Chris "Macks" Eve at Crescent Lake

Klamanite · 12-25-2009, 09:22 PM

After my last trip to Crescent I found it very hard not to want to race back up there for more Lake Trout action. My son has been busy with sports and hasn't had very much spare time plus my wife was working on Christmas Eve, so we had an opportunity to get back at it. We arrived right at daylight and Crescent had already thrown us another curve ball. I was getting the boat in and it was reluctant to come off the trailer. That's when I looked down and saw that the trailer was floating with the boat

I double-checked all of the straps and they were off. The wet carpeted bunks from last Sunday's trip were now frozen solid to the bottom of my boat

Finally, after about 20 minutes of shaking and bouncing, it broke loose and were were off. We went right back to the same drill from the previous trip and before the 2nd rod was in the water we had a fish on. It was on my rod so I passed it to Tyler. A great way to start the morning with a 14 lb Mack. We kept doing the same and were rewarded with yet another outstanding day. Tyler had solid fish on a bit later and after several runs it broke off. We lost 3 fish throughout the day and all of them were putting up quite a fight. All said and done we were fortunate enough to put 9 more in the boat with Tyler landing his personal best with a big, fat 16 lb'er

Just as we were about to snap a pic before the release, I stepped to the back of the boat and turned back around and he was standing there with his empty arms still cradled without the fish and a stunned look on his face

I said "what happened"? He said "it slipped and went back into the water" It was a bummer that we got no pics of his biggest Mack to date, but the story was kinda funny just the same

The bite shut down about 11:30 so we headed to a different area, marked a few more fish, but found no more takers. We pulled up the gear and motored to another spot and pretty quickly Tyler was into another 14 lb'er. We were just about to get his rod back out and mine slammed down and I came to the realization that there are much bigger fish down there

This fish had a lot of weight, taking a lot of line and not giving much back. I circled back towards the fish so I could gain some of my line back. I got a bunch back but he would have no part of it and continue to take back what I got. It seemed like 20 minutes (likely much shorter

) and I finally was steadily working him up. The water was flat as a mirror and crystal clear so once I had about 40 feet of line left we could see it under the boat. I knew instantly that it was a piggie

and you could easily see the length and girth was substantially bigger than any of the other fish. He pretty much filled up my net and was also far my biggest Mack to date at 35 inches and 21 lbs even

What an awesome capper to another incredible day of Mack fishing.

cimfl · 12-25-2009, 11:35 PM

Wow! Great job guys! Never thought of a boat freezing to the bunks. Great fish!

1sast · 12-26-2009, 07:52 AM

Great job mike and Tyler. Can't wait to get back up there.

nwsoftball · 12-26-2009, 08:02 AM

Very nice Mike!!!

mike edson · 12-26-2009, 08:34 AM

I have never targeted these lakers. Think I should think about it. I have been told by a friend that they are crap to eat. Any truth to it. If i ever catch one (that would be a fluke) I would release it as I do not care much for fish other than, smoked salmon, steelhead, halibut, sturgeon,smelt,flounder,roughy,kokanee,catfish, crappie,bass,
thanks guys

JKW · 12-26-2009, 08:52 AM

Love to see the younger generation getting in on the action.

hookumhi · 12-26-2009, 10:51 AM

Great Job!!!! Man I never thought of the boat freezing to the trailer , Now that's COLD!

Fish Mount · 12-26-2009, 02:08 PM

I have been told by a friend that they are crap to eat. Any truth to it.

Macks are great eating. The 2-5 pounders are the best, because the big ones are very oily. Ive baked them on the grill up to about 15 lbs. They still taste good just lots of oil. They are great for smoking also. Just make sure you take the skin and all the fat of your fillets and they will eat great. I like to put garlic salt and pepper on them, then role them in flour and pan fry them.

Kevin

philthefisher · 12-26-2009, 03:52 PM

great pictures. beautiful.

Ras · 12-26-2009, 05:25 PM

I guess the family and I need to move closer to where you park that boat Klama!!! Nice holiday catches

Ras

fish-on-bend · 12-26-2009, 07:27 PM

Great Christmas present for Tyler, after the shut out at the Cultus Derby. Breaking out of your slump with a couple great days and a 20+ fish. You guys both earned those.

nwsoftball · 12-27-2009, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike edson

I have never targeted these lakers. Think I should think about it. I have been told by a friend that they are crap to eat. Any truth to it. If i ever catch one (that would be a fluke) I would release it as I do not care much for fish other than, smoked salmon, steelhead, halibut, sturgeon,smelt,flounder,roughy,kokanee,catfish, crappie,bass,
thanks guys

Nothing crappy at all about a mack on the grill or the smoker. Make sure to skin your fillets and remove all the fat on the lateral line. Oily, yes. But no more than a salmon.

bwild · 12-29-2009, 10:50 AM

Way to go MIKE! Loved the text updates when I was in MI! That's an early Christmas present, for sure!!

StrikeFighter · 12-29-2009, 11:44 AM

Awesome job.....great pictures........Bill

ommedia · 12-29-2009, 02:18 PM

I can't believe you missed the pic on the 16'lber

Awesome pics and story! You had cake-doodles with you didn't you!!

Badgerj · 12-29-2009, 03:44 PM

Thats incredible Mike, congrats to both of you. It looks like you guys had a blast. The calm weather and big smiles made for some beautiful photos.

Klamanite · 12-31-2009, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ommedia

Awesome pics and story! You had cake-doodles with you didn't you!!

I didn't have any that day, but believe me, I've eaten plenty since you unleashed that recipe on me

Maaaaan, those are good cookies

stick flicker · 12-31-2009, 11:50 AM

Thanks for sharing the pictures and your trip. Congratulations on the well done fishing trip. Looks cold!

CoyoteBrownTrtHntr · 01-03-2010, 07:01 PM

AWESOME, Mike, AWESOME!!! Glad I could be "good luck" while calling you guys on the cell during your HOT streak. Every time I tried to call, you guys were fighting a Mack. Funny stuff!

So glad you could break out of your "slump" by breaking the magical 20lb. mark and also getting Tyler into some killer laker fishing. You guys have worked hard and it is definitely paying off. That 35 incher is a BEAST buddy!!!!

Sweets pics and great story man. Happy New Years!

CBTH