|
|
| The walleyes in LDBN are much thicker than this time last year. Now that the ice is thickening, will re-tell a story that happened last year during the first week of Febuary. This should get your blood hot for walleyes!
...................................................I Have A Witness...................................................
But no picture!
And I am regretting it big time. This was the largest walleye I have ever caught! I am busting at the seams to tell someone my story, and here it is;
Rugged is the word I'll use to describe my trip to the UP this last Monday. For those of you who don't live there, it was bitterly cold, with whiteout snow conditions. The trip that would normally take me 3 hours stretched into a 5 hour marathon. But I had it in my mind to travel through this storm and check with the people who were fashioning my cabin timbers, as well as wet the lines on my tip-ups for some LBDN Walleyes!
But that night I was seriously questioning my decision as I watched the weather channel in my hotel room. So I made plans to check the timbers in the morn, and head for home without fishing.
The morning did find me checking the cranks offered at the Bayshore Bait $ Tackle shop in Kipling (am determined to spend my retirement on crankbaits!), and it was here that the owner of the bait shop suggested that I rent a shack from a local guide.
Having never rented a shack in my life, it was hard for me to make this call, but if I wanted to fish in such cold conditions, I would need a heated shack! And please believe me, when the guide took me out to the shack on his snowmobile, my eyes stung from the cold wind. Boy, sure was happy when the heater in the shack kicked in!
So this was the setting for the biggest walleye moment of my life. Outside I had a tip-up baited for walleyes, and inside was jiggiing light duty for perch. The perching wasn't to bad, since I was picky with the size, only kept 14 of them. But it is the walleyes having caught is what this story is about.
About an hour before dark I put the perch rod away in favor of another tip-up, and the last of the day my vision was directed through a small window squinting to see through the blowing snow for an orange flag to fly. But there came a point where I couldn't see to well in the fading light, so decided to brave the cold and do a walk around.
Amazingly, the farthest tip-up had drifted over with snow and when I bent over to brush the snow away, the tab that holds the flag arm moved! Since the flag was frozen in to the snow, it didn't fly! My God there was a fish on!
Here is where it gets interestiing. Just couldn't get a firm grip on this tip-up to free it from the ice. It was so cold on my fingers that finally, in desperation, it was a hard kick that freed it. And through all this frantic effort to get that tip-up out, that fish was still on the line and was able to play the 26 incher out onto the ice.
The hook was stuck good, and as I walked back to the fish house and get the needle-nose, debated on whether to keep this walleye. But when I returned to the already frozen-stiff fish, my thinking shifted to mouth-watering spicy fried walleye fillets and she was to be my large keeper fish for the day!
It was now pitch dark, and with the high winds and bitter cold, decided to pack in the tip-up along with the fish, and headed back to the shack. One tip-up out will have to do until my ride showed up.
But I did have along a stiff walleye type jig pole, and after tipping the Do-Jigger with a minnow, fed the line down this small hole I was jerking perch through. And I kid you not! As soon as the lure hit bottom (or hit something) I had weight. Great Weight!
Her first initial run I met with backreeling at high rpms. It was one of those classic big pike manuevers, and I knew how to play those toothy critters. If you fight a pike to hard with light mono, she wil bite you off nearly every time. So I played her easy. When she would make a surge, she got the line as fast as she wanted. When she rested, I slowly and lghtly pulled her back.
And this went on for awhile. Already I was happy as a lark to have a nice eye on the ice, so was playing this big pig pike for all the enjoyment it gave.
At some point I realized the high pitched sound of a snowmobile engine drawing near, and knew my ride was to arrive just in time to see this monster fish. So I put a bit more pressure on and felt her head hit the ice at the side of the hole. As I eased her on up, could barely see the outline of a fish from the flickering light from the propane heater.
Oh My God, it was a WALLEYE!
Then in the blink of an eye, I had this egg-laden mother of all walleyes in my hand. At this very moment the snowmobile was very close, and as I kicked the door open, the light was shining brightly on me and this monster fish!
My largest ever walleye in one hand, rod in the other, and a smile so wide it barely fit through the door!!!
But Alas, I had already kept one walleye over the 23 inch size limit imposed on this bay, and had only one choice, to release her. We had no ruler, no scale, and no camera to record the event. So with ice forming on this beast's tail, she was realeased back to the water.
All I have left to this experience is the story, and for anyone who would question this, just call Mark Peloza, Hawg Heaven Guide Service at 1-906-428-3809. He is my witness! 
Edited by Rick Larson 1/5/2004 9:26 PM
| |
| | |
Member
Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Rick.
I love them Do-Jigger stories. My favorite lure on the Saginaw Bay as you know. Bad luck combined with bad weather has kept me putting off the trip up there I've been planning for over a week now. I'm going this weekend either with or without my buddy from newberry. | |
| |
|
Hawg Heaven Guide Service