Hommel Mangas
We drove the 1,100 miles to Red Lake in Northwest Ontario for our annual family fishing trip this week.
Our party of eight then flew 40-miles on an eight-seater Cessna turbo-prop float-plane to Sandy Beach Fishing Lodge.
We arrived at the float plane base at 5:45 a.m. last Sunday morning, ate eggs, bacon and homemade bread at the lodge, unpacked, geared up and boated out to our favorite spots to start fishing.
We all easily caught our walleye, plus some, for our first shore lunch of fresh walleye cooked over an open fire. But our youngest daughter Phoebe set the bar on that first day by landing a 46-inch northern pike in the first three hours — while jigging for walleye.
(For you curious fishermen and fisherwomen: Phoebe was jigging with a 3/8-ounce neon pink jig with a matching fuchsia-pink twister tail. She shared that she was pleasantly surprised that the 30-pound fish didn’t snap the 10-pound test line, especially without the use of a lead line. Northern pike are known for their tenacious fight, often breaching and barrel rolling, weaving through weeds and cutting the line with their teeth.
Our goal for the week, and for all of these annual fishing trips we’ve taken as a family for the past 34 years (the chiropractor and his parents for the past 55 years) is “FFRR” — family and fishing time, added with time to read and relax.
We had all packed for fishing in both sun and rain, for the highs of 75 degree and for lows of 50. My chiropractor, Dr. Steve, and life-time fishing guide packed the book “The Plant Paradox” by Dr. Steven R. Gundry.
Daughter and Cincinnati resident, Alex, is reading “Own Your Past, Change Your Future” by Dr. John Delony. Daughters Phoebe Ritchie and Chloe Tillman were both listening to the audio version of “An Unexpected Guest” by Agatha Christie. Phoebe was also reading the paperback of “Reflections on Christian Leadership” by Henry Nouwen.
And Dr. Chloe was re-reading “Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans” by Michaeleen Doucleff. She was reading as she looked up to keep an eye on her 16-month-old John, who was sitting on a small boulder nearby, sifting through rocks and putting them into a cup.
Chloe’s husband Michael is reading “The Chronicles of Narnia” and Phoebe’s husband Jacob is reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fall of Gondolin.” I brought along George S. Clason’s “The Richest Man In Babylon,” but haven’t cracked it open yet. Wednesday, after three full days of fishing, John and I chose to stay in camp as it was our only big windy and rainy day — so after we played and danced and had lunch in our warm cabin, we snuggled up and hibernated for a long three-hour nap.
Son-in-law Michael Tillman has been the dinner entertainment with the game he brought: “The Questions Game.” Every evening in the dinner lodge, he pulls a card and asks a question like, “What was one of your favorite gifts?” Or “What is one thing that you wished you would have done, but you feel like it’s too late — but is it?“ Or “The person to your left — what occupation do you think they’d be great at, that they aren’t currently employed?”
My chiropractor was seated to my left so I instantly answered: “Fishing guide.” Everyone agreed.
But I could also answer: Family Legacy Guidance Counselor
Cheers to 34 successful Hommel Mangas Family Fishing Trips — for family, fishing, relaxation and reading time.
Janet Hommel Mangas grew up on the east side of Greenwood. The Center Grove area resident and her husband are the parents of three daughters. Send comments to [email protected].
