BOTCO 2009

I had another good BOTCO fishing trip this year. For those of you who aren't familiar, the BOTCO fishing trip was started over 50 years ago with my grandpa & five of his buddies. We've continued the tradition every year at the same lake. The trip promises good times & good fishing, and this year was no exception. We rented out three cabins, and this year had 12 guys make it up for the trip, spanning 3 generations.

Dad and I and my brother in law made the drive up to Big Lake in Bemidji on Saturday morning. We had a little rain during the drive and when we first arrived. The rest of the trip was beautiful - sunshine & clear skies until we left on Tuesday after breakfast.

We enjoyed some good Walleye fishing and made a couple trips out just for sunfish, and were able to land enough so I could come home with a limit's worth of sunnies. My walleye catch wasn't much, but Dad landed the Walleye King traveling trophy this year.

My cousin Billy ran his annual bass tournament. Over the two-hour timeframe our boat managed to land a few small bass, which are fun to catch. We didn't recoup our $5 entry fees but left with a few door prizes Billy had gathered up for the tournament. My uncle Tom landed the largest bass at about 4 lbs.

When not fishing or relaxing, we enjoyed some excellent meals. The highlight each year is our afternoon fish fry. Much of the walleye catch from the first couple days was breaded & deep fried for the group on the afternoon of day 2. along with cooking the fish, we fried up a big batch of chopped potatoes, onions, and bacon, some baked beans, and a variety of homemade wine and sweets.

Overall, a nice getaway. I came back with a tan, lots of fish for the freezer, and had some relaxing time off from work.