Opinion: Adventures in fishing are safer on land

It was a cool, dark night and we were on a northern Michigan lake fishing for salmon and the action was pretty good, meaning it was chaos as we knocked each other off our seats because we had fish on the line and were trying to control ourselves without smacking each other in the head with poles as the beasts fought hard and headed under the boat like Jaws.

It was the middle of the night, so you had to be extra careful or things could go bad like the boat tipping over or the anchor sinking to the bottom because someone didn't secure the rope. On that particular night years ago, despite all the challenges, I caught the biggest fish of my life. But it wasn’t easy, especially cleaning a 16-pound salmon at four in the morning.

Jump ahead to last weekend. It was yet another fishing expedition but the situation was quite different. This time, we were on land in a beautiful park. It was day time. There was plenty of space for each of us to roam around. The weather was just about perfect and I had a sturdy picnic table to keep me comfy as my bobber floated gently among the water lilies.

I didn’t catch a thing. And I didn’t care one bit. Because there was no need to clean stinky fish. And it was very relaxing and calm and no one was yelling at me about not tying off the anchor rope or to get my pole out of their ear or stop whining about being hungry and tired.

One thing is very clear about fishing: If you want to catch fish, you have to work for it. And even that doesn’t guarantee anything, which I can attest to after many, many mornings of standing in icy rivers, flinging cast after cast and the only thing I snared was an underwater tree limb that stole my pricey lures.

I have fished my entire life. I have fond memories of early mornings with my dad, heading out into Brest Bay in a boat the size of a bath tub but we were determined. Sure we caught fish, but it was exhausting work fighting the waves to get to the right spot and actually quite dumb to be in such a tiny boat but we didn’t seem to care.

And the fishing adventures are many. Once we were in a desolate northern Michigan lake when my cousin hooked a huge pike. His dad, my uncle, stood up to net the monster, which immediately tipped the edge of the aluminum boat beneath the surface which filled the boat with water and flipped us all into the lake. We clung to the side as our gear floated away until finally a passerby towed us in.

Last week we reserved a boat to spend the day on a big lake. When we woke up, the weather was definitely iffy. It was overcast and drizzly and the wind was picking up. Years ago, there would have been no question but to go. That was then.

Instead we headed to the park to float bobbers as the rain held off. It was an easy decision and much fun even though I didn’t catch a thing. But at least I didn’t have to clean fish or pay for a lost anchor.

Ray Kisonas is the regional editor for The Monroe News and The Daily Telegram. He can be reached at rayk@monroenews.com.