Book Board Chat

Central Wisconsin -- three days ago.

I hooked it!......the fish of my dreams. Where?...a tiny creek, nothing more then a tiny off shoot of the Fox river. HOLY CRAP!!! Utterly massive. I was fishing for bluegills, so we could have us a yummy fish fry. ....then....well....then. THUD!....., and a wonderous great fight....then it was landed. My buddy was stunned.........so was I

"Holly Molly....uuuuuuhm.....what now? I sat there, speechless. He asked again....."I don't know!", I yelled back. I truthfully didn't know. I'd spend YEARS (decades really) dreaming of this fish, always looking for and perpetually hunting it......now...here it is before me!! ...I stared at it. Trying hard to let this all sink in.

We're both serious fishermen. I had a good net, a digital scale, quality tackle and knew how to land it. What i didn't have was the reality to deal with my dreams actually coming true. We stared at each other. Both shaking our heads, repeatedly. Finally, we decided it was at least, the time to use that damn scale.......Walleye --8 lb 8 ounces.

I literally started to cry.

My friend, snapping pic after pic (oh yeah -- we've got lots of video proof) asked.....what now?

All I could say was, .....you know already.....We lowered it gently back into the creek.."Swooshed" it back and forth until it regained its strength...and watched it slip back into the depths. My own father would have schellacked it onto a wall. I simply couldn't. 🙁

Ernest Hemmingway I'm not. That glorious thing should still swim.....and today it still does.

Before you declare me virtuous, we kept (and ate) three smaller ones. :o)

We fishermen....are weird people