November 21, 2023 (#266)
I awoke before dawn this morning and watched a few YouTube videos on a variety of topics all the while thinking about today’s trip to the river in pursuit of fish.
When daylight arrived I could see that it was snowing and some of it was sticking to the ground. I went back to listening to a couple of podcasts I listen to every day. While listening my thoughts turned away from Keith Olbermann and to my plan of fishing today. I decided that I was not going to leave home to go fishing if there was precipitation of any kind in the air. I went back to concentration on the last five minutes of Countdown with Keith.
After checking my weather app and noting that precipitation was not in the forecast for the afternoon I left the possibility of a river trip open. I had to go to Walgreen’s in Portage to get my “old people” RSV shot at 9:45 and also to the dentist in Windsor so morning fishing was out of the realm of possibility from the get go.
After returning home with no precipitation falling I decided to go forward with my original plan. After a quick sandwich I was toting things from the basement to the garage and into the boat. I was off and on the water by 1 pm. I had my last medium size sucker in the water at 1:15.
At 2:00 PM the float dipped under the water and was being tugged farther from the boat. I let it go a bit but when it moved to the right I the end of my Okuma Musky rod the opposite way and a short battle was on. In the end a pike had chosen a mid-afternoon meal but lost out before it could get the fish in its gullet. I reeled the fish to the side of the boat and estimated it to be about 28”. I reached into the bag with my long handled pliers, removed the treble hooks then flipped the net over and let the fish swim away.
I continued fishing until 3:15 without seeing any more fish. Could that pike have been the fish with garlic breath? I didn’t get my sniffer very close throughout the unhooking and releasing operation but I didn’t smell garlic either.
Before I left home in preparation for the trip to the river I I was getting things organized. I noticed that I was missing a bait box filled with a variety and colors of Suick and Bobbie Baits. I looked around in the garage and the boat but could not locate it. I am thinking that it must have blown out of the boat on Sunday while on my way to the landing. If that is the case some lucky person got a small gold mine as there had to be about $200 worth of baits in that box. I looked around again today and drove slowly down County JV looking in the ditches for a brown and gold single level tackle box. I didn’t find the box that had made a get-away.
I was planning on a Wednesday trip which would probably be my final 2023 boating/fishing adventure. However, the tongue on my Shorelander trailer was bent and I decided not to risk a terrible adventure where a boat trailer might be unhitched from the truck.
I wish I could have reported that a huge fish that may have eaten my stick of bologna on Monday had eaten my medium sized sucker but I can’t.
Have a great Thanksgiving day and weekend. After you finish gorging yourself on all the great food you really ought to be working on your Christmas wish list. If you’ve already started one just look through the Black Friday and Shop Small ads and add some great item to the list and cross your fingers in hopes of receiving the stuff in about a month.
Until my next outdoor adventure, here’s wishing you the best.
Bob
Oshaukuta Outdoors 