My brother Rick from near Atlanta, GA came up for a visit recently and did we ever have a grand time!! He has been here at least three times before and seems to really enjoy coming. Of course we thoroughly enjoy our time with him because he is so much fun to be with and brings such levity to our household.
My cousin Mary Lou and her husband Tim from Wildwood, FL accompanied him on this trip as well. Though I grew up in central Florida, only about an hour away from Mary Lou's family, we didn't see them that often as children and after I married and left home, it was an even more rare occasion to see her. It wasn't until my Dad's 90th birthday celebration in NC that I felt like I really connected with Mary Lou. It gave me a desire to be with her and Tim more, so I invited them to come stay with us at camp.
They diligently studied our website to completely understand our environment and what kind of adventure they might experience. The first day after their arrival we went to Heathwalt Lake and were met with strong winds and high waves. There were five of us in the boat including Joanna and the 18 foot Jon boat was barely chugging along with a 9.9 hp Mercury. It was a bit of a trepidatious trip to the other end of the lake and into Goddin where we were able to find some calm waters out of the wind. Immediately Rick hooked an aggressive Smallmouth Bass and was hollering to beat the band. He especially likes to catch Smallmouth and Pike because they put up such a good fight. In fact, by the end of his stay he had caught so many Smallmouth that his upper torso was aching. Mary Lou suggested that he might need to lift weights in preparation for his next trip to camp.
After we had all caught some Pike, Perch and Smallmouth in the calm waters, I wanted to venture over to the other side of the lake where Joanna and I had caught some nice Walleye before. However, the wind was still howling and it was very difficult to try to control the boat, so eventually we headed back to Heathwalt. A rain storm was approaching so we hurried to an island and crouched under some large pine trees to evade the worst of the rain. After the clouds passed through, Rick did a little casting in the nearby weeds and caught a small pike. In the process of removing the lure, the pike did a little twist and Rick winced in pain as the two treble hooks punctured his hand.
I had recently purchased a small pair of pliers that were stainless steel and had a good wire cutting blade. Rick was getting ready to try to jerk the hooks backwards out of his hand, but I quickly stopped him and instructed him to push the hooks through so we could cut off the barbs and easily pull them out. That worked well and the issue was quickly resolved. Needless to say, he became much more cautious when removing lures from fish. It is not fun to get hooked. Makes you feel kinda sorry for the fish. We had a good amount of fish on the stringer, so decided to call it a day.
The following morning we headed to Barrel Lake. It was ladies day as Joanna caught the most fish and Mary Lou caught the smallest and biggest fish. Of course there was lots of fun and laughter. Joanna had caught a small fish that when she released it actually ended up dying. It was floating nearby when an eagle circled above us, then swooped down to pick up the fish. I've seen that on youtube before, but never in person right in front of us. At least the fish was not wasted. We also got to watch a martin swim across the river close to us. And did you know that squirrels can swim well too? Tim actually captured a picture of one swimming across the river. They had hoped to see a moose on their trip, but that did not happen. Maybe next time.
I believe their most enjoyable fishing was on Indian lake where we mark the point that comes way out into the lake. The walleye fishing is so good there in the evenings and Rick and Tim had a blast catching Smallmouth with their top water lures. Mary Lou went ballistic when she landed a 26 inch Walleye. Plus, the scenery can't be beat. You're sitting in the middle of the lake with the sun setting in brilliant hues of orange to the west and the moon appearing above you in the east. The seagulls and loons are singing their songs and the quietness pervades your soul with peace.
I guess we didn't scare Tim and Mary Lou too much with our high wind adventures because they indicated they'd like to come back again sometime. That makes us happy because we really had a good time with all of them.
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