Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

We have finally had a break in the action when it comes to the heat and humidity we have endured this summer. I have mentioned it more times than I can remember that fall is indeed my favorite time of the year. When this column goes to press, I will be up north at the cabin enjoying the transition that takes place when summer turns into fall and the colors start to turn.

In the years before we had the cabin, I would try to plan a fall trip north to Spider Lake. A few of those fall trips were with my old (meaning used to be) neighbor Gene. We endured some pretty cold and rainy, and sometimes even snowy days on the water. I often wondered how far a guy would really go for a fish, but it was all good when I look back at it now. We also had some good days, which seemed to make enduring the bad ones worthwhile.

We stayed in my pickup camper which had a heater that could drive you out of there if you turned it on any setting but pilot. I can’t even begin to describe how good it felt to step into that camper after a cold day of fishing on the lake. We usually always caught fish, ate a couple of meals and took a little home.

One year when we were there my two brothers-in-law, Lynn and Ron, came up and rented a cabin for a few days. Whenever they were around, there was a fishing contest with money involved. On the day of the big contest we fished hard, but the cold and wind made it less than ideal. Once the sun had disappeared below the horizon, Lynn and Ron headed to their cabin to clean fish and gloat over what had been the biggest northern of the day. I asked Gene if he wanted to head in, clean our fish and warm up, he said “we need to keep fishing because we just can’t lose the contest to a 3-pound. northern.” Luckily there was a full moon to guide us so we kept on fishing and at about 9 that night, I hooked a walleye that would weigh in at 6-1/2 lbs.

When we walked into the office, Ron and Lynn were there feeling comfortable that they had won the bet and were ready to collect. I can still see the look on their faces when I walked in with that walleye, it was priceless. I don’t often get to one-up those two when it comes to fishing, but sometimes persistence beats out skill. That week was just one of many good memories that I have of fishing in the fall on Spider Lake.

Another such time was when my oldest son, Brian, and I rented a cabin for a week at Spider. That week it was cold and snowy, but the lake had not frozen over yet. Brian would get up early and drive to a spot near the access where he had put up a deer stand. He was into doing some serious bow hunting at the time, so every morning he would sit in the stand for a couple of hours hoping to get a shot. He had seen quite a few deer that week, but they were never in an opening where he could get a clean shot.

Once he had sat in the stand for a couple of hours, he would come back to the cabin for hot coffee and a hot breakfast. After that, we would head out on the lake and try our luck at fishing. Two hours was about the max that we could stand to be on the water before the cold got to be too much. Once we got back to the cabin we would have lunch and then settle in close to the stove to warm up and take a little cat-nap. We hardly caught any fish that week and the temperatures never really got out of the 30’s, but that was still one of the most cherished memories that I have of fall fishing on Spider.

My brother-in-law, Lynn, had driven over for the weekend from Thief River Falls where he was going to school. One thing about Lynn is that he always has a story or two to share and he can spin a yarn like nobody else. Yes, that was another good memory of that same week, one of no deer and not many fish but a great time.

I am hopefully going to get in a little early fall fishing while I am up north this week. I do believe that the bass fishing on our lake should be starting to pick up so it could be a good few days. I may even sneak over to Spider for a day.

Until next time, fall is a great time to enjoy the outdoors and maybe even take a little time to hang out by a lake and do a little fishing. It won’t be long before we will be enjoying the autumn colors. 

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers, because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms we have today.