A good day fishing

Finally, after two hard days (Saturday and Sunday) dealing with wind and rain, I not only have fish to report, but I have fish to show, as well. This photo was taken in a south bay of Family Lake yesterday (Monday) after Tal had finished catching "our " limit, that being four per person per day. He's happier than he looks,I promise.

This stringer is seven walleyes and one perch. (The perch is the one with the orange belly.) Fishing here is done in 14-foot v-hull boats with 9.9HP Mercury motors. And, fishing for walleye works best when the boat is moving slowly. So, the boat operater trolls backward as slowly at the motor will run. With the wind we've had since we arrived I've found that controlling the boat is about all I can manage -- although I have caught a fair number of fish. They go pretty much undocumented as I'm also the one with the camera. That might sound unfair to some people, but it protects me (and the unsuspecting BLOG reader) from photos of my hat hair!

And why, you might want to ask, am I the boat operator? When we travel long distances, the action of steering with the left hand on the tiller while facing forward aggravates Tal's repaired shoulder. Add to that the relentless bounce on choppy water and he's really miserable.

Plus, I'm learning a new skill and I don't take that lightly. Knowing how to do things ... During my adult life I've been amazed at what people just seem to know how to do -- from drive on snow and ice to firing a side arm. And the list, my list, between that "from" to the "to" is LONG. But, with last year's visit to Shining Falls and this week I can take driving a boat off the list. Just don't ask Tal quite yet how I do when attempting to "park" the boat at our dock on a windy day! Practice is in order, but how much punishment can a boat take?