Finally took my old GoldenHawk canoe out for her float test today on the Chippewa in Eau Claire. Did some vertical jigging while drifting and also some casting/dragging jigs to see if the eyes were active yet.
Was using a 1/4 oz Lindy Fuzzy Grup Jig and also a marabou crappie jig tipped with crappie minnows in anywhere from
5-12 ft of water. Wish I had fatheads, but sold out everywhere that I checked. Ended up with 2 fish caught, both legals. All walleyes were taken in about a 30 min period from about 5-5:30.
Then got sick of using live bait, like usual, and switched to a 3″ Ripple shad and boy did I get a surprise…..Was vertical jigging in about 6 ft and started bringing the jig up to check for weeds. When I see my jig about 2 feet below the surface boat-side, out of nowhere a GIANT open mouth appears…..end up setting the hook and fighting with her for about a minute, literally right next to the canoe, then came the ordeal of getting this fish landed without a net…. 
Lucky for me I was about 100 feet away from some people on shore that had a net. So I get the fish turned around with one arm, and grab the paddle and start paddling towards them with the other. Took about 2 minutes to get to shore and somehow, keep this girl on the line. Had her out of the water for about a minute for a pic and back to the depths she swam before I could even get my hand into the water to recoup her. What an old, strong healthy fish. Overall a pretty great day, I was just happy my canoe still floated. 
March 20, 2014 at 11:50 pm
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