13 lb Sheyenne River Walleye!!!!

After my wife and I put our daughter to bed I decided to go down to my beloved Sheyenne river and enjoy the full moon night.  The wind was gone and it was about 50 degrees.  I got to the river at about 9pm, tied on my trusty 1/8th oz jig and started to cast.  The first few hits were smaller walleyes with a feisty smallmouth thrown in for a nice change of pace.  I managed to stringer up 4 15-16 inch eaters over an hour and a half or so.  I was getting a bit tired so I decided that the next good fish would round out my limit and I'd be done.  The fog was just starting to form which gave the full moon and stars a peaceful glow.  I cast a bit downstream and let the current do most of the work.  Little did I know that the next hit would produce a fish of a lifetime.  The hit was like a freight train and the fish tore off down downstream.  My drag was singing, but there was nothing I could do but hold on.  I thought I had snagged a carp or a big northern pike had made an appearance.  I was in a bad spot as my line was going to become dangerously close to some concrete if the fish continued it's march downstream so I did my best impression of a circus monkey and jumped from rock to rock to get to a place where I could fight the fish without worrying about the line being cut.  After 3 strong runs of about 30 yards or so I managed to get the fish into an eddy where I would have a reasonable chance of landing it.  I did not expect to see the biggest walleye of my life slide up from the black water and head shake right at my shoes.  I didn't have a net so hand landing was my only option.  After 3 good tries I managed to get my fingers into her gills and up to the truck I went.  The rest is, as they say, History.  She measured 30 inches almost on the dot and has a 21 inch girth.  I don't have a fish scale, but the bathroom scale said she weighed 13 pounds.  She's quite a fish and will be visiting a taxidermist this week.  October 11, 2011 was quite a night for this river rat.