Fishing on Six Mile Lake in East Jordan Michigan

The reflection of the trees upon Six Mile Lake quivered slightly with each stroke of the oar. The small row boat glided smoothly through the glassy image. The still of the watery mirror complemented the swaying leaves as the light, cool breeze swept the heat from our faces.

The boat stopped in the middle of Six Mile Lake as I embarked upon a voyage into manhood. This was my very first fishing trip with Grandpa Moe, Great Grandpa Cross, and Uncle Luscious in the boat at Six Mile Lake. Only the big men got to go here. I turned six years old today, so I qualified.

That's not to say that I had never been fishing. I had passed many weekends with my homemade fishing pole. I sat on the shore of the Shiawassee River or the creek that run through the back of the farm. Sometimes Grandma or my sisters would join me. It always made for a good picnic when Grandma came cause she was the best cook you ever did see.

The eatin' today wouldn't be nearly as good. Still, the experience couldn't be beat, not even by Grandma's homemade biscuits. Today, I was a man. I even got my first real fishin' pole to commemorate the day.

I cast my line out into the water praying the Good Lord would let me catch a big one. I sat and waited. I couldn't hardly stand it. I had to get a bite soon. I was a big man, now. It couldn't take as long for a big man to catch a fish as it did for a little kid. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

I knew I had to be quiet, though. Every good fisherman knows that if you're not quiet, you'll scare the fish away. I definitely didn't want to scare the fish that I had just prayed for. I just kept waitin', but it was takin' forever. I sighed again.

Uncle Luscious and Great Grandpa Cross were on one side of the boat, and Grandpa Moe and I were on the other side. They just sat there, all relaxed and peaceful, while I was goin' crazy inside waitin' and waitin' on a fish. I knew I didn't dare to make a sound, but I couldn't hardly stand it.

Suddenly, there was a fierce jerk of my line. I began to reel in the fish. I pulled and reeled and pulled and reeled. Grandpa and Uncle Luscious helped. Great Grandpa grabbed the line. It was the biggest, best Trout you ever did see! I caught the first fish in the boat!

Grandpa Moe put the water in the bucket, and I proudly put in my big trout. Smoked fish was good eatin', even if it wasn't Grandma's cookin'. We spent the rest of the afternoon fishin'. Everyone caught at least a couple, so there was more than we could eat by ourselves.

It was still a lot of waitin', but I didn't mind so much once I started catchin' fish. Once we got to shore, Grandpa Moe let me get the scraper from the cabin. I got to help get the scales off the fish. Only big men got to help with that. Uncle Luscious showed me how to use it so that I wouldn't get cut. Then, Great Grandpa cut the fillets real careful so that there were no bones. You had to be an expert to do that, so I couldn't do it yet. I wasn't an expert yet. It even takes big men years to become experts at cuttin' fillets so there are no bones.

I gathered wood for the fire. You had to gather oak wood so that the fish would taste good when you were done. If you gathered pine, the fish would taste nasty. I was real careful, though, and I knew all about how to tell if it was oak wood. I brought back some branches and sticks, and Grandpa Moe got the fire going. Uncle Luscious showed me how to season the fish just right. Then we put the fish over the fire. That was the best fish I ever ate.

Grandpa let me take some to Ms. Ann. She lived all year long in the cabin up the road. I wish I could live in the cabin all year and go fishin' all the time. Still, if I lived there I don't reckon it would be such a special place. I'll never forget the day I became a man. It was the best day of my life.