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The Minnesota

Norselander
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Norselander Explorer

Norselander

Posted
Posted

Hey guys!

It was such a beautiful day, I thought--why not? I have never before had my boat out on the Minnesota River; today was the day. I found a guy fishing a deep hole, 25 feet deep. There is a current break on one side where there is almost no current. On the other side there is rip rap going down to about 20 feet--very nice structure. The guy who was there had two sauger and a walleye on the stringer. He said he had lost a 10 lb 'eye just before I came. Right up by the boat he said, but he had forgotten to bring a net and he didn't know how to land it by hand. It finally got off, he said.

Well, to make a long story short, I only caught one fish-- a very fat 30 1/2 incher. I would say about 12 pounds! It's head was huge! I thought I had a snag on my ultralight rig, and I was backing up to see if I could get it free--then I felt it move. At one point I had to put the motor in gear and chase after it, the line on the spool was close to the end. I tightened the drag on the reel because I couldn't get the beast off the bottom, couldn't stop her when she took off, and was nervous about the line coming to the end on the reel. When, about 15 minutes later, I finally got the old girl up by the boat, she was so beat that she could hardly move. One lift with the net, and she hit the bottom of the boat. Now what to do? I had no camera. She was way too big to eat. My wife said I should have brought it home. But why? I have two 'eyes and two muskeys on the wall--along with a monster whitetail and a coyote pelt plus too many guns. What to do? I took her to the landing in the boat, but there was no one there, no one with a camera, no witnesses, nothing. What to do? I finally decided to slide her back in the water and I watched her ever-so-slowly swim away.

It was great fun though--I like surprises--and those catfish really put up a fight.

grin.gif

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Muddog Mentor

Muddog

Posted
Posted

Hay! I know that spot. I'll be there Sunday.

T,O. I think you were fishing near that spot this time last year. Just up streem 100yds and along the rip-rap.

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

Posted
Posted

Now that you mention it...

Honestly, I didn't want to say anything the first time. grin.gif

If all goes well, I'll be down there next Wednesday.

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Willy Mentor

Willy

Posted
Posted

That spot is not a secret. Been decent there this year, but a guy really needs a jet boat to get after the bigger fish. Hopefully it stays open for a while yet and some bigger fish move into spots us "prop boat" guys can get to. smirk.gif

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

Posted
Posted

The particular spot you and everyone else is thinking of, no, it's not a secret. But, I am referring to one of those little "spots on the spot". Last year, I pitched to an area about the size of a 5-gallon pail but it was worth it! Talk about sickening scenery. smirk.gif

Bring on the 50's!

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Muddog Mentor

Muddog

Posted
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Tom and I went to the river Sunday. We used his boat for the third time this year. Boat control was an issue. While Tom was working at keeping us off the banks we saw another boat land a couple of Catfish, Saugers and Walleyes. One of the Walleyes went 8lb 12oz.

I can't blame Tom for all the bad luck we were having. We were using live bait for the third time this year and I'm just not used to it.

The Eyes wanted fathead slow and on the bottom as vertical as you could fish. Yellow-green was the color.

By the way,There are NO STRIPED BASS in the state of Minnesota!

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katoguy Experienced

katoguy

Posted
Posted

Correct, we have white bass not striped bass in MN.

Did someone state that there are stripers around? Or are you trying to inform people that you caught a lot of white bass? confused.gif

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Muddog Mentor

Muddog

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It's just that it get old hearing fishermen say things like; We cought 2 Saugers, 3 Walleyes and 2 Stripers. It's like someone at the trout pounds saying they cought some nice Salmon.

Yes, the White Bass were biting. We did manage to bring a Walleye to the boat and lost one at boat side. I did find that I liked using Kast-masters more then round head jigs. I lost 3 jigs in hang ups and no Kast-Masters.

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

Posted
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I know I've been kicking around hitting the river tomorrow but I just may go to Tetonka instead. It'll have to be a game time decision. smirk.gif

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DARK30 Veteran

DARK30

Posted
Posted

I heard a rumor that a 14 lb walleye was caught near St.Peter. I guess it was kept for a mount..... Just 3 or 4 more pounds and it would have big news.

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

Posted
Posted

The rumor is true. I believe the fish was pushing 34". "Willy" has more information as he has seen photos.

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Willy Mentor

Willy

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Posted

Shhhhhhhhh! wink.gif

I talked to a guy that fishes down there a ton too, and he was right next to the guy when he caught it. I asked him if they took it to an official scale since 34" out of the Minnesota this time of year I figured "could" be close to a state record. It was weighed on a certified scale and came out to 14lb 1oz. Friggen sow! The bite has been unusually slow down there, but that fish is one of the biggest I've heard from out of the Sota. Lots that were close, but no 34 incher!

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