Weekend report

Well, couldn't find any crappie think the river was running to fast:biggrin or maybe I was using the wrong bait, ummmm.. Yea think so , bait was to big 3/4oz jighead and 4" body bait yea think I should have been Lookin for walleye. Oh yea we did find ourselves drifting down Detroit river amongst the hundreds of other boats. Was pretty slow Saturday and Sunday, some fish were caught but you had to work extra hard for them. I got 3 nice eyes from22" to 26" and one that was over 10#
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The first pic is the one over 10#, she got released to make more 10#ers the other pic got a one way ticket to grease:HandsClapping:HandsClapping

Your a true sportsman Kevin and good job catching some really nice fish

Man...

That's a nice un Kev! Whoo-hooo!

OK, So Kevin was in front of me a little bit when you took the picture of that fish.... He got a little ribbing from the group for taking the photo but his quote was priceless "I needed Proof"!!!

On that same drift, my dad hooked into what he thought was a decent fish. I readyed the net and up came what I thought was a stick. Upon further inspection, it was a Fenwick elite tech 6'3: Medium, Xtra Fast, specific jigging rod with an Abu Garcia Cardinal reel spooled with braid, a 1 oz Candy Chartreuse jig head hooked to the eye, a brown worm, and a stinger hook. A complete ready to fish setup that must have been deep sixed in the high winds from Friday. The cheers from the other boats were awesome!! We fished with her on a few drifts too. This is a $200 dollar setup that is no longer made anymore. I've already had people offer money for it.

We fished friday in the high winds. Very hard to stay verticle. We kept two fish and released two others.

Saturday was the busiest we have ever seen the river. A buddy that lives and has fished the river for 30 years said they have never seen it that bad. Boat launches were filled at 5am and you could not find a place to launch by 7am. I didn't have the problem as I am a member of a private launch.

Traffic just causes the fish to shut down. If you don't get them early, you have to get lucky and work hard. We kept two and threw back 4 on this day. I did manage to tow a boat in distress to open water (would have towed him back to the dock but he got his boat started). I was amazed that 1000 people saw him having issues and no one else went to help out. I guess their fishing was more important than a fiberglass boat ending up on the bank.

Sunday, the traffic was just as bad. I released two big females on my first drift and I am always amazed to see the look on peoples faces when I do it. I always say "someone has to do it so we can continue this great fishery". I also say that it is the fishermans perogative on whether they keep a fish or not. I am not a judge and will not judge someone for doing it. I've released more 12lb fish than most people have caught. I don't need one on my wall and usually don't photograph them.

That said, the below two pictures will be sent to the Michigan DNR for a Master Angler Walleye award. There are not many given out each year for these gals:
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This one was 29 1/4 inches. Making the list by 1/4 inch. She was released to make other big ones.

On a side note: Boat break in went pretty well on Friday and Saturday morning. The full windshield was nice on friday (no water or spray). The 4 foot waves basically rocked the boat but nothing it couldn't handle. I did not put the engine above 4000rpm.

Saturday, we left the dock, I put it up to 4500rpm and rode for a little while. A guy was in front of me that was not watching were he was going. Eventually, I had had enough. I dropped the hammer and the look on his face said it all "where did he come from"! During the break in cycle of these motors, you can not run sustained full throttle for long periods so I shut her down.

Sunday, I was heading back to the dock on clear water. I was running about 35mph when I got next to a boat and decided to let her run out. He looked at me amazed that it appeared I had a complete extra gear in this thing. I shut her down at 45mph with a little more left in the tank. No more worrying about taking me too much time to get to the fishing hole.

She sips gas and is so quiet you can have a normal conversation. I still don't have all of my storage filled yet and nearly 60 gallons of livewell space is handy!!

nice fish guys!!!
I used to fish there, just do not like the crowds at all.
and jigging is hard work LOL , I prefer to troll (so I can sit back and just relax until the board goes back)
getting old I guess.
no time to fish this year anyway :(
but I am sure going to try and make it to crappie camp!!

It would just put the giddyup in my step if you showed up!

You got that right John. I love to troll. I get my fill of jigging for a month to last me a year. Would love for you to show up at camp this year. Kevin might even have some captain morgan....

Wish Kev would have put his fish on a board. That fish went close to 31 inches I bet. I believe that might be my boat in the background too.

Abby will be skipping school tomorrow to fish with daddy

I will have a hawg trough soon and digital scale

You will love the hawg trough. I laid that fish in it and it never moved. Put one in it today too. Same thing.

I have a berkley digital and a rapala spring scale. I like them both. Spring scale is better for bigger fish. I never seem to have it in the boat though.

We started doing the master angler awards this year. Something different.

How did your trip with Abby go?

I was sick as could be. Took all I had to avoid being sick. I didn't eat or drink for 14 hours just to avoid the bathroom.

I prayed to get her some fish. In the end, we lost three including a giant and landed two. Not bad. She had fun, didn't want to leave, and I survived not getting sick.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

I was sick as could be. Took all I had to avoid being sick. I didn't eat or drink for 14 hours just to avoid the bathroom.

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:(:(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

I was sick as could be. Took all I had to avoid being sick. I didn't eat or drink for 14 hours just to avoid the bathroom.

I prayed to get her some fish. In the end, we lost three including a giant and landed two. Not bad. She had fun, didn't want to leave, and I survived not getting sick.

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Bummer man. My mom had something very similar Thursday too. Hope you feel better.

yesterdays catch

Jimmy, whare's the fish? Beautiful picture.

I think he's implying by his picture that IS his catch. That's OK Jim, I went for a few hours Fri. eve. and never got the skunk outa the box. Sure was a purdy evening to be on the water for sure!

Fished with Alboy yesterday on the river. He picked it up real quick. We were not able to put him on any giants but some nice table fare. We caught 12 and kept 11. He even got a tour of down town!

Decided not to play bumper boats today on the river. Went to Muskegon as I heard the perch bite was going strong. Key word....WAS. Ended up with 14. Buddy got 13. All his fish were spawned out so we feared it was over. All but 3 of mine still were fresh with spawn. We still got time!!!

Lovely fish, I too like putting the big girls back to breed. If someone asks I let them know the secret of where baby fish come from... Also, I too was able to get the skunk off of my soft water gear. Just a couple perch but better than nothing.

Attachment 200829Attachment 200830Attachment 200831I'll get it right yet. This was Sandy's first trip ever on Sag Bay. She got a 24" and a 27" we managed 8 for the trip.

Congrats Larry I still haven't caught a walleye.

WOW great job on the eyes, sure going to taste good

Were did you launch also did you get a bigger boat

Nice job you two. Whoohoo!

figured it out, you went out of Linwood, I can see the stacks in the background

Nice job on the walleye. The addiction has started !!!!!!

And the addiction begins.