2024 Lake Erie Walleye Part II - A Spectacular Day

Last year a large property near where I live went up for sale for stupid money.  The price dropped through the year to the point it got mildly interesting.  Unfortunately, it was more interesting to someone else at the same time and they put in a bid that was accepted.  I was disappointed, but also oddly relieved.  I'm quite sure, had our bid been accepted, that it would now seem like an albatross.  I had talked with the farmer across from the property a few times throughout the summer, "Mostly I just want it for deer hunting."  That led to further comments and connecting with another neighbor Doug on both of our love for outdoor activities.  A few road conversations through the summer and Doug organized a Lake Erie Walleye trip.  "I'm in!"

Timing was perhaps not ideal, but I've used very little vacation so far.  Going with a few people I don't know has the potential to be awkward, but being willing to risk awkwardness might be important once in a while.

So after a full day of work Wednesday, I snuck out of work at the earliest possible moment, feeling like I was dodging 3 layers of management in the process.

Once at home, I took the dogs on a quick walk before finishing getting ready for fishing and buttoning everything up.

Doug showed up right near on-time and we headed to pick up Pat and James.  Pat had extensive outdoor experience, but this was to be a first for James.

We all spent the time getting to know each other on the trip north.  Traffic southbound was ugly near Dayton, but heading north was as smooth as Dayton ever is.

We stopped for dinner at Steak 'n Shake, breaking my over-a-year streak of not eating at any restaurants.  The food was surprisingly mediocre and quite disappointing; I'll have no problems starting a new longevity record of restaurant avoidance.  We got to the hotel after dark.  The hotel was basic but also right on the water.  I bet on the right day it is pretty.  Pat and I shared a room; thankfully we were both ready for sleep soon after getting there.

I was surprisingly able to sleep until 3:23.  When I woke up, my brain went into overdrive so I tried to busy myself with my phone, but the cell signal was so terrible that this was not possible.  I may have traded a lung for the WiFi password at that moment, but didn't want to turn on the light to risk further annoying Pat.  As it was I felt like I was a baboon banging gongs in the room.  Coffee and a quick shower and we met for breakfast.  I was glad I brought a few apples since gas station food looked even more disappointing than the previous evening's fast food.

It took a bit to find the marina before we piled into Ned's boat and headed out onto the lake.

The lake had big slow swells which were remnants of the previous day's winds.  But other than that, the morning was spectacular with light winds and a gorgeous sunrise.

We started fishing where we ended my July fishing.  We had a few hits, but it was slow.  Other chatter over the radio was already mentioning the slow fishing elsewhere.  Even the perch fishing sounded terrible.  Later in the day a head boat mentioned barely 1 fish per person.

Ned did his best moving us around.  We brought in many catfish (Doug kept a few), a few sheephead and thankfully a few walleye.  Eventually we ended up on "The Shoals" which was still really slow, but at least we were catching fish.  We would catch one or two walleye on each drift; it felt like we were being titrated with fish.  A drop of one more walleye and Ned takes us around, "...one more time."  A few of the fish were quite respectable in size.

Later in the day it started to feel like work.  But it was one of the most spectacular days I've ever seen on Lake Erie.  Almost no wind, just a hint of swells and perfect temperatures.

After catching the unlucky 13th walleye, we seemed to be stuck.  We went back to our starting point, and I instantly caught ... another catfish.  The bite after that just stopped.

With only four of us we had a bit more room on the boat, and between the weather and banter, it was a great day.  Thankfully, all of our personalities worked well.  Not knowing anyone going in, I was glad none of the other guys were complainers.

Fish cleaning didn't take too long before we were headed south.  It took forever to get to I-75, but once we got there, getting home went pretty fast.  Thankfully Dayton cooperated.

During one lull in the conversation, I started to try to contrast my two recent Erie fishing trips.  Obviously the fishing was better in July, with better weather on this trip.  But the biggest difference was the people.  I thoroughly enjoyed both, but on the July trip, with mostly "work" people, I felt like I had to maintain a work filter at least loosely in place.  I'm not sure I ever really fit in anywhere, but on this second trip, I was a little freer to be something resembling me.

I got home right at dark.  A few minutes to button things up and I was in bed at nearly my normal time.  There is still much clean-up to do, which can happen over the weekend.

And the next (BIG) adventure is soon...