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View Full Version : I tested the waters on the Bay today...Literally.




walleye express
06-02-2005, 05:14 PM
Got a report and a funny little story for you all. Got a call late last night from a guy from Minnesota who was in town and wanted to fish the Bay today with his fiancee and his future father-in-law. So I checked the weather forecast and it says SE winds/waves 1 foot or less, Ya Right..... but I'll touch on that later.

So this morning I get up early, wanting to get down to my boat and make sure she's shiny clean for the trip. Now like everybody who keeps their boats tied up at Marinas, I keep each corner of the boat tied off so it doesn't hit the dock, rub or damage anything. So when I get to the boat this morning the wind is blowing it away from the dock, being stopped at some point of course by the ropes. So I put my hand full of Camera, Gator Aide, and carton of Nightcrawler down on the dock and pull the boat closer so I can step one leg in onto my walk around deck. I then grab all this stuff back up, (including now the water hose to wash down my boat) and make the BIG step. Well, in that short time the boat has drifted back out away from the dock a mere couple of inches longer than my legs are. Of course I stretch my legs a little longer to get there, but it's useless. I fall crotch and gut first on my boats walk rail, throw the stuff in my hands on the boat, and overboard I go between the dock and the boat.

Never until today has that saying "The Bigger they are, the Harder they fall" had more meaning to me. I now have two very nasty Purple, swollen, either blood clots or massive tissue damaged areas on my forearm and thigh. I did run the charter and we caught several walleyes today before the predicted SE winds stayed NE and the waves built to 3 to 5 Feet and blew us off. At one point when the four rods with my T-stick Jr.s and spoons sliders were not being touched for almost an hour, we pulled them in and every one had one of tow little dinks hanging on them. Anyway, I feel I earned my pay today. :rant: :lol:

http://www.walleye-express.com/albums/summer/IM000930.sized.jpg




baydog2
06-02-2005, 06:20 PM
Dan the Chamook winds will get yah every time they can. ;) All it took was Bob talking about hitting the Bay today and the winds was pushing your boat away from the docks. :bash: What kind of depth was you fishing in?Hitting it Saturday.

Lonnie

walleye express
06-02-2005, 07:38 PM
Lonnie.

You mean the depths I was fishing in at the dock or on the Bay? :lol:

I gotta quit that, It hurts when I laugh right now.

We started Just NW of the Dumping Grounds in 19FOW and trolled SW with the NE waves. The huge schools of baitfish we marked though, were closer to "G" buoy in 14FOW.

Tom22
06-02-2005, 07:57 PM
Dan ,I fished out of Hoyles today in 18fow and caught 23 in 5 hours and only 3 were keepers.Lots of dinks...like you said, if something was'nt happening for 5 min. I would check my line and sure enough, there would be a little dink hanging on......Tom

chamookman
06-02-2005, 08:06 PM
....Us "younger" Guys don't bounce back so soon ! Glad You're doing OK. I usualy fall-in trying to step out on the trailer when fishing/loading alone :rant: ! Geez, I didn't think that a mere thought of hitting the Bay Saturday would have the usual effect - :hide: - whoops ! I will never head to the Bay again :evilsmile ! Everybody should be safe tho, Scotty and I will be fishing the Chapmans Tourny Sunday. Bob.

The Whale
06-02-2005, 08:08 PM
Ouch ! :rant: Dan, that had to hurt, been there, similar anyway. I'm sure you do indeed have some (at least) minor tissue damage, that is what the huge ugly blood bruises are. Tore up some blood vessels from stretch/impact for sure. Most likely will take a good 6-8 weeks to clear up. Sore for sure for a while. Will take a good day or so to maximize the size of the bruised area. Pay attention to it and seek some medical advice if it continues to worsen after a day or so. I'm a big dude too and when we go down, we go down very hard and pay for it. Hope it all works out well as possible. Be thankful you didn't nail your head on something on the way down, we all may be making bids for your boat(s) ! :evilsmile :lol:

walleyedreaming
06-02-2005, 09:01 PM
Dan ,happy to hear you didn't get hurt any worse than you did. As a matter of fact I almost took a tumble my self today getting out of the boat today while doing some routine cleaning I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not 17 anymore and not as nimble as I used to be. Hope those battle wounds heal quickley...Jimmy

Connor4501
06-02-2005, 11:32 PM
You had to know that all the Saginaw River dinks were gonna head out into the bay eventually, makes for a helluva next 5 years, don't you think, Dan???

lobo1
06-02-2005, 11:35 PM
holy crap Dan !!! :SHOCKED: !!!!! .............................. be glad you didn't have to go into the hospital by ambulance. close call - I am sure.

We fished out front of your marina today for 3 hours or so (after school) and pulled 30-40 little guys mixed in with some of the inner bay junk - whites - sheeps etc and only bagged three small beauties. I love them small fish for the table - I will be back tomorrow evening with some adults - but my kids had a blast today.
BTW - I tried switching to Gulp but the bite shut right down - they want real meat.

lobo1

walleye express
06-03-2005, 03:22 AM
You had to know that all the Saginaw River dinks were gonna head out into the bay eventually, makes for a helluva next 5 years, don't you think, Dan???

Yup, your right Connor.

It's no secret that the multitude of these little Naturals have been lurking around now for almost 3 years, mostly in the rivers. But now they've reached the size where they themselves feel braver about not getting eaten, can get out of those close to shore weeds and start making their own forage presents known in the open waters of the Bay. And yes, I'm thinking even by next ice season, taking home a limit of those great eaters will get a lot easier.

And yes, Steve.

When I think how close it was that my right leg wasn't wedged in the narrow walk around gunnel of my boat when I went over, things could have been quit worse than they turned out. Even at 53 years old you can still learn some new lessons. Just glad the cost of this one only intailed some bruising and a wet ****.

STEINFISHSKI
06-03-2005, 07:14 AM
Ouch Dan, glad to hear you are ok. A good reminder for all of us, I'm sure we all have stories of misfortune and pain.