6 & 6

 Went fishing with Darren today and we caught 6 Bass and 6 Pike.  We actually had two doubles today.  It was a great day on the lake.

We moor the working boats here.

The first Bass if the day.

Darren's Pike.

Our double.  Note the small fish puked up in the water.

Darren with Dean's Pike.

I Never Get Tired Of...

I know the action and adventure part of our family has been a bit slow. Since we returned from Utah Linda is head over heals into her school and I have been slipping away to practice retirement as much as I can.  Yes, you have to practice retirement, or so I have been told by about everyone of my retired friends.  Jim Headley has mentioned many times how much harder it is for him to come up with excuses not to do all the work that needs to be done around the house now that he is retired.  He says that when he was working he only had to make excuses twice a week, and now he has to be on his toes 24-7. You have to practice so that you don't make mistakes and do something around the place instead of fishing.

That has been my adventure, fishing.  With the boat moored at the lake it only takes me minutes to drive over and get out on the lake.  I have gotten real good at getting things opened and the motor chugging. Most of the time lately I have fished for Bass and Pike.  The post of the past weeks represent some of the catches.

The one thing I always try to do when I fish is to practice catch and release.  The fish I have kept have been the buggers that have swallowed my lures too deep.  Of our dinner guests, I have enjoyed Large Mouthed Bass and Northern Pike.  The Pike are boney, but by far the better tasting, in my humble opinion.

I will be posting more about fishing this summer, so please bear with me.  

Big Bass

Yes, that a big girl!

The big one is 22", that's a fish!

27 Years, and She is Well Worth It!

We hiked up Mineral Ridge today and when we got to the lookout point I gave Linda her anniversary present.  She has been looking at a necklace for about two years and so I gave in and bought it for her.  Generally I can not surprise her, but this time I was successful. I love her so much we have been a great team for nearly 31 years. 

Anniversary Pike

28" Anniversary Pike, humm...

One Afternoon

Kobi's PFD

Mom, dad and the kids.

Here was my thoughts, Kobi hates to do anything that deals with any type of transportation.  He doesn't like the truck or Jeep and he will actually hide if he thinks you are going to ask him to get into one of them. We took him on the boat once and that didn't work very well either.  A friend suggested that we attempt putting Kobi in the boat while he is swaddled in a dog life jacket.  Some dogs like the security of swaddling and will calm down and allow you to do things that normal you can not do. So this morning I put the PFD around Mr. Kobi to see if he would allow me to put him on the boat.  

I started by strapping him into the vest to let him get used to it.  He just stood in the center of the room looking pathetic. He did not move for about an hour and I just wandered around getting stuff ready.  I drug him out to the deck and took the picture below and he stood there for another half hour.

Finally I got his lead and he ran in under the table and hid.  How did that little goober know I wanted to take him anywhere.  This is the first time I have even tried to do this yet he knew exactly what was up.  After about 10 minutes I took the vest off him and put him outside and went down to the boat. 

I had a great day in the sun, and Kobi spent his day sleeping in the back yard.  We were both happy.

33" Pike, Approx. 17 lbs.

Keeping an eye on everything in the bay.

Bloomsday 2012

Up Cemetery Hill with all our friends!

Doomsday Hill in the background.

Linda walked with me instead of running this year.