Once again, I am anticipating spending time at the cabin in the near future. I will get to try out my new riding lawnmower. I have never owned one before, so after I bought it, I headed down to my son Brian’s for a little driver’s education. I have been sitting at home for much too long, and I know that the grass will be pretty high. Hopefully the weather cooperates, and the mosquitoes aren’t too hungry.
Once the work is done, I hope to have a little play time which I will spend doing some fishing and exploring. I have always loved investigating a new lake and wetting a line while doing it. I have always enjoyed checking out new lakes. Our lake froze out about 3-4 years ago, so there hasn’t been much incentive for me to fish it. With all of the lakes that we have in the area of the cabin, I have no trouble finding lakes to explore. If I find one that looks enticing, I will spend some time taking pictures and making a few casts from shore. This time I hope to do a little fishing from my boat. If my body cooperates, I will be exploring another new lake from the boat.
I have a 12-ft. Lund fishing boat for which I just purchased a new 6-hp Mercury motor, so I am anxious to try it out. I hope that the weather cooperates, and it isn’t too hot or windy. Wind is good, but too much wind makes it hard to fish from a small boat.
Just being on the water will be a treat, and catching fish will be a bonus. I have never had a problem with fishing alone, but as I have gotten older, I have become a little more cautious. I am anticipating the feel of a morning breeze brushing my face as I head onto a lake in search of that first cast of the morning. This is really what fishing is all about, the exhilarating feeling of water spraying in your face as the boat cruises down the lake in search of the secret fishing spot that will be holding that lunker.
There is something almost magical about trolling on a lake and the feeling of expectation that at any moment the rod will bend, and you will feel that long awaited pull on the other end. Casting gives me a similar feeling. I don’t believe that there is a more exciting moment than casting a lure and having a fish come out of the water to take your lure before it hits the water. I have had both musky and northern pike do that and bass have also been known to do that.
Fishing towards the end of July into August can be good. Fishing weed edges and weed edges around sunken islands or points can produce a variety of different species of fish. I have caught walleye during the day fishing weed beds. Fish, especially walleye, will tend to hang along weed edges in late summer and into fall.
Until next time: I have been complaining about what I consider feral cats that are numerous in our neighborhood. A couple of days ago I spotted one of said cats trotting down my driveway with a small branch with a maple leaf in its mouth. Then I noticed the tail of a squirrel dragging on the ground with the squirrel clenched in its mouth. It then proceeded to strut across the street and disappear into one of the neighbor’s back yards. The cat's buddies could be getting jealous.
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