Lost a nice one

[locomoto]

I often ponder why I like to fish and over the years I've come to the conclusion that the chase is often better than the catch.

A couple of days ago I hit a local lake that is about 7000 acres and virtually feature-less. There are tons of Walleyes but finding the biters can be a real chore sometimes. I trolled for about 3 hours and didn't even sniff a fish. I finally tied into a 19 incher on a Taildancer. On the next pass I picked up a 11in. Perch on the same Taildancer. I switched all 3 rods to Taildancers and for the next 7 hours I was on fire with no other boats in sight. At one point my middle board came out of formation but the flag didn't drop which isn't very uncommon on smaller fish or the ones that tag along for a ride. I check that line and sure enough I had a battle on my hands. I got a Walleye that I guess to be in the 28 inch category right next to the boat and as soon as I dipped the net in the water it opens it's mouth and just swam away. I honestly believe that I never had a hook in that fish and it was just holding my lure. I torched up a ciggy and cracked a brew while sitting there in disbelief with what just happened. I don't think I could have played it any better to change the results and I ran through the list of bad things I've done recently to be punished like that. After thinking about it for a day or so I don't think I was punished at all, in fact it has fueled my fire for a lake that I was burnt out on. I'm gonna hook up the boat now and try again....after all I didn't want to eat 'em, I just wanted to meet 'em!