Just after midnight, Pueblo - the only place I fish. Had been working a lot of spots since dusk. First cast in this area, about 75% into my jerkbait retrieve, on the pause - felt a "dull pressure" (like a log or something) ... she engulfed the entire 4" jerkbait not 15ft from shore.
As I was pivoting the net from the water to the shore I caught my first glimpse of her size against the bright moonlight - it was pretty awing.
The size and width of her head was especially surprising to me. When you see pics of folks holding big walleye you typically always see just the side profile. No one ever tells you how wide and broad the head and "shoulders" area is!
I was alone but luckily there were some guys down the bank who came running down and helped me with the hook-out and photo op.
She was 30" on the money!
Unfortunately I didn't have a scale so no weight . I located several Walleye Length-to-Weight Formulas online (a couple linked below for reference) and, while there are a lot of variables, they seem to be pretty well in agreement that a 30" Walleye is going to be at least 10 lbs, typically 11 something.
I'm actually not sure, I feel like 10 lbs might be at the top end of the range here. I'm thinking more like 8 or 9 lbs. Guess I'll never know. Knew I should have pulled the trigger on that digital scale I was looking at on Amazon not two weeks ago!
Walleye Length-to-Weight Conversion Charts:
http://www.in-fisherman.com/biology/walleye-length-to-weight-conversion-chart/
http://aimfishing.com/sites/default/files/aim_rules_lwchart.pdf
Didn't even know until I looked all this up that, if I had been able to measure her girth at least, a more accurate weight could be assessed.
I know this isn't the biggest Walleye ever caught, a lot of folks here have caught plenty bigger and/or multiples of this size. But for me this is pretty special and I literally don't know if I'll ever be fortunate enough to catch an eye of this size again.
Anyway, also just wanted to thank you guys on the forum who respond to my (probably annoying at times) threads. While obviously no secrets exist anywhere to "guarantee" catch fish (big or otherwise) I am thankful for some of the general information here.
I was able to stay motivated and I've been working really hard since February beating the bank from East to West, walking the rip rap at the dam in the dark... taking temperatures of the water everywhere I go and logging all my collected data onto a spreadsheet I created (a fishing journal). Always trying to understand my tackle and fish behavior better and be as prepared as possible.
Fishing is such a special treat we get to enjoy - and sometimes cherish. I can only hope to be fortunate enough to catch an eye of this size again in my life.
And Yep! ... She still swims:
As I was pivoting the net from the water to the shore I caught my first glimpse of her size against the bright moonlight - it was pretty awing.
The size and width of her head was especially surprising to me. When you see pics of folks holding big walleye you typically always see just the side profile. No one ever tells you how wide and broad the head and "shoulders" area is!
I was alone but luckily there were some guys down the bank who came running down and helped me with the hook-out and photo op.
She was 30" on the money!
Unfortunately I didn't have a scale so no weight . I located several Walleye Length-to-Weight Formulas online (a couple linked below for reference) and, while there are a lot of variables, they seem to be pretty well in agreement that a 30" Walleye is going to be at least 10 lbs, typically 11 something.
I'm actually not sure, I feel like 10 lbs might be at the top end of the range here. I'm thinking more like 8 or 9 lbs. Guess I'll never know. Knew I should have pulled the trigger on that digital scale I was looking at on Amazon not two weeks ago!
Walleye Length-to-Weight Conversion Charts:
http://www.in-fisherman.com/biology/walleye-length-to-weight-conversion-chart/
http://aimfishing.com/sites/default/files/aim_rules_lwchart.pdf
Didn't even know until I looked all this up that, if I had been able to measure her girth at least, a more accurate weight could be assessed.
I know this isn't the biggest Walleye ever caught, a lot of folks here have caught plenty bigger and/or multiples of this size. But for me this is pretty special and I literally don't know if I'll ever be fortunate enough to catch an eye of this size again.
Anyway, also just wanted to thank you guys on the forum who respond to my (probably annoying at times) threads. While obviously no secrets exist anywhere to "guarantee" catch fish (big or otherwise) I am thankful for some of the general information here.
I was able to stay motivated and I've been working really hard since February beating the bank from East to West, walking the rip rap at the dam in the dark... taking temperatures of the water everywhere I go and logging all my collected data onto a spreadsheet I created (a fishing journal). Always trying to understand my tackle and fish behavior better and be as prepared as possible.
Fishing is such a special treat we get to enjoy - and sometimes cherish. I can only hope to be fortunate enough to catch an eye of this size again in my life.
And Yep! ... She still swims: