Work was tough Friday with the warmer weather on the horizon. The plan originally was to head down to Evert’s on Saturday and fish an evening/night bite, that didn’t last long when I got a call from Steve down at Evert’s saying the night bite was lacking and to get down for the day bite. A couple of *cough* *coughs* at work and we were on the road. Ryan met us down at the resort Friday evening and we went out around 8pm for the night bite. We tried everything Friday night – pitching, dragging, trolling, and vertical jigging; the fish were there, they were just not eating!
Determined to get some fish over the rail we headed back to the cabin early and called it a night so we could try out this day time bite. Morning rolled in, we made a quick stop down at the bait shop for some last minute tactics and were told the dubuque rig was the hot ticket item. Back to the cabin and our poles and gear were set.
Saturday/Sunday/Monday morning and afternoon were complete lights out for my group. Between the 3 days we put over 100 fish in the boat and a handful of big girl walleyes. Tactics changed throughout the day, but we were able to stay on top of the bite with switching between dubuque rigs (3/8 jig on the dropper and a plain hook as the trailer with a minnow), short paddle-tails (cutting them in half), and shortened moxie’s. Small baits put more fish over the rail than any method we tried.
Saturday was used to completely learn this new method of boat control and fishing. Fish just would not bite during a drag, the boat needed to be positioned so that our lines were completely vertical, feel the bottom, raise and inch and wait for that THUMP!
Sunday and Monday we just rinsed and repeated what was learned from Saturday. All of our same tactics were working, however, the fish seemed to have moved a little deeper. A quick adjustment and we were back on them.
Regardless of the amazing fishing we had, our best times were had hanging around the camp grounds at Evert’s talking fishing with everyone there, having a few drinks, and taking in the amazing scenery.
Steve and Kari – once again thanks for hosting and all the amazing tips and tactics you share with us every time we are down. I know that every new person I bring down is asking the next weekend if they can join.
See ya next weekend (but probably during the week). 