NOT OUR TIME

I love the anticipation of planning a trip!

It had been a couple of years since my longtime friend, Matt, and I got away for a weekend of fishing together. It’s mind blowing how quickly time flies by. Anyway, we coordinated our schedules and made plans to fish Lake Superior on Minnesota’s North Shore. Everything was coming together; we checked fishing reports the weeks leading up to the trip and gathered up all the gear we’d need. The anticipation was really building!

Weather and wave forecasts are very critical for a trip like this. Strong winds and storms can create some monstrous waves on Lake Superior, and my 17-foot boat does best in waves 2 feet or less. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the initial forecast was calling for storms and strong winds. We did have a backup plan if the winds and waves were too high on Superior, but storms meant ugly fishing anywhere nearby. We were due for a weekend away and after some consideration decided to go regardless of the weather forecast. As the days passed and the weekend drew near, the weather forecast started to look better. Matt and I drove up Friday after work, and my older brother was going to meet us Saturday morning. We arrived at the cabin and started getting everything ready for the next morning of fishing. We were up late into the night catching up before we decided to call it a night. The alarm was set for 5:15am so we could leave for the lake by 6:00am.

“BRYON, IT’S 6:03!” Matt barked in the darkness from his bed.

I love the sunrise on water

Anticipation turned to hysteria as we jumped from our beds. I checked the alarm; I had set it for 5:15 pm! We threw items into a cooler, loaded a bag of food, and grabbed some last-minute gear. Thankfully, most of the fishing gear was already in the boat and the landing was nearby.
We met up with my brother, launched the boat, and were leaving the harbor by 6:40am. The three of us worked efficiently together and had six lines set up by sunrise, which by the way was spectacular.

Waiting for any fish to bite

It turned out to be a gorgeous day. The lake was remarkably calm and peaceful; in fact, too peaceful, the fish weren’t biting. We tried different locations and tactics, but nothing worked. On Sunday, Matt and I even tried a different lake; still nothing. It didn’t matter how bad we wanted it or how hard we tried, the fish just weren’t biting.

Life can be like that too - things don’t always turn out the way we want, but fishing with friends is always worth the trip!

Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”