Aiden Evitts, 11, of Roseau, Minn., had himself quite a day of fishing Saturday, Dec. 8, on Lake of the Woods catching 31-inch and 28½-inch walleyes about an hour and a half apart while fishing with his dad, John, north of Pine Island.
Here's how family friend Bryan Mason described the encounter:
"John got him and his son set up and then went to help a buddy get set up next to them. It was only a matter of minutes and Aiden was yelling from the portable, 'Dad, I got a big one, help!!'
"John ran over to the house, and there with the head out of the hole was a beauty 31-inch, 11-pound trophy walleye.
"He was so pumped for his son, but the story doesn't end there. ...
"About an hour and a half later, Aiden had another monster hit his red Lindy Rattling Flyer tipped with a fathead minnow. This one measured out 28½ inches, and weighed just over 9 pounds. "The adults spent the rest of the day talking about how they've fished a whole lifetime waiting for one over 28 inches and how Aiden got two in one day. Pretty amazing!"
Aiden kept the 31-inch walleye for mounting and released the 28½-inch fish.