The Walleye Chomp is ON!

Two weeks into the season and I'm already sick of catching walleyes.  Just kidding.  But, at the rate they have been biting I'm beginning to wonder if I have things figured out, or if they are just eating at a faster than normal pace.  With each strike of the bait I'm thinking that it's the latter.  Last night I was on the water and I almost had my arm ripped off from a hungry walleye.  It was  a strike similar to that of a musky or catfish.  It leads me to wonder if this accelerated spring and warm water temps have the fish on a binge that they cannot sustain. 

The first week of the season proved to be extroardinary on big fish.  The second week continued the same trend, but finally started to yield a few for the frying pan.  The funny part is that we've been having such a fun time catching them that we haven't even taken the time to keep any.  I call it stock for future trips, and that's a good thing. 

Home from a 5 day work trip out of state, I snuck out Sunday evening for a quick evening bite and found the fishing better than when I left.  After what I had been experiencing, I didn't think it could get any better.  On Sunday evening I hooked a fish on my first 15 casts.  Yep, 15.  They weren't all walleyes and a couple got off, but I still battled a fish on more consecutive casts than I can ever remember.  It was surreal.

Yesterday morning I celebrated Memorial Day with a few eager anglers.  George and Tom were my guests, and our mission was to get George his first walleye ever.  Being from the non-walleye rich waters of Tennessee and the fact that he hadn't fished in over 20 years, I took it as a good accomplishment when the 72 year old southerner posed for his first ever walleye picture (above).  We had a blast all morning catching walleye, bass and hungry sheephead.  It was an adventure that I was told got George back into fishing.  In fact, my email this morning read something like this..."George said he is going to the store when he gets home to buy fishing equipment and he plans to start fishing again."  That comment alone makes me smile. 

Last night was more of the same since I couldn't resist the chance to get back out there.  Bails and Mike joined me and we proceeded to catch fish hand over fist.  In our short hour and a half on the water we landed about 35 to 40 fish.  We weren't looking for a meal, rather a tug on the line, and if you catch a fish on almost every other cast, then you don't care if they are bass, walleye or a sheephead. 

The bonus to all of this recent action is that I've been able to continue finding new areas and new walleye hot spots.  My growing list of "sweet spots" gives me an extra sense of satisfaction, the option to release several limits of nice walleyes makes me feel good, and the thought that this might continue for a few days leaves me excited.  To put it in simple fishing terms.  The bite is on.  We are simply blessed to enjoy this great fishing right in our back yard.  Hurry up and get out there before this action slows, or call me if you want to join the fun.  Until next time, keep on livin' the dream!

Opening Week - The Summary

Opening week of the 2010 season has officially come and gone.  As I sit down to write about it, I believe I am going to consider this the best metro start that I have ever had.  Not exactly for the numbers of fish caught, but rather the quality of fish in the net.  At times I would have thought that I was fishing Mille Lacs, Leech or Lake of the Woods.  Certainly not the metro waters.  During the last 5 days out, I have not left my home territory of Lake Minnetonka or Waconia, and yet I find myself with another album full of big walleye pictures.  I think it is safe to say that I am one lucky fishin' dude.

The average walleye in the boat since the start of the season has been about 24 inches.  As I wrote about in the previous couple of journal entries, it has been far more common to see a big walleye than a small one.  The biggest of the season thus far is still just under 8 pounds.  A hefty mark that we have now tickled several times.  In fact, I snuck out last friday for a solo mission and I found a school of "swine," that went in this order.  25, 26, 27 and 25 respectively.  What made it all the more special for me was the fact that I told myself that I was "NOT" going to fish any spot that I have fished before.  I was on a mission to find new territory, and that is just what I did.  I started out cold, but after about 3 hours I finally got dialed in.  Before the day was through I found myself with 10 fish over 22 inches.  To say that I was happy with the results would be a total understatement.  Just ask my fishing buddies.  They are still hearing about it.  I now have even more goodies in my bag of tricks, and that makes me happy. 

As fast as this all started out, I am now left to wonder.  The pattern that has been working for me is in jeopardy of changing, if it hasn't already.  With a water temp that started out at 53 degrees on opening day, we are now hovering over 70.  Last night we plucked 5 dandy eye's, and this morning they had all but dissappeared.  Sadly, my guests were left wondering what could have been.  I'm sure the 90 degree sunshine didn't help matters, but it's all part of the game I guess.  Will this streak of big walleyes start up again?  Will the summer of 2010 be the best walleye season yet?  Who knows.  One thing is for certain.  Musky season is only a couple short weeks away.  Then I'll have to decide if I want to catch 5 lb walleyes or 50 inch muskies?  Hmmm... I think that's an easy choice, and a good problem to have.  As always, you can see more pictures in the walleye photo album.  Until next time, keep on livin' the dream!

Early Morning Success!

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again.  There is nothing better than watching the sun rise over the lake.  Today we did just that, and now I get to write about what we experienced.  I am blessed and life is good!

Longtime fishing friend, Matt Peters, proved me wrong and made it out of bed several hours before I ever thought possible.  I guess the FLW tour does teach a man that the early bird still catches the worm.  He met another fishing fanatic, Tony Groskreutz and myself well before the sun even thought about showing its face.  Our mission was simple.  Hit a few Tonka honey holes early, then head to work.  Hopefully somewhere along the way we would get a good bite or two, then we could have something to think about while we slaved away for 'the man.' 

Our outing was over before we knew it, but we were able to accomplish our goal, and we did it in style.  Matt caught the biggest walleye at about 25 inches, and Tony landed the smallest at rouhgly 12.  They weren't exactly jumping in the boat for us, but it is safe to say that we chose quality over quantity, and we all got in on the action.  I just cannot get over the average size of the walleyes we've been getting on Tonka this year.  It's been a hoot!  I also took a moment to work on my camera skills, and I managed to snap one of my favorite pictures of the 2010 walleye season.  Granted the season is only 4 days old, but I am still very pleased with this photo and I now have a benchmark to try and beat.  I want to thank Matt and Tony for making me get out of bed extra early this morning, and I look forward to many more pre-work outings.  From the shores of Lake Minnetonka, keep on livin' the dream!

2010 Opener is in the Books...

Was I fishing in a dream, or did this opener really happen?  Someone pinch me please.  For the first time since I can remember fishing a Minnesota opener, the snow didn't fly, the wind didn't blow, and the cold never set in.  It was beyond beautiful!  Heck, I even saw the first water skiiers and party cruisers on the water.  While all of the "norms" for our opener failed to transpire, one thing remained the same - the walleye chomp was on!

My opnening day partners were Dusty Gesinger and Sean Bailey.  Two fishin' dudes that I've shared many openers with.  We hit the Waconia watering hole for the midnight start time, and boy did we start the season out with a bang.  The first walleye to hit the net came shortly after midnight by yours truly.  An 'eye that was too big to keep and pushed the stick at just under 24 inches.  I was proud!  Not to be outdone, Dusty crushed my mark with a lengthy 27 3/4 inch walleye of his own.  We laughed and gave high fives.  Our streak of Midnight openers has given us some extremely large fish over the past several years.  One common scenario is that I catch the first fish, then Dusty catches one just a bit bigger.  For example, two years ago I got us on the board just after midnight with a 28 incher that I thought would win the 'big fish' honors.  As I was puffing my chest over my big catch, he set the hook into a 31 incher that blew our mind.  I guess it's fate, but I will be the first to admit that I love every time he out duels me.  I have become accustomed to it and would expect nothing less from him.  Maybe it's why I give up my night of sleep, and why I love the midnight opener so much. 

While our midnight run is always fun, we really look forward to Saturday morning and catching a meal for a fish fry.  After a short rest, we left Waconia and headed over to lake Minnetonka to watch the sun rise over the lake.  This too has been a yearly tradition, and once again the walleyes held up their end of the bargain.  As the sun hit the Eastern horizon, the lines went tight.  We boated some for the frying pan, but found most to be way too large.  A problem that we weren't complaining about at all.  We found our average size to be about a 4 pound fish, and caught several between 22 and 25 inches.  A treat for a metro fishing opener.  For a while we thought we were on Mille Lacs or Leech, but again, we weren't complaining.

The rest of the weekend was more of the same.  We fished hard, fishing a total of three lakes, and finally managed our meal for a fresh walleye dinner.  With weather typical of July, many large walleyes, and the fact that I caught at least one walleye on 3 different lakes on Saturday, I am going to rate this opener as one the best I have ever experienced.  My boat was truly blessed with the great walleye success.  The only thing I couldn't figure out was how the heck Dusty and I caught all those walleyes, and Sean got skunked?  Haha, Yep, he won't live that one down anytime soon!  Fortunately, he stepped his game up on Sunday and finally got the smell out of the boat!  Thanks to all that made my opener so memorable. 

As always, you can see more pictures in the Walleye Photo Album. Also, if anyone is interested in catching some metro 'eyes, the time is now and I still have limited room available.  From the walleye filled metro waters, keep on livin' the dream!

Opening Day, Bring It!

The time has finally come.  Opener is now less than two days away and many anglers have already told 'the boss' to take a hike.  Ah, what a perfect time of the year.  Other than deer opener, I don't believe there is a holiday in this state that gets as much attention.  So I have to ask.  What is your plan for the big day? 

Are you going to be one of the lucky bunch hoisting walleyes on Leech Lake this year?  The chatter on the street says it may be the best opener the lake has ever seen.  From what I witnessed last year, the chatter is probably right.  Mille Lacs should have several options this year too, so anglers won't have to fish on top of one another in the north end sand.  Did you know that you don't even need bait to catch them on Red Lake?  I know that has been the hottest bite since it re-opened in '06.  Or, will you be like me?  Fishing a smaller, less known body of water in an attempt to catch an opening day walleye dinner.

While I do believe that all of the previously mentioned lakes should be on fire, my optimism also hopes for the same on the small ones too.  The reason?  This is the first year in a long time that the spawn has been completely done statewide.  In fact, a normal calendar year would put us right around Memorial weekend in a walleye's world.  It just so happens that I love fishing walleye's on Memorial weekend, and so do all of my walleye fishing friends - and that's a good thing!

Like all years in recent memory, I'm going to be fishing with some of my favorite pals.  Our tradition is to fish at Midnight.  Where we launch is usually decided the evening of.  Where we spend the rest of the weekend always depends on our success, but one thing is for certain - we never give up until we have our fresh meal for dinner. 

Currently our plan is to fish the metro waters.  Unlike popular belief, this is usually far less crowded than many of the northern waters.  My plan is the same as all years.  I will start as shallow as shore and start heading out deeper until I get bit.  Sometimes this happens in a foot of water, sometimes 10, but rarely is it further than that.  I'm going to have three options at my disposal, and it may be a wise decision for you to do the same.  First, a jig and minnow, because it rarely ever fails.  Second is the crankbait, and if for some reason they have lock-jaw, then I'll have the T-Rig ready for them.  What's the T-Rig you ask?  Well, that I cannot share.  But it catches fish when nothing else will.

Many of you may be thinking that the cold front will have them shut down.  I strongly disagree.  I think it will be a blessing in disguise, and when the warm temps start to rise on Saturday I believe you will be pleased with your results.  At least I hope so, cuz after all, nobody goes into the fishng opener thinking that they will get skunked.  Not me, not this year, not ever!  Here's to a good weekend of opening fishing!  May you catch all that your net can hold!  Until Saturday, keep on livin' the dream!