A Double Trip Day

August 15th 2018

 

I had two trips scheduled today with the morning seeing Mila, Petra and Adam. Both Mila & Adam were with me last year and back again looking for more action. Adam wanted to just catch fish so we headed out to do a little trolling for pike & walleye.

With only a half day to produce, I decided to go where I knew the fish would be. Within a few minutes, the little guy was locked up and fighting a nice northern pike. For almost three hours he would be battling many more and loving every minute of it. Mila was just chilling, letting his grandson land everything but I wanted Adam’s mother to bring a few of them in herself. The next reel to fire turned into a double and she finally got to fight a fish too! With both mother & son locked up, I took this moment to snap a couple of pics. I always love bent rod photos!

Most of the morning was spent trolling up pike but a few keeper walleye were also brought to net. I wanted Mila to fish as well and eventually left this area to change it up and do some drop shotting. This way I knew he would have to fish!

We had run closer to where we launched and I wasted no time getting the lines wet. The winds were actually favorable for a change and with three lines in the water, I knew it was only a matter of time. I had been marking some fish but mostly smaller ones and several of the walleye confirmed it. They brought a few really small ones to the boat and I soon made another move. The next area did produce one bass and several more tiny eyes and another relocation was made once again.

With the winds picking up some I checked the radar and noticed a storm approaching. I hoped it would hold off before I had to run back, but it didn’t look good. A few minutes later, it didn’t really matter as I took Petra back anyway. She wasn’t feeling well in the waves and I wasn’t too far from the launch We dropped her off and headed back out for the remainder of the trip.

With less than an hour to go, we concentrated on one specific area and they boated several more small walleye. Mila did have a few nice smallies on, but unfortunately they threw the hooks when they took to the air. Time to go!

As soon as I arrived back at the ramp I could see the afternoon guys waiting for me. I quickly said goodbye to Mila and Adam knowing that they would be back again this Friday for more action. I was hoping on taking them for sturgeon, if the weather cooperated!

Brett and his son Jason were my guests for the afternoon and I only hoped the weather would hold off. A quick glimpse on the radar again, saw the storm moving south and barely clipping us along its path. I crossed my fingers as we headed out in pursuit of Jason’s first fish!

As soon as I arrived, I set the three lines and began searching for pike & walleye. It seemed like forever before we had our first reel go off but in actuality, I think it was only 5 minutes. I have been so spoiled lately that some days I have a hard time getting the second rod in before the first reel fires!

Jason was into his first fish ever and eventually it made it into the net. He was officially hooked for life! A few quick pics later we resumed the troll, looking for more. Although a little slower than I had hoped, the weather was seeming to hold off pretty good. We did hear one clap of thunder in the distance that had me a little nervous but that was it. I had purposely left my rain gear on so as not to jinx us and apparently it worked. We stayed dry and soon the sun even came out allowing me to remove all the extra clothing, safely!

Back to the task at hand and I had Jason locked up again several more times in the next couple of hours. Most of the fish were northerns but he did manage to land and lose a couple of walleye. The fish were biting a little strange with the weather being so nice and either short striking the baits or just falling off completely in the net. We had flat calm water and were now in bright sunshine forcing me to raise the roof for some shade. It was back to being scorching hot and the no wind thing wasn’t helping either!

Brett had decided that they would be calling it a little early so for the remainder of the day, I focussed my attention on one little area that was producing. Jason was catching fish and I wasn’t going to leave until we were done!

With double digits having been landed by the little guy, he was all smiles as I packed everything up and readied the boat to leave. It was just after 3:00 and they were scheduled to be somewhere by 3:30. We were done!

Back at the dock, they decided that the walleye in the livewell would get a chance to live. They had planned on keeping it for dinner but really didn’t have the time needed. This was one lucky fish as I really didn’t want to clean it either. They released it back to fight another day!

Today was another great day filled with plenty of fish once again. It was even better because I got to see two young kids enjoy themselves doing something they love. It sort of reminded me of when I was their age and spent time pursuing my passion. With any luck they will continue theirs as well and carry it on into the next generation. Another great day on the water!!