A Fishing Adventure

A Fishing Adventure

By Allan Olson

We knew from the onset it was going to be a challenge. We also knew it had the potential to be fun and exasperating at the same time. We were proved right in all areas.

Last weekend was a first for us. We prepared to take all four children to our family’s ice house on Lake of the Woods near Morris Point Resort. It was a trip nearly a month in the planning – a getaway and an adventure.

The ice house, while not large, is comfortable with four or five adults in the shelter. It was no match for four kids and three adults.

Preparation

Four kids in hats, gloves, snowpants, boots and extra layers in between. That alone was a task; at the same time we were trying to get ourselves ready, while not forgetting anything.

Arrival

When we drove out onto the ice, my oldest daughter Abigail said, "I guess the waves won't be a problem today." That was the first of many times I broke out laughing. She, of course, was serious, as at least twice last summer the waves prevented us from getting out on the lake.

The ice house was snowed in, but that was no big deal. It was just a short distance from the resort’s main road. My brother, oldest son and my wife got the house ready while I returned to the resort for bait with the three youngest in tow.

Return to ice house

Nikolai was freezing; I warned him before we left and laughed at him when I came back. Shortly after returning to the ice house, I started hauling the three youngest, one at a time, the 100 feet or so to the house. The girls were eager to fish. Marcus, not so much, but he was still a willing participant.

Getting the lines all down in the water was another complicated procedure. We would no sooner get one’s line down and working on another’s when the previous one would reel their’s up to see if they had a fish.

Fishing

Barely a minute had passed when Abigail asked, “When are the fish coming?” 

“I don’t know,” was the reply.

Alivia was the first to catch a fish. I assisted her in the process. Everything was going smoothly – until the line broke. Thankfully, it was at the top of the hole, and the fish was just wide enough to get stuck, so I put my hand into the icy cold water to retrieve it.

“Will you get me a fish?” Marcus asked after that.

A short time later, Marcus was asking for help with his pole.

Mom came to his aid. She helped him reel it up (at least he helped with about the last foot). He didn’t care; he was satisfied.

“Is Grandma coming yet?” Marcus asked. The plan was to fish for a few hours, and then grandma would come take the kids home. Since he got his fish, he was ready to go immediately.

Abigail was next to get a fish. Mom got one on her line and called Abigail over to help. The reel was on the wrong side! She couldn’t help. No worries. It didn’t bother her. Mom successfully landed the fish and put it in the bucket.

“That’s my fish,” Abigail said proudly, as if she did it herself.

“Mom caught my fish,” she said. “Thanks for catching my fish, mom.”

There were a few fish in the bucket before we had our first accident.

Alivia, who was trying to be ever so careful, had a misstep and stuck her leg into the hole. Briefly scared and panicked, she was quickly rescued. Her soaked footwear was removed and placed next to a heater. Not to be deterred, she proclaimed, “I want to fish!” Soon she was hobbling around the fish house with one bare foot and one in a boot, hanging on to her fishing pole. She was also the only one of the four who could eat a sandwich, fish, and reel all at the same time without putting any of them down.

It couldn’t have been ten minutes from the first mishap until we had a second.

This time it was Abigail who stepped in the same hole – with the opposite foot.

She couldn’t have cared less. We pulled her leg out, and she didn’t complain about being cold or wet. “I want to fish,” she said. Both barefooted and wet, we had two little girls still content to be fishing.

Thankfully, Grandma was on her way.

In the nearly four hours they were on the lake with us, it was non-stop commotion. Shortly after they left to meet Grandma at the resort, I was ready for them to come back, because it was suddenly too quiet.

If I wasn’t helping one kid or another with a fishing problem, or dishing out a boot, I was rolling in laughter the remainder of the time.

Without a doubt, it had to be one of the best fishing adventures of all times.

Thanks for reading, remember we appreciate your feedback so feel free to drop us a line at cltimes1@arvig.net. For more of my columns please visit my blog at: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com/.