fishing

people. i went fishing. like, cast the rod and hook a fish, fishing.  i did it for the light in this guy's eyes when he asked if i wanted to add eight-plus-hours of driving to eight-plus hours of flying get away for the weekend to fish.

i definitely had not packed for a fishing trip. unless you consider sundresses fishing gear. my guy is lucky i find him irresistible - woefully unprepared as i was, friday morning still saw us on the road to our fishing destination in wisconsin.

first step was to put our poles together.

then it was off to what i like to call the training lake - a small lake, one with miniature docks perfectly made for standing and teaching a newbie how to fish.

i learned how to cast, sort of - the details became clearer as the day went on. and then, i caught two fish! a rainbow trout and a brown trout. and i cringed at the idea that i was causing them pain and implored my guy to "get it out! hurry!" no hardened angler here - i honestly think i'd prefer to fish for eating, than catch-and-release, even if studies do say fish can't feel pain.

dinner was friday fish-fry at the dining room. as a concession to my presence, we skipped the rush-dinner-for-one-more-round-of-fishing routine, and instead wrapped up with hot chocolate and st. elmo's fire back at the cabin. saturday morning was an early start, so we could fully experience the early morning chill. still, the morning light and stillness was a moment i was glad to share with my guy.

we spent the morning without seeing anyone else, casting and occasionally catching, and watching. well, i was watching - because sometimes, watching someone you love do something they love, is really the most enjoyable thing to do right then.

we picked up a picnic lunch and moved over to the dam so i could learn a bit about dry fly fishing. i made a valid effort, caught a chub {which, apparently, is what you call a small fish that is good for bait but not a good catch} and then spent more time watching my guy enjoy himself.

the afternoon saw us on another lake, with a goal of catching some bass. the sun was shining so the fish weren't biting in the middle of the lake. which meant that i got the enviable job of rowing us around the perimeter of the lake so that he could cast into the weeds and catch the baby bass. arm workout for the day, check.

the day could not be complete without a stop by one last lake before dinner, where my guy caught a trout using a frog {a large fly designed to look like a frog}. this was apparently a first and very exciting. a fine cap to the day!

we finished out the evening with a prime rib dinner and a valiant attempt to watch, listen to or get updates on the notre dame football game, but the combination of terrible internet, low cell reception and 3 stations of pbs were not on our side.  sunday morning saw us back on the road, with a wonderful weekend under our belts and a new skill set {sort of} under mine!  i think i missed that haven of cultured wilderness the minute we pulled back onto the highway...

another round?