Random Stuff By Paul

A few years ago we went fishing on Lake Kabetogama in northern Minnesota. Lake Kabetogama is a very big lake. Absolutely huge. It actually borders on Canada. Most people might just envision ice fishing when they think about Canada and northern Minnesota, but this was an autumn vacation, and the weather was grand.

Although we used to go fishing frequently, this one experience comes to mind quite often. We were out in the boat one afternoon in the middle of some pretty deep water, and I thought I had a hit, but maybe not. You know the kind. It might be a snag and in that case, you have to work fast to get free so you don’t lose your bait and tackle altogether. But it might also be a fish.

The lake was smooth that day. We were propelling the boat with the trolling motor at the time, so not going real fast. In those days we owned a depth finder that indicated the depth of the water and graphed the the contour of the lake bottom but we had no indication whether or not we had just passed over a school of fish. That was before the newer fishfinders became available that actually picture where the fish are hanging out.

I went with my hunch and determined that I had a fish and not a snag. Since I was using leeches - live bait - I let out some line to allow the fish to nibble a while longer. After slowly and carefully reeling in the slack, I could still feel a presence at the other end. I set the hook and nothing happened. No movement. Nothing. It felt like a log was on the other end. Now what?

I’d made up my mind to play it as a fish and stuck with it. After what felt like forever, the fish finally moved from the bottom and started to put up a fight. I ultimately landed a good sized walleye. An excellent catch but probably not a very fascinating fish story. Sorry about that, but I guess you had to be there. I made some good decisions and played the fish well and that’s what makes it an exciting experience for me.