 |
| Jimmy bumps up the size later in the day |
DAY TWO: The forecast was for light winds and sunshine on the second day of our trip. As we headed out in the morning, the wind was actually fairly brisk from the northeast, not the best wind on this reservoir. It certainly seemed to also affect fish activity levels. By noon we had not caught a walleye, though I put a huge Super Shad Rap off the back of my bottom bouncer in order to see if I could catch something large. We were trolling along in about 30 feet of water when I noticed two large marks on the side of the drop. I had been working lure about ten feet up off the bottom for suspended fish, but when I saw those marks I dropped down.
Five seconds later I had a vicious strike and the fight was on. Judging by the way it was fighting I knew it was a decent pike. Sure enough, the first fish of the day was landed, a decent sized fish that had some damage on its tail. A little while later we Jim hooked up a walleye and I landed another pike in our first doubleheader.You have to remember on the big reservoir there are still a lot of sunken lumber with standing trees scattered everywhere. It is pretty tough to fish without hooking up and losing gear.
 |
| Captain Boyd with a nice one! |
With a bottom bouncer and spinner, if you get hooked up on a tree, you can almost always get it back if you turn the boat around and go back over the snag the other way. Also if three guys are fishing in the boat, the guy in the front has to use a heavier bouncer than the guys in the back to prevent tangling.
 |
| Jim with a bit of a tangle! |
It is one of the keys in successful trolling for these fish. As the wind dropped in the afternoon and the sun shone, these fish became way more active and we had a real solid finish to the day.
Tomorrow, we find the big fish!
