What is that old saying "the worst day of fishing is better than the best day at work?" Last September I bought a little old green aluminum fishing boat from a Johnson Lane resident. My great aunt Ann came out on the train for a visit from Kentucky, so I invited her to join us out at Lake Topaz for a trial run. My dad asked if we had plenty of gas to which I of course replied, "Yes." The boat didn't keep running and I had to paddle us back to the dock. We didn't have enough gas. That was embarrassing because I know better.
The lake closed at the end of September giving me all winter to strip off the ugly green paint and the red paint, and the tan paint and finally the black paint. What I found when I was done, was a beautifully shiny aluminum boat. So, I got a couple of coats of wax on it and covered it up for the winter. As the weather warmed up, I suggested to my father that we take it out for a test run before we purchase our fishing licenses. We dumped it in Lake Topaz and made it across the lake and then it quit. After numerous squirts of Quick Start it started back up and ran long enough to get us back to the dock. My dad spent a couple of hours cleaning out the carburetor before he got frustrated trying to keep the motor running in a trash can of water. I am figuring since it's a two-stroke motor there can only be a couple of things wrong with it, right? So I ordered a fuel pump re-build kit from the auto parts store and got new fuel lines and headed over to Dad's house to work on it some more. After some idle adjustment we were able to keep it running in the trash can for 30 minutes. So, Friday morning we stopped in to purchase our licenses and drove down to Lake Topaz confident we had fixed the boat motor. What a gorgeous day - sunny, warm, the water was like glass which is what you want when you are in a small boat. The gentleman in the boat in front of us said, "The fish didn't bite until 11 a.m. on Tuesday." We got in and the motor started on the second pull without the assistance of my "friend," Quick Start. Great, that was a good start to our day. Dad decided to begin with his favorite lure, a froggy colored single-hook needlefish. I decided to drop in a rapala because I have never caught a fish with one. An hour and a half later we'd only gotten a couple hits, no fish. So I changed over to a bluish single-hook needlefish lure with an eye on it and Dad switched to a pinkish one with an eye on it. I am not kidding here, at 11 a.m. on the dot; I hooked a fish just like that gentleman had said. Dad got one not 10 minutes later. The boat ran great and it was time to go home and show off our catch.
I like my trout with a little butter inside and wrapped twice in aluminum foil then cooked on medium on the grill. The smaller fish had pink meat, like salmon, and the larger had white meat. They were so delicious we are going back fishing on the next non-windy day. It must be true that the worst day of fishing is better than the best day at work.
-- Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350. n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.
