Memories of fishing

I have great memories of pleasurable times fishing I had as a kid. When I was just a little one, my Dad would rent rowboats and take me and my family fishing, I loved fishing with Dad. As I got older, about 9, Dad rented a cottage for a week on Lake St. Clair, and the cabin came with a rowboat for us to use. I remember rowing out by myself, feeling so strong and and in control of it. I would anchor out and try to fish for a while and looking down into the water to see any fish swimming by. I loved the feeling of being all by myself and in charge of where I go and how far.

Dad took us many places on vacation. Many times it was just a cottage on the lake, and one time we rented a little trailer and we went around Lake Superior through Canada and back through the upper penninsula of Michigan. The lakes and parks were magnificent! We have my Mother's relatives in Canada, and many times we visited them. One Aunt had a cottage on an island in the French River, nestled between huge rocks. It was great to swim and camp there and we had great fun. I cried when we had to leave, I didn't want it to end. That was the life for me!

My Aunt had a lot with a garage only by a small inland lake, and I could see lots of fish swimming around just below the small dock she had. I got a piece of fishing line with a hook and baited it with a piece of balogny from our picnic. I laid on the dock and lowered the line to the fish. I could see when the fish bit and caught by hand a mess of perch, bullheads, (that I would throw back), and many small bluegill. I had a bucket full of fish that Dad cooked later.

I almost drowned in that lake, because I was not a good swimmer, and I walked in water up to my neck. The man from next door pulled up with his motor boat pretty fast toward the shore and the wake knocked me off my feet. I was under water for what seemed like forever with my hands over my face trying to keep the water out. The man in the boat pulled me up by my hair choking, and sputtering water that had gotten in my lungs. My Dad walked in and got me, and carried me to the shore. It's such a bad feeling having water in your lungs, it burns like crazy. After that I learned quickly the swim well. I wanted so bad to be able to swim out to the deep part to a raft they had made for diving off of, and it wasn't very long when I was able to do just that.

Later, Dad bought a small speedboat, and one summer we took the boat to a cabin on Lake St. Clair. One day, early in the morning, Dad let me take the boat on the lake all by myself. It was a beautiful, warm morning and the water was still as glass. We had all taken boating classes from the coast guard, and I knew the rules of boating. I left the dock slowly and made my way out to deeper water. When I got out far enough, I pushed the gas as far as it would go, and glided with ease across the water, the wind blowing through my hair and loving every minute of it! It was the greatest feeling! I buzzed all around the bay feeling like the queen of the world for a while.

Later that same week, a big storm hit the lake in the night. It broke the lines the boat was tied up with and luckily washed the boat onto the shore and filled the boat with water. We were able to bail all the water out and get it floating again, with no damage to the hull. That was exciting and scary at the same time. Good thing it didn't wash the boat out to sea!

Through the years, I got to be a good fisher. I usually always got the most, or the bigest fishes. We had great luck catching anything in those days, but lately you can fish all day and were lucky to catch a one. My biggest was a 10 lb. carp, the best fish was a 6 1/2 lb. Walley, that was 26 inches long, it had a huge belly and hung between my hands. It was the best eating fish I ever ate! I knew the Lake pretty well, and could find all the landmarks. My husband even depends on me to find our way when we go out.

One winter my Dad took me out ice fishing, and rented a ice shanty. The place drove us far out onto the ice in a stripped down truck to where our shanty was. They had little gas heaters inside that make it cozy, and when you were inside in the dark, you could see to the bottom. It was like watching the fish swim around on TV. The outside light lit up the water and you were able to watch them when they took the bait. What fun!

My husband and I have had many small and larger boats over the years, and we really loved fishing and boating and so did our girls. We had many good times with them, and they were avid fishers too.

We have a boat now, a 24 foot cabin cruiser, but the fun has kind of been taken out of it with my illnesses, and have not been able to enjoy it much. My legs are still too weak to pull myself out of it, and he has to help boost me up to get back on the high dock.

The cost of the dockage and winter storage fees and some repairs we've had to make have really cut into our pockets. That's too bad. My husband really wants to enjoy it more at least one summer more, and maybe then we might give it up.

Does anyone else have good memories like this? Please tell me about yours.