Growing Up To Grown Up Fishing
Age brings change
Joel “Doc” Kunz
I started fishing at age 6 or 7, when I was brave enough to venture to the small quarry where the older kids played as I sat on a small rock outcropping catching perch and bluegill. My first trip home with a pail bottom covered with golden beauties taught me a couple of valuable lessons. First, make sure to tell someone at home where I was going. That is still a good rule, especially if you plan on fishing alone. Second was that my mom didn’t care about me catching any fish and was far more worried about the other things I might learn at that quarry or that I might get hurt. I also learned that any anger over my sneaking out to the pond was quickly diffused by my dad, who would help me clean the fish and then cook them up for us. He even snuck back to the quarry once to surprise me. My heart jumped in fear as I saw him come through the bushes, then jumped with joy as I spotted the fishing rod in one hand and coffee can full of worms I had forgotten at home in the other. Trips to Boot Lake near Townsend and to Canada cemented fishing into my spirit.
As I grew older I kept up a vigorous schedule of fishing adventures, eventually falling in love with the Wolf River. My friends and I would brave the elements to catch walleye in March and April and face the crowds to fish for white bass in May. Comfort was not on the list of requirements for a trip. Boats could leak a bit but not the cabin, bunk beds were okay, our boots had to have buckles, rain gear was optional, and the closest thing to a heater was the lantern we used for night fishing. A bag full of sandwiches brought from home, Fritos, beef jerky and M&M’s with peanuts were standard “Doc” Kunz fare for the weekend. By the time we got home we were beat but happy. Now I need a Jacuzzi in the room if I can get it, a comfortable seat in a deep V boat, my insulated Gortex outerwear, small portable heater, and someone had better bring a couple pounds of fresh venison Hot Sticks. Fudge would be nice too. We’ll grab a steak when we get off the water and have a beverage. Now, that’s grown up fishing.
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Sunset on the Wolf River over New London |
When I first started ice fishing, the tip-ups were made of wood and the jig sticks were cut down summer rods. We’d grab a bucket, some bait, and sit with our backs to the wind hoping we didn’t freeze, especially after getting all sweated up drilling a few holes with the old hand auger. We didn’t have any electronics, and the most important piece of technology was a spring bobber. Now, grab a power auger, sit in a warm portable shelter, and watch your electronics to help you catch fish on your designed-for-cold-weather ice rod combo while watching your tip-ups or tip-downs. If you are still young enough not to want the portable shelter, you have specially designed cold weather gear to keep you out there. Ice fishing has grown up quite a bit over the last few years. Heck, if it didn’t require sitting on the ice, I’d do it a lot more.
As a young man I fished hard. I remember my father and my fishing buddies who I went to Canada with being amazed at the number of hours I would fish during the seven days we were in the great north fisherman’s playground called Ontario. When I was 12, my dad talked to the owner of the resort we stayed at each year and assured him it was okay to let me go out in the boat alone after dinner each night. I had to stay within sight of the resort and had to return once the light went on at the end of the dock. Then I’d stand out on the dock and cast a Mepp’s spinner for a while.
When I started guiding out of Tuffy’s Bait Shop in Fremont, I would often fish for 30 days straight and easily well over 200 days a year. Now if I fish three days in a row I’d be too sore to tie my own shoes. Arthritis and age define that, which is why exercise, stretching, healthy eating, and hydrating yourself properly are so important. Being in a boat even on a calm day is more physical than you might imagine, because your muscles are moving almost all the time to create balance. This plays into effect as you get older.
Growing up also means catching more sunsets. At my age my camera is my most important piece of equipment. I’m also more interested in the scenery, conversation, and friendship than how well the fish bite. This is one of the reasons I love fishing at Wisconsin Dells so much. We always catch fish and it’s one of the most beautiful stretches of river I know. Walleye and sauger tug on our line as eagles soar overhead and deer come down to the river bank to drink. There’s a nice resort with a bait shop and rooms with comfortable beds on top of the hill at River’s Edge, as well as the aforementioned post-fishing steak and beverage. An average day of fishing has gone from 14 hours to 8, and if it’s raining, we might not go at all. That’s okay, because I’m growing up. I’ll be back at them tomorrow, weather permitting.
At my age fishing is a privilege and a gift, not a chore. And it’s hard to take sunset pictures in the rain.
Joel “Doc” Kunz is a two-time Readers Choice Award Winner who has been published on a regular basis since 1994. Joel is known most for his knowledge of the Wolf River in Wisconsin and is a former guide who worked out of Tuffy’s Bait Shop during the mid to late ‘90s. A lover of walleye fishing on all Wisconsin rivers, he also enjoys chasing the occasional smallmouth bass and Wolf River muskie. He is known for his numerous TV appearances and twice weekly outdoor report on WAUH 102.3 The Bug streamed live nationwide via the Internet.