This year’s fishing opener will be a little different for me, as was last year’s. In 2019 I was involved, with some really great volunteers, in planning and hosting the 2019 Governor’s Fishing Opener. I have to say that we did it right and that the whole community did itself proud in showcasing our area. I am thankful that we hosted it when we did because this year’s event is being postponed until next year. I can sympathize with the folks from Ottertail County because I know first-hand how much work goes into the planning of this event. The planning actually starts as soon as the announcement of the host community for the next year has been made and it is an ongoing process right up until the final day.
I have been attending the Governor’s Fishing Opener since 1995 and this will be the first opener that I will be fishing locally for over 25 years. Thanks to my Grandson Trevor I will be hitting the water on Fountain Lake this opener. In the years preceding my participation in the Governor’s opener I would fish Reeds Lake, which is south east of Elysian. Myself and my boys would usually have pretty good luck on the opener when fishing this particular lake. The last year that we went to Reeds Lake the vehicles were lined up along the blacktop and it was a take-a-number traffic jam to put your boat in and take it out. Reeds is a small lake and the number of boats on the lake that day was nuts.
The next year Brian, my oldest, and I decided to try our luck on Francis. Once again it was take a number at the access and when we finally launched the boat the lake was really crowded. With temperatures in the 40’s and a stiff north wind taking all the comfort out of the day it didn’t take long before Brian and I had frozen enough so we decided to call it a day and head home. When we reached the landing there was a line of folks waiting to exit and a line of folks waiting to launch so that’s when I decided that Opening day was not all that it was cracked up to be. This was also when I decided that the next year we would stay home and do our fishing on Fountain Lake.
The following year the boys and I put our boat in at the landing on Edgewater Bay and proceeded to try some trolling. At that time a person was able to troll the mouth of the creek that runs into the lake. I have to say that we were surprised to catch, not only a few pike, but some nice walleyes. We were pretty much the only folks fishing this area on that morning. Most folks didn’t realize that there were any walleye in the lake in those days so there was minimal boat traffic. That was a memorable day for the boys and I and I was ready to do it again the following year.
The following year my “hot spot” didn’t produce much and there were also many more boats on the water. We did catch a few fish but no walleye this time. After that I had decided to skip opening day and wait a week for things to simmer down a little. After a couple of years of not doing the opener I got the opportunity to go to the Governor’s Opener and it has become an annual event for me.
In those days my lure of choice was a Beetle Spin tipped with a fathead minnow and trolled slowly. For some reason I had gotten away from using that particular set-up for many years and then a couple of years ago I had decided to try that combination on Spider Lake while fishing with my Grandson, Dylan, and his friend Liam. On that day I absolutely couldn’t keep the northern off of my line. I had bought some small sucker minnows at a local bait shop and used them to tip the lure. When we started to run low on minnows I left them for the boys to use and switched to a shad-like Berkeley Power Bait which worked just as well as the suckers.
Fishing and all things outdoors is something that I have always had a passion for and I have been lucky enough to share that passion with my sons and grandsons. My two granddaughters like to fish and their dad takes them fishing and camping whenever he can and I also plan on getting them out in the boat again this year.
It is so important for me to be able to share my love of the outdoors with my family so that they can carry on a family tradition. There is nothing that pleases me more than when I see a young child smiling ear-to-ear as he or she catches a fish. Kids are not picky, it’s the catching that is important to them, not the species or the size of the fish. That’s why when you first take a child fishing it should be somewhere that you are, pretty much guaranteed that fish will be caught, it’s what will keep them wanting more.
Please take a few moments to also honor those that have sacrificed so much for the freedoms that we enjoy today, also take a little extra time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who have served and those troops that are serving today.