Un-Scheduled Catch and Release.

[Walleye Express]

The fishing today was almost as good as it was yesterday, except for the hook to catch ratio. My client today was no stranger to walleye fishing, but was not used to how very lightly our Bay fish bite through the ice. We had not set down for 5 minutes when the first fish lit up the FL-8. Concentrating on my own rod tip for the slightest twitch, I also keep my clients rod in my peripheral vision. When I seen his rod twitch and load up every so slightly, and he kept holding it motionless, I said set the Hook". "Set the hook Mike" "Set the Hook". He then simple started to reel the walleye up, but it let go about 6 feet under the ice, as it was not hooked but simply holding onto the minnow and treble. Not wanting to offend I calmly explained as best I could about the light biting nature of even the biggest walleyes on the Bay. It took him a while, but I cannot say I ever seen so many nice walleyes (I think eight) get a free ride to the surface without ever getting picked by a hook on the Do-Jigger express. But we ended up with 8 decent fish and had a excellent day on the ice.