Fish n’ Finn

As I was mulling over how to introduce the “Fish n’ Finn”, I kept running head on into the fact that in order to preserve one’s integrity as an angler, one must resort to fantasy or disgusting humility with a little truth thrown in here and there. At the campsite, where I spend my summers, there is a fellow who is a pretty good walleye fisherman, but every time that he goes out, he loses an eleven pounder. Mind you, the story starts off on an intelligent level and then quickly escalates into something else. Excessive humility, though is the worst. A good friend of mine was fishing for perch off the back of his boat in our local marina and as soon as he saw me coming, he ditched his rod below deck and acted like the event never occurred. Often you hear something like, “I was killing time and just fishing for perch”.

“What”, I ask you, “is wrong with perch?” That is a really good eating fish if you can get some nice jumbos.

I once read that there is a fine line between fishing and standing on shore looking like an idiot. I think the whole issue of fishing is closely related to the male ego.

“King salmon are great. Perch are just for kids”.

“We just went for a ride. Didn’t really give it a good try. Maybe tomorrow”.

Now, here is the cruncher. This “fishing tale” syndrome seems to be an exclusive affliction of the male species. I know a number of women who like to fish (from king salmon to perch) and they are happy and they tell it like it is. Now, from a guy’s point of view, this just has to be too boring. Ranting, raving and storytelling are part of a true fishing experience and “us guys know how to do it best”.

Well, like most fish stories, there is a little bit of truth in what I have just said and as I share my passion for fishing with you, hopefully we can get to a point where this forum can become a space for sharing and exchanging ideas and expressing thoughts on fishing and conservation issues. Although we want to focus on the positive, and herald the good measures that restore our natural resources, there are times when rationally thought out criticism and points of view that don’t agree with established or proposed policy need to be voiced. As fishermen and conservationists, M.N.R. and environmental issues need our attention. “Silence in these matters is not golden”.

Over the course of my fishing experience, I have fished for most species in both winter and summer. My real passion is to fish for walleye and in next month’s “Fish n’ Finn” I am going to share some thoughts about walleye fishing with you. My grandfather was a walleye fisherman (bamboo pole and bobber) and my dad was a walleye fisherman (spinning reels were replacing casting reels) and I have a walleye story.

I was about 12 years old and my dad and I were fishing along a weed bed at the mouth of the Red Stone River. I caught a smaller walleye (about 12 inches) and as it was about to break surface, a huge pike grabbed hold of the walleye and my dad hoisted both fish into the boat. My dad killed the huge pike by stabbing it through the back of the head with his hunting knife.

“Believe It or Not!”

Until next time, “Fishing forever and everything else, whenever.”

Gerry.