Best Year Ever

 

So many times already this summer we have heard folks say this was their best year ever for fishing since they've been coming to Agimac River Outfitters.  Quite a few of our guests have been coming for close to 30 years.  So that is really saying something.  Pictured above is Brad Steinbach with his 40 plus inches Northern Pike out of Indian Lake.  

On the same day he also managed to land this huge brute of a fish.

 His lure was almost as big as the fish.  :) 

A few weeks ago Leo Bonin reeled in one of the biggest Walleyes he's ever caught.  What a look of joy on his face!!  Way to go Leo.

When our guests leave at the end of the week, they sometimes have left over live bait which they either take back home with them or give to me.  I prefer to save leeches since they are easy to keep in my refrigerator all summer long.  I now have an abundant supply of leeches to use for myself and Joanna besides our kids and other friends when they come up later in the summer to stay with us.  

It had been about a week since I had time to go out fishing, so a few days ago I went out by myself to see what I could catch.  It was a real calm evening about 5:30 pm rather cloudy with a bit of a haze settling on the lake.  There was no one else in sight on the lake.  Peaceful, quiet, relaxing.  I motored over to a spot that Joanna and I had previously fished and done well to see if the Walleyes were still hanging out there.  As I slowed down getting closer to shore in about 11 feet of water, I put out my line to troll with a spinner and leech when almost immediately I felt a strong tug on the line.  It takes some maneuvering to keep the line tight while trying to put the motor in neutral and shut off the engine so the fish doesn't wiggle off my line.  Thankfully it was still pulling hard after shutting down the motor.  I reeled it in and was delighted to see a 17 1/2 inch beautiful Walleye.  

I only purchased a conservation license this year so that limited me to two Walleye in possession.  I thought I wouldn't be out there very long before I had my limit.  I continued trolling in about 8 - 12 feet of water noticing that weeds had grown up since we'd last fished there.  That is a good thing because the fish like to hide in the weeds.  

I kept catching Walleye one after another, but they were only 15 inches or less, so I threw them back.  I was hoping to catch another larger one even if a bit over 18 inches so we'd have enough for the 3 of us for a good fish meal.  Soon I caught a 16 inch Walleye and kept it thinking I might not get anything else to keep.  

Then I got a Pike that ended up cutting off my line including the lure with his sharp teeth before I could disengage the hook.  

Since I was only bringing in smaller Walleye in the shallower water, I decided to go a bit deeper even though I didn't see much if any fish on the fish finder at the 12 foot mark.  Then I got another strong bite and pulled in a 20 inch Walleye.  That one I kept and let the 16 incher go.  Now we had a good fish meal.  

It was such a lovely evening that I didn't really want to go back yet since I'd only fished about and hour and a half and caught 9 Walleye and a Pike.  So I decided to motor down to another point and see what I could catch for fun .  Soon as I put my line in the water, I snagged a good sized hard fighting Northern Pike.  I thought he might be a keeper, so I lifted him into the boat and laid him in my piece of eavestrough that I use to check the length of my fish.  Uh oh, he was about 29 inches long, over 27 inches and right in the slot you cannot keep.  So, I threw him back and decided to head back to camp as a rain storm was approaching.  

I am so thankful to be able to stay on such a beautiful lake and enjoy God' amazing creation including the great fishing.  And we did get a much needed soaking rain all night long.