Is it just me or does the winter season seem to be hanging around a little longer than it should? I guess that I’ve become a victim of the dreaded “cabin fever” or I’ve just had a relapse. It is Sunday today and the sun is, actually shining, for a change. Alas, the sun may be shining but the wind is still blowing so that kind of offsets the sunshine mood. Warmer temperatures are in the forecast and if you call the low to mid 40’s a heat wave you must be from Minnesota.
In my 30-some years of coaching hockey I never seemed to mind the cold weather but somewhere along the way I found out that I was getting older and along with that I have become less than excited about hanging out in the cold.
As a kid I would hang outside as long as there was someone to play with. I had a paper route delivering the Minneapolis Star and Tribune in the neighborhood. I always collected for the paper on Thursday, which usually kept me out late (for school nights) collecting. It wasn’t all that bad because I would be bundled up in almost every warm piece of clothing that I had. My mother always made sure that I wore a scarf that covered most of my face. I knew that it was a good idea but the scarf was made of wool and, although it was warm it made my face itch like crazy. Maybe that was just a distraction to take my mind off the cold.
We are entering the next season on Tuesday, but the forecast isn’t making me want to reach for the sunscreen any time soon. I am now anxiously awaiting the open water fishing season. I know that it is not that far away but after this winter, which already seems too long, I am ready to turn the page.
The last few springs after the lakes are ice-free my grandson, Trevor, ands I have gone crappie fishing on Fountain Lake. The results have been good and we usually put enough fish in the boat for a meal. Fishing with Trevor is more than just about the fish it is about spending time with a grandson. It’s kind of funny how things work out. I took him (Trevor) fishing when he was just a small boy and now he is taking me fishing, an old guy who still thinks like a kid when it comes to fishing. I believe that to be a good fisherman you have to be open to trying new things. What goes around comes around is an old ism but in my case it’s true. I tried to teach Trevor about fishing when he was young and now he is showing me different fishing techniques.
When I had my camper at Best Point on Lake Tetonka, the grandsons would all come up to spend a weekend fishing, playing or swimming. I had but one rule that they had to honor, if they were on the dock or in or by the water, they had to have a lifejacket on. I had that same rule for my sons and now it was for their sons.
Teaching the boys about fishing is one thing but they must also be taught about how to clean fish and how to dispose of the carcass. When they first got interested in cleaning fish, I would clean a fish and explain the procedure then it would be their turn. The boys were quick learners and eventually they became pretty good at it. None of them were overly anxious to learn how to take the Y-bones out of a northern so grandpa still has to do that.
After the fish were cleaned, the carcasses were put in a bucket and one of those lucky guys would have to take it to the end of the driveway and dispose of it in the woods on our land across the road from said driveway. My son, Brad had a yellow lab named Bud that would wait until the bucket was back at the cabin and then he would leave only to return in a couple of minutes with the carcass of a northern I guess he thought that he was a pike retriever.
Until next time: I am getting antsy for the open water fishing season to get here where, hopefully, I will catch a few early spring crappies.
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