this will "BBB" you up!
Thats John...Blackberry mixing devil
Chad and I (BFF's)
Chad (Time Machine) and I headed up to Lake Mille Lacs on friday to seek out fishing and adventure. We got both!
Keith, my buddy from work, was generous (too generous probably) enough to let T.M. and I use his fish house over the weekend. Consider us lucky...cause it is an awesome place to relax, fish, enjoy an array of beverages, and talk shop! So, come Friday after work...we headed straight up and met Keith and his brother John. Keith had to head home right away and get things ready for his son's birthday party. Keith gave us the quick tour and was on his way, and Chad and I began unpacking and started fishing right away.
The night started going by quickly, the barley pop began to flow smoothly,
and the air was still mild...so we headed to shore to take in the local scenary.
In that...there was none. Buzzies (bar) was real slow filled with a bunch of, well, up north snowmobile dudes who clearly drank alot of beer. Can't say I fault them, but I'm just saying. Not the scene we were looking for, so one and done and bakc to the fishing.
Chatting it up about triathlon, this seasons races, TT bikes and the like. We continued to drop lines, replace minnows and shoot the breeze. Night fell hard and it was time to rest for an early morning at the 'man-shack'.
Saturday morning came on with a fury. High expectations had been set for 'man-fort' fishing...and it was early I was tired, but we were pumped to get way out on Mille Lacs and do some jigging. Now, let me walk you (talk) through what the 'man-fort' is exactly....Keith and his brother John were given a little 6' by 6' fish house to drag around the lake! So whenever there is a potentially good spot to fish they pull the little 'man-fort' out there and fish from that (it is way different than the BIG fish house that both Keith and John have, way smaller and no real amenities). Two chairs, two holes, a little sunflower heater, a gas lantern, and some nice pictures...that pretty much sums up the 'man-fort'! So we drive 6 miles out into the middle of the lake, all our gear ready to go and we find the MF and get to it. At this point its all about fishing and chatting and listening to rap music on the 10 dollar radio...who could (would) ask for more?
So, there we are...fishing, laughing and sharing. What Chad and I do best! We enjoyed the horrible reception on the radio until the playoff games started later that day, then the reception was great for some reason.
We headed back to the main house after about 3 hours and relaxed a bit, jigged a bit, and played some cribbage. It wasn't too long before the 'night-bite' was coming on and we headed back out to the man fort. We didn't have any heat this time around, but it wasn't too terribly bad outside with the sun beating down on the tin roof. We listened to the game, continued our discussion about triathlon and racing, along with gear and bikes. We got completely skunked in the afternoon \ evening fish so we, again, headed back toward the main house closer to shore.
Our ice fishing guide (and friend) john called us and invited us over to his house for some beverage and food. So, we headed over there and had a great time with John and his family. Thanks for the blackberry brandy John...YOU JERK!!! As the night dragged on, we decided to go up to Buzzies restaurant and have some more fun and food. It was busy, the crowd was 'typical' and loud. A couple down the hatch and back to the house for sleepy time.
Sunday morning came on like wild fire and we were slow to get up. The aftertaste in my mouth was of blackberries and stale beer...i wanted to go over and punch John right in the nostrils. I just didn't have the energy.
Slowly Chad and I gathered some strength to start cleaning up and getting ready to get out of dodge. The Vikes were playing at noon and he had a football party to get to, thanks for inviting me you dick (what)...just kidding! i was ready to go home and lick my wounds anyway.
We got everything picked up and put away and headed back to Albertville. The weekend had gone by so fast, but it is one I will not soon forget. A nice relaxing fishing trip with a great friend. Everyone needs that once in a while or twice for sure.
Thanks to Keith for allowing us to use his fish house for the weekend. A half thanks to John for not getting us heat in the man fort, and for making sure we didn't consume too much brandy...thanks a bunch. And to the local authorities for understanding we were not locals and letting us off with just a warning. Us city folks don't know you can't do that sort of stuff up north. Oooopsie.
Bish...out!
