Our 2021 season has come to a close this week. We had fewer anglers in camp and we averaged less than 4 boats on the water per day – but for those boats overall production was good. Our daily guide sheets averaged 35 walleye over 18 inches per day, and we caught and released 15 Walleye over 27 inches, including three 29’s and a 30.25 incher.
Our guide crew shifted over to live bait this week. Whether we were moving fast or slow, the walleye preferred live bait and we caught almost no fish ‘Gulping’. Having just 3 or 4 boats on the water means not as many experiments are tried out there each day, so there is less information gathered than would be on a regular week in the summer with a full crew. But the daily reports we did have all agreed the walleye were trending strongly to live bait. Sand structures were the high-volume producing spots, especially on warm weather days. Though most of our big fish came from rock structures, at mid-range depths this week, not the widely variable depths from weeks past.
Looking back through our guide sheets this week there were no guided days spent pike fishing, that’s pretty unusual for us in the fall. We did boat 4 over 37 inches and a 39 incher, all caught while walleye fishing.
On a personal note, every year when I look back the season has seemed to fly by. Far more so with the abbreviated season this year – heck, it still feels like we just got started! Even with a season so short, I’m just very glad we got a chance to open up and see so many familiar faces back in the boats and fishing with us again. Until we managed to open back up again in August, I did not realize just how much I missed being on the water and hunting for fish with our guests each and every day. Already looking forward to next year and a brand-new season at ‘the Wheel’, hope you all are too!
Brett
