Finally! After nine months!

[BoatFever]

I planned this vacation nine months ago and it's finally here. Tomorrow morning my family and I head up to the TFF for the first time ever. I've been reading the reports for the last year and from what I gathered, the most consistent advice given for this time of year for walleye was to find wood along the main river channel or if there's a good breeze drifting Beaver flats was a decent choice. Given that this is the first time the water level has been this high this time of year for a long time, does that advice still hold?

I have to say, with all the warnings, I'm a little anxious about hitting something. I just paid $1000 to have my lower unit rebuilt. I'll follow my gut this time. Last time I didn't listen is what caused the accident that damaged my lower unit.

As always, if anyone is feeling generous and would like to provide a few tips, I'm all ears. But, I'm more than willing to put in my time like everyone else.

Thanks,
BF

[George G]

Get your self one of the maps for the flowage. Porky at Donners Bay resort has them, he also has fuel available and bait. Great Pizza also. Follow the stream bed as shown on the map if you go out to the big water, the humps out there are good ast sundown, beaver flats is a good place to drift with bobbers and bait, some times spinners and bait work well their also. Lake bastine for some nice crappies. Remember the limits on pan fish , 10 in aggregate, 3 wally, no size and 5 northern, no size. The northern are good eaters if you have the patience to filet them out. The no bones about it video works good if you have time to practice the method. Nice filets off of a northern. 21 and 22 " and up have some nice girth to them. Enjoy your vaction, I am envious.

[BoatFever]

We got back yesterday. Wow! The TFF is amazing. The scenery is beautiful, the lack of recreational boaters is a huge plus. We're definitely going back next year. The weather was not exactly ideal last week. When we got there it was in the 80's, and water temperature was about 77F. Sunday morning we found a spot mid morning and kept four walleye between 15-16" throwing back a handfull of smaller ones, and also caught a released a number of smallmouth up to 16". It was fast action! We were proud of ourselves for finding some nice fish our first time out. Sunday night however, the storms and cold front came in. Monday through Wednesday was cold with strong winds (15-20mph with even stronger gusts). At sunrise temperature was 48F and water temp was dropping 2-3 degrees each day. It leveled off Thursday at 68F. So, with nearly a 10 degree drop in water temperature mixed with storms and wind, it was difficult finding anything. We'd spend four hours and only catch one fish. I did catch a nice 17" walleye Tuesday afternoon - the only fish that day.

We were fishing with crawlers. My brother in law was using a Lindy rig slip sinker set up on the bottom and I was using weedless jigs (BaitRigs and ISG) and a Thill Pro slip bobber. I caught most of my fish on the slip bobber. I think a lot of people overlook bobbers for walleye and bass, but they're great. When I fish a spot, the first thing I do is set the depth on my bobber and cast it into the wind and let it drift by. At the same time I'll fan-cast around with a jig keeping one eye on the bobber. The day I caught the 17" walleye, we had fished for so long with no bites, I wasn't even paying attention to my bobber. I was fishing out the other side of the boat and I hear my fishing pole slamming into the rails on the boat. I looked back and it was bent over toward the water. I knew it was a better fish right away because it fought pretty good. So, here's a tip for everyone: Always have a slip float out! In general, most of the action seemed to be close to the main channel. We hit a few bays that looked like they had great cover with huge trees laying in the water with good depth, but didn't do so well. We hit a few other bays with similar results. As long as we stayed in the stumpy flats near the channel we did better.

Thanks, Uncle Larry for the tips! Also, next year, we need to get out fishing together provided the weather cooperates a little more.

- BF (Terry H.)

[BoatFever]

Oh! Forgot to attach the picture of my best fish of the trip. A 17.5" smallie caught on my bobber rig. That's "Pink Rock" in the background there. Had a whole crawler hanging there with a small blade just above the hook. The smallies on the TFF are SLOBS! They are without a doubt the fattest smallmouth I have caught anywhere. Even the small ones are fat and fight hard. But they will leave a mess on your deck spitting up half-digested crayfish all over the place. :-)