River Monsters

Valerie & Max joined me this morning for a regular start of 7:30, under picture perfect conditions. It began with a cool morning air as we headed to our first spot of the day. Drop shotting deep rocks produced several bass & walleye before we shifted due to someone thinking he could just troll all around us again. He saw us net a couple of fish and moved in just like everyone usually does. People are unbelievable! I immediately pulled out and headed elsewhere. We hit another spot for smallmouth and I had Valerie tossing blades with Max cranking the shallows. After a couple of decent bass I was amazed to see Max hook into a walleye in only 3 feet of water. It’s definitely been a strange year! I resumed the fishing and unfortunately Max was the only one catching. Valerie had a few hits and a couple of follows but wasn’t able to close the deal. Time to change locations again! This time I made a long run in hopes of finding more fish shallow so they could cast soft plastics. It proved to be the right move as there were quite a few aggressive fish cruising around eager to eat. We hung here for a couple of hours with plenty of action before I had to leave to meet someone on the water. As they were pretty far away I thought a middle point would be best but arrived before. I decided to have both drop down while waiting and almost immediately Max was into a three pounder. No need to waste time when there’s fish to be caught! After the meet, I thought we would try back where we were previously but changed my mind along the way. I had run over an area that held big fish and gave them the option. They agreed and we began trying for the dinosaurs that lived down deep. Valerie & Max both hooked up at almost the same time but unfortunately Max’s fish came unpinned. It was a good thing though as she was into a giant! it was so big that she had to pass the rod to Max for a while so she could rest her arms. She resumed a little while later and was able to bring the fish close enough for me to grab. I didn’t have a net big enough to land this beast and was forced to do the two glove thing. I even had a hard time bringing it aboard and was happy to see the battle over. Just taking pics was difficult and after several good shots I returned her, apparently no worse for wear! We went right back to it and Valerie hooked up once again. This time the battle was shorter and she landed the fish somewhat quicker, with very little help. More pics and back in they went once again, when Valerie hooked up one more time. This time however, Max got the rod right away. She wasn’t ready for another battle and he was happy to accept it. When we finally caught a glimpse of the fish, I realized that it was even bigger than her first one. Several times it went to the depths but each time he managed to bring the goliath back. Unfortunately a little too much pressure had the hook pull out and back down she went. A little disappointed that it got off but not too much! These things are almost impossible to get aboard without a net and I wasn’t upset. They had their fill of the sturgeon so we headed back to something a little tamer. Smallies in the shallows and less of a fight! The remainder of the afternoon saw plenty of action from both of them and I was able to rest my back too! By the time it was all done, they had battled with loads of fish and landed lots of pounds doing it. This was their first time out with me but I don’t think it will be their last. I fully expect them back in the fall when the smallies are at their biggest and feeding before the freeze. I don’t think either of them could ever have imagined a day of fishing like this. The fish gods were definitely shining on them today!!