My “Eyes” Were on Big Water

I’ve spent many wonderful and memorable weeks in the Canadian wilderness, on countless remote fly-in lakes, in search of the tastiest of all freshwater fishes… The delectable and ever elusive Walleye. I have enjoyed these outings immensely, not only for the “Eyes”, but also for the huge Northern Pike, the peace and quite of a remote area, the breathtaking scenery and the vast array of wildlife. I have boated thousands of Walleye from these waters and have enjoyed many a shore lunch with good friends. And there is NOTHING on earth, quite like a good shore lunch and the ensuing fellowship. However, most of the “Eyes” that we catch, though plentiful, are medium sized at best. Once in awhile we can entice the five, six or even seven pound fish to our lures, and I am sure there are bigger specimens in these lakes, but I have never caught any amount of real trophy class “Eyes” in the far north. I will admit that the smaller fish are much tastier and fit the big iron skillet better, but there is something about catching real “Lunkers”, of any species of fish, that just “lights my shore lunch fire”.

I was fortunate enough to be invited along on an annual Walleye outing to Lake Erie, put together by my good friend, and brother in Christ, Rod Bates of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Rod and I have spent many an enjoyable hour together and caught many a “Smallie” on the Susquehanna River, but we had never enjoyed a real “Fishin’n Trip” together. Also accompanying Rod and I was Ron Wesner, President of Dauphin Masonry in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Denny Fraker, Vice President of Palmer Construction, from McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania. A real “Crew” if ever there was one!

The trip began when we all met at the Fort Littleton exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, near McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon. We quickly packed all of the gear, snacks, food and drink into my GMC Yukon and jumped onto the “Pike” headed west. We settled in for the long drive to Ohio as I eased onto the concrete ribbon of the nation’s first “Super Highway” and set the cruise-control. Almost immediately we began to be pelted by huge objects from the sky, about the size of eight-week-old Lab puppies, or so it seemed. This year (2004) is the bumper crop year for the “Seventeen-Year Locust” or “Cicada” as some call them. My windshield soon looked like the floor of a Perdue chicken processing plant as the big insects dive bombed us from all angles. So much for “BUG DEFLECTORS” which should be called “Bug Lifts” which put them right in line with the drivers line of vision. That only lasted until we reached Somerset and then the gooey intruders disappeared. The remainder of the trip was pretty uneventful with no rain, very little road construction, and no accidents to hold us up, but with plenty of Pennsylvania State Troopers, out doing their job, who fortunately were too busy with other drivers to notice us. Not that we needed to be noticed! And we only needed to make one pit-stop for burgers, coffee and to answer nature’s call. The big Yukon gets outstanding gas mileage, if you keep your foot out of it, and I have about a 500 or so mile cruising range. And the guys all commented on the soft and quiet ride, comfort and roominess of the ole girl.

We arrived in Mentor, Ohio, about 8pm and went directly to the Gander Mountain Store, located in the same complex with our motel, to purchase our Ohio three-day tourist fishing licenses. We checked into the motel and unloaded our gear and food. Rob, Ron and Denny shared a two-bedroom suite and I was way down the hall in another room by myself. I am usually “shunned” by my friends when it comes to sleeping arrangements and told that I snore, even by my neighbors, wife and everyone on every airliner I have ever napped on… But I don’t believe them. We all settled in and I was in the sack by 9pm due to my long day of driving and the fact that 4am comes mighty early.

The wake-up call, my alarm clock and Rob’s phone call all helped to rouse me out of the sack bright and early the next morning. A quick shower, shave, donut and pint of chocolate milk and I was ready to rumble with the legendary “Eyes” of Lake Erie. We met in the parking lot at 4:45am, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (well we met) loaded our gear, lunch and drinks, jumped into the Yukon and headed for the marina where we were to meet with out charter boat and guide for the day Capt. Mark Zukowski, on the “Reel Obsession”.

Capt. Mark is a young and outgoing individual who charters for more of a relaxing pastime than a job. He operates a very successful light bulb manufacturing business nearby and does some investing too. That is not to say he is not experienced, and knows any less than the so called “full-time” captains in the area. Capt. Mark knows his business, the area, fishing, and Walleye about as well as anyone could. His boat is a “330 Coastal” cuddy cabin made by Wellcraft boats, and is one of the neatest, cleanest, most well organized and well equipped vessels I have ever been aboard, and I have been aboard quite a few in my lifetime. The “330 Coastal” is 33 feet in length, roomy, comfortable and fast. Every imaginable electronic fishing aid is on board; the tackle is in new condition; the lines were not twisted and of high quality; he carries a vast lure assortment and the mates were competent, friendly and knowledgeable. Our very apt and able mate the first day was John, a great fellow of about 340 lbs. with a great sense of humor who told us “I’m battling anorexia and WINNING!” And on the second day we enjoyed the company and ability of Curt, who hunts, fishes and does some Smallmouth Bass guiding in addition to his duties as mate on most of Capt. Marks charters.

We left the dock at 5:15am and idled through the no wake zone and out pass the other charter boats and privately owned vessels still in their slips, motored past a storage yard and loading dock, where the huge cargo ship “Algosos” was being loaded with sand and gravel bound for Canada. Capt. Mark gave us a warning just before he eased the throttles forward and brought the big 330 up on plane. We headed due north, out across the lake to the 68 foot depth line, where Capt. Mark slowed the engines and John began putting out the planer boards and lines. Meanwhile we established the fishing order as Me, Denny, Ron and then Rod and set the bet at $5.00 for the largest fish. I won’t even get into the rules and regulations of who would buy dinner, which inadvertently changed almost as quickly as the weight of the leading fish. Whatever the rule… It seemed like I ALWAYS qualified to be the “Dinner Host”!

We barely had half the lines out when a big fish struck and I found myself doing battle, not with a Walleye, but with a hefty Steelhead or “Jumper” as the charter captains call them. After a spirited fight on light tackle, John slipped the net under the 28 inch beauty and I was “on the board” with the leading fish in the “Big Fish Pot” while reminding the guys that they said “Fish” and not “Walleye”, much to their displeasure.

The second fish on board was brought to net by Denny and was a hefty 8 pound “Eye” of about 28 inches. Ron and Rod quickly followed suit with braggin’ sized Walleye of their own, with Rod’s tipping the scales at 9 lb. 13 ozs. I was at bat again in very short order and boated another 9 pounder, just shy of Rod’s leading fish. Another quick go-round and I found myself hooked up to another “Jumper”, a twin to the first one of the day. We had great sport until about 11am, when the sun came out and the lake got flat calm. The “Eyes” turned off like someone had thrown a switch. Capt. Mark worked up and down the shoals and kept in contact with the other charter boats, but everyone reported the same problem.

Did I forget to mention that I earned a special nickname that day? “Sheepshead Willie”! I seem to have an uncanny knack for being on the rod whenever one of those pesky like devils decided to engulf one of our trolled lures. They are a lot of fun to catch, and I hear that some people even eat them. Anyhow, the nickname stuck on this our first day of fishing and on the following day I lost the title to Denny, but quickly reclaimed same before the day ended.

Our second day of angling adventure started out pretty much as the first. We had some terrible storms overnight, with the usual wind, lightning and tornado warnings and were not quite sure how conditions would be. We checked out of the motel and arrived at the dock about five minutes before the 5am start time, loaded our gear aboard the “Reel Obsession” and motored away from the dock.

Once on the lake, we realized that the four to six feet waves were going to make for an interesting morning run. Capt. Mark had planned to run west for approximately 35 miles, where one of the captains had located a good concentration of sizeable Walleye the day before and shared the information with our Captain. I can’t say that I wasn’t glad to hear the engines wind down after a very bumpy ride of slightly over an hour. Luckily I had chosen one of the well padded seats in the cockpit.

It didn’t take long for Capt. Mark and Curt, our mate for the day, to get the planer boards and Dipsy Divers into action, the delicate spoons working their wobbling magic through the schools of baitfish showing up on the depth finder. And it didn’t take long for the first strike to occur either. Ron boated a nice Walleye before all of the rods were even set.

It turned out to be one of the BEST days of fishing in my life! And THAT is quite a statement, considering all of the fishing trips I have ventured on, all of the charter boats, guides, captains and outfitters I have fished with, and all of the waters I have plied. But this was truly a memorable and unforgettable day.

We ended the day with our limit of 24 “Eyes”, no steelhead, and an enumerable number of “Sheepshead”. And, I am proud to say, I retained my title after momentarily losing it to Denny earlier in the day. We tallied eight Walleye in the 28 to 31 inch class, or about 8 to 9 pounds plus. Several were in the 5 and 6 pound class and I don’t believe we boated anything smaller than about 3 pounds.

If you enjoy catching trophy sized Walleye, then you owe yourself a trip and a fishing experience with Capt. Mark Zukowski aboard the “Reel Obsession”. And, as I have already mentioned, you will experience one of the best rigged and equipped boats I have EVER chartered on, and you will benefit from the knowledge and ability of Capt. Mark for sure. AND… It was just plain FUN and ENJOYABLE!

You can bet your bippy that I’m going back up this fall for more Walleye action and definitely in the spring for Smallmouth. I want to show these Ohio boys what a Cabin Creek Baits “Critter Getter”, “Salty Spider Jig” and “Salty Sinkin’ Worm” can do with those oversized Lake Erie “Bronze Backs”.

Contact - Capt. Mark’s “Online Charters” ... Don't forget to tell 'em Will sent you.

Tight Lines,
Will Whitehead
"Pro Staff" Director