As our guide season sadly comes to a close here for the 2011 open water run I find myself pondering; IDO fishing……..I DO fishing. Very clever indeed.
In Depth Outdoors may not be the Largest group of anglers, but I assure you IMHO it is made up with a very high caliber group of “In Depth” anglers with a deep passion for our fisheries.
It never siezes to amaze me the seemingly endless amount of fishing finatics we are fortunate enough to not only fish with, but become friends per our affiliation with this great medium. I won’t even begin an attempt to place a number on guys and gals we now fish with on an annual basis based on our mutual love for fishing, and our pairing from this site.
My fishing cap is off to “In Depth Outdoors” and all of the characters from daily faces to the once a year posters that make this medium such a special place for us all. 
I’d personally like to share 1 more fishing memory that I have banked from the 2011 season; As for me it is both the anticipation and the memories that continue to light my passion for this sport; Many of you surely have heard this particular story from this spring before, but frankly I just like to tell it.
May of 2011; It’s a beautiful crisp morning, and our group of fisherman is found targeting the large gators of Rainy lake. Shawn is one of our fisherman that day. I may stand corrected, but it is my guess Shawn doesn’t get out hucking baits everyday. He’s a welcome “Newcomer” to this annual fishing party we host. He places his rod in the corner of the guide boat with the a tip obviously snapped off and 2 eyelits now one inch apart. “Yep of course it can still work”. We’re fishing floating raps and high wind, and he is having a bit of trouble getting the snap needed to truly shoot the presentation far out over the emerging cabbage beds. Other customers including myself are simply BEATING the spring pike while Shawn is having one of those “ALMOST HAD THAT ONE” kind of mornings. Then a series of events unfolds that depicts an encounter most all fisherman dream of. I hear an absolute VIOLENT explosion boatside followed by a smash into the side of my Skeeter. I mean this was a “Get your toes out of the water kids!!” kind of unsettling water disturbance. I was positioned on the opposite side of the bow and peered over to see what on earth had just happened. I witness Shawn exercising a series of quite aggressive hooksets. 
I wouldn’t be suprised to see a Mailbox appear burning through the water column at this point. When I asked what it was he replies “GIANT PIKE GRANRUD….GIANT……GIANT……GIANT PIKE!!” I now fear hyperventilation and in my mind find myself quickly scanning my latest first aid training remedies. Not to downplay any excitement, but in the back of my mind I realize any pike ranging from 5-10lbs can give a fisherman one heck of a thrill when witnessed devouring a presentation with only a mere 6 feet of line from rod tip to bait.
All at once……Possibly on the 8-9th hookset as I attempt to calm down Shawn from a severe case of “Pike Fever” I witness the largest pike I’ve laid eyes upon in all of my years slinging baits for “Freshwater Shark”. I witness a head seemingly large enough to engulf bowling balls as Shawn appears to be bracing himself for a rather impresive, but seldom advised “flip her home attempt”. Realizing I may lack the quick thinking wisdom to effectively calm the crime scene at the same time I see this freak of nature has only ONE hook in the corner of this massive set of jaws. Please don’t make this another “Big one Got away today” story. Still this one seeemingly micro sized hook is the lifeline between the paradigm of pike fishing or the agony of defeat. I stumbled through the opening of my full windshield to the back corner of the boat nearly running over a customer with what now appears to seemingly be a butterfly sized Frabill conservation series net. I take possibly an ill-advised one in a million stab at “FISH FAME”. With someone looking favorably into the “Daze Corner” possibly my Grandpa Bob this particular day; The seemingly larger than life fish found at least 1/4 of her massive body in our net. My grandpa would commingly be found saying……that fish…….Had our name on it kid!! I seemingly find myself balancing the fish vertically and brought her into the boat. You can cry all you want about conservation, correct picture holds…….any Blah Blah you want to dream up. This was REAL LIFE…REAL situation FREAK PIKE ACTION which was unfolding before our eyes!! Screaming like school girls old an young men alike followed this series of events with high fives. Shawn on otherhand looked as though he had just seen a ghost. I shook his hand as he said these simple and modest words in which I may never soon forget;
“Granrud…..that………MIGHT be the biggest pike I’ve ever caught” Bless you Shawn THAT PIKE is the biggest fish I’ve ever had the pleasure of releasing back into the cool spring waters of Rainy Lake!!
46.5 inches and 25.4 lbs of fun right there!! 
Never let the desire to excel at your chosen sport ever overcome the simplistic “FUN FACTOR” of fishing!! Though the fishing industry is everchanging while providing us all with the latest new “Gadgets” we don’t know how we ever fished without; Fishing in it’s most simplistic forms is just plain DARN FUN!!! May we never lose focus of the FUN fishing provides us all. 
