Sara's Walleye Trip

Sara’s Walleye Trip

By Alona Shoup and OVO Staff

And a good bunch of fishing companions.

As we began writing this article about one of the fishing trips awarded from Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine’s subscription drive contest, Ray Ward received a letter from Alona Shoup, the mother and chaperone for one of our fishing trip winners, Sara Shoup. Her letter can not tell it much better how much of a wonderful trip we all had. So, we are printing her "Thank You" letter about our GREAT walleye fishing trip on Lake Erie June 2, 2003.

Along with winner Sara Shoup, of Smithville, Ohio, other winners for this walleye fishing trip were Don Lawrence from Ada, Ohio and Jay Chamberlin from Columbiana, Ohio. Along for the trip were OVO representatives Ray Ward, advertising manager, Art Johanson, layout director and of course, our captain for the day Jerry Smith piloting Fishin’ Fever Charters T – Craft.

And now, Alona’s letter:

While most mothers and daughters look forward to a day of shopping or getting their hair done, my daughter and I would rather go fishing. Through the Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine, my daughter, Sara, and I won a one-day chartered fishing trip on Lake Erie.

I don’t think either of us got very much sleep the night before our trip. The weather had been very rainy and cool but as we left our house at 4:30 a.m. for the drive to Port Clinton the weather promised to be warm and sunny. Neither Sara nor I have ever been on a charter boat or on Lake Erie, so during our hour drive we talked about our expectations for the day. During our moments of silence we were imagining the excitement of landing a big walleye. I had also been wondering what the men on the trip were thinking about two females joining them for the day and hoped they weren’t disappointed that it wouldn’t be an all-male excursion. Any concerns I had quickly vanished as we met the other four men and Captain Jerry Smith of Fishin’ Fever Charters. There is a natural comrade among men and women alike who love to fish and soon we were talking in the group like we had known each other all our lives.

Jerry started his boat and it was quite a different sound compared to our 15 HP Evinrude motor on our small fishing boat in Canada. Soon we were off and heading toward Kelley’s Island. Jerry showed Sara his fish finders and answered her questions about the depth of the water and the size and number of fish.

We started the day drifting and casting. The waves were one to two feet high and Sara and I were exhilarated to get our lines in the water. Ray Ward (from the magazine) caught a walleye a short time later and then I caught a perch and a little later a walleye. I caught myself starting to worry, "What if Sara doesn’t catch anything?" Looking back on my thoughts and knowing what I know, I laugh at myself for ever doubting my daughter.

We fished a little longer, reeled in our lines and then Jerry took us to another spot on the lake to troll. The waves had calmed and the sun was shining. Once all the poles were in the water we sat and watched, anticipating the first strike. When one of the poles started moving, Sara jumped up and grabbed it. She reeled in her first walleye of the day. It was 26 inches long and estimated at four pounds. It was the biggest walleye she had ever caught and I was overjoyed.

Although I have always enjoyed trolling, I had never experienced it at this level. Some of the lines were out as far as 120 feet and after reeling in a fish at that distance your whole body is tired. Everyone was taking turns grabbing poles and catching walleye with an occasional sheep-head or white bass on the line. Sara brushed up on her netting skills netting quite a few fish throughout the day.

What would happen next is forever etched in my memory. Sara was reeling in a fish that was a good distance from the boat. The fish stayed down and she was cranking hard to get him in. The guys started questioning what kind of fish it might be and saying whatever it was, it was big. Although I was dying inside, Sara stayed calm and continued to reel him in closer. The fish stayed down in the water, but when we got our first glimpse as he turned to the side the excitement on the boat escalated. Ray grabbed the net. As Sara backed up in the boat, she kept reeling, bringing him closer to the net. When Ray netted him and they pulled him into the boat and we saw how big he was there were cheers, my squeals, but mostly what I remember is the smile on Sara’s face. She had caught a 29 1/2inch, 10 1/2-pound walleye and he was a beauty.

After the excitement died down, it was back to fishing. Over the next several hours Sara would also catch a 29-inch, 8-pound walleye. After that one was netted I teased her that I was going to start pushing her out of the way so I could get a chance to catch a big one for myself.

At the end of the day our group had caught 22 walleye, as well as some bass. Sara and I had experienced one of the greatest days of our lives. As I looked around our group, I thought about how the men had been such great sports and had taken such good care of us through the day.

We will be forever grateful to Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine and Fishin’ Fever Charters for this great fishing adventure. After all, a mother and daughter can go shopping anytime, but catching a 10 1/2 pound walleye -- priceless.

Thank you Alona for your beautiful testimonial letter. I am glad your daughter and you had a GREAT time.

Now you may be wondering why I said "Record Walleye Fishing Trip." Well, I said RECORD because as the day went along, we all caught the biggest walleye for each one of us. It may have not been the "Record Catch" on record, but to us it was the biggest we had ever caught.

We want to THANK everyone for their participation in a delightful fishing day had by all. You see, you to can make it a memorable day for yourself just by entering one of OVO promotional drawings which can be read in each OVO publication.