Day 4

Fishing Day 2



...today's plan was two fold...they wanted to search deeper water for big walleye to film.....and they wanted underwater pics. So we took off in the morning to find some walleyes in deep water. But there was one problem...the weather...while not raining, it was very windy causing large waves in the open water where we had hoped to find larger fish. While still fishable, the waves prevented the camera crew from filming as it was impossible to hold the cameras steady in the large waves. So much for the first part of the plan







So they decided to skip the search for big walleyes for the time being and we headed to some sheltered areas out of the wind to get underwater pics. For this, they had a small video camera in a waterproof case that was attached to a long pole. When someone caught a fish, they'd move over by you and lower the camera into the water. You then had to swim your fish around the camera and then lift it straight out of the water when it was directly above the lens while they taped. At other times they would have you toss your fish back on top of the submerged camera. Like I said before, I could have done without this part, esp since I have a face for radio. I just wanted to fish. But it was kind of interesting to watch and I know Babe and the crew had a show to do, so I tried my best to do my part.








We had another great shore lunch. Not only is Mike a great guide, but he can cook, too!! And if you recall, yesterday Joey caught a 40+ inch northern pike while waiting for lunch. Today, JohnnyB cast out a line, right from shore and wouldn't you know, on the very first cast he brings in a 40+ inch northern pike!! After releasing that monster, Johnny walked about 75 yards down the shore, casts a second time and hooks another monster northern...again over 40 inches!! What are the odds of that happening!! Two casts, from shore resulting in two 40+ inch trophy pike!! Unbelievable is the only way I can describe it!!








After another great shore lunch, we were hoping to try again for big walleye in deep water, but the waves were still bad and getting worse. You could feel the change in the air, the dropping temperature and it wasn't long before we could see the storm moving in. We decided to just go back into the sheltered areas and have fun catching the fish like we had been doing. And doing more filming, of course LOL. We literally caught hundreds of fish...walleyes and small pike.







Louis cast out one time and thought he got snagged. He pulled and pulled and it didn't budge. So I started reeling my line in so that I could give him my fishing pole while I worked on his. But before I could get my line all the way back in, Louis says his broke free and I looked and sure enough, he was reeling it in easily. So I went back to working my line. Suddenly Louis shouts out that it wasn't a snag...he had hooked a large pike!! When it saw the boat, it wasn't happy. Louis got it to the back of the boat, which is a miracle in itself bcause the pole was set up for walley with a 3/8jig and 8lb test and NO wire leader. How that big fish didn't break the line I'll never know. On this lake, nets are not permitted, so I had to reach over the back of the boat and lift the pike out by hand...and this is where the trouble began. The fish didn't seem to mind when I slid my hand in his gill, but as soon as I got him about half way out of the water, he realized he didn't want to be here and used his muscles to make one last push...and unfortunately, he was able to push himself up off my hand and away from me, snapping the line with ease as he came back down. Louis was very disappointed...but he'll never be as disappointed as I was/am at not getting that fish on board . That was easily the largest fish Louis had ever caught...hopefully, they got enough of it on film for us to see something. Oh well...that's life sometimes.

And to add to the disappointment, it started raining. But we kept fishing anyways....until lightning started. The last place you want to be is in a boat holding a graphite rod. Babe said the graphite rods conduct electricity better than aluminum...so we made the long dash back to the lodge. It was pouring by the time we got back (about a 40 minute boat ride). We were lucky as Babe had his own boat....a nice 19ft Polar Craft with a 225hp Evinrude outboard. Nice and fast!

Johnny's brothers had the boats the lodge provides...16ft, open bow, 25hp outboard. So while we were gracefully flying through the water with the windshield protecting us, these poor guys were getting hammered by every wave. And there were plenty of big waves! They were soaked through and through by the time they got back . We got to watch a spectacular storm that night with lightning, etc from the warmth of the lodge.