Expectations were high as my guests arrived from Toronto for their first Walleye opening weekend. My grandsons were hopeful of catching some fish.
We had a great meal the night before and the boys decided to sleep in the tent, (it wasn't that cold).
Saturday morning, up bright and early and raring to go. Got away from the dock at 0800 and faced the fog all the way to the fishing grounds. It was clearing to the west and we were hopeful. The SE winds were picking up as we headed downwind on our first trolling pass.
Superdave drove the boat while I set the lines, got the first out and then the leadcore and was just starting to let out the third when the boys said the outside board's flag was down, - Magic Words "Fish On"!!!!!!!
Albert took the rod and deftly brought the fish towards the net and then the fish flipped and the lure spun around the rod tip - RATS!!!!!! fish was gone. It looked real nice, I estimated it to be 6-7 lbs. After that all rods were switched to the same colour and depth.
You all know the story - The big one got away!!!!!!
What a shame, the young guy was deflated and dejected losing the fish, His Dad & I took turns explaining that sometimes you lose them and you don't land every fish.
We made our way upwind and what a struggle, finally able to turn downwind, we continued and as we did I noticed the inside board wasn't tracking as it should, I decided to have a look and felt a weight on the rod.
Here Albert, take the rod. He reeled and brought up a nice fish and I was able to slip the net under it.
We are not skunked and we have a fish for the Junior Division. Pictures taken and the fish stored in the live-well, we continued to troll up and down. No visible strikes, but we lost several worms off the rigs, so something was there.
This is the result.
Headed to Perfect Vue to the weigh station and got the fish weighed and registered, the official weight was 5.93 LBs and Albert was in 2nd place.
Back to Bayview for a lovely lunch supplied by Don & Mariberth and then the afternoon relaxing before the Kentucky Derby.
After a hearty supper, we all were pooped and it was early to bed.
Sunday arrived and we were off again to the same area, bursting with confidence, however the wind was blowing and the trolling even downwind was tough. We couldn't attract anything and called it a day around 1130.
Back to the dock, take the boat out, have some lunch, get cleaned up, pack the vehicles and head to Trenton, as we had been following the results on-line and had seen Albert drop into fourth place. It's a thrill to win any prize especially in such a large Derby.
The organizers when told of our late arrival, had Dave Chong stop the show and called Albert to the stage for his prize, that was very much appreciated. Albert told Dave the fish was caught on a spinner and worm rig.
Everyone had a great weekend and we won a prize, something quite unexpected, but very much appreciated.
I think the boys will continue to fish for a long time.
It was nice to hear that the winning fish was caught in the same general area and the same type of lure that we tried. We were on the right track.
We're all going to be back next year and see what it brings.
Stay Tuned.
David aka Superdad
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