A Day in Lunkerville

I've always been a huge fan of the television show Lunkerville.  A show dedicated to the average every day angler. When Lunkerville host Mike D contacted me through the face book fan page with an offer to be on the show I was like a kid in a candy store. I was more than excited, after I spoke to Mike on the phone I went a little crazy and did a few fist pumps. One of the side effects of fishing is the unexpected fist pump, we've all done it. Nobody was around me so there were no injuries to report.  Nothing worst than accidentally fist pumping someone in the head. In preparation for the show I new there could be some obstacles. First off its was fall in Canada, which means the weather can change in the blink of an eye.  The next possible problem was could the three of us comfortably fish out of a twelve foot boat. I am used to fishing out of a small watercraft like a rubber dinghy or a pond hopper so I was pretty confident it would work. Anyone who has fished Lake St. Francis knows how quick the weather can change, things can get dangerous in a hurry. The morning of the show I woke up and did what I normally do when heading out to the river, I look out the window to see how windy it is and to see the direction of the wind.  The previous days had been to windy to get on the water, but this morning there was no wind. Perfect right, well until I checked the temperature. It was 36 degrees out. WHAT, the temperature had gone from high 60's to 36. That usually means the bite will shut off. Out came the long johns and jackets. As I headed to the river to meet Mike I had another thing up against me. A couple months earlier my mother had fallen sick with brain cancer. Aside from a couple tournaments I hadn't really been on the water at all. I had given up fishing to make daily trips to and from Ottawa to spend with my mother.  I did have fishing floating around in the back of my mind but being there everyday with my mom in her final days taught me more about life than I had ever imagined. My mom was a warrior, she spend most of her 63 years of life battling illnesses and never frowned or looked down on life. I met up with Mike and Darryl Van Slack (camera man) and our adventure was about to begin. At first they looked a little uneasy about boarding such a small boat on a big body of water. Darryl and Mike are fun guys to be around so it didn't take them long to jump in. With all of us in the boat the water was pretty close to coming over the sides. The plan was to hit up the Salmon River for some Bass. We made the 30 minute trip down the river. We were going by a large tanker and we were wondering if the wake was going to crush us.  After a couple uneasy waves we made it. The wind picked  up shortly after we arrived and even with the anchor out we were blowing into shore.  We tried to fish but it was a constant battle against the wind. It was funny to watch Darryl try and swing around in the boat with out tipping us over, Darryl was tucked in the middle between Mike and Myself.  We laughed so much, every time Darryl moved Mike would brace himself on the front of the boat.  We reeled in and looked for some calmer areas to fish. When the going gets tough, get out the worms and go for pan fish. We were fishing our butts off with no luck at all. The bite was non existent and it didn't help that a large boat that went by sent waves over the boat getting Mike soaked.  With the worms on the hooks we started getting some bites. Finally, after hours of fishing we had some fish in the boat. We were catching plenty of small pan fish and at this point in the day that's all we needed to be content.  We fished for seven hours and a lot of the stuff filmed can't be put into a half hour show. Lunkerville is a family show so some segments couldn't be aired. Mike offered me a deal I almost couldn't refuse.  I caught a Goby and Mike offered me all of his fishing gear including the rod I let him use, if I would swallow the Goby whole. At first I thought about it. You see I've swallowed goldfish and minnows on previous bets. What better way to dispose of an invasive species, the only problem was this Goby had a big head and I didn't think I could get it down. As I get older and wiser and from experience don't try and swallow anything alive that might get caught in your throat. Believe me when I say I speak from experience, it ain't pretty. Since my boat didn't have a name Mike thought we should name it. I am an avid worm picker, have been all my life. Picking worms is part of the fishing outing. Mike decided to call my boat the SS Double Bubble after my worm pail. I am good with that. We didn't catch any Lunkers, which was ok. Lunkerville is about the blue collar everyday angler. Regardless of what kind of angler you are, we all start from the same point. My day in Lunkerville with Mike and Darryl was a blast. Even though it was cold and the bite was off, it was one of the best days on the water I've ever had. A day I soon won't forget. Good company and good times that's what fishing is all about. A huge thanks to Mike and Darryl. The show will air through out the year on WFN and NBC Sports.  It will also be available on the Lunkerville website June 2013. Please visit: http://www.lunkerville.com/ http://www.facebook.com/lunkerville?ref=ts&fref=ts