Cool water trophies - MDfishing.org

cool water trophies

space inwaders 12/14/2011 - 21:40 Trip Reports I found higher water levels this year through the fall season, but put in far too much effort for any sane person. During October i had a few decent trips producing a few walleye from 22 to 24 1/2 inches, but couldn't get a decent picture. As November approaches I keep on fishing, but high water levels made things difficult and most trips were unproductive. Toward the end of November with only a few hard earned 18 month (15-16"ers) old fish so far from my usual fall areas, I realized I had to find new spots to fish. I put in a lot of thought, and some exploring, eventually found some new areas with new lures to try and soon found a few good fish.

A fat 26 incher- my best walleye of the year so far. I'm still hoping to top it but the time is passing and waters are still high. The next evening a quick 1 hour effort produced a fat 23 1/2" x 12 1/2" weighed 5.4 pounds on the same lure in the same area. Repeated trips afterward have not produced. That's how it goes.

Whenever the opportunity arises, i make the effort to pursue one of the true freshwater tropies. We've been exploring WV waters and finding some great areas and a couple big mean fish.

This is my best so far, 46", weighed just over 28 pounds.

This is a tooth that was lost from a 38"er recently.

All of our fish were released in good shape, maybe we'll see them again one day, or maybe you will!

Hopefully the rivers will settle down again soon and maybe i'll tangle with another beauty before the year ends. I hope to continue fishing all winter, but we'll see how it goes, normally i dont catch a fish til spring=)

Those are some nice fish!

Jedwards36 12/31/2011 - 19:54 Those are some nice fish!

Boat Brand

REB9 12/16/2011 - 22:05 Nice feesh!!! I haven't been on the ole Potomac for a couple months... The starting battery on my boat is drained... Maybe, one of these days, I will try some cold water feeshing, like the ole days...

What type of boat are you riding in? Looks like a nice rig.

REB9

built by

space inwaders 12/17/2011 - 15:13 www.rockproofboats.com

i think a 17', 90hp outboard jet, center console, a very nice boat. My buddy's had a few over the years and different areas of the country he's fished, he says he loves this boat and doesn't desire anything more from a boat for where he's fishing and what he's doing. I'm going to be looking into a boat soon, but it wont be half as nice as my buddy's.

Well...

Captwalleye 12/15/2011 - 08:40 It's not over yet.Yes,the river has been rather unruly.I get the nerve up to go and the level is workable and than the rain comes and washes it all away.It's just my kind of luck.
You and Tom are in my opinion the two heavy hitters on this site.You've both really gotten out and fished hard with great results too.
Looking at that tooth sort of makes me want to pass on one of those leviatans.Well..at least when out by myself. Stay on em!

wouldn't blame you

space inwaders 12/15/2011 - 11:45 Capt, Thanks for the kind words.

I dont blame you, they're a handful when you're alone and on shore it's even more difficult. Although i'd like to chase them in my Nu Canoe sometime. Handling them on shore is really tough and they can hurt themselves banging on rocks, fighting and rolling in the net. Having one go belly up on me would really ruin the enjoyment of tangling with one of these beasts.

You really need good hook cutters, jaw spreaders, long needlenose pliers, and a giant coated net to get the job done sometimes. Last time out we used a boga grip and it was very helpful holding them up while unhooking.

I rather travel light and fish lighter stuff and look for more common fish when im on shore, but there are exceptions.

Totally Cool!

DanMarino 12/22/2011 - 10:19 Those are totally cool fish there Steve. Nice walleye and incredible musky. What a beast both of those fish are. They must be eating machines. So how did that tooth come out? Looks like a bummer for the fish.

CaptAndy, I can relate about the frustrating river water levels! Hopefully I can get out sometime next week before the New Year.

I've never had success with cold weather fishing, so hopefully this year I'll figure it out a little. It's been a good year overall for me. I've fished some new places and really enjoyed fishing from a kayak.

the tooth

space inwaders 12/24/2011 - 15:09 Tom, the lure was deep in the fish's mouth, we had to use hook cutters and jaw spreaders and a boga grip to get her free quickly. Through the effort she thrashed a few times and im guessing thats what knocked the tooth out. I saw it sitting loose on the fish's lip so i grabbed it before she swam off=) I'm guessing they get taken out and new ones grow in like happens with sharks, there was no hard root just a little meat attached. Think of what they go through grabbing a live thrashing fish and eating them=)

Cool Camera Shots

DanMarino 12/26/2011 - 09:28 Hey Steve, how did you get the cool underwater camera shot of the musky?

Awesome fish.

13

go pro

space inwaders 12/27/2011 - 14:22 my buddy's got this "go pro" camera. Its a digital video camera basically, very small, wears it on a headband, and it can film underwater. Those shots of the musky on the post now were all screen captures from the video=)

Neat

DanMarino 12/28/2011 - 09:41 Those are neat cameras. If they get cheaper I might look into one. Hopefully I'll get out and try to catch some fish before the New Year, but I'm worried about what yesterday's rain will do to the river levels.