“I’m smiling in this photo. You don’t see the blood running down my arm. That’s because I caught this northern pike with my own two hands… And pike, as you know, have VERY SHARP teeth!”
My story really begins a year before the photo, above, was taken:
We were at Oak Island Lodge, on the southwestern shore of Lake of the Woods near “The Northwest Angle” — at the Canada-Minnesota Border.
Oak Island Lodge is part of well-known fishing destination, Sportsman’s Lodge, itself located at the southeast end of Lake of the Woods, where the Rainy River empties into the Lake near Baudette, Minnesota. (Baudette, by the way, is called “The Walleye Capital of the World”).
In my opinion, going to Oak Island Lodge is a bit like going to heaven.
If you drive, you can get to Oak Island from Sportsman’s Lodge by taking MN Hwy 313 around the south end of the Lake of the Woods near Warroad, MN, enter Canada, drive a bit, leave Canada, and you’ll find yourself at the Northern Angle of Minnesota.
More interesting, in the winter, is to travel, in a grinding snow bomber, ACROSS several miles of frozen ice of Rainy Lake – over snow ridges and all – and — we did it at night!
Sportsman’s Lodge and Oak Island Lodge take great care of their customers year-round, but in the winter, especially, they drop you off and pick you up at your ice shack, keep the ice holes ready, provide bait and equipment as needed, and bring delicious lunches (the hamburgers are the best you’ve ever tasted), plus snacks and hot drinks to the door, as part of their impeccable customer service.
HERE’S WHERE MY STORY BEGINS…
Year 1:
As publicist of record for several years for Sportsman’s Lodge, I had invited a team from In-Fisherman Magazine to come and enjoy some icefishing.
The In-Fisherman fisherguys and their cameraman were in an ice shack, fishing, photographing, and, I presume, laughing, scratching, and having a great time.
I was fishing, by myself, in a nearby ice shack – warm and cozy – but all by myself.
Inside the ice shacks, you may know, it’s heated and warm and cozy. Warm enough for you to take off your jacket and mittens, get comfortable, and wait for the fish to bite.
Ice holes are cut into the ice beneath the ice shack wooden platform and there are benches on which to sit and wait.
During my fishing in the shack, I hooked a large walleye. I could feel that it was pretty BIG and HEAVY.
As I brought it up through the hole, I already felt exhilarated at the thought of showing it off.
But… before I got the walleye completely out of the hole… it fell off my line… flipped around… and disappeared back down the hole into the water…
%^^&&**(()!@##$!
I watched helplessly.
“I will never let this happen again!” I promised myself.
Year 2:
The following year, I found myself in pretty-much the same situation:
Icefishing at Oak Island Lodge on Lake of the Woods, alone in my ice shack, while my media friends from In-Fisherman were located in a nearby ice shack.
My fishing line jiggled.
“Fish on,” I said out loud.
I reeled in my line, and a nice northern pike appeared in the ice hole.
As I was pulling it up through the ice hole… I couldn’t… believe… that… the northern started to fall off the line…
“I’m not going to let it happen again,” I said out loud.
I jumped down onto the ice at the sides of the hole, kneeled down, and grabbed the fish the only place I could possibly catch it – by the mouth!
“The fish didn’t get away this time!” I said out loud to no one in particular.
I proudly took the fish outside for photos in front of the snowbomber.
I didn’t notice the blood on my hand and arm until after the photos were taken…
I had forgotten, temporarily, that northern pike have very sharp teeth…
Yep, northern pike have sharp teeth…
But it was one fish that didn’t get away!!!
As publicist of record at that time, I wrote these stories as a guest of Sportsman’s Lodge and Oak Island Lodge.
