Team Wolfman 2011 Summer Slam Report
Didn't want to plug up the report's page so here it goes...
Wednesday 8/3 We ran NE off the point in the afternoon looking to grid an old spot and find some big walleye. Our first pass only yielded 9 dink fish on the standard program that we have been running all season. The wind picked up and so did we. We quartered into them for a few miles, to the south, to try a shallower spot(one of Wolf's favorite spots). That only produced one more dink fish before we decided to pull the plug.
We washed the boat real good on the way in.
Thursday 8/4 Sat at the dock most of the day and watched the flag poles touching the ground.
I think I retied a leader on one rod 8 times that day.
Friday 8/5 Ran NE.
Deployed our program and had a slow start. We changed the program(a few more details coming) and started picking fish here and there but the good news was...they were all huge! Wolf never turned and went back on a spot. We were able to grid off a good size area that held big walleye and we were confident that if they stayed there, we had a chance.
We did dummy into one silver fish, about 5lbs.
Saturday 8/6 We hung behind the pack and watched the shotgun start.
Got to our area and dropped 6 board lines and 2 divers in. First half hour didn't produce a bite! Yep, we were a little nervous...then the fish gods woke up!
We ran a side of 5-color LC's with 'Sticks and a side of weighted LC's with harnesses(yes Pete, worms!).
We did a few big walleye on the 5-colors' but the worms were simply mowing them.
One silver fish was caught on a diver and a small stick.
We boxed an easy 24 fish and went into steelie mode. No silvers bit for us but we continued to release walleye, after walleye after walleye after walleye...going up to 3.5mph! Only god knows how many walleye we released.
Yeck spoons were hot...except the fish were the wrong flavor.
We racked em at 2pm and headed in.
We knew we had a decent box and we all had mixed feelings.
As has happened so many times before this season, once we dumped the fish onto the deck of the boat, they grew on us and our confidence level rose a few notches.
Headed to the weigh-in.
Weighing in 89lbs and change, we held first place until Tell-No-Tales and Small Program(Mr. youtube, lol) weighed in their impressive boxes, knocking us down to 3rd.
Sunday 8/7 After making some tackle adjustments, we headed out to watch the start.
Knowing we might have some company, Wolf stopped the boat a tad west of Saturday's spot and the screen looked like "Simulator Mode".
We deployed a 72' rigger first and it fired 5 seconds after adjusting the drag on the reel...big fish...a **** lake trout!
After that debacle ended, we were able to set a side each of weighted lc's(yes Pete, with worms), along with 2 riggers and commenced the ropefest of killing good sized walleyes throughout the lightening storm and downpour as the waves continued to build...even as Big Cat trolled over top of our spread(
please don't ever do that again...thanks. Sincerely, Team Wolfman).
We boxed an 8lb steelie early, 72' down, Yeck spoon, Pearl Dingleberry.
-side story I was in the back of the boat and Wolf calls my name to get my attention. I turn around to look at Wolf, as does everyone else. He is speechless and at the same time, pointing at our observer, Jamie. Jamie has his feet up, relaxing and going to town on a banana!!!!! When he sees the expressions on our faces, he immediately gets that "What did I do"-look on his face. I walk up to him and kindly ask for the banana. He graciously offers it to me like I wanna bite. I walk to the back of the boat and send it to Ashtabula by air. Wolf explains the banana superstition to him and we all share a good laugh!
Did the banana help us? We don't wanna know... Once we boxed out on with our walleye, Wolf says, "Pull em, we're going for a ride!" We headed out another 5 miles, quartering into the 4' and 5' waves and deployed a steelie program. Had a braid diver go on a Yeck Pear Dingleberry spoon but it was a big walleye(8.5lb). When I got the big walleye half way to boat, a wire diver on the opposite side of the boat starts singing...and I mean singing, with 10 minutes left to go! Best shot I've seen this year. Dougy grabs the rod and can do nothing while Capt. Chuck clears a 10-color lc in record time...about 30 seconds. The 8lb steelhead died by way of a SS Magic Man.
We rack em and head in.
Once we hit the dock, rumor had it that Dr. Bob had a sumo silver and knowing how good of a fishermen he is and his tendency to catch big walleye, we were watching out for him over our shoulder.
All we could hope for was that 1st and 2nd bombed because we figured our box was similar to day 1. Seeing Small Program's fish on the dock and talking with Steve, we knew our box was better. We just wondered about Tell-No-tales but had our spirits lifted when we got to the weigh-in and saw that he had weighed in a lighter box.
Here comes
, as usual, with a huge trout tail hanging out of his basket. Uh oh. When the big red numbers showed his weight, a weight was lifted off of our shoulders and it started to sink in...we just won our first
Summer Slam!!!
We also took first in the calcutta.(Thanks Ralph!)
On behalf of Team Wolfman, we owe a big thank you to the EPSFA and it's volunteers, along with the SONS for putting on a great event!
Thanks to all of this year's sponsor's for the generous prizes and donations.
Thanks to Team Taking Chances for providing a great observer(Jamie...NO MORE BANANAS).
Thanks to our good friend, Mike Hines for being our observer.
It feels good to share the podium with teams like Shirley B(2X), VQ, Capt. Mike Hinkle and Pacific Time.
Thanks again everyone and if we forgot anyone, I apologize.
Next...give her hell in the Fall Trout Challenge!
-Team Wolfman
post edited by Ironhed - 2011/08/09 00:13:24