A Fishing Story!

No, it doesn’t begin “Once upon a time” but it could.
Some of you may know a couple weeks ago “Bobbers” and I fished in the Hunters Point Invitational Tournament on Mille Lacs and I lost one of my favorite St.Croix rods.
Well to make a long story a little shorter,(not much) as soon as Bob saw the rod go over the side we hit the event marker on the GPS thinking we may catch it fishing the rest of the day.
Well we didn’t.

So last friday morning when I woke up at day break and could see looking up at the tree tops out the bedroom window that there was no wind, I decided to venture out with my underwater camera in hand and see if I could get lucky and possibly find that cherished stick.
I hit the water about 6 AM and got to my destination in about 10 min. I started trying to get my bearings on the structure, dropped the camera down, seeing a few scattered rock, a few fish but no St. Croix rod. After about 15 mins. of going in circles (which i’m really good at) around the icon on the GPS screen I noticed the camera lens wouldn’t stay on the bottom, it kept angling out from the boat. So I started pulling it up, and wrapped around the hook I attached to the bottom of the camera is a clump of red hooks. My red hooks from my harness! I started to pull it in and here comes the spinner, snap swivel and 30 some feet later the rod. I couldn’t believe it! I hooked my fishing line and caught the rod!
Talk about luck, Bob said I should of went out and bought a lottery ticket.
You think about it 132,000 acres of water and I get lucky enough to have that accurate of electronics to get that close to the spot where it went in the drink.
Not only are the Fish biting on the big pond, thats the third rod i’ve caught this year. The first one intentionally and the other two were jiggle sticks, but never the less more than just the fish are being caught!

Very lucky! My buddy lost a G Loomis w/ a $100 reel on Kabetogama last fall. He searched for over and hour w/ a camera to no avail. He tried it for 1/2 hour the next day and still couldnt find a thing.

We werent sure how to get a rod out of 30′ of water even if we found it. You circumvented that problem too!

Glad you got the rod back. Which model of Croix was it?? Ya, you should have ran to the store…..

I love stories like that. They’re even better when they have a happy ending.

I was adjusting my dead rod in the holder while fishing on Lake Sharpe this spring. I adjusted it a little too far and it just dumped forward – launching a new rod ‘n reel overboard. It was pretty breezy and we were drifting fast. I reached to mark it on the GPS and it occured to me a fishing marker might be better. By the time the rodent in my head got the rusty wheel turning, we had moved at least 5-10 yards off the spot. I tossed the marker to what seemed like the spot based on how hard the wind was blowing.

We doubled back and anchored. We started throwing daredevils but when close to a half an hour had passed we were ready to give up. I declared 10 more casts each (we looked like complete idiots being anchored and casting big northern baits, btw). On the second cast, I caught the jig I had been using. So, that one had a happy ending too.

Last December I watched in horror as a new rig (about 5 hours old) went sailing out of my hand and into the darkness off Indian Point on Mille Lacs. I had just c/r a walleye and the outside of my gloves froze in the 15 degree weather. I went to cast my lure for the next trolling pass and the whole thing went flying. DUH. I didn’t get that one back.

It was a legend series from 1996, my first really good, sensitive, rigging rod. Lots of memories with that one. Its back in the rod rack now.
Thanks for asking.

Hook,

Glad to hear your amazing find! Gotta hand it too the gps for that save?

Last year I recovered 2 setups while rigging the mud. One was a Fenwick rod and a lower end shimano reel that appeared to be about a month old underwater or so? The other was a very nice Zebco 202 combo!!

I can only wonder what lies beneath the surface on the big pond. Oh yeah, I also hooked a old steel lawnchair and a big ol steel wagon wheel fishing for smallies!

Again, congrats on your find!

I’m so partial to my croixs it’s not even funny. I would probably cry if I lost any one of them. I just got the 7′ ML Avid, spinning. I used it primarily this weekend and had a blast catching 20+ inch eyes on 6lb test. My arm still hurts.

My next croix is going to be the 6’3″ legend elite for jigging. I can’t wait to feel a bite on that thing. Anyway, way off the subject. Just love those croixs……

Hook, you should send a note to Rick B from St. Croix! He would love that one. Remember a couple of years back? Scott Shore lost a Loomis right out of his hands on a snag? He had a diver who was staying at Mac’s go out and get it. Funny!
Tuck

wish my story had a happy ending. i was up on mille lacs this weekend with my wife, and a buddy and his girlfriend. my buddy lands a 27″ eye and wants a picture. he removed the jig and set the rod down. after 2 quick photos, he releases the fish. he then reaches for his st croix/penn combo and it is nowhere to be found. we went back over the area, but with the large waves, never came close enough to recover it.

on the positive note, my wife put on a walleye clinic landing 20 eyes!!

Where were fishing at Todd?? I watched a lady in a Pro V catch dozens of fish out 7 mile. Here husband was netting constantly. The other couple caught a few fish and so did the husband, but the lady was probably catching 3 to 1. Was it you??

i was on the east side – near 3 mile reef. the rest of the story fits – i spent more time netting fish for my wife and buddy – it was hard to keep up to them.

final tally:
my wife – 20 fish – 22″ was the biggest
my buddy – 14 fish – 27″ – biggest of the weekend
me – 13 fish – 26.5 and 25 were the biggest
buddys girlfriend – got a goose egg on saturday and rallied on sunday with 7 fish including one lost at boatside that might have gone 28″.

all fish caught with jigs and leeches – all but one hooked in the lips or top of the mouth. i have not even tried rigging yet to speak of – if i can continue being successful with jigs, i doubt i will change.

how did you do at 7 mile? is that mud or gravel?

Yes that good ole camera has saved a lot of money. First my eyeglasses that fell down the ice hole a couple of winters ago, and now your St. Croix

Congrats to finding your fishing rod and to you and Bob in the tournement.

Josh Hukriede

7 mile was pretty good. We got about 70 fish that day. It’s mud out there. I think all reefs are holding fish right now though.