Me, my dad, and my girlfriend got out on Mille Lacs Friday night. We had some motor issues (battery was dead), some clothing issues (I forgot my shoes as I had to wear the waders and carry us out a ways), and some cold and wind issues. Just not a good night. It was Beth’s first time out on the open water fishing and we called it good after a couple hours with no luck, no beer (we forgot the cooler, too), and lots of cold.
Things took a turn for the positive on Sunday when she wanted to get back in the saddle. We decided to go for some bass and panfish at a small lake around Mille Lacs. Basically, looking for some good action to let her have a good time fishin’.
We ended up catching a ton of crappies, some very nice sunnies, and some nice bass. She caught the big fish in two categories on the day. She picked up a 3.5 pound largemouth on my ultralight gear, which was very cool. She got a huge kick out of that.
But the BIG catch of the day was when Beth pulled in a MONSTER 14.5″ crappie! I’ve never personally caught on that big before. It was just as big as most of the bass we caught – and that’s what I sure it was when I first saw it. I wish I had better photos for comparison sake, but it was a monster.
All in all, we had a great time and the gal is excited about coming out in the boat again in the very near future…mission accomplished! 
