We left Lafayette 2 hours ahead of schedule. We were all excited about getting back to Strawberry Lake for what could be the last time. It was the day of Aric’s graduation from Purdue Vet School so everybody was at Aric’s house doing some celebrating. I was elected as designated driver, so I stayed out of the beer. I had been up since 5 that morning. I got my stuff all packed and organized. Scott was supposed to pick me up at 10:30am [12:30 Eastern Norton Time]

The open house was nice, I saw some folks that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. I also had the chance to finally meet Aric’s Uncle Ron, the owner of our Strawberry camp. We weren’t expecting to hit the road until after 8 but by 4 that afternoon, the crowd was almost gone.We loaded up all of our gear into Aric’s Dodge Pickup and just after 6pm, I was driving us up to Michigan. It is about a 5 hour haul from Lafayette. It seemed longer that day. By the time we reached Grand Rapids, I was getting tired but I knew we were close.

We pulled into camp around 11:30, got our stuff out of the truck and got on the boat. We didn’t go too far. We got into some Rock Bass and someLargemouth Bass. It began to sprinkle and while we were heading in to gather our rain gear, we decided to quit for the night.

Monday was extrordinary! We usually do well on Strawberry but two things were happening this time. 1. The whole lake was gearing up to spawn and 2. There was a pre-frontal feeding frenzy taking place. We boated over 50 fish on Monday. It still wasn’t the warmest up there so the fish were still hugging the bottom. Fortunately, we are well versed in the Texas Rig. Coupled with Berkley’s 7″ Pumpkinseed Power worm, the fish couldn’t resist.

All the fish we caught were plump and heavy with 90% of the Largemouth Bass measuring in around 15 inches. The water was quite clear and we saw so many fish all over that lake. They were up in the shallows and cruising the flats. They hovered the slopes and hugged the timber. Every trip we take brings along a few “catch phrases” In October we were doing Sean Connery impressions saying “Take off your panties”. This time Scott got us stuck on the Bob & Tom parody of Beatles Anthology 43. We spent the whole week speaking Ringo. “Where’s John? I don’t know. What time is it? 9:15. Wanna smoke? Sure.”

I have no idea how a we got started calling a fish and cheese sandwich “fish & chee” When we pulled up to the pier that afternoon, Brooks was waiting for us. This was our introduction to the political factions of the lake. The People’s Front of Strawberry [represented by Brooks] are largely city folk who assume that because they can’t catch fish, that there are no fish. Brooks told us that he hadn’t caught a bass out of that lake in two years. I was floored, I think that Strawberry is the most productive waters I have ever seen and that day alone we caught more fish than we could have eaten in a week. He was saying that the association was considering closing Strawberry to all fishing for two years to let the fish population grow some. The other faction The Strawberry People’s Front [represented by Stubbs] threw this idea out as totally ridiculous. The Strawberry People’s Front are largely people who know how to fish and do. So you see the dynamic is as follows. The People’s Front of Strawberry cannot catch fish [due to a skill level element] and blame the Strawberry People’s Front for “Taking all the fish”. Of course Brooks doesn’t even have his boat in the water yet. Anyway the factions compromised with a ban on taking fish from their spawning beds during May and June. That didn’t affect us because we aren’t the type to fish the beds to begin with and secondly there weren’t any beds at the time. It was still too early. Anyway this incident made us Strawberry People’s Front Sympethisers.

Monday evening the Thunderstorms came in and dumped almost 6 inches of rain. We had left an empty cooler out open on the deck. In the morning I was amazed at how deep the water was in it. The storms rolled in one after another all day and all night.

We did most of the fishing from shore that day and managed to land several Bass from the pier. Scott was relentless, he would cast and cast and not stop until every rod he had was hung up on the logs that populate the deep just off shore. It was a new tradition. Every trip out in the boat began with freeing Scott’s lines.

We tuned into the local news to see if the weather would break. One of the stories was about several men who were camping when one said “Hey watch this.” then tried to swallow a 5 inch fish live. The fish flared its sharp fins and tore up the guys throat and lodged itself in his trachea and killed him. I know that it sounds made up but it is true.

Wednesday was very grey. The clouds had come to rest on the tree tops, but the wind had died down a little and the thunder stopped for a while. The fishing was good, but we were spoiled by Monday and in comparison, it seemed light.

I think that I must have gotten some rain water in one of my baitcasters, because drag system was malfunctioning. I was using 10lb test Trilene and on three occasions rather large Largemouth Bass had snapped my line. While the catch rate was down from Monday, we had an excellent time touring the lake and picking up fish just about everywhere.

Around 3 in the afternoon, the treetop clouds decided to come all the way down. By the time “actual” nightfall came, the was a wall of fog so thick that the lights from the shore were obscured. The rolling thunder in the distance, along with the late hour pushed us back to shore. We stood on the pier casting into blind oblivion. I think Scott managed to collect 2 or 3 Largemouth Bass before all of his lines got hung up. We had a couple of rounds of “Fish & Chee” before heading off to bed.

Up until Thursday, the temperatures were in the middle sweatshirt and flannel pants area. Thursday was hot and sunny. The trauma of all the storms and rain were waning and the fish were getting up and active again. Scott and I netted a few dozen minnows. The plan was to go after some Perch with the minnows on Ultra-Lites. We managed to do just that and catch the occasional Largemouth Bass as well. It is a real riot when a fat Largemouth Bass grabs your minnow and heads off to the hills peeling off your drag. Aric took a break to study up for the North Carolina Vet boards. Scott and I spent a few hours at the Bass Hole collecting “Perch & Chee”. It was hot and the sun was somewhat uncomfortable but the fishing was hot too. As evening was settling, the air grew still and the smell of the lake, warm from the day, was rich. The entire perimeter was alive with sounds. It seemed like it was going to be a perfect evening. Of course just about half an hour after we set off, the Thunder and Lightning returned, again. The rain started to fall heavily, the battery sparked in protest and we decided to turn in and get an early start the next morning, our last day.

I had set my alarm for 4:20 but when I got up it was so dark and Aric and Scott were sleeping soundly that I postponed the start for about 40 minutes. I took the picture at the bottom of this section about 5:10 that morning. It looked to be a great day. The guys got active about half an hour later and we headed out. I was still using the minnows on my Ultra-Lite but Aric and Scott had gone back to Pumpkinseeded Texas-Rigs.

I caught Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass and a bunch of Perch that morning. We switched gears and broke camp around 9:30. There is a curtain of reality that tends to fall around you while you clean up and pack. The little troubles of life never have a chance here until it is almost time to go. Then, as you start to think about heading home, they creep in. I know that Aric had to have a serious load on his mind. He was moving to North Carolina the next day. I was thinking about my family and how much I missed them. I don’t know what Scott was thinking about. The ride back seemed to go by quickly.

We got back to Lafayette just as the dust of reality began to settle. Aric and I picked up his 25 foot Penske, then He, Scott and I proceeded to stuff his entire life into that truck. The packing was a chore at first but as it progressed, Scott and I began to really get into it. It seemed that everything fit in just so and intertwined and locked into the other stuff with such bizarre precision. It has been over a week now and I haven’t heard anything from Aric. My guess is that they haven’t figured out the secret to unlocking everything and that it is all still in the truck.