Drake and I had a very unusual and wonderful charter yesterday.  An old friend from a previous job had run into me as I was coming out of the metropark river with a charter a few days before.  We had a long walk back to the car, so we caught up a bit.

 I gave her a business card, bragging about Drake and how the whole business is sort of wrapped around him.  A few days later she called and asked if I would take her and her 3 grandchildren out fishing.  It was November, fishing was tough, was getting cold, and I was very skeptical.  “We’ll have to watch the weather really close on this one”, I said.  She said she wasn’t worried and knew how to dress the kids for cold weather.

 The day came, forecasted 20mph winds and rain.  I feared the worst and was completely convinced to bag it.  Throughout the day, the rain forecast went away.  The wind, however did not relent. 

 I knew I could find a sheltered area of the lake, so the wind was not a real issue, but it severely curtailed our use of the lake, limiting our choice of spots from where I knew there were fish to new experimental spots only.

They showed up, and I was shocked.  She was right, they were dressed for cold alright!  I went to get the boat and Drake, busting waves across the lake, ice cold spray flying out the sides of the boat until we got to the river.  Off we all went.

We tried several places in a row quickly.  I kept all three busy by casting out for them and explaining how important it was to keep reeling the bobber in slowly, just to keep them active.  No fish.  Move, try, move try, move try, boy was I getting frustrated being so restricted by the wind, but everyone would surely have frozen in a 30 degree wind chill.

Man were they good kids.  Their no nonsense grandmother brought plenty of snacks and hot chocolate, and they listened and remained patient throughout the whole trip.  Please and thank you’s all over the place.  Still no fish.  I think I saw a bite on a bobber once, but couldn’t get to it. 

The outing ended that way.  I felt terrible as they got off the boat, thanked me profusely, and left.  Things weren’t looking any better as Drake and I navigated back across the cold, black November lake.  We just put the red and green bowlights on the house floodlight and made our way back. 

The next day, I offered a spring trip at 1/2 off, knowing I could figure out a pattern to produce fish then.  The email came back with an unbelievable response.  Grandma thought that would be fine, but made sure I knew that they all had tremendous fun, learned alot, and told perpetual fish and Drake stories in the car all the way home. 

I’m still pleasantly surprised and thankful for the quality of people I was most fortunate to have taken out that day.

I had to manage the store yesterday, and with the daylight savings time change, closing at 5pm left no time to jump in the boat and fish.  It’s a sad time of year when the after work fishing gig is over.

 A friend of mine, Jason was talking about fishing, but his truck was down, no way to get his boat to the lake.  “Take mine”, I said.  “It’s on the lift, gased up, and the key is in it”.

I didn’t have to ask twice.  “One condition, though”, I said.  “I know”, Jason said, “Drake goes too.”  He went over to the house, parked out back, and began taking gear down to the lake. 

A friend of mine, Vickie, yelled down from the house “Is Drake going with you?”… as Drake slipped out through the crack in the door, almost running everyone over as he ran down two flights of stairs, across the lawn, and out to the end of the dock.  “Guess so”, Jason said.

With the boat backed off the lift and swung toward the dock, Drake jumped on.  It was sort of a gloomy, overcast November evening, and fishing is usually touchy this time of year, but Jason and Drake were definitely in to it.  Anchored up on a sunken Island, Jason went to work casting out crawlers and minnows on the bottom, using circle hooks and a “tightlining” technique.

The report was that things were slow, and Drake was making “comments”.  If the fish don’t bite for a while, Drake looks at you and lets out these sort of short growls.  “Shut up”, is what I usually say.  “I’m doing the best I can, and if you think you can do better, here’s the rod”.

On this particular night Jason caught a couple of rock bass, a sunfish, small pike, and about a 14″ largemouth that took drag.  Drake got bored and had been laying on the carpeted bottom of the boat when the largemouth chirped the drag on Jason’s reel.  That got him up and excited as it always does, and he got himself in position for his “fish lick”.

I got home just before dark to see the boat’s green and red lights, and the two of them idling across the flat glass calm lake.  It really was a great sight, no other boats on the lake, in fact, no other docks or boats were in as all the neighbors have put theirs to bed for the winter.  Seems like I’m always the last one out and the first one in, but it’s cause I just try to hang on to good things.  It’s really no problem to be taking docks and boats out of ice water if you are prepared.

We’ll be taking ours out this weekend.  Though it’s sad, we’ll still have the kayaks in, and will start immediately looking forward and planning for ice fishing.