I made a reservation the other day for us to go to the cabin in New Hampshire for a week this July. I can't wait. George and I talk about it and it only takes one word--"fishing"-- to make us all smiles. The cabin is a place called Partridge Cabins on the First Connecticut Lake, way way up at the very tip of New Hampshire. The nearest small town is Pittsburg, NH, about 15 miles away. It is a fly-fisherman's paradise and they told us that people come from all over the world to fly-fish there. I am a beginner, but it is fun to take our fly fishing rod down to the fast-flowing streams and rivers and pretend that we might actually catch a fish. July isn't the peak time for that. If you want to catch the fish that run to the lake in the spring, you have to be there in April.
First Connecticut Lake (there is a ribbon of four Connecticut lakes as you head toward Canada) is deep and can get pretty angry if it is windy. They rent boats and we will get one on the good days, so we can fish early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Last year the lake was too choppy for a boat, so we fished off the dock and caught a lake trout and two large "suckers". The suckers were the most fun to catch actually. They are throw away fish and no one cares what you do with them. But if you catch a trout or a lake salmon, you have to measure it carefully (they must be 20" or more) or put it back where he came from. As I was fishing last year, a rain squall came up and I laid my pole down to run for shelter. As we were watching from a nearby covered swing, we saw my pole suddenly start to take off for the water. I had a fish. I ran down to the lake and grabbed my pole just in time to reel him in. I was a very wet, very happy camper.
Nothing is quite as exciting as catching a fish. We are neophytes, so it is even more breath-taking when we get one. It is hard not to be too noisy, and I start screaming and jumping around trying to find the net, and worrying about the fish getting away, or the boat tipping over in the commotion. Afterwards we laugh for a year about the fun of catching a fish. George caught a lovely lake trout two years ago when we were out early one morning in the boat. Even the very good, experiencd, fisherman weren't catching much that year, and they were pretty astounded when we came puttering in one morning with a 23" lake trout. It was very exciting! We grilled him up and had a great dinner that evening.
So, winter blahs are going to come to an end and I'm going out to backyard to do some practice fly casting soon! I hope.
