dlazarus6660
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- Feb 9, 2010
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My wife suggested to me to sign up for free fly rod fishing lessons the state sponsors. I always wanted to learn and when I tried to learn 20 years ago, the Gent going to teach me passed away on the day! I applied and was rejected, class was full. Two days later, I get a phone call asking if I still wanted to go?
"Hell yes" I screamed! "I'm all set!"
This was to be a camping and fishing trip because it was being held 3 and 1/2 hours away at the top of my state. Cool, I booked my camping site, right on the water, well as close as you could get. Watch the days and hours go by ever so slowly for almost a month. The day arrives, work ends, I'm off!
"Oh no, where are my tent poles?"
I left them in the shed, no big deal, I'll stop on my way by. No poles in the shed, check the car again, they're under the umbrella I keep in the car. All set.
Off I go again. Re-reading the check list in my head. Hope I have enough food? No worries, I'll catch my dinner, or so I thought. I'm on another adventure. Three hours later I'm on the road to the campground. As I was climbing the last hill, a Fox runs across the road holding a rabbit in it's mouth, what no pockets? First animal I see. I get to my site and I hear a Loon on the water. I love the sound a Loon makes. Site is a little muddy but hey, it's camping. Set up the tent, I'm still in my good work clothes which I get dirty. I change in the open, nobody nearby I thought. I hear a young woman's voice "Nice Butt!" I jump. She's hiding behind a tree waiting to scare me. She got me, good! Turns out she works at the grounds. I make supper and fix a drink, you know the kind. Eat, drink a little, grab my Zebco rod, dig up a few worms and go fishing. I look across the lake and spy a Bald Eagle nesting in a tree.
Animal number 2.
Fish for a while and get skunked. I go to site, build a fire and set a spell. Drinking and listening to the birds. Weather is beautiful, perfect for camping.
4:30 A.M. I wake up to a Moose(a cow) mooing at her calf. I get up, still dressed and go out to see the moose. Not one, not two but three moose at the far edge of the pond.
Animal number three.
Make coffee, eat a lite breakfast and listen to the birds. There is a chipmunk circling the camp and chirping at me, funny!
# four.
I listen and watch the Loons for awhile, waiting for 8:30 A.M. to roll around. I go to class, sign in, get name tag, find a seat. An old Lazy-Boy with brown vinyl leather from the once-great-but-now-extinct-vinyl Buffalo. That works for me!
We do the introductions and I noticed a nice, young lady with rather big assets, she was scantily clad. She drew the looks from the other women in the group. Oh great!, another distraction. There were nine instructors and one F&G warden. He was intimidating none the less. Class and practice for the rest of the day with a break for lunch, more class and practice with a rain shower early afternoon. More practice and a final lesson on the porch now that it is a lot cooler.
Break for the day, I try out my new found favorite past time. I catch three minnows, despite being told the pond was stocked yesterday. Baloney!
While fishing, I see the Eagle launch from it's nest, I don't see the Loon come up from a dive with a big fish in it's mouth! The Eagle dives for the fish in the Loons mouth and almost takes the Loon with it! The Loon screams at the Eagle and dives down for another fish. That was cool to see!
Back to supper, drinking and chatting with a few new friends. We all talk about Miss Big B's. She said her husband made her take the course because he can't teach her. I'd like to try! We share a few laughs and go to bed listening to the loons.
During the night I hear an animal rattling about on my picnic table, a coon or skunk, I sniff, not a skunk, whew.
I wake at 4:30 A.M. again, I go down to the water and see the same three moose in just about the same spots. The Eagle screams and launches into flight, flies over the water and lands in a tree. He stays there for over an hour. I know he see's me and a few others who have joined me. Finally, he flies away and it's time for day two. A new cast and some practice before we try to fish.
Skunked again, I have nothing to show for all my hard work. I pack up and get followed by a State Trooper for over an hour. He finally passed me to pursue someone else.
All in all, a great week end adventure.
"Hell yes" I screamed! "I'm all set!"
This was to be a camping and fishing trip because it was being held 3 and 1/2 hours away at the top of my state. Cool, I booked my camping site, right on the water, well as close as you could get. Watch the days and hours go by ever so slowly for almost a month. The day arrives, work ends, I'm off!
"Oh no, where are my tent poles?"
I left them in the shed, no big deal, I'll stop on my way by. No poles in the shed, check the car again, they're under the umbrella I keep in the car. All set.
Off I go again. Re-reading the check list in my head. Hope I have enough food? No worries, I'll catch my dinner, or so I thought. I'm on another adventure. Three hours later I'm on the road to the campground. As I was climbing the last hill, a Fox runs across the road holding a rabbit in it's mouth, what no pockets? First animal I see. I get to my site and I hear a Loon on the water. I love the sound a Loon makes. Site is a little muddy but hey, it's camping. Set up the tent, I'm still in my good work clothes which I get dirty. I change in the open, nobody nearby I thought. I hear a young woman's voice "Nice Butt!" I jump. She's hiding behind a tree waiting to scare me. She got me, good! Turns out she works at the grounds. I make supper and fix a drink, you know the kind. Eat, drink a little, grab my Zebco rod, dig up a few worms and go fishing. I look across the lake and spy a Bald Eagle nesting in a tree.
Animal number 2.
Fish for a while and get skunked. I go to site, build a fire and set a spell. Drinking and listening to the birds. Weather is beautiful, perfect for camping.
4:30 A.M. I wake up to a Moose(a cow) mooing at her calf. I get up, still dressed and go out to see the moose. Not one, not two but three moose at the far edge of the pond.
Animal number three.
Make coffee, eat a lite breakfast and listen to the birds. There is a chipmunk circling the camp and chirping at me, funny!
# four.
I listen and watch the Loons for awhile, waiting for 8:30 A.M. to roll around. I go to class, sign in, get name tag, find a seat. An old Lazy-Boy with brown vinyl leather from the once-great-but-now-extinct-vinyl Buffalo. That works for me!
We do the introductions and I noticed a nice, young lady with rather big assets, she was scantily clad. She drew the looks from the other women in the group. Oh great!, another distraction. There were nine instructors and one F&G warden. He was intimidating none the less. Class and practice for the rest of the day with a break for lunch, more class and practice with a rain shower early afternoon. More practice and a final lesson on the porch now that it is a lot cooler.
Break for the day, I try out my new found favorite past time. I catch three minnows, despite being told the pond was stocked yesterday. Baloney!
While fishing, I see the Eagle launch from it's nest, I don't see the Loon come up from a dive with a big fish in it's mouth! The Eagle dives for the fish in the Loons mouth and almost takes the Loon with it! The Loon screams at the Eagle and dives down for another fish. That was cool to see!
Back to supper, drinking and chatting with a few new friends. We all talk about Miss Big B's. She said her husband made her take the course because he can't teach her. I'd like to try! We share a few laughs and go to bed listening to the loons.
During the night I hear an animal rattling about on my picnic table, a coon or skunk, I sniff, not a skunk, whew.
I wake at 4:30 A.M. again, I go down to the water and see the same three moose in just about the same spots. The Eagle screams and launches into flight, flies over the water and lands in a tree. He stays there for over an hour. I know he see's me and a few others who have joined me. Finally, he flies away and it's time for day two. A new cast and some practice before we try to fish.
Skunked again, I have nothing to show for all my hard work. I pack up and get followed by a State Trooper for over an hour. He finally passed me to pursue someone else.
All in all, a great week end adventure.
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