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What a difference a day makes! From scorching heat & humidity, to post frontal cool air and insane hurricane winds. Pierre & Gilbert had the pleasure of experiencing giant waves at the start, but at least we were heading straight into them on our way to the first spot.

I had planned on trolling an area due to the conditions and stopped in slightly calmer water to set up. As if I hadn’t had enough motor issues this season, I now had another problem! It seemed that the long run in big waves somehow caused the start button on the small engine to malfunction. It flat out didn’t want to fire! I soon realized after moving the wiring a bit that it must have cut through, causing a break from the run. Oh well, another day without the kicker once again!

We managed to boat several northerns and a couple of bass in the first few hours by making some adjustments. I would troll into the big waves using the main engine and switch to the trolling motor when going with the wind. Not my preferred method, but it worked!

After trolling for quite a while with just a few more fish, I bit the bullet and decided to go elsewhere, casting for bass. I picked an area that was somewhat protected from the big winds and we were all happy. It was nice to not be constantly fighting the hell, Mother Nature had unleashed on us, for a while!

As I was limited to where I could fish today, I tried picking areas close to each other. We remained in this one and they managed to boat plenty of smallies while there. After a while however, the well went dry and we were forced to fight the winds once again!

I was now fully exposed to her wrath and fished in a giant crosswind with plenty of current hitting us as well. Thankfully the anchor mode on the electric made it all doable and once again both Pierre and Gilbert managed to fight plenty more bass. I worked this area meticulously, with them picking at every fish they could. Gilbert even managed to catch a nice keeper walleye that went directly into the livewell for dinner tonight.

I hit one final spot once the action slowed, in hopes of getting a few more fish. Gilbert was looking for another walleye to bring home but it just wasn’t happening. I made one cast with a jig and was immediately locked up. Thinking it wasn’t a bass, I told him to get the net and he happily dipped it under another eye. After one more bass, I readied the boat for the long run back. Although it didn’t look too bad, we were in for a big surprise!

As I got more into the open water I could see that the rollers were much bigger than I thought and I was forced to head back like a sailboat. I had to tack multiple times along the way in the waves and even at that, we managed to eat some water. Thankfully we made it to the ramp only a little wet and everyone was happy to be back.

I’m not really sure how big some of those waves were today, but they were definitely in the four to six foot range at times. I’m sure glad the motor performed and the Ranger got us back safe & sound! Just another day in paradise and another one in the books!

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James was back again with Randall and this time the brought Chuck along for a day of bass fishing. We were in for another scorcher and it looked like a windless one again too!

I didn’t expect it to be difficult catching bass right after the opener but today was a shocker. The water had fallen so much that the spawn seemed completely over and all the shallow fish had vacated the usual haunts. What should have been a crap shoot turned into a difficult morning. Plenty of smaller fish were landed but the good ones were few & far between!

It didn’t take me long to figure out that I had to change up presentations and tactics in order to get the bites I wanted. We hit a few off shore places and finally started to catch better fish! One of the areas saw aggressive bites from several good fish just before a storm. Just after noon, we actually had to pull off the water with as it got closer. We remained on shore for close to an hour as thunder and high winds added to the heavy rains.

When the storm had passed, we were able to head back out in more scorching heat! Limited time remaining had me trying a couple more areas and one of them produced quite well. Several fish were missed and caught with Randall getting the best one of the day. James almost had his second lunge with me too, as another big toothy critter took a swipe at the bait he was throwing, only a few feet from the boat.

Time had run out and 4:00 hit fast in the afternoon with the weather break. We were done!

Despite all the changes, I was able to make the necessary adjustments to turn this slow morning into a decent day. Some good fish were caught and Randall even managed to add another species to his bucket list. He landed a drum in the morning that was his first ever! Hopefully in the coming weeks, the summer fishing will be in full mode making for actively feeding fish all over. Great days ahead!

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Busy day today with double trips! Dave & his son Mathieu joined me in the morning and Zach & his son Henri in the afternoon. High heat & humidity warnings and a haze that looked like a misty rain greeted us early. I had to raise the roof in the first 30 minutes too as there wasn’t a stitch of wind around!

We trolled a few new areas and managed to catch a couple of bass before finally connecting with a nice keeper walleye. Soon after another walleye came aboard from Dave but this time it was an over that only made for a good pic. Both smallies & walters were landed so far and surprisingly no pike! Careful what you say! Next fish, a northern completing the slam for Dave on father’s day!

I trolled several more areas and had a bunch of fish slam the lures without getting pinned. It wasn’t normal but I also noticed tons of shucks on the surface from an earlier hatch that must have had he fish feeding heavily. It would probably take some time for them to be hungry again!

With an 11:30 pick up back at the dock for the afternoon, I was pressed for time and wanted a few more fish before leaving. Literally in the last minute, one of the reels fired and Mathieu landed another over walleye that ended their time on the water. This was a great way to finish!

A quick drop off and pick up and we were back out again. I thought I would head to a further away area and made the long run. Amazingly, there was a point in our travels that cool air hit us and the rest of the run was kinda air conditioned! It sure felt better than the oven I was fishing in all morning!

Zach had been with me a few years back but this was the first time for Henri. I hoped it would be a good experience!

Lines were set and the troll began slowly until we found the fish. Once we did however, it was game on! Pike after pike were reeled in along with a few quality eyes. In fact, today saw two of the biggest walleye landed by a kid this season!

The 4 hours passed by quickly with all the fish they landed and before we knew it, we were packing up and heading back.

It was nice seeing another father’s day with kids and their dads in the boat. It sort of reminded me of when I was a kid, fishing with mine. Although long passed, he still seems present when I’m on the water. Hopefully these kids will have the same passion for the sport that I have and spend plenty of time fishing with their dads! Definitely a great day for fishing!

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James was back out with me again today and this time he brought along his brother in law, Tony. We were going to try for bass in the morning and switch over to trolling in the afternoon when his two kids joined us around 1:00. Hopefully the high heat and sunshine wouldn’t fry our brains before!

The bass fishing wasn’t what I had expected as we found out on our first spot. Although there were a few landed here, the action was far from great! Our second stop was about as good as the first and I was forced to make a long run to another area in search of better fishing.

This proved to be even worse as I was seeing bass boats all over the place making me think that there may have actually been a tournament going on today. I guess the opening weekend saw everyone in full blown fishing mode! Add to that an absolutely beautiful day and I guess you couldn’t blame them!

We spent a little more time searching for bass and I noticed that the fish weren’t eager to attack anything. I soon realized why, when I saw a pair of smallies doing their thing! I quickly left the area for them to get their job done and tried another spot nearby.

This proved to be the last shot at the smallies as it was exactly the same as the previous place. I didn’t want to be bothered with bothering them! There were also many more boats trying to fish the bass as well and I knew it would have been a tough bite!

With the morning almost done, we decided to raise the roof and switch gears all together. We headed to troll for some pike & walleye instead. It took only a few minutes to fire the first reel and Tony soon landed a decent sized northern. It was also his first fish of the day! The action picked up from that point on and we boated many more northerns and a few nice sized walleye for him to bring home tonight.

We pulled the plug on this area around 1:30 or so and made a long run to pick up Giulio & Sophia, James’s children. What a zoo the lake was going there, with so many boats on the water. It really showed that it was the weekend and a great day to be on the water!

We only had a few hours left, but I managed to get the kids into several fish in the washing machine like waters, by trolling. There were waves from every direction making it difficult to work the areas I needed, but at least they got out.

By 4:00 we were done and heading back to take out. I let Giulio help me drive, on the way back and he was all smiles along the way!

Despite the tough fishing today at least I had a backup plan that worked. It may not have been the one I wanted but at least it put plenty of fish in the boat. In the end, Tony would still be having a fish dinner tonight!

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Louis and his two sons, Luka & Christophe were with me this afternoon for another great day of trolling. We would definitely be raising the roof in this scorching heat wave and it was the first thing I did when we reached our spot!

With lines set, I instructed them on what to do and left the rest up to the fish. For some reason, it took a little longer to get a reel to fire but when it did, it was the targeted species we wanted. Christophe put us on the board with a high end keeper walleye and they had a start to their dinner tonight!

As usual, I covered plenty of water looking for more fish and picked at them all over the areas we fished. Although mostly pike, there were a few more walleye, both landed as well as lost before reaching the boat.

It wasn’t until much later in the afternoon that the action actually picked up and multiple reels were firing almost every time we had a strike. In fact we nearly had another triple header, but one of them never stayed pinned long enough to call it a triple!

In the end, they were able to box enough fish for a great dinner tonight and I headed back to take out. The short 4.5 hours flew by and before we knew it, the day was done. Although there were a few slow periods, the afternoon saw plenty of action for all to enjoy. This was just another trip filled with more fish than they ever expected to catch! I’m sure that it will only get better now that we have water temps closing in on the 70 degree mark. Let’s just hope that Mother Nature doesn’t interfere again!