Learning To Fish, 1995, by A. Ott

From MemoryArchive

Who: A. Ott
What: Fishing
When: 1995(ish)
Where: Ontario, Canada

For as long as I can remember, my family would go on fishing trips every year to the Indian Lake chain in Ontario, Canada. I remember it as the most amazing place to go for vacations. The weather was almost never perfect. Sometimes it was pouring rain and others it was very cold. Even through these conditions, I always had a good time. There was a beach and the owners of the camp had kids around my age. These were not the reasons for going on vacation here though. We went because my father loved to fish.

My father would fish in almost all weather conditions. The only time he would pack up the tackle and head in was during a thunderstorm that was over the lakes. Thinking back on it now, I don't think he really wanted to stop fishing, but he did it for our saftey.

When I was around five years old my father decided it was time that I learn how to fish. The way my father fished was similar to back trolling, but he used the main motor instead of the trolling motor. You put the bait(generally worms or minnows, but sometimes leechs)on the hook and dropped it down to the bottom. Then you would proceed to bounce it around(there was a weight on the line a little bit up from the hook)on the bottom. If you were lucky, a walleye would go for the bait. I knew all about bouncing it on the bottome but i could never tell when there was a fish going for it(the walleye don't bite right on, they tap at it first) so my father waited untill he had a fish going for it and then passed me the pole to feel the tap.

Now the time my father decided to do this he was sure he had a fish on the line. He passed me the pole and I put my finger on the line. I felt the tapping for sure. I did as he told me and let some line run out and then a few seconds later I set the hook. I reeled it up without much resistance and was quite suprised when it got to the surface. I had not caught a fish that day......I had caught my first shell.