Reel `em in!
I love to fish. However, I don't get the chance to go fishing too often. Growing up in Minnesota I use to fish every chance I had. One of my favorite places to fish was Mille Lacs Lake. It is located 90 minutes north of Minneapolis. Mille Lacs Lake is a large lake and gets alot of fishing 'pressure' from fishermen from Minneapolis and elsewhere. Considering the amount of fishermen that visit the lake and the amount of fish taken, Mille Lacs is a good producer. Some people call Mille Lacs the 'Dead Sea', but to me, the lake produced a fair amount of Walleyes.
Fast forward to Summer 2001. I haven't gotten to fish many times in the last several years for Walleyes. What techniques and skills I had for catching 'em a thing of the past too. I'm on vacation in Minnesota. Hoover Dam has given me the month off and I'm going to go Walleye fishing while I'm up here.
They`re Always Biting at Eddys...

To give you an idea how often I get to fish - I 've got some unused fishing lures in my Tackle box that are 20 years old. Quite a few of 'em infact.

I've got several days planned in my vacation for Walleye fishing. I want a moderate chance at catching them. I do not want to spend more than $100.00/day on a cabin and I do not want to dicker around with a boat/motor rental on a lake that I don't know -or- hire a guide for $200/day. How can I do this for less money and less hassle?

Prior to taking vacation. I did some Web surfing to check out the prices and fishing packages available in Minnesota. I even subscribed to the Minnesota Tourism Bureau's 'Fishing
E-Newsletter' [Note: For a great
fiction read - peruse this Newsletter - it should have a Disclaimer for the weekly reports that it gives].

One of the best deals that I found on the web was a special offered by Eddys Resort . They offered a three day unlimited fishing special for $249 [mid-week]. Looking at the amount of fishing and the other perks that Eddys offered in this package, it seemed like a good deal.

Eddys Resort is located on the Southwest side of Mille Lacs in Onamia Minnesota. Eddys offers Launch Fishing. In the photo to the left shows Eddys Launches, Docks, and Restaurant. The Motel is located behind the Restaurant. Eddy's Motel is comfortable, clean and quiet. I have no complaints about the accommodations.
Accompanying me on my fishing holiday was my wife and her Toy French Poodle. My wife liked the room and Eddys had no problem with the Poodle. It is a pet 'friendly' place.
Eddy's Launch
What made Eddys attractive and affordable was the type of fishing it offered. Eddy's specializes in Launch Fishing. For those of you who have not done this - Launch Fishing is where you go out with other fisherman on a single boat. You bring yourself, your gear and your eats. Eddys provides the boat, the bait and the guide. The beauty is that you do not have to rent a boat, buy bait, or try to find where they're biting. To me, it was a fair trade off.

Eddys guide on our charter [Don was his name] was a colorful character. The first thing he said was, " I'm a Guide - not God! " No doubt, Don said this on all of his charters to his charges. Don's main job was to drive the boat, but he ended up making sure that everyone's rig was setup correctly and even baiting the hook with Leeches - if requested [he was].

When we went out with Don - the fish were not biting. Don kept it lively with tales of his prior careers in the Border Patrol and Law Enforcement. I kept it lively too, in telling my fellow fishermen that their Minnesota accents sounded like something out of the movie 'Fargo'. I knew that people from Minnesota hated that movie as it made them look like a bunch of 'hicks'. Kidding them about it was another type of fishing that I was engaged in. Even though no Walleyes were caught, I did get some fish to take the bait.
Eddys has three Launch charters daily. The morning and evening charters have the best chance of catching fish. Each charter is about four hours long. I preferred the evening charter. You begin a couple of hours before sundown and end a couple of hours after sundown. Prime fishing time. Of course, when I visited, the only thing biting was the mosquitoes. Par for the course but Don made it interesting anyway.
After a day of fishing, Eddys is located five minutes from the Grand Casino. The buffet at the Casino is inexpensive and tasty. It is a good way of ending a day on the lake. I'm not much for casinos, but the Grand Casino is one of the 'better' ones in Minnesota.

I was very pleased with my stay at Eddys and would recommend it as a place to spend a few days. Even with mediocre fishing when we visited, we had a great time. By the way, I'm not on Eddy's payroll nor a relative of the owner. If the place was a rip-off, I guess that I'd say so.

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