The fish that didn't get away

All of my life I've been blessed to fish around or with some of the best fisher people in the Pacific Northwest.

This past weekend I ventured out on a solo journey with two of my trusty sidekicks, Madison and Maggie (two of my three Weimaraners) people have come to know aboard the Fish Whisperer.

Friday morning I set sail on the big pond, Lake Pend Oreille, located in the beautiful Idaho Panhandle.

Thirty minutes into my morning I'm blessed with my first good Rrrrrrippppp on the rigger. The beautiful hen weighed 14 pounds and came just north of the cape on a custom Glow Apex I hand painted. After I released that beauty, I made note that I had a hot Apex working at 70 feet and continued setting lines.

• Fast forward to Sunday

After two good days of fishing, camping and fishy weather the standings were set. I needed a 20-pound or bigger to land in the top three. Dave Gillespie and his wife (the chairman team of the Lake Pend Oreille Club) were in good shape, being in first place with a dandy 22-pound Kam.

Mark Hull was smiling with a 21-pound and Don Wimpenny was hanging on, edging out two other 20-pound beauties.

The weather really picked up Sunday morning. High winds 6-8-foot rollers up near Hope and a lot of great fisher people fishing their hearts out in the 27th Annual Halloween Derby.

Derbies like these are rich in tradition, familiar boats, fisher people and competition. I was praying to the fish gods, thinking about two of the best ever (Jerry and Virginia Sturgis) and running my favorite Frisky Jenny flies as the chop became fishy. My good friend Susan Houk ties a fabulous fly.

By noon on Sunday the lake began to lay down and I continued to fish Deadman through Granite back and forth. I was texting my dad, my sweet Holly, my friends Chris and Stacy while praying for another shot at a rrrrripppper off the board.

Ironically my friend Al sent me a text saying he was going to hook a 26.02 pound on the troll home with his wife, Annie. Remember that weight.

I have always caught fish on lakes around here at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and I always talk about the 2 o'clock bite.

I had no clue what was about to take place.

• At 2 p.m.

I'm traveling south and texting about stopping at Whisky Rock and having an adult beverage with my friend Chris and my 90-foot rigger goes off. At this point I'm running three flies on each board 300 feet, 275 feet and 250 feet back. Three of my four riggers at 70 feet, 80 feet and 90 feet.

As I'm dealing with the rigger fish, a 4-pound bull trout, RrrRRRRrrrrrrippppppp and I mean RRRRRRIIIP goes a fly off the board.

Since I was fishing alone, I was forced to make a quick decision. I decided to fight the fish in a circle. The TR-1 auto pilot was my only hope. By this time the fish had burrrrned line out to 750 feet. I began making large circles, three to be exact in front of Granite texting my key people that I was battling a beast. With the difficult lake conditions and many blessings it took 40 minutes to create this lifetime memory.

• At 2:40 p.m.

Knowing that it was 20 short minutes from the 3 p.m. buzzer, I cleared the rest of my lines, pulled the riggers and boards and fired up the Fish Whisperer.

Soon she was on plane for the trip from Granite to Garfield Bay.

Knowing I had to hurry I gave Roy Stokes on the Radio a shout out.

"Hey Roy, you better warm up that scale for me."

The radio response was classic with hecklers, the usual "sure buddy" and other wise cracks.

Meanwhile, my beautiful 24-foot Wooldridge Pilot house is steam-rolling through the die hards left on the lake in the mouth of Garfield Bay.

• At 2:55 p.m.

I arrive at Captain's Table Garfield Bay and quickly tie off.

• At 2:58 p.m.

I walk in the door knowing my 36-inch fish had a chance and I'm greeted by a great group of household names. I see some of the best fisher people in the Northwest looking on from the crowd. I'm filled with adrenaline as the weigh master hangs my fish on the scale...

26.20 pounds... 36-inches...

The 27th Annual Halloween Derby Winner!

Oh my! I did it.

I was all smiles and it was time to celebrate. It was time to give thanks. I grabbed a few friends and later the folks that stayed around and celebrated with Mary and the great folks of the Captain's Table.

I owe this fish to Jerry and Virginia Sturgis. If it wasn't for their spirit and blessings shining down on me and my Frisky Jenny Fly tied by my good friend Susan Houk, this story wouldn't be in such happy print.

This is a weekend I'll never forget and I am thankful for the old friends and new friends that experienced it with me.

Roger Blackstone is the chairman of the board of directors Lake Coeur d'Alene Angler's Association.