"RED LAKE INDIAN RESERVATION, Minn. — We could see the fish was a big walleye by the flash of its tail, which was the size of a large man’s hand, and it wanted no part of Darwin Sumner’s best efforts to reel it to the surface.

“Whoa, that’s a big one,” Sumner, of Red Lake, Minn., said as the fish bull-dogged its way back to the root beer-colored depths, peeling line from his drag at will.

“That’s a big walleye.”

The sight of a big walleye below the boat never gets old. All Sumner could do was hang on tight and enjoy the ride.

It took a few minutes, but Sumner managed to coax the walleye into the boat without losing it. Judging by its ample girth, the blackish-gold beauty likely weighed 9 pounds or more.

The big walleye capped a magical 45 minutes that saw two of us release several large fish — including one that measured 25 inches —from the same stretch of shoreline.

Not bad for a small lake that covers a mere 190 acres."

Get the Story:
Brad Dokken: Small lakes can still be home to large fish (The Grand Forks Herald 6/28)