Hello Sportsfans — welcome to the weekly swoosh here on the south shore of L O Dub!
The latest and greatest? Let’s start with a tale… Or is it?
A question posed to you: “How often in the winter, when fishing from a shack, is the same fish caught during the course of a single day?”
Answer: Listen in. I wasn’t in this fish house last weekend, but I’m guessing it went something like this!
THE STORY: Your line runs circles around the hole, and we all sit tight lipped in wonder. ‘Pout… Walleye… Northern… What in the world is it? And after about nine hundred more laps around the underside of the shack, the line PINGS!!! And whatever the heck it was, is now gone. Tough to keep that six pound test from rubbing raw against the ice.
Sure am glad NO-ONE reeled up. Now we only have six lines to untangle. Should only take about an hour! Re-tie… Re-bait… Drop it down and go. Jig jig jig. Who’s next? Boom! Fish on. Two holes to the right. Big fish on! What? Same scenario? Everyone reel up… Seriously!! REEL-UP!! Everyone!!
The fish-fight ensues. We wait. We watch. We lift a brew. And we wait some more. Now, not quite as long this time… But same result… Say it ain’t so… PING!!! He Gone. And we ALL LAUGH!! Wow. Whatever it was, sure didn’t take long breaking the line. Different fish? Or, just getting smarter? We keep fishing…
Next bite. BAM!! Three in a row. What in gosh sakes name is down there!!! Not sure. Everyone reel up. Let’s find out!! And as the fight continues, there is actually ground being made. A few cranks, less squealing of the drag, and we’re actually making headway. Come on up baby! Let’s see ya!
With the magnification of the ice, the fish’s head appears to be LARGER than a men’s basketball. Is this possible?! We’re all bumping elbows… We all want to get a glimpse… And then it happens. The dreaded “swim-by” just beneath the ice… Almost as if he is saying “yeah right, not gonna see me come thru that eight inch hole!”
And before he turns his head, and snaps the line like dental floss, WE ALL SEE IT!! Jimmy’s gold-jig stuck in its right upper jaw… Danny’s pinkNwhite-jig stuck right next to it in the right upper jaw… And there goes Johnny’s chartreuse-jig, never to be seen again, cranked tightly into the left lower jaw of this HUGE NORTHERN PIKE!!!
Just like that… It’s over. No fish to hold for a picture. But a TREMENDOUS story, and a TREMENDOUS fish. Guess the same guy can be “caught”, or at least hooked, in the same day. And it can happen three times consecutively… How cool is that! :END OF STORY
Come if you can. Overall, the reef bite this past week was much improved. Walleyes, saugers, and a few perch… Hoping for more of the same as we move into mid-FEB. It’s not dead stik bobber fishing… You gotta jig ‘em. And…
Set the hook!
