The pulls of two new seasons
By Nick Simonson
I questioned the wind and the chill blowing in the mist rising off the wavy surface of the small powerplant lake, a place I frequent this time of year to cure cabin fever prepare things for openwater and chase the largemouth bass and crappies that are two months ahead of their brothers and sisters in the ice-covered lakes around them. I knew that the wind was wrong for any effective fishing, coming straight from the far shore and lifting a fog off the water toward the launch, but I was also aware that this might be the only time to get a feel on how the boat was doing and more importantly, the old Mercury 25 on its stern. I solo launched rather awkwardly, brought the boat to the shoreline, now well exposed from a dry fall and winter, and parked the truck before returning and setting sail against the wind under the full power of the reliable trolling motor on the bow. Once in position along the steep rockline where my panfishing adventures often begin, I anchored up and threw a few dozen casts before I mentally prepared for a shoulder workout. In every season, the old Merc has turned over, albeit with a little bit of bulb pumping, choke tweaking and sometimes a good session or two of rope pulling. I can recall waking up the next day after some initial adventures and feeling as if I had done a couple of workouts where I had solely focused on just my right arm.
