Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

This past week I have been enjoying time at our cabin with family. It has sort of become an annual event, at least for the last two years. It is always nice when everyone can make it up for at least part of the week. Unfortunately, as the grandkids get older, it is harder for everyone to be there. This year, all of Brian’s family were able to make it, but my son Brad and his family couldn’t make it this year.

When my wife Jean and I arrived at the cabin we were greeted by swarms of those little flying critters that are sometimes referred to as the Minnesota state bird. The mosquitoes that greeted us were relentless. It has been many years since I have seen those little pesky insects so active. As if that weren’t bad enough, it stormed and rained Tuesday evening, assuring us that there would be another hatch coming soon to a forest near us.

Once we had survived the initial onslaught of the killer mosquitoes, we were able to regroup with the help of a whole lot of Deet and a screen tent. Luckily there has been a decent breeze each day, which helped keep the little attackers somewhat at bay.

It was hard to count them, but we spotted at least six hummingbirds at our feeder shortly after we arrived. They seemed to be busy just about non-stop often times buzzing right past our heads. Last year was the first time I had actually seen one of those birds land on a tree branch or a line that holds the other feeders. The birds would sit there and watch until another one came along and then it would go to the feeder. They are a fun bird to watch and they definitely do not seem to be afraid of humans.

On the first night, after my son Brian and our daughter-in-law Kim arrived, he took his mother and I out on our little lake to relax and do a little fishing. When I say he took us out it was just us three in a little 14-foot oar-powered boat. Brian was the skipper, which meant he was manning the oars. It was almost a perfect evening and his mother immediately started catching fish. She caught some dandy perch, a nice-sized, colorful sunfish and some bass. It wasn’t long before Brian and I got into the act when he caught a dandy bass. I soon followed suit and as we moved along the lakeshore, we were all catching fish. It was a great evening spent fishing and relaxing on what seemed to be a perfect evening on our little lake.

The next morning, Brian and I left early to spend a day fishing on Spider Lake, a lake that we both love. The day was almost perfect, sunny and a little breezy. We did catch quite a few northern, which is what we were seeking. I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t catch as many big pike as in past years, but Brian did catch one nice pike. The slot limit on Spider is three fish 24 inches and under and only one over 36 inches, which has made the pike fishing much better over the past few years.

The limit in the north central zone, of which Spider is a part, is 10 fish under 22 inches can be kept and you can also keep two over 26 inches. These rules, however, do not apply to Spider where the slot limit that was already set is the one that fishermen need to abide by.

I thought the walleye slot limit was confusing enough. It seems like it will not be long before each lake will have its own set of rules. I totally understand what the DNR is doing, but I guess I still long for the days of one set limit for each species. I know that is not feasible and, in all reality, that is exactly the reason why some species on certain lakes are in trouble today.

It is great to spend time with family, relaxing and enjoying a campfire and doing a little fishing all while exploring the north woods. I don’t believe there is anything more relaxing than sitting around a campfire sharing tales and reminiscing about past adventures and even some misadventures. I have so many great memories of times spent up north with my sons, grandsons and granddaughters.

One of my favorite memories of my oldest granddaughter, Emma, is when she befriended a chipmunk at the cabin. It would let her pet it, which we thought was pretty cute but when she went to pick it up her Dad, Grandma and I all yelled “NO” at the same time. I have it on video so every once-in-a-while I will find it, watch it and remember that fun week. My granddaughter Ava caught her first fish on our little lake last year and it was a bass. I could tell that this made her pretty happy as she was smiling ear-to-ear.

Yes, over the years many great memories have been made up at our little piece of God’s Country.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers. We must never forget those who are still putting themselves in harm’s way so we can enjoy all of the wonderful freedoms we have today.