A cold night on the Fox

An Outdoorsman’s Journal

Mark Walters sponsored by

Hello friends, I am currently in a crazy busy period of time, but it’s all positive. A percentage of walleyes that live in Green Bay spawn on the Fox River below the dam at De Pere. Every spring in early March a rule is placed that if you want to keep a walleye in this section of river it has to be 28 inches or larger.

I used to wade and throw crankbaits, lost lots of lures and sometimes fishermen that were rude changed that plan. For a few years I used my boat and did very well, but I became bored. For maybe 10 years I have been paddling my canoe after dark in the world of $100,000 boats and paddle trolling. Simply put, I love it. In a years’ time it is the most dangerous thing I do. One flip in the dark into the frigid waters of the Fox and it would be a search and not a rescue.

I have caught several walleyes over 28 inches!

Monday, March 28 High 32, Low 8

This was supposed to be a two-day experience/adventure. I have had to cancel three times because of flooding (chocolate milk) and or wind. When I launched my canoe at the fairgrounds in De Pere I would literally be leaving for Red Lake, Ontario the day after I pulled it out.

I paddle troll using a kayak paddle. I pull three crankbaits, two on planer boards, left and a right and one straight back. My main crank is the J12 blue chrome.

There are two obstacles to success, and they are both a constant. The cranks are always picking up debris, mostly leaves, and if you do not check them, you are paddling but not fishing. To check lines, you have to be floating down river with the nose of your rig.

The other obstacle, and it is also a responsibility especially after dark, is to not float into or block traffic. For the most part, I am always 30 feet to 100 yards from one or several boats. If they are pulling boards, each rig could be 50 yards wide. When paddling after dark, upriver, turning my brain off is not an option for even one minute or I could cause a very ugly mess with fishermen that respect what I am doing but do not want problems.

I had three hours of daylight paddling before dark. I squat on my knees and lean against a cooler with my rear end. Sitting on the cooler is not an option as my body weight would be too high and I would eventually fall out.

One of the most real tests when I fish like this is how long can I take it before something goes numb and that includes my brain. About 6 p.m. I was loving life and paddling near the Hwy 172 bridge about where I caught a real nice walleye last year when my right pole starts bending. I was paddling upriver so the first thing that I had to do was a 180 so I could fight the fish floating down river and not mess up my other lines.

I took care of business and caught what was maybe a 19-inch walleye and, I have to tell you, I am thinking this is going to be a big night. In reality, the real story is that for days the north had been experiencing very cold weather and this is not good for fish catching.

So, I started paddling between the 172 bridge and the train trestle about a mile to the north, it gets dark and just like that it’s Christmas on the water. In other words, boats everywhere and most were pulling six lighted planer boards. Twice I got snagged in heavy traffic and you have to be on top of your game. It’s kind of like driving on the interstate. Everything is fine as long as you go with the flow, don’t stop in traffic or go backwards.

The real story is that I thrive on this. I am almost always smiling, even when boats blow by me in the dark going very fast and close. It’s all part of the game.

About 8 p.m. both ends of my paddle where the water drips were becoming very frozen and my feet on the bottom were starting to become numb. Also, everything inside of my canoe, including my reels was getting 100-percent iced up. On this entire adventure I only saw one fish caught besides mine and by 11 p.m. I was still paddling waiting for the fat mama from the deep to give me a big challenge.

It was also about this time that I realized from my butt to the tips of my toes I could not feel a thing and I actually could not stand up if I had to. About midnight I was really close to the landing, thinking real hard about my drive home and to Canada and I said, I am bailing.

If a camera was on me, you would see a guy paddle up in his canoe, but he could not get out, nothing worked from the belly button down. I literally flipped myself out, laid there, manned up, started loading gear and my canoe, thought about sleeping, but my lower half was too cold. I drove home. As I am writing this, the truck is loaded and it’s Canada here I come!

Been a long winter! Sunset