Fishing success is measured in many ways

Today i have a story. A story about fishing. But today's story is not about the big fish or how many fish were caught. Today's story is just about the adventure itself. Because sometimes the adventure of going is the best part of the story.

My day began like most days. Cup of coffee standing in my kitchen mapping out my plans and events for the day. I looked outside on this cool spring morning and knew today was going to be a fun day! Today i drive south for musky! Not far south. Only about 200 miles from my home here in the shadows of Mille Lacs lake.

First half of my trip was uneventful. Just a normal cruise to the twin cities with my tunes cranked up and my head full of wonderful fishing thoughts. I love my morning drives it gives me a chance to prepare mentally for the day.

I arrive at my fishing buddy's home, load the boat and were off. Well maybe not completely ready to go, turns out we had a bad trailer tire and decided better just to replace them all. You know that feeling like you really want to get going but everything is in slow motion.

2nd leg of my journey (approximately 115 more miles) and we arrived at our destination. Quick stop for our fishing license which included some great fish stories from the boys at the local bait shop (slow motion again) and we hit the ramp.

Boat is in the lake. What a good feeling to watch it slip away from the trailer! I park the truck and hop into the boat and its like the weight of the world is lifted from my shoulders! All the sudden I smell the fresh lake air.. I hear geese off in the distance. The sound of another outboard rushes by. I look around and people are fishing and putting docks in the lake getting ready for spring. What a wonderful feeling. It truly is hard to imagine anything being wrong with a moment like that. We cheers over a beer and we're off to fish!

The fishing itself was slow. Water was still very cold and our musky friends were very sluggish. I think for the afternoon we had two lazy follows and saw a couple of dinks sitting up shallow on the sand. But I didn't care. My day was made by the first few minutes in the boat and the rest was just a bonus. I got to play with my new rods and some new lures. Tested out a new power handle for one of my reels. And got tired chucking musky baits and enjoying a beautiful day on the water!

As I headed back up to Mille Lacs lake with a smile on my face I knew. Today was a win.. I didn't catch a fish but that really would of just been an extra. The day was about getting on the water and enjoying my surroundings. I will be back to tangle with a Iowa Musky!

Keep your rods bent

Matt Treno

matttreno@hotmail.com

612-619-5690