Our Fishing Expedition

Last Sunday Mike talked me into going fishing at the Raccoon River about 12 miles north of Carroll. Don't ask me how he got me to go on a late Sunday afternoon, when I wanted to get a ton of stuff done at home, but he did! He said the walleye were biting and we might will get one! That definitely sparked my interest! So we headed out with all of our fishing gear and went fishing at the river!

I'm pretty sure I thew out over 100 casts along with Mike...and no luck. After about an hour of absolutely no bites, I about threw in the towel and that's when it hit! Out of nowhere, I had a fish bite and was trying to fight the fish and get him in before my line broke or he slipped off. Of course I was screaming and getting pretty excited. Mike made his way over to me (we were on some steep rocks) and I was able to get the fish out of the water safely in the meantime. Come to find out it was a smallmouth bass. We've caught very few 13-14" largemouth bass at Swan Lake here in Carroll, but the only time I've ever caught smallmouth bass is when we're in Minnesota on vacation. And let me tell you...those fish can fight! They do about all the jumping, thrashing, flopping that they can to get off your hook and get away from you! Needless to say, it was pretty exciting. The best part is that it was a 16" smallmouth - the largest bass that I've ever caught!

Raccoon River - 16" Smallmouth Bass

Raccoon River - 16" Smallmouth Bass

So after taking some pictures, getting the measurement, all the excitement, and releasing the fish, we went back to fishing, having a little more hope that we would maybe catch that walleye. After about 10-15 minutes, Mike shouted over that he had something on the line, and of course, after little struggle on his part, he brought in his own smallie! 15 1/2 inches! So excited that we both caught something! (I was also thrilled on the inside because mine was bigger, haha!)

Raccoon River - 15 1/2" Smallmouth Bass

Raccoon River - 15 1/2" Smallmouth Bass

After more pictures, another measurement, more excitement, and another release, we went back to fishing, but had no luck after about 20 minutes and decided to call it a night since we both brought something in and it was past suppertime! No walleyes were caught, but we know they ARE out there and we had fun catching at least some sort of fish! Hopefully soon I'll be able to post pictures of our walleye that we might will catch out of the Raccoon. You just never know!

Enjoy some videos of our expedition!