The weather still remained stable, but there was concern about lack of wind. Fishing is better if you have some chop on the water, especially for walleyes. Still, Lynn Lake is the producer. We were only going to fish till noon, then head out of town stopping at the Purple Cow for some of the world's finest ice cream. Arriving at Lynn, we were the only boat that put in at the ramp, and we were than able to get the prime parking place.
We headed immediately to where we had caught the fish the previous day. Not a cloud in the sky and with the bright South Dakota sun, we were both worried we would lose what breeze we had. It was far from a light chop, but more like a slight ripple. In the super clear water of this lake, the walleye would go deep to avoid the sunlight. The Flicker Shad might not be effective as we could only get about ten feet of depth with the lure. My friend Bruce would put on an in-line sinker to drag it down, or we could use a bottom bouncer to drag it around in deep water. So options were available. Bottom bouncers are a good way to get snagged and loose a lure.
Bang! The fish hit the lure with a vengeance and started running. Only northern pike act like this and he was a nice size fish. I almost got the fish to the boat and then it would take another run, or try to go under the boat. They always seem to go for the motors at the back. I had to walk from side to side at the back of the boat to keep from breaking the rod or the line. Fishing with an ultralight had just become a bad idea and at this moment, the feeling was that a heavier rod would have been more appropriate. Finally it began to wear down, and it was brought to the surface. Pam grabbed the net and did a nice job of hauling the fish up and into the boat.
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| The master fisherman of the lake. Pelicans were thick and they came within feet of the boat. |
We headed immediately to where we had caught the fish the previous day. Not a cloud in the sky and with the bright South Dakota sun, we were both worried we would lose what breeze we had. It was far from a light chop, but more like a slight ripple. In the super clear water of this lake, the walleye would go deep to avoid the sunlight. The Flicker Shad might not be effective as we could only get about ten feet of depth with the lure. My friend Bruce would put on an in-line sinker to drag it down, or we could use a bottom bouncer to drag it around in deep water. So options were available. Bottom bouncers are a good way to get snagged and loose a lure.
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| This is not good. What we want are waves. |
Bang! The fish hit the lure with a vengeance and started running. Only northern pike act like this and he was a nice size fish. I almost got the fish to the boat and then it would take another run, or try to go under the boat. They always seem to go for the motors at the back. I had to walk from side to side at the back of the boat to keep from breaking the rod or the line. Fishing with an ultralight had just become a bad idea and at this moment, the feeling was that a heavier rod would have been more appropriate. Finally it began to wear down, and it was brought to the surface. Pam grabbed the net and did a nice job of hauling the fish up and into the boat.
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| Decent size northern. Once the Y bones are removed, it will provide excellent dining. |
The lake went totally calm. We studied the graphs, and we were not seeing fish in the seven to fifteen foot range where we had been catching them. Still we continued to work the Flicker Shad and continued to pick up decent size northern pike that were big enough to take out the Y bones.
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| Still at it after a hook in my thumb. Notice how calm the water had become. |
The Flicker Shad has some really small hooks and very very sharp. So, it wasn't long before I drove one right into my thumb, and of all things, the barb went in also. Needless to say, a discouraging word might have been said. I tried to back it out with my other hand but the barb was fully imbedded. It was not going to come out. There were three options: 1. Rip it out, but that was out of the question. 2. Continue to push it through till it came out the opposite side, clip it off above the barb, and then back out what was left. I was not going to do that. 3. Squeeze the end of my thumb very tightly making the skin bulge and tighten up, then see if the barb could be backed out using a needle nose pliers.
Number three was the method selected. Using my left hand, I squeezed the end of my thumb covering the nail. Pam took the pliers at the height of the squeeze and pulled out the hook, barb and all. A minor hole was all that was there. With a little triple antibiotic ointment over the wound, we continued to fish. A tetanus shot was not needed as I keep myself current. I should have taken a picture of the hook in my thumb and how we pulled it out. If I had been fishing alone, this could have become a minor issue for the day.
We had a great morning and picked up some keeper northern pike. Once the Y bones were removed they provided friends and family some excellent dining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS_cHdKS-_A
The video above gives an excellent demonstration of taking out the Y bones in a northern pike.
The video above gives an excellent demonstration of taking out the Y bones in a northern pike.
Good hunting, good fishing and good luck. Hank
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