Story Telling

[SGPlatypus]

I'm interested in hearing a few fishing stories so I thought I would start it off and see what happens.

Last year a group of us made our first trip to Rainy after a couple of years fishing the Winnipeg River system by LOTW. While sitting at the border for two hours while they inspected our boat we decided to forget Canada and start fishing US waters instead. They found a single Leach stuck in the live well and threatened to fine us for it, oh and they didn't treat the boat very well either.

Anyways to the real story...When packing up the fishing gear I decided that I may need a 3rd pole so I grabbed my wifes $20 pink shakespeare pole. Thinking back I should have known the jokes were coming but I didn't and they did. The 5th day in I was still hearing about that dang pole when we decided to run up to the mouth of Rainy River and anchor down early evening. I had the pink pole rigged with a 1/4 oz jig head with no leader and the standard line that it came with...so maybe 10 pound test. I decided to rig it with a minnow and throw it out while I rigged up the baitcaster with a Rapala. I let the jig float out a long ways and then put it between my legs to rig up the "good" pole when all of a sudden the pole started moving and then the real started screaming. I set the hook on what I figured was a good sized Walleye and then as the fight started I prayed was a monster Walleye because there was no way that pole with that line and NO leader would boat a big Northern. I fought it for awhile and finally got it close enough to see that in fact it was a Pike and a very large Pike at that. I'm not sure how long the fight really laster but that Pike came up to the boat a good 5 or 6 times to say hello before turning on the power and making my real scream again. I just knew that when he finally did tire out and stay close to the boat he would snap the line off with a barrel roll. Sure enough it did barrel roll and wrap the line around it's mouth several times but it held and a buddy of mine was able to get a good hug on it and boat it. The Pike weighed in at 19 pounds and was 42 inches long. I'm still not sure how that Pike didn't snap that line, the only thing I could think of was that I got a perfect hook set and until he barrel rolled the line was tight...lucky for sure

Needless to say that pink pole is still a topic of some jokes...now it is directed from me to them though! Biggest fish of the trip by 8 pounds.

Thanks Keith, CampIdlewood, for telling us to try the bridge. We would have never known to try it and I wouldn't have caught the biggest fish of my life...bigger than the shark I caught on my honeymoon!

Hope you enjoyed and will share a story of your own.

[okfisherman]

Here is my best story from last year. We were floating along the north weedbed in shoe bay about 50 yards off shore, strong westerly wind. On my first cast I hooked a dandy northern, played him for 3 or 4 minutes only to feel my line go limp. As we continued to drift my buddy kept fishing while I tied on a new leader all the while complaing I had lost my new lure. A good 7 or 8 minutes went by and we were just about to drift out of the weeds so I fired up and zoomed back into the bay to the exact same spot. Being a religous man I said outloud,"please Lord let that fish hit again so I can get my leader and lure back", As my buddy laughed he laid into one. When I got it netted and in the boat we both looked with amazement, there in it's lip was my lure and leader!! A nice 38" pike and my gear back. I learned three things that day,

1. God does listen 2 after release those fish will likely go back to their favorite sittin' area 3. that even with a treble hook through both lips and a few feet of line around their nose a northern will still hit a good bait. Another great memory on Rainy.

[fishmeister_86]

HI F.MERS,

GREAT THREAD...I HAVE SO MANY MEMORIES IN ALMOST 30 YEARS OF FISHING RAINY, I COULD WRITE A BOOK., HOWEVER 2 OF MY FAVORITES ARE WALLEYE STORIES, I HAD FISHED RAINY FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS, NEVER LANDING A 10 LB. WALLEYE., BUT ON MY 43RD BIRTHDAY FISHING OFF BIRCH POINT WITH ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS, ROB, I HOOKED INTO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A LOG. AFTER KEEPING A TAUNT LINE FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES, I FIGURED OUT I HAD A MASSIVE FISH ON, I TOLD ROB "I THINK ITS STURGEON", AS IT MOVED VERY SLOWLY AT WILL. WE WERE FISHING IN 25 FEET OF WATER, AND I COULD NOT MOVE THAT FISH FROM THE BOTTOM., I TOOK OFF THE BRAKE AND STARTED TO BACK REEL SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO RELY ON THE DRAG. AFTER ROUGHLY 15 MINUTES, THE FISH BEGIN TO TIRE, FINALLY NETTING IT...11.7 LBS. THE 2ND WALLEYE WAS 2 WINTERS AGO, WHICH WAS THE BEST ICE FISHING WE EVER HAD ON RAINY., I WAS FISHING AMERICAN NARROWS IN ABOUT 38 FEET OF WATER, I WENT OUT WITH OUR LOCAL GAME WARDEN, WE WERE CATCHING WALLEYES LIKE CRAZY 6 TO 20 FEET OFF THE BOTTOM WITH JIGGING RAPS (NO BAIT), MOST ALL OF THEM, BIG PIGS IN THE SLOT. I'M GUESSING THEY WERE FEEDING ON SMELT AS I REMEMBER SEEING LOTS OF BAIT FISH. THEN I HOOKED IN A BIG FISH, AGAIN TAKING OFF THE BRAKE AND BACK REELING., FISH ENDED UP TO BE 30 INCHES.

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I ALSO HAVE ONE NORTHERN STORY FROM A LAKE ABOUT 35 MILES INTO CANADA. I HAD BROUGHT A HARDEE'S FRANCHISE CONSULTANT & A EMPLOYEE FISHING TO A LAKE I USED TO FISH ALOT, WE CAUGHT WALLEYES TILL THE CONSULTANT SAID I'M TIRED OF CATCHING WALLEYES...CAN WE GO FISH NORTHERNS??? SO WE WENT INTO A BAY WHERE MY DAD USED TO LOVE TO GO., WE WERE CATCHING THOSE LITTLE SNAKES ONE AFTER ANOTHER. I WAS REELING UP ONE MAYBE A POUND & HALF, WHEN ALL THE SUDDEN A MASSIVE NORTHERN CAME NEXT TO THE BOAT & GRABBED THAT LITTLE NORTHERN, THEN DROPPED IT, I DROPPED IT BACK DOWN & HE HE CAME RIGHT BACK...BUT THIS TIME HE SWALLOWED...YES SWALLOWED IT, AND JUST LAID THERE ON THE TOP OF THE WATER, WELL MY YOUNG 16 YEAR OLD EMPLOYEE'S EYES

WERE THE SIZE OF SAUCERS, I SAID DON'T JUST STAND THERE AND STARE AT IT, GRAB THE NET...HE DID SO, NETTED IT...46 INCHES.

OK, JUST ONE MORE, MY FATHER HAVING BONE CANCER CAME UP FISHING, WHICH I KNEW MAY BE HIS LAST. DAD LOVED TO FISH NORTHERNS AND GROWING UP AS A KID, HE USED TO TAKE US TO CRANE LAKE BY BATTLE LAKE & LAKE MARY BY ALEX ALL THE TIME. I THINK DAD LIKED TO FISH THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE EASY TO CATCH & HE LIKED THE FIGHT. WELL I TOOK HIM TO MAINVILLE IN CANADA, MY DADS FAVORITE LAKE, WE WENT THERE BECAUSE IT WAS OCTOBER & YOU CAN CATCH THOSE HUGE GATORS. WE STARTED WALLEYE FISHING, BUT THEY CAN BE TOUGH TO CATCH THAT TIME OF YEAR IN THERE, WE HAD 4 & DAD SAID LETS GO CATCH NORTHERNS, OK, SO WE WENT TO OUR FAVORITE BAY, WHICH WE NAMED AFTER DAD, CLIFFORD BAY. MY 1ST CAST- A 10 LBER, 2ND CAST-A 18 LBER, A BUDDY OF MY DADS CATCHES A 12 LBER, LATER I GET ANOTHER 10 LBER. DAD, ALL HE HAS CAUGHT IS SNAKES, AND I THINK HE FEELS DEJECTED, ITS GETTING LATE, I SAID DAD I THINK WE BETTER GO ITS 8 MILES BACK & I DON'T WANT TO RUN IN THE DARK...HE SAID ONE LAST CAST, AND YOU GOT IT, HE HOOKS INTO A 12 LB NORTHERN, WHAT A FITTING ENDING, HIS LARGEST FISH ON HIS LAST CAST!!!

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!

SINCERELY,

FISHMEISTER

[The Master Piker]

We've been coming to Rainy in July and September from Oklahoma for the last six years. Last July we were fishing for smallies off the point of a small island with a xrap 10 when I had a strike. I fought the fish close enough to the boat to see that it was an upper 30's northern. It was hooked in the lips, but I figured that this was going to be the end of my x rap. SoI let slack in the line hoping the the northern would throw the bait. As if on que, the fish sped off and jumped 20 feet from the boat, shook his head and the line went slack. Reeling in the line, I saw an opened snap, no lure. I was upset, not so much for losing the lure, but because I'd let a fish swim off with a lure in its mouth. A few minutes later, I pulled the trolling motor to leave. As I walked back to the console, I saw my x rap laying on the carpet. The jump had not only freed the lure from the northern, but unsnapped the lure and tossed it back at me!

[okfisherman]

Hey Master Piker, what part of oklahoma you from? We have been going to Rainy for many years, will have to swap stories and spots. 3 years ago I took a rookie up with us, Her latched on to a good size norhtern and proceeded to get him close to the boat. He had a hard pull on him, just as I went to net him, the fish turned which made Davids pole bent towards me, of course the fish spit the lure and all I remember is this orange bullit coming at me. It hit just above my eye and made a pretty good gash, then the treble went inside my nose and caught. When all the water settled my buddy looked back at me to see a lure dangling out of my nose and my head spewing blood. As he yelled to our other boat he had killed me, I did what real fisherman do, pulled the lure out and handed it back, took a rag dipped it in the lake, wrapped it around my head put my hat on and went back to fishin'! I still carry a scar over my eye and blackmail my friend often for it. You can bet I pay close attention to what direction his pole is bent before I net for him.

[Nordy]

Last summer on Rainy it was to windy to fish out in the open, so I ducked behind a island where I was graphing fish at 27'. So I started fishing for eye's with a 1/2 oz. weight and a 5' lindy rig. Trolling around and all of a sudden a snag, so I tug at it and it moved around and it seemed to move a little (like a log). So I pulled on it a little bit harder and I could lift it off the bottom but then it would resist and go back down. I have fireline on my reel but my lindy rig was just 10# line. So I set my drag and played it out, every time I would have it about half way up it would say hell no and go back to the bottom. I am a decent sized guy and I was using both arms and my body just to get it off the bottom. Of course I was by myself so I don't have any witness's. 45 minutes into it, 3 times I had the weight out of the water and about 2' of the lindy and it would just head straight to the bottom. Not to drag this out, 1.5 hours into it I had the weight out of the water 5 times but I could never see it. So the next time I get the weight out of the water, I am going to pull as hard as I can just to see what it is. Finally the weight is out of the water, I see 2' of the leader then 3' and it started fighting hard so I heeved as hard as I could and snap, that was it, gone. After talking to friends a eye or a northern would have given in, it had to been a sturgeon. I have caught a 60# sturgeon on the river and that even gave up after a half hour. One friend (skifstrom) said nothing breaks a guys heart more than the big one that gets away. How true.