Fish Stories

These fish coasters I recently painted for my niece brought back a lot of memories of my fishing efforts over the years. My brother, Steve loved to fish and I tried my best to share in his enthusiasm for the sport. Since our family owned a general store in Ontario, we sold all the equipment necessary to become expert anglers. We would save our allowance and buy the shiniest lures, the cheapest reels, the sturdiest rods and other items... You might say we fell for the sport hook, line, and sinker!

Steve's skills flourished, while mine were more a work in progress at best. I'm sure there are still some trees by the lake in our little town adorned with rusty lures, old tangled lines and perhaps a dried up worm carcass or two. On one occasion, I had to trudge back up the hill, returning home with my new lure secured firmly in the seat of my pants!

One summer, we moved our family out of the house that was attached to our store and relocated about a mile up the road to a small bungalow on the water. Mom and Dad thought it would be good for our family to have some distance from the busy store. Steve was thrilled to find the house we bought came with an old wooden boat with oars which we painted blue, and promptly floated away to parts unknown on one of our maiden voyages. My brother was not be discouraged from his newfound passion for fishing, so he and my dad bought a slightly used aluminum boat with an 18 horse power motor. Now we could really outmaneuver those elusive trout, walleyes and other local fishy residents. Maybe we could even live off the land, catching dinner every night and cooking it over an open fire... like Swiss Family Robinson!

Not long after we had the boat, Steve was preparing his line and he asked me to pull start the engine, not always an easy task with old outboard motors. I yanked and yanked and finally the engine roared into action, and propelled our shiny ship into the waiting arms of a tree, with our boat now suspended, resting serenely between two very providential branches stretched out over the water. Let's just say I was not the most popular crew member on the ship that day!

I am smiling now, thinking about my fishing adventures with my brother. Memories are wonderful things and they can bring back the people and the places we have loved. Even when things go terribly wrong, it can still be an adventure. If COVID has taught me anything, it is to try new things, take some chances, keep track of the people who love you and forgive the ones who don't.

For now, the fish in our Ontario lakes are safe, at least from me... and I am moving on to other ventures. Maybe you should move your sympathies to the battered golf balls, missing puzzle pieces and empty paint tubes who are in peril. Or maybe you should just go fishing?