On opening day, April 1st, I usually come across Paulette Bunyan, the great great great grand daughter of Paul. There she is, standing at the water's edge, glancing slightly as I approach from the left. Her gaze is firm; it is upon the ice and water. As the approaching sun illuminates her face, I grab my fly and flicker the Marabou in her direction. Her hair shines like the fine hairs of a buck's tail; it makes me feel strong.

Paulette's body is strong and firm; it does not waver in the grip of winter. She walks at her own pace turning her back to me. I am excited as I wait in anticipation. Then slightly, ever so slightly, she turns to greet me. I am beckoned by her shimmering light. I am rejuvenated by her warmth. She smiles, I am afraid to look at her diectly in the face. She is persistent, and I can not ignore her. Her presence has a strong and lasting affect on me. I grab my fly; my line and rod yearn for excitement.

Paulette is my friend. I can trust in her greeting me at stream's edge year after year. She is as dependable as the rising sun. She is a friend that will slowly disappear at summer's end, and her fertility is great.

Her bees fertilize the plants as I lazily lay in the hammock enjoying her embrace. She warms me like no other. Her hair is like the fine wisp of a foxes winter coat. She takes it from the fox to bury in her bosom. I nestle my nose in the warmth she has gathered for me. Oh, how I miss her when she makes her annual trip south. She is my desire, my temptress and my confidant, the rearer of my child, the embodiment of life.

Winter's grip has no hold on Paulette, it melts away in the presence of her grace. She is all in me that I want to be. She is women, she is man.

Welcome Paulette! I look forward to our future escapades. Escapades that will take us out into the garden, escapades that will fill my rod and line with the excitement of a five pound Landlocked. You are my bride Paulette and it is time for us to.....

Welcome Spring!

I have a good one for you.

I was doing a presentation at Hamlin's Marine when one of the fisherman showed some video of a friend trying to land a good sized Thresher. The fight had been on for well over an hour. When the Thresher hit, it was late afternoon. The guys were already tired from landing four other sharks that day. As the fight ensued, Joe was getting fatigued. He was wearing a harness that held the pole to his body.

As the video ran, you could see the Joe rocking back and forth as he tried to reel in line. Then, the Thresher would make a run, and Joe would loose all the line that had been so hard to gain. So....he tightened the drag. Mind you he was wearing a harness, but he was not tethered to the boat. The shark made a short flip of its long tail. Joe was yanked right over the side of the boat. You could barely see what was happening as the camera operator dropped the camera. I believe the camera operator was attempting to rescue Joe who was tied to the pole.

Get this. Man in water. Rod clipped to man. Lined hooked to a Thresher. Not a good thing!

The next thing you see on the video is a completely soaked fisherman assuming the cranking position he had been in before. His stance was a little lower now. Then, the person showing the video told us to take a closer look. He said "see those sunglasses Joe is wearing, they had lenses in them before he hit the water." Sure enough, the fisherman had hit the water with such force that it had popped the lenses right out of the frame.

These guys were quick and lucky. Morale of the story? If you are tide to a shark via a pole which is tied to you, make sure you are tied to the boat.

While fishing Rangeley Lake last year, our day went from fact to legend in a matter of moments.

Richard Bartlette and I rented a cabin on the shores of Rangeley. We wanted to enjoy some late season Salmon fishing. I believe the time was mid September. We planned on fishing four times and had luck every time out.

The third outing of the weekend happened to take place in the evening. We were catching fish in the two pound range, but had caught nothing of any size when Richard’s rod struck gold. He lunged for the spinning rod and could feel the thumping of a Landlocked Salmon. He started playing the fish. As the salmon approached the boat, it started a run. Richard’s eye’s grew with excitement. As the Salmon approached the boat again, she started a second run. That is when we began to speculate on its size.

On the Salmon’s third approach, we got a good look. "Nice fish"....I exclaimed as I approached the fish with net in hand. My catch and release net made it difficult to net as Salmon started it’s death roll. Then it lunged below the boat and surfaced beside the motor. I approached it again with the net…snap! The fish was gone.

We looked at each other, sulking as we realized the fish was gone. It is always hard to loose a fish you truly respect. Then….Splash! A Salmon jumped a foot and a half out of the water broadside to the boat. Richard look at me in bewilderment, and I gave the same look back while replaying the scene in my mind.

The fish that jumped had a fly line between its jaws. We had been fishing a fly line when the salmon struck and never took it in. I grabbed the fly rod, stuck it in Richard’s hands and said “Reel, Reel, Reel….set the hook!” He did!

He began playing the Salmon. When it got to the boat it started swimming in and out of the swim platform, getting tangled all the while. I started screaming"ah,…ah, ah, ah" and I was handed the Boga Grip to latch onto the fish. We boarded the Salmon to find the previous bait and hook still in its mouth.

This is no BS. It happened to me!

We thought about the story, looked at each other and said “nah…no one will ever believe this!”

From fact to legend in a matter of moments!

I posted my concerns about "Man Knocked Cold By Goose" on Cabelas forums and got a reply from Yooper.

This is what Yooper had to say:

When you shoot at a goose flying towards decoying geese/ducks, most of the time you have a breast shot. With this in mind, once you shoot them, they are going to fly/fall in the same direction they were flying (right for you and your blind).

Canada Goose Knocks Man Cold!

The early Canada Goose season is nearing its end. September 25th marks the end of the early season of hunting for the air born sledge hammers. And it is a good thing for us fisherman!

Last year I heard a story of a pike fisherman getting more than he bargained for while he fished for his Northern prey. While fishing the graveyard of a small pond, he heard a flurry of activity. As he rose from his relaxed bait fishing position, he heard shots blasting from the other side of the point. At that very moment his float started to twitch. He made his way for his rod but was knocked cold by one of the Canadian Sledge Hammers falling out of the sky.

He awoke to find his rod missing and a ten pound Canadian lying on the bottom of his boat. Since he didn’t have a hunting license and he hadn’t shot the goose, he proceeded to place the bird in the water. But before doing so, he rigged the bird with several treble hooks and an empty one gallon milk jug he used as a float. He fastened a line from the boat to the bird and jug; he then proceeded to catch the largest Northern Pike of his life. And the Pike was still connected to his fishing pole!

The question I have is did he act legally by using the bird for bait or is he fishing to become a jail bird?