| Huron
1999 - Another look at the fun and friendships made |
This one has lots of big pictures,
so be patient and it will load
Cindy and I flew from Fort Collins, Co. to
Chicago, then onto Cleveland Airport. We landed around midnight on wednesday.
From Cleveland we rented a car and headed to Huron. On the way there we
stopped at a little bar called the Wayside Inn. The people were very friendly
so we had a couple of beers and back on the road to Huron. We got
there around 3 am for some reason. Thursday we drove around town to get
a look at Lake Erie and headed to Port Clinton. Having never been to Ohio
we wanted to play the part of sight-seeing newlyweds. And, I think we did
just fine. People could tell we were from outta town somehow. I really
enjoyed walking around the docks and chatting with folks there. Kinda reminded
me of Florida, except a little colder and not as quite tanned. I just love
the big water...
someday I'm gonna.............
Oh well, back to the story. |
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Me (Scott Golden)
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Capt. Ron Johnson ("Thumper")
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Thursday afternoon we met up with Rick
LaCourse, Juls, Sheila, Bruce DeShano and others. Rick lined us up for
a boat ride with Thumper (Capt. Ron Johnson). Friday morning we met at
for breakfast and then on to the docks where we climbed aboard for our
first trip on the big pond. Juls Davis joined us and off we went. Waves
were respectable but he was balls2Dwalls all the way out and all the way
in. Gotta love that. I did anyway. |
| We went out around 12 miles I think, maybe
more maybe less. I was just looking around, not paying too much attention.
We mapped some fish and he became all business. Rods came out of the holders
and it's rigging time! I love to rig, so I jumped in and tried to
help out as best I could. We put the big skis out and started with the
rods. I learned how to turn a release so the lines is always pointing at
the rod. In fact I learned that a couple of times. Thanks for the patience
Capt. We used little spoons called "stingers". I've never seen them before
but I bet they would catch trout. I'll find out since I was given a few
by the local rep. Gotta love that.
It's work when you get a fish. You have to
make sure he's not tangling any lines on the way in and after he's aboard
you have to reset the lines. But it's the kind of work I love. |
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Capt. Ron and I with
a nice "eater"
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Cindy Golden on her
honeymoon
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We caught 7 walleyes and a couple of white
bass. The fishing wasn't fast and furious, but plenty of action to keep
us on our toes and interested in what was going on. I finally got to the
point that I knew what lure was on what line and how far each line was
out behind the jet divers. Capt. Ron and I did most of the rigging
and the girls "caught" all the fish. They reeled 'em in and netted 'em.
They never lost a fish. Those girls can fish I guarantee ya. We needed
the fish for the fish-fry that was planned for that night. So we kept them
all. It's not until later on the boat ride back that I started wondering
who was going to clean them... I thought it was probably me and I was right.
Oh well, I met some more WC people at the cleaning table. Swat1 was there
along with Bull, they were doing some cleaning too. It looked like we had
plenty for the fry. And it turned out we did, barely. |
| Now it's time for the fish fry. We arrived
at the community center about an hour early and went out back where the
action was. There were more fish-fryers there than Cabellas has. Had to
be about 10 people out there getting set up to fry. Rick LaCourse had a
table set up with loads of fresh walleye to be battered. This was starting
to look like a good 'ol fashioned fry. The bar was inside and the fish
were outside, other than that it was perfect. |
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Some of the gang at
work / some not working
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Sign up for the Bionic
Minnow Challenge
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Some of the guys were out back having cold
refreshments and others were busy cooking. Inside, people were starting
to show up and register for the Bionic Minnow Challenge on Saturday. There
was a table set up with some free hats, key fobs, WC stickers and lures.
This was starting to shape up into a real good time. It turned out exactly
that way.
It was getting almost time to eat. I'd better
go outside and do a taste test on the walleye. |
| All the tables were full. We had set up for
150 and it wasn't enough. The walleye was coming inside in huge portions.
We had cole slaw, beans, bread and fresh lake erie walleye. It's enough
to make your tongue slap your teeth out almost. After dinner Rick LaCourse
gave a quick rundown on the rules for the coming tourney. Then it was time
to mingle and meet some of the WC folks. I met more than I can remember.
I really didn't know who you were until you gave me your screen name, then
it made perfect sense. |
|
Time to sit down and
enjoy some fresh walleye fillets
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Headed into the big pond
Saturday morning
Saturday morning blast off. I was fishing with
Mark Brambaugh the PWT guy. I gotta tell ya he was fun to fish with. We
rock and rolled out towards the amusement park direction for quite a while
before we settled in. Then it was time to get down to business. We didn't
catch too many, only 2. We still had fun, telling jokes and old war stories.
He was like talking to someone I've known all my life. Great guy. Thanks
Mark. We gotta do that again next year. |
| My wife (Cindy) and Sheila fished with Busy
B on saturday, I don't have any pictures of them but I do have some video
that I will put online later. They had some fish but were late coming
back in so they didn't get to go on stage. Cindy told me she had a great
time fishing with the crew, thanks for taking care of her guys. I 'preciate
that.
After the weigh in we met the gang at Bullwhackers
for a huge feed. I love that place. Great food at a decent price. You won't
go away hungry there.
Then to the Gull Motel for a little impromptu
party in the back yard. I was able to meet more people there. I had the
opportunity to meet Ron "Bull" Bullock. I'm thankful for that.
We all miss ya big fella. |
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"Walleye Central tested"
Busy B Charters
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Cindy is the one netting
the fish . Cover Girl?
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Dave Kidd put on a charity tournament for
the St. Judes Children's Hospital on Sunday. I didn't have a partner so
we sat this one out. I met Dave in the morning to see if he could use any
help and ran across Dave Mull of the Great Lakes Angler Magazine. Dave
was looking for someone to drive his boat while he did a photo shoot for
the cover of an upcoming issue. I volunteered and went back to the hotel
to get Cindy. I told her she didn't have time to get all gussied up, "just
get some jeans on and let's go". Well.......... as it turned out she was
invited to be in the photo. Now I'm in trouble! We did several shots,
here's one that he emailed to me.
He's a great guy, can't wait to read the magazine.
If you see a copy pick it up and let me know what you think about it. |
OK, back to the tourney. We made it in time
for weigh in. Seems like most of the people used Saturday to find the fish,
because they were coming in now. Big ones and lots of them. Darn, I missed
the boat on this one. Mark Brambaugh and Scott (Reef Runner) Stecher won
the trophy with a nice basket.
Congrats Guys. It was close, lots of huge
fish. |
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Sundays winners - Mark
B. and Mr. Reef Runner himself
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Swat1 and "Bull"
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Here's Dan Wyna with Ron Bullock at the weigh
in. Nobody knew it at the time but it was to be one of Rons' last fishing
trips. I met him for the first time at the Get Together. We sat outside
the Gull Hotel with a crowd of WC'rs and had a great time that night. I
also ran across him at the "chopping block" when I was cleaning some fish
on friday afternoon.
What a loss. What a shame.
Ron was a great help to many people on the
message board and made a lot of friends on Walleye Central. We all send
our sincere regrets to his wife and family. We share in your loss. |
Another nice mess of 'eyes'
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Rick Cole and Roger
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| Well, it was over way too fast. People had
to get back to work so did we. I made alot of friends there, or should
I say I met friends I already had. I want to thank everyone for coming
and making it an unforgettable experience for me and my new bride. She
really enjoyed her honeymoon and so did I. Let's do it again next year.....
We didn't want to leave, but we had to. We said our good-byes and headed
back to Cleveland. It was a long drive and late when we got there. We went
to the Riverfront and had dinner at a Seafood Restaurant on the banks of
the river at night. It was romantic I guess. Anyone that knows me will
tell ya , I'm no romantic. But, it was our honeymoon so once in awhile
doesn't hurt anything I guess. The food was great. After dinner we drove
around town to see what Cleveland looks like at night. Stopped in at another
waterfront bar, had a nightcap and went to the hotel...... It was over.
Darn.
Cleveland at night
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| The flight back was uneventful, but if you've
never been to the Chicago airport you need to go. The light show in the
lower concourse is amazing. We had a short layover and then it's back to
Colorado and reality.
Speaking of reality, here is where I had to
go the very next day.... That hurts!
It is a living I guess. |
|
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It was great! Let's do it again next
year.
See ya there.
Scott Golden (co) |
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