Fishing… Albeit Vicariously

If I had a nickel for every time that I have been reminded, “the water from the winter has not been drained from the boat yet,” I would have enough for a couple gallons of gas. As the price of gas is creeping over the $3.00 mark, a bit of simple math will tell you that I have been reminded quite often. Conventional wisdom would say that being there is still water from the winter thaw in the boat, said boat has yet to be on any of the waterways yet this summer. If we are using this type of wisdom, if you are a gambling person, it would be a safe bet that the owner of the vessel that has not been drained or on the water also has not been fishing yet. Go large on that bet because I have not wet a line in 2021… yet. I have been living my fishing adventures vicariously through friends’ photos on social media and their fish stories. I really want to change this and hopefully will very soon.

I received some incentive in the mail recently that might just entice me to get some angling time scheduled. My buddies Cory Robinson and Rebecca Ingenito of Venom Outdoors sent me some presents and have asked for my review. If you ice fish, you may be familiar with Venom’s “Hyper-Glow Technology” used on their various sized jig heads. I have never been let down when using these lures. Well, Venom is not just about ice fishing, they have products for all fishing seasons. The blades, spinners and rigs they sent me are beautifully packaged and IF they work like the ice fishing rigs do, look out Walleyes because your days of swimming free might just be coming to an end. That is, IF I get out on the water.

Early reports on the St. Croix were that the action was fast and furious regarding Walleye, Sauger and Small Mouth Bass but it is now more hit and miss. There have been some reports that the Northern and Walleye bite on the Vermillion River around the Etter area has also been producing some nice size fighters. The shoreline and dock at Lake Rebecca in Hastings has never been shy of people fishing the several times I have driven by although I cannot confirm that any of them were catching fish. The boat launch always has three or four trailers parked there, so while we should never assume, it is presumable that based on the traffic amount for a small lake, the fish might be biting. The thing with fishing is, you can predict until the cows come home but you never know until they are in the bucket. Not the cows, the fish. It would take one big bucket to hold a cow.

A shoutout to the readers of Outdoor Adventures who have been lucky enough to get out and chase fish a time or two, if you have any fish stories or things to report, send me an email at [email protected] We still have not set up a Journal email address yet. There is no real hurry either as it would be just another thing for me to manage or lose track of (or both). Stories, reports and especially photos of your adventures that you would like to see in the paper, feel free to send them. They say a picture paints a thousand words which would greatly reduce the number of words I need to type. You get the pub-cred and my life gets easier. It is a “Win-Win” for all involved.

While hearing stories and seeing photos that others share is nice, there is nothing like the real experience of getting out in the boat and hitting your favorite fishing spot. There is just a sense of peace and tranquility that you get when your 1971 Alumacraft 14-foot fishing boat is floating along the shoreline of your chosen waterway. With no other cares than watching your bobber with anticipation of a nibble; it just does not get much better. As you reach down into the cooler to pull out a beverage, your bobber starts to wiggle a little and then it quickly disappears under the surface of the water. You drop your beverage, reach quickly for that old Zebco 202 on the rod that it came with over 40 years ago and go to set the hook. Is it a crappie, a sunnie or maybe even a bass? It is none of these. You failed to drop anchor and floated into a weed bed causing your line to get wrapped up. You caught a snag and after spending several minutes to get untangled, you land a sizeable “salad bass” into the boat (no net needed). To some, this is a frustrating event but to many, it is just part of fishing. It is the part of fishing that you cannot do vicariously. Fishing is always better when it is experienced. Get out fishing… Get Out and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.