6/9/09 A True Fishing Story
While we are driving along the highway towards Sault Ste. Marie on a foggy and overcast day, I will update you if my internet signal holds up. When we last wrote, we were having a sunny and warm day in Michigamme and preparing for a fishing trip the next day. Lucky for us, the weather held up, although it was cooler and partly cloudy, so we were able to go out on the lake. George has a 4 wheel drive truck and a small bass boat so we went to a lake that was fairly difficult to get to and thus not over-fished. He said that if we told anyone the name of the lake he would have to kill us, so you won't see it here! I mentioned the black fly problem and yes, they were still very much in evidence. In fact, the night before I had cleaned our windshield and by the time I was finished, I had a whole row of bites on my neck along the hairline. So we dug out the hats we bought in Australia in 1999 that have nets sewn into them which drape down all around our heads and necks and we wore these while helping George get the boat launched. He used an electric trolling motor which was quiet and non-polluting. The lake was just beautiful, with forests all around.

He showed us how to cast the lure into the areas where he was pretty sure there were large mouth bass, and then told us to quickly reel it in. Of course, because he has been fishing this area since he was a boy, he really knew the best spots, and because we were new to this type of fishing, we were pretty erratic at casting! He easily dropped his lure right where he wanted; we, on the other hand, managed to "catch" quite a few bushes and trees which grew right down to the water's edge. George was also an expert at jerking them out for us, thank goodness. Elaine was sitting in the front, which George said was the best for catching fish because she got to the best spots first, and indeed, she did catch the first fish and the most fish. Here is a picture of her first fish:

Then I caught the second fish, by bouncing my lure off a log and when it landed in the water, a fish grabbed it. Hooray! So my success was attributable to dumb luck and not skill, but being a pragmatist, I didn't care.

George was very gracious about letting us cast into the good areas he identified, and occasionally he got a chance too. Of course, he caught the largest fish and here is a picture of him with it:

The funniest thing happened when I had a fish on and George pulled his lure in and set his rod down so he could get the net to land my fish. His lure was kind of hanging down alongside the boat about a foot and as he was helping me, another fish jumped right on his lure! Because he had my fish in the net, he couldn't use that to get his fish so he just lifted up his rod and brought the fish into the boat, whereupon it jumped off his lure and he didn't even have to extricate it from the hook!! Now that was a fish that was really eager to get caught!
By the end of about 4 hours, we had caught over 20 fish, but didn't keep them all of course. Here is the stringer of fish that we took home with us:

Then the real work started because Elaine and George filleted them in the basement:

Later on, George fried some fillets up for dinner and they were just delicious! Now we have enough in our freezer for another dinner, and so does George. It was a wonderful fishing experience which we know we never would have had without George - so THANKS George!!!
The next day we were supposed to go out on Lake Michigamme in his larger boat, to do some sightseeing and also try to catch some northern pike or walleye, but the weather turned ugly and we spent the day inside. George has a beautiful fishing lodge right on the shores of the lake with an incredible fireplace, which came in quite handy during this cold snap. Here are a few pictures of it:


Yesterday, Monday, we left so that we could have the RV serviced at the Chevy dealer in Marquette. Again it was an overcast and cold day and midday it started to rain. We did some shopping and got a haircut and by the time the RV was ready, we were very glad to park at the Super WalMart, start the heater and make some dinner because it was really raining hard and the fog was coming in. The last time we were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan we had this same experience: a few nice days and then lots of cold and wet weather which caused us to move along and not enjoy the wonderful scenic and recreational opportunities that are up here.
In Sault Ste. Marie we are hoping our mail has arrived. Then a few last minute chores and a visit with Doug & Willie, other RV friends who are in the area, before we cross the border into Canada.