Grand Slam Plus

Alyssa was with me this morning for a real multi species fishing day! We met just after 7:30 on the coolest morning since way back in May. Air temps had dipped down below 50 degrees overnight and the winds were blowing 10 to 15 knots from the NW when we launched. Extra clothing was definitely required for the run to our first location! I had brought everything but the kitchen sink for today’s outing as I wanted her to catch a pile of different species. First up were pike & walleye and we trolled a lot of water, monopolizing on aggressive biters. With the water temps hovering around 68.5 degrees, I knew some of them would barely make a sound and was ready for the slightest click on the reels. Her first fish was a healthy northern of 7 pounds and a few more in the same range were soon to follow. Along with the pike, she also managed to catch four walleye that would be travelling around with us throughout the day. They were definitely going to be on the menu for her to enjoy! Floating weeds were the biggest issue here as the high winds from yesterday had them all over the area I wanted to fish. Eventually I just relocated to another section of the lake in hopes of clearer water to troll. As luck would have it, the surface had only a fraction of what I had dealt with and I was glad for our decision to move. Once the lines were in, I realized that the water temps were even cooler over here and at 66.5 degrees, searched for slightly warmer. We trolled up many pike while I tried to find higher water temps and ironically, no walleye. I had a concentration of fish holding in a small area that saw almost 70 degrees and worked it pretty hard. Along with the pike, she also managed a largemouth bass and a small musky. It looked like everything except walleye were using this area today! As I didn’t want to wear her out too early in the day, I informed her that we were going to fish for the big ones last. Once she had her fill of all these smaller fish, I pulled the lines and re rigged for the beasts! Sometime around 1:00 we hit the sturgeon zone and I set up in hopes of a quick bite. Well she got her wish as I don’t think we were there for 5 minutes when she was into her first fish. I could tell by the way she was able to control it that this wasn’t the one I wanted her to experience. Although fun, it was below the average size I was use to seeing and after only 5 minutes, I netted her catch. It was still big, just not big enough! I took several pics and she released the fish before we went back to the waiting game once again. This time it did take a little longer to get bit but when she hooked up, I knew this was the one I wanted her to see. After the initial run, it decided to take to the air and now I had a confirmation, it was giant! For the next ten minutes or so, it was going to be a struggle for her as the fight would be intense. She fought it like a champ and managed to get it boat side in record time. It did however take everything she had, but it was worth it! When she finally got a visual, I don’t think she could believe her own eyes. I even had a hard time getting it into the net as it remained straight instead of curling in the mesh. I really need to get a bigger net! Once aboard, I had to sit Alyssa down and place the fish in her arms for the pictures. There was no way she would be able to do this standing and she wanted pics. Ironically, the only one tired after the battle was Alyssa, as she slid the fish over the rail and it disappeared back to the abyss. I gave her the option to try for another, but she declined and we moved on in search of smaller fish for her to battle. I dropped the lines in and trolled the area that had produced this morning, only to get bit from pike again. I had forgotten just how bad the floating weeds were and didn’t remain here for long. One more stop along our way back had similar success and by 3:00 we called it a day. She had managed to get 5 different species of fish today and topped it off with a couple of beasts. One in particular nearly took her out! It was definitely the largest thing she had ever landed and I’m pretty sure it will be the topic of conversation for quite a while. It was definitely a great day for fishing with the best saved for last. Sort of like icing on the cake!!