Dedication and stupidity two words that are synonymous
amongst fisherman and depending on who you talk to and to what context you will
get either one of those words as a response.
This past Saturday I put the statement to the test. For I
and the ragtag group of fisherman I call friends call the events that
transpired dedication, most of you probably reading this will think otherwise
but I’ll let you be the judge. It started for me anyway as a harmless text
message the Friday before from good friend Kyle Hammond. “I think we’re
planning on fishing for trout and walleye in the morning if you would care to
join us.” Simple, nice, short invite, now before you go oh that’s a simple
answer Kyle lives in Ft. Wayne, a good 2 hour drive for this central native.
But, be dedicated I accepted and we ironed out the details, I loaded the truck
and hooked up the kayak trailer and I was ready for the sound of the alarm. My
alarm went off way too soon, 4:30 came quick, got dress in my layers ready to
battle the elements of the day hoped in the truck and I was off. As I rode
along IN-69 jamming to the free 3 weeks of Sirus radio I got to thinking, am I
dedicated or stupid? I’m driving 2 hours north to meet up with Kyle and Mike to
drive even farther to get to a lake I have never fished, let alone heard of, in
rather less than favorable conditions. NAH! I’m just a dedicated kayak angler.
The miles droned on and soon my journey came to its end, meet up with Mike at
Kyle’s house we hashed out the plan, well they hashed out the plan, I was just
along for the ride at this point. We loaded up and another 1.5 hour trek
towards the Michigan boarder to our lake of choice, Clear Lake. The plan was
simple troll for walleye and trout. So we unloaded our kayaks, as I set mine on
the ramp it got the bright idea to launch itself. Kyle and I literally watched
my kayak slide down the icy ramp into the water and float out of reach. It was
quite funny to see my boat just drifting 20 yards off shore with no pilot. No
fear though Mike “Toboggan Run” Densel was on the job as he hopped into his
Hobie and rode it all the way down the ramp into the water much like the Log
Flume rides at amusement parks. By far one of the most epic things I have seen
while kayak fishing. Kudos Mike, much kudos. Having my kayak retrieved we set
out across the lake with cranks and flies in tow hoping for the tall tell rod
been of fish on. Time passed with not even a nibble, Kyle said he had just got
word of a hot trout bite on another lake. Mike and I agreed this lake was a
bust so let’s move. We trolled back to the ramp loaded up and were off to lake
#2. We arrived at lake #2 where Kyle’s intel man was waiting, we unloaded and
were off again. After a short paddle under a low bridge we were on the main
lake. This lake had way more chop than the last, I still feel like I’m bobbing
up and down. I dropped my 2 crankbaits
into the water, paddled a short distance and BOOM! Rod bent, fish on. After a
short, acrobatic fight I had landed a beautiful trout. This was my first trout
ever out of the kayak which was nice, because one more fish off the list. I trolled
awhile longer with no other fish to show. I left my comrades on the water as I
had to head home and my drive wasn’t a short one. I pulled into my driveway a
couple hours later pondering that age old question, was I stupid or dedicated
just to catch 1 fish? You decided. Until next time, tight lines.
Enjoy this short video of the one fish I caught.
No comments:
Post a Comment