By Dick Herfindahl, Woods & Water

In last week’s column I mentioned the trip north with my friend Mark and grandsons Trevor and Taylor. This was a fun week of fishing and working around our property. Even with the little setback of the truck breakdown on the way home it was a very good trip. Meeting nice helpful people along the way was a plus.

Fishing was a little slow at times but whenever we had an overcast day the fishing always seemed a little bit better. I think that the clarity of the northern lakes has much to do with that. The weather for the week was just about perfect as we enjoyed mostly mild days and comfortably cool nights.

Each year I try to re-visit my old favorite, Spider Lake, at least one time. We had decided that we would get an early start on Tuesday so we were up at 4:30 a.m. and on the road. When we first arrived at the landing there was not another boat to be seen and Trevor, as usual, was out of the truck and casting off the dock and already landing fish before I could even get the boat ready. Once we had launched the boat it wasn’t long before Mark caught a nice pike and the boys soon followed suit. As we fished the lake they continued to bring in fish after fish. For the most part there were plenty of fish caught on this day, but I on the other hand was only to land the dreaded “skunk” on this trip. All three of my passengers were able to catch numerous fish but, alas, the skipper of the barge was unable to attract a single fish. I was almost in a funk when they tried to alibi for me by saying that the guy driving the boat is at a disadvantage. Thanks guys for the support but I just don’t think it was my day.

After a few hours more and more boats appeared on the lake, and we eventually decided to call it a day. As we reached the landing I thought that I could at least catch a sunnie or perch from the dock, that was not to be however because I couldn’t even entice a fish to bite there. I finally decided to call it a day and begrudgingly put my fishing pole in the boat and we headed back to the cabin.

I have to say I was mystified because after all I always have considered Spider “my lake” or at least my favorite lake and one that over the years I could always find fish on even when others could not. Oh I guess you could say that I found the fish all right — just not for myself. This will not deter me from trying my favorite lake again another day.

The next day I was back in the groove and catching my share of fish once again — just not on “my lake.” We have so many nice lakes within a few miles of our cabin that it is almost like a fisherman’s smorgasbord when it comes to picking one to fish. I have a couple of favorites but choosing a set favorite would be tough. Now that I think of it the boys were catching fish on every lake we tried so maybe this was telling me that there was a changing of the guard taking place.

Back at the cabin I asked my fellow fishermen what lake they’d like to try the next day and Mark said he didn’t care but Trevor thought it would be fun to try a lake that we’d not fished before. It was Grave Lake which lies south of Marcell off of Highway 38, and it is known for its huge bluegills. The lake has a five-fish limit on their “gills” so we thought it would be worth a try. We were fishing this lake for the very first time and actually had some pretty good luck. This time it was Mark’s turn to almost catch the skunk and even though I was catching more than my share of fish I kind of felt sorry for him. I guess it was just his turn to watch the other guys land the fish. It’s funny how that works, and it just goes to show that fishing is sometimes a fickle sport and that there is always a certain amount of luck involved.

On this day we didn’t see any of those “monster” bluegills but did manage to catch some walleye, quite a few nice northern and some bass. Mark and the boys wanted to take some fish home and as long as it was toward the end of our weeklong stay the timing was right to start keeping a few. Having already eaten a nice meal of fish this week it was time to bring a few home to share with family. We brought home some northern, walleye, crappie and bluegill so I’d have to consider this a pretty good week.

We have quite a few bird feeders at the cabin, and I really do enjoy watching the many different birds that come to feed. This is great but we found out that there are some four-legged critters that consider this their feeding ground. They come in the middle of the night and knock down whatever feeders they can and run off with whatever they can. Trevor sat up a couple of nights in hopes of catching them in the act. One night as he sat in a recliner facing the patio door there was a raccoon looking directly at him but as he got out of the chair the critter scurried a little ways away and stopped turning to see if he was chasing him then fled off into the night almost teasing him. Some may consider them cute, but they can trash a bunch of bird feeders in a hurry and will also run off with the suit blocks. Those “wascally wittle cwitters!” Maybe I’ll have to get me a bluetick hound and tie him under the tree as a deterrent. Oh well, there never is a dull moment when spending time in the north woods and that’s just fine with me.

All-in-all this was what I considered a good week of time spent in the north woods. We caught fish, did some work around the place and ate like kings thanks to Mark’s gourmet cooking. The boys definitely enjoyed the meals, and, hopefully, it won’t be too much of a letdown when they have to spend time at the cabin eating Grandpa’s cooking.

Despite a small setback with the truck breakdown on the trip home and all this was indeed a good week and one that I know the boys will remember. It’s all about having fun and making memories and we surely did both.

Until next time do a little fishing, take a little time to relax and get out and explore our great Minnesota outdoors.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers during the coming year.

Dick Herfindahl’s column appears each Sunday in the Tribune.