Report from Jim Golla. Week of June 27th

Before I get into my first trip to Taltson, let me inform/remind you about the "3 stages of fishing." The first stage is all about numbers, pretty universal when we're kids, when we keep a count of HOW MANY fish we catch. Stage 2 is all about size, a 'trophy',a 'wallhanger' (replica only, of course), that "fish of a lifetime", HOW BIG of a fish can we catch.Stage 3 focuses on the method: gotta be on a flyrod, or maybe on a fly/lure you made yourself (don't tell me about the trophy you caught on 6-8-10 lb. line-I'll have to kill you, and then I'll be in prison, and you AND THE FISH will be dead, which doesn't work out too well for any of us.) I'm pretty much a stage 2 guy, although clearly stages 1 and 2 blend together when we start counting "trophies" over a certain size. Also, on a slow day, I can slide back toward stage 1 pretty easily. There have been times when I've entered stage 3, too, but mostly I want to do whatever is most productive at a particular time (which, no doubt, is at times a fly.)
All that came to mind midweek of our trip (my wife and I- Bobby said it was the first woman he had ever guided). We logged 13 trophies that day,along with countless athletic, knuckle-busting, rod-bending, motor-loving, under-the-boat-diving 'teenagers'. At the end of the day, I wondered out loud, "Do you think we caught 100 fish today?" Hearing no dissent, I decided to keep count the next day. Now, precise fish counts are not truly exact (was that last one #22, or is this next one #22?), but suffice it to say that I lost interest around #115-and I'm quite sure we had caught more fish the day before. Literally a ton of rompin', stompin', lure-chompin' Esox in 2 days! We went in June 27, and there was still a fair amount of ice on the big lake, but we really only saw the thick fog bank it makes in the distance a couple of times.It was gray and cool most of the time, and we only got out one evening, mostly due to parades of popcorn thunderstorms that were frequent companions. That left us with 43 trophies (including 1 walleye that might be the biggest I've seen)--maybe not jaw-dropping for you "regulars", but a pretty damn good pike trip any way you slice it. Topped out at two 46's (one outweighing the other by about 8-9 lbs., I'd guess.) Best story= the mid-40's fish that stole a lure right out of a 36-38incher's mouth at boatside (alas, they both got away.) Many entertaining doubles, of course.
The lodge gets to "rest" for a couple of weeks, now, so I envy those of you still planning to go this season. Pinch those barbs, and release'em right, so this quality fishery lives on. Esox rule,
Jim Golla