"Walleye 101" Trophy Hunt 2006 Week 2
Huron, Ohio Nov 9-12 2006
Week two of the second annual "Walleye 101 Trophy Hunt" would rival week one's numbers, even with much tougher conditions and one day of cancelled fishing. Launching out of Holiday Harbor Marina and based from the Huron Comfort Inn, 73 anglers in 29 different boats headed out to look for Lake Erie's monster fall walleye.
Anglers who began arriving Thursday night were dreaming of monster fish and big catches as they heard the stories of success from just a few days earlier. Cold weather early in October brought fish into the Huron area earlier than usual and by the time we hit the water the huge population of big and hungry fall walleye were ready to be caught in record numbers. The only question for week 2 was if the weather would cooperate.
Day 1 saw Lake Erie starting to get a little nasty-maybe she was upset from the whooping we had given her earlier in the week. Several of the boats waited until mid-morning to head out into what ended up being solid 3-foot seas with some 4-5 footers thrown in for good measure. The tough conditions didn't seem to negatively effect the fish as most boats brought in limit catches with many boats also releasing several fish. Several fish over 10 lbs came to the scale.
Day 2 saw the wind and waves increasing and a Small Craft Advisory issued by the Coast Guard officially cancelled the day's fishing. Some of the anglers braved the tough conditions and managed to catch limits of good sized walleye. The water was starting to muddy up late in the afternoon and unfortunately the bad weather continued through the night and into the morning of Day 3.
Constant winds of 20 mph or more and waves in the 4-6' range kept the Small Craft Advisory in effect for Day 3. A few of the more "hardy" souls ventured out in the morning and caught some fish, but Mother Nature finally won as all of the anglers had returned to the hotel before noon. Those who did not get out on Day 3 spent some time in the hotel lobby talking about fishing and taking the first annual "Walleye 101 Fishing Quiz"-you guys need to do some studying!!
The Fish Fry started about 1 pm with a small attendance as most of the anglers headed for home early Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately the weather took a big bite out of the weekend, but it seemed that everyone who came enjoyed the time they did get to spend on the water.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
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