Gone Fishin'

As the temperature dropped, leaves started to change and birds bid the North adieu, we began our first
fall adventure. The shinook salmon are busy spawning and many can be found in active little clusters in
the Betsie River. So we climbed into our car, with Juno, and made the 3 hour drive North to Grandma
and Grandpa Noel’s cabin on the Betsie River. On the way there we enjoyed the splendor of the leaves
changing colors. The maples are every color from green to red, often all on the same tree, and the
landscape has a picturesque quality, especially with the frequent water backdrops in this area.

Once we arrived, we found Grandma and Grandpa in the cabin and cousin David already in the water
fishing. Grandpa fetched a couple pairs of waders from the shed and we set to struggling to get them
on. Being taller, I had an easier time getting mine on, but Justine’s waders were a more…comical fit (not
that any fit of wader is less than comical).

(Justine channeling clown attire)

Costume malfunctions aside, we grabbed our poles and waddled down to the river to begin fishing. Our
bait was small ‘spawn bags’ containing salmon spawn. The salmon are primarily there to reproduce, but
every now and then they get a bit peckish and will eat some of the spawn. Our goal was to present them
with that opportunity, with some strings attached.

The three of us, David, Justine and I stood each a pole length’s apart while Grandma and Grandpa sat on
the dock with Juno watching. The first catch of the day was a tree branch, but that was soon untangled
and we’ll chalk that up to rusty casting skills. After that, the fish weren’t biting for quite a while and
eventually David climbed out of the water. After about an hour’s wait, the female salmon started
spawning and getting the males whipped into a frenzy. We had one female followed by a train of four or
five males. All of a sudden we started getting nibbles and then bites and then I managed to hook one!

It had been a long time since I fished, much less hooked a fish, much less a fish so large, so I wasn’t
completely prepared for how much strength a salmon has. There wasn’t enough drag on my line, so
for every foot of line I reeled in, he seemed to pull away two. Justine, meanwhile, threw down her pole
and rushed for the net. She raced, (again, in waders so adjust mental images to match), ahead hoping
to catch up to the fish, but he was pulling away quickly. Unfortunately, the banks of the shore sloped
steeply, and Justine tripped and got her waders full of water. Not too long after that I felt the rod go
slack and reeled in a broken line.

I went to help Justine and amid gales of laughter we navigated our way back to the dock. Her waders
were about a foot too tall for her, which was workable until they filled with water. Afterwards, once
she got them out of the water, the extra weight made it too hard for her to lift them and she ended up
in a wet heap on the dock stairs, laughing at her inability to climb them. I helped her climb out of her
weighted wader prison and turned the waders upside-down; at least 30lbs of water poured out of them.

After all the commotion, wetness and trudging through the spawning ground, we figured that was a
good time to call it for the day. We changed into dry clothes and drove down stream to a dam to watch
the salmon jump. After seeing how much strength and energy it takes to get past the dam, I felt more
respect for the salmon that got away.

The next day we awoke to a neighbor’s dog wandering around the cabin barking at the fish jumping
below. We had breakfast together, and then split into activity groups. Grandpa went out to teach
Justine how to split logs (she was very excited to learn), David and I grabbed our bows and practiced
target shooting, and Grandma and Juno took pictures . Justine turned out to be a natural at splitting
wood; before long she had a nice stack of perfectly quartered logs. I tried my hand at one and managed
to make a small pile of kindling. David and I worked at trying to adjust our sights and then hitting
the target. My first few arrows totally missed, but as I got more comfortable with the bow I started
striking near to where I was aiming. After a few rounds we were getting pretty good at clustering our
shots tightly, so we stepped back, shot from 20 yards and still did pretty well. We both appreciate how
Grandpa is always willing to teach us a new skill.

After tiring out our arms, we ventured back down to the water once more. This time Justine fished from
the dock. The fish weren’t as active today and I only got a few glancing bites. When my hook got caught
on an underwater log that required far too much activity to dig it out, we figured that was a good time
to call it a day and get packed up. We’re on our way home now for a brief respite before we make the
drive to Pittsburgh to stay with John and Judy for a week.

Thanks, as always, to Grandma and Grandpa Noel for a fun weekend in the woods and water!

Nate and Justine