Just “Fishing”

When I was growing up, our family vacations were usually focused on being together outdoors – the vacations I remember, anyway. The most vivid memories I have are vacations with my dad’s sister’s family. Uncle Art and Aunt Barbara had a boy my age and a girl my sister’s age, and we all got along great. My cousin Brad and I have very similar interests – we both love to fish and be outdoors. We always reminisce about a northern Wisconsin vacation with our two families, plus Granddad and Grandma. We all stayed in a big cabin right on Round Lake, near Hayward. We spent all day fishing and swimming. It was 1969, and I can remember the date because we watched the first moon walk on an old black and white TV that took quarters. We all sat riveted to the fuzzy screen watching the moon footage, and the TV would go black, and we’d scramble to put in another quarter. I have vivid memories of fishing for pike, walleye and ringed perch, the clear lakes and forested countryside. Forty years later, Brad and I still remember and laugh about how much fun we had. Another standout vacation was spent in a cabin on Table Rock Lake in southern Missouri. Again, it was both families and Granddad and Grandma. Mom and Dad always talk about how hot and humid it was, but Brad and I don’t remember that -- probably because we were in the water most of the time. We remember fishing around the docks, Silver Dollar City and exploring the woods around the cabin.

There were other vacations and although they were memorable, they don’t stand out like those we spent outdoors. Our families are still close and we get together on the holidays. Brad and I still hunt and fish together when we can, and we almost invariably reminisce about those wonderful times we had as youngsters.

Trace Adkins has a song out called “Just Fishing,” which is about fishing with his young daughter. It really hits home because I can look back now and understand just how much those family fishing trips impacted me and how much those memories mean to me 40 years later. Take time this summer to be outdoors with your family – just fishing. You’ll be glad you did.

SUMMER OUTDOOR MAGIC

“Hot enough for ya?” is a common sarcastic greeting around the office when it’s really hot. The common response includes rolling the eyes and a guttural, unpleasant-sounding groan. Perhaps it’s human nature to grow cynical about certain things as we age, and mid-summer heat seems to be high on everyone’s list. However, when I was a boy, summer, at whatever temperature, was magic.

The big event was “summer vacation.” The last day of school was one of the most anticipated dates of my life when I was nine or 10. Summer marked the last day of school and the beginning of summer vacation. That first Monday morning when I didn’t have to get up and go to school was pure bliss. When you’re a kid, three months is forever, and the first of September when school re-started seemed half a lifetime away. But the other thing that marked summer vacation was being outdoors. I don’t remember spending much time in the house during the summer, unless I was sleeping. Summer was synonymous with “outside.”

For me growing up in a small Kansas town meant a summer daily schedule of something like this: Sleep in. Ride my bike over to my cousin’s house and convince him that we should go fishing. After digging for worms, we’d ride our bikes to the lake. We’d fish, throw rocks, catch frogs, get wet and dirty, and once in a while we’d catch a fish. By noon it was getting hot, so we’d ride home to eat lunch, then change into our swimming suits, get back on our bikes and head for the city pool. We’d swim all afternoon. After supper, we were either on our bikes riding with friends around town, playing basketball in the driveway, or playing “capture the flag” or other yard games until after dark. The only reason to be in the house was to eat, change clothes and sleep. The next day, we’d get up and do it again.

 
A special treat was getting a ride to the farm pond south of town where we could swim, fish, catch frogs, get dirty -- I guess pretty much the same itinerary as at the state fishing lake but in a “wild” setting. When we were a little older, we’d sometimes get dropped off at the pond in afternoon with a cooler of food and drinks, cots, sleeping bags and fishing tackle. We’d sleep under the stars, tell stories, and ending up scaring ourselves. I remember one night when a meteor shower kept us entertained well into the night. My mom or aunt would often drive us to the pond and wait patiently for us to tire of swimming and fishing. If we stayed the night, they'd pick us up the next morning. Looking back, I can see how lucky we were. 

There are lots of opportunities for summer outdoor magic, no matter where you live. There are more than 40 state fishing lakes and 200 community lakes within an easy drive or bike ride. You can find all of them, as well as other useful outdoor information on KDWPT's website. Don't let kids miss out being outdoors this summer and take advantage of the great summer fun found across Kansas.

Revel In The Experience

It seems like just yesterday I was preparing to leave for my Canada fishing trip, but I'm already in my second day back at work. The week went too fast, but my Dad, my aunt and I had a great time. The weather was nice, and even though we had to work hard for the fish we caught, we were successful. It was my Aunt Barbara's first real fishing trip, and she handled herself well. We spent nearly 10 hours a day in the boat and she never once quit casting or acted like she was tired of fishing. She had a lot of coaching from Dad and me -- probably too much, but she took it all in and landed one of the biggest pike of the trip. Because I wanted her to enjoy the entire experience, I spent a lot of time looking for and pointing out the various wildlife we encountered. I never get tired of seeing and hearing loons, watching beavers in the evenings, or marveling at the huge snapping turtles that have climbed out on the bank to bask in the sun. Aunt Barbara loved it all, and I think because she was along, I had more fun. I didn't take any of the sights, sounds or smells for granted, even though I've been there 20 times. Experiencing it through new eyes enhanced the the trip for me. Northwest Ontario is a huge unspoiled wilderness, and being there always has a rejuvenating effect on me. Enjoying it with my dad and aunt made that experience better.

BUILDING TRADITIONS

In four days, Dad and I will be heading north for a week-long fishing trip in northwest Ontario – Lake of the Woods. Dad and I took our first fishing trip to Canada in 1989. I was 30 years old on our first trip, but I had been dreaming of fishing in Canada since I was a young boy. I was as excited as a 7-year-old opening a giant birthday present. I’ll never forget the last 80 miles of our drive. The country looked exactly as I thought it should – wilderness with water everywhere. It was love at first sight for me. This trip will be our 20^th together. While we started going for the fishing, a funny thing happened: the fishing became secondary. Oh, I fish like heck for five days, but we ended up building a tradition where the time together was the priority. We see each other every week throughout the year, but the trip is something special. Dad’s 76 now, and I’m not sure he has another trip in him after this one. He doesn’t have the same enthusiasm for the 1,100-mile drive, and I think it’s getting hard for him to endure. I’ve gone a couple of times without him, most recently in 2008. He and mom were taking an Alaskan cruise that summer and he skipped Canada. My cousin and I went that year, but it was weird driving out of Pratt without Dad.  This year, Dad and his sister are going. Aunt Barbara only recently got the fishing bug, and I can’t wait to see her hook into a big pike. This trip is sure to be special. I think I’ll continue making the trip north each summer because I truly enjoy being in that country, but I’ll sure miss having Dad along. I know I’ll be sad if he decides not to go, but I’ll always be thankful for the 20 trips we took. We have so many great memories – all because we started fishing together nearly 50 years ago. 

Good Places, Good Memories

Dad and I fished last night. I needed to check some things out on my boat before our Canada trip, and it seemed logical to do some fishing while we were at it. I recently installed a new sonar fish finder on the boat and was anxious to see how it worked. And the way the wind has blown this spring, we knew we needed to take advantage of any calm evening. Clark State Fishing Lake, north of Ashland in Clark County, is about an hour away, so we drove down for a short evening trip. Clark is a jewel of the prairie that you have to see to appreciate. Driving in from the north, you pass wheat fields and native prairie -- flat and wide open. When you turn west, for the last mile, you still can't see the lake. Then the prairie drops out from under you into a spectacular canyon, deep and rugged. The sight of the 300-acre lake in the bottom of that canyon never fails to impress me, even though I've been going there for almost 40 years. The road in from the east drops off quickly, and as I braked the truck down the steep grade, I remembered our first trip there -- Mom, Dad and little sister Teri. It was a picnic outing, but of course I remember fishing, and I remember catching a couple of small bass. The memory of that simple afternoon family picnic at the lake has stayed with me all this time. Dad and I caught some fish last night, reminisced about past trips to the lake, and enjoyed a rare calm evening. Any way you look at it, Clark State Fishing Lake is a special place, but you should see it for yourself. I'm sure memories of trips with my family and Dad skew my view.