As anglers, I’m certain we all have that one fish we dream of landing. It haunts and inspires our dreams, and we may have even seen it swim away before. As a multi-species angler, I have a lot of dream catches running through my mind. There is one species, though, that holds a special place in my heart. If you’ve been following along with my adventures in the past, you may already know that I’m talking about walleye. Last month while ice fishing on the Bay of Quinte, I landed the walleye of my dreams and even captured the emotional experience on video! Walleye is where it all began for me, making this fish even more special.
A Lifelong Love for Walleye
At five years old, my first fishing adventure began with trolling for walleye on Lake Kashwakamak with a family friend named Arnold, the owner of Twin Oaks Lodge (near Cloyne, Ontario). I didn’t come from a family of anglers, but was very lucky to get to experience fishing at a young age. My fondest childhood memories stemmed from these early fishing adventures and it’s what sparked my passion and drive to spend as much time on the water as I do today.
I’m also fortunate to have grown up in the Bay of Quinte region, one of the top walleye destinations in the world. I’ve spent countless days chasing walleye on the open water with friends aboard their boats, and in more recent years, aboard my own vessel since becoming a boat owner. I didn’t get to experience ice fishing quite as early in my life, but I’ve been loving the time I’ve spent on the ice over the past 10+ years. I have a lot of special memories on the Bay of Quinte both on open and hardwater, which I think makes a moment and fish like this even more meaningful. I hope you enjoy the video below!
The Walleye of a Lifetime
An Emotional Reaction
If you took the time to read my brief connection to walleye fishing above, you’ll likely understand why I had such an emotional reaction to this fish. This is the walleye I’d been dreaming about! I’ve been making more of an effort to film my fishing adventures this year and share them on my YouTube channel (YouTube.com/SheLovesToFish), so I’m really thankful I had the camera rolling on this day. The emotions captured in this video are not something I could have put into words. I’m grateful I had my significant other, Eric, present to share this experience with, help me film it, as well as provide emotional support! As you can see, I was an emotional wreck, LOL!
Thank You!
Thank you to those of you that have taken the time to watch the video already! I shared this video on my social media channels a few weeks back and the response has blown me away! I received many phone calls, messages, emails, comments, and shares. I’ve even had a few people write to tell me that the video brought them to tears as well. The fishing community is truly amazing and I’m thankful to be able to share a moment like this with others!
Thank you for stopping by!
<3 Ashley
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This is the kind of pure-hearted fascination and joy that anglers and hunters should always embrace. Your reaction is authentic. So refreshing. You celebrate and share the real life emotional moment that comes from putting in the time and the commitment and following an outdoors passion. Great job.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Robert! I’m so thankful to have captured this moment on video and am still pretty blown away by it all.