Two weeks of fishing (ridiculous # of pics)

[WatterBoy]

I was blessed to be able to spend 12 days at the lake with many family members in mid-July. We hosted Kaye's family (14 of us) for the first 4 days. We had 3 boats, good weather, fish that were cooperative, and most of the group who liked to fish as much as possible. The result was 271 fish, including 20 keeper walleye, caught in 4 days. All 14 of us caught fish and everyone had an outstanding time.

I caught my best bass of the year the first evening -- 4lb 7oz, 18.75" -- and my brother-in-law caught a decent 3lb 7oz, 17.5" LM during that first outing also.



The next morning my nephew caught a 3lb 7oz LM also, this one at 17.25".



My 9-year old nephew has overcome his walleye family roots and become a bass addict...



His two older brothers and me...



My nephew, who is now off at Army basic training, and me...



After everyone left except me, my parents, aunt/uncle and one nephew arrived for the next 4 days. When my aunt/uncle left, Kaye and many others from my family (18 total out of a possible 26) arrived for the final 4 days of my stay. We were reduced to just one boat and not nearly as many fishermen/women over the last 8 days. Those things, along with a few brutally hot days, slowed the fishing a bit, but we still managed to bring in another 177 fish with everyone who fished (11 of us) catching multiple fish.

The best part for me was being able to take my dad out in our boat again, which I wasn't sure would ever happen again after a rough health year for him in 2012. He didn't slay the fish by any means, but he and I were just excited to be out several times in the boat together and he did catch a few decent ones, so that was icing on the cake!

Here are pics of some of the better fish from the last part of my stay...

My second best bass for the year -- 4lb 3oz, 17.875" -- from a new spot we discovered, which turned out to be the best location of my entire stay:



A pair of 3 1/2 pounders caught in almost the same spot on different outings:





My nephew, who hadn't fished in 7+ years, with the biggest fish caught at our cabin this year -- a 5lb 1oz, 29" pike caught from our dock:



His younger brother with a nice 3lb 5oz Smallie:



My dad and my uncle...



My dad and me...



My sister, who has fished only a handful of times in her life, was THRILLED to catch 6 fish during her last outing of the week. I caught another nice one at 3lb 7oz.



I caught my best Smallie of the week (3lb 8oz) on my second cast with a Super Spook jr. from our shoreline just before dark one evening.



And right behind fishing with my dad as the highlight of the week is my wonderful wife Kaye. She ALWAYS encourages me to go out fishing any time we're at the cabin, and she takes care of EVERYTHING else while I'm out fishing. She graciously gave up her spot in the fishing rotation every time so other family members could fish instead. So it was only fitting that when she, my nephew and I went out for one last outing after everyone else had left, she caught a personal best Smallmouth, which was also the biggest Smallie caught at our cabin this year. Way to go, Kaye!

4lb 2oz, 19"