Rocking & Rolling

I was back at it again this morning with a small gang, including a 5 year old. Sammy’ son, Sam Jr. was looking forward to reeling in a few fish & so were we. A later than usual meet of 8:45 had us in the game by 9:00 and into fish in the first 5 minutes. I knew I had to produce early as the weather was going to take a turn for the worse and soon! The winds were forecasted to blow from the west at 25 to 35 knots and this wouldn’t be good. At the moment we were in a 1 to 2 foot chop and just crushing the pike. The little guy was having a great time reeling in everything that hit and so were the others. Along with us were Sammy’s father in law & uncle and they had a hand in picking up a few as well. We trolled a specific section concentrating on new weeds and picked fish every few minutes. We even had some doubles and one triple header in the first couple of hours. A few walleye were also mixed in that were travelling home with them for a dinner tonight. Right around 11:00 I decided to relocate and hoped that the waves wouldn’t be too big getting there. Although a little rougher, they were definitely doable and we made the move. The area we were in was getting pounded pretty good but the fish were there as well and that’s all that counted. I had run a little further so that I could set up for a down wind troll and it proved to be the right decision. As with the first spot we hit this morning, this place began putting out almost immediately. Pike were definitely on fire and the little guy was in his glory reeling in almost every one of them. I had hoped in getting a few more walleye for them to take back but unfortunately the pike were more aggressive. We hung in here for a while until Sammy decided to call it a day. Although only 2:30, they had caught high numbers of fish and were ready to head back. I secured everything and prepared for the worst! I wasn’t sure how bad the ride would be but knew it wouldn’t be smooth! I was right and had to fight 4’s & 5’s all the way back! The only good thing about this was that I was able to ride the troughs & crests as the rollers were in the right direction. A little splashing did occur along the way and unfortunately Sammy’s father in law was on the receiving side. His son was in the lap of his uncle behind the windshield and loving every minute of it! He was laughing the entire way back. I on the other hand was just trying to keep the waves from coming in the boat, zigzagging all over the place. I was on & off the throttle so much keeping the bow up and trying to stay off plane. We even ran into a large group of wind surfers close to the ramp that made it even tougher. These guys were flying from all directions and about 30 of them really complicated matters. Luckily I was able to steer around them and finally arrived safe and dry. Well almost dry as I found out that his father in law was pretty soaked from all the splashing on that side of the boat. I guess I should have given him a rain jacket before we left. With the air temps in the mid to upper 80’s at least he wasn’t cold! Despite the conditions and a pretty short day they still managed to land a boat load of fish and everyone had a great time. I’m really getting the crap kicked out of me this year as Mother Nature has been even meaner than usual. It feels like for every one day of perfect weather I have 10 others that are nasty, one way or another. Oh well, nothing I can do about that! I’m back out again tomorrow with a fly guy and the temps are suppose to drop drastically. I can hardly wait! Better days are coming!!