Blast From the Past.

This weekend found me blessed with the the worse cold I have had since my bout with pneumonia a couple of years ago. Confined to the couch for most of the day on Saturday and Sunday, I was resigned to watch fishing shows from morning thru early afternoon. One of the shows featured Midwest Outdoor's filmed at Wollaston Lake Lodge targeting those big pike. Although staged for constant action, these shows are often filmed over a few days as sometimes it can be really tough to get the "bite" just perfect. It reminded me how well my friend Kevin and I enjoyed fishing the spring northern pike that would give any fishing show a run for it's money!

Kevin and I would spend almost every weekend in Alma from about April 15th to around May 5th fishing post spawn northern pike. We would take a few weeks off for trout fishing opener before heading back to the river to continue our pursuits. Since the time we got our drivers license it was the thing we did. Kevin would often get to drive Milo Whipple's 57 Chevy until I had bought my own for $75. Our destination was always Wilbur's, a resort half way between Alma and Nelson. Wilbur rented 14 foot aluminum rowboats for around $3.00 a day, a buck and a half a piece was a lot cheaper than going to the movies. Having no outboard motors, we would take turns rowing up and down the shoreline casting daredevils, hammered spoons, Johnson Silver Minnows, and the occasional Bass Oreno. Although we were young, the rowing limited us to about 1/2 mile either side of the shoreline by Wilbur's. This time of year the river was high from the spring runoff and the northerns had finished spawning in the shallow marshy areas of the backwaters. These fish really had the feedbag on and more often than not we would return with a couple nice limits of northerns, including a number of large fish well over 12 pounds as I am holding in the picture on the right. Our catch and release ethics had not been developed yet!

Once we hit the ripe old age of 20, our resourcefulness increased exponentially. I had acquired a Martin 7.5 hp outboard, probably a 1950 model, complete with 360 degree turning capability. My boss had given me it completely tore apart and my dear Uncle Lee could not resist putting it back together. This piece of machinery completely changed Kevin and my approach to fishing the backwaters expanding our range and skill level. Our focus was totally on bass and northerns with little attention paid to walleyes, which would come later in life. The first picture is Kevin (on the right) and myself taken in about 1977. The style of the day were high front mesh hats and Army field jackets. Along with my Martin on the left and 2 limits of northern pike, it's a fantastic reminder of those wonderful times on the river with Kevin. Although I own a boat that back then would have been only a pipe dream, nothing can compare to those experiences of 35 years ago.