The lightning flashed in the distance, followed closely by deep, rumbling thunder. Due to the part of the pre-dawn sky that was not covered by clouds, what was left of the moon cast an eerie light across the Ozarks and the Spring River in northern Arkansas. We were in the direct path of the quickly approaching summer thunderstorm, but instead of running for cover we were tying on lures at the river's edge. "What do we need to tie on?" I asked Jason Russell. "Think shallow," was his reply. Jason is a prankster and as the lightning flashed I searched his face for that familiar smile that says he is kidding. He was not and I could see that he already had a shallow running Rebel tied on his rod. I followed suit by tying on a seven and a half inch shallow running jointed Rebel in gold and black. Crowbar Russell had the same lure in silver and black dangling from his rod as well as we made our way to our destination.
My first cast produced a giant swirl in the water caused by a large unseen fish. I frantically reeled my lure back in and cast again in the same place with no results. Crowbar and Jason were each casting into the dark, fast moving water looking for a solid hookup. When I had cast to the same place where the big fish swirled my lure on the first cast without drawing another strike Crowbar said, "Let me see if he wants this silver one," and cast to the same place I had been casting. On the third cast, he set the hook hard and immediately, I could hear his drag slipping. "Good fish!" he exclaimed as he held on to the doubled over graphite rod. As the storm got closer to our position, the wind picked up, the rain began to fall and with the help of Jason, Crowbar slid the big walleye out on the rock and gravel bank of the river. When Crowbar lifted the walleye up, it looked to be almost half as long as he was tall. It was a carbon copy of the fish Jason had caught just a short time before. In a few minutes, Jason caught another fish, this one was a solid three pounder.
At this point, I was very thankful for the two trophy-sized walleye that had been caught and the three pounder was an added bonus. My thoughts were, "What are the odds of two out of three fishermen catching summertime walleye that would push ten pounds on the same trip?" With two such fish already on the stringer I figured that we had pushed our good fortune about as far as it could be pushed, but you can never tell what the next ten minutes may hold, especially when you are fishing in the right place when the conditions are right and when you are fishing with two extraordinary fishermen like Crowbar and Jason Russell.
Crowbar and Jason host and produce the "Ozark Outdoors" television series and I have said many times that they are two of the best fishermen that I have ever been on the water with. They both have a great knowledge of fish, their habitat and habits and can read a stretch of water with
the best of fishermen. This particular fishing trip was no different. Though it was hot summertime, the Russell duo knew that there were walleye to be found and caught at this particular place. The thunderstorm bearing down on us only made the conditions better. The results had been spectacular, defying the odds for summertime walleye fishing anywhere. The fact that we were fishing with shallow running lures went against the grain of every walleye angler I have ever known. Though I have caught walleye on shallow running minnow type baits in the past, I normally opt for the bottom bouncing, gravel rooting, deep running lures. Traditional walleye fishing dictates that if your lure is not bumping the bottom, you will not catch many fish. This day I had tied on a shallow runner because I trusted Jason's judgment.
I have to admit that by this time in our fishing trip I cheated. Because the odds of me catching a big walleye was far against me in a big time way and because I really wanted to catch a big one, I prayed. With the lightning now upon us, the wind whipping the trees, but most of the rain going to the northeast of us, I began to respectfully request of the Lord that He would help a big walleye find my lure in the cool depths of our chosen stretch of water. I continued to cast the big gold and black floating minnow onto the gravel bar where it was being swept into the deeper, rock rimmed channel by the fast water. In minutes, I too had a thirty inch walleye lying on the rock and gravel bank. Three trophy walleye for three thankful fishermen in the middle of a stormy summer morning. The fish were all carbon copies, being 28 1/2", 29" and 30" in length. We had experienced the fishing trip of a lifetime but.....we may do it again!
