You Can Take the Boy Out of MN

A good friend and I went out for a little walleye fishing last night and did pretty well. We kept eight but had to let this one go as it fell into the slot restriction. It also had a tag in it's lip, which was pretty cool and the first time I've caught a tagged fish. While taking out at the ramp, another boat also had a fish that was tagged...weird since we were the only two boats out there. (We didn't have a camera so this was taken with John La Rue's phone.)

It was nice to get out on a lake again and do a little walleye fishing. It definitely reminded me of the summers in Minnesota, spending hours on Gull Lake fishing these guys but we never caught that many. As much as I liked being out there and hanging with friends, I had lost interest in lake fishing and it reminds me why fly fishing to me, is more exciting.

First of all, fly fishing is much more interactive and you really have to be aware of what's going on with the water you are fishing and what the fish are keying on. The casting is important but what makes fly fishing the art form that people refer to it as, is taking all the aspects of the natural environment into account and putting it together to present an imitation of a fly to a trout and tricking it into eating. The fly fisher has to be aware of the depth of water, the current, weather, what bugs are in the water and what stage they are at, structure, and then he/she has to be able to present the imitation in a manner that looks natural. Sometimes that means drag-free, sometimes that means swinging in front of rising fish and sometimes that is stripping the fly hard and fast off the bank. As a guide, what's fun is having to not only take all of the fishing aspects into account and put the puzzle together, but also taking the client's ability into account to get them to catch fish.

Don't get me wrong, I still like to lake fish with the spinning gear in part, because now it's a change of pace. Having the opportunity to catch a 10 pound walleye is exciting. And the best is when you throw those eaters in the old fry pan. I love me some walleye. Thanks John. It was fun and those walleyes will taste good.

Keep 'em where you live...