A Tale of Two Tournament Days
We can close the books on the 35th Annual Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament. This year’s tournament featured plenty of big fish including the top five fish coming in over twenty pounds. The top twenty-five fish all measured over 30-inches, with most over 34-inches. Of those twenty-five largest fish, eleven were registered at Baileys 57 in Baileys Harbor despite no one fishing out of the BH marina due to the unfortunate closure. The marina is currently being dredged. Howie’s Tackle in Sturgeon Bay registered nine of the top fish and five were checked in at Hook-up Tackle Shop in Algoma. Thanks to all the volunteers and Baileys Harbor Community Association Director, Cynde Ploor for making the tournament possible. Each year it is wonderful to see all the anglers taking part in the tournament including many first timers. One of those first timers was Barb Carey, the president of WI Women Fish!, a national women’s fishing club. Barb finished in third place with a beautiful twenty-one-pound brown. Congratulations, Barb. To get the complete tournament results and view some very impressive catches, go to the Brown Trout Tournament Facebook page.
Notable of the 2023 tournament was the VERY unseasonable weather. Brown trout anglers have rightly earned the reputation of braving bitter cold temperatures, brutal winds and often snowstorms in pursuit of their prized brown trout. Not this year. During the first three days of the tournament, the daytime temperatures soared into the 70’s, even 80’s. Anglers were using more sunscreen than handwarmers. I saw anglers out on the water in t-shirts and shorts, a sight seldom seen in April in Door County. I guess this is a minor upside to a warming climate. Although brisk southerly winds made for some lumpy water on the lakeside, there was still plenty of fishable water.
Ever since I moved to Bailey Harbor, I have fished the tournament with my buddy Paul. Although Paul and I get our fair share of browns throughout the early season, we have never done very well during the actual tournament. Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration. Paul and I have done jack-shit during the tournament. In fact, if memory serves, we have entered one fish and that was only because previously they awarded a prize for the smallest fish registered. Even then we missed gaining that distinction by the slimmest of margins. Thus, each year, Paul and I pay our $25.00 registration fee more out of a sense of civic pride than from any faint hope of boating a worthy fish. So it was this year.
I was proud of our preparation. The tackle and boat were made ready. We did pre-fishing on both the lakeside and bayside. We made a float-plan that would put us on productive water for the maximum number of hours. We decided to fish the bay from Sturgeon Bay to Egg Harbor. This was dictated somewhat by the winds, but also based on previous success in this area. To maximize the time with lines in the water, we dropped a vehicle in Egg Harbor and launched at Pinney County Park (aka The Quarry). Our plan was to troll the entire ten-mile plus stretch of water then, leaving the boat moored at the Egg Harbor Marina, drive back to Sturg to retrieve the trailer. This would allow us to have lines in the water for six hours in productive water. We also hoped we could get away from some of the other tournament anglers in the process.
We started early Thursday morning bubbling with enthusiasm under bright blue, sun drenched skies. We set out our usual array of lures including Thundersticks, Rapalas, Huskey Jerks, Flicker Shads and spoons. Paul navigated the boat northward as I set the lines. Soon we were sitting side by side patiently scrutinizing our six lines splayed out behind the boat. One might well ask, what do two guys talk about when all alone in a boat for six hours? Without regaling you with the particulars of our sparkling repartee, suffice it to say that the depth of our conversation does not always rise to the level of meaningful intellectual discourse, but we do tend to solve most of the problems of the world. At least in our minds. After about two hours of watching the brightly colored planer boards bob rhythmically over the crystal waters of Green Bay, the inside board which was running in very shallow water, disappeared. Assuming we had run the Rapala onto a mussel encrusted rock, I grabbed the rod and attempted to dislodge the lure. As soon as I did, I felt a powerful throb on the other end. Not a rock. “Fish On!” It was Paul’s turn to engage the fish, so I handed the rod over and prepared to net the fish. I cleared the other lines and steered the boat to open water. It was obvious that this fish had some bulk and power. Not only did the initial strike instantly submerge the planer board, but it still had not returned to the surface. This is the brown trout equivalent of “Jaws” taking down two barrels, maybe three. It took some effort on Paul’s part to work the board back to the surface while the fish attempted to thwart his attempts. Eventually the board popped to the surface and moved close enough to the boat for me to remove it from the line. There was nothing between Paul and the fish except a thin filament of fluorocarbon. This fish was staying down, and we had yet to get a glimpse of it. As Paul slowly and steadily retrieved line, a dark mass came into view just under the surface. This was a big fish. After you have caught (and lost) thousands of fish, you tend not to get overly excited or nervous during the fight. You just relax and enjoy it. However, once you see a big fish, the anxiety level picks up which leads to mistakes. We both really wanted to boat this fish. This might finally be the brown trout that will put us on the tournament board for the first time. The last moments before I slipped the net under the fish were nerve wracking. We finally lifted the net sagging under the weight of the fish. It measured out at 33.5 inches and 15.9 pounds. Not the largest brown either one of us have caught and surely not large enough to win the tournament, but one we could proudly take to the weigh-in station with hopes of finishing’ “in the money”.
We deposited the fish in the live well and reset lines. Our conversations took a decidedly excited tone as we anticipated more action. Soon, another board shot backwards, and I managed to boat a gorgeous brown almost eight pounds. By the time we had made our way to Egg Harbor, we lost one other fish and boated a bonus northern pike. Soon we were making our way to Baileys 57 to register our fish, excited about the prospects for Friday.
We both agreed that we should follow the exact same plan the next day. Weather conditions were similar, maybe even better. We had lines set at the same time the next morning, with the same lures, even the same hat and clothing. Why mess with success? Well, there was no joy aboard the Maggie Leigh this day, for Paul and Bruce struck out. I mean absolutely struck out. Not a single hit for over five and half hours. Indeed, our conversations got a bit strained. I did get a lot done during this time. I checked and double checked all the safety equipment on the boat. Cleaned out a couple of the hatches. Reorganized my tackle box. Sharpened some hooks. Watched lake boats out on the bay. It was a pleasant enough day, just no fish. As we trailered the boat back home, we had no need to stop at Baileys 57 today.
Paul’s fish ended up in 21st place, the first time we had placed a fish in the top 25. Along with my 7.6 pounder, it was our best tournament performance. Not bad for a couple of old piscators. We will be back on the water soon, as the brown trout season is fleeting. Perhaps we will still be able to boat a few more fish before the water warms and the browns drift out to the larger reaches of the lake. We now have a new standard to surpass once the 36th Annual Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament rolls around next April.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Bruce
Questions or comments to bsmith733@gmail.com
