The 25th of June marked the birthday of one of our long term guests, and legendary fisherman, Pat Doyle. As many of us can relate to, Pat is a serious fish-o-holic; often found practicing trolling in his bathtub, and when in the city, he has been spotted jigging down sewer grates for runaway alligators and prehistoric pet goldfish..
Needless to say, between Pat and his lovely wife Mo, something decent was sure to be revealed. What I didn't know was that it would happen not only once, but twice! We arrived at lost island around 9:15am and within 15 minutes, Pat had his first master walleye on the line. Upon setting the hook, Pat's rod was down!!! However, I wasn't sure what was on the end of it just yet as Pat was using a fairly light rod but as the fish approached the surface and I saw a barrage of gold dive for the depths, we all knew we were into a big fish.
Pat patiently allowed for one nice run before once again surfacing the fish and gently guiding it safely into the net. What more could an avid guy like Pat want for his birthday than a beautiful girthy master wally! Two perhaps?
Fishing died down behind the island so we headed into Francis lake where we maintained a steady pace although fish weren't exactly jumping in the boat. After fishing a few of my favorite spots, we made a stop at the north face where Pat once again managed to put a monster walleye in the basket.
Armed solely with a chartreuse 1/4 oz jig with a gold hook, Pat latched into another master angler walleye in 21 feet of water a mere 25 minutes before shore lunch. It isn't everyday that two master anglers are caught in one boat, let alone two walleyes, by the same person! The day went by like a puff of smoke and we spent the rest of our time on cloud nine catching fish and sharing laughter and companionship. I will never forget that day as long as I live…. Happy Birthday Pat :)
