22
years ago I was fortunate to meet Gus Armstrong on the Chairman II. Gus first came with Ron Davis, Jeff White and
Al and Ron Lindner. Gus’s company owned a company called Computrol. They made
Bottom Line Electronics and Cannon Down Riggers.
After
the trip with the Lindner brothers Gus brought his whole family to Rainy Lake
Houseboats for what turned out to be annual family vacations that included
sons, son in laws, daughter, daughter in-laws, and of course grandchildren. We
have been fortunate enough to see the grandchildren grow into fine young
adults.
This
year Gus, Sharon, Tammi, Doug, Matt ad Melissa, Ryan and fiancée Jamie, Troy,
Brandon, Brian, and Cole attended the Chairman II fishing trip. Patrick and Nicole missed as Nicole broke her
elbow right before the trip.
We
left Rainy Lake Houseboats Monday morning and traveled east on Rainy Lake. We
found a nice mooring site on Duck Foot Island and quickly secured the Chairman
II and Lady of the Lake 1. Lunch was
served and the guide boats were loaded. The guides this year were Bill
Dougherty, Jon Balaski, Kevin Erickson, Matt Shermoen, Ryan Schmidt and Bruce Jean.
We
all headed to different areas from one to four miles from the Chairman. There was not much boat movement; all the
spots were holding large numbers of walleyes. The Armstrong’s always form
teams, this year there would be four teams with three people on each team.
Teams started coming back a little before 6:00 PM. The banter was awesome, the walleyes bit
really good. The four teams had a 155 walleyes between them. It would be game
on Tuesday through Friday.
The
teams never fish together as a whole team. Each team member keeps track of the
fish they catch and report their tallies after each session. While they have a
fun fishing contest the trip is about family interaction, bonding and a
vacation!
I
won’t go into detail about each days fishing as it has been similar to recent
trips, very good fishing with many of the same techniques. There was a change
during the trip. We ran into walleyes that did not want to bite. We switched to
a 1 1/2 oz. bottom bouncer and used the slow death technique. We used purchased slow
death hooks, a 36-48” mono leader in 8 lbs. test. We push a night crawler up
the hook and through the bends, pushing the crawler just past the hook eye and above the
knot. We pinch off all but a 1 ½” of crawler letting it trail behind the hook.
The hooks spins crazily when trolled from .4 -.7 mph. Walleyes cannot resist
this presentation. When you troll the bouncers they should be as closed to vertical as possible alongside the boat ( a narrow angle versus a wide angle.) The sharp angle allows you to fee the bottom and the strike!
The
last night of the trip is the annual Fishbie awards. Sharon was a double
winner, first place for most and most fish by a team. Tammy Bloss won largest
northern pike, and Cole Armstrong won the largest smallmouth bass. The Rainy
Lakers one the most fish portion 223 fish!
The
trip is much more than a fishing trip. It is a time where family is truly
nurtured. I have been fortunate to watch the young people grow from childhood
into young adults. They are remarkable people, fun, kind and loving. We are blessed at Rainy Lake Houseboats to
have so many wonderful customers.
Patrick
and Nicole we missed you. Hopefully we will see you next summer with Nicole’s
elbow all healed up.
Fishbie winner!
Fishbie winner!
Fishbie winner!
I was taking the hook out of the walleye and the bass popped out of the walleye's stomach when I was holding it. We released the walleye, the walleye had it's mouth open when I set it in the water and the bass swam out of the walleye's mouth in a very quick getaway!
Matt bet guide Jon Balaski that the guest would not catch a northern over thirty four inches. The loser would where the helmet for the rest of the day.
Sharon's 35 1/2" northern. Matt where's the helmet!
Turkey dinner on the last night.
Annual Fishbie awards
Sharon's award for most fish.
Cole's award for biggest bass.
Tammy's award for biggest northern.