Calling my name
I remember a fellow outdoorsman once saying that he looked for opportunities to “interact with the landscape.”
Though I’ve spent a fair amount of time outdoors through my childhood into adulthood, I now find myself looking for and appreciating those opportunities even more — the chance to enjoy and interact with the beautiful world around us. Whether it be through camping, fishing, hiking, gathering firewood through the summer, picking berries or gardening, the “landscape” is usually calling my name, and I’m eager to answer her calls.
When the spring waters start to warm, another season begins in our household — boating season. And I’m not talking about recreational boating with pontoons and water skis, but a chance to fish all day or night on a 16-foot aluminum fishing boat.
It’s during those treasured trips to Highpoint Lake in Somerset County that nature’s call often rings the loudest as you’re cut off from the outside world — no cell phone service or distractions; just you and your chosen company with unlimited access to the world around you, cliche though it may seem.
Just last month, my parents and I hauled the boat up for an 8-hour stint on the water, during which we saw three bald eagles (yes, there are eagles at Highpoint. Go sometime and check them out, a marvelous site). And of course there are turtles, deer, muskrat and geese sightings.
When it comes to the fishing, it’s hit or miss though. One might think a warm, sunny day is optimal for a day on the lake, but it’s usually anything but. For truly good fishing, we try to hit the lake when there’s a front coming in. The fish seem to be hungrier and more active when a good cloud cover and rain is imminent.
On the day we went, however, we had a muggy, sunny afternoon with a cloudy, breezy evening. The overabundance of rain seemed to turn the fish off and we didn’t have much luck, with the exception of a beautiful 20-inch pike, several bluegills, sunfish and a handful of crappies. We were sifting through different lures, trying everything from our coveted beetle spins and jigs to our top water jitterbugs and torpedoes.
It didn’t matter, though, that we weren’t reeling them in like the pros. It was a beautiful, peaceful day on the lake with only a handful of other boats. The telltale signs of a good boating day are earning a good “farmer’s tan” and later sitting at home, feeling as though you’re still swaying from the gentle rocking motion of the boat.
The memories we make on that lake, interacting with the landscape around us, are irreplaceable and treasured on a deep, personal level.
Try it out sometime. You might just find that the water and Mother Nature were calling your name all along, and you just weren’t listening.