June Walleyes

As predicted last week, I made it up to the pond on Saturday morning with my neighbor Tom.  He had not been out this year so I figured he was ready.  Normally I don't try to get up too early as I prefer the early evening bite and of course allows me to get my much needed beauty sleep.  The wind was a little stiff but in a goofy direction.  The best winds are those that allow you to slow drift an edge of a flat or back troll with some sense of accuracy.  A calm wind allows you to use your trolling motor to present your bait right where you need it but if I need to fire up the big motor along with winds at right angles it becomes a challenge.  Pulling spinners with a crawler and Tom with a leech, we started at the humps before moving to a deeper rock reef.  I nailed a nice fish right away then nothing for the next hour.  From there we headed to the Cut, a area on Sherman's Flat that usually produces well this time of year.  There were quite a few boats scattered on the edges and by the looks of what I was marking on the HDS 10, they had shoved the active fish off the edges and into the deeper water.  Hugging tight to the bottom we needed to move as generally these fish tend to not cooperate very well.  Searching for a flat edge that was in the right direction of the wind by the time we arrived the wind ad switched!  Oh well, with time running out for the day we headed back to the rock reef catching a nice smallie before loading the boat up.  We caught 4 walleyes, all longer than 18 inches so my plan to bring some fish home didn't turn out very well.  Catching fish too big........darn! 

Sunday saw us heading back to Eleva to see my dad.  Dropping my wife off in Eau Claire to spend some time with her cousins, I hauled my motorcycle on a trailer and went for a little ride before getting to Eleva.  This part of Wisconsin is deceivingly beautiful and scenic.  My goal was to get on the back roads that wind between the villages and farms of west central Wisconsin.   Heading to Mondovi I followed Hwy 37 to Hwy 88 which took me to Gilmanton.  There I went east on Hwy 121, past Lookout taking a right on County Road Q.  This road was made for motorcycles as it curves it's way to Independence, following the ridges and valleys along it's course.  Alone on the road, you notice things that were once an everyday part of your life.  The smell of fresh cut hay filled the air as the farmers were harvesting their second crop of the year.  Coming over the ridge one would get a wiff of good old cow manure.  Not exactly like smelling fresh apple pie, never the less brought back memories of cleaning barns with my friends in years past.  It was a good smell.   Heading north on Hwy 93 past Elk Creek, I took left on Cty Y deciding to go through Chimney Rock.  Not much has changed other than I almost hit a jake turkey as he pecked at the gravel along side the road.  I ended my trip by going past Jimmy Tollefson's old place where I spend many a day in the summer experiencing those smells that bring me back.  Up the hill and over to Mockingbird, it is the highest point between Eau Claire as it overlooks the valley were I grew up.  

Heading to my folks I was put right to work mowing, trimming and weeding the garden.  One thing my dad taught me well was the right way to mow a yard.  He has this old Simplicity with a back mower roller that gives that ballpark, checkerboard look.  Seeing how his help (an bless their souls) had simply mowed the grass, I took charge and did it the right way, mowing in the opposite direction, trimming around everything, and edging the driveway and sidewalks.  It's the least I could do as we learned on Tuesday there is little left to do for my dad.  With a 4 day weekend, we'll go see him first then hopefully I can head to Mille Lacs and catch a few walleyes as they are much easier to eat as he likes anything my brother or I catch for him.  I will leave you with a picture from Mockingbird Hill looking over Eleva.  It's a great place to be from, that's for sure.