Page 51 - ODUMar-Apr2019

emails or texting, and asked him why he only

reported 40 walleyes being caught. Rick said
that he had written 137 were caught, but his
editor told him that “no one would believe
that three anglers could catch that many
walleyes in Iowa in one day”. By the way,
Clear Lake is now an outstanding fishery that
still has lots of walleyes, and they’re much
bigger now.

I remember fishing on Opening Day of
Walleye Season with the annual Governor’s
Fishing Party in a snowstorm in Ely Minnesota.

I remember another Governor’s Opener in Bemidji Minnesota. We hit the water at midnight, fished

until four o’clock the next afternoon
without a break, then loaded the
boat, got in the truck and drove the
eight hours home for a business
function. I did that a lot “back in the
day”.

This is something else I remember

about “back in the day”. We didn’t
catch as many fish, or as many big
fish, as we do right now. For the
most part, we’re catching more and
bigger fish, walleyes, muskies, bass,
than at any time in my memory.
Management of the fisheries has

changed, anglers skills have
improved, and our equipment is far
superior. The current era is a great
time for anglers for the most part.
Take advantage of that in the next
few weeks and months.

To see all the newest episodes of
the Fishing the Midwest television
series, new fishing related tips, and
fishing articles from the past, go to
www.fishingthemidwest.com.