Walleye #1 for 2010

I was up on Rainy last friday with Granrud chasing walleyes on Rainy and had a good inaugural trip for 2010. No huge fish…. I think the biggest taped 22″ – 23″ but I did manage a bunch of fish in the 14″ – 20″ range. The pic I added is walleye #1 for 2010. He wasn’t big but he sure was tasty! I was trying to post that pic up right after I caught the fish but the bite got a little crazy for the last two hours of the day so I never did get it done. Better late than never, right?!

12′ – 16′ of water adjacent to shallow soft-bottomed bays was the place to be for numbers. I also lost a gigantic pike right at the hole on a new spot that Chris has now dubbed “the rhubarbs” for reasons that will be revealed in this week’s IDO episode to air on the 26th.

I did manage a couple fish on bobber and minnow but the vast majority of fish came on a 1/8 Oz. Perch patterned Lightening spoon fished VERY slow. Any aggressive jigging would send the fish scurrying. But a couple gentle jigs followed by a super slow upwards creep of the rod tip elicited hard hits! Fun stuff.

Next monday I’m off to Lake of the Woods to go fish up in the islands. I’m going with Joel Nelson and we’re going to try something a little different… we’re going without a cameraman but we will be filming this trip for broadcast. We’ll be wearing helmet cams and filming each other for a more “reality fishing” feel. Should be fun.

I hope everyone is out there having a heck of a good time on the ice.

Happy holidays!

I am more impressed you actually took a photo, as another fish is waiting for you. If it was me, I would have dropped the spoon down again for a quick double. Sure is a great feeling to have that first eye on the ice.

I dunno James. Anything that will put you and Joel in a helmet is a good thing in my book!

Good luck up there. This will be a very interesting show!

Are you guys going to be using those GoPro helmet cams? They look really cool. Cannot wait to see the footage. Good luck!

If you have not tried the GoPro camera yet it is worth a look. I picked one up about a week ago and so far very impressed! Extremely clear video and pics. I did go with the HD version so not sure how the standard version compares.

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I am more impressed you actually took a photo, as another fish is waiting for you. If it was me, I would have dropped the spoon down again for a quick double. Sure is a great feeling to have that first eye on the ice.

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Trust me… I hurried and I actually caught that fish! Like I said, the bite got a little crazy after this pic was taken!

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Are you guys going to be using those GoPro helmet cams? They look really cool. Cannot wait to see the footage. Good luck!

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No, I own the GoPro HD cams and they’re amazing for their size and cost and suitable for rough B roll but not as primary recording devices when the finished product is headed for broadcast. We’re using some high end panasonic POV cams along with our regular recording equipment. The gopro cams will get stuck to the sleds and in other areas to get some cool secondary angles, etc.

This episode will either be pretty cool… or a complete flop. If you don’t see a “cameraman-less” episode aired on LOTW in 2 – 3 weeks you know how it all turned out.

Much larger than the 1st walleye I caught this year! I think I would’ve had a hard time convincing a warden I didn’t hook him in the mouth for other purposes.

Doing better then me. Still havn’t put a walleye on the ice this winter.

Good post and he sure does look tasty!