Adjusting to Big Fish
July 13, 2018
July 12th 2018 (afternoon)
Mark and his two sons, Noah and Adam were with me this afternoon. They were in from Scotland and staying locally for three weeks & I definitely wanted to get them into fish!
As we left the dock I realized that the winds had actually switched direction and were now out of the SW. Time to try a little drifting and drop shotting! They had done this technique before with someone else and had the basic knowledge of what to do. I just had a few adjustments and they were off to the races!
I set up the bimini top as soon as we arrived, so as not to get fried. The sun was high & strong and I knew they would get burned if I didn’t! On the first drift, Adam hooked up on a nice smallie and his father, a small walleye. Things were looking good for the start, but unfortunately that was about to change. We made 4 more drifts over different sections without a single fish coming to the net. It wasn’t for lack of bites as they all had multiple chances. These fish just weren’t cooperating very well and I decided to make an adjustment. We were going trolling and I was in search of big fish!
When we arrived I set the lines & once again went through the orientation process. The chop was nice on the water and for a change, from the right direction. It was going to happen!
When the first reel went off I was pretty sure what it was and I was right. Noah got to reel in a good walleye and I was glad I changed locations. They would definitely be getting into some fish here today!
With lines all set, the next bite turned into a double and Noah & his dad battled another couple of great fish. A little chaos occurred when their fish crossed lines, but I was able to untangle them by switching their sides. Two nets were needed for this landing and Adam passed me the second one just in time. Both fish were really good ones and the pike was overly large for this lake. It made for a great pic too!
I covered plenty of water, hooking them up multiple times in the process. Most of the pike & walleye were big ones and ironically only one eye was in the slot. They were all overs and some way over! Despite one slow period in the afternoon, I eventually found more fish and fired the reels every few minutes in the end. Big eyes and even bigger pike were coming in the boat in the last hour and the numbers were climbing. I don’t think they had expected such quality fish in the heat of the day. I knew where they were and kept at the troll locking someone up every few minutes before their day ended.
I had hoped for another bite while prepping the boat and downing the top before leaving. What I got in the end was two and both were great fish! I can’t believe I left them biting, but I did! We were out of time and had to go.
What had started out slowly this afternoon turned full circle in the end. Once I found the right area, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. So many big fish were landed by everyone and all in the comfort of a shaded boat. Trolling was definitely the ticket today, when the drift & drop shot didn’t work. I’m just glad I didn’t waste too much time trying to adjust their presentations. Instead of catching a few smaller fish I got them into bigger & more. What a great end to the day!!
