Big Walleye at Dark

I went to the Bell Pond this evening hoping to get something a little bigger than  mummichog. The first fish I saw was a big carp. I thought to myself "if I can't catch that than I am just a terrible carp fisherman". It was feeding so heavily. Guess what? I didn't catch it.

But I made up for that minor disappointment in a big way about an hour later. After landing a bunch of perch and bluegills on the flat I chose to head to the dam and look for bigger fish with a black and chartreuse Clouser Minnow. I made about 15 casts when I got a take. At first I felt a light bump. Then nothing. Then on the next strip I came tight to a big fish. The hit told me what it was. There are only a few fish that I have fished for that take fly like that. After dealing with a couple powerful runs I got the fish up into the moonlight and I saw it broadside in the water. It was a big walleye. It made a huge splash and went back down. Use the right kind of gear and you'll get a hell of a fight out of a walleye. This one had me worried a couple times, but more often than not a fish I manage to hook ends up in my hands.

27 inches. My first walleye of 2016 and my biggest so far.

Of course, every fish that ends up in my hands can rest easy knowing they will only be out of the water for a few brief moments before they are back in their natural habitat. I always give walleye a break between photos because they tend not to handle being out of the water very well. This one showed me I was doing it right by giving me a cold shower as he took off. Thank you walleye!!!