Opening Day of Walleye Season (2016)

My Dad and I got up around 4:45 am and headed to the Winooski. The access was packed when we got there, but luckily the launch itself wasn't crowded. The old 20 merc started up on the fourth pull and we putted up the river. We ended up watching one guy catch two walleyes in a row and got lined up to match his drift. It didn't take long before something thumped my worm. I set the hook and reeled in a 7 inch WHITE PERCH!!!! Those stupid things are absolutely everywhere. While it wasn't a very pleasant surprise, at least it got the skunk out of the boat. Further downstream on that same drift I felt another thump and set the hook into a chunky Smallmouth. It seemed like everything was biting our worms, but the walleye.

Later on that morning, my Dad and I both changed out our worm rigs on our jigging rods for plastics and it was then that we finally started getting a hit here and a hit there. Unfortunately nothing seemed to be in a full on eating mood, as they were just nipping the tails of our swimbaits. After multiple drifts with both worms and plastics out, My Dad finally hooked into what we thought was a decent eye. I guess that we will never know for sure as the sucker threw the hook and disappeared back to the depths. Ten minutes or so later, I hooked into a keeper walleye. The 19 inch Waldorf put up a great fight that certainly got my heart pumping! Our opening day was a success!