My Daughter the Fisherman

When we moved back to North Carolina, we laughed when people complained about the "bitter cold."  While we did bring our heavy dog-walking gear, we rarely wear more than a jacket.  Right now we are having cold weather by most standards.  It was 10 degrees this morning!

There is a big difference in how people in NC react to cold weather when compared to the reaction of the people who live in Wisconsin.  We lived there for twenty years and our daughter still lives in the Milwaukee area.  In Wisconsin, people simply bundle up and go about their work and play.

I must admit, however, that our daughter takes this to a different level.  She loves to fish.  Even in cold and snowy weather.  Last Saturday she and her fishing buddy braved the cold and snow to fish in Lake Michigan.  As you can see in the following photograph, not even the weather-immune Wisconsinites braved the cold and snow at the lakefront.  That is, except for my fishing daughter.

The photographs were taken by my daughter using her cell phone.  You may need to click to enlarge to see the snowflakes falling all around.

Shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee

Seems her persistence paid off.  She landed a very large Brown Trout.  She said it was pretty amazing.  One minute she was cold and miserable, almost ready to pack it in.  The next minute she landed her big trout and suddenly everything was fine once again.

She and her buddy are purely catch and release fishermen.  So there was little time for pictures.  She did persuade him to hold it for a moment before they released it.

Now that's a nice fish!

There will be fewer and fewer fishing days ahead.  The lakefront will freeze and the fish will go far too deep to catch.  No need to fish in the cold and snow if you know for certain the fish will not be biting.  As the inland lakes freeze over, the ice fishermen will pull their huts out and watch a small hole in the ice.  But they are a different breed from most fishermen.

You may note (and some make take offense) that I used the phrase fisherMAN rather than fisherWOMAN.  That's because I do not see the need for making every word we use gender neutral.  I resent the imlication that using the term "fellow man" is somehow demeaning to me as a woman.  But that is purely a personal prejudice of mine and I realize it is an important issue to others.

So whatever you call her...my daughter knows how to fish and is willing to brave the elements in order to do so.  Daughter...you rock!