"Right now I'm going to my boss' mountain cabin to fish and drink and drink and fish and sometimes even fish and drink and drink and fish! For one week I'm going to pretend I'm actually alive!"
- Al Bundy, "Married With Children"
I just returned from the Seventh Annual Northwoods Fishout which is always a great time and an excellent escape from the daily routine. While I would never dream of insulting the true anglers of the world by calling myself a "fly fisherman", I do enjoy owning the gear, pretending I have a clue on what I am doing and spending some quality time in the woods with good friends. As usual, there was a lot more fishing than catching, but as a group I think the catch total was respectable this year. I've joked around with some of our team that we've taken our responsibilities as catch and release fisherman to the extreme of simply skipping the "catch" part and focusing just on the release. We find this to be much more humane for the fish.
I am thrilled to announce that I am officially off the shutout list this year, having snagged my first ever trout on the fly rod. I've actually had decent success with other fish, but trout and salmon are what we are after, and with the exception of an inch-long guppy a couple of years ago, the mythical trout have eluded me. Of course, if I spent more than 2 days a year fishing, my odds might also increase significantly. As you can see from the picture, this fish was a beast! I, of course, have absolutely huge hands, so this fish appears much smaller than his actual 24", 3 pound size. As I think about it, even if this fish did weigh three pounds, I think with the gear purchases, travel, lodging, food, etc. which are associated with this annual trip, the cost of trout is likely in the $1000/pound range. Any angler will tell you, though, that a monster fish like that is a bargain at any price.
The best part of the weekend was definitely the mustache competition suggested by Kevin (aka Sea Bass). Kevin won by default when the rest of us refused to sacrifice personal appearance for the greater good of a team effort, but what cracked me up the most was how his new look completely failed to draw any notice from the locals. If anything, I think those of us who declined the challenge stood out more because it seems we were the only guys in town who lacked a proper mustache. We always try to get to know some of the townies, so here is my shout-out to Stacy the Bartender, JC Bob ("Which one is JC Bob?"... "the one who says 'Jesus Christ' in every sentence.."), and the nice gentleman who joined our party on Friday night and introduced himself as "Go F*** Yourself". Mr. GFY spent about an hour talking to us, and reminded me of a story about a little kid who'd been told "No!" so often he began introducing himself as "Johnny No", because he thought that was his name. I'm pretty sure that's what happened with GFY. You don't just get this kind of attention from the locals by default, and I've got to think it had a lot to do with Kevin's attempt to fit in. Here is a shot of his new look:
Thanks to everyone who joined the trip this year... Sean, Sea Bass, Andrea, Mr. Peanut, Teddy KGB, Mr. Salty, Boston Rob and of course to G$ for organizing. Looking forward to seeing everyone again next time. And a warning to G$... revenge will be mine in next year's poker extravaganza.
