Walleye, Walleye, Where Are You?

The trick was not to wash your feet. At least that’s what my Uncle Keith always told me.  

When I’d come into his cabin out of the blowing cold off the snowmobile, it was the first thing he’d say,

“Did you wash your feet, Joseph?”. 

“No? Good stuff - maybe we can catch a fish tomorrow.” 

I totally believed it. I didn't think too much about how the fish could smell the soap through the ice, boots, and double-layered socks. Not washing my feet leading to catching fish was good enough for me.

As a kid, I spent hours huddled around an ice hole in the winter, jigging my line, waiting for a trout to bite. And we’d have the fire going on shore where you could get tea nearly black as coffee from having been boiled on the fire for hours. More often than not, I caught a fish. Such are the benefits of a childhood in Northern Ontario.

My grandpa used to be able to guarantee anglers that they would catch their limit.

Acid rain changed that starting in the 70s. But after the Super Stack was built in Sudbury, fish started returning.

All boys like fishing. And then some have the fever. I was one of the latter. All day, every day, if you let me. And for most of my summers and many weekends in the winter. I was blessed that I got to. Would that all little boys were so lucky.

As a dad, I try to make a point of getting out. But it’s not as easy in Ottawa as it was in Sudbury. I’ve gone a couple of dozen times here and caught one fish. Maybe you Ottawa folk, who are luckier, can let me know your spots. Now we mostly go fishing when we make a pilgrimage back home in the summer. 

Out of 6 kids, I’ve only got one with the fishing fever. Silas stares at a body of water - a pond or stream in the middle of the field as we drive  by - and pipes up to ask: “Do you think there are any fish in there?” He’s all in. 

When writing a book for him, it had to be about fishing. I printed one copy of his book, “Walleye, Walleye, Where Are You?” for him for Christmas. It’s a pretty straightforward concept: it runs through 9 fish native to Northern Ontario, where you might find them and what lures you might use, in the rhythm and rhyme of classic bedtime stories. 

Over the last few weeks, he and I added a section at the back of the book outlining each fish's World Record catch.  We take guesses at what the biggest of each of the fish would be before looking it up. To say it’s been a fun project is a bit of an understatement. Silas made me promise that I wouldn’t work on it without him. He begs every chance he gets to do some more. He's enthralled with it. It's just about ready to go to print. If you’re interested in getting a copy, comment below and I’ll let you know when it’s ready.