The 'eye' that got away... Oh well

After a lifetime of crying over the ones that got away, I’m finally at peace with all those lost fish.

They were simply meant to be.

Fishing last week with my friend Mike on the Big Dry Arm of Fort Peck Lake, I hooked something heavy that stayed deep. Within seconds Mike said: “That’s a big ‘eye.”

He would know. A Minnesota native, Mike is the best walleye angler I’ve ever shared a boat with. He’s adept at every technique from bottom bouncing to vertical jigging to trolling crank baits.

There’s only one flaw in his game: he has a small net. For Mike, however, it’s the perfect size. He prefers...