Ford River answers

[rambler]

Well, thanks to the post by Wailligator and a private message from Pikeman my friend Andrew and I had our first trip out of the Ford turn out beautifully!
Launching in Andrews 16 foot Mirrocraft and carefully picking our way out to deeper water following Pikeman's instruction was uneventful which is a good thing.
Taking a cue from Walligator's recent success we headed South 7 miles and after marking a few fish set up in about 20 feet of water with a mixture of harnesses and crankbaits trolling 1.5-1.8. Water temp. was 65 and it was super clear. Not much wave action.
Andrew got the first fish, his personal best 30 incher just before dark on a Crankbait (I think a taildancer) He got one more in the deeper water about 24 inches and then we moved into 10-12 foot water as it was dark now. We put the chemical lights on we had purchased from Bayview (fastened them with Chris generously donated rubber bands.) Andrew added a couple more nice eaters and I finally get hit on a glow wonde.rbread reef runner. Winched in my personal best 31 incher, a fat healthy mama. Being 100% Norwegian and descended from a long line of Commercial fisherman it was no easy thing for me to return her to the water, but I did. Not the first time I have returned big fish but without the things I have learned on this website and others like it, I wouldn't have dreamed of returning a fish like that.
All but one fish came before midnight, Andrew got the last one around 2 a.m. after a long slow spell to get his first ever Walleye limit.
I caught just the one fish and I think that was because I was too lazy to tie a leader on my fireline, thinking it wouldn't make any difference after dark. Next time I will have flourocarbon leaders on for sure.
As we were trolling we came upon a huge raft of geese that flew up and loudly announced their displeasure at out presence. That really made me aware that we are Mother Nature's guests on the water and we should behave well enough to be welcomed back by her.
I read this site most days as entertainment and to learn. I have learned enough to manage a beautiful night like last night from many of you folks right here.
Thanks!
Lloyd

[WalligatorGetter]

Rambler, are you kidding me? I’ve fished down that way for a couple of years and probably pulled over 200 walleyes out of there, and I have never seen anything over 28 inches caught. I’ve caught probably a dozen different fish that topped 27, but that always seemed to be about the max. The only time that I catch hawgs like that is through the ice in the winter.

Well, anyway, I’m still in disbelief over this report, but I’ll be the first to give a BIG congrats to ya! You and your buddy both got your personal best. That’s just fantastic!

I guess I’ll have to experiment with some different methods down that way to see if I can figure out how to catch the monsters like you did.

CONGRATS!

[rambler]

I am guessing that those big Mamas laying down on the bottom had a good laugh at our sometimes comical efforts and finally decided to give us the sympathy bite. I guess sometimes it's easier to be lucky than talented!
Lloyd

[Captain Ahab]

If that's the case, with luck like that who needs talent.

All kidding aside, I'd say luck in fishing could be defined by the example of my friend Harry who managed to knock his favorite walleye jigging rod overboard in the Tahquamenon River and retrieved it accidentally 3 days later. The hook on the lost rod managed to hook the lead headed jig he was using. Definitely luck because he surely couldn't repeat it in a million tries. You sir, Rambler, managed to catch 2 solid trophies in the same night... Give yourself credit, it wasn't all luck! Congrats again and thanks for the great post!

-Mike

[rambler]

Forgot to mention that Andrew's first fish was on 2 colors of lead core. That was definitely scraping the bottom and those fish were hugging that bottom tight early.
Thanks for the Attaboy Capt. Ahab.
One thing I note when observing some great old people is that they are invariably excited to learn new things. They ask questions and listen. They sort through things and put info to work. They are open minded. They are not afraid of making mistakes or looking foolish. They are passionate about life and the things they do while living it.
This website and some others like it is full of knowledgeable people who are willing to share some of the things they have learned. LBDN is definitely a world class fishery in my book and I feel fortunate to live close enough to fish it on occasion.
Once in a while we will see a personal attack or some negative posts and I think my long departed Mother would spank me for acting like that but most often they are removed.
Had a great walleye meal with my bride last night!
MMMMMMMMMHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Nothing better!

[WalligatorGetter]

Yeah, Rambler, some old people are great like that. One of my grandpas is a prime example of that. He is 84 years old and tries as hard as he can to keep up with all of the modern technology. He has a cell phone with a blue tooth, a computer with internet, three different GPSs that I can think of, including a car GPS that talks to him, and various other things. And he wants to learn how to use all of them. A common phone call that I get is, “One of these days I’m going to get you over here to teach me how to look up WWWs on this d@&# brain box.” Translation – one of these days I’m going to have you show me how to use this computer and check out various web sites.

[acesario]

Here are some pictures of the fish we caught....
My 5...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewcesario/Fishing2010#5475581741751742690

Lloyds 31" monster! Before it went back into the water...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewcesario/Fishing2010#5475588678048760274