4:30 –  wake up, shower, shave, coffee, Cheerios

5:30 – Show up at the airport

6:21 – take off for Boston, captains leg, 530mph ground speed en route

7:52 – arrive in Boston just after sunrise

8:25 – take off back to Cleveland, my leg, 450mph ground speed back home

10:28 – land in Cleveland, greased the landing 🙂

11:00 – get home, lunch, 45 minute power nap, pack up the truck with hunting gear

13:00 – cousin Nick shows up and we head south to Wooster to try to get a deer

14:15 – arrive at Chris’s house to hunt her 18 acres

15:00 – Set up in tree stand, a coyote charges me while I am setting up the stand, scared the crap out of me.  I am hooking up the stand, I hear something running fast through the brush, and I scramble for my gun thinking someone jumped a deer and he was running at me.  I have the gun, turn in the direction its coming from, and a coyote pops out 30 feet from me, stops, we stare at each other for a split second, and he darted back in the thick brush.

15:30 – a 8 point buck appears in the distance, 80 yards through some thick brush on a ridge.  I think about shooting, but think he may turn my direction and come into a much better shot.  To my dismay, he turned, went over the other side of the ridge.

16:40 – things get exciting.  The same buck appears back on the same ridge, heading the opposite direction towards a field.  I think he is going to follow the ridge to the field, and then track the woods down the field towards me, and right into my wheel house.  I scope him up, think about pulling the trigger, but tell me self to wait, as he is heading into a much better shot, and this is a tough shot as is.  He picks up speed, turns left, and hops a fence and trots out into a field away from me.  Damn!  I look further out into the field, and he and 3 other does are grazing at 150-200 yards.  The sun goes down and my chance is over.  I’ll set up on the ridge he was on next time, and hopefully he’ll be back in the same area.

17:30 – tree stand down, truck loaded up, heading North back home empty handed, but not with out a thrill.

18:30 – get home, hook up the boat, Kevin arrives, and we are headed west for some of Lake Erie’s legendary night walleye fishing.   Discussion heading west centers around whether to fish Lorain or Vermillion.  Vermillion – more consistent,  good reports from last night, smaller fish.  Lorain – bigger fish, crappy reports the last few days, best with stable weather.   We decide Vermillion and drive past the Lorain exit.  Wait a minute – today was light south winds, that dirty water probably cleaned up a bit today, and with the warm weather today, all that Black River water (more flow than Vermillion river) warms up fastest, and dumps right out in front of the Lorain harbor.  That is where the warmer water is going to be, and just maybe that little spike could turn those Lorain fish on.  At the last minute we swing a right at the second Lorain Exit and back track a bit towards Hotwaters in Lorain.

20:00 – After a quick stop for gas, an energy drink, and a McD’s chicken sandwich, we launch the boat.  Talking to a friend Mike at the ramp, word is that the Vermillion bite is off today, and we may have made the right call.  Also the wind shifted east and picked up, making for 4 foot rollers in open water.  Fortunately, we can tuck in west of the wall and be protected here in Lorain.  With my small boat, our night may have been over before we started fishing if we had gone to Vermillion.

20:20 – First board goes back on Kevin’s side, and not long after a 6lber hits the deck.  Turns out that would be the the second smallest fish of the night.  Before we could get Kevin’s line back in the water, another one goes back, and then another!  We had a slight down time when the moon poked out of the clouds, but for the most part it was game on the next 4 hours!  10lber, 7lber, 8, 9, 10, 10.5, 7, etc.  Slob after slob kept hitting the deck.  What a blast!  F-18 stick baits and rattlin rouges did the trick

00:30 – With fish flopping all over the deck because the cooler was full, and us limited out, we decide to call it a night.

02:00 – After a quick clean up, we arrive home, and put the boat away.

02:20 – What a day, head hits the pillow.