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WILKES-BARRE — By the time you read this, I will have returned from my annual fishing trip and back in the good graces of my cat, Lily.
After 10 days north of the border, I will have returned to resume my daily activities of working, volunteering and watching NCIS reruns.
But oh, what a wonderful 10 days it was, I’m sure.
This column was written before I departed for Canada but I’m certain our annual trek to the great outdoors was not only successful, but a heckuva lot of fun.
I learned about the joy of fishing when I was about 10 or 11 years old, thanks to Alex Ecky Kraynack — a man who was like a grandfather to me with the patience of a saint. Ecky would take me to Harveys Lake or Lake Silkworth or North Lake and we would fish for trout, bass, blue gills and even some walleye.
One time my spinning reel kept getting birds’ nests, prompting the usually mild-mannered Ecky to remove them from my pole and toss them into the lake. Then there was the time Ecky made a beautiful arching cast, only to have a duck — in mid-flight, mind you — catch the lure in its beak. Until that moment on a quiet Harveys Lake, I had never known just how loud a duck could screech.
But that’s fishin.’
Back then, Ecky and a group of his friends would make a trip to Canada every yer and return with chests filled with ice and fish. I and the other kids on the block would gather around as Ecky showed us his catch. Every year, I hoped Ecky would ask me to go to Canada, but the group was closed and had a waiting list.
So, it was with great anticipation and excitement I accepted an invitation from a group of my friends to join their annual trip to Canada. It was the year 2000 and they were going to a new destination — Lake Kipawa in Quebec.
This was a new spot and called for a new approach to fishing for northern pike and walleye. In Quebec, live bait is not allowed. So, for eight days, we threw everything but the kitchen sink at those rascals and caught nothing. Despite that dismal result, we had fun.
The following year, we returned to the lake that had produced many fine specimens for the group. You should know we throw all northerns back and keep the walleyes that are legal. We eat them there.
Over the years, we had success on the lake, but outgrew it. We moved to another site in 2010 — there are two conjoined lakes — and the fishing is great.
We fish a lot — from 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every day, break for dinner, then return at 3:30 p.m. and fish until almost dark. After that, we gather around the table or outside the cabin and talk about our day. There’s a lot of busting, especially of people like me, and plenty of laughs.
Then, we retire for the night because we can’t wait to get up and do it all over again the next day.
Some people might not understand the attraction of a vacation like this, but to those in the group, the benefits are many. The day we return from the trip, the countdown begins to the next departure date.
As soon as I finished writing this, I left for home to pack, prepare my gear and make sure I didn’t forget anything.
Each of us is responsible for a meal for the entire group. My meal is piggies with mashed potatoes, cole slaw and creamed corn.
We also hold a fishing tournament. One year, I would have won the darn thing if my partner had caught just one walleye or one northern. It was an incredible experience. The guys called it “The Miracle on Melted Ice.”
I fell short in the contest that year.
As far as fun, though, this trip never falls short.