It has been 178 days since I've had a day off - which is too long. The longer I've worked, the harder it is to take vacation, but at some point it did seem like I was doing this just to be obstinate. The last time I had a slog that was this long was back in 2008/09 when I used half of my vacation to ride my motorcycle to Alaska. That feels a little more defendable... There is some comfort that after this trip, the adventures come almost rapid-fire for a few months, and I'll have to start burning just-because days.
It felt odd to get such a late start on Sunday, and it made it seem like everything was on hold. Both dogs got a walk before it got too hot as well as a few weekend chores completed. Recent rain suggested the lawn might be overdue for a mow. But it would have to wait.
I made my way to Dave's house around mid-day. I realized it had been a long time since I had been over that way when I saw a round-a-bout I don't remember ever seeing before. I'm convinced that time is not linear...
Once at Dave's, I moved all my stuff from my truck to Dave's car - then we headed over to Nick's. Nick wasn't fishing, but his house on a cul-de-sac was a good location to meet and store cars. Mike, John, and Lou were already there. We talked for a few minutes before heading north.
The drive north was pleasant enough. Dave and I caught up and I picked his brain a bit about work (more not). Once into Port Clinton we got to the condo and unpacked. Air conditioning was set to 68 - I loved it. Mike's car with the others followed shortly. Somehow one of Lou's boxes of food went AWOL. There was much discussion about who may be responsible and where it might be. At some point this doesn't matter - if it is not there, it is not there. Dave and Lou did a grocery run to replace. I'm not sure it was totally needed as there was tons of food.
Dan showed up a bit later and we all caught up. Everyone else did a quick trip to the bay to make sure they knew where they were going giving me a few minutes alone. Canadian wild fires gave the whole area a haze. The sun looked an ominous orange. Unfortunately, it proved very difficult to capture the true surreal look of the area - cell phone cameras have too much AI trying to balance color - which is usually a good thing. In this case, it just made it look like was winter instead of eerie Erie.
As it got dark I headed off to bed, hopeful I could get to sleep.
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Morning came after a barely-adequate night. I got up with enough time to get a quick cup of coffee and everyone else was up early enough that no one had to scramble. Soon enough we were all headed to the Bay. Ned was getting the boat ready and we motored out into the hazy morning soon enough. There is something both magical and unsettling about watching land disappear. Somewhere in there a joke about the Titan Submersible was lurking, but I couldn't get there; maybe it was too soon.
It was about 75 minutes to get into where we were fishing in Canada. Temperatures were cool with a bit of wind. Lake Erie was quite wavy. It wasn't too bad while underway, but once stopped it was challenging. It took a while to figure out how to stand and fish and not end up in the water. Given that I'm the "young" one in the group, I was surprised we didn't all end up in a pile in the corner of the boat at some point.
Fishing started a bit slow as it often does, but soon enough a few fish started coming into the boat. It took a bit longer until I figured out the right cast/reel combination. Walleye are generally finicky under the best conditions and the day was no exception. I found casting out and letting the worm rig sink to the bottom (40+ feet) and then reel in breathlessly slow was the best technique. Once I got that figured out, I was able to bite in to quite a few fish. While it is 100% luck, I'm pretty sure my 26" fish was the big catch of the day. Both John and I hooked into a lot of fish. Lou was lucky with the sheepheads. But everyone had decent fish into the boat.
We fished through the morning, doing our best to manage the waves. Ned was great - when we hooked into a pod of walleye, he was at times scrambling with several fish on the line. There were also slow and sheepy periods. Mike hooked into a couple big catfish as well.
We did several drifts before it appeared we might be able to limit out. The last few fish went slowly, but a limit was hit. Forty-Two walleye and at least that many sheephead is pretty impressive for five hours. The rough ride back to the marina was a bit more painful than the ride out; it always is.
Fish were dropped off at the fish cleaners. The "executive package" gave us priority; I was glad we didn't have to wait. Cool temperatures made the cleaning house not too terrible, but it was still unpleasant.
After a bit more BSing at the condo, Dave, John and I headed south while Lou, Mike and Dan enjoyed one more night at the condo. The trip went painfully slowly. We hit a bit of rain before dropping John off at Nick's. My fish and gear was transferred into my truck and Dave's before I headed home.
A violent storm hit right as I got home making unpacking a bit of a pain. My younger dog was happy to see me, but not so much with the thunder. Final fish freezing and clean-up went fast enough, ending a short - if needed - adventure.
