Poncho readies the boat.
Minnesota’s Fishing Opener. The Mungers and the Scotts. Used to be the Mungers, the Scotts, the Tessiers, the Nelsons, the Lundeens, and the Listons. It’s a tradition at the Scott place that began 49 years ago by the six fathers. Now there’s only one of the original dads left: Harry Munger, who’s in Florida and won’t be making his way north until the end of May. Used to be, in addition to the six dads, later five (tabbed “The Iron Five” when Jim Liston, Sr. dropped out) we had upwards of twenty boys and men crowding the Scott cabin on Whiteface Lake north of Duluth. This year, there’s an even dozen, including Patrick “Poncho” Scott, Tim “Scurvy” Scott, myself, my brother Dave, and assorted other Scotts and Mungers. Three of my four sons made the trip even though the weather forecast for NE Minnesota calls for it to be cold, windy, and snowy. This is one year the weather prognosticators are spot on.
Thing is, no matter the fishing, no matter the weather, so long as the Scotts invite us, the Mungers show up. Sometimes it feels like we’re intruding on a family outing. That feeling lasts for about a beer or so. Then, as we start catching up on family news and as the old stories start being retold, the warm glow of a half-century of friendship exudes itself and any angst or trepidation about being at Pat Scott’s lovely home, tromping through her kitchen and taking over her place, dissipates.
The Mungers arrive with two boats in tow; Matt’s new pickup towing my Crestliner; and my tired Pacifica pulling my dad’s old Cadillac open fishing boat. Matt and Chris launch the Crestliner at the public landing. I clamber aboard, turn the key, and the 4 stroke Mercury 60 horse purrs like a kitten. In minutes, I’m down the lake, beaching the boat at the Scotts. Chris and Matt and Jack launch the Cadillac and Chris pilots the old aluminum boat across open water, the cranky two stroke Evinrude unwilling to draw gas from the tank, requiring my third son to resort to putt-putting into shore with the four stroke Honda trolling motor. Later, I’ll take the Cadillac out and get the Evinrude roaring, discovering that the line from the gas tank to the motor wasn’t quite snug. Once on shore, I trundle over to the Nickila place, John Nickila being related by marriage to the Scotts, and ask permission to tie up at the his dock. After a brief chat, I move my boat and secure it for the night. Or so I think.
Food is never an issue at Opener. In year’s past, the eldest Scott, John, and his younger brother Tim, had coordinated the menu. My job? Bring the minnows, which I order in bulk from the Fredenberg Minno-ette. Last year, fishing was so good at the Opener, we nearly ran out of minnows but that’s a rarity. Usually, we dump dozens of extra chubs and shiners behind the Scott garage, fertilizing Cabin Circle’s majestic white and red pines. After a hearty meal of barbecue chicken and Pat Scott’s secret recipe hotdish, it’s more conversation, more beer, and a few games of smear. I get Jack to sit in and learn the game. Or at least, he begins to understand the nuances of trump, tricks, and the like.
Saturday morning. I awake to find that the stern line on the Crestliner came loose and that the boat has turned in the wind. My Boy Scout knot tying obviously failed. Chris turns the boat around and re-secures it to the Nickila dock. No damage is done.
The photo above says it all. There’s a couple inches of new snow blanketing the landscape and our boats. Tim and John’s eldest, Joe, take the grandkids up-river in hopes of surprising walleye. The Mungers are content to sleep in. The past two years, we’ve done well on Whiteface, better than any other two-year stretch since the Scott’s began inviting folks up in 1967. This year? Not so much. The Scotts roar back to the dock after an hour and a half of fruitless fishing. Breakfast is gobbled. Dishes are done. And then Matt and Jack and I gather up winter clothes, minnows, fishing gear, and head out in the Crestliner. Chris mans the Cadillac and guides for his cousin Jon and Poncho’s son Christopher. The other boats go back out as well.
Matt trying to stay warm.
It’s cold and windy but, praise the Lord, at least it’s not snowing or raining. Fishing is slow. Matt catches two keeper walleye. I pull in a perch and a pike. Jack remains a Whiteface virgin. The other boats don’t do much better.
Jack seems to lack intensity.
Steaks on the grill, coleslaw, bread, and hash browns precede another furious round of smear, political discourse, and lamenting the Twins. Tim, the former AD and baseball coach at Hibbing High School, uses some colorful language to describe our beloved major league baseball team, all of us offering helpful suggestions as to how the Twinks can turn things around. Outside, the little kids poke sticks in a roaring fire. The snow is gone but not the cold. All told, our dozen fishermen hauled in a dozen fish, few of which are keepers. But catching fish, the few years we’ve managed to do so at Whiteface, is ancillary to the Opener. Disappointment regarding our collective catch isn’t an issue. After a sauna with my brother Dave and a few cold adult beverages, Jack and I take on Dave and Poncho in a round of smear. Jack makes some rookie mistakes and given that this is Whiteface, no quarter is given. We get trounced.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever beaten you at smear,” Poncho announces, placing the cards in the center of the table as he smiles. “It feels pretty damn good.”
Sunday morning. In the old days, Bob Scott would drive to a nearby Catholic church for Saturday or Sunday Mass with his three sons. Tim and I talk about that tradition, trying to determine when it ended, but the conversation morphs into a discussion about deer camp, another shared experience from our youth. Ken Hubert, a friend of the Scotts and mine (we were in each others’ weddings) wanders over to check on how we’re doing. Ken is newly retired, the former AD and girls’ swim coach at Faribault High School. His mom and stepdad have a cabin a few doors’ down. I envy Tim and Ken and the missing John Scott. They’re all retired and free, so long as the money holds out, to pursue their dreams. I try to keep my envy in check but it’s a tall order. As always, after a hearty breakfast of Bob Scott recipe pancakes, the boats are back on the water. The snow is gone. Sunshine toys with us into early afternoon. Jack catches a snaky pike, breaking his fishless weekend. But the walleye don’t cooperate.
The boats are trailered. Joe Scott cooks hamburgers and hotdogs on the gas grill. Everyone stuffs themselves. Tim tallies the ledger and we all chip in our share. As the Scotts and the Mungers pack up their gear, Tim is already working on next year, creating a menu for the 50th Anniversary of the Scott Fishing Opener. Hopefully, John Scott, the patriarch of the family, can break away from his retirement travels and show up. But even if John is off gallivanting the globe, if the Mungers are invited, we’ll be at the Opener at Pat Scott’s place, fish or no fish.
Peace.
Mark
