It's National Go Fishing Day today, so here's the story of the biggest fish I ever caught. 

We didn't go a whole lot of exciting places when I was a kid. Mostly because my dad always said he "had no interest" in going anywhere we wanted to go, so when we did go somewhere, it was in our station wagon with our camper to some waterfall in some distant location that took forever to get to and once we got there it was either rainy, cold and uncomfortable or it was hot, humid and unbearable.

I can navigate the North Shore with my eyes closed, I have been to Thunder Bay, Ontario more times than I can count, and I still know what it sounds like going over the Mackinac Bridge, but I have never, ever met Mickey Mouse.

This is the story of a rainy, cold humid, unbearable Labor Day weekend.

I was really scrawny and not very strong, but I was pretty sure I was wrestling with the Loch Ness Monster.

It was 1980 something. We were invited by my aunt and uncle to stay at a cabin on Velvet Lake in the Crow Wing State Forest. I was so excited that we were staying in a cabin! Everyone I knew had a cabin except for us. My grandparents had a cabin on a lake near Tamarack, Minnesota, but they sold it in 1981, so whenever we went on vacation, we had to stay in a 17 foot self contained trailer. Woo hoo. <--- Note the sarcasm.

There was pretty much NOTHING to do at this cabin, but we were staring at four different walls, so my mom and dad really didn't care.

When we did go somewhere, it was in our station wagon with our camper to some waterfall in some distant location that took forever to get to and once we got there it was either rainy, cold and uncomfortable or it was hot, humid and unbearable.

I decided to go fishing with my mom and my uncle just for something different to do. We got in the boat, headed for "the spot", dropped our lines and just waited. And we waited and we waited and we waited and we waited. Finally, my fishing pole bent and my bobber disappeared and when I say, my fishing pole bent, I mean it bent so much, I thought it was going to snap. So, I jerked on it and started to reel and the more I reeled, the more this thing fought. I was really scrawny and not very strong, but I was pretty sure I was wrestling with the Loch Ness Monster.

I fought with this thing for my uncle said about an hour. We actually had to move the boat to land this fish. Finally, when we got it up to the boat, I handed the pole to my uncle and he asked my mom for the net. They hauled it in to the boat and we all just gawked at this thing.

As you can see, it's about half my size and I can barely hold it up. I was so proud of that thing! We cleaned it (and by we, I mean my uncle and my dad) and ate it for dinner.

What's Your Favorite Fishing Story?

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