Another Good Day at the Line

Just like the day before, I met them at Mazurik's boat access and we headed to the Old C Can area. The fish were still there and the trusty 1198 was marking them pretty good. I just followed my trail from the day before and with quick instruction on how to put crawlers on the harnesses and set the lines/boards out, we started catching fish right away.

Their inexperience in trolling, along with their excitement of getting out on the water, meant I would be explaining again and again how to do things, (I felt like a nag), but they eventually got the hang of it and were having lots of fun learning. So, at one point I went and sat on the bow and told them, "Now that we have your fish for the fry, it's all up to you now. You know what you're doing, so have fun!"

The fish were smaller than the day before, but we did get a few that were in the 4-5 pound range.

 

The one thing I never explained was how to use the big walleye nets I have in my boat, because I had been netting all the fish that morning.

You see, the nets I use have a very large basket on them, and if the bottom of the basket isn't held with one hand while also holding the handle before it enters the water, it will drift back in the water making it impossible to capture the fish. The netting will float back with the current and get in front of the basket opening, blocking the fish from entering it. Or, it will catch an exposed hook on the wrong side of the net and the fish will be able to shake free.

When Jordan grabbed the net to help his Dad land a fish, I instructed him to hold the bottom of the net like I explained above. With an obstructed view I watched him unsuccessfully go after the biggest walleye of the morning. When I could finally see what was going on I realized he was never letting go of the net when it entered the water. The walleye just bounced off the taught netting when he tried to scoop it on the third attempt. 

The fish won that fight and swam off. As I explained how the net works, his little brother was giving him the “what for” and we all laughed. I told him that fish would probably be a 10 pounder by the time I blogged about it. Ha!  He was a good sport though, and took the ribbing in stride. :)

It was a great morning on the water with three great guys. I look forward to fishing with them again soon. I was told Grandpa would like to do some perch'n, so that will be coming up in the next few weeks, I think. 

Capt Juls