Chicago Fanatics Message Board
https://mail.chicagofanatics.com/

Mac's 2.23.07 NWI Times Column
https://mail.chicagofanatics.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=10080
Page 1 of 1

Author:  doug - evergreen park [ Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Mac's 2.23.07 NWI Times Column

http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/02/23/columnists/dan_mcneil/doc93ca10a34721621a8625728a006f2d09.txt

Dan McNeil
Times Columnist

KEY WEST, Fla. | As a life-long Northwest Indiana kid who vividly recalls the blizzards of '67, '79 and '82, I never will complain about a sunburn in February.

That won't change today, but boy did I do some tossing and turning Wednesday night. And it was worth every minute of restlessness.

I share this with you, Dear Readers, not to taunt, but to remind you there are sunnier days right around the corner. Soon it will be time to re-spool your reels, get licensed and make the sojourn to Pine Lake or LaSalle Lake or the Kankakee River.

Yep. Before you know it, the time will arrive for anglers of all ages to cast Rapalas, soft plastics or live bait, in search of Mr. Bucketmouth, his cousin, the crappie, or perfect-for-the-pan bluegills.

I couldn't wait, which is why I migrated here for a week of doing nothing.

The only problem with doing nothing is you never know when you've finished.

I guess that time was Wednesday morning, when I booked a charter with Captain Rick Haveland (www.captainhookcharters.com), an affable guy with more than 30 years of Atlantic fishing experience.

My wife, Sheri, was game enough to join me. Because of her penchant for sea sickness, I requested the calmest water Captain Rick could find, where we would be able to boat our fill of grouper, snapper, porgies and other edible seafood delights.

Captain Rick did not disappoint. Gently bouncing cubes of fresh raw tuna off the sandy-bottomed ocean floor, between 12 and 45 feet of water, we caught a week's worth of all species. Sheri managed to reel in a small black tip shark, something I never had witnessed in 20 years of saltwater angling.

The yellowtail snapper, lightly breaded and sauteed in extra virgin olive oil until golden brown, was mannah. I find some weird sense of nobility in the hunting and gathering experience and that meal was as good as any I've had since last summer's feast, following a Lake Michigan king salmon slaughter I enjoyed with two of my sons.

Sunburn had never been so welcomed as it was this week.

Despite the mild November and December, the January deep freeze and subsequent blanket of snow got the best of me and cabin fever reached new heights.

And it was cured.

I'd tell you more, but I have a date with a cheeseburger at Jimmy Buffett's original restaurant on Duval Street.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes.

Big kosher pickle and a cold draught beer, Good God almighty, which way do I steer?

Author:  Killer V [ Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Mac's 2.23.07 NWI Times Column

Quote:
Soon it will be time to re-spool your reels, get licensed and make the sojourn to Pine Lake or LaSalle Lake or the Kankakee River.


Would that be Pine Lake in my hometown of LaPorte (surely there's only one Pine Lake in the world...)?

Author:  SkippyTim37 [ Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Mac's 2.23.07 NWI Times Column

Just a slong as it's not this Pine Lake...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Lake,_Alberta_Tornado

Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
https://www.phpbb.com/