Tuesday the 15th was the day we decided to fish for walleyes. As I didn't know Gull Lake at all, and walleyes are not easy to catch, I decided to contact an expert fishing guide to take me and the kids fishing for them. If you want to catch walleyes, there is one name that stands above the rest up here in the Brainerd Lakes area: Walleye Dan. Dan Eigen IS Walleye Dan (Dan Eigen is his real name) and he runs a guide service for the northcentral Minnesota lakes region. Let me tell you this was the best decision I ever made. I called Dan and told him that I was on a quest for walleye as I had not caught one in over 30 years and I could still taste the last one I ate, cooked by Grandma Elaine on Lake Winnie when I was about 13 years old. I had to catch another one and share this memory with my children. It was my vision quest for walleye.
Talking with Dan was great as he outlined our options. He said we could go and fish for walleyes but as they were hard fish to catch that might mean Nick and Natalie could get no action all morning. He was great at understanding our goals and then committing to a guide and course of action to accomplish those goals. After hearing me share my thoughts about what I would like to accomplish on this fishing trip, he decided to pair us with Toby Kvalevog, a tournament walleye fishermen and one of Dan's guides. What a great decision this was! Toby is an 8th grade gym teacher and hockey coach here in the local area and many of the Grand View Lodge employees told me what a good teacher and coach he is. Well, he was that and more on the water, as he led some novice walleye fishermen on the lake and helped us catch 8 walleyes! This was OUTSTANDING as the lake had been quite stingy in giving up any of its walleyes, with some folks fishing an entire week catching none. Nick, Natalie and I all caught walleyes that morning, as well as smallmouth and rock bass. Nick and I each lost a northern pike due to a nylon leader and their razor sharp teeth, or we would have "caught the cycle". Next time we will use a steel leader and go specifically for northerns.
And just in case you don't believe me and think all of this is just a fish tale, check out the photos below! (please note that the picture of the fih on the cleaning board was *after* I had already fillet'd 2 bass and 2 walleyes -- there wasn't room on the board for all of the fish!)
Happy Fishing,
Brian
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