A Perfect Ending
June 16, 2018
June 15th 2018
I had a group today that were in the city for another bachelor party. Tyler, Cody, Charlie & Jeff were looking to spend a half day catching fish and I was going to make it happen. A 7:00 meet time had us on the water soon after and I headed to our first area to troll.
I wanted to fish this spot yesterday, but due to the winds was unable to get there. Hopefully this morning would be worth the long run! I set the four lines and started covering water, looking for our first bite. Right on cue one of the down rods fired and Cody was into the first pike of the day. Although small, it was still his first pike! Shortly after another reel went off and the rotation began. We spent about 90 minutes in this area hooking up frequently. Unfortunately they were all northerns and I wanted to locate the walleye. Time to move!
I tried a little deeper water hoping that the cold temps of 61 degrees had just sent them down. Well we did have some action here, along with a couple of doubles, but they were also pike. Some were good size, and a few of them even came in foul hooked. I guess they must have taken a shot at the baits as they turned or something! Several passes through this area and still only pike had me pulling the lines and relocating once again. I wanted to get them some walleye and also needed to find some warmer water.
After making a long run, I set up in another area searching for gold. The first several fish turned out to be northerns. However, I was sure a couple of the ones that came unpinned were walleye. Eventually Jeff did manage to land a decent one that was around 23 inches. I informed him of the slot rule in Quebec and we returned the fish after a few pics. They were staying in a condo and were hoping to take a few back to eat and I wanted to make that happen. I eventually made another move in the area and switched up several of the baits in hopes of better results. Something must have worked because the next 6 fish were all walleye and most of them were high end keepers! A quick phone call from one of their friends changed their minds about keeping fish when nobody wanted to clean them. Oh well, they all lived today!
I was now covering warmer water with different lures and the fish were active where we were. Multiple reels were firing often and we even had a couple more double headers. A mix of pike & walleye were being landed with the majority of them eyes. Time was also running out and I was looking for a few more bites when the long line screamed. Another down rod also went off shortly after and we were into a double once again. What happened next, was not expected!
Charlie was battling a fish that he didn’t seem to have much control over and I thought it had just become snagged. Cody already had his pike in and released! Soon after I knew what had happened and cleared the other two lines, giving him the whole boat to fight the fish. He was locked up on his very first lunge and I didn’t want him to lose it. Today was officially the season opener and I also wanted a few pics. As it neared the boat, they all freaked over the actual size of this beast! After a little difficulty landing it, I finally had her in the boat! Charlie was instructed on how to hold the fish and several quick pics were taken before releasing her back to the water. I made him hold the tail until she was ready and we all watched her swim off unharmed. No sense putting the lines in again, we were done!
This day couldn’t have gone any better with plenty of fish caught by everyone. I had stayed out a little longer when the action picked up and by doing so managed to get Charlie a fish of a lifetime. I know he won’t forget this day anytime soon and the cut finger from one of the teeth , will also remind him too! The gang had fished through a slow period this morning from the remains of the cold front recently. They had also seen the difference in the afternoon bite when the water warmed. Throughout it all, we still managed to put plenty of fish in the boat and iced the cake in the end. What a way to end the day!!
