June 6

We slept in today. It was pretty nice to sleep until after 9 am. I don’t miss working six or seven days a week at this time of year. Rolling into action I cooked bacon and eggs and went outside to cut the lawn.

Today I had a tour booked on Luxury Lake Tours unfortunately they cancelled. Thankfully they were ok with a credit. Some people aren’t ready yet because of covid. We are ready to take people on the boat. Instead, I took my wife for her first boat ride of the season.

The sun shone intently on the water in front of the Eldorado hotel. It is strange seeing it fenced off and closed. More signs of this strange time. My wife had her fishing license so it was time to put a hook in the water and try again for a Rainbow Trout. While I waited at the dock for my amazing partner in life, I ran into a fellow fisherman.

Bob and his dog were walking on the dock, they had come in from a day of fishing. He was empty-handed but seemed in good spirits. I chatted with the stranger, he was a kindred spirit. Fishing is one of those things that brings people together. We share a passion for the water and the outdoors. Bob has been mooring at the Manteo/Eldorado marina for eight years. Every weekend he goes fishing on the lake. Not every fisherman shares their secrets; some will tell lots of tips, others keep things close to the chest. Bob wasn’t the type to share too much. I pried him for any tidbits he may have. It was cool to find out he made his own lures, but it wasn’t going to help me pick the right one. I love people and it was great meeting a fellow fisherman on the dock.

Rigged up, my wife hopped aboard Serendipity and off we went. Bob said he would fish the surface in front of Mission Creek before going into deeper waters. It seemed like a good idea so that is what we proceeded to do.

Mission Creek is running high and there was quite a bit of debris in the water. Cruising away from the shoreline the water was the colour of chocolate milk where it spewed forth from the mouth of the creek. It resembled a river, flowing fast and dirty from the surrounding mountain peaks.

Suddenly, my one rod bent over, was it a fish? It felt a little slow and heavy to be a trout. I had a sinking feeling that I was reeling in a stick. My ‘catch’ broke the surface and floated slowly to the boat. A stick was confirmed and released.

Switching hooks we turned out into deeper water; I didn’t feel like fishing for more sticks. Lines set we relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine and warmth that beamed down on us. I felt grateful that the weather ‘experts’ were wrong again. The rain they predicted was holding off in the distance. We trolled slowly across the lake basking in the moment. I reached into the cooler to grab an ice-cold Corona.

Zinnggggggg! My heart jumped! Fish on!

I quickly went for my rod as it was bending over and spinning line. These are the moments we all wait for when we fish. I felt my inner child erupt, thrilled, I restrained myself from reeling to fast. I caressed my reel and let the fish run with some line. This was a nice one and I wanted to make sure we brought it in. Krista jumped up from her relaxed state and took control of the boat. I calmly told her to grab the net. I was proud she figured out how to extend the handle and steer the boat. One great thing about our tri-hull Biltmore is it steers itself pretty well. Krista made sure the boat was tracking straight and came to the back to ready herself with the net.

Zing! The line peeled out some more as I let my catch run some line out. I didn’t want to rush it and lose the aquatic beast. I spun my hand hard as the trout started to swim toward the boat. She then turned and ran again. We were locked in a mortal battle, one I hoped to win. I feathered the reel slowly and then reeled faster as I felt the tension loosen. I knew I needed to keep my line tight or risk having the hook spit back at me. It neared the boat and went deep, I let some line out again. Then spun my wrist to bring it closer. Breaking the surface our rainbow gleamed in the sun, its name apparent as it turned its back to run again. I cupped my hand on the reel and let it go. Slowly I caught its momentum and reeled again. This time it came right up to the boat. I have lost too many fish next to the boat. Not this time.

My wife was ready with the net. I told her to put the net behind and scoop it. Let the fish go into the net. She had it! I told her to lift but it was too heavy. I reached out and grabbed the handle and helped her bring our prize into the boat.

“Woohoo!” I danced a little jig.

We had our first fish of the year on Serendipity. My wife smiled and looked at me. “Should we let it go?”

I just smiled back and replied, “dinner for tomorrow?” we hugged and I bonked it on the head and put it in our bucket. It barely fit in the pail. Tossing my hook back in the water I reset my line and danced again. I felt just like the little kid I am inside. My adrenaline flowing I went back to the cooler and grabbed the beer I had been about to open. Sitting down I toasted the fish gods and continued on.

Our evening passed lazily by and we saw no more signs of any fish. We connected in the sunshine that was dropping into the clouds and toasted our success.

Cruising back into the dock we celebrated by having dinner on the patio of Smack Dab. We watched the amazing sunset and toasted once more. We are truly blessed to live in such an amazing place. Virus’, and riots are in another world. Our world is one of peace and prosperity. I hope for everyone to find their own peace and prosperity