Wrong on both scores!

When I moved here, I thought with all this water I would get some boating and fishing in.

I was wrong on both ideas.

First, I bought a boat, a nice little boat, 17 foot long, as I recall. Paid $2,000 for it.

I had been told that the two days that stand out are the day you purchase a boat and the day you sell it.

The only boat I had ever used before was a rowboat, a fishing vessel rented by several of my high school buddies and trolling by dipping the oars slightly in the water.

I got a hitch put on my rig and wondered how I was going to do this.

I asked my next-door neighbor to come along. He knows about all such things.

We drove the boat and trailer down to Coulee Playland, and with some effort got the boat released from the trailer and afloat in Banks Lake.

Dave helped with the details, and the motor took off after a few pulls on the rope. We had a pleasant ride out to Steamboat Park and back, and I was thinking “piece of cake.”

I got the trailer in the water and finally home where I parked the boat beside the house.

Some days later I decided to take the boat out, and when it was in the water I pulled on the rope to start the motor until there were no more pulls left in me. It refused to start. So I got the trailer in the water and returned home with the boat.

It sat there for over a year, never used. I finally

advertised “boat for sale” in The Star, and a guy accepted my price of $1,000, just half of my purchase price.

Let me tell you, the better of those two great days is not when you buy a boat, but the day you sell it. The day the guy pulled out of my place with the boat was truly a great day. I had the boat nearly two years and had it in the water a couple of hours.

My hopes of fishing were about as bad. 

I recall purchasing at least three good reels and some poles and gear at Coulee Playland. It all ended up in my garage, never a wet line.

It all got picked over my family, and my hopes were shattered by my initial poor decision.

Over previous years I did do a bit of stream fishing but laid it to rest when moving over here.

Later, much later, while in Alaska helping the owner of the Kodiak daily paper prepare her paper for sale, I got even with my fishing woes. The publisher made arrangements for me to go out on a halibut boat for a day of fishing. I really came through, bringing up 13 halibut and providing fish for most of the people aboard. 

Revenge is sweet. I haven’t been in a boat or fished since.

Anybody for bird watching?