Splake, Walleye and a Broken Boat
Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 9:18 pm
We I have made it out fishing a bit the last couple weeks.
For the Zone 20 walleye opener two weekends ago, I skipped the crowds and went fishing for splake instead. The water temperatures were cool enough the fish should have been shallow still and we got a couple hits in 15 - 20 feet of water just after sun up, but that was it, we continued fishing for a couple more hours from 10 to 40 feet of water but no luck. We then switched gears and fished panfish for an hour, lots of bluegill, pumpkinseed and a few perch, but nothing to exciting. So we went back for splake this time going deep trolling with the downriggers in 60 to 80 feet of water, still not marking much in the way of bait or fish, but just as we are packing up the rods I get a little splake. Nothing too exciting but at least it was the target species. We packed it in around 1 pm.
Out fishing that morning it was great weather, sunny and glass calm and no other boats on the water until around 12 noon. Even though it was calm I was getting a bit of water in the bilge of the boat. My boat is a bit heavy in the back end, so I often get a bit of water in the splash well when it is rough, but it was nice and calm so the water was a mystery.
So back home the next day I put some water in the boat to do a little investigating to find where the water was getting in the boat, I was hoping it was just a loose fitting or something the water was leaking into the boat from..... but nope.... I found a 6 inch crack in the bow of my 2007 welded boat hull.
Further investigation indicates that I have a broken internal support which the weld must have broken on the support and that is where the crack is on the outside. As well it appears I may have a leak down the main weld in the bottom of the boat, Unfortunately to fully inspect the damage I need to remove my walk-thru windshield, console, floor, livewell, gas tank and the spray foam, so I have decided to wait and have the boat inspected by my insurance company and see what they have to say.
So my lawn chair might be getting more use than my boat for awhile. lol
This past weekend I had some stuff to do around our property, but did not want to miss Zone 18 walleye opener, so Saturday evening I hit one of my favourite shore spots on the Mississippi River. This spot I wade fish standing in knee deep water casting RipStop jerkbaits as a deep 20 foot hole in the river comes up to 3 feet.... there is always something swimming around there. The mosquitoes were crazy looking for a nice blood donation, but at least the fish cooperated. I only fished for one hour but caught a few trophy sized rock bass, lol, and a few walleye and lost a few fish. Too many bugs to take many photos.
One nice walleye decided to come home for breakfast the next day.... walleye and eggs for breakfast hard to beat.
Hoping to get out a couple times on the long weekend.
Tight lines and let's see some fishing reports.
For the Zone 20 walleye opener two weekends ago, I skipped the crowds and went fishing for splake instead. The water temperatures were cool enough the fish should have been shallow still and we got a couple hits in 15 - 20 feet of water just after sun up, but that was it, we continued fishing for a couple more hours from 10 to 40 feet of water but no luck. We then switched gears and fished panfish for an hour, lots of bluegill, pumpkinseed and a few perch, but nothing to exciting. So we went back for splake this time going deep trolling with the downriggers in 60 to 80 feet of water, still not marking much in the way of bait or fish, but just as we are packing up the rods I get a little splake. Nothing too exciting but at least it was the target species. We packed it in around 1 pm.
Out fishing that morning it was great weather, sunny and glass calm and no other boats on the water until around 12 noon. Even though it was calm I was getting a bit of water in the bilge of the boat. My boat is a bit heavy in the back end, so I often get a bit of water in the splash well when it is rough, but it was nice and calm so the water was a mystery.
So back home the next day I put some water in the boat to do a little investigating to find where the water was getting in the boat, I was hoping it was just a loose fitting or something the water was leaking into the boat from..... but nope.... I found a 6 inch crack in the bow of my 2007 welded boat hull.
Further investigation indicates that I have a broken internal support which the weld must have broken on the support and that is where the crack is on the outside. As well it appears I may have a leak down the main weld in the bottom of the boat,
Unfortunately to fully inspect the damage I need to remove my walk-thru windshield, console, floor, livewell, gas tank and the spray foam, so I have decided to wait and have the boat inspected by my insurance company and see what they have to say.So my lawn chair might be getting more use than my boat for awhile. lol
This past weekend I had some stuff to do around our property, but did not want to miss Zone 18 walleye opener, so Saturday evening I hit one of my favourite shore spots on the Mississippi River. This spot I wade fish standing in knee deep water casting RipStop jerkbaits as a deep 20 foot hole in the river comes up to 3 feet.... there is always something swimming around there. The mosquitoes were crazy looking for a nice blood donation, but at least the fish cooperated. I only fished for one hour but caught a few trophy sized rock bass, lol, and a few walleye and lost a few fish. Too many bugs to take many photos.
One nice walleye decided to come home for breakfast the next day.... walleye and eggs for breakfast hard to beat.
Hoping to get out a couple times on the long weekend.
Tight lines and let's see some fishing reports.