One week from today and the madness will ensue. The 2007 Minnesota Fishing Opener is exactly one week from today and already you can sort of see the fever building in the area. People seem to be a little more restless. You can find them by the droves in the sporting good stores and sections of bigger stores like WalMart, all making those last minute preparations for that first cast of the year. For some that means a little replenishing of the tackle box. Maybe some sinkers or jigs for one, getting the reels respooled with fresh line for another and yet another is picking up a new lifejacket or maybe that hot new fishing gadget that all the magazine “experts” are saying is a brand new must have.
For myself, I don’t plan on getting out at all. In fact I typically will avoid going out on the opening weekend or so just because things are so crazy. I don’t like to fish when there are so many people out that you could practically walk across the lake, hopping from one boat to the next, and never get wet. You could say I am avoiding the modern day “Walk on Water” syndrome that sweeps the area for the first week or so.
I actually have not been fishing at all for probably at least 9 years. Not because I have given up on it or didn’t want too. There is no story of a big frustration that happened and caused me to walk away from it for so long. Basically it boils down to the simple fact that up until this year I just didn’t have the time to go. Between work or college or both in many cases, as well as the band I was in for all those years, I simply didn’t have an opportunity to get out and go.
Honestly, I am hoping this year is different and that I can get a chance to go on the weekends with my family. Well, when they aren’t driving 6 or 7 hours up into Canada that is. The opportunity should be there as there is no more band for me, been out of school for going on 3 years now and just a Monday through Friday job that leaves my weekends free most of the times.
Because I have spent some time hoping to get out there this year, getting more and more excited about it each time the thought dances across my mind, I have come to a startling and somewhat unsettling conclusion. I was trying to think of the last fish I caught, what was it, how big, heck what trip was I on and was I on this lake or that lake? I honestly can’t remember. I think I have it narrowed down to either being a trip up to a little lake in Canada that we used to portage into, I believe it is called Sassaquee(No, I have no idea if that is spelled correctly), or else a not so serious day trip made with some friends up on Pelican Lake near Orr, MN. The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards the day trip up to Pelican Lake. If that is the case we really didn’t catch anything other than a few small perch and maybe some bluegills and sunfish, along with a nice solid sunburn! Like I said, that really wasn’t what I would call anything even remotely resembling “fishing”. We rented a house boat for the day and just kind of bopped around the lake shooting the breeze, occasionally remembering to throw the line in the water.
The bottom line is that it has been way too long since I have been out on a lake to enjoy a good old fashioned fishing trip and I am going to do everything I can to make it happen this summer. Even if it is just a short weekend trip up to Rainy Lake on the Minnesota/Canada border with my folks.
Oh and for the record, when I am browsing through the sporting goods departments and stores, my purchase that I need to make before I can hit the lake is a new rod and reel…..in case you were wondering!
