Sunshine State Fishing

Rice Lake, located about 50 miles east of Toronto, was one of our most favorite family vacation spots for our children. There are numerous family oriented resorts and cottages surrounding the lake to accommodate a family vacationers. This is the place to go if you are looking for fun fishing, boating, swimming and socializing for a relaxing summer week. Every summer, we packed up our kids, along with fishing rods, fishing reels, tackle boxes loaded with brand new fishing lures, insect repellent, sunscreen and everything but the kitchen sink to take for our trip.

We usually stayed for a week in a cottage just right for our family of four. We traveled in a caravan of relatives and friends together for our summer getaway. Of course, there were numerous stops along the way, and our kids loved to swap cars and travel with a cousin, or friend at the stops. Once we arrived at our destination, checked in and unloaded....everyone headed for the water, jumped in their boats and took off across the lake looking for a good fishing spot.

Rice Lake is stocked with Bluegill, Crappie, Perch, Muskie, Walleye, Large mouth and Small Mouth Bass and Carp. Our favorite is fresh perch and bluegill-the best tasting meal after a big day of fishing. My son was hooked on fishing at Rice Lake the first time we visited that lake. My son was always on the lookout for a Muskie to snag on his line and the anticipation was the most fun part of it for him.

When my daughter was about 2 ? years old, she went on her first trip with us. I was worried that she would be fussy along the way, but thankfully she traveled well and loved the camp grounds. The first day out fishing, we took her along and she loved riding in the boat and making her first attempt at dipping a fishing line in the water.

We were fishing quietly at a good fishing spot for the bluegills and I heard her behind me in the boat counting quietly..."uunn...tooo ....freeee....fooor". I looked around and there she was, tossing our wax worms out into the water, counting as she went!! The fish were well fed that day and we had a good chuckle, but her brother was not happy with her since we were getting low on his favorite bait!

Another exciting experience for my son happened on a sunny afternoon when my husband, my son and I were out fishing and we ran into Bluegill again. He was 11 years old at the time and was fishing with an ultralite fishing pole. All of a sudden, his little pole about bent in half and he was really having a hard time controlling the pole, but he did not give up! After wrestling with it awhile, he finally got it to where he was able to get the fish out of the water and he had the BIGGEST Bluegill that we'd ever laid our eyes on!! This Bluegill had to be the Great Granddaddy of them all...had to be at least 1 ? to 2 lb fish...no lie! The sad part is, we stumbled and bumbled around trying to get the net out to help get the fish in and then it just dropped off the hook back into the water! And we have witnesses...it really happened. There were people fishing close to us that saw the entire struggle and gave a collected "Awwww!" when the fish got away! My son was MAD to say the least!

My favorite time was in the early morning, when my husband and I managed to get out on the lake by ourselves without the kids and fish in the early sunrise. The sunrise over the lake reflecting on the calm water is the most soothing and relaxing experience. The quiet of the early morning is especially calming and I missed that the most when we came home from vacation. I wish somehow we could just pause that moment in time and hold onto it for awhile.

The evenings were another enjoyable time in the day. We usually got together with all the families we traveled with and had a campfire in the evening. The kids played together, swam in the lake, played games while the adults chatted about the day and relaxed. Looking back, these are the most pleasant memories to look over. Sadly, my children's father passed away a couple of years after that, so it makes those memories very special for us.

Our kids are grown up now and starting their own path in live. My wish for them is that they keep up the tradition of the family fishing trips to keep their families close and make good memories for their children. In this world today, God and family is more important than ever for a good solid background and good moral values. I believe sharing a family sport such as fishing can bring those bonds and values to your children as they grow up and look back on their childhood memories.

Proverbs 22:6- "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it,"

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