manitoubass2

Oh my good gawd!!!!!! I dont even know what else to say..........

Fishing with my daughter is always a treat, your absolutely right! I fish with my kids alot, but sometimes I don't post the pics of them. In honor of one of my greatest net men/companions, here is a few of my kids for you all to enjoy!!!!! The prides of my life, they make me so happy, and so proud!!!! My oldest son Braydon My son John, who is affectionately know to family as "Jigger" My oldest and youngest with a bass Jigs bass My youngest boys bass My oldest girl, still afraid to grab the fish, lol I got millions of these pictures. I love my kids so much and I'm so glad they share in my passion, and all the time we spend together with mother nature. So so special

Very kind of you. I'll be up there to pre fish for Dryden Walleye Masters. If we can't get together to fish we should certainly grab a beer, or some food. lol, I'm still kinda in shock myself

Cool, I've seen some boats that aren't local. Good for them for coming to enjoy the fishery! If you ever plan to come this way, let me know! Always nice to meet a board member and get some fishing in

Thank you, and yes! Anyone else ever heard of shakey heading walleye???? I haven't, but I'm simply amazed how well it works (at least right now). I've just recently enjoyed bass style spinnerbaits for walleye, and that works very well and is a ton of fun, but this shakey head worm combo is kinda ridiculous...

Well, this time me and my daughter headed down to the river for a shore fish. The conditions changes drastically since yesterday. The sun was out, zero wind, the water levels dropped about 14" and the water was as clear as I've ever seen it. Basically, it didn't look very promising... We rigged up a few shakey heads like yesterday, and see if the fish would smash it yet again. When we arrived, one boat was near bye. We asked them how there luck was? No fish he said, guess they were live bait fishing on jigs. They went on trolling away, and I casted. Cast one, nothing. Cast two, BAAAAMMMM!, oh yeah, grab the net!!!! Another good smack of the shakey head worm. Fought the fish for a few minutes, then my daughter calmly netted the fish head first. High fives!!! and picture time, a true Rainy River beast!!! Cast about 3 more times, same thing! Just simply shaking that jig off bottom in the current seams. Man these fish are absolutely hammering this bait! This one is CHUNKYYYY! Again, my daughter does a great net job! Again, all it takes is another cast.... I'll never get sick of this I'm thinking, lol. Into the net she goes... One more cast, another one. A little smaller, but still a great fish! Man were getting spoiled when 23" walleye are small, lol Now we switched it up to see if the Livetarget Golden shiner would work. About five casts after jigging this guy off bottom, BAAAAMMMM! Yet again, so much fun! goofing around.... Look at the teeth on this momma!!! Another beautiful day with my daughter! This is really something to remember these past two days! Thank you Uncle! These fish are for you!!!!!!

pics uploading now! Fished for an 1.5 hours and again, it was epic. Even moreso than yesterday. It was actually pretty silly...

My pleasure to share Misfish. I spend alot of time on the river, I find it very tranquil and relaxing. All my kids are usually right by my side accept my youngest daughter, shes still a little too young. At the ripe old age of 10, 9, 9, 7 and 6, my kids are very capable anglers and nature enthusiasts. They love the nature as much as I do. It's our place, we spend more time there than at home. When I'm old(er) I look forward to their take on all the stories we shared!!! Thanks for posting! I think thats a a common theme between us, whether its the river, the lake of the bush, we all find the beauty of nature to fulfill a little bit of our soul.

I couldn't agree more Roy.

Thanks Merc! It is an amazing fishery!!! Specifically fall and spring, but the rest of the year is darn good as well! Thanks Simon! These walleye are the reason I've been trying to get you here for a day fish, lol. It's tough I know. We'll get out soon I hope, and maybe even hit Rainy in the fall. It was what the doctor ordered, for sure. We are heading out again today, a little more stress relief from the funerals. I was using 6" Matzuo worms (like a Senko style) in a natural worm color with a little red flake in it. The package says glows in the dark, it lies, lol. I trim the nose off the worm and get the bait to about 3.5" before rigging it on a Northland Tackle shakey head jig, 3/16 oz. With the weight of the bait, it ends up being about 3/8oz. Thank you kindly good sir! And thanks for the welcome back!!!! The season is almost over, so I'm going out tonight and tomorrow as well. I be sure to keep you posted on how we do!

Thats right. After I had some time to reflect, it actually reminded me of some really great times I had with my uncle. Some were fishing and some weren't. I had a great conversation with my son as well about his Oma, and he's taking everything in stride. I'm very proud of my boy for that and many other things! Very selfless move on his part to give us the ok to move his b-day party back a few days. So proud of all my children!!!

Well, today was a pretty bittersweet day. My oldest sons b-day and he spent the day with his mother, mourning the loss of their great grandmother. He was pretty bummed of course, but I explained to him if he could push his party back a few days, it would be well worth it. Like a champ, he said Omas funeral was very important to him, and he could wait until next weekend for his b-day party. Very proud moment for me, he's a beautiful son for sure!!! Being it was in another town, I couldn't be there with them unfortunately... I was not in the best of moods when the girlfriend came home from work. Feeling like I needed to get out on the water and just relax. Then I get a call my uncle just passed??? At this point I'm like What the hell??? What a horrible day. After talking with some family, I decided to go out and clear my mind... Water temps about 40-41 degrees and -2 temp, so I figured I'd just hit my favorite shore spot to fish, just in case I lost interest quickly. I rigged up two rods at home before I left, one with a chart. bass style spinnerbait, one with a shakeyhead jig with a 6" worm I cut down to about 4"(never used that rig for walleye before). I showed up at the spot and got all my gear ready. Only one boat out on the water braving the cold days before walleye closes for a month. Second cast with the shakeyhead, BAAAM! Whoa I thought as I set the hook! That was quite the bite! After a good 5 minute battle, into the net goes a gorgeous walleye! I was wondering if that was a fluke??? I got the camera ready quick and took a crappie self timer pic. The next few casts, nothing. Then, just like the first bite, BAAAM! Geezus I thought to myself, these are not normal walleye bites, lol. I must be onto something with this shakey head, hahaha. Another good battle, into the net the fish goes. This one was not quite as big as the first, but still big, gave it a quick measurement at 26" and another crappie self timer pic. Swims off like a champ. Now I'm not even thinking about the bad day, just having some good fun hooting and hollering on the river by myself, while one boat looks on occasionally laughing. I'm fine with that, I don't see them catching any fish! A few more casts, I get the tell tale walleye bite. Set the hook and do battle with a chunky, 21" walleye. He swims off great. Now I'm really thinking about this shakeyhead, and how I'm working just off bottom, soooooo slowly with the odd slow twitch. Why is this driving the walleye nuts??? But whatever, I'll take it. A few more casts and no nibble on this one, SMACK! This one rolls, pulls drag, and rolls again. All the walleye guys know, big walleye roll! Is this one bigger than the first 28"??? Another really good fight, and into the net once again. A quick pic of a fat, fat 'eye and back she goes. D'OH! I forgot to measure it, DAMN!!!! Oh well, These a big fish, and they will be emblazoned into my memory for years to come, thats all that matters. My phone goes off, its my daughter. Where are you???? She askes, actually more like yells. I wanna come down too!!! Ok, put the gear away, and go get my daughter. We come back and get set up, by this time it's cold! I got ice forming in my rod guides and my hands are stinging cold. One more bite is all we could muster, a small male. We took a few more pics, dorked around, and she took a few casts as well. Dark was coming, and supper was on. We decided to head in to eat, and were treated to a great meal from the girlfriend. We (I) told the days stories and now here I am, feeling pretty darn good despite all that happened today. I'm very thankful for my family, and it days like this that just give you that friendly little nudge to remind you... For the day, I went 9/10, one fish was under 20", one was 21", and the rest ranged from 25"-30"... Thats pretty insane. All fish but two came on a shakeyhead jig with that pinched off worm, two other came on a chart. spinnerbait. What a day, just depends on how you look at it P.S. Here is some more pics for you live2fish85, lol

Thanks RC! Lotsa practice helps, lol. When you can figure out river walleye, it sure helps on lakes as well.

Thanks Leechman! They come in all colors here, some are as dark as dark can be, others you'd swear came from lake winnipeg

edited.... season closes friday, bummer

bwahahahahahaha! Yep, I remembered it, made a note on the fridge, and in my phone, wrote it on my forehead backwards etc...

Congrats Mike and family! Beautiful photo as well!

I prefer that method, just tying the weight with a double overhand knot, if you lose anything, it's just the weight. Good tip kickingfrog.

Many thanks, but it was just a derby, lol, I've won a few of those already. I have a feeling the tournys will be much more difficult and I'll be humbled . Gonna be alot of fun though

Thanks! We finished in second. All the other boats couldn't find active fish for the most part. Us and one other boat fished a shallow sandbar and it produced. The other boats were mainly in what we call "sturgeon alley", a main channel funnel where the sturgeon seem to travel. But there not locals so maybe they weren't aware of that??? A few sturgeon made an appearance for a couple of the anglers, pretty funny to see on light spinning set ups.

nice catch johnnyb! Nothing wrong with that laker at all. Sounds like you had an amazing time.

I love the videos Simon! They never dissapoint! that 25" is nice and clean, gorgeous fish!!!!

Harv actually had a hard time finding a babysitter, so he showed up to the derby about an hour late. He hopped in with someone with room, and in true Harvey fashion, had a good 6lber about 5 minutes into fishing, lol. I thank god everyday I have this river, lol. Having the opportunity to fish right out your front door sure makes it alot easier then packing up the boat all the time, lol. We def. have to plan something out. I'm gonna be fishing up the 502 alot this year, I've been scouting maps all winter, lol. Just let me know when and where and we'll try and make it happen. Sometime this summer I wanna go way way up cedar narrows for a weekend camp. Just bring a 16ft tinny and a trolling motor. So many good lakes up there.

Sounds exactly like me MM! lol. My year has started off with a serious bang, and the things I learned last year have me well ahead of the curve. This is my first year doing tournys so I'm very anxious to get the experience of the first one and just get it outta the way. I lucked out big time though and have an awesome partner for the year