This past week, I spent some time at our cabin in Northern Minnesota. I was lucky to have my grandson, Dylan, and his friend Liam come up for the weekend to work on the cabin and do a little fishing. I have to say that those kids are really good workers. Dylan, who works as a carpenter for a contractor out of St. Cloud, really knows his stuff. He is in his senior year of college and works full-time and does online classes majoring in Construction Management.
I am fortunate to have four grandsons who are all hard workers in their prospective fields. More importantly, they are great young men with great work ethics and that makes Grandpa very, very proud.
Getting back to the week spent at the cabin, the boys worked hard putting a ceiling in the cabin, and after they had put in a day’s work, they did a little fishing on an area lake. The first two days they didn’t have a lot of luck, but after finishing the project they decided to try a different lake. This turned out to be a good idea because they caught a lot of northern and some bass.
They asked my opinion on what lake to fish that last day and I told them to try a little lake that my son Brian and I have fished quite often in the fall. The fish sure did cooperate and it almost made me look like I knew what I was talking about.
I am sure that some folks could probably say that I pretty much spoiled Dylan as a fisherman, because he fishes like I do and mainly loves to fish for pike and bass. I don’t regret it one bit because he is very good at it. Whether it is casting or trolling, there is nothing like the feeling you get when a pike or bass smashes your lure just as it hits the water. What a rush!
I always love fall fishing and when the leaves start to turn, there is no better place to be than on a lake enjoying the scenery. There is an extra perk to fall and that is the fishing. This is the time of year when you have a good chance of catching a personal best fish as they are fattening up for winter. I even hate to put that “W” word in print because it seems all too close.
In the week that I was at the cabin, the leaves began to turn, and with the cool weather that we were experiencing, they seemed to be turning way too fast. By the end of my week at the cabin, there was a noticeable change of colors. The drive home was great because the color of the soft wood trees was giving me a show until I got farther south.
This is a great time to take a few days and head north to enjoy the beauty of fall. If you get to the Grand Rapids area, you will not regret taking a drive on Scenic Highway 38 north out of Grand Rapids. This is a beautiful drive any time of year, but the fall colors bring it to a whole new level. Spending time in the north country in the fall makes everything just a little bit better.
Gooseberry Falls by the North Shore of Lake Superior is a popular place to visit in the fall. To be honest, I have never visited this place, but that will change this year if I have the opportunity to do that. We have so many nice places to enjoy the beautiful scenery in Northern Minnesota. Don’t sell our area short, however, because there is a lot of fall beauty for us to enjoy right here at home. Thankfully, it will be a few weeks before we will see a lot of color in this neck of the woods, but when the leaves do turn, enjoy it!
Until next time: now is a great time to do some fishing. Who knows? That lunker that you’ve been seeking could be lurking just around the next point, waiting to attack your lure.
Please take a few moments also to honor those who have sacrificed so much for the freedoms that we enjoy today. Also take a little extra time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who have served and those troops who are serving today.