Quartz Island

Martin Island

Beacon Island

Shore Lunch Island

I caught this Walleye on August 25 at around seven forty five in the evening on Lake Of The Woods in Ontario,Canada.I was casting a 10 inch black bucktail with silver blades for Muskie off the point of an island in about 15 feet of water when this 33 inch long walleye with a 16 inch girth took the bait.It weighed 15 pounds and still swims in the lake today.

Picture was taken on isolated Butterfly Island on Lake of the Woods while spending a few days camping during June. The fish were abundant even when fishing from the beach and shoreline. during our stay we rarely even saw another boat but did encounter an array of wildlife including black bear, whitetail deer, bald and golden eagles, white pelicans and many species of other birds. It is a northern paradise.

My son and I were fishing for Musky one mid-August evening off a point of an island which was only 5 minutes from the camp.It was one of those northern summer evenings with the water flat and shining like glass showing the reflection of the evening sky. As the warm air gently passed by carrying with it the delightful aroma of forest pine we began casting our 10" black Buck-Tail lures breaking the calm surface water,... my son from the bow and I from the back of our sixteen foot Lund boat. We feverishly worked the point of the island with the intensity, focus and anticipation at every cast hoping it would yield that sought after prize,... not unlike the hovering Osprey that was spying it's prey from above in the western sky. At about thirty or so minutes into our venture with the time being approximately 7:45 PM my son pulled back hard on his seven foot St.Croix medium action Musky rod fitted with an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500 C3 reel.Judging by his physical effort and bend of the rod I immediately began to quickly retrieve my lure and clear the way around the boat of any obstructions that may have interfered with his efforts as he battled with the then large but still unknown species. I then grabbed the net and positioned myself in preparation to execute the proper capturing technique as I intensely stared over the boats gunnel and into the sky reflected water trying to cast my body's shadow over it to better see what was being lifted from the watery depths by my son. Finally, over a ten minute period or so a large head appeared with gaping mouth and to our surprise it was indeed not the in any way, shape or form the species we had been targeting that particular day in August. As the fish neared the surface I readied myself like a wildcat about to pounce on it's prey realizing that I might only have one chance to secure the catch and in turn celebrate a successful harvest. Seconds later the opportunity presented itself and with precision I plunged the net forward into the fresh waters of Lake Of The Woods and successfully surrounded in the mesh netting the beast. As I lifted and swung the 33 inch, 15 pound Walleye with 16 inch girth over the port side of the vessel the lure released from its large toothy jaws. I gently placed the trophy on the boats deck. Both speechless we stared into the net almost in disbelief for a brief period and then naturally shouted out loudly in jubilation with the realization of what had just taken place.We then quickly took some photos and released the magnificent specimen back into the bountiful waters of Lake Of The Woods. This trip and memory will forever live in my heart knowing that it was my son who had caught this Walleye of a lifetime,... I would not have wanted it to turn out any other way than what it had.

Sometimes we are of the mindset that we need to travel to the farthest point of the lake away from the launch location! This awesome smallmouth( my favorite) was hiding under my neighbors boat dock. Just for fun, I skipped my worm under the dock and wham! Look how pretty this fish is! It did a couple of acrobatic leaps, fought like a demon, and was landed carefully and released. A real beautiful fish!