GIRLS GO FISHING
Mike Yurk
“Girls need to go fishing too,” my oldest daughter Lisa Hein told me when she had her first daughter and our first granddaughter. That was some fifteen years ago.
Now that daughter Amelia is fifteen years old and she and her sister Abigail, soon to turn thirteen are visiting Grandpa and Grandma in northwestern Wisconsin, for a few days, so we have to go fishing.
Abigail Hein is partially hidden behind a big bluegill.
The night before Amelia and Abbigail helped load the boat. They took the panfish rods they were going to use from the basement and took them out to the garage along with the panfish box. We use winter ice jigs on spincasting rods, placing floats or bobbers as I call them, about three feet above the jig. For bait we use wax worms.
Wax worms tend to be difficult to find in summer. I don’t know why. They are perfect baits all year long for bluegill. A number of bait shops in our area think wax worms are good only in winter. So when in doubt about where to find wax worms I call Deer Lake Sports, located east of St Croix Fall right on Highway Eight. I talked to Ron and Pat Stager. “Don’t worry,” they told me. “We’ll have a tub of them waiting for you.” We are going right past them on the way to our lake anyway. We were all set up.
GETTING STARTED
It is going to be a hot summer day so we decide to start a bit earlier. It didn’t take long to get them going once I woke them. I remember many years ago waking their mother and her sister, their aunt, up early when they were young to go fishing. It didn’t take them long to get going either. There is something about fishing which does that. Getting them up for school was a different matter.
All of their panfish to include the crappie Abigail is holding were taken on panfish ice jigs baited with wax worms three feet below a float.
My wife Becky, the girl’s grandmother, and I are getting water and ice in ice chests along with the other things we needed. Once the girls are standing in the kitchen, Grandma sent them out to the garage to help me drag the boat out. I am on one side of the boat and the girls are on the other side, pulling the boat out to our vehicle, helping me hook it up. We are ready. We add the ice chests to the boat, pile in our vehicle and roll out of the driveway.
BREAKFAST AND WAX WORMS
Today Becky and I are introducing the girls to the time honored fishing tradition of stopping for breakfast at one of the cafes on the way to the lake. It just wouldn’t be quite the same; going fishing without stopping for breakfast. It would be almost like forgetting the bait. We stop at the Not Justa Bar and Grill on Highway 35 near Somerset. Amelia and Abigail order waffles, Grandma has a breakfast sandwich with hash browns and Grandpa got corn beef hash with eggs.
Sisters fishing off the back of Grandpa's boat.
It is cool and quiet in the café and we must have been hungry or in a hurry to get fishing because it didn’t take long for everyone to eat, use the rest room and get back out to the vehicle. Temperatures are beginning to heat up outside.
Half an hour later we stop at Deer Lake Sport Shop. The girls are introduced to Ron and Pat, Amelia gave Ron and Pat’s dog Schmidtie dog treats and the girls inspected the wax worms. Over the years the girls have become a good judge of wax worms. Only the “juiciest” looking wax worms will do and they approve of the tub of wax worms.
Twenty minutes later, after taking the straps off the boat and spraying on sunscreen I am backing the boat and trailer into the lake. Grandma and the girls are in the boat and as soon as it floats off the trailer Grandma starts the motor, pulling away from shore. I park the vehicle and walk out on the dock where Grandma and the girls pick me up. I point across the lake to a shore lined with brush and submerged trees. “Our fish will be there,” I tell them.
FIRST FISH
As we pull up to the brushy shore, I drop the trolling motor while the girls get their spincasting rods out. It doesn’t take long to bait hooks and both girls cast their lines out. Within a minute the first bobber begins to bounce and Abigail pulls in the first fish, a small bluegill. Although it is a small fish it bent the spincasting rod, rod tip bouncing with fish splashing on the surface.
It is windy and I try fighting the wind with the trolling motor. The wind is pushing us along fairly quickly. We are moving too fast and not getting enough time to fish good looking spots. I find a tree toppled into the water, branches protruding through the surface. There should be lots of bluegills here so I drop anchor.
The girls are steadily catching fish. Some are small and some are big. They are all fun to catch and there is much laughing and giggling as fish are splashing next to the boat. We lost count of how many times both girls had fish on at the same time. Grandma insures everyone is drinking enough water. It is getting hotter as the day goes on and luckily it is windy otherwise it would be a real scorcher.
Crappies like the one Amelia Hein is holding had just finished spawning.
This spot begins to slow down so we pull anchor and with the trolling motor move long the bank. The girls pick up a few more fish and then we pull into a more protected stretch of shoreline with a downed tree and lots of shade over the water. We drop anchor again. Immediately bluegills begin hitting.
BASS AND CRAPPIES
Amelia set the hook as her bobber dips below the surface and her spincasting rod is bent in half. This is a bigger fish than what they have been catching. Within a few moments we see why. Amelia brings a foot long bass to the side of the boat. We caught a couple smaller, six inch bass earlier but this is the first good size bass we catch.
A couple minutes later Abigail’s rod is bucking and her fish is running sideways and in the water we see a thin black shape. It is crappie and once she pulls it in the boat I am amazed how black it is. It is black crappie and during the spawn and a couple a weeks after, they turn almost black before returning to their normal color.
It is early afternoon and we are hot and tired. The girls caught and released about a hundred panfish, mostly bluegills along with about a dozen crappie and a few bass.
BACK HOME
On the way back we stop at a drive-in and get some burgers and chicken nuggets to eat on the way home. Once we get home Grandma takes the girls to our neighbor’s swimming pool to cool off. What a day it has been.
The bass Amelia is holding was a nice bonus to the day.
There is something special about taking kids fishing. It is heartwarming to watch their enthusiasm catching fish, even small fish. There is a simple pleasure in watching a bobber and how exciting it is when that bobber sinks in the water as a fish hits. Then there is a bend in the rod and a tug on line and essentially this is what fishing is all about. To see and feel the true essence of fishing, take a kid fishing.
And oh yah, girls got to go fishing too.
EDITORS NOTE: Mike Yurk’s column is sponsored by Warner’s Dock in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Warner’s Dock is the premier marine dealer in northwestern Wisconsin. They have a complete supply of new and used boats, motors, and trailers as well as other marine supplies plus a complete maintenance staff for all your boating needs. They can be contacted through their website at www.warnersdock.com or by telephone at 1-888-222-3625.