The air is crisp and still. With a full moon at my back, I make my way down a precarious embankment and arrive breathing heavily at the foot of the bridge, adrenaline pulsing through my veins. It’s nearly silent: no insects, no cars. The only sound is the water rolling slowly and patiently along. It would be hard to call this a secret spot, though. On any given day during summer people line the banks, but tonight I stand alone, enjoying yet another of autumn’s beautiful settings. After a moment of peaceful reflection, I clip a stickbait to a short fluorocarbon leader and scrutinize the trustworthiness of my knot and line. Walleye seem to prefer crankbaits with a long, slender profile (also called stickbaits), rather than fat-bodied models more commonly used for bass. The first cast is always filled with anticipation and generally accompanied by flashbacks of smashing strikes, thrashing headshakes, and countless first glimpses of big, beautiful walleye brought to within range of my headlamp. A long, smooth cast rests momentarily on the surface before the lure digs in and wiggles down and across the current. With no distracting sights or sounds, my sense of touch intensifies, monitoring the lure’s every pulse, wane, and occasional brush with bottom. From hook-set to frying pan The erratic dance is interrupted by a deadening thud. My hook-set is met with a series of thumping headshakes, followed shortly by a drag-sounding rush for deeper water. As the fight wears on, the fish tests every nuance of my tackle, yet the line remains tough, my hooks hold strong, and the flawless mechanics of a well-tuned reel slide a beautiful white-bellied walleye into the shallow water at my feet. I carefully tease the lure from her punishing teeth. Each year my collection of retired crankbaits gets a bit bigger, too chewed and battered to run straight or stay afloat. My commitment to conservation dictates that this fish is far too big to keep, so back she goes. If all goes well, I will get lucky and catch a few smaller ones to bring back to the family. The tantalizing sizzle of fresh walleye frying in a pan is a standard of excellence that just about every angler can relate to. Yet, some of the best walleye fishing of the year takes place when the majority of anglers have packed up their rods for the season.
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