Two More Bucket Lists Down

Scott & Chris were with me this morning, on the day after the big nor’easter! I wasn’t sure how it would go after all the rain and wind we experienced yesterday and through the night. I decided to try & get them into  a giant sturgeon right away as Scott missed out earlier in the year when they were going strong. Chris hadn’t caught one either and I hoped this was about to change! Almost immediately after setting the lines, we landed a perch. Not really what we were after but it was a fish! The next rod to get hit was 5 minutes in and I showed them what to do. Chris was into our first sturgeon of the day and feeling the power of the fish. It gave him a great fight but only for about five minutes. I didn’t think it was a giant but once he had it close to the boat, I saw that it was a really good one nonetheless! One down, one to go! We shot a bunch of pics and released it immediately afterwards. As Scott was up next, I hoped that he would get one much larger but it turned out to be a juvenile and not much of a fight.  He also landed a three pound smallie that didn’t fight much either. It was decided that the next fish would still be his and after a move and several phone calls he reared back on the real deal. This thing fought him like a champ! As the line rose in the water I knew we were going to see exactly what he was hooked into. I think they both soiled their shorts when they saw the entire thing rocket out of the water and sizzle line from the reel upon re entry. Several times when he actually thought he was gaining, the fish took over and changed that tune! It took out plenty of line and after about 15 minutes or so, Scott was finally able to bring it close enough for me to net. Definitely one of the biggest of the season so far! I prepped everything while we kept it in the net and once ready, I heaved it over the rail and onto the tarp. Good luck Scott on lifting it for the pics! It was quite funny watching him try & figure out how to get a hold of this monster but he finally did, with a little help. Great shots and back she went to live another day! Scott was elated and couldn’t believe just how heavy this thing was when he had lifted it up for photos. He felt the burn in a few body parts afterwards, as I reset the lines in hopes of one even bigger. Unfortunately that was all she wrote for the beasts but not the damn gobies. We had plenty of other nibbles as the hooks were stripped as if piranhas had been present! Somewhere around 2:00, we pulled the plug here and went somewhere else where they could catch smaller fish. As they were hoping to take some home with them, I knew just the place! They drop shotted over deeper water and although they missed more than they landed, they still managed to boat 5 keeper walleye to take back, and a pile of perch. Scott caught the only smallie out here but this fish fought him hard in this depth. They even took home five of the largest perch as they never get to see them that size from back where they live. This was definitely worth the drive for them as they both caught a fish of a lifetime and have the pics to prove it too! The overall day was perfect as well with cloud cover early but flat calm & sunshine the entire time we were fishing sturgeon. When we relocated for the walleye, the winds picked up giving us a great drift. I guess Mother Nature has her moments, but they are definitely few & far between. I’m sure she’ll be back in full swing sometime real soon!!