A Fishing Tale

A true story of the greatest fisherman in the world and his family's summer adventures...

When Charlie closes his eyes, he can swear he is actually flying. He tries it and pictures himself high overheard, swimming through the clouds in complete freedom, dipping, weaving and looping around in giant circles"Super Charlie to the rescue, faster than a speeding bullet! A small spray of water hits his face, he opens his eyes and sees that they are almost to his favorite spot, the one where he caught all the perch the day before. Lightning, his trusty Golden Retriever, barks once signaling Dad to slow the boat down; this is it. The smartest pup in the whole world, Charlie thinks as he throws his arms around her neck and gives her a big hug, good dog! Charlie is a crack fisherman, the greatest Perch hunter of all time even though he is only 8 years old. This is going to be the best fishing trip yet--I just know it, he thinks with excitement, as Dad lowers the depth finder and begins to troll for Charlie's top secret Perch hole.

Charlie thought this day would never come. The days were getting so long back in the 3rd grade, he thought the school year would go on forever and ever and ever. Every day for the last month, he would stare out of his classroom window and daydream about his big fishing trip. Each year, Mom and Dad pack up their old mini-van to the gills, fishing poles, nets and the hugest tackle box Charlie has ever seen. Mom always fusses at him about packing enough clothing even though Charlie knows that if he is careful enough, he can go a whole week wearing the same pair of shorts, he is that good. His 2 older sisters always argue about who gets the primo spot, the seat in the very back where you can lie down, while their 2 big dogs, Thunder the Wonder Collie and his Lightning jam in the back trying to find a comfy place to sit, all of them packed in like sardines. Off they go on an epic 17 hour drive from their Colorado home all the way out to Minnesota, Cass Lake, the place where dreams come true! Dad would like to drive straight through 'cause that's what Dads do (they are truly fearless!) but Mom always makes them stop in a hotel for one night which is ok with Charlie--it gives him a chance to perfect his world famous “Cannonball” technique on his sisters in the hotel pool. They drive on and on, stopping at lots of gas stations and seeing amazing sights like the world's biggest highway overpass thing-a-ma-jiggy in Kearney, Nebraska, and cool stuff like that. Dad entrusts him with the most important job"he is in charge of cleaning off the windshields every time they stop and he takes it very seriously. Dad cannot drive with tons of bug guts all over everything and Charlie is an expert at washing them off, thereby saving the family from certain doom and horrible accidents. Yes, he really is that good.

When they get to the giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statue in a place called Akeley, Minnesota, Charlie can barely contain himself-they are so close! Of course, Mom has to stop and get yet another picture of the 3 kids sitting in Paul's ginormous hand, 'cause that's what Moms do. Charlie thought that was pretty silly, they take one every single year, but he went along with it for Mom's sake, even though it was raining and he wanted to get out on the lake asap. It was bad enough that Mom kept slathering him with sunscreen every time even an inch of him was exposed, and she even made him shave all of his hair off at the Walmart right before they left. Charlie knows, however, that the #2 buzzcut means that summer is finally here, so he keeps humoring her--she is his mother after all.

When they finally get to the resort, the rain is pouring down in sheets but Charlie doesn't care, they are here at last! He bolts out of the car with Lightning on his heels, runs through the dirt roads where the cabins are until he sees it"the lake! It is the most awesome lake out of all 10,000 in Minnesota and he can't wait to get out there and catch the biggest fish. The. Biggest. One. This year his sister won't be the one to do it, he thinks with envy, remembering the big, fat Walleye wriggling from her pole. The Walleyed Pike is the King of Cass Lake, the big daddy of 'em all and the one fish that everyone wants to catch. She teased him about her Walleye for a whole year. No, this year it will be his turn, his time to shine!

Dad slows the boat down to a crawl, searching for the perfect spot. Their pontoon boat is the very biggest one, with room enough for the whole family and Charlie's grandparents who come out all the way from Iowa to join them every year. Oh, and Lightning of course, his sidekick. Dad says that Thunder is a wuss when it comes to water so he's back at the cabin, but his Golden Retriever is a 100%, bona fide water lover and she would even jump into the lake if Dad would let her, but he won't"Dad can be mean that way sometimes. Lightning sees the computer generated fish swimming across Dad's depth finder and starts to bark at the movement. “Shhhh girl, you'll scare 'em away!” Dad pats Lightning on the head and tells Charlie it's time to throw out the anchor, another one of Charlie's Very Important Jobs, and he won't let him down. He heads to the back of the boat, grabs the anchor rope with all of his might (he and Dad have been lifting weights this year) and plops it heavily into the water. It disappears into the depths below, kicking mud up to the surface so that Charlie is satisfied that this is the right spot. Grandpa Loras calls him over and tells him to bring his pole then baits it for him. Now Charlie has no problem hooking the squirmy little minnows they use as bait, but if Grandpa really wants to do it, Charlie is happy to let him. He takes a seat next to Grandma Claire expertly avoiding Mom's attempt to get him with the sunscreen. Again. Whew-that was a close one, he thinks, as Mom gives him the evil death look he knows as “The Glare”. “I'll get you next time my boy” she threatens as Charlie laughs and casts his line far out into the water.

OK, so maybe it wasn't such a great idea to go out on the boat the first day they got there, he thinks. It was raining pretty hard and Mom insisted that they put on these funny looking, white garbage bag thingies before heading out. We all looked so silly, that the people in the main lodge were laughing and taking bets on how long we would last out there. “The Farkle Family is going fishing” Dad joked as they went out into the rainstorm and this time, it was Dad's turn to get “The Glare” from Mom. No luck that night and we were so cold, he remembers, I couldn't feel my face for an hour. King Walleye can be very sneaky, but then, so can Charlie--just ask Mom. That first Walleye won't know what hit him, he will be mine!

Charlie feels a nibble on his line and jerks up his pole in order to set the hook, just like Dad taught him. Grandma just caught a decent sized perch, “the perfect eating size” Grandpa says as Charlie starts to reel in his line, this could be it--his Walleye! He pulls up a tiny little Perch, hardly big enough for his bait. Dad comes over and takes it off of his hook, throwing it back into the water, “sorry buddy, this little guy needs to grow some more, you can catch him next year” as Charlie sighs and throws his half eaten minnow back into the water. A huge loon swoops down and tries to get his baby Perch but it escapes just in time, as Mr. Loon flies away in frustration. Mom leaps to her feet, something big clearly on her line, and starts to reel it in excitedly. Dad rushes over with the net and they scoop up a big Northern Pike, a “Snake” Dad calls it and throws it into the livewell with their Perch collection. It’s a good day, but they have yet to catch a single Walleye, Charlie thinks sadly, the King has escaped their hooks for today.

Charlie laughs as Mom tells a story from when her parents used to come to Cass Lake years and years ago. A man used to come up here every year with his wife and mother-in-law. The ladies hated fishing and constantly nagged at him when all he wanted to do was to fish off of the end of the dock. He had an old bamboo pole, nothing special, and day after day they would see him out there, pole in the water and nothing to show for it. One day he was out there as usual when he let out a scream, he had something really big on his line. Since he couldn’t reel it in, he jumped off of the dock, into the water and threw the pole over his shoulder, attempting to drag it out onto the sandy beach. He had caught a Musky, a fish that legends are made of, and was attempting to beach it with his bamboo pole. Charlie had only ever seen a Musky framed on the wall of the lodge, a massive fish with sharp teeth, something truly prehistoric. The man trudged forward, dragging his heavy burden behind him, the huge fish thrashing and fighting as his wife and mother-in-law screamed at him to pull it in faster. He was over halfway back to his cabin before he risked putting his pole down, completely exhausted, as the other people at the lodge surrounded him, clapping and cheering, almost a 50 pounder they said. Charlie sighs again, I don’t need to catch a Musky, he thinks, a Walleye will do just fine especially if he can do it before either one of his sisters.

Just one more cast, Dad tells him, before we head back in for the day. The sky is clouding up, pretty soon it will be raining and Dad doesn’t want to risk getting “The Glare” again from Mom. Grandpa puts the final minnow on the hook for him and Charlie heads to the very back of the boat, the one spot he hasn’t tried yet. He throws his line out as far as he possibly can, he is a crackerjack caster after all, and feels a satisfying plop as it lands into the water. Lightning prances over to him and licks him right on the face as he feels a slight tug on his line. He holds his breath, sends out a silent prayer, pleasepleaseplease and waits for it, a second, stronger pull...there it is is! Charlie springs into action like the finely honed, fishing guru that he is, and yanks up his pole hard, setting the hook with expert precision. “I got one!” he announces as his sisters rush to the back of the boat and surround him. Oh man--this is a big one, he thinks as the mystery fish dives for the deep, pulling and thrashing as Charlie holds on for dear life. Dad grabs the net and lowers it over the side, waiting for Charlie to reel in his line enough to scoop it up. He can just see it now, shining, silvery--could it be? He redoubles his efforts at the reel, spinning and spinning until he swears his hands are going to fall off but it’s working, here he comes closer, closer….Dad pulls up on the net and he sees it-the finest sight his 8 year old eyes have ever seen-a Walleye! He caught the first Walleye, he did it, he did it! Dad holds it out for him to see, it’s black eyes shining in the sun as Mom gets out her phone to take a picture and his Grandparents applaud loudly. Even his sisters are impressed, officially giving him credit for catching the very first Walter of the trip. Bragging rights for an entire year he thinks with pride, as Mom snaps away, forever enshrining his amazing accomplishment in the family record books for all time. Charlie holds up his pole for one last look before Walter goes in the livewell--this is the best trip ever, the very very best. As they pull up the anchor, Dad takes him aside and gives him the biggest job of all--driving the boat all the way back to the lodge. He takes his seat at the Captain’s chair, the master of his domain, the King of Cass Lake! He is bursting with happiness, just about to turn the motor on and head out when Mom sneaks up behind him and slathers him all over with sunscreen. He gives up, reluctantly, ‘cause Charlie knows that while he is very, very good, sometimes, every once in awhile, Moms are just a little bit better.

For my little Fisher King...

Reviews

[TARAK GHOSH]

A well built plot, I enjoyed the story.