A up and down week! Actually I entertained the thoughts of using “A much better week” for a lead off line. And it was too if you discounted the stinking high wind/ rough lake days that we were hit with every other day this past week. After a very crappy windy weekend last weekend where most including myself elected not to go, Monday was about as pretty a lake as you’ll ever see. Flat as a pancake with a light 6-12 inch surface chop. It was overcast and much cooler and just down right pleasant. And like somebody flipped a switch, the fish were on fire as well! We easily knocked out a four man limit by 9:30am and almost made it back in time for breakfast!
Tuesday was the exact opposite. Super strong gusty southerly winds kept most off the lake. We chose to fish but stayed in tight quitting about the time that we had limited out the day before with only a handful of fish to show for our efforts. It was just too windy to stay out any longer. Again, the luck of the draw got my group that day. Just plain sucks. Wednesday was once again a gorgeous lake and it was like Tuesday never happened. Same results as Monday. Easy limits by 10:00am and a very happy crew! Thursday was the real kick in the pants for us and everyone else. With a “one foot or less” forecast and the Wind Alert and iWindsurf apps showing only single digit wind velocities for all day, we were greeted with strong gusty south west winds that soon went north westerly that created a crazy confused washing machine action out over the lake. Though we fished, our production was once again well off the mark and it again reminded me how much fate plays a role in how your long awaited day is going to go. I was about beat to death when we got done fishing including wrenching my back on one big awkward wave while netting a big Walleye. Ouch!
The Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde strange lake condition phenomenon carried on going into Friday and we were greeted again with pleasant lake conditions and very hungry Walleyes. With a nice light manageable south wind we ran offshore and set up a further north troll. Trolling an additional five miles north towards the border we pulled 14 decent Walleyes and turned and finished up by trolling south into the waves and landing an additional dozen fish. A very good day and again done before 10am. As I write this up on Friday night a day earlier then usual, it looks like we will squeeze out one more nice day on Saturday before the proverbial “stuff” hits the fan on Sunday. I already cancelled that days trip with a forecasted strong cold front scheduled to sweep down the lake on early Sunday morning. All my sources are showing rain and winds in excess of 30 mph. NOAA is also calling for 5-7 foot waves. Sounds definitely like a no-go to me! We’ll see how bad it actually becomes.
Sundays nasty weather appears to be short lived though. Although temperatures are supposed to be significantly cooler next week with highs in the 70’s, winds at least at this point appear to be rather light for much of the week. I’m all about the cooler weather arriving after baking most of this month thus far. I hope however that the cool down doesn't change things out there. Do I dare say that it really appeared like there was a nice block of cooperative fish out there this past week? Even the junk fish was surprisingly very manageable this past week. Just those pesky windy days that keep rearing their ugly heads every other day that kept this week from being a great week. We’ll see how it all plays out next week. I know one thing. I’m already savoring my planned day off for this weekend. It’s never good to loose a day when you’re a seasonal worker but this is a whole lot better then getting up at 2:30am just to greet your crew and sending them away anyway at the dock in total disgust! At least I’ll be able to rest my back that day! Till next week...
Capt. Walt
Celebrating Our 30th Season!
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