October 10, 2000
The
Fish-Boy; The Cool Aunt and The Muskie that DIDN’T get away….
They say some men are born into the sport of fishing and I quite agree. Since my nephew R has been a little boy, he’s always loved to fish. He started out with cane poles at the trout pond when he was 3 and this past weekend, at 14 years old, he had his best adventure yet wrestling a 36 inch Muskie into the boat.
Last year we started talking about taking a fishing trip together. Even though I’ve never really fished {outside of a few times when I was a kid} I knew we’d have a great time. R and I do so many things together and I thought it was about time I learned about the sport that has been consuming his life.
Obviously, being a fishing novice and simply a “cool-Chicago-chick”, I decided to research what we should do and where we should go. I hooked up to the Fish-Wisconsin website and started in the southeastern region of Wisconsin. I came across BP (fishing guides) name and phoned him for help. Fortunately he was able to schedule a Sunday trip for me. He gave me another guide (SM’s) number and just by pure luck, he had a cancellation and I was able to book a Saturday trip with him. We were set! We were to fish with S on Saturday at Pewaukee Lake for Muskie and with B on Sunday at Beaver Dam Lake for Walleye.
I also posted a notice on the bulletin board on the Fish-Wisconsin website and a wonderful fisherman named “Bear” became my unofficial fishing buddy and gave me all the help and advice a cool chick like me needed.
We planned the trip for the 1st weekend in October, when normal temperatures in south-eastern Wisconsin are at an average of about 50-60º. What we got was an unexpected artic cold front that plunged the temperatures down to about 35 -45º. I called both guides the Friday before the trip to make sure we were still on. They both replied that as long as we were ready, so were they! They just cautioned us to dress warm!!
Saturday morning was cold!! The temperature outside read 31º and I dressed in layers - tights, long johns, jeans, turtle neck, sweater and fleece lined rain slicker. R wore long johns, jeans, a sweatshirt and fleece pullover. We looked like we were going to a Bears game in December… less the painted faces.
As we approached the dock, I got nervous. I saw an older man sitting on a very small, very old looking fishing boat. I asked R if he thought that was S and our boat and if it was, I told him I hoped he wouldn’t mind me canceling. There was no way this sturdy woman was going to be on that little rickety thing! He laughed at me and said he doubted that small boat and old man was S. Phew…
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than S drove up. He had a beautiful BIG Lund that I knew I would feel at ease on. When he got out of his truck, I felt underdressed as I looked at him. He had on a ski-suit from head to toe! He walked over and welcomed us and his smile and easygoing nature made me feel immediately comfortable with him. I also couldn’t believe how handsome he was. He was NOT at all what I was expecting! It unnerved me a bit. I NEVER thought fishing guides could look like that!
As we loaded our gear, I asked R to put on his rain gear and of course, being a normal 14-year-old teenager that knows everything, he told me he didn’t need it. Before I could say a word, S handled it beautifully, explaining the difference between land temperatures and lake temps and how the wind and water will cut thru your clothes. He explained how it’s always better to have too much, than too little, as you could always take stuff off. R put his gear on and I knew S was the man!! I should mention that besides being a fishing guide, S is also the most talented artist I’ve ever met. His artwork of freshwater fish is amazing. R and I were looking around in the bait shop near the landing prior to S arriving. R pointed out a print of a curled muskie going for the bait. He said he’d like to have that for his room. John, the owner of the bait shop told us that S had painted that picture. We decided to purchase it right away.
I am truly impressed – it turned out that our fishing guide was multi-talented!! He was a premier muskie hunter; an incredible artist and he had made R put on extra clothes with no more than a brief explanation about temperatures AND R listened! Have I mentioned he was cute too?
We loaded the boat and settled in. Mere words cannot describe how cold that 1st trip across the lake was. S suggested I turn my chair around and face the rear. It helped a bit, but in no way did it eliminate any of the sting of the wind.
As we reached our 1st “Trolling Drop Spot”, we readied the boat. Again, I’m a novice and knew nothing. R has been fishing for years, but never for Muskie. S was patient and explained how to do everything. We set up the poles and leaned back.
Trolling is my kind of fishing. You set your poles in holders on your boat and let the bait drift in the water as the boat drives slowly along the lake. Fish nibble at the lure, thinking it’s real bait swimming along. You can basically sit back, relax and wait for your line to pull. My kind of fishing! On this particular day, the only thing missing was a cold pint of Caffrey’s and a hot sunny day. I teased S and asked if next time I could bring my dogs Sami {75 lb. border collie/shepard mix} and Modine {125 lb. Rottweiler}. He looked very nervous.
It’s hard to describe how much fun we had and all that we learned from S. but I’d have to say the best part was simply the day spent with him. R asked S to give us some fish stories and he was happy to.
After 4 ½ hours on the lake, with nary a nibble, I suggested we take a break, return to shore and use the facilities. After we put the poles away, S said to R, “C’mon, you drive”. Let me explain that the weather was rough, sleet, the waves were outrageous and R is a 14-year-old BOY that doesn’t know how to drive a car, let alone a BOAT! I guess it’s a guy thing because although I never said anything – I looked at S and he looked back and said, “Don’t worry, he’s fine”. I thought I was going to die, correction - I thought we were all going to die! Of course, being the dutiful aunt, I was video-taping the whole 1st driving thing and because R was going so fast, there’s a moment on the video where the camera is bouncing and all you hear is me saying “Holy Shit” over and over. We survived and made it to shore. If I had to use the potty before that trip across the lake, imagine me needing it after!
As
R went in, S told me he felt bad that we hadn’t had any follows and didn’t
want to disappoint R. He was so
sweet. I told him not to worry, we
were having a blast and at this point, catching a fish was just gravy.
He looked relieved and said he’d let R drive again, this time across
the calmer side!
So
we headed back out…with R at the helm. This
time the trip was much nicer as my bladder was empty.
We put the poles back in and started talking again.
For the next 2 hours we were gabbing about everything in the world.
It turns out that S is as big of a Seinfeld fan as us, so we shared our
favorite episodes. We started to
make plans for our next fishing trip when suddenly, without warning, R’s line
was running 60 miles an hour. S
screamed, “We got a fish, everyone move”.
We quickly got into positions, me with the video at the front, R with the
pole, S guiding R. After about 1
minute of reeling in line, we saw him. He
was a BEAUTIFUL HUGE muskie!! I was
excitingly saying over and over (as the camera recorded), “Oh my God, it’s
huge. It’s huge!”
S advised R how to pull it in, so as not to hurt the fish or let it go.
I was so proud of R, with just S’s words, he reeled in the monster
himself!! As S grabbed the net and
landed him, every part of me was shaking. He
lifted him up and placed him in the large bait-well.
We decided to drive to a calmer part of the lake to take pictures and
release him. After he was in the
well, we pulled up the rest of the poles and drove across the lake again. S showed R how to pick him up by the gills and hold him
for photos. I snapped away
with the camera and video. We
weighed and measured him (36 inches 16 lbs.) and then we released him.
After we let him go, S and I hugged, S & R hugged, R & I hugged,
then all 3 of us hugged!! It was SO awesome!!
We called R’s mom from the lake and screamed the good news!!
After
7 ½ hours of trolling and 1 monster catch, we decided to call it a day.
We’ve already made plans to go out with S again next year, on at least
3 trips.
Prior to releasing the fish, excitedly, I asked S if we could keep him. He replied that we’d let this one go as R has many, many years of Muskie hunting ahead of him.
Indeed!
Next
summer is going to be awesome…
So
now you can call me a fisher-chick….I had SOOOOO much fun and I can’t wait
to do it again!
Perhaps auntie’s newest toy will be a 22 ft. Lund! A boy can only dream….
