Volume 10, Issue 9

Page 9

                                                                   

I have a good friend, Grif Harrison, from my old Air Force days and we have stayed in touch since the mid-60s.  We did a lot of fishing while serving in the military and have stayed in touch over 40 years.  Even after our release from active duty we have arranged family get-togethers as well as fishing trips.  He has been bugging me for over 5 years about going to Lake Champlain with his niece’s husband, Louie Manico, who owns a fish “camp” on the lake.

 

June 8 began with a trip to Bradley International Airport to pick up Grif and make preparations for leaving the next day.  The alarm was set for 5am but we were both awake by 4:30.  We left for a drive to Troy, NY to meet Louie (we gave him the title of Hoosier guide the II-Donn beware) and load all the gear into his truck with boat in tow.  We arrived at the marina around ten and loaded three days provisions into the boat as the camp was about a mile up the lake.  We had a quick lunch and started fishing at 1pm.  We fished till 8:30 that evening except for a break for a steak dinner with canned corn and potatoes cooked over an open fire.  The next day (Wednesday) we fished from 7am till 8:30 pm with a break for meals back at the “camp”.  Thursday we fished from 7am to 11am before getting a lunch break and closing down the “camp”.

 

The catch for the trip included 63 white perch, 29 largemouth bass to 18 inches, 8 yellow perch, 4 sunfish, 3 strawberry bass, and 3 pickerel to 21 inches.  That leaves two fish and both are pictured in the newsletter.  The first is Louie with a 23 inch 7 pound sheepshead caught on a trolling jig with a live shiner attached.

 

The last fish was a northern pike that I was fortunate enough to land.  It measured 33 inches and weighed 8+ pounds according to Louie’s chart.  How much credit I deserve is questionable as the rod was attached to the dock with a 2-inch live white perch attached.  We were in the middle of a fish fry when Grif saw the float go under, Louie ran to the dock and grabbed the pole so it wouldn’t break from it’s holder and I set the hook and reeled in the fish.  Could that be called a “grouper” catch?

 

By now you may be wondering why I referred to our accommodations as a “camp”.  The only electricity is when the generator is running; the shower is outdoor and the water comes from the lake and it was 64 degrees; cooking is done on the fireplace or a grill hooked up to a propane tank; the one bedroom sleeps 5-6 people with two bunk beds; and running water comes from a gravity fed tank mounted about 20 feet above the house on a cliff.  That being said, it was a great time and we agreed to do it again.

 

Gerry Stevens