Breaking The Rules

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I had decided last night that I was going to use the ramp, regardless if it was open or not! This morning I launched with Alyssa & Dylan and without any issues! Big deal, the water is at the top of the road and you have to make adjustments! The last few times this week, I had put in at other locations and that was a nightmare. Not today! We headed out shortly after 8:30 in two to three footers and made our way to the flats to fish. Dylan was with me last year as three generations of Robinsons competed on the soft water, for a change! It was earlier this time around and we would be targeting pike & walleye as the bass season remained closed. I set the rods and instructed both Alyssa & Dylan how to get the rods from the holders and it was game on. The first fish to rip line was a northern and Dylan took the skunk out of the boat. We covered plenty of water throughout the morning in 2 foot waves and picked at more walleye and pike, until it happened. Yuup, another visit from the toothy one! Dylan had never experienced anything as heavy as this and I instructed him on what to do. Strangely enough except for her overall size, it fought more like a big eye. I was forced to use the boga grip once again as no net that I had on board would have worked. This beast was post spawn and really lethargic, allowing me easy access and hook removal before being released. It was definitely the largest thing Dylan had ever caught but no proof of a pic was had due to it being out of season. Oh well, at least he has the memories! We reset the lines and went right back to trolling for much smaller fish and much less trouble landing them as well. After another hour or so, I decided to make a move. The winds had laid down considerably so I made a long run to another area hoping for cleaner water and more fish. Almost immediately, two of the rods fired and we had a couple more pike to our total. Alyssa brought another over walleye into the boat and unfortunately it too had to be released. We were planning on getting off the water around 3:00 and figured we had a smooth ride back to the ramp that wouldn’t take too long to arrive. I decided to stick it out a bit longer and managed to have them put two keeper walleye in the boat before packing it up to roll. Unfortunately, Mother Nature threw us a curve ball and kicked up big time! We were heading back in three to four foot rollers and it was going to take longer than expected. I had to tack like a sail boat to get to our destination. This was the only way to run as the waves were big and I would have been hitting them at a 45 degree angle otherwise. We safely arrived and I was glad that I had launched where I did as these giant waves would have made it impossible to take out at the other ramp nearby. Sometimes rules are made to be broken! The day ended with a safe trip and an easy removal of the boat due to my decision. If it doesn’t open real soon, I’ll be doing it again and again! Overall a great day of fishing filled with plenty of memories of the ones that didn’t get away!