43
‘Interesting’ fishing trips don’t always end up productive
Today we tell a fish story with a little different angle.
For 30 years, most of the stories I have shared on this page have been woven with the thread of fishing success. Considering that history, some readers may believe we always fill the boat with fish.
That’s not the case. We return home some days with nothing to show for our efforts. Tuesday was one of those days.
The weather forecast was great. After a couple days of rain and small-craft warnings, Lake Erie was to lay down. The steelhead had been hitting, and I was jazzed about the prospects of trolling the breakwalls at Conneaut.
Fishing friend Ted Suffolk took the bait when I offered him a seat. Ted likes two of the things I like: fishing and golfing. When we get together, the conversation always drifts to those topics.
Ted is one of The Vindicator’s top managers. That’s not the reason I invite him on fishing trips, but I figure it’s good form to deliver for one of the bosses.
It is a good thing Ted is a good-natured fellow. Based on our performance Tuesday, you might very well be reading a different columnist today.
For reasons I cannot fully comprehend, the fishing fizzled. There are many ways to measure a fishing trip’s success, but if the main thing is catching fish, our outing was a flop.
Ted, to his credit, didn’t exactly see it that way.
“It was a very interesting day,” he said as I wiped down the BassCat in the launch parking lot. “I’ve never fished out of Conneaut and learned a lot about the water.”
Interesting? Ted didn’t mean it as a euphemism for disappointing, but I was pretty sour about our results.
Several years ago, I coaxed Vindicator editor Todd Franko to fish on a pro-am team for the annual Muransky Companies Bass Classic. It’s a fundraiser for the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, and Todd graciously agreed to fish second seat with one of the pros.
Seven hours on a boat is a long time, especially for a man busy with kids and managing the Vindicator’s newsroom. I know Todd would have rather been golfing that Saturday instead of greeting his pro at 5:30 in the morning, but he acknowledged his fishing experience had been “interesting.”
Fast forward to Tuesday. Ted managed to hook one of Lake Erie’s prized steelhead trout. His rod bucked vigorously as the fish surged and then the line went slack.
“It’s gone,” Ted said matter-of-factly.
I was more disappointed than Ted. He probably was hedging his feelings based on the optimism he gained while listening to my recounting of my previous steelhead trip – and the 30 fish we caught.
Fishers are by nature optimistic. Lose a fish? Another will come soon. Haven’t had a bite in couple of hours? The next cast may produce.
I figured we’d get more – many more – hook-ups Tuesday. But after several hours of trolling spoons and plugs without a strike, the sunny sky and warming weather inspired a bit of doubt that we had made the right decision.
“We should have gone golfing,” I said. Ted smiled. He probably agreed, but he insisted he’d found our day to be “interesting.”
“We’ll get them next time.” Ever the optimists.