Daughter & Father Day Out

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Karen was back today with her father Richard for another day of fishing. We were going to be targeting sturgeon and keeping a couple of hours at the end to try for smaller fish. Hopefully it would all work out!

I set up in the usual area and began searching for fish on the bottom. Within minutes we were anchored up with a few good ones showing. I don’t think it took ten minutes before I was handing the rod to Richard with a decent one on the line. He wasn’t able to move around much so I tried to keep the fish on his side of the boat, for the battle. It sulked for most of the time on the bottom but did come up for a good jump that Karen was able to record. After the breach, it immediately returned to the bottom where it remained for the balance of the fight.

It was probably 15 minutes later before I was able to net his sturgeon and he was relieved that it was over. Holding the fish for the pictures was difficult and I had to rest the sturgeon on a tarp, on his lap. Not the greatest method for pics but it worked!

We had relocated several times after the first fish and only landed 3 other smaller ones. I idled all over the place looking for bigger marks and eventually found a couple that looked large. After waiting almost 15 minutes, I saw a light bite and set into some heavy weight. Richard was about to fight his second big fish of the day. Minutes in, the fish breached behind the boat & I saw that it was definitely larger than the previous one he had landed. He was going to be struggling for longer this time!

This fish was a real treat going from one side of the boat to the other. I had to take the rod from Richard several times so as not to get the line caught in the motor. With Karen’s father sitting, it would have been tough for him to manoeuvre around!

This battle lasted about the same amount of time as the first and eventually I was able to net this one too. It was longer, but not as thick as the first. It was however heavier as he soon found out! I placed the fish on the tarp again that rested on his lap and he held it for a few more pics. Soon after it was returned to the water and swam off perfectly.

We returned to fishing for about 30 minutes longer without another touch. It was time for a move and a different species of fish!

I packed everything up and brought the lighter tackle out for bass & walleye. First stop saw 5 bass landed but no eyes. Richard may have lost one, but we’ll never know for sure! With very little time remaining I decided to hit another area that I was sure would produce. Unfortunately it wasn’t great either and only saw 2 walleye come aboard. One was legal but the other fell an inch short and was returned. A few more light hits were had, but only perch were caught. By 3:00 we were done!

Although the fishing was slow today, Richard got to play with a few good fish. The two sturgeon he fought made the day all worthwhile. Add to that the quality time that Karen had spent with her father and one would say it was just perfect! I always enjoy having them on the boat and even more, the smile on his face when he’s fighting a big fish. He’ll have a few more stories to tell after today’s fishing trip. He’ll also have plenty of photos to show around for everyone to enjoy!