My father and I had this weekend planned for a long time....it was my goal to get him into his first world class Quinte Walleye.
With the results this fall, I knew this wouldn't be a simple task. My goal was to get him into one over 10 pounds. Problem was, i haven't even caught one 10 pounds, lol. Nothing like setting high goals.
As with any fishing trip with dad, the fishing comes second...Just spending quality time makes the trip worth while.
Temps were Cold Thursday night when we arrived....Drove through four hours of snow just to get there....But we took it nice and easy, no point in ruining a weekend before it even starts.
Arrived late Thursday night, and planned to get a decent sleep before fishing. This meant we left at 10:30 am, lol. Nothing like rising early to beat those finicky walleye.
Here's some pics from Friday.
Icy windows, needed a scraper just to see.
We started setting out the lines, and before we could get them all set up, we heard one of the board's running...
Jackson's girlfriend was first up. She's never caught a Walleye, and this was to be her first, unfortunately it wasn't to be. See that scarf? About 30 seconds after this pic was taken, it got caught in the reel's drag and gears, loosing the fishing boatside. It was a beautiful fish.
Next up was a fish on the long line, perfect for dads first fish. No planers to worry about, just a beautiful fight. Nothing huge though....an 8 pounder. (still a gorgeous fish).
An hour or two later, both outside boards fire! Grrreat. Dad and I take the rods, and proceed to reel in both our personal bests....twin 11 pounders! (10.15 and 11.1)
Close up of the Yap.
That made out weekend. Best part? It happened on day one! Double header twins....gotta love how those Quinte walleye school up with fish of the same size. ;D
Got the boards out in time for an inside board to fire, just as we passed over the gps mark from the double header.
Result? A triplet. Another 11 pounder.
This one was 11.2. Sure shows evidence that those fish swim in schools of the same size....imagine finding a school of 14+ pounders!?!?!
Two more smaller fish rounded out the day....Enough to cook up a Quinte Fry fit for the gods (or at least my dad!)
What a day to bring dad up. The most productive day for us this fall...We knew Saturday would have a heckuva time living up to Friday.
Saturday had the big Merlands derby, with 40 or so boat, and 75 or so participants....we knew the water would be packed.....and it was.
It was really amusing seeing all the boats fighting the snowy conditions.....pure Quinte madness. Cold, windy, snowy....perfect. 'Cept Someone forgot to tell the fish to do their part.
Dad and Jackson heading down to the boat.....As you can see, it snowed a lot overnight!
A beautiful fall day in the glorious Bay of Quinte.
Saturday started out a lot slower than Friday, and continued that way all day for us. Didn't see many nets out with the boats we passed. Lots of boats were fishing the Ferry area, but less than half a dozen boats east of the Lighthouse. Nice.
About noon, the snow started coming down hard....
And the temps dropped.
About 3 in the afternoon, the skies opened, and we actually saw a little sun. Noticed the fish dropped at least 20 feet in the water column on Saturday, from Friday...which didn't help the numbers one bit. Put a 3 ounce trolling weight on a taildancer, and within an hour or so, the longline went off.
I love fighting fish on the lighter rods, without the boards....really feel the headshakes. Check out the bend in this medium heavy Avid, produced by a healthy 7 pounder.
Just as the sun was setting on our final day, the outside board went off, allowing my dad to reel in his final Quinte fish. Another healthy 6 pounder.
Well, thats it for this year....Unless its not frozen after Finals, but with the inner bay already freezing, and the outer bay's temps falls fast, i dont see too many more weeks of fishing.
If you can get out, enjoy it while you can. This upcoming week's temps are going to throw fishing for a loop...we'll see what it does to it.
Have Fun.
;D
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Great work steve-hamilton, and awesome fish too.