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.