Trophy Walleye

After mostly fishing from shore, had the pleasure of fishing with Kevin on the big lake. A big thank you for his countless offers to do so over the last few years and finally took him up on it and thankful I did.

Had two trips, both very good, ending with somewhere between 10 to a dozen walleye / hybrids each trip. One trip we had to of missed a dozen or more hits, was dark and overcast which translated to a number of swings and misses. But action was good, decent amount of herring around.

Second trip, landed a real trophy. Beautiful 28.5" inch walleye and some other good fish. Pics below. Mentioned it to JDTuna so out we went last night in hopes of a repeat performance and another trophy. Well Justin kept up his part of the deal having a respectable night under tough conditions as the air temp dropped to 46 degrees, herring were scarce and predators even more scarce. UNLESS your first name was Justin!

Kevin and I had a tough go at it. Kevin had a few big explosions on his offerings, quite a few missed hits and snagged and successfully landed without assistance what might be the NJ record herring! I think I somehow got anti walleye repellent on my lures and took the dreaded donut in a big way not having as much as a touch the entire night. Plus I continually forgot to pull the trolling motor throughout the night when we moved to a different location so it's probably shore based angling for me again for the foreseeable future!

Justin will follow up with a report on last nights trip, a few pics of the many fish Kevin and I landed on the previous two including the big girl are below. Fish was released after a few pics and measurement, swam away like a champ. Hopefully someone catches the big girl next year when she hits the 30" mark. Wish I didn't pinch the tail when the pic was taken, tail was enormous and reason these larger fish have such bull dog strength. Pic of fourth fish is a different walleye but quality fish as well and then best pic of Kevin releasing the big girl back.

A big thank you Kevin for some phenomenal night time fishing and generosity. Fishing like this occurs once a year and now I know why they invented Red Bull and Xanax. An absolutely addictive sport with fish breaking your &^#$% all night splashing around you and every cast presenting the opportunity for a fish of a lifetime. Does it get any better than that? Enjoy the pics!