I have so many pictures from the past few nights of fishing that I'm not sure where to start. I suppose I will start with my favorite pic of the many, which is this super fatty that gave me one surprise reaction! The action and size has been pretty much incredible for this late in the season. 
We had two different cameras and a few different angles on the fish. I won't put all the pics up, but I will put a few of the Jumbos that we have landed lately. 
Unfortunately a few of the larger ones came up the hole when I wasn't in the house with Dusty, which is why he has pics of them laying on the ruler. It really gives a good view of how large they are on that 30 inch ruler, and how fat them bellies are on those fish. While I have shared many of the catches with him, Dusty has really put a smack down on some very healthy fish the past couple of nights. I think he boated 5 of them over 5 pounds with the largest being about 7.5. 
For February and fishing in the metro area, it just doesn't get a whole lot better than this. We have really been spoiled lately with these fish, and while we have released everything over the 20 inch mark, we have also caught several that have been of great eating size. We have had doubles at times, and many chaotic hours of no sleep during the middle of the night. We have been cooking up spectacular meals, playing cards, dice and just loving every single time that rattle reel dings. 
The best part about these fish, is that we have also caught many of our fish by jigging, which is a tactic that usually doesn't work this late in the season. Our action has been really consistent, and our tactics still remain the same. Even with catching many fish and large ones, we have still been moving the house each night out, and it has obviously been paying very large dividends in our success. 
The main reason that we have been doing so well, is that we have been able to put in a lot of time during the darkness. 
By being able to spend the night on the ice, we are on the spot whenever the fish decide to bite, and the flurries have been great. Some nights we catch them all before midnight, and some nights we don't get a bite until midnight. It has really fluctuated a lot, but every morning we have smiles on our face from the hogs that we have been hoisting through the holes. With all the numbers that we have been catching, it is awesome to see the size of these guys. In the last couple of nights out, we have landed many fish in the low 20's and upper teens, but we have also boated fish in these size ranges: 24, 24, 24.5, 25, 25.5, 26, 26.5. 
When you add that length with the ginormous bellies, all of these fish are in the 5 to 7.5 pound category. Luckily for everybody fishing out there, we have released them all to be caught another night. I don't know how long this run of big fish will last, but I am excited to find out. It feels as if we should be on a trip in Canada to be catching so many large fish, but I am super fortunate to have this in my back yard. These are a just some of the pics from the last couple of nights, but I love being able to share them. If you want in on this awesome action, feel free to call at any time.
I have also captured several more images that make being in the great outdoors so very special. The sunset the other evening was yet again breath taking, so I hope you enjoy these shots. Now that is what I call "Livin The Dream!"
Though we tried to take a minute after the release to celebrate his catch, it was very short lived. The line from his rattle reel hadn't even reached the bottom when Matt looked at his vexilar and said "Dude, there's another one down there!" After swinging and missing the fish on its first nibble, he dropped his jig back to the bottom and proceded to put the smack down on it for bite number 2. Yep, within 5 minutes my camera was getting a true work out, and the high fives were flying left and right. It's not that we have been catching 50 fish a night, but the ones we are hoisting are really nice fish to say the least. To land such huge walleyes in our back yard night after night is simply awesome. 
A few weeks ago I put pictures up from some really nice fish and I commented that I wasn't sure how long this bite would last. Well, I am being surprised more and more with every trip to the shack. The weird thing is that they seem to be getting bigger. We were wondering if we would even be able to catch something to eat the way the size was going, but then a few minutes later Dusty Bottoms set the hook on another one. Finally! An eater! Not that we were complaining about the size, but we hadn't caught a fish under 20 inches in quite some time. Since it is my fathers birthday today, I requested that we keep the 19.5 incher for him since he loves those tasty eye's. A quick flurry of activity like that still has me pumped to write about a few hours later. It just doesn't get old for me. And then this morning on the way in I had a close encounter with another toothy critter. Only this guy spends his time above the ice. It was cool to drive alongside this coyote, but all I kept thinking about was how fun it would be to have a weapon in my truck and try to put a good stalk on him. hahaha! Yet again, a great night shared in the house, and more beauty's for the books. Thanks for the fun times fellas. And that is what I call "Livin The Dream!"
