offshore shoal to start the day. Hopefully the bass would cooperate! I started them on soft plastics and it didn’t take long before they were both hooked up. Although not huge, these were their first ever smallies and a pic was needed for their proof. Several more were landed before I switched Jon to a crankbait and his first fish was a nice, over walleye! Andreus soon followed with another bass and things were looking up. I usually like to rest the area and rotate certain sections when I’m fishing here, but it wasn’t going to happen today. Another boat moved in and although he never fished on top of us, he did get in the way. Each time we moved off the spots, he was quick to move in! Obviously, he knew the area too! They continued to catch fish each time we relocated, but going back for more wasn’t as productive. Eventually we just left and moved on!

I had wanted to do a deep dropshot drift and headed out over 30 plus feet of water to give it a try. With the wind having subsided some, it was easy to back slip in the current with the aid of the new electric motor. I had to replace it the day before when the original one crapped out from a faulty lower unit seal. I will be getting it repaired and will now have a spare should something else ever occur!

Several drifts were made over various depths and some fish did come aboard. Unfortunately, most were of average size and not worth continuing in these depths. Jon did have one good quality bass hooked however that he thought was another smaller fish, until it took to the air beside the boat. There goes a beast, I told him! Regardless, we were going to make another move and head shallower to see if they could get into more active fish.

I made a long run and hit the shallows where they threw soft plastics to entice several more bass. Nothing big but plenty of action! Several doubles were had in the time we were here and it seemed like the shallower water was the place to be! When things slowed and another move was needed, I knew exactly where to go. We were making a real long run to a spot I hadn’t fished in quite a while. Hopefully the big ones would be there!

The wind had picked up again and skies looked threatening when we arrived, but the fish were biting. Jon’s first bass proved to be the biggest of the day and we had just arrived! With the strong wind and storm front moving in, these fish were active. Several bigger ones came aboard and even more were missed and lost as well. The best part however was that the storm missed us and stayed away the entire time. Too bad the winds couldn’t have done the same! They had increased once it had passed and now, we had a bumpy ride back to the take out. I decided to give it extra time and stop close by to see if they cold dropshot a few more fish before we were done.

The rollers were 3 footers where I wanted to fish but we drifted with the help of the electric motor. A few more fish were landed in the short time we had left before we pulled the plug and called it a day.

Jon & Andreus had a great time catching plenty of smallies today and they both couldn’t believe how strong they were. Pound these are by far the toughest freshwater fish that swim! They can definitely attest to that after the day that they just had! Hopefully their trip for Char will be equally as rewarding in the next week too. I’m sure they will be remembering their Canadian vacation for some time to come! Both trips that is, of course!!