Last week I wrote about sharing the outdoors experience with our youth and this past week I was able to do just that. I have a favorite T-shirt that was given to me by my son Brian and his family one Father’s Day. On the shirt there is a picture of a man teaching a young boy the art of fishing. There is a lake and woods in the background and the saying under the picture simply says “pass it on”. This is my favorite T-shirt and although the neck is frayed and it is starting to fade I still wear it whenever I can while I’m fishing with the grandkids.

This past week I went with Brian and his boys to our place up north. We did a little work clearing brush and cutting up some downed trees and starting the job of siding the cabin. We did spend some time fishing and of course that’s what the kids were looking forward to.

The first day we went to a nearby lake that the kids got to pick. You see, there are so many nice little fishing lakes close by that they all seem to have their own favorite. They picked what turned out to be the right one. All of the kids (even the big kids) caught fish.

Trevor caught a personal best 24 1/2-inch walleye, which he released, and Taylor followed with a nice 29-inch northern. Grant, the youngest of the crew, got into the act with some crappies, a couple of small largemouth and some bluegills.

On this particular day the fish on the lake were aggressive and on a feeding frenzy. Trevor’s catching a walleye on this lake was unique because it is a lake that’s not known to have many of that species. It is a very clear lake and you can actually see fish swimming along the shoreline while you troll.

As I trolled the shoreline I tried to keep the boat between 12-15 foot of water. I told Trevor to put on a deep running lure when he was on the outside of the shoreline because the lake drops off quickly so a deep running lure may just be the ticket. It worked because he caught that fish after we crossed an underwater point. Whether it was luck or skill I’ll never know for sure but I think Trevor might have been led to believe that Grandpa actually knew what he was talking about.

I know that a lot of the success we had this day can be attributed to the wind. It was blowing into the shore that we were trolling and fishing the windward side of the lake usually makes for the most productive fishing.

The next day we visited Spider Lake and the wind was a little too good. Although it is a lake of many bays when it’s windy there just aren’t too many places for five people to fish comfortably. We did manage to catch a few pike but there were deer to be seen along the shore and at one time eight eagles were soaring above the trees in one area. Another time we had an eagle fly right in front of our boat as we were heading to another spot. Even when the fishing isn’t the best there is always the wildlife that makes you want to return to this lake.

Clear lakes can sometimes be fickle and the weather can play a huge part in your fishing success. We went back to the same lake two days later and the wind was almost non-existent, which made the fishing almost the same. Brian did manage to catch a nice largemouth and we caught a few smaller ones but it was nothing like two days earlier.

This particular lake is so clear that you could see the fish swimming around the boat. There were huge bass and schools of large crappies but on this day they seemed to have better things to do than attack any of the morsels we were offering up. As a rule, fishing on clear lakes is usually best early in the morning and later in the evening.

It really didn’t matter because the boys had all caught “personal best” fish on this trip and it seemed that anything after that was just frosting on the cake. I know that Trevor would spend every spare moment possible with a fishing pole in his hand because this is exactly what he did this past week. My youngest grandson Grant really showed me that he is turning into quite a fisherman. He needs to work on the casting thing (when to cast and when not to) but the enthusiasm is there. I was just glad to be there to share the experience with them and maybe “pass on” a little something to them.

Muskie talk

The July meeting of Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies Inc. will be on the water. It will be 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Tetonka Lake in Waterville. We will meet at the landing at the water tower, at east end of the lake. First road off Highway 13 on north side of bridge. A $10 donation If you want to be eligible for prize for largest fish. Split purse half goes to chapter half to winner. A short social meeting and up-date at BullHead’s after fishing.

Members turn in your boat, motor, trailer raffle ticket money, for our rearing fund for fall stocking. Again, Aug. 2 we have offered our help at Cabella’s Kids Fishing Day 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Chances on our boat raffle will be sold there.

Muskie Hunters, Join Muskies Inc. Help improve Musky fishing in Southern Minnesota. With high gas prices, and going higher forecasts, this is more important than ever. Coming events, our booth at the Steele County Fair, a chance to win prizes Aug. 12-17. Need help. State Fair, Aug. 25 Fishing Day at Conservation Building. Hear our presentation. Check our Web site, “http://www.michapter54.com.”

Until next time, take a little time to enjoy the outdoors — good luck and good “fishin’.”

Please continue to show your support for those that have chosen to proudly serve their country.