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Friends, fishing: 'No better way to spend four days'

Subhead
For What It's Worth
Lead Summary
By
Rick Peterson, general manager

In recent weeks I have been planning for an upcoming fishing trip.
For years my two fishing buddies, Leroy and Dan, and I — and yes, I have fishing buddies … I also have hunting buddies, side-by-side buddies, and I even have a group of Power Ball buddies, not to mention my coffee buddies — anyway, my fishing buddies and I get together for a four-day trip to the waters of the Missouri River. Due to Covid and other events, our fishing trip has been canceled two of the last three years.
Planning for weeks in advance, I compose a list of the things I need to bring along on the trip. This helps me at least in my mind think that the trip is a bigger deal than it really is.
Believe it or not, the fishing tackle, rods and reels and bait are the easy part. Planning for the weather is a much different story. Morning temps for fishing can be cold, damp and windy. Raingear, hats and gloves certainly need to be packed. Midday weather could be calm, sunny, hot and humid. Afternoon weather could be hotter and winds more than likely will pick up, causing rough waters. You can bet that the rain suit will be the attire of the day for at least one of the four days.
Hopefully we’ll be catching and eating a lot of fresh fish. But what we really need to catch up on is the past couple of years. In that time, two of the three of us have retired. If you’re reading this column you know that I am not one of the two. One of the three moved from South Dakota to Minnesota and has regretted it ever since. Leroy’s dad died about a year ago, and Dan’s brother was killed in a motorcycle accident roughly the same time.
We all have kids about the same age and a dozen or more grandkids to catch up on.
Dan and Leroy grew up in Redwood Falls, and I think they might have even been in the same grade if not darn close. I enjoy listening to the two of them reminisce about their wild high school days. The funny thing is, their high school days sound a lot like mine … only the names are different.
We don’t waste a lot of time talking politics, mostly because we all are on the same/right side of the fence.
All three of us are a little disappointed Minnesota didn’t end the taxing of Social Security benefits, and I know one is really happy about the new pot legislation.
Friends, fishing or hunting or riding side-by sides in the Black Hills and laughter … there is no better way to spend four days.

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