Finally got on the water (Chippewa Flowage in Hayward, Wis.) Monday at around 9 a.m. Hit my primary area and received a bite on my first cast. It was a 14-inch walleye and I had it about 2 feet from the boat until it came unbuttoned. The next 30 minutes were fishless and we eventually left the spot – choosing instead to get out of the wind and fish bogs for panfish.
Picked up a few decent sunfish and then debated what to do next. The goal was walleyes, but was it going to happen? At noon we decided to try our magic island again – this time fishing the opposite side. The wind was howling and we figured maybe it would position the fish differently.
Boy am I glad we gave it one last try. For the next two hours, the fishing was awesome. We boated and released roughly 20 walleyes and had several doubles. Most of the fish came on small jigs tipped with a leech. In honor of Larry Graf (http://www.lrgraf.com/) I decided to switch to a crankbait after catching several live-bait fish. I’m happy to report that the cranks were hot too and catching them that way is even more fun. Instead of a jointed Shad Rap, I opted for a Berkley Frenzy Flicker Shad. (see color in photo)
The only negative was the overall size. The biggest was just over 16 inches and most were around 14. Not bad, but no monsters. The live-bait fish came in roughly 7 or 8 feet of water and my crank fish came in 4-7 feet. Pictured are my wife Sarah and my father Ron. After how much fun we had Monday I find myself repeating the phrase, “Where have I been all summer?” Hoping to return Sept. 19.
Heading to Winona for the Walleye League Finals Wednesday, Sept. 10.
