Caught Our Limit

Fall is a busy time of year for us. Even though our cabins are pretty empty now, this is the time of year when we do lots of painting on the inside of the cabins, renovation projects and excavating improvements on the premises. We hurry to accomplish all these tasks in a few short weeks before freezing weather sets in and it brings everything to a screeching halt.

But the weather has been SOOOOO nice that Joanna and I just had to get out on the lake to do a little fishing. Our kind and generous guests often give us their leftover live bait (minnows, leeches and worms) as they are departing for which we are so grateful. In fact, I still have quite a few worm and leech containers taking up room in my refrigerator, still hoping to get out fishing.

We went to our favorite spot where we can generally catch quite a few walleye in a very short amount of time. Sure enough, just as the sun is setting over the horizon and the moon is rising on the other side, those walleyes start jumping on our lines.

I have to say that Joanna usually beats me every time in the number of walleyes pulled in. I don't know what it is. We have the same bait, the same lure, do the same thing (just sit there motionless without even jigging the rod) and her pole invariably pulls over with the weight of a fish on it much more often than mine.

We both so enjoy the tug of a fish on the line and always get excited to reel one in. I get a kick out of watching those veteran fishermen who remain sober faced and calm while pulling in a big one as if it's no big deal. But they've probably caught a lot more fish than we ever will. Each time our pole bends, Joanna and I can't help exclaiming with vibrant enthusiasm, " I'VE GOT ONE".

On this particular evening, there was a bit of cloud cover, the wind must have been blowing in the right direction, the water temperature must have been just right, the atmospheric pressure in the correct range and all the other things that pro fishermen are knowledgeable about. We don't pretend to know all those things, but we sure were pulling in the walleyes this night and had a ball doing it. In just an hour and a half we had both caught our limit and threw a whole bunch more back.

Joanna and I had one hilariously funny moment on our outing. We had anchored ourselves where we thought there was the greatest concentration of fish. But after a few minutes of sitting there, I wasn't seeing many fish on my fish finder. We decided we should move a few more feet in another direction. So Joanna went to the front of the boat to lift up the anchor while I started the motor. I revved up the engine and nothing seemed to be happening. It didn't appear that we were moving at all. Joanna kept looking my way, wondering why the boat wasn't going anywhere. I thought that possibly the anchor was somehow still dragging. I called out to her, "Have you got the anchor up?" She hollered back over the sound of the motor that yes, she had it pulled up. She said something else but I couldn't hear her over the roar of the motor. Still, we didn't seem to be making any progress in movement. So I turned up the power on the motor again. Joanna looked back at me and hollered, "Mom, we're not moving." In utter frustration, exasperation and bewilderment, I hollered back to her, "WELL WHY NOT????" Finally, I heard her reply. "YOU DON'T HAVE THE MOTOR IN GEAR!!!" I said, "Oh". And Joanna collapsed on the front seat in laughter. We relived that one all evening, giggling all over again.

The next night we even convinced John to stop working and go out fishing with us. He is always in the middle of some project that he wants to conquer. I begged and pleaded and he consented. He enjoyed it so much that he came out with us the next two nights. There's nothing like being out on a calm, beautiful lake watching the sun go down, the moon come up, listening to the lonely loon call and bringing in some fish.

P.S. You'll have to ask Joanna about how her fish came off the line as she was lifting it in the boat and her line flew back, hooking her minnow in my hair.:(