Bitter cold, 6-pound test, and a 30-inch Walleye that almost didn’t happen. Christopher Scott shares the story of an unforgettable morning at Holter Lake where Steve Nistler landed his personal best under some of the toughest conditions the canyon could throw at them. Check out how a 1/8 oz jig and a lot of patience turned a frozen morning into a legendary haul.
Launching at Gates of the Mountain on Holter, the morning started off at 26 degrees and blowing 12 knots straight out of the canyon, directly where we wanted to start. The bitter cold kept us off our spot and fished around the walls and drop offs on the flats. We didn’t see much on the sonar other than trout roaming around mid water column. Water temp was hovering around 41 degrees which dropped a little from the cold front the previous week. We figured the fish dropped back into deeper water.
When the wind let up around 9:30am we moved onto the rock pile we wanted to fish. Within 5 minutes Steve Nistler set the hook and I looked back and saw his rod folded over. At first he thought it was a snag but then you could see the a tail beat on the rod. Using a 1/8” oz tungsten jig head with a light wire 1/0 hook and 6 pound Berkley GINCLEAR, the fish engulfed a Berkley Drip Minnow. Knowing he had light line, it was a delicate battle. The way the fish was fighting we knew it was a Walleye and not your typical 19” Holter fish. After about 3 minutes it surfaced from 20’ of water and we could see the white tip and confirmed it was a Walleye. All I could think of was the 6 pound test, the braid connection knot and the teeth! It made a few short runs close to the boat and the line held and we netted the Walleye. After a few high fives and the shock of seeing a fish of that size, we measured the fish at 30”. We didn’t have a scale but estimated the Walleye at over 10 pounds. A personal best for Steve!
Shortly after we switched to trout fishing. Most of the trout are in post spawn mode and have moved out of the shallows and onto the flats in a little deeper water. The best spots were ledges with current on the secondary flood level drop offs. Fish are starting to pull rather than spin so water is getting warmer for the trout.
Great day on the water and a big congratulations to Steve Nistler for a personal best Walleye! Looking forward to the post spawn Walleye bite in the coming weeks.
Congratulations to Steve Nistler on a legendary 30-inch personal best! If this is how the pre-spawn starts, the rest of the season at Holter is looking very bright (and hopefully a bit warmer).
