North Dakota Water May 2005

• Year: 2005
• Title: North Dakota Water
• Author: North Dakota Water
• Description: May 2005
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

Thank you to those who" shared their reflections with us in the
past. We need more reflections for 2005! Please respond to one
of the following topics:
• Describe your most memorable experience in or around a
North Dakota body of water.
• Can you remember a time when water or weather affected you
in a humorous way?
• Write about a time when too much or not enough water had an
impact on your life.
If your submission is published, you will receive $10, and be
eligible for a $100 drawing held in September.
lee f1shin With m Dad
01/
By Val Wagner, Monango
I've spent a great portion of my life on a lake or river.
One of my earliest memories was of my dad getting me
up early in the morning to go ice fishing. Our family has
always been the outdoors type — we enjoy fishing, hunt-
ing, and a lot of other outdoor activities.
One of my parents favorite
places is Coldwater Lake, near
Ashley. We have spent many,
many hours there fishing and
just enjoying the outdoors.
Some of my first memories are
of ice fishing with an ice house
on Coldwater Lake. After the
first few hours, the excitement
of fishing usually wore off.
Then we would grab our sleds
and head for the hills.
During the first years of fish-
ing at Coldwater, the water was
so clear that you could see the
bottom of the lake. It was great
-- of course, it was also frus-
ing. Soon it was a running joke that whatever my dad
said, I would do the opposite, then catch twice as many
fish.
One great example was the summer I was 10 or 11
years old. We were fishing from shore and I was bored
Val took this photograph while ice fishing
at Coldwater Lake.
trating when you could see all the fish that weren't biting
on your hook!
There were always those exciting moments when your
bobber started to move.... you looked and saw the fish
nibbling, and then — BAM! — there went your bobber and
you jerked back to set the hook. Feeling that tug against
the line was one of the best feelings in the world.
Once I started picking out my own gear and tackle,
deciding on my own bait, and baiting my own hook, I
started to defy my father's advice when it came to fish-
with the "sure -fire" tackle my dad was us-
ing. Not much was biting and I was start-
ing to lose interest. I decided to go through
Dad's tackle box and rig something up that
would catch the eyes (or more importantly
the mouths) of the fish.
I hooked together some thick black ice -
fishing line, put a hook on (that was way
too big by my dad's standards), put a rather
large bobber on, and tossed it in. Of course
Dad was patient, but told me there was no
way that would work. I do believe I out -
fished him almost four to one that day.
I don't get the opportunity to fish with
my folks much anymore — it seems that as
I get older, they get to go more often and I
have less time to go with them. Well, that's
not exactly true — I just take less time. I have two small
boys of my own now, and I'm hoping that someday real
soon, they can start to show Grandpa how to really fish.
Val Wagner was raised near Forbes. She and her hus-
band, Mark, operate a farm near Monango, raising Red
Angus /Simmental cross cows as well as wheat, soybeans,
and corn. They have two boys, Ian and Scott. Val works
for the James River Soil Convervation District.
22 North Dakota Water ■ May 2005