Google

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Monday, May 24, 2010

It was nice to just spend a few days relaxing this past long weekend with my wife and daughter. We all made the trek up the cottage to take in Mother Nature's early summer weather and soak up some sun. As usual they were wrong with their prediction of rain for Saturday and Sunday . The weather was amazing on all 3 days. While at the cottage I had to resort to dock fishing as family and chores took priority over going fishing in the boat. My dock adventures yielded high numbers of fish but not the ones I was after. The first fish I caught on a grub was a small 12" catfish, then I probably caught close to 50 Rock bass with some chunky Sunfish thrown in. When I finally did make it out on Monday morning I wanted to make the most of my time on the water and I was eager to catch some walleye and panfish.

I hit the water on Monday morning hoping for the best as I was limited to only a few hours tops. First stop the spot where I lost the monster last week but nothing so I moved on to Margaret Island. Was ripping a Rapala X-Rap in Hot Steel through the weeds and was able to hook up with one small walleye in the 13" range. That was it for there. Tried another couple of spots and no walleye to show for. I did lose some grub tails a few times so I assume walleye nibbled them off on short strikes. I worked weed edges, I worked the scattered stuff with various baits but only managed one.

I now decided to move shallow to try for some panfish and came onto a large school of bluegills, perch and sunfish. I was hoping for some crappies to be mixed in but nothing. Site fishing for panfish can be quite fun and I really did enjoy it. Managed to catch a dozen perch and kept them for a shore lunch. Kept a few bluegills and sunfish in the livewell for a pic or two but the were released as the blues were very dinky. The sunfish were surprisingly very big, 9-10" range.

The reviews were mixed from the guys out on the lake. Lots of small ones being caught, to nothing at all. Nice to know that these small ones can only get bigger in time thanks to the new slot size regulations.

Why do the weekends always come and go so fast?

Monday, May 17, 2010

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Well I finally made it on the water on the morning of Sunday, May 16th and I was only on the water for 2 hours, 8:30-10:30am. In my two hour fishing window I tried throwing crankbaits, jigging grubs, and drop shotting artifical minnows. I did not land any fish. I did however hook up with something that I new was pretty big. After fighting for a few minutes on 10lb Vanish, I was able to see what it was and it was a huge walleye caught in 7 feet of water. It came up to the surface and I grabbed the net and put it down as there was still some fight left in this Walleye. I was drop shotting an artificial minnow and when I was able to see it, it was enormous. As I reach for the net to have it ready to land, I momentarily lost tension in the line I think and it was gone. I put this Walleye at around 7-8 lbs+ and in the 27"+ range, it was a BRUTE. I was right at a spot which happened to be a point off an island. There were some weeds in this area and it transitioned into a rocky bottom towards the shoreline. It was so disappointing to lose this monster. It would have been out of the new slot regulations but would have been the biggest Walleye I have ever caught.
On Saturday night I continued with the dock fishing as the Wobbly Pops kept me on shore and I did catch a total of 6 Rock Bass, 2 Bluegill, I lost one small Walleye and caught an even smaller one which I put at around 12-13 inches.
The weather on Sunday was great, light winds and blue sunny skies. Thankfully most of the work at the cottage is now done so now it’s finally on to spending more time on the water.

Sunday I trolled a few weedbeds off Margaret Island with other boats but we all came up empty. This spot has produced in the past but not yesterday. It was a great weekend for working and fishing. I definately want to venture farther on the lake and try some proven spots. My new NAVIONICS is working great on te water. The long weekend can't come soon enough.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Advanced Taxidermy


I got the long awaited phone call on Monday afternoon to tell me that my fish mount was finally completed. Naturally I was very excited to see how it turned out and I couldn't wait to pick it up the following day.

Having been to Advanced Taxidermy only once before to drop my order off and having seen their booths a few times at various shows, I knew they did great work but I was still very excited and anxious to see how mine turned out.

All I can say is WOW! When I got my first look at it, it was better then expected. The picture does not do it justice. It truly is a work of art and a masterpiece and it brings back great memories of me catching it last summer on Rice Lake. If you are considering a mount, either replica or skin, then look nowhere else besides Advanced Taxidermy. Thanks to James and the crew for their dedication and fine craftsmanship.

www.advancedtaxidermy.com