I was the anchor man when we went fishing and on one occasion it was in the fall and cool out! Dad had put his winter coat in front by me and he had caught a fish, so he told me to get the net ready! So, I did, and I didn’t realize it but his coat was hooked on the end of the handle and when I picked the net up it flicked his coat in the water? Oops! Well, that touched him off a little. It was an accident!

So, I had to give him my coat!!! Then later I put the anchor down and the dip net was on the rope, and it flicked the net into the water, only I didn’t see it! But he did, it had a red handle!

He asked me what was bobbing out in the water, and I said I don’t know.

Then he was looking in the boat and said, “Where’s the dip net?”  

On another fishing adventure I had brought a new sling shot with me and a pocket full of taconite pellets I had gotten from Uncle Ralph on a visit to Silver Bay! 

Well, I wasn’t catching anything so I was shooting pellets at anything I could? I finally had used up all the pellets, but I wasn’t done shooting. SOOO! The tackle box was open, and I spotted split shot sinkers and when Dad wasn’t looking, I was using a few of them and then all of them? I put the sling shot away and wouldn’t you know it, Dad snagged his line, and it broke!!!! He went to put a new hook on and then a split shot but? He looked at me. 

I just sat there! He grabbed the handle of one oar and swung it into my arm!!!!! I believe we went home shortly after, and I had to buy him more split shots the next day!! From then on, I sat way up in the front of the boat on the little seat! It was harder for him to reach me!

On another fishing adventure we were on a new lake and as we came up a creek into this lake, we saw a sea gull in the water ahead and I suggested to steer the boat at it. Well he did! But as we were very close to it, he could see it was standing on something? So, he quickly veered the boat off and it was a 12’ rock just under the water!!!!

He said, “That’s the last time I listen to you!!!!”

We almost wrecked his boat and motor! 

Let’s fast forward a little to winter! Dad liked spearfishing so this fall I helped him build a spear house. It had a wood stove! We hauled it out to a lake and set it up and on the next trip we brought potatoes to cut and drop in the water as it was dark from the birch trees around the lake! We fished for a while and then went home! I was going to try again the next day, so I took a gunny sack of firewood on the snowmobile, and I headed to the lake! It was cold that day, so I was having trouble getting the stove lit again. Well, the wood was poplar and a little green or wet. I finally ran out of matches and paper, so I headed for home! 

Dad went fishing the next day, but he was only gone about an hour when he came back home and told me to get dressed to go fishing! I didn’t want to, but got ready and went with him. We got to the fish house and he told me to go in it and close the door! I did, but it wasn’t very dark in there? Well, I looked up and half the roof was missing? 

The stove never lit for me when I was there, so when I went home the day before, it finally lit and it was burning wide open. The roof and fish house were made of fiberboard, and we had put asbestos around the chimney because the pipe gets hot! Well, it burned so hot that it lit the fiberboard just from the heat and half the roof smoldered off! I’m not sure Dad let me use the spear house anymore. At least I didn’t drop the spear down the hole! 

We loaded the house up and I helped Dad put a new roof on the house after I took what was left of the old one.

I never liked spearing anyway!