Walleye - Days 70 - 71

First I need to dispense of some of the stuff I did these past two days, then I will get to the Walleye stuff.

I headed out on Saturday morning and took a beautiful drive from Elko up through some stunning twists and curves of the Humboldt National Forrest, on to Idaho, and down through Twin Falls and along Scenic Trout 30, to arrive at the Salmon Creek Dam Reservoir. Today I headed from the Dam, straight up Scenic Rte 93 all the way to the beautiful small towns of Sun Valley, ID. It was an out-and-back, and on the way back I stop at the Shoshone Ice Caves. Miraculously, in the middle of the dessert is a trench of caves that naturally produce ice. Tour was well worth the $7. I arrived back at Salmon Creek Reservoir Dam around 3PM.

I would normally have written two whole blog posts about these trips, going on-and-on about the great stuff I saw, and the many people I met and chatted with. Both of these travels were unique and amazing. But they pale in comparison to the following fish story:

The odds were slim going in. CaptCuzBill said, “If there was a betting line on this, we wouldn’t even be 500-1 to win it.” The night before the start of the Idaho Walleye State Championship, Both Char and Jer, fellow Idahoans from Melba broke bread and cracked beers with CaptCuzBill and 1stMateAndy. Char and Jerry recounted that the team of Lavin/King were really down about their prospects.

After all, though both experienced anglers, neither of them had ever entered a fishing tournament before. And entering the tourney, they had caught only one Walleye each. Sure, CaptCuzBill had made an unbelievable catch of an 11 pounder for his only one, but that was a fluke. Additionally, as they would find out early on the first day, they were the slowest boat in the fleet, as every other boat charged past them. Add to that, the $3,000 prize for first place brought in a quality crowd of competitors. After all, this was the state championship.

I arrived at 5PM at the end of Day One. I was an hour late having not accounted for the change in time zones. As requested, I brought along a case of cold Coors Light. CaptCuzBill and 1stMateAndy had blown through their case and 18 pack they had brought with them. Surely their original allotment would have lasted this final night had they not had such an unexpectedly good first day. They were in second place.

During the day they had caught 11 Walleye, and had met the limit of 6 fish. More than half of the boats that day had brought in 0 fish. None. Their six fish totaled 14 pounds. The leader boat was the only other boat to bring in six, and their total was 16 pounds. Third place was 9 pounds. With such a great showing, the LavinKing team was almost assured of finishing in the money and getting their $250 entry fee back. And with heavy winds in the forecast, which might make for difficult fishing if it were to stir up the bottom and make the Walleye less accessible, the chances of placing near the top were quite realistic.

CaptCuzBill was beside himself, clearly disbelieving their good fortune, and cautiously optimistic. He was in good spirits, and my new replenishment of beer helped prolong the onset of the Crown Royal backup they had stashed. But the prolongment didn’t last long. The case was done in two hours. Jer, Char, Mike and Cindy, all tournament volunteers helping out, had joined the young phenoms to rehash the exciting day.

I sat and listened to fish stories old and brand new, and it was like listening to a foreign language. I frequently needed definitions, and eventually just listened as streams of terms like plug, crawler, jig, twister, curly tails, skeg, Cabella’s, and “boat runs faster than a scalded dog” were bandied about. I certainly learned a lot in my induction into the new language of fishing.

Eventually the beer ran out and the guests headed back to their camps. The charcoal was lit and the Idaho Kobe beef steaks were fired up. Excellent stuff, get some and cook it rare, or medium rare if you must. The flames attracted another non-tournament boater who had happened upon the event to wander over to heat up some sausages. He brought more beer as an offering, limiting CaptCuzBill to just two Crown and Cokes. (He found out in the morning that it was two too much.)

The afternoon and evening were spent in the great outdoors. My first night not in a hotel or house on this trip. The sunset was pretty great, and the stars were certainly the best yet. The moon was a shallow crescent, and allowed for near total darkness. Clear enough to see other galaxies; clear enough to see shooting satellites. The three of us crowded into the camper for the short night.

I stupidly slept through the boat launching, missing some great photo ops, and went out on my fantastic day trip. I arrived back at 3PM just in time to see the Lavin/King team pulling the boat out of the water and too late for the weigh in. 1stMateAndy had seen the leader board and confided in me, “You may be looking at the next Idaho State Walleye Champions.”

He was right. They had boated another 6 fish and another 11+ pounds of fish for a winning total of 25+ pounds, one of the best totals the tournament had ever had. Truly a great showing, and the winners were glad-handed and congratulated by all. They were the stars of the place as raked in their $3,000 prize money, stood for pictures (by me) and received their plaques. It was an awesome win, perhaps on par to the Miracle on Ice, just with a smaller stage.

What does this mean for the new state champions? First off, they got to spend and entire weekend doing the thing that they love, and they got paid to do it! They also get the cash - $1,500 each. They will surely be listed and possibly talked about in the local and state papers, as well as the trade publications. As long as this tournament lasts, they will be known as the 10th anniversary champions…and maybe the 11th after next year’s defense of the title. Speaking of other tournaments, winning this gets them entered automatically in a Cabella’s tournament as well as a few others…bigger tournaments with bigger prizes. Perhaps this may even be a turning point in their lives as fishermen…who knows what this could lead to if there is any future success. And talk about bragging rights. Forever, they will be known as State Champions in a sport and culture they care deeply about.

Surely it will be a fond memory for the rest of their lives. I know it will be for me too.

Happy Father’s Day, Buz, CuzBill, and all the rest of you that qualify.