I hung the “Gone Fishing” sign on the office door last week, and as you have come to expect when I am involved, the trip had some trials and tribulations.
One of my mottos in life is, “It’s not what you have, it’s who you know and what they have.” Luckily for me, my two fishing buddies have everything needed for a great fishing trip to the Missouri River in South Dakota.
Fishing Buddy Leroy has the Holiday Inn Express-sized RV, and Fishing Buddy Dan has the 20-foot Minnesota-made Lund fishing boat powered by a 175-horse Yamaha.
My part in all of this is I take care of the logistics, such as campsite reservations, state park vehicle permits and bait, as well as food and beverages.
This is our third trip as a fishing trio, and one never knows what the weather will bring to the table or what the topic of conversation is going to be over the three days of fishing.
The weather was the same for the three days — windy, then more wind, a little rain, then a little more rain. Did I mention the wind? At the end of the three days the wind died down and this bright thing in the sky made a brief appearance on the last day of the trip.
On the topic of wind, traveling across South Dakota in a mobile Holiday Inn can be a challenge. We made a quick stop at Cabela’s in Mitchell, South Dakota, to pick up bait, and I bought myself a new rod and reel that was sure to catch fish.
Shortly after we got back on the road, the wind picked up — so much, in fact, that it started to unravel one of the slide canopies. Lucky for us, we happened to be driving by a large camper dealership.
An hour later and $109 lighter, we were back on the road to West Bend, a South Dakota state park that caters to people who like to fish, and they do it right.
Once we settled into our campsite, we hit the water.
Overcast skies and, of course, the wind made fishing a challenge, but with my new rod and reel I figured it was just a matter of time before I hooked the big one. I’ll fast forward here a bit. Some time had passed, and the only one in the boat who hadn’t landed a fish was me with my new rod and reel.
It took about an hour before I caught my first fish, and that fish wasn’t even long enough (there is a 15-inch minimum length requirement) to put in the live well.
Lucky for me, in South Dakota it’s legal to fish with two poles at the same time, so I broke out my old rod and reel to double my chance of success with two lines in the water.
What I doubled was my rod and reel chaos. With the wind bobbing the boat up and down like a yo-yo, I was having about as much fun as having a root canal.
I thought Day 2 had to be better then Day 1. I didn’t think it would be possible, but the wind picked up even more on Day 2.
Not to be deterred by the wind, I had a good feeling that my new rod and reel would come through and we would soon be fishing like a pro.
We had a little friendly fishing contest going on in the boat — you know, the kind that rewards the guy that catches the first fish, the biggest fish and so on. Well, my new rod and reel and I were in last place when finally we hooked a keeper. We didn’t move up in the standing, but we had a fish in the live well.
By the end of the day my new rod and reel and I were starting to click. We were still in third place, but good things were starting to happen.
Day 2 of fishing was coming to a close and my new rod and reel and I felt that Day 3 was going to be our day. I mentioned earlier that you can fish with two rods in South Dakota. When doing so, you really have to pay attention to both rods at all times.
I know you know what’s coming next, and you’re right in your thinking. I was putting my old rod away for the day when I looked away for just a second, and then it happened.
My new rod and reel disappeared out of the back of the boat in an instant.
Once my fishing buddies’ laughter subsided, they figured it was a snag that pulled my new rod and reel into the water. On the other hand, I’m going with the theory that I/we (my new rod and reel and I) just hooked a big one that would have catapulted us to the top of the fishing contest.
Unfortunately the rules committee (consisting of fishing buddies Leroy and Dan) overruled my theory and I ended the trip in last place.
We weren’t able to recover my new rod and reel, and although our tenure together was short, I felt a bond building. While sad at the loss of my new rod and reel, I guess it was a fitting ending that he was lost at sea.
Even with less than ideal fishing conditions and the loss of my rod and reel, I am already looking forward to next year’s trip. The summer is just getting started. Fish on.