.jpg)
Well, it finally happened, he caught his 10-pound walleye. For a guy trying over the last 50 years, we were all excited for him. He measured it sideways, round ways, tooth to tail ways, and he slooped it back in the lake after many photos.
I couldn’t shake his hand fast enough or firm enough, man was that man smiling and we three along with him. Then we just sat there, talked about all the almost 10 pounders, where, and who with, and what lakes and what baits, and today, just a leech jigged off the bottom, and finally after all these years, and several years ago he said he didn’t think it was ever gonna happen, then he smiles again, saying, well I was wrong, that’s a good kinda wrong. We certainly agreed with him.
He is basking in the glow, thanks us for being there, and says can you imagine if I caught that when I was alone, I’d be thrilled but bummed that someone else wasn’t there, it just makes it better.
I said when it hit, did you know it was the one? “Nope, thought it was just another walleye, but turned out to be the walleye of my life. I’m still shaking, I said well don’t stop shaking to soon, that was a beauty.”
We pulled the two boats up next to each other so our pals could go over the photos again, it was a boreal beast, the fish with his smile behind it, I said man you deserve that fish, nobody we know tried harder to get one than you.
--The trout whisperer
