I like to share stories when I can, but unfortunately, I don't get out much. My outings are also very rarely worthy of a report. But every year I bring my buddy up to the trailer, and we pretend to be die hard fishermen for a week. You know… wake up at the crack of 10 or so, have a leisurely breakfast, go fishing for a few hours, come back, have a bite to eat, maybe grab a nap, then head back out till dark, then come back eat dinner and drink our faces off.
As you can see… we take our fishing quite seriously!
But anyway… enough of the long winded intro…
Our trip this year Started Sunday night. Got the van packed and hit the road by 8PM.
A leisurely 6 hour drive later, we arrived at our destination, quietly unpacked the van, got set up, and cracked the first of many cold ones. By around 4:30, the saw the sun begin to rise… Was that a heavy fog on the lake? Or was it just me? Alright! Let's go fishin! I said… After contemplating it for a half second or so, we laughed hysterically, and went to bed.
By 11AM we dragged our sorry butts out of the sack and devoured what I think might have been bacon and eggs. I don't know… it certainly looked like it - but tasted better than anything I'd tasted before.
About an hour later, and a gallon of water each, we almost felt human again. Too hot to go fishing yet…
Instead of fishing, we spent the afternoon in and out of the water trying to keep cool.
My buddy fished from my deck on and off all day long while I relaxed and enjoyed not having any screaming kids around. He managed a nice assortment of pannies… I kept telling him, there's nicer fish out there… cast your line over there. It was pretty windy though, so he was having a hard time getting his line to the right spot.
Finally, I showed him how it's done… Ya just gotta know where to cast, I said as I caught this puppy on my first cast. Which would turn out to be the big fish of the day. He was flabbergasted.
After a bite to eat, and a quick siesta, we headed out for the evening to pound the shorelines for bass.
We did alright numbers wise… but nothing real big - all around 1 or 2 pounds.
We also caught our first walleyes of the trip. Mine was only about 8" which apparently isn't photo worthy…
His was nicer… 18" - "apparently" not photo worthy either.
Next day was raining, so we used that as an excuse to run to town and pick up some things we needed. After we got back, the rain had subsided, and the wind was just right for walleye fishing. So out we went.
On our first pass, I nailed this beauty 21 incher.
Second pass, I nailed this 19 incher.
After that it got pretty quiet, so we ran in for a bite to eat, then headed back out for an evening fish.
Was a pretty slow night… but plenty of little fish to keep us entertained. Very quiet. Very relaxing. By far the nicest night… also the first night the bugs actually stood a chance - so they were quite thirsty. We couldn't seem to troll fast enough to get rid of them so we decided to call it a night. No sooner that I'd killed the motor and started reeling in slowly, something smashed my lure. I knew this was a good fish… could it be? No..
Then I caught a glimpse of it at the side of the boat.. And nearly filled my pants. Could it really be? Could it be the 8 pounder I'd dreamt about all these years? My buddy netted it like a champ. An 8 pounder this was not… funny how the water magnifies things, eh?
But still… not a bad fish, and still the biggest walleye I'd ever caught. Beauty fish!
25" - 4lbs 4oz. 1" and almost 1lb bigger than my old mans biggest, which he'd caught 2 weeks prior.
Satisfied with the days catch, we headed back and celebrated my PB.
Wednesday was a beautiful day! We trolled around and explored some new spots. Some looked promising, and some didn't. Fishing was slow. But we managed to get a nice mixed bag of fish.. None of which were deemed photo worthy??? What the… there was once a time when we took pictures of every fish we caught. I guess over the 8 or 9 years we've been doing this, the novelty wore off…
Went out again that evening - another beautiful night! Fishing was still slow though. We threw almost everything we had at the fish that night. As the sun set, the fish turned on, and for about 30 mins or so we were nailing them left and right. Then as fast as they turned on, they turned off. But not before my buddy caught this beauty. Picture does not do it justice. This fish was definitely one of the biggest Smallies I've ever seen. And fat! The bigger smallies I'd caught were all long and lean. This guy was short and stocky, and almost resembled a football.
After that, we headed in, called the wives to let them know we'd be extending our trip, and then devoured a feast of chicken wings.
Thursday was miserable… cold front came in over night.
Again, we used the rain as an excuse to hit the corner store after breakfast and replenish our supplies - Jagermeister, Beer, cigars, etc.
After we returned, we grabbed the rain gear and hit the lake. Fishing was pretty slow… not much worthy of noting.
We weren't out long before we spotted a storm coming across the lake. So we headed back to the trailer, got hunkered down, and played cards while the storms blew in and out all afternoon/evening.
It was a gloomy day... overcast, little to no wind, and an occasional drizzle. Feeling a wee bit hung over from the night before, we ate a hearty breakfast while we gazed out over the lake and contemplated going fishing. Our bellies full and still feeling the aftershocks from the bottle of Jagr we'd polished the night before.... we decided to go for a nap instead.
An hour or so later, I awoke having dreamt of catching a big one. Looking outside, I could see that the rain had subsided, and that blue sky's were on the horizon. Most importantly I could see that the wind had changed...
So after a quick smoke and a beer, out we went. As we sauntered down to the boat and loaded our gear, the clouds broke, and the sun came out. It actually got quite warm. Less than ideal conditions for walleye fishing, but the wind was right, and I couldn't shake the feeling that today was THE day...
So off we went... not a sole in sight on the lake. All the die-hards (or walleye warriors as they like to call themselves in the trailer park) had given up and were heading in... So we headded over to what looked like a promising spot, and got set up on a drift.
So there we were... drifting along. I was more interested in soaking up some sun and enjoying the scenery, and tranquility. But my buddy was watching the fish finder intently, examining every inch that we crossed. After watching nothing but flat bottom for about 30 mins or so, he asked me if we could troll back to where we started... Sure! no problem! I said. So I reeled in, got us turned around and we started slowing trolling back. No sooner that I'd gotten my line back out, I felt the tell tale sign of the walleye.. nothing more than a gentle tap. So I did what my dad had ingrained in to me for all those years, just as his dad had... resist the urge to set the hook right away... let him take it. So I let my rod fall back... then TAP TAP... he's got it!
Set the hook!
Hmm......... dead weight. Did I miss him? Am I snagged?
SHAKE SHAKE... Nope! It's a fish.. a nice one!
I could feel this fish was pretty heavy, and from the big head shakes, I could tell that it was a nice sized walleye. Not until I got it close to the boat did it really put up a fight. I could tell from my line that the fish was close... yet it was nowhere in sight. Then all of a sudden, my rod doubled over, and it took off like a rocket, literally peeling the line of my reel.
Right then I knew that this was a big fish, and knew I had to play it just right. So I directed my buddy to get up beside me and be ready with the net. I got the fish turned around and headed for top. Slowly but surely I brought him to the surface. Then just as I caught a glimpse of it, like a flash, my buddy grabbed the fish with the net. And there is was... this massive walleye literally laying across the top of the net... and then panic sunk in... my god! It's too big for the net! Then... what seemed like an eternity later, the fish bent and collapsed in to the net - just barely.
Then a sense of euphoria came over me, as I stared down at this massive fish entangled in the net... I'd done it! I'd captured the beast that haunted my dreams for so many years. Grandpa Joe would be proud! I only wish he could have been there to see it... yet somehow, I knew he was looking over me that day.
Fish weighed in at 8lbs 4oz, and measured 30". This was by far the biggest walleye I'd ever seen… and literally, a dream come true.
Saturday we spent the day feeling a bit dehydrated from the festivities the night before. We also needed to clean up and get ready for an early morning Sunday departure.
We spent our last day relaxing, and reflecting on probably our greatest fishing trip to date.
How on earth can we top this next year?
Surely can't be the one near the 'Prior!! 
