Lets here some of your funny Mille lacs stories. I got one that comes to mind and will never forget.
It was back in 1999 on one of my launch trips. The walleye bite was good on the mud. It was a hot night in late June. We had a full boat and I noticed an elderly couple boarding the launch. They were looking for a place to sit and I suggested they sit next to me. They gladly took me up on my offer. After greeting all my customers we departed the dock and headed to a “no mans land” spot off of Curly’s flat. We arrived at our destination and anchored up. All lines were down and the elderly couple and I struck up a conversation. They were staying at the casino when the Mr. suggested they board a boat and do some fishing. This couple was probably in their late 70’s and I was impressed with their desire to fish 6 hours on the big lake at night.
They explained they didn’t fish too much. Back in their younger days they wetted a minnow or two but were pretty much novices. So I explained how slip bobber fishing worked and how to set the hook. About an hour went by and the fish started to bite. I told the couple to get ready. I netted a few fish in the back of the boat and went back to my seat. The Mrs. bobber was no more than a foot away from mine when her bobber began to descend. It kept going down and down and down. I told her to set the hook. She began to just real slowly so I grabbed the pole and reefed up and set the hook and told her to slowly crank and not stop cranking.
We were fishing in about 32 feet of water and I explained to her its going to take some time. I knew this Walleye was big right away. The pole was doubled over (thank God for fiberglass rods) and the fish wasn’t coming up. She started to explain that her arms were hurting and she wanted to give the pole to me. I suggested she hand the pole off to the Mr. and he took the pole and started cranking again. The fish slowly came up from the bottom and I suggested he hand the pole back to the Mrs. and he did. She began to crank again and the whole boat was looking over her shoulder. Net in hand, I saw the pig come to the surface and what a pig it was. I netted it and the boat let out a loud scream along with lots of clapping.
We put the big fish on the tape and she measured 30 inches, 9.9 pounds on the digital scale, and she was a fatty. After pictures, I suggested we put the big fish back. The Mr. said he wanted to keep it. I asked him if he was going to mount it. He said they wanted to eat it. I told him they aren’t good eating at that size and its best to release it or mount it if they wanted to keep it. He explained they lived on a fixed income and couldn’t afford to mount it. The Mrs. then said she wanted to keep it and get it mounted. So we placed the big fish in the livewell. We had a pretty good rest of the night and lots of people looking at the big fish. But the couple didn’t really seem excited at all. So on the way in I chatted with them and asked them if they were excited to get the big fish mounted. The Mrs. turned to me and said, “yea, that’s the biggest Nordern I ever caught” I said, “that’s a trophy Walleye you caught.” She said, “ oh” and then she talked about eating it again. Rumors on the boat began to fly that they were still planning on eating the fish.
We got back to the resort and took the fish in for more pictures. Everyone on the boat came in and then a man on the boat told everyone he had something to say. He said everyone on the boat pitched in to make sure they had enough money to get the fish mounted. I thought, what a generous thought and I chipped in my tip money for the night. We put the fish in the freezer and the next day I took it to Garrison to get it mounted. Six months later it was done and I contacted the couple to come get the fish. They lived in McGregor and the Mr. said he would come down and get the fish. When he arrived he said the Mrs. had recently passed away and that the fish will be a remembrance of their last fishing trip together.
I will always remember how bad we all felt about that.But he did make a upgrade and buy a FL-18 on the way back home!!
