Walleyeguy

Nice slabbs! Pink catches the big fish.

Demsumbigguns!!!

I would first like to say that the fish that I caught 1/20/10 was immediately returned to the water fully revived and unharmed upon retrieval of my lucky lure and a few photos. The gaff in the pictures was used for size reference only. Went out on Saginaw bay early this morning to target some walleye. Sat down over 16ft of clear water and picked up my first eye at 9:30am. Fished till noon and didn’t see anything on the graph, through the hole, or on the fish TV. Slooooow morning! Shortly after 12o’clock the walleye began to move in. Picked up my second eye and missed 3 more. One looked to be a good 6-7 pounder. At 1pm the graph lit-up as I watched my lure flutter to the bottom. As I glanced to the TV(1ft beneath ice, pointed down) I could not believe what I was seeing. I had to lean forward and look down the hole to confirm. Yep! Monster pike!!! I watched as the fish slid overtop of my lure and all at once sucked it off the bottom. GAME ON!!!! I lifted darn near to the roof of my shanty while watching the fish slowly lumber off, pulling line. Not fast, ,but steady, maybe 2ft per second. As the fish swam out of view I came to the realization that this is probably not a pike, but rather a musky. Although I have not heard of many musky in the bay, I guess it’s possible. It sure is big though! At this point I figured it would be a good time to pull my second line, transducer and camera from the water. If you could imagine, fighting a fish with my left hand and reeling my second line using the right hand and my teeth. All clear! Now to the next problem. I’m running out of line, so it’s do or die. I tighten the drag and the fish begins to come back ,but only very slowly. At this point the fish is doing circles around the hole(1 every 10 minutes) with about 50yds of line out. As I’m reeling, I often have to put the rod tip below the ice to keep the line from breaking. I managed to get him almost close enough to get another look and then he makes another run. Multiply that by a dozen times and you can see that it was impossible to “horse†this thing and it was no quick battle. By now over an hour has passed and I’ve shed two coats, a hat, unzipped my bibs, opened the shanty door, kicked all my gear to one side of the shanty and lost 10lbs from sweating. Finally I think I have him worn out. The beast is still doing circles and hugging the bottom and now I can see it at 45degrees through the hole. It’s! It’s a! It’s a Sturgeon?????? And it’s friggin huuuuge!!!!. For a fish in these parts anyway. Then it dawned on me.? It’s lying on the bottom, how will I hoist it 16ft up? Answer; SLOOOOOOOWLY. With some steady pressure, I was able to stand the sturgeon on it’s tail, which caused the fish to swim upward or at the very least become neutral buoyant. I pulled him up for 5 minutes while putting on my gloves and considering that this log might not fit through a 10" hole. He’ll fit but my hand will not fit in the hole with him. I had to pull his head through the hole with only the line and now the fish is getting heavier. One hand under the gill plate gave me enough leverage to lift a little more till at last I could get two hands under the fins. I then proceeded to slide the “Reality†out of the hole, out the door and onto the ice. Removed my lure, took some pics, then held the dinosaur half way down the hole he came from to revive him. After 5 seconds the fish swatted me in the groin and swam to the bottom of the bay no worse for wear. Length- 61" or 5ft 1" Weight- ???? Tackle- (walleye) pink/white Do-Jigger, 20lbSpiderWire, ice fishing rod & reel Time fought- 1:00pm to 2:45pm Catch and release

John, how'bout that HAWG perch you caught (one of many)

Can't wait! I'm good out to 500meters;)

yes, pics please

I had my fish weighed at a local fruit/meat market. They just put it in a plastic bag first and tied it up tight so that it would fit on the scale, then printed a sticker with the info on it. They were happy to do it.

Bay City, MI. A stones throw away from the Saginaw river and Saginaw bay.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes guys. Much appreciated. I've noticed quite few familiar user names here, that are also on other sites. It seems that all the pros have ended up here. It'll be a pleasure to "hang". Hey Captain Dan! Someone told me "If you don't cross paths with Walleye Express atleast twice a week, then you're fishing in the wrong spot":grin:. My charter gig is with Captain Ed Patnode. Boat name "Edventure". Another real pro who has honed his craft well. http://www.saginawbay-fishing.com/

After a little prodding from LastPass ,I've registered and have introduced myself at the Welcome center. Hello again, my name is Nick. I've been encouraged to take credit for the beast in question. I'm not in the habit of posting results after every outing nor do I intend to. After 3yrs of learning to pattern walleye in this part of the state, Let's just say that we do as well as any other fanatics on the water. Though I'm still learning, I'm willing to pass along what I know if requested, now and in the future. However, every so often the bay area gives up a true trophy worthy of showing off. This past weekend was no exception. No doubt bigger fish have been caught, and will be caught by others, but for me this is a personal best for the walleye species. Having thrown back what many consider trophy walleye, that did not meet nor exceed 10lbs,(my personal goal) I'm proud to say this one is going on the wall. The official weight is 11.72lbs and 32inches before I froze it. Also, for the record, LastPass caught a few more than I did that day, that were of trophy caliber as well, showing me a thing or two, not to mention he is great netman. Thanks again John for the knowledge shared and contribution to a memory of a lifetime. As usual all the really big ones went back into the drink, minus the beast, to reproduce and sustain this great fishery we sportsman have been blessed with.... and the smaller ones were delicious. Obviously I will be in need of a reputable taxidermist. If anyone knows of one in the Bay area, feel free to point me in their direction. Thanks in advance.

Hello, my name is Nick and I am from Bay City. Last Pass referred me to this site. Thanks John! I'm an avid fisherman/outdoorsman. If I'm not on the river then I'm out on the bay & visa versa. This past year I have taken up the (hobby) of Firstmate on a charter boat out of Linwood and I'm looking forward to season two. We'll be out on the ice this winter also. Looking forward to meeting like minded sportsman and sharing info/experience. Fish on!