2007 In-Depthangling.com ARM and GTG events

This is the place to share your 2007 ARM and GTG photos and stories. The fish were SNAPPIN’ and great times were had by all!

I had the distinction of sharing my boat with Josh (little) and Pete (big) during the ARM event on Friday. Josh and Pete are 4-time veterans of the IDA ARM events, and wanted to spend the day in pursuit of the white-tipped river carp, aka walleye. That’s just what we did, and along the way, we were able to land the biggest walleye of Josh’s life!

The day broke with a light drizzle that turned into a steady shower. My plan was to run to the head of the lake to pull cranks, but with the rain in progress, I opted to start our day right out in front of Everts resort just in case we needed to seek shelter. We ran a spread of 2 long lines and two leadcore lines. About 100 yards into our first pass, Josh hooked and landed our first fish of the day, a 14" channel cat that hit a Scheels pattern goldfish SR5 on leadcore. We netted this fish right in front of the tent where the remainder of the ARM guests and guides were being paired, and Josh was showered with applause for his first fish of the day. What a way to chase the skunk out of the boat! Well, we lost that crank about 50 yards later to a crushing hit just upstream of the docks, and with the rain subsiding, we opted to run the backchannel to the lake.

At the head of the lake, we joined a handful of other ARM boats pulling cranks along the buoy lines. We had action on nearly every upstream pass we made, boating a nice mix of saugers and walleyes including the four eaters that Josh and Pete took home with them. At one point, we doubled up on a nice pair of 18" and 20" walleyes, both of which hit firetiger SR5s. We also had action on jointed red craw and jointed firetiger SR5s. The highlight of our fishing time was when one of our longline rods bent in half…Pete jumped up and handed the rod to Josh, and the fight was on. Like many of the big walleyes that have visited my boat, this fish came in pretty easily, but put on a determined fight at boatside. Josh was convinced we were dealing with another eater, but I knew better as I coached Josh through the process of getting the beast to the boat. A little drama below the boat ended with Josh’s personal best sitting in the bottom of the net….the chunky 29" walleye shown in the first picture, a fish that I’m still smiling about!

The ARM events are great opportunities to have fun, share time on the water with old and new friends, to build long-lasting memories, and to introduce young people to angling and outdoor ethics. The smile on Josh’s face as he landed his personal best was matched only by the smile he had as he watched Pete release her back into the river. Way to go on the catch AND the release Josh. She’ll be a 30"-er next year when you come back for ARM number 5, and I hope to see you guys (and that fish) then!

Please feel free to add your photos and stories to this thread. I know that LOTS of nice fish were caught this weekend, including numbers of 26-29" walleyes, boatloads of bass and at least one pike that weighed well into the teens. And that was just on Friday!

Let me close by thanking everyone who was involved in organizing and executing our ARM event. You guys are responsible for all of the smiles we saw at the docks and in the tents on Friday. Thanks!