My earliest memory of fishing is when I was about 3 or 4 years old and dear ole dad decided to create one of those father-daughter moments. The event was fishing, the place unknown after all these years, however we lived in Champaign, Illinois at that point in my life. My memories include a lot of mud, a lot of people, and worms. To this day, I can look at my palm through the eyes of that little girl when her father placed that big, fat, dirty worm on my palm and my reaction was......... to scream my bloody head off! I can only imagine my father’s frustration from that moment on.

Much to my young ponytailed dismay, we caught a fish, a catfish to be exact. By this time, I had sufficiently recovered from the dreaded worm contact to participate in the excitement of actually catching a fish. I remember the whiskers and the eyes. And of course, still not fully comprehending the seriousness of having a girl for a daughter, my father held my hand and instructed me to “pet” the fish. My reaction was of course, to scream my bloody head off again!

That is my fishing experience in a nutshell. I am now many years past that event and have yet to pick up a rod and give it another go. However, I became involved with, of all things, a fisherman! I have a deep-rooted appreciation for fisherman, hunters, and the like. However, I will be an angler who returns her catch to the water. Admittedly, it is because I am not going to clean the darn thing.

I am a Northern Michigan transplant. Meaning I moved from the Detroit area and now reside in Oscoda, Michigan. What do you do in Oscoda ? You FISH!! We are surrounded by many wonderful lakes and rivers. The photographer in me is in heaven. The new angler in me is eager to learn. In the upcoming weeks, I am going to be taken fishing, salmon fishing to be exact. I cannot wait! I hope all of the experienced angler readers bear with this newbie on her fishing journeys, lessons, and accomplishments. I look forward to sharing them with you soon.