A Fishy Weekend

A Fishy Weekend

By Allan Olson

We were living the high life last weekend. With fishing on the brain, we committed to the hard task of catching fish.

It all started on Friday afternoon. We hit the big water (Lake of the Woods) out of Morris Point at about 3 p.m. – that was an adventure. Along for the trip were my wife and I, our four kids, and my parents.

Marcus had been talking about going fishing all day, and that got me excited, since normally he’s the one who doesn’t like to fish. The girls and Nikolai were ready to hit the lake, too. Of course, they wanted to explore the island and go swimming as well – neither of which were an option.

The captain of the boat, Alivia, helped navigate us to our destination (with grandpa close beside her, controlling the speed and helping her keep it in the right direction). The afternoon on the boat consisted of trying to get the kids to stay in one spot and leave their line in the water – a challenge for any kid.

If I would have counted the number of times Abigial checked her bait or moved from her spot, I’m sure it would’ve been high. She wiggled and jiggled numerous times, and even managed to land a small sauger by herself. How she ever hooked the poor fish – with all her moving around – is unexplainable.

We were prepared to stay out on the boat for a long while. We brought snack food, water and even a porta-potty.

The kids didn’t complain about needing to go potty until we mentioned there was one on board. Almost immediately, Alivia needed to go. We ignored her, but she was determined. Unabashed, she plunked down and couldn’t have cared less if anyone saw her “taking care of business.”

A while later, Abigail decided that she needed to go potty. She looked the facility over, and I told her to go ahead. She looked it over again, and with a look of disgust on her face, decided that she could wait. She shook her head “no” at me.

Marcus, who had been so enthusiastic about going fishing, soon became disenchanted with the whole process when the others were catching fish but he wasn’t. I told him, “You can reel mine in when I get another one.” Alas, that never happened while he was on the boat.

With only a few fish in the livewell, we headed back to shore. It was time for the kids to head back to the grandparents’ home with grandma.

Nikolai decided to stay, since he had yet to catch any fish. The other three were fine with going back, except they were mad about riding in our van instead of grandma’s car.

“I don’t like fishing anymore,” Marcus said as he left. Hopefully, next time we take him out he’ll catch a fish or two.

Nikolai, my dad and my wife and I all headed back out on the lake for another try. My luck took a turn for the better and I started reeling in a few fish – some for the dinner pan and some for seed for future trips.

Nikolai was still not having any luck. I felt bad that he wasn’t catching any, since everyone else was. I switched lures with him, giving him my orange spinner. I searched for something else to use. Whether it was my lucky touch or just the right color for the evening bite, it worked. Soon Nikolai hauled in a couple fish, including the biggest fish of the evening.

The perch-colored spinner I chose for myself worked, too, and I landed a few more for the dinner table for Saturday. We left the almost perfectly calm lake just before dark with not quite our limit, but a pretty good start on a meal.

Despite the rain and gloom in the sky on Saturday, we headed out again. This time it was just Nikolai, my dad and my brother.

The girls were disappointed, but I told them they got to go with grandma to rummage sales, they were thrilled at that prospect. Marcus spent the day with his cousin, and was sad when his mom picked him up after her day at a bridal shower much later that day.

We fished for several hours in the rain on that chilly morning, finally calling it quits in the early afternoon. The fishing wasn’t good. My lucky orange spinner that Nikolai had called dibs on that morning wasn’t working for him.

I picked up a couple with my perch spinner, and dad got a pair with his hammered gold spinner. Frustrated, Nikolai picked out a jig to try change his luck. “You sit here and fish with my pole while I get you ready,” I told him. My mistake. I sat down to change his lure when he yelled excitedly, “Dad, you got a fish!” I think all of us answered, “Reel it up!” which was my second mistake. He reeled it up, and it turned out to be the biggest catch of the weekend – a 21.5 inch walleye. “It’s got to go back,” grandpa said, looking at it. We measured it to make sure, but grandpa was right, it was in the release slot, so back it went. That was his only fish of the day, and we left the lake before the rain started again with only four fish. Not very good with four people in the boat.

On Sunday we headed back out for one more try in the warm afternoon sun. Nikolai was quick to steal my perch spinner again, so I went back to the orange one. We were both lucky this time. On this short outing he landed three, including a perfect eater at 17.5 inches, and narrowly lost a fourth. I brought in two and fed a couple more. The others in the boat got skunked, and the trip was abandoned when the waves started to build. That was okay, since we needed to head for home.

Over the weekend, Nikolai also got to play boat captain and anchor boy, both tasks he’s improving on.

This weekend will be dull in comparison, but I’m certain that we will still find ways to enjoy it. Perhaps a geocaching trip around the area – after the lawn gets mowed (again).

Please be safe on the lakes this weekend – wear your life jacket, keep the kids safe, and remember to take a picture to preserve a lifetime of memories.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week. Remember – watch out for school buses on the road. For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.