Days on the Water: 3
Who we fished with: friends/clients
Where we fished: Lake Erie
What we caught: smallmouth bass
Tactics: live crawfish

Commentary

Observations from the Water – this Past Week (27-Sep – 3-Oct)

Light week locally as I just returned from an Upper Midwest fishing trip. Tap here for that report. The smallmouth bass bite was a bit slow on Lake Erie on Friday – that’s the general pattern when it get’s glassy. However, the wind picked up on Saturday and Sunday and so did the fishing. We rode the bronco in 3’+ waves both days and caught good numbers of fall ‘smalls packing on weight for the winter.

I’ve said this a few times over the past couple of weeks and I’ll say it again – the Warrior is incredible when the lake gets angry. She plows though 3-4′ waves comfortably and everyone stays dry. Every time I’ve been out in the big stuff, the action is incredible – you just need to have the right constitution to fish it. Let me define that a little better – you need to be adventurous and sea sickness can’t be a factor. Well – if Dramamine works for you then you’ll be OK. It’s not for everyone but if you want to reliably catch biggies – consider adding a big wave day to your bucket list.

Looking Forward (4-10-Oct )

This upcoming week is looking good. Some sun, scattered amounts of light precipitation, lights winds, late summer-like temperatures. My biggest concern is the light winds…bassing can be slow on Lake Erie in those conditions but we’ll see.

By all accounts from by colleagues, the fall salmon run just kicked in and it’s been stronger than has been in the past few years. I’m not getting too excited about that though – the fact remains – less fish have been stocked over the past 5 years. I’m hoping what’s been going on over the past few days isn’t just a big wave of fish that poured into the river all at the same time. It’d be awesome if what’s going on is the beginning of a strong salmon year – fingers crossed. I’ll be down there most days next week so more to come on that.

The leaves are starting to change my friends. The fall bite is on. Deciding what to do on a day-to-day is a tough call…and it’s only going to get better. Our fall calendar is packed but we have a few openings. If you waited til the last minute, give us a call, I’m sure we can find you a spot.

Stay healthy my friends – mentally and physically,

Ryan