Early evening fishing adventure comes off without a catch
There was a chill in the air that evening my father and I walked down to the lake for an early spring fishing expedition.
Along the way I noticed that the grasses along the road were still matted down and not yet green.
There were few bugs in the air, though my father said it may be the last night we would be able to fish without them.
We cut across the pathway around the lake to the boathouse where we liked to fish. When we reached our destination I found that my bobber, which had swung lazily against my pole during our trek, was tangled by the hook and line.
I had to spend some time untangling the twisted mess before I could get started. My dad, however, got right down to business.
The sky was grey and the wind picked up. When I made my first cast, the bobber rode a wave and quickly floated back towards me, corkscrewing along the top of the water.
A pair of Mallard Ducks came paddling along the shoreline and gave us a look as they slowly went by.
I reeled in my line and found that my worm was half-eaten. I dressed another wiggler over the hook as I watched the ducks out of the corner of my eye.
Before I could cast again my dad had a fish on his line. He wrestled it back to the dock in no time, but he thought it was too small to be a keeper. He got on his knees and reached into the lake, cautiously unhooking the hook from the lip of his catch.
As we watched for the fish to make its getaway those darn, nosey ducks swam right up to the dock. I reached into the lake and splashed water to chase them away, but they were slow in retreating.
We fished until the murky afterglow of the day made it hard to see our bobbers in the water. When my dad said it was time to go I said, “Really? I haven’t caught a fish yet.”
If the truth be known, my hands and toes were so cold that I was actually relieved at the suggestion to head back home so I could warm up.
I gave the lake one last look as we walked away, even though most of it had disappeared in the twilight.
Mitch Lee, Adirondack native & storyteller, lives at Big Moose Lake.ltmitch3rdny@aol.com
