I scurried out of work on Thursday a bit earlier than usual and rode the Gold Wing home. Once home, I took the younger dog on a quick walk; she thrives on routine. I packed up a few things and waited for Doug to pick me up.
Doug was punctual; I respect that. We went to Doug W's house where we piled into Pat's Camry for the trip to Lake Erie. I was sitting behind the driver seat which is my least favorite place to sit in a car since I constantly see myself in the rear view mirror - ugh. While the Camry is a good enough car, the rear seats were surprisingly uncomfortable. I was glad when we stopped at Steak 'n Shake to eat - or mostly glad. The chicken fingers were good enough.
Back on the road we finished the trip at the same hotel as 2024.
We got to the hotel right as the expected rain was threatening. As it got dark I was ready for bed. The hotel room was good enough but humid. Thankfully I was able to sleep reasonably well. As I dozed off the rain blasted by.
Up near 3:00 I poked around on my phone for a bit. I caffeinated with hotel coffee and ate a couple apples from home. The four of us met outside and we went to a gas station. Then it was a quick jaunt to the marina; Ned was getting ready. It was starting out to be a spectacular morning.
A slightly drunk dude at the hotel the previous night had said they limited out on walleye by 10:30AM. I'm not sure what water he was fishing in, but the day started slow and didn't change much.
We motored out only a few miles into the water and started in the traditional deep water that walleye tend to like. We caught a few fish and moved around a bit. Radio chatter suggested it was a slow day. There is always a reason for slow fishing: the previous night's rain, the coming storm, the barometric pressure, chupacabras are eating the fish...
The fish we caught were generally pretty good size, but it was slow. We'd catch a few giving us hope, then nothing. I was able to catch the largest walleye I think I'd ever caught at a healthy 27 inches and fat, fat, fat. But even a big walleye doesn't fight much - they seem to be resigned to their fate once hooked.
Weather through the day was better than good enough. It started cool and calm. Predictions were for rain and some waves, but that didn't happen. Most of the day was stunningly sunny with a little taste of wind. I was glad I had on shorts under my donkey pants by late morning.
We moved to fish some reefs and shallower areas. Then back deep. Nothing was great; nothing was terrible. Fishing was good enough.
We had a brief bit of excitement when a water snake, miles from shore, swam past the boat. Maybe it just had somewhere to be. Or more likely - somewhere else to be.
Final tally for fish was 15 keepers. My 27-incher was the biggest, and Ned said it was the biggest of the year so far. This is almost all luck since what fish are caught is only partly up to the person fishing.
Back at the fish cleaners we dropped them off; I admire the people doing this work. The smell is so heavy it can be hard to see.
With four bags of fish filets, which were large enough, we were on the road by 4:00PM.
We raced the thunderstorms south. Back to Doug W's house. Doug and I quickly left. Doug dropped me off just as torrential rain started.
Good enough.
