It is almost time to break out the fishing poles, replace the old line and oil the reels. For years, this was my springtime ritual, but sadly, I don‘t get as excited about the opener as I once did. I often wondered why my Uncle Ben seemed to become less interested in fishing as he seemed to be when he would take me fishing. I couldn’t comprehend it, so I struggled to understand. As I have grown older, I have begun to understand and realized that he didn’t lose interest, he just had different priorities.
When I was a youth and wanting to get in every fishing experience possible, there were times when my Uncle Ben would take me fishing. We went to Lake Elysian one time where you had to pay for the experience of fishing on the point. You had to drive up a farmer's field road to a gate, then you dropped .50 cents into a pipe with a slot. That day we caught numerous walleye, but they were in the 8-9 inch range and not keepable. Even though we brought no fish home, it was a fun time and one that I always have fond memories of.
When I returned from the service and had a family, I asked my uncle if he wanted to go to Reeds Lake with me and my son, Brian, and he said that sounded great. Uncle Ben brought his usual cans of Vienna sausage and crackers for snacking. On that day we caught some northern and a few smaller panfish. Although we didn’t keep any fish that day, we had a good time and Brian, especially, liked it when we stopped at the Dairy Queen in Waseca for a burger, fries and some ice cream.
As I look back on those times when my uncle had taken me fishing, it brings up a lot of good memories. I was never able to go “up north” too many times, but when I did, I cherished every moment. My Uncle Ben and Aunt Marcie took me up north with them a couple of times. I would be so excited that I could barely sleep, and, as the time drew close for them to pick me up, I would stand out in the yard waiting anxiously for the moment to arrive.
My Aunt Marcie would fix a lunch for us to eat on the way up. I can remember stopping at a little rest area on Hickory Lake. She had made sandwiches, potato salad and beans. For some reason, that picnic lunch tasted better than I could have ever imagined. I am sure that part of it was the excitement of the trip, although Marcie was a very good cook. I drive past that place once in a while on my way to the cabin, and each time I do, I think about that time.
Once we got to Deer River, we stopped at the Information Center, and Ben asked about openings for the week. We found a nice little resort on Portage Lake which was connected to Sand Lake near Inger. The young couple that ran the resort were originally from Geneva, which we thought was cool.
Once we had checked in, Ben and Marcie were tired, so they took a little nap while I went down to the dock to try my luck fishing. As I looked out over the lake, I got a warm, fuzzy feeling that made me feel like I was living my dream.
After his nap Ben and I went out on the lake to find some fish. We dropped anchor at the mouth of the Bowstring River where it connected with Sand Lake. That evening we caught some walleyes, which fulfilled part of my dream. It was just about sunset when we came in and Ben told me I could do some dock fishing when we finished cleaning the fish. It was pretty close to sunset as I walked down to the dock. I began throwing a jig and minnow, and soon I was reeling in “slab” crappies. They bit fast and furious and then they stopped, but I already had some nice ones on my stringer. When I walked up to the cabin with those fish, Ben couldn’t believe that I had caught them off of the dock.
That was just one of several times that I was lucky enough to go fishing with my uncle. I also went up north to Leech Lake with my mother and sister to visit our old neighbors who had sold their house and bought a resort. My mom and dad along with myself and my sister also went up to Milaca to visit old friends. They owned a gas station and a 3.2 Beer Joint. We only went fishing once in the Rum River. When we did, we caught a lot of fish, mostly bullheads.
Until next time: I am looking forward to the open water fishing season, where I will hopefully catch a few crappies.
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