Wednesday July 15  pm

Let’s see, we left off  “Living the Dream” and as if I could make it come true, off to the river only to be greeted by 5 footers. It’s been a long time since I pushed the boat into waves this tall. All we had to do was cross from New Town Marina to the west shore but with just a little hindsight it was a mistake. Could have easily put in at the Casino. Live and Learn. Once on the western shore in the protection of the high bluffs it was an exceptionally nice day. Cold , oh yeah, I mean sweatshirt, jacket, raingear cold. You can usually expect a tuff day when the water temps are significantly warmer than the air temps.

First thing that always grabs me about the river is the amount of life in the water. The sonar turns black with arches from Skip Jacks painted across the screen top to bottom and I always seem to mark more bait than in the lake. The other big plus about the river is the scenery. Bluffs drilled like peg  board  by thousands of swallows. Shear rocky points begging you to toss in a jig. The occasional petrified stump and today a way cool impression of what I guess is a 5 inch tree branch fossilized in solid stone. Bring it on; I come alive in places like this. Only North Dakota!

Back to the task at hand. Yah, the fishing report, hoping you wouldn’t ask. Anytime I have a tuff day I do the cross examination and try to determine what I should or shouldn’t have done. Two in a row and I start looking for excuses. By the beginning of day 3 I’m beginning to question and doubt my ability. Wild stuff starts flying around in the head. You should be deeper. Why did you come to the river in the first place? You need to be more versatile. Should have tried live bait; cranks don’t work in a cold front. Even the gracious and patient Tom is starting to ask questions like, “Don’t you have someone you can talk to about the fishing?” Actually I do and advice ranged from 40 feet -main lake-live bait  to 18 feet-back bay -cranks. Both passed on much needed and excellent advice by the way, just not good for today’s situation with 30 mph winds.

Oh yah, that’s right the report. We came in with 3 taken from 17 feet, let one northern go with my crank hanging on his lip and released 2 small, 13 inch walleyes. Another boat fishing in the area had 5 last time we talked, two on cranks 3 on live bait. Now you see why wild stuff is flying around in my fish finder. With all the advancements in technology I’m guessing in the future fishermen will be able to get a chip implanted upstairs and come in for an upgrade when needed. Sign me up as a research specimen.