Many years ago in the olden days, my new bride and I began to connect in my outdoor passions. 

I’m a huntin’ and fishin’ kinda guy. Being young and full of energy I like to indulge in activities outdoors. For sure, one of them is fishing. Attempting to impress my bride, of course I must make a grand gesture. We’re gonna tow my little prairie puddle boat to Northern Canada to go fishing. This is kind of our first vacation as a married couple and I’m still trying to impress her. So, a big grand gesture is the first step. I plan it for weeks. I had been up there fishing before with friends but as a guest and I had no part of planning. So, I make all the plans. This was long ago, enough that we didn’t need passports to go to Canada. In this case we were going to North Central Saskatchewan, Tobin Lake Resort is the destination. Just outside of Nipawin, Saskatchewan. A very large reservoir built in a part of the country that was mostly forested. So, an impound lake decades old with a sunken forest on the bottom. 

At the time, we lived just North of Sturgis, South Dakota, so the drive will be at least 14 hours if nothing goes wrong. The boat is ready, all safety equipment on board and accounted for, Wheel bearings packed and new tires on the trailer. Wife had a brand new 7 ½ foot Berkley rod and Mitchell reel. We are ready. The trip up goes perfectly. However, what’s with the Canadians all putting vinegar on their French fries and mashed potatoes? Crazy thing, we had to try it… not terrible but let’s say a unique experience in a Saskatchewan KFC. 

So, I find my way to the resort office. It’s the perfect image of a motel front desk, tucked into the corner of a 50-year-old bait shop that appears to have started life as a garage. Complete with the smell of bait minnow tanks and bubbling aerators, black soil and night crawlers. Walls bursting and overflowing with lures, life jackets and landing nets. 

I step up the counter say hello to a 70ish year-old lady there filling out a bait ticket. She turns to me looking over the top of her cat eyeglasses, gold chain draped from each side, around her neck. Literally with half a lit cigarette hanging out of her mouth, gave me a great big hello and a smile and with a raspy half smokers cough says something like,” How are you on this fine day?” Honestly if words could feel like you just walked into gramma’s house to be welcomed with a huge wonderful smelly hug. I was instantly family to those folks. Turns out she remembered our phone conversations and asked me how my bride was doing. I exchanged pleasantries, filled out my registration and she handed me the key and gives directions to the cabin. It’s a well-worn key with a city issued dog tag for rabies with a number 6 on it. I giggled a little and she said I won’t really need the key; it doesn’t lock any way. 

I’m still giggling and headed to the cabin in the woods… uh huh… It’s a 14 foot or so pull type camper, no wheels and a garden hose hooked up at the end of it. (remember, we’re newlyweds so we took the economy package) We get inside, kind of in amazement, look around a bit. It has clean towels and a working stove and sink, the cupboards have pans and plates. Oh boy, the bathroom… the potty big enough for one cheek and the shower required kneeling at an angle. The shower head was on a hose so you could actually get water on the other side of you. No kidding. 

So, we unload and go back to the restaurant which is attached to the back of the office/bait shop. The restaurant was actually fairly new and modern and a beautiful pine log structure with great panoramic views of the lake. We grab a map and make plans for the morning fishing trip. The weather was supposed to be a bit on the blustery side, and I have a small fairly shallow boat, It’s a 16 foot trihull. 

It’s a big lake built in the rolling hills forest, so we make plans to avoid the main lake and stick to the sheltered coves. No need to swamp the boat and die on the first day of our first vacation together.
I’ve been telling her about this place and bragging up how wonderful, beautiful and great it was. I describe the fish to her, and she just can’t believe I’m telling the truth. We are targeting big Northern Pike and big Canadian Walleyes. I describe the fish to her. She keeps insisting I’m Teasing her and trying to scare her. Nope, these fish really do look like the dragon of the deep. They have this great big mouth with thousands of needles for teeth. They all point backward so when they grab their meal while feeding it can’t escape. The walleyes have almost the same set of teeth only they have fangs kinda like a rattle snake. They’re as big as your arm and on a northern, you can put both fists in its open mouth without touching. 

For weeks I’m trying to tell her how it’s going to be. She obviously didn’t believe me but quit protesting about me trying to tease and scare her. 

So back on the water the first morning out. It’s a really dark and misty kinda day. We were trolling the coves with great big spoons trying not to catch every sunken log in the lake. We had several snags where we would hit reverse and go back to retrieve those giant expensive spoons. So, after a few times I have her trained to say snag quickly when she gets snagged so we can retrieve the lure instead of losing it. 

Dark water, black as coal actually. Dark day and in the coves completely surrounded by large pine trees so almost no light getting into the coves. The reason I emphasize the darkness of the water is this, big northerns have a bleached bone white belly and inside their huge mouth also brilliant white. We’re trolling still hoping for the first tug at the line that’s not a log on the bottom. I look at her pole just in time to see it bend strongly and she immediately sounds off, “Snag!” So, I dutifully put the motor in neutral, spool up my line, set my pole down to go retrieve the snagged lure. As I step towards the motor controls, I look at her rod to see how hard its pulling. That pole is doing a Texas jitterbug. She’s got a fish! She has both arms wrapped around the rod above the handles and pulling. 

“Hey, you have a fish, that’s not a snag, it’s a big fish!” So, then I start to coach her on how to PROPERLY fight a big fish. Ok put this hand here for good control and leverage. Turn the handle and reel it in. So, we get her into fight mode and out of snag mode. She is gaining line and getting it in, it gets a little closer, maybe 20 feet from the boat. The big northern breaks the surface and jumps, giant white belly and wide-open mouth trying to shake the lure loose. All that brilliant white backed by coal black water, pointed right straight towards my bride. 

She squeals out,” Oh my goodness! Help me! Help me, Ward!”

I said no, that’s your fish, you reel it in. 

I watched and coached her to get her fish to the side of the boat. I got it in the landing net and held it up to show her this big beautiful, wonderful trophy fish. A great 10-pound Northern Pike.

With the cold, wind, adrenaline, excitement, emotion and fear, she had tears rolling down. She said I didn’t believe you. They really do look like a dragon from the deep. They’re scary looking. 

So, my bride’s first real venture into my world… She was initiated. We often talk about that. It was a spectacular life experience. 

We enjoyed the rest of our vacation there and took a leisurely trip back home to South Dakota.

We didn’t catch our limit of northerns or walleyes on this trip, but we did catch many and even took plenty home to eat… There’s another story… If you ever want to hear the fish fry story let me know. I may tell it. It does involve screaming and a fire extinguisher.