The annual Fishers of Men retreat was held in Door County again this year, with 36 guys and 13 boats participating . In addition to the great fellowship, accomodations at Camp Zion, and super meals prepared by their volunteer staff, the weather and the fish both cooperated for the most part. We had one pretty windy day, forcing most of us to fish behind cover, not where the fish were.
Most boats launched out of Sisters Bay or Penninsula State Park, and headed for the reefs and islands in the area to troll cranks and harnesses. While both produced fish, harnesses seemed to have the edge, particularly when the winds calmed a bit, and boat control was not an issue. One downside, they also produced more goats, but that kept us hopping.
This wasn’t a trip for eaters or numbers of fish. The best catches for a few of the boats were 6 to 8 eyes a day (6 hours or so), but all boats put at least a fish or two in the net. The fish were very beefy overall. Cookie cutter size ranged from 24 to 28 inches, with 4 fish on Saturday at 30 to 30.5. All released except a PB of 30.5 for one of the guys.
The pics show some of the catches in my boat or where I was near enough to snap a shot. The young man in my boat is holding up a 29.5 eye, also his PB, but still swimming. And then there’s the obligatory shot of the goat double, with the bigger one at 26 inches. This kind of bite should keep up for a few more weeks, but there are better places to go if you’re looking for eater-size fish.
Door County is still paradise though 
, and decided to drive down to Sturgeon Bay to get a bit closer to home. I ran out to Green Island and then tried Monument reef, and had a few sheepies and one bite-off, but no eyes.
