I sat outside drinking coffee before heading to the bathroom - only to get turned around and lost on my way back. I was slightly embarrassed.
Soon enough we were on the road to the marina. It only took a few minutes to get the boat ready and we headed out. It would be an understatement to say it was a stunning morning. It was cool but not cold, and there was very little wind. Wildfires are not good, but the haze makes amazing photographs.
We didn't go out very far before Denis started setting out lines. As he was getting the second line out, he yelled, "Fish On!" and grabbed the first pole handed it off to me. I wasn't sure what was on it, but it was big and it did not want to come in.
It took about 15 minutes to get the first Chinook Salmon I've ever caught into the boat. It may not have been a monster, but it was close enough to a monster for me.
I have to admit though, that when reeling in big fish, there is a small part of me that is rooting for the fish; just a small part though.
The good thing about all the early excitement is that it basically ended my headache.
An hour or two later a much bigger Chinook came on the line. This one took almost a half an hour to get it into the boat. Thankfully I did not lose it.
And so it went throughout the day. We would have slow periods followed by action - such is fishing. We went out to deeper water and got into some Steelhead. When I was a kid - Steelhead was THE fish to catch on Lake Michigan. So it was pretty cool to be able to catch a few.
I felt somewhat bad that I was the designated catcher. But Julie said that was the plan for the day. I have to admit I also did enjoy it.
We did miss a few fish. Sometimes this was user error - at one point I think we were all sleepy and missed the strike. We had the line break once as well. And there were a few releases of smaller Steelhead to be caught another day when they are bigger.
Total count for the day was three Chinook and three Steelies. But this was only part of the point - it was, frankly, just an amazing day on the water.
As the afternoon wore on Denis brought in all the lines. Then he fileted the fish right on the boat - which makes total sense to do. The filets were packed on ice as we made our way back to the marina. In the later afternoon it got almost hot, with just enough wind to give the lake some chop.
Back at the camper we packed up the filets in individual bags and dropped them in the freezer. Hopefully they freeze before the trip home. I was feeling quite fishy and gross - so a quick shower brought me back to the land of the living (even if I thought I still smelled a bit fishy).
Dinner was pork chops - which were great. Fish might have been more appropriate, but it had been a fishy enough day.
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