Mike/HOF took the old boy fishing again

Well after several days of work, finally a couple days off and Mike took me Walleye fishing again today down at Pepin.

I started off with a bang, but when all was said and done, Mike outfished me again.
We kept two for dinner, an 18 and a 16, all the rest we released.
Mike was using a shad rap type deal that reminded me of the old Lazy Ikes and he got a fair number of short hits, but did manage to capture a few up into the boat.
Could not have asked for a better day weatherwise, hey not one drop of rain.
Thanks again Mike for an enjoyable day.

No rain, sunshine and fishin, a hard to beat combination. Thanks for the heads up/report. Were you casting or trolling? Thanks, Bill

Ah sweet William, I got to be a bit carefull here, so as not to give away Mike’s secrets. Yes, we were casting Shad Raps Depths varied from shallow to mid range.
We both were using bright yellow with white bellies. Half would bang it and the other half was a quick little peck. Mike’s retrieve is much faster then mine. Not that I am by no means a professional at this sort of thing, but I honestly believe that is why he got short hits. He did get the majority of pecks close to the boat, but solid hookups a little bit farther out. Whatever…….it was a blast and I learn by watching and listening to him each time.

Hey Ron,

Yes it was a great afternoon to be out on the water!
I was surprised by the lack of debris. I only saw 1 large tree and nothing else that would even come close to doing any damage. The water was also fairly clear! The water level is still very high, but all things considered – the fish are still biting and there is no reason not to be out fishing!

Good Fishing,
Mike

Mike and Ron, what are you boys doing this afternoon? [Wed.] Mike, if you don’t respond to this by 8:10 this am give me a call at work. I’ll be at work from 8:30-12:30 phone # 288-7788. Got fishin on my mind. Thanks, Bill

Sorry Bill, I have to start the night shift tonight so will need all the beauty sleep I can get today. Hook up with Mike and he’ll show you a good time. The three of us should plan a trip and I will just pick you two guys minds.

You sure missed a good time today Ron. We caught some nice walleyes 17-20” and a few northerns that were decent size and Mike lost a huge northern that sure would of been nice to get all the way in. The rain held off til 5:30 for us up on Pepin so we lucked out there as Mike was talking to someone on the cell phone from Rochester and they said it was pouring in Rochester. And Mike even called Jake, who was working at HOF South Store, and razzed him about not catching much when hammered em. Stupid me left my camera in the van as we took Mikes tow vehicle. Hopefully next time I’ll remember the camera and have a photo editing/downloading program back on my computer. Don’t know about you Mike but I’m ready for next time.

Thanks, Bill

Bill I have no doubt that you had a good time. Bet you were surprised where Mike ended up taking you, I know I sure was. Northerns huh? We didn’t see a one the other day. Guess one day can make a big difference.
Got to love those walleyes. Next time, if Mike drags me along, I want to try a leech on a plain hook underneath a bobber in those same places. Might jazz it up just a little and use a red hook for attraction. Mike was telling me that lots of guys will replace the rear trebble hook on their cranks with a red one and that does the trick.
So did you guys have lots of follow ups to the boat aside from the ones you did hook?

Hey Ron, yup there were alot of follows from both walleyes and northerns. I have fished that spot before for white bass in the summer and trolled out further for walleyes but never fished up that close before in high water for eyes in that spot. Whose says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Mike said he has fished that spot for 25 years and he sure knew exactly where the fish were. We moved down further also where there are some rocks too but ended up moving back to the spot on the spot you could say for the best bite. It would be interesting to try some K-tails in that area too. I wanted to try the new Grappler crankbaits and jointed shad raps too but then remembered that Nate still had mine from last weekends tournaments. I really do enjoy using crankbaits and use to troll them all the time but casting them sure did the trick. Also got to use the minnkota co-pilot again and that sure works nice. Yes, it was a very enjoyable day on the water and Mike sure knew where the fish were. Thanks Mike.
Thanks, Bill

This most be the spot I fished on Sunday. My partner and I moved up into the cut/bay to find our fish. Most all of them hit close to shore by the logs.
Bill now you can see why I had to write the 1st weeks tip of the week. It was just to unusual for me to fish this type of area.
Aaron

Hey Guys…..Thanks again for leavin that marker buoy out there last night…….Unfortunaly, someone must have beat me over to the spot this morning and taken it because I just couldn’t find it ………..but luckily I was able to find another spot WHERE EVEN I COULD CATCH FISH!!!

Yep, Yep……The Fish Count made quite the leap

that must be all the bait he took with him

Yep, 157 minnows I’ll bet!!! Good one Mike! Did he pay for them???? You charged him double didn’t you??? Thanks, Bill

ps. Welcome to the site Bud. Great to have you here with us. [another person to pic on Jake, ]