FishDr Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 The weather here in northeastern Colorado has been atypical, to say the least. Warm, dry, no snow to speak of, but still cold enough at night to drop the water temperature into the 30s. Not much going on in the bass realm, and, to be honest, not much desire to head out at night. Of course, it was Winter Solstice - the longest night of the year, and for someone who likes to fish at night, it seemed only appropriate to head out tonight, mainly so that I could say that I fished on the longest night of the year. I headed to a lake that is my nemesis when it comes to big walleye - it can produce fish into the teens, and it can also be a cold-hearted beast, where going 5, 10 or even 20 trips without a bite is not unusual. Why do I keep going back? Because it can produce fish into the teens. The odds were definitely not in my favor. The wind had been howling for hours, and at the lake the maximum gusts were exceeding 55 mph and may have been even higher. It's late December, the water is cold, and the lake hasn't been stocked with popsicles for at least a month. Still, I had to try. I arrived just at the witching hour, having just missed the sunset at about 4:40 pm, and sat for a couple of minutes as the wind buffeted the truck. Then I headed down to the water, put on a slow-sink 6" BBZ-1, and started casting, having to continuously adjust my stance because of the wind gusts. I was at least fishing on the upwind side of the lake, so I didn't have to try to cast into the wind. The wind was strong enough that it had set up a current along the shore, and I figured that maybe the trout would be sitting in the current, and maybe, just maybe, a walleye would be sitting in the current too. It turns out I was right. Just as another boomer gust knocked me off balance, I felt a thump and set the hook. The rod took on a good bend and I quickly worked the fish to shore - it wasn't a giant, but it was not a little one either. My first respectable walleye for a couple of years, and the first one from this blasted lake for about 5 years! I was so stunned and flustered that I forgot that (1) I had a scale in my bag and (2) that I had my WCZ measuring mat in my bag as well, and instead eyeballed the fish along my rod and then measured the mark later. She was in the 26 - 27" range and fat - I'd guess maybe high 7s to low 8s in terms of weight. Again, not a giant, but heck, for a winter solstice walleye, very welcome. Yes, I look like a stunned mullet and forgot to turn off my headlamp when the timer on the camera was running. It's been a long time since I've caught a big walleye so I was out of practice! She was very very plump - a good sign. Fried Lemons, PKNNH, yev14 and 9 others 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbass Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 Good fat fish FishDr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishfoo Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 Nice write up, and a great outing congrats ! ! FishDr and PNW EOD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whompuscat658 Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 Gotta love the bbz1! The slow sink is super versatile! FishDr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yev14 Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 I love your Walleye trip recaps, your experiences out in Colorado are very similar to mine here in NY. Congrats...you earned that one!! FishDr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKNNH Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 You seemed to have it dialed in when it comes to chunk walleyes. Great fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishDr Posted December 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 Quote love your Walleye trip recaps, your experiences out in Colorado are very similar to mine here in NY. Congrats...you earned that one!! Quote You seemed to have it dialed in when it comes to chunk walleyes. Great fish! Thanks for the complements everyone! It's been a while since I could contribute anything fishwise to the Flipside and it feels good to finally do so. Back when this whole mess began, I had an amazing run of luck - I was landing 27 - 30" walleye on pretty much every trip, and I did that for 10 - 15 trips. It was enough success that I made the mistake of thinking "this is easy"! Then reality kicked in, and it kicked in hard - I'd grind out 10 or more trips without a fish, sometimes 20 or more trips, spanning a year or more. I guess it's a lot like trying to grind out a DD largemouth in California - you know they are there, but they're not lining up to be caught - you really have to put time in for them. Still, as I and others have said, big baits for walleyes do work, if you're willing to go long periods without success. yev14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikopap1 Posted December 24, 2021 Report Share Posted December 24, 2021 Nice walleyes man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PNW EOD Posted December 31, 2021 Report Share Posted December 31, 2021 I'm going to try and Target some eye's this year in WA. I've got a few things I want to try, but I can only imagine how cool that would be! Congrats on a great fish battling those horrible conditions! FishDr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimbaitrookie Posted December 31, 2021 Report Share Posted December 31, 2021 Great catch and write up Dr! FishDr and PNW EOD 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishDr Posted December 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2021 13 hours ago, PNW EOD said: I'm going to try and Target some eye's this year in WA. I've got a few things I want to try, but I can only imagine how cool that would be! Congrats on a great fish battling those horrible conditions! Targeting 'eyes in WA should be fun - aren't there some giants in the Columbia River below the big dams? I'd think that a 6 - 8" salmon or kokanee pattern bait in those areas would be money. You might get bushwhacked by the odd giant smallmouth, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PNW EOD Posted January 1, 2022 Report Share Posted January 1, 2022 7 hours ago, FishDr said: Targeting 'eyes in WA should be fun - aren't there some giants in the Columbia River below the big dams? I'd think that a 6 - 8" salmon or kokanee pattern bait in those areas would be money. You might get bushwhacked by the odd giant smallmouth, too. There are some GIANTS in the Columbia. I plan on spending most of my time on Potholes or Moses Lake, as I've had a ton of success on chatterbaits and crankbaits while smallmouth fishing, but I'm going to chuck a few perch baits and Kokanee for sure. I've got a pretty good plan, but swimbait fishing rarely goes to plan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPayne Posted January 11, 2022 Report Share Posted January 11, 2022 Awesome fish and awesome story! The way you opened and told that story was like something out of a movie! Very cool. FishDr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.