Fishin report for Lake Iwanttobethere..

nytelyter · June 22, 2008

TODAY IS BOBBY'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! BEST WISHES TO YOU DUDE MANY MORE TO COME AS WELL. I HOPE YOU CAN FIND MR BIG. have a great time on the water and ill have a bait basket ready for you at the docks for your search. ^^^^^ 5s. Hamms is on me at the lodge this week. and i have heard that the twins are brewing up a special batch with your name on it to reconize your many years of service at the lodge and also for keeping us all in touch with the goings on at the lake. thank you and have a great day. ... paul

Bobby Bass · June 22, 2008

A quiet morning here at Lake Iwanttobethere. Overcast sky with just a few holes in them letting me see some blue sky hiding. Deck is wet from overnight rain and the grass covered path to the greenhouse shows where I walked earlier. But it is warm out, which is a good thing and the wind that was with us all day yesterday, for now is gone. Bud follows me out the door and as I make my rounds he makes his. I bring water to the greenhouse and splash a few plants. I put in a couple of stakes in the cucumber pot as the leaves are big enough to need some support and some where to cling. I have always thought that cucumbers are female. Since they don't do well unless they have something to cling to. Checking the onion and radish patch I pull back the netting and grab a half dozen or so. I bring them over to the garden hose and rinse them off. Continuing my morning inspection I chew on the fresh radishes. Puddle Humper is the next stop and I go to the boat house. Lifting the lid I plug in the battery charger and once again look skyward. Blue spots have disappeared and it looks a little darker. Was planning on fishing this afternoon but might have to rethink it.

Yesterday I had my calendar cleared and I went fishing, took the long way around the lake to where Mr. Big calls his home. As usual the farther I got away from my end of the lake the more the weather changed. I was not but a few miles away when the sky open up and a down pour made me turn the wipers on the Dodge on high. A few minutes later and I was again driving under blue sky and the black top was quickly drying out. You know you have been fishing a spot for a long time when as you drive the road you can remember the history of it. Years ago when I first discovery this part of the lake. Actually a friend told me about it. They were out fishing walleyes and they could not keep the bass off their lines. I feinted indifference and wrote down on a napkin the directions. The next day I think I was hauling the old Jon boat down a dirt road that would not have qualfied as a dirt track. Who ever had graded this had gone out of there way to make it the best washboard road in the county, After fifteen miles of teeth shaking and watching the rear view mirror to see if I lost anything I arrived at the lake.

Now a days the road is in much better shape. The dirt is still there but only the last few miles. Several years ago the county came in and straighten all the hairpin turns. Moved some of it to dryer land and now you no longer have to worry about coming around a corner and being greeted by a pig or sheep running alongside. With all the dirt road gone you arrive at the lake with your boat and truck the same color as when you left. No need to wet a towel and wipe down the seats to remove the dust. If you were unlucky sometimes you got caught behind another truck. If you were on your way fishing you just snuck up tight and drafted. If you were done fishing and headed home you just waited and gave the dirt road a time to settle. Now with the black top that is no longer a problem. Turtles are this time of the year. On my drive out to the lake yesterday I saw a few who had tried to cross the road but did not make it. They became a county speed bumps. A white van followed me for most of my trip out. Just before the last turn off to the lake he passed me and sped on down the black top. I came up on him a few miles later. He was pulled over to the side and in front of me a large turtle was crossing the road. I missed the turtle and looking in my mirror I could see the guy pluck the turtle from the road and was carrying her across. Good for him I thought.

I arrived at the Lake and nothing special happen. I did fish in what now seem to be a wind tunnel. Clouds and rain moved around me all afternoon but no rain fell. Warm day and the splashes of water from the white caps that the wind was blowing up did feel good. I took my time and let the wind move down the lake. Fish were biting on the windward side and once again most people who I saw fishing were hiding out behind the islands or were just tied up to their docks. Kids on air mattress splashed in the shallows under the watchful eye of parents. As I passed by the typical " Catchin any" and "Windy enough for you " were spoken. I waved back and kept a hand on my hat. One by one the boats came off the water and even with a good half hour of sunlight left I to put the Puddle Humper back on the trailer and headed back home in daylight. That time of night to look for deer and the sixth one I saw almost joined me in the front seat. She zigged instead of zagged and I almost hit her. I slowed down a little more just to be safe. This was just a short distance from where on my way into the Lake the guy stopped and moved the turtle. I can't say for sure but there in front of me at the same spot was the same turtle. I pulled over and sitting in the truck I watched. The turtle looked at me and then a moment later inched forward headed across the warn asphalt. I watch from the Dodge and turned on the four way flashers. A moment later and the turtle inched ahead again. I got out of the Dodge and picked up the turtle, heavy little bugger. I then carried her to the shoulder and set her down. On the opposite side of where the other guy had rescued her. With out watching some the other guy had brought her to where she had come from. Or maybe the turtle had already done what she had set out to do and was returning. I shook my head at that, she is a turtle I thought.

Well I am back inside the cabin and from my window I can see the water is starting to come alive. Wind is picking up and the clouds are growing darker again. A few more hours and it will be midmorning and the quiet will be gone. My 660 birthday today and on the calendar I see I am scheduled for a " Lunchette " What ever happen to Lunch? And while I am looking on the Master calendar I see the wife has me down for shopping on Wednesday with a list of stores that offer "Senior Discounts" gee I hope I am not turning into that turtle. I would like to think that I still move fast enough so people can see which way I am going... From Lake Iwanttobethere you all have a good day..

(54738)

Bobby Bass · June 25, 2008

Lake Iwanttobethere... it's warm here today as it was yesterday and the day before that. I am not going to complain to much because come about six months from now I'll be complaining that it is to cold. Moved to the top of the Honey Do List is the installation of the two AC units. Right now I am sitting in the shade of the deck with my feet in the grand kids pool and I am cool and comfortable. So the AC can wait till later. Been fishing the past few days, Nothing of any size to report other then I was kept entertained by the bass that were biting and the occasional swirl of a northern. A couple of Loons are nesting just off the point here and they are free entertainment as they try to draw your attention away from the nesting area.

The 660 birthday is out of the way but not the comments. Someone had put a gallon jar up on the bar at the Lodge asking for donations for a walker for me. They had a picture of it and I must admit it was a nice one. Had a rod holder on it and a place for a cooler. So far there are only a couple of nickels at the bottom of the jar along with a coupon for twenty cents off a bag of prunes. I think Elmer donated that. With summer here we are expanding our lunch menu at the Lodge. Fish tacos are now available and we have tomatoes! The local nudists who live in the John Deere painted cabin with the high fence have a hot house. They came in yesterday and offered to supply us.

Day before yesterday I went into the big city to do some errands and I made a stop to get a chicken sandwich at one of them big chain fast food places. I got my sandwich less the tomato. I asked why and was told of the tomato out break and they were not serving tomatoes till the matter was cleared up. I asked if there was a reduction in the price of the sandwich since I was not getting what I paid for. I was told it just a slice of tomato... Hmmm doing the math in my head a slice of tomato times x amount of sandwiches a day times 2000+ stores = a nice little profit for doing nothing. Back at the Lodge we decide to buy the hot house tomatoes and still charge the same price.

Since I had some time to kill I went and saw an afternoon movie. I got to use my senior discount. Since it was so quiet I asked the cashier why do seniors get a discount? We still take up a whole seat when we watch a movie. She told me that most seniors forget what they see and return a second or even third time to watch the same movie again. That is why they get the discount. Made sense to me.. O the movie I saw... I forgot now what it was..

Fire flies are out at night and if you drive down by the marsh just at dusk it looks like a Disney movie. I was through there and there were so many out they exploded in colors as they hit the windshield. Very colorful until the next morning and I had to clean the windshield of the all the mangled bug bodies. We don't have to talk about skeeters. If you move to far away from the bug candles or make a run to your car with out protection they are on ya. No bats yet. At least I have not seen any yet. Down at the General Store on the outside cart Earl has it well stocked with candles and bug spray and even them fine little skeeter head nets. A second cart is out with a assortment of fireworks. Already at night you can hear firecrackers going off and we are still a little more then a week away. Will be a busy week next week as Monday is the 30th and also the fifth Monday of the month. We will be having a Town Hall meeting and will discuss the state of the Lake. Shannon will be taking minutes I am told as she has finished up her Internet classes on stenography. Anything has to be better then Elmers note taking.

Well the wind has shifted and in the last few minutes the temperature has dropped a few degrees. Guess the AC can wait another day. Might as well go down to the dock and throw a few. Maybe even take the old wood row boat out around the bay. Lilly pads are growing bigger with each passing day and the reeds are pushing out farther from shore. Still a little behind with the cool Spring but we are making up for it now. If you have not made plans yet remember we have the big 4th of July doing here. Go cart and Lawnmower races. Mindy and Mandy ice cold Root Beer and of course the parade and pig roast. Nytelyter we hope will be again in charge of fireworks and looking for something special to happen off Root Beer island. From Lake Iwanttobethere (55548)

Bobby Bass · June 26, 2008

Had an early breakfast this morning at the Sunshine Cafe with some old high school buddies. The guys, Gary Mike and Tony have a special bond that they have had since high school. Back when we all turned sixteen the guys decide they wanted to bike around Lake Iwanttobethere. They planned it for most of the winter and when school was done they with the OK from their parents headed out on what was to become a fourteen day bike trip around the lake. I was not into biking that much and I had discovered that a girlfriend can take up a lot of your time. Also they had three speed J.C. Higgins bikes with gears and brakes on them. I also did not have a tent at the time.

They set off just about this time of summer and it took then fourteen days to bike all the way around the lake. They even made a few local papers and were interviewed as to why they would want to do such a thing. When they were in college they did it again, only this time they did it on dirt bikes. Later in there thirty's they did it with their young familles in station wagons hauling pop up campers. When they hit forty something they did it on Harleys and stayed in motels. Gary has a bad back and the bedrolls were not enough anymore. They were in town today on their sailboat, "The Boomarang" this time making the trip around the lake on the water. I got a call and met them down at the cafe and we had breakfast and got caught up with each other. A short time later they were back on the water and heading on there way. After watching then sail off I took a stroll around town. I had a cigar on me and lighting up I took my time walking around. Doc Burriem I think has gotten wise to me as I am suppose to be walking more. He gave me one of the pedometer but I just attached it to the wife's bike and when she rides it acts like I am walking. I have a feeling he figured that out because he does not believe I walked a hundred miles last week. Need to see if you can redo the pedometer. So I took a stroll. Nice morning to do it. Little humid and might be a good day to plan a nap in the middle of the afternoon.

Masterbaiters shop has some new wood racks that Hammering Hank and Skinny have built. Bright kayaks are chained down to it. Red and Green and a Yellow one that you can see from a distance. Somehow when you drive through town you miss a lot so when I take a stroll I seem to find things. Like at Dugs Garage he is even renting little scooters. He has a couple outside the door. Pretty little shinny ones and then he has some that appear to have been modified. Or perhaps dumped a few times. They have primer on them and the sign says they can be rented at a reduced rate. Car wash is empty but the local cheerleaders are at the Gulp- N- Go having a car wash. Waving Pom Poms at passing tourists who honk back.

I don't know if it is me or not but there does seem to be a lot more scooters and people riding bikes around town. I know at the Town Hall meeting that there will be a vote on letting golf carts on the towns streets. Should pass as we already allow riding mowers. Well I just thought I would keep you up on some of the happening today. Looks to be a busy day ahead and sometimes I am slow on reporting things. From Lake Iwanttobethere

(56025)

Bobby Bass · June 27, 2008

Sunshine Ray posted a warning about it being a bad weather weekend and as of right now he is on the button. Heavy rain storms are sweeping across Lake Iwanttobethere and the tourist who are on there way out of town are thankful and the ones coming in are wondering what they got themselves into. Boat landing is empty but the Lodge is busy. Friday night and the evening crowd is in. Gus is busy sending orders of wings out and the popcorn popper is trying to stay up with demand. Fly fishermen are over in the corner having a spur of the moment meeting. A few guys gather around the TV getting ready for the nights baseball game and the big table has a hot partners cribbage game that already has been going for a few hours. Hammering Hank and Skinny are at another table with Big Earl. They are working on the diagram for set ups for the fourth of July events. They are going over a list of vendors and looking for an expanded track for the Turtle races. I see there will be two places where you will be able to play the Flamingo Ring Toss game, Several of the posters are up around town and I saw they also had to add a warning this year. On the bottom of the poster it now says " Turtles caught using performance enhancing drugs will be disqualified and prohibited from further racing" I think it had to do with the Johnson brothers and there Needabeer entry of last year.

Looks like always there will be a lot of good eats. Women club will be sponsoring a baking contest to be followed by a bake sale. I am proud to mention that I am again a judge in this event. The Lodge will of course have the big BBQ trailer out. Tents will be up and the hay stage will be set up for the Fabulous fine fingers of fiddle players Fred and Fionda Fiddle and their sons and daughters. Parade is good to go at noon and afterwards the towns main street will be cleared for the lawnmower and go-cart races. Also in the works will be golf cart drag racing. We need to get some permits but with the town hall meeting on the 30th we don't think we will have a problem. Saturday night the pontoon parade on water will be held and I think some of the resorts will be selling tickets to ride if you don't have a pontoon. A bike rally will leave the Lodge for a few hour ride and then back to the Lodge for a pig roast. Talk to Big Earl for more information about that.

Other events on the calendar, The bing cherries booth will be open all week in the park. It will be just down from the mini-dounut and hot pretzel trailers. Also our local crop duster will doing a patriotic fly over at noon on the 4th and Skinny will again attempt to put on a sky diving and landing performance. He has had the chute replaced since last year. After a careful review the Turkey deep frying incident from two years ago and a safer location deep fryers will be allowed in the park this year. The towns fire trucks will be on display and in that general location just in case. Would also like to remind people that any attempt at shooting at or attempting to shoot down the crop dusting plane with bottle rockets will not be tolerated. This is the main reason the flight has been moved to noon instead of at midnight. To be fair Maverick has been told he can not drop firecrackers or flour bags from his plane. As always roman candles are only to be used in the water battles reenactments and then no wooden boats are allowed.

Boat loading and landing contests, speed casting, dog dock jumping contest, hot dog eating contest, seed spitting contest .I am sure there is more but I can't remember all the events that are planned. Not to mention sidewalk days and did I mention the beauty contest? After my accident last year and the modifications I had to make to my MTD mower I did not do well, I am looking forward to having a quicker machine this year and will be entered in the open class. I am sure I will be adding to the list here. The rain has stopped and the doors to the deck have been open wide. A few guys wander out and wipe off the lounge chairs and sit back and watch water drip off the eves. A few cigars are put to the match to keep the skeeters at bay. Looks like we are between storms and the lake has turned to glass. Trees are not moving at all and it is quiet. The birds are still in hiding and Barney is over with Elmer on the wicker couch. He is not moving so that tells me that more bad weather is on the way. Just a nice summer night if you like rain and wind and cold beer with friends. From Lake Iwanttobethere

(56980)

Say I would like to take a moment here and say thank you to all of the new readers who have come on board. I hope you get to visit your part of Lake Iwanttobethere and we here at the lake want to thank you for reading about the doings here... Bobby Bass

Bobby Bass · June 28, 2008

Time....

I walk into the darken bedroom feeling my way across the wood floor. I drag my feet looking to bump into anything with my toes before tripping on them. Making my way to the window I pull the curtain to one side and raise the mini blinds to eye level. Looking out under the pine branch that blocks my view of the lake I can see the calm water of Lake Iwanttobethere. Making a mental note that I need to trim that branch from the cabin I turn and look down at my son sleeping. Like so many other days gone by he looks the same. Resting on his side, arm under his head he sleeps the sleep of the young. I watch for a moment like parents do. A small smile on my face as a flood of memories comes to mind. The little scar over the eye brow from when he fell on his bike. Another on his hand from when he fell in the wood pile. I watch as his chest rises and falls.

His boots with socks resting on top sit at the side of the bed. His fishing rod and the old metal fishing tackle box that grandpa left him rest in the corner. A plug already tied on the rod so he won't have to do it when we get to the boat. I should wake him so we can get on our way but these times are few and far between for us. He is getting older and we don't talk as much as we used to. Thinking the fish can wait, I lean up against the cabin wall and just watch. The morning light grows brighter and I can see his eyes twitch as the light crosses his face. Slowly he opens his eyes and says " Morning" I say "Morning" back to him... " Time" he says. I nod yes..

He swings his feet out from under the covers and sits on the edge of the bed. " I'll go wake your grand sons" he says. " No, let me do it" I say... from Lake Iwanttobethere

Bobby Bass · June 29, 2008

"Sittin on the dock of the bay wasting time" I hear that line floating across the water here at Lake Iwanttobethere, So far from the truth. There can be no such thing as wasted time when your are sitting on a dock. Today I spent time on the dock with my grand daughter. The five year old who is wiser then her years. Of course all parents think their kids are special and they are all right. This one had her dad wrapped around her little finger and I might add Grandpa is aware of her charm. I was down on the dock giving the feet a good soak. There are more things that can be done on a dock besides just sitting. You can fish, you can hideout you can watch sunrises and sunsets and you can soak your feet.

When you are a kid you never have soft feet. I can't remember having any feet problems back when I was young. New pair of tennies? Get them wet, when they dried they fit your feet just right. Of course you let them dry right on your feet. Usually new shoes were saved for right before school started. So the ones you went into summer were already well broken in. They took you everywhere but church. Church had the good shoes, the brown wing tips that doubled as snowshoes in the winter. They were big and wide and had a heel on them that made you at least an inch taller. The school tennies would make it through the school year and with some tape to mend the holes where your toes grew out they would take you into summer. The holes also worked as drains for when you waded in Mystery Creek or around the shores of Lake Iwanttobethere. Hunting frogs or looking for crayfish. Now a days we have shoes for everything and slippers to. Slippers for going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, flannel ones for the dead of winter. Hunting boots and waterproof ones for when it rains or the grass is wet. When we were kids the it was easy. Was it Sunday? then the wing tips, any other day was the tennies.

Which all brings me back to sitting on the dock soaking my feet. My granddaughter came up wearing these plastic clogs. Asking what I was doing she took her clogs off and sitting next to me she to "wanted to soak her feet" except her legs are to short and she could not reach the water. She sat next to me and with her feet dangling over the end of the dock she rocked then back and forth. From time to time I would splash some water on her legs with mine so she would get wet. Looking down at her feet she stopped. She jumped up and grabbed the towel that was next to me. Laying back down on the dock with her head under the big towel she stared into the water. I asked her what she was doing and she said 'Fishing" I took my feet out of the water and rolling over on my side I rearranged the towel so it would cover both of our heads and shoulders. We laid on the edge of the dock and stared into the water. Bluegills crept out from under the dock and made like big fish. Cruising back and forth between the dock posts they patrolled the area like sentries on duty. A small perch would try and get under the dock only to be ran off by the sentries.

We laid and watched and she started to give the gills names. Scar face and big eye a little one she called wanttobe because it was always trying to swim with the sentries but was to slow. Suddenly they all darted under the dock and she asked why, that is when we saw a northern come into sight. A few pounds but big enough to make the sunnies scatter. It sat still like just at the edge of the dock. His or her fins rippling along it's side. The mouth moving and we could see the gills open and close, open and close. After awhile it to moved on and the sentries return out from deep under the dock to return to their patrol. Acting like nothing had happen and they had let the northern be there. The sun had dried our feet while we laid on our bellies. Grandma rang the big bell on the deck and it was lunch time. She helped me up and walking with my baby feet I followed her up the trail. Her hard feet running up the path while I looked out for stones and pine needles. I really got to go barefoot more I think to myself. From Lake Iwanttobethere. (57814)

Bobby Bass · June 30, 2008

Corn should be knee high by the 4th of July is the saying. We might just make that here at Lake Iwanttobethere. Of course it helps if you are short like I am. After a slow start the gardens are doing well. Second planting of radishes went in the small garden this morning and all the flower pots are filled with flowers. Mowing is a weekly thing and last year at this time it was slow growing. No problem with water this year and the grass had been responding. Skeeters are out, not as bad as predicted so far, but you don't stray to far from a candle or the fire pit come dusk. If I have a complaint it's the steady wind that seems to be blowing every time I get a chance to go fishing. Keeps the bugs away but does make it get old having to work the trolling motor all the time when on the water.

Spent some time on the deck here enjoying the evening and looking for bats, which I did not see. I did get to watch a owl come swooping in and make a pass over the yard and dock before heading back into the woods along side Chucks cabin. I felt more then saw the owl, it was getting pretty dark and got that feeling that something was around me. A flirting shadow that I would not have seen if I had not been looking. The owl appeared coming in low over the grass dipping away from the fire pit and the smoke and then with a few flaps of broad wings rose and then dipped again before disappearing into the Pines. I am sure I stuck out to him but he was just a shadow to me. We don't see many owls up here I am sure they are around but not a bird that hangs out around the lake.

Lake was quiet for the weekend. Threating weather all day on Saturday that never did happen. Finally after everyone had gone to bed and fires were out a soft rain fell for a half hour or so. Just hard enough to make noise on the roof and fill the water barrel. A nice rain, the kind that if you are in a tent lulls you to sleep with it's steady soft drumming on the rain fly. Kind of rain you don't know when it ends because the trees around the tent will drip for awhile after the rain has stopped. Morning will bring that rich smell of wet earth and deep woods that you only have to think about to remember. Sometime here at the lake we take that smell for granted. I try and remind myself to take in a deep sniff when I am looking around. Even better, close your eyes and make a point of remembering the smell. Reach down and pick up some needles and old leaves and dirt, squeeze it between your fingers and let it slowly fall through your fingers. Wipe your hands off on each other and avoid wiping the rest off on your jeans. Instead head for the lake and rinse your hands in the water. Take another moment to look across the flat surface of the lake and watch the rings roll outward from where you dipped your hands. You can't do that back in the city. Well maybe in some fountain with a foot of water in it. Even then people will give you looks as to why you would put your hands in that water.

A couple of robins come screaming pass, flying in tandem with a wing man. They dart in and out and then pull up together to land on the grass. They both give you that sideways look and then ignore you as they search the ground for food. Our friend the gray squirrel is hanging from a pine branch eyeing the full bird feeder. I don't see his brother around any where, they usually travel together. Barney is down on the dock, fishing of course. Bud just had a run in with the old goose. He is panting on the deck after chasing the goose into the water and getting them both wet. Pepper is over at Elmers house. Elmer is having rabbit problems and Pepper is there to see what kind of trouble she can get herself into. Also Pepper has taken an interest in the chicken coop which once again has chickens in it. With the rising cost of food not only were a lot of gardens put in here at the lake but some chicken coops have birds again. Earl down at the general store had to order three times what he usually does. Some birds will not make it past fall but with the price of eggs some will stay on. If the wind is right you can now hear a rooster or two in the early morning hours. The coops are something else that is to be discussed at the town hall meeting but it is another thing that will be passed. Well next week end will not be so quiet. Junior has the fireworks tent up and sales have been brisk. Better get your sleep in now because it will be hard to do come Friday night. From Lake Iwanttobethere (58363)

Bobby Bass · July 2, 2008

O what a relief it is... The coming rain across Lake Iwanttobethere. With the red needle on the Bass thermometer just touching the ninety degree red slash mark today was the hottest day of summer here at the lake. So hot that after working in the morning I took the afternoon off and finally installed the ac in the bedroom window. The next step was to make sure it worked so I took a nap. I woke up several hours later to find all three dogs and three cats scattered across the floor and bed. Once the ac is turned on they know where they are going to get there afternoon naps in. I kicked all the dogs outside and taking the hose out everyone got wet. I rinsed off the deck and watered the flowers only to have the deck already dry before I was done. Warm outside and with the brisk wind it offered no real relief.

Went down to the dock and got wet in the lake. Sitting under the newly found blue umbrella I looked over to see Elmer on his dock. Red and white bobber floating just a few feet in front of his dock. His head hidden under a big straw hat I could not tell if he was asleep or awake. His beat up red, white and blue cooler on the deck at his side with the metal tackle box tucked under his chair. I could see two stringers tied off to the deck cleat. One I am sure was tied to the floating yellow minnow bucket and the other seemed to be moving on it's own. I would guess Elmer has a fish tied off to it. Heavy sticky air made the chair feel hot to the touch. The wind quickly dried me off and if I had not just taken a nap it would have been easy to just take one now. Wind was coming off the shore and blowing out to the water, no relief there. Putting my hand over my eyes to shade them I looked out towards the point and can make out a few boats bobbing out there. That's when I notice the clouds piling up on the horizon. Conditions are right for a good soaking.

Checking the mail I take a few letters back up with me towards the cabin. Barney heads to Elmers dock and as I go up the path I see Elmers hand come down and rub Barney between the ears. Barney takes up his fishing position on the edge of the dock.. Pepper is laying in the wife's ferns and watches me as I walk by. It looks like a pretty good spot to me and I ignore her as I walk by. Bud and I go inside the cabin and I head to the fridge. I drop a few ice cubes on the floor for Bud to chew on. The watermelon that I bought from Ma and Pa's grocery is well chilled and I cut of a thick slice. Sprinkling with salt I take the melon on a plate and sit in the shade out on the deck. Enjoying the cool melon I watch as the building clouds out over the lake slowly move my way. Buddy sits by my side waiting for his piece of melon. I let him have a chunk and he eats it all except for the seeds that he lets fall to the deck.

Guess I must have taken another nap as I had moved over to the swing and had turned the baseball game on the radio. Wind has died down and I heard the "Krump" of someone firing off fireworks, the sound echoing across the now still waters of the lake. Sitting I notice the lake is quiet, no birds and no bull frogs. I can't see in the darkness but I am going to guess that a thunderstorm is still working it's way across the lake and it is getting closer. Barney is laying at my feet which is a dead giveaway to the coming weather. The kitchen lights are on at Elmers and I can hear him banging pans, must be cooking what he had on that stringer. I lite up a cigar and settle into the cushions of the swing. Baseball game is still on and entering the ninth the home team is up only by two runs. In the distant darkness I see a flash of light, waiting for the fireworks echo none is heard. Mother nature is going to give me a demonstration of how fireworks are really done. From a hot summers night at Lake Iwanttobethere.. (59122)

Bobby Bass · July 3, 2008

A welcome change here at Lake Iwanttobethere this morning as some cool weather made it's return. After doing morning chores which is feeding dogs and cats and checking the gardens I took a ride into the Lodge. Few guys siting and drinking some coffee and a card game going on in the corner table. I grabbed a can of pop and went out on the deck. For the middle of the week there were a few trailers in the parking lot and a family was fishing off the dock. Camp ground had a few big trailers parked there and it looked like they had been there awhile and might be there for awhile more. It just being a few days out from the 4th the camping area will be full by tomorrow night. Hammering Hank and Skinny were down loading up the firewood bins and a few people were inside the fireworks tent. I could see Junior gesturing with hands over his head. I am guessing he was explaining what kind of explosions you could get from he was selling.

Heading to the office I had a stack of them pink post it notes and at least a good inch of invoices to go through. Right on top were the minutes from the Town Hall meeting that was held on Monday night. They were double spaced on Lake Iwanttobethere paper with a letter head. I didn't even know we had a letterhead. Shannon did a real nice job of putting it together and I looked over the minutes from the meeting. Not to much really stood out at all. Pretty normal stuff.. Town is doing well, tourist is down a tad but people are spending more money which evens it out. The OK was given for chicken coops to be put back in use. Only one rooster allowed though and twenty five birds. Some of our newer residents from the big city made a comment that they would like the Deer Crossing sign moved down the road from their driveway. They would rather not have the deer cross there. That was tabled for further discussion with the county. Big Earl has requested that parking meters be installed out front of his store. It seems that he has observed city folk fighting over the sometimes empty spots in front of Reed the Realtors office. Even though there is free parking to either side, guess habits are hard to forget even when on vacation Earl has been placing plastic owls on metal stakes outside of his store with free parking bags pulled over the tops. He says business has picked up since he has done this as tourists park in front of the hooded owls which it appears to look a lot like covered parking meters. Meters were tabled for further review.

A few other things, sellers permits for the 4th of July approved. Beer sales permits OK'd for the tents. Just pretty normal small town stuff. O and on the bottom a request for office supplies and letterhead paper, given approval. Well that explains the letterhead paper. Well like I said just a few days out from the 4th and I think I already passed on about all the doings going on. I will be entering the new lawn tractor this year. I had pulled the MTD out of storage and it is just to far gone to race this year. The front end is so loose that Dug offered to weld it in a permanent left turn but this year we will be having a grand prix race and I will need to be able to turn left and right.. I might have tried it in the lawn mower drag races but with my weight I tend to flip over backwards at the start. Elmer is not going to race this year at all but has entered into the hot dog eating contest instead. Says he needs to pace himself as he is getting older. Well this is kind of a short one as I need to get to this paper work and then there are boxes of chips and candy bars to be gotten to. I do have my 33 " Wall Eye on display and the spoon that I caught it on. Guess in some parts the Wall Eye has created a disturbance and some comments that it was foul hooked and I used a stick bait or scooped it up out of a private pond. All not true of course. I have been asked if it is just a manufacture story that was just drilled up. But between me and you I might sell it to the ruler guy, he said it would make a good yard stick, even if it is just a few inches short... From Lake Iwanttobethere.. (59507)

Bobby Bass · July 4, 2008

Hiding out here in the Lodge with the AC on. Just got done with round two of the pie judging contest and I need some time to myself to let things settle some. Final round coming up in an hour and I might have tasted a few to many pies in the prelims. Got to remember to take smaller pieces but they were all pretty good. Noon fly over went well and Skinny hit Gus's pontoon on the lake with his sky diving. I thought that was what he was aiming for. Only found out later that he was aiming for the fish cleaning house but slipped and fell out of the plane early. It, the landing on Gus's pontoon was a surprise to both of them. Well food judging contest is going on. So many good smells in the park deep fried turkey, BBQ running hot with propane, coal and even wood fired grills. Sweet corn was brought up from down south as Big Earl had a cousin drive a truck load up from his farm. McDonnell's farm donated the butter and the corn is gone as soon as it comes of the grill. The fabulous fingers of Fred and Fiona Fiddler dancing across their fiddles is providing the afternoon music on top of the hay bale stage. Hammering Hank's wife Tess is providing some knee slapping vocals. She is a constant surprise to all of us.

Fishing contest will be done at five with the weigh in here at he Lodge. A lot of boats are out there bobbing on the waters of Lake Iwanttobethere. There will also be a weekend contest sponsored by the good folks down at the Masterbaiters shop. Mindy is here working the root beer tent and her sister Mandy is out on Root Beer island. Lot of traffic out that way going in and out through the drive in bait dock that Nytelyter has there. I have not seen him today but I am guessing he is busy working the dock. Will be a BBQ tasting contest later this evening as we are just getting warmed up with events for the day and for the weekend. Softball game going on or was going on as it turned into a beer ball game and action slowed after the 3rd inning. Looks like most players are just standing around the kegs on the bases now.

Boat launching contest will be held after 6 tonight and go-cart and mower races have been reschedule till Saturday. We had a few co chairs putting events together and yesterday when they got together they discovered they had way to many events for today and started to reschedule and spread them out over the entire weekend. Tom from Tom's log homes was here this morning with a load of logs for the log rolling contest that no one knew had been scheduled. Guess that will happen Saturday afternoon. Seems Elmer knew all about it but had forgotten to pass on the information. Junior down at the fireworks tent is just about sold out. His tables are now being used to get out of the sun and rest your elbows on when eating the roasted corn. Ma and Pa's have a table set up and watermelons are being sliced and salted. McDonnell has a pit and is turning out baked potatoes. The usual Hot pretzels and mini donuts are being served. The ice cream truck is here and of course Mindy and Mandy root beer. Johnson brothers are offering small samples of Needabeer and Whynotale. Sales are brisk up here at the Lodge, glad we ordered all the extra chips and the candy boxes have been restocked several times already.

Down right nice day, warm but not hot. Some clouds in the sky but no rain in the forecast. Looking forward to fireworks at about ten tonight, before that the pontoon parade will start at 9 or so. Big parade was held shortly before noon and everyone in town I think is right down here by the lake and park. Well I have to get back out there. Apple pie division coming up and then I think I'll be ready for some of that hot butter corn.. You all have a good 4th from Lake Iwanttobethere. (60286)

Bobby Bass · July 5, 2008

Residents and tourist a like line Main Street waiting for the parade to begin here at Lake Iwanttobethere. Old gentlemen stand along the sidewalk holding hands with their wife's. Dressed in there Sam Snead hats and short sleeve shirts, pressed khaki pants with a sharp crease and brown belts hidden under overhanging bellies. Their wife's wearing wide brimmed hats and flowered dresses make small talk with other couples. Young parents attempt to keep track of running children who dart back and forth into the street. Holding cotton candy and sporting small American flags in their hands they wave them high over their heads as they run just out of reach of their parents. A small town parade is nothing like ones in the big city. No one is lined five or six deep here. As a matter of fact there is even some space open along the street curb.

The old clock built into the face of the bank chimes the first of twelve tones and the crowd settles down. Coming off First street the VFW color guard appears and five wide they march around the corner stepping smartly on to Main Street. The American flag held high front and center. Behind in the quiet you hear the rhythmic sound of horse hooves hitting the pavement. From around the corner appears our Eagle Scout John Smyth holding onto the reins of a jet black stallion. The horse is hitched to an all black wagon empty of driver and load. The sun shines of the polished wood of the wagon. The muscles of the horse ripple with each step it takes. The clop clop of the hooves lifting and then falling to the pavement ring out in the quiet. The horse and wagon come down the center of the street. Hands cross hearts and old soldiers stand at attention. Right hands in sharp salutes they hold as the wagon passes. Moist eyes can be seen if you look.. Lost brothers and fathers. Daughters and friends are represented by the driver less wagon.

Lets not forget why we celebrate the 4th of July ............ The wagon continues down Main Street and a minute later the parade turns the corner onto Main Street. Clapping and cheering the crowd along the side walk greets the parade and their fellow townspeople. From Lake Iwanttobethere

nytelyter · July 6, 2008

well the bait troll thru has been a huge sucess out on rootbeer island and it is very nice to be so close to mindy and mandy all day long. the morning of the forth we had a great run on bait thankfully supplied from vicki at masterbaiters. what a great set up. i really could not have asked for better. well i put out the honer box about 1pm due to having such a large show planned for the coming night. got to the point about 130 and started setting up the shooting racks and digging the mortors in and as planned, about 30 minutes after we had placed the last peice, the product truck showed up and we unloaded box after seemingly endless box of shells for the show.

lots of new product this year, as i had comissioned from the nations first family of fireworks, some of their custom shells that have mutiple breaks after launch. i have seem them on their promo vids and they are indeed a hot shell. i do want to thank the johnson bros. for sponsering these shells as they as you may think not cheap to come by. i will have a set piece with the whynotale and needabeer logo that will light up just prior to the launch of these fine shells. it did take the better part of the the remaining hours to complete the set up and get the finally set tied together. my small crew took a dip in the lake to cool off and i dropped the sail on the knot a clew and pulled it around the back side of the point.

just as last year i awaited the finally of the town show and we started the show off the point. pretty much routine for the most part. did have a mortor shell get loaded upside down. i think the one of my crew may have caught the powder bag on the edge of the tube and rolled it in. i did see the tell tail sign of it and in time pulled the crew back for the bang. as dangerous as those get they do make for a great effect. we had a few low breaks.... those are also some fun. but again pretty. the set peice went off well and those east coast shells were a great addition to the show. i think i counted six breaks in two or three of them. the finally rack fed thru just perfect and the show ended just like last year with the catamaran break shell in the sky. afterwards we let the racks cool me and my favorite root beer brewer headed like last year out on the cat for a nice cool eve float.

wasnt much wind but it was nice watching all of the dock shows going off all over the lake and with all the banging of the shells we did not have many of the skeeters around.

did clearing of the racks before hitting the hay and pulled up and packed up equipment the following morning. went into town for the days festivities and good eats. found bobby looking like a pumpkin at holloween in the lodge saying something about " i cant berlieve i ate the whole thing" and having to go judge some more pies. threw back a shot of turkey with him and chased it with a cold hamms and we were both off again for more eats. sure glad that sunday is here wow what a long weekend. had a record day on thursday at the docks on root beer island. and full weekend of festivities. now its t ime for a break. me and my lil sailor have found subs for us on the island for the day. and are going off on a sail. gonna hit some of the farther spots on the lake and maybe try to get into big bay for somewild thing sailing may even get mindy out on the trap wire and fly a hull if the wind is right.

welll i hope your forth was happy safe and lots of fun for you as it was for me. i know it was a good revenue day for the towns people. and i will welcome my next few days off here as i can watch the town slow again to its normal pace and will spend a bit of tiome at the cafe the diner and the lodge. see you on the water and if you hear some screaming today from out on big bay ... illl bet its cuz the hull is riding high in the sky and the screams are from mindy out on the wire.

from the point where sylvia bay meets waconia bay out on lakeiwanttobethere. ... paul

Bobby Bass · July 6, 2008

Well things are winding down here at Lake Iwanttobethere. Been a long holiday weekend and so many things have been going on since Friday there is no way you could have seen them all. A late start to the day here as I recovering from the micro-beer challenge that was held at the Lodge last night. Already 90 here in the shade and all of the dogs have been in the water several times. The cats are sprawled across the bed with the AC on and are unwilling to give up their spots to anyone. Drapes are all pulled closed trying to keep the bright sunshine out of the cabin. Been just an outstanding weekend weather wise. Just the way a holiday would be if you could plan it. Just enough wind to keep skeeters away but not strong enough to make you hold on to your paper plates. Smell of BBQ is strong in the air as it is to warm to cook inside and the 4th of July is the official opening of the BBQ season for the rest of summer. Women like this time of year as the men take over the cooking.

That might be a tad misleading as men cooking over the grill usually means men standing with a pair of tongs turning meat while holding a can of Hamms. The women are usually busy preparing side dishes getting plates finding the steak sauce and keeping the Hamms coming. When the meal is all done the male will ask everyone how they liked it. The men usually stand with hands on hips waiting for positive comments or even a polite round of applause. The wife will roll her eyes and begin cleaning up the table. Hot dogs that during the winter are boiled in water on the stove in a few minutes now take the lighting of coals, waiting for the proper temperature and the burning of the first set of buns. When the hot dogs explode they are deem done and the two of them are quickly eaten. Burnt ones "are ment to be that way" Cooking on a BBQ is never done fast and it is sure not done if you are really hungry and need to eat now. But the smell.... there is nothing better then a fine cut of meat spitting and sizzling on the grill. The splatter of juices hitting white hot coals and the aroma released in the air. Nothing makes anyone more hungry then the smell of a rack of ribs on the neighbors BBQ drifting across to swirl under your nose..

Made a pretty good dent in the ice in the storage building. Mandy had to make a few trips out to Root Beer island to bring more root beer back to the main land as they call it. The vendors in the park were busy all weekend long. Mindy was busy at the island as with Nytelyters drive through fishermen were buying bait and also picking up root beer. Might have had something that both Mindy and Mandy had gotten out of their bibs and were working in what almost could be miss taken as Hooters outfits. When reading Root Beer there was a pretty big space between the words on their shirts. Still no sign of Nytelyter. We are beginning to plot a rescue mission and get him off the island for awhile. It has been weeks since he has been seen at the Lodge. Of course with summer here and the Lodge open to the general public some people do stay away. They might drop by for a quick look around, have a Hamms and leave. Most farmers are out working the fields and putting up hay. Diehard fishermen have their boats in the water all the time and just walk down from their cabins to their docks. No need to trailer down to the access. As in most lakes about an hour before sunset the lake has the most activity. Residents will board their pontoons and back out from their docks to drop a line on their favorite hot spot. Some will take a cruise around the bay and maybe drag a lure. Watching sunsets and waving hi to their neighbors on the lake the outboards chugging away. A few fish may be caught and a late supper had or fish for breakfast.

Rain has been falling but only at night. Even then it is brief showers that all traces of are gone by first light. Gardens are deep green and grass still needs to be mowed on a weekly basis. Small apples are appearing on the trees and the deer have disappeared back into the deep woods. Pulling into the drive late last night I saw a raccoon and two of her kids walking down the side of the road. I expect I will see all three of them in my corn later this summer. Kids and grand kids are all heading out for a week long camping trip to the far end of the lake. I was invited but the ground is not kind to my back any more. Will take advantage of the quiet to get in some fishing this week as it will cool off some and some day time rain is in Sunshine Ray's long range forecast. If the fishing is good I might declare that I to am on vacation and do nothing for the rest of the week but fish. The Honey Do List will always be there. Well from just a down right perfect 4th of July weekend. I hope you made it out to your part of Lake Iwanttobethere and you enjoyed yourself. I hope fishing was good and the bugs not to bad. From Lake Iwanttobethere.. (60963)

Bobby Bass · July 8, 2008

HiYa from the lake. Monday brought temperatures more to my liking as the bass thermometer had a hard time getting the needle above 60 A welcome relief to the weekends 90's that we had here. Did some mowing and also weeding in the garden. Soaked the dogs down with the garden hose and Pepper bit right through the end when I was getting her wet. I will have to go down to the General Store today and pick up a repair kit. The quick fix of wrapping duct tape around the hole did nothing but redirect the water down my pants leg to fill up my shoe. The wet pants look brought a raised eye brow from the wife when I returned into the cabin. I said water hose and went and changed. I over heard her saying something about maybe having a senior moment. Since I have had my 660 birthday the word "Senior" sure does seem to pop up in a lot of conversations that I am involved in. I have made a point of highlighting her senior birthday on my calendar. The favor will be returned.

Now when we go shopping together she makes a point of asking if the store has a senior discount. If it does I get to pay so we get the discount. Of course I get a discount but now end up paying for more things so I have a net loss to my wallet and she gets a net gain to her purse. Still no discount at the places I shop the most. Earl at the General Store says I don't get a discount till I am older then him, and that ain't going to happen unless he dies first. Somehow my discount pie at Amy's seems a tad smaller then the portion I used to get before and I think the Sunshine Cafe is using smaller eggs. I also think Doc Burriem has been talking and people are thinking they are helping me my giving me smaller portions. Sometimes a small town can be to small.

Got that big deck all done, tools are all back piled high in the work shop. Need to get out there and sort things and put things back to where they need to be. Need a good rain day for that. Have had some light showers at night but we are due for a good soaker soon. I should go out and wash the tractor off, still has mud on it from the 4th of July races. Was a dry track till the prankster open up the hoses on the fire truck pumper. Those mower tires are not meant to be ran in deep water. You lose traction and the water splashes up on the engine making steam. Hard to see when you get your goggles all fogged up and people are yelling at you to turn but not telling you which way. Those hay bales aren't all that soft either. If I had not been finally stopped by the wall of aluminum empty beer cans that the Johnson brothers had been stacking I could have been injured or at the very least spilled my Hamms.

Fishing has been kind of hit and miss with the hot weather. Fish are still being caught but it looks like it is slowing as the water is warming. A lot of boats off the cross point where the bible camp is. Working at the Lodge I overheard some stories and in a nut shell it looks like the bible camp has relaxed some of their guidelines and now two piece bathing suits are being allowed at camp. Like all new rules some of the bathing suits are being pushed to the extreme. Suddenly the blue gill fishing is quite good just down from the swimming area. It must be all catch and release because I have not heard of anyone leaving with any of the gills.

Well town is a little quiet for midweek. Everyone worked long and hard over the long weekend and owners are taking a day off to catch up. I see that only Ma was behind the counter at the grocery as Pa was out with Elmer fishing. Even Reed the Realtor office has the shade pulled and the closed sign in the window. Amy has her truck and boat on the trailer parked out front of her shop and a sign in her window says she will be closing early today. Car wash stands with open doors and the cement is dry inside. Looks like no one has used it today. Golf course has a few cars in the parking lot and there is the smell of BBQ in the air. Some kids are playing pitchers hand on the softball field and their bikes are dumped in front of the dug out. Sheriff Tim just pulled up in front of Amy's and was carrying a fishing rod with him when he went in. Looks like everyone is relaxing this afternoon, perhaps I should schedule a visit with the hammock.. From Lake Iwanttobethere.. (61796)

Bobby Bass · July 10, 2008

Had one of them days yesterday, My friend Jerry had called last week and we made plans to go fishing. He got stuck at work and was an hour late getting to the cabin but it being middle of summer we still had plenty of light. I was already loaded up and ready to go so we pulled out five minutes after he got there. Once on the road we headed to a bay that I don't often fish but Jerry wanted to go to. Twenty minutes down the road and we had to stop in at a gas station that sold subs, Jerry had forgotten to bring a lunch so we made the stop for subs and some pops. Back on the road I told him he would now be blamed for anything that happens on the water. " How does that work" he says. Well since we had to take a side, unplanned stop our destiny has been changed. We will be ten minutes late for anyplace on the lake we fish... He pondered that as the Dodge purred over the blacktop heading for the bay.

Nothing special at the landing, it being midweek we were the only ones there. We launched the Puddle Humper and I pulled right out of the water and parked in the first spot on the right. With rods already rigged we pushed off and in the first little side bay we, or should I say Jerry had two bass in the boat before I even had a bite. Thirty minutes later and Jerry had four bass to my little one. Darkening clouds made us keep an eye over our shoulder as a growing line of clouds were shaping up out west of us and moving our way. We were in such a hurry that I had not checked in with Sunshine Ray and his forecast. It was not going to make much of a difference anyway as we had planed to go fishing and we would have gone.

Another smaller bay and the tide was turning, I started to get some fish, not bass but a couple of rock bass and a sunnie bent on suicide. Then a small mouth bass was brought to the boat. Not many in the lake but they are there. Jerry just laughed at me said those little fish don't count as we were BASS fishing. First batch of rain moved along the shore to the south of us but we didn't see a drop. Time was slipping by on us and fishing was slow, into another small bay we went and this one had bass. An hour later we continued on but not until we boated ten bass, eight for me and two for Jerry. As we came out a bald eagle landed just down the shoreline from us. We took notice and stopped fishing. Using the trolling motor we crept through the reed bank to get closer and closer to the bird sitting in a tree watching us. From time to time he would move his head trying to figure out just what we were. I sat in the front of the boat with my camera at ready. I took a couple of pictures on the burst setting which takes three at a time before recycling. The bird just looked down at us and we could get no closer. I came up with the idea that if Jerry stood up and waved his hands the bird would take flight and I would get a couple of great full wing pictures from right underneath. Holding the camera ready Jerry stood up... And I took pictures of sky as the boat rocked from side to side and the eagle flew no where close to the piece of sky that I shot...

I blamed Jerry since if we had not stopped for that sub we would have gotten a better picture.. A little after that the rain started. We got the edge of a passing thunderstorm and we put rain jackets on and continued to fish. Working up the shoreline heading back towards the launch we continued to catch fish. Well I was anyway. Making up for the start of the trip I was now boating bass three at a time to Jerry 's one. I could not keep the rock bass off as they were nipping at the spinner bait all the way back to the boat. Not a single northern did we catch or see. We both thought that was odd. We argue over the fishing conditions. Was it my white spinner bait that was turning the fish on or the thunderstorm that was passing around us. Then it happen. My spinner was about fifteen feet from the boat and I was watching it as I was reeling when a crappie the size of my mother's turkey platter slashed at the lure. I felt a micro second of weight on the line and then it turned sideways and darted back down and away. "DANG... did you see that ?" See what Jerry said... I had just missed the biggest crappie in my fishing life. The thing was down right huge I put the lure back out in the direction the crappie had taken, a feeble attempt that it would make a second pass. Of course it did not. I continue to catch some more bass and a few more rockbass as we moved toward the landing and the trailer.

We loaded the Puddle Humper up on the trailer and when everything was secure we just got in the Dodge when the first of the large rain drops exploded on the windshield. Jerry said " Well you can blame me" " For what" I replied.. " Well if we had not stopped for that sub you never would have seen that crappie! " besides what would you have done if you had caught it. " Well it would be on my wall in my den, that was a fish of a lifetime" Jerry nodding said " but how much gas money would that have taken?" I nodded back.... Still it would have looked pretty.. So when are we coming back to this side of the lake ? From Lake Iwanttobethere (62712)

Bobby Bass · July 12, 2008

How come the day after a big storm is always sunny? I guess so you can see how much and how far the storm did damage. Last night just at sunset several thunderstorms rolled across the lake. We had plenty of warning as Sunshine Ray had called the Lodge and Skinny got up on the roof and managed to get the hand crank on the old defense siren. The wailing of the siren could be heard across the lake and looking at the cloud bank it didn't take to much to figure it out. Most boats were already off the lake and the few that were left made it to their trailers and were seen leaving the access. This morning I saw Jessie the paperboy, with loaded boat pass by. He had an assortment of floating lawn chairs and boat bumpers on board. Just things he was picking up as he dropped the paper off.

The old goose was back on the shoreline looking none for wear. I don't have a clue where he disappear to during the storm. Here at the cabin I have my own alert system. A good forty five minutes before the storm hit Barney the dog was tucked in between the desk and the wall. I don't want to say he was hiding just looking for a secure area to rest we will say. Bud on the other hand was scratching at the door trying to get out. When he was let out he was running in the yard, ears flapping in the breeze and barking at birds that were flying low and seeking shelter back in the woods. Pepper was long gone as she was over at Elmers cabin. He didn't have time to get his tent up but had the garage door open and the lawn chair and cooler were at the ready. With his yellow oil maritime rain slicker on he was just walking around the yard, Pepper at his heels picking up things that might get blown away.

I lit a cigar and went out to sit on the covered swing. Had the radio on listening to the baseball game and every few minutes the play by play would be interrupted by that buzzing sound and then that tone.. The national weather service guy would get on and drone away about the oncoming storm. He speaks in such a monotone. You would think that a good storm would be something that would excite him! Instead he just ticks off where the storm will be in five minute increments. Never speaks of Lake Iwanttobethere. Talks about towns and lakes around us but never mentions the lake. I change channels over to the towns station, KCUM and Sunshine Ray is babbling like a little kid there. From the broadcasting studios Ray can look out over the lake and give a play by play of the dark rolling storm approaching.

I went back in the cabin and returned with my camera and a hat. The way Ray was talking this was a series of thunderstorms packed right on top of each other and it was going to be a good one as storms go. I could see the first big gust of rain and wind coming across the water at me. Looking like a wet sand storm the water flatten out in front of it and quicker then I can type this it was on me. With camera and cigar in hand the wind took my hat right off my head. I just got a chance to see it bounce off the deck and head towards Elmers. I put the cigar tight between my teeth and raise the camera and clicked off a few shots. Normally I can just sit on my swing and the canopy keeps most of the rain off. This however was a storm with a lot of wind and the first big gust went right under the canopy and hit me like a morning shower. My lens on my camera was wet and my cigar was out. I turned my back to the lake and tried to wipe off the lens but my sleeves were wet and as soon as I unzipped my coat another gust tipped the canopy to dump water down the neck of my shirt. Well I was wet. No sense in going into the cabin so I sat down on the swing and tucked the camera under my coat I watched the rain fall. The little radio hanging from the swing roof bouncing back and forth with Sunshine Rays voice fading in and out. Heavy rain fell for several minutes and it was coming down so hard you could not see any lights on the lake. Even Elmers garage light disappeared for awhile. The wind let up and the rain was just coming straight down like someone had the garden hose on your head. After awhile it started to let up as the storm passed over head. Slowly you could make out dock lights and then cabin lights across the bay. The rain stopped and sunlight fought it's way back through the clouds. Hi, light gray clouds were left behind. I walked down to the dock and the storm could be seen working it's way down the lake. Lightning lit up the sky but every time I tried to catch a picture I missed it.

Standing on my dock dripping water it dawn on me that I should have pulled the old wood rowboat up on shore. I followed the rope from the metal cleat to the ¾ full of water boat tied at the side of the dock. Minnow bucket and boat cushion floating inside. Elmer and Pepper came along the beach and Elmer walking up on my deck said " You really should get yourself a good rain coat" Him looking like he belong on the side of a sardine can all nice and dry with a hand rolled cigarette burning from his lips. I just nodded and continue to watch the storm as it quickly move away. Just another summer night here at Lake Iwanttobethere (63595)

Bobby Bass · July 13, 2008

Grand kids are up for their week long vacation with grandpa. Grandma will be in charge of the girls and me, grand pa will be in charge of the grand sons. That is until there is a need for grand ma to step in. Sitting out on the deck with paper and crayons we started making our to do list. Everyone knows that you should have a do list when you are on vacation. The boys already had things in mind when they sat down. I was surprised by some but expecting others. Cooking with grand ma was high on the list, which surprised me. When questioned I was told they like to eat grandma cookies. I agreed and we wrote that one in bright red. Going to Burts for a haircut and then to Ma and Pa's for ice cream made the list. Fishing of course kept on going on the list. As a matter of fact after every entry fishing was then added. Not weeding Elmers garden was on the list but looking for frogs was. Visiting Uncle Charlie's maple syrup house made the list.

Walking on the trail out back where those big thunder birds fly made the list. Grouse I keep telling them they are called. Feeding blue gills off the dock and avoiding the old goose also made the list. Making lists is hard work and after a few entries they both headed inside to the kitchen to get a pop. The grand daughters came out and wanted to make a list to. We turned over the page and started their list. They wanted to go to the farm and see the cows and maybe ride a pony. They wanted to go swimming but didn't want to catch frogs, to my surprise they did want to catch night crawlers so they could catch bigger fish then the boys. The boys returned with plastic glasses of pop for the girls. They all sat at the table with their feet swinging back and forth under them. No one yet tall enough to reach the deck floor yet. Sipping pop they thought of what they wanted to do on their second day of vacation. From Lake Iwanttobethere.. (63992)

Bobby Bass · July 15, 2008

I think the grand kids are getting wise. I have always told the kids that between me and grandma we know everything. When asked a question that I did not have the answer for all I needed to say was your grand mother knows that answer. It seems that grand mother is using the same tactic and now the kids are following through and asking us both the same question. Grandma gets away with it by distracting them with a cookie. I just point out a bug..

To their credit both the grand sons slept out in the tent last night, the entire night. Even with the thunderstorm that came through around one. Grandma came outside to bring them into the cabin and they both declined. Said they were big boys now and besides they were dry and grandma was looking pretty wet standing out there in the rain. I said nothing, I was dry and cozy in the tent.

This morning they both woke up to the sound of Elmers rooster. Asking what that was I told them that Elmer had chickens and his rooster talked to the rising sun every morning. They asked if they could go see but I told them five am is still to early to be running around the yard. We have to wait till at least six. I went to roll over and could not. Buddy had come in during the night and tucked himself up tight next to me. I should have known as Steve was using him as a pillow.

Boys look good with their buzz cuts that they got yesterday from Burt down at his barbershop. They both have their hair in brown paper bags. Their mother told them that they better come back home with all their hair this vacation. I can't take credit for the paper bag idea, I think it was their dads.

Yesterday was a pretty good day as far as being grandparents went. No trips to Doc Burriems for anything. Grand ma had already stocked the first aid kit. Some snoopy bandages and white tape. I just made sure there was super glue on hand. The first aid kit is on top of the kitchen counter just in case. Grandma just being grandma. Still seems a kiss from grandma on a boo boo makes it better right away. Elmer and Chuck both came over and took kids for awhile. Of course their intention were to spoil them and then send them back to me. Which as we all know is the job of the grand parents to spoil the kids and then send them back home to their parents. Elmer tried to get them to weed his garden but this time around they were looking for payment, up front.

Girls had their nails done. Toes included. Was a nice color they selected. The blue gills sure liked it as when the girls were soaking their feet off the dock the gills were pecking at their toes. Dock is off limits to the boys for a day. They took the battery powered jeep down the hill and off the dock into the lake. Said Uncle Chuck had mud bogging on his TV and that is where they got the idea. Chuck was called to assist in getting the jeep out of the lake. I caught him giving Steve a high five when they thought I was not looking.

Quiet time right now as grandma has them all in the kitchen and they are making rolls. Boys are pretty good beating up the dough. Girls are drawing pictures of what their rolls are going to look like. Dogs are all out there to waiting for something to fall from the counter. Cats have gone to their hiding places. I don't expect to see them unless all the kids are outside then they will just appear long enough to eat and complain about the kids. As soon as the screen door creeks they will scamper back to their hiding places. After nap time we will all go fishing on Chucks pontoon, I volunteer him after the Jeep incident. I think after the kids vacation ends I'll go on vacation. I wonder if grandma will make me rolls? From Lake Iwanttobethere (64689)

Bobby Bass · July 17, 2008

Well it's Thursday here at the Lake. Grand ma and Grand pa are still doing fine. No kids hurt or lost yet. Have not seen the cats for three days now and I think Pepper has moved in with Elmer. Bud still follows Steve around the cabin and yard and the two of them have not gotten into much trouble as of yet. On the third page of the vacation list and have hid the crayons so it can not be added on to. Granddaughters after seeing Elmers chicken coop have said they will never eat an egg again. #1 grandson has pitched a tent on the dock and is spending the day there with his rod hanging out the flap. A coffee can of worms at his side he is feeding the gills in an attempt to catch a pond and half bass that lives under the dock. He has lost it twice so far and says he ain't leaving till he gets it. Got to admire his stubbornness. His young brother helped him carry concrete blocks to the dock with the battery powered jeep which after drying out still runs. After setting the tent poles up and tying the lines to the blocks the tent is up. He has a cordless phone from the cabin down there and from time to time he thinks he is at the local drive in. He calls grandma and orders something from the kitchen. Grand ma thinks it's cute. I get stuck being the delivery boy. Kid ain't gave me a tip yet!

He had the bait box full of bluegills till I made him let them all go. Told him they were to small to keep. He said that I said they had to be at least as big as your hand. I meant my hand not his. Mindy came by and took the girls shopping in town. She was going to meet up with the wife and Tess for lunch and they were going to continue to shop. Us boys will be left to fend for ourselves. As soon the wife leaves I 'll get the boys each a fork and we will see what we can find in the fridge for lunch. No sense in dirtying up any plates and we can drink right from the milk jug. No sense in using glasses either. Today was bib day as we did go to McDonnell's farm early this morning. Boys got to see cows get milked and we brought home a couple of bales of hay for the garden. I had them spread it around the tatters. Nothing like the smell of hay in the morning. Stays with ya all day as you are picking it off your bibs.

Sunshine Ray has rain in the forecast. Everything went around us yesterday and it looks like it is staying south today. Overcast day and cooler so the fishing from the tent is not such a bad idea. Steve is on worm duty as he and Bud are turning over rocks and moving logs trying to keep his brother in bait. Barney is somewhat under the weather the past few days and is just spending the day sleeping in one of the beds. The girls have been nursing him with hand fed cookies and lots of hugs. If he don't perk up here in another day I will have to see about bring him into the vet for a look over. Bout time for shots anyway.

Did take the boys to the Lodge yesterday afternoon. They like eating the conies with out the hot dogs and onions. Gave them a job to keep them busy. Took the popcorn popper apart and they cleaned the inside. Them little hands can sure get into all them little corners and they got all them old kernels out. After they were done we put in a new light bulb and loaded the hopper. They got to grab the first handfuls as it fell out. Some of the guys made a comment that the popcorn tasted different. Fresh like you get at Earl's. Must be all that old butter that was stuck on the glass but I didn't say anything. Boys took there pops and sat with Elmer on the wicker couch and watched some TV. After a while they both fell asleep, time for their naps. Elmer was not to far behind them and when people came in through the front door they were hushed so as to not wake the three of them.

Daughter is going to watch all four kids this afternoon and I am going to take the puddle humper out and do some fishing. With the bad weather just hanging out of reach I am thinking maybe a few northerns would like to play. So I hope to have something to write about later. From Lake Iwanttobethere.... (65372)

hunterdown · July 17, 2008

I hope there ain't nuth'in wrong with Barney (the dog)

So, anyway......when we go'in fish'in?

Hunter

Bobby Bass · July 18, 2008

A perfect day of fishing....... Is hard to come by. Went out yesterday afternoon with my fishing bud Jerry. One of those scheduled fishing days where we were going no matter what the weather was. He has commitments for the next two weeks so the daughter watched the grand kids and I waited for Jerry to arrive. Standing under the boathouse with the trailer hooked up to the Dodge I was just hooking up the light harness when the first rain drops fell. A minute later and it was like a monsoon as water was falling by the buckets on the roof of the boat house. Jerry drove up and made the dash to the boat house. His only comment being " At least it's a warm rain" After about ten minutes it slowed to a drizzle and we loaded the Dodge and left for a lake that was not in a path of any rain we could see on the weather radar.

An hour later we arrived at a small favorite lake to find a glass covered surface. No wind and get this no skeeters or them dang nasty flies. I got to be honest here we were excited about getting on the water and tossing some topwaters on this lake for the next several hours. We soon forgot all about how we normally fish this water and headed of to a sweet spot that is very hard to get into. But the water was high and the pads were not bad. We poled into our little spot and on a count of three we both shot out topwater lures at the same time. Of course they both landed with in three feet of each other. For the next hour we beat this little hideaway and got zip.. Not even a splash. We started shaking our heads. Started going through the six tackle boxes between us looking for something that the Bass would bite on. Even spoke out loud how even a northern would feel good on the end of the line.

We moved out of that spot and worked down the shoreline. After about twenty minutes we got a couple of hits and of course lost both fish. A few minutes later I felt weight on my spinner only to be rewarded with an empty line on the hook set. Northern had ate my lure. Retying we continued on down the shore line to the back of a stump filled bay. They have to be in here, dead calm water, beautiful sets of lily pads, stumps, reeds, down trees. Water higher then we have seen it at this time of the year. Nada, nothing, zip.... Not even bluegills to moan about. For the past hour off to the West out of sight we could hear the rumble of thunder. We would look over our shoulders from time to time tracking the progress of the storm, watching clouds. Still no wind, still calm and still no fish.

About six or so we dug into the cooler and took out sandwiches. Eating we sat back in the chairs and talked about things that fifty something guys talk about. Been fishing together for about thirty years. Funny how the conversation has changed over time. Used to be 90% of the time about gals now it about what our co-paynets are on our medical plans. Just about then the wind kicked up, blowing towards the dark clouds in the west. Figured the storm was sucking air in that direction. A few minutes later a dark cloud from nowhere was over head and big drops started to fall. Rain coats on we headed back in the direction of the boat landing. Of course we kept fishing all the way. Rain ended in a few minutes and guess what, we started to catch a few fish. A bass here a northern there. Another bite off and the retie of another lure. A missed set, a quick duck as the lure came out of the water to sail past your head. A good look at a decent northern that took a slash at the bait right at the boat before diving deep and going under the boat and of course skeeters...

With sun setting on the trees we called it a night. Jerry had to work in the morning and it would be midnight before he would get home. We loaded up the Puddle Humper and with a fresh cigar to drive the skeeters out of the Dodge we set off down the dirt road in the direction of Lake Iwanttobethere. Looking for deer Jerry watched the right side and I watched the left. Of course just like bobber fishing I knew he was watching my side of the road because I was watching his. Only two deer we saw. We figured the thunderstorm had sent the fish deep and not seeing any deer we figured to blame the day on the weather. Just could not figure out how in the last hour I caught six fish to his one. Pickles I said. I had pickle juice on my fingers from my ham sandwich.. Works every time. From Lake Iwanttobethere. (65746)

Bobby Bass · July 18, 2008

In the office here at the Lodge today, Have to get some paper work out of the way. Have been somewhat lazy about keeping up with doings here at the lake. With the new bartender working I have been able to spend more time at the cabin. Fishing of course. So I'll take some time here to catch up on the calendar.

Next week all week will be BBQ week. A week long contest with the finals being held on Saturday which also happens to be the same day that the Lake Iwanttobethere Lake Association holds there meeting and membership drive. We have several division including a home owner, business and both charcoal and propane pits. The hay bale stage will be set up and on Saturday entertainment will be provided by the fantastic fine fingers of fifties fiddlers Fiona and Fred Fiddle and there sons Fedo, Fritz, Floyd and daughters Fawn and Frema and grand kids Felicity and Frank. on the back of the fancy Ford flathead flatbed and it's free!

Foreign exchange student Becky O"Brien will be back to wandering through the park with her friends singing Irish folk tunes. And the Johnson Brothers will be offering free beer samples of Needabeer and Whynotale. The church ladies will also be having a week long bake sale and will have tables set up in the park. Blueberries of course will be the hot item as muffins and pies will be for sale. Also Saturday morning there will be a pancake breakfast, you guess it Blueberry pancakes will be available.

Lots of Mindy and Mandy's Lake Iwanttobethere root beer will be sitting in tubs of ice and water from of course Lake Iwanttobethere and for those in the know a keg of Hamms is also sitting in the ice house at a very drinkable temperature. Tuesday the 29th is the 5th Tuesday of the month so that means Lodge meeting time. Put that on your calendar. Also time for a membership drive at the Lodge and the meeting will kick off sponsorship month. We encourage you to introduce your friends to Lake Iwanttobethere and if you have a story you would like to pass on about the lake please do so. You can also contact us here at the Lodge at the [email protected] if you have any questions or just want to say hi. Someone is usually around the lap top and who knows who will answer your questions from here at the Lake. Keep in mind that the lap top is usually on the bar so if you want to address a question to me, Bobby Bass you will have to mention my name. Otherwise you might get Elmer or Gus or even the one finger typing of Skinny with your answer.

More on BBQ week and a schedule for you. There will be brat night, steak night. Monster hamburgers and of course Nytelyters brisket night. Fresh sweet corn and baby onions along with Dutch oven rolls like great great great grandma used to make. One of the better weeks to make a visit to the lake and take a walk around and visit. Hope to see or hear from ya soon.. From Lake Iwanttobethere (65777)

nytelyter · July 20, 2008

well after the first year of the bbq week when i was out of brisket so fast i didnt even get a sandwich for my self. i doubled my meat order last year, and again found myself out of brisket with in two hours. this year i have 1oo pounds of brisket coming, and will be on the third run on my new slow cooker. will be running a lowtemp charcoal cooker and adding a piece of hickory wood every half hour. for the optimum flavor. and i even have some mesquite to add. amy has agreed to supply me with enough fresh buns to make sure i have enough for late nite snacks at the lodge later on that eve. as a former trophy winner i will not compete in the contest this year. but will offer my taste-budds as a judge if needed.

it will be a welcomed trip to the lake as the boss has been out of town for over a week and i aint seen water in a while and am in need of a few at my point and on the water. hope to be getting the knot-a-clew on the lake again this week as her hulls have been dry for more than a few weeks.

see you on the water or in the park. ... paul

Bobby Bass · July 20, 2008

The Calvary has arrived! Late last night the parents, my kids arrived at the cabin to reclaim there demon seed. Just kidding. The kids were good all week long and we spent a lot of time together. The kitchen almost turned into a bakery with all the cookies that were being produced by grandma and the kids and I got to spend some time at a different level. The different level being looking at things from a three year olds level. Wet grass between your feet does feel a little funny at first but is cooling after awhile. Dog kisses ain't all that bad and little kids hears sure do beat fast when you listen with your ear on their chest. There is a difference between a palm size keeper bluegill when it is your palm next to a three year olds palm. I might just call them a Steveie keeper size! It is better to be pushed on a swing then be the pusher. Frogs have a big advantage when they are in the marsh. There is nothing wrong with afternoon naps. The smell of hay stays with you all day. Tall attractive thirty something ladies give bigger ice cream cones to three year olds then they do to 661 month olds. The view at three feet is quite a bit different then at five feet and cereal is not all that bad for supper, sometimes.

Kids are still here but now they are busy taking their parents around and trying to show them everything they did in the past six days in one day. Overcast day here at Lake Iwanttobethere. A good soaking rain yesterday afternoon. It will just about guarantee that the grass will keep growing for another few weeks and will be mowed again here soon. Steve and I sat on the covered swing and under a quilt we watched the rain fall. Didn't take long to fill the rain barrel and then the water started overflowing and ran over the top to run down the hillside. The rhythmic sound of rain and the swing moving back and forth soon put Steve asleep. Bud jumped up and made himself comfortable alongside Steve. This time using him as the pillow. #1 grandson made an appearance at the cabin door, saw that it was raining and just waved. He returned to the kitchen and to taste testing cookies. I sat swinging on the swing and in my head kept on adding things to the Honey Do List. Funny how if you just sit for a spell you see things that need to be done. The kids have a different look on things when they sit. I don't remember Steve once saying when he was sitting that this or that needs fixing or painting. I see an old row boat that needs a coat of paint and he sees a fishing boat calling to be fished out of. I see a deck that needs staining and he sees a place to eat hot dogs and drink kool aid with ice cubes. I see a yard that needs mowing and he sees a place to go running. Good to see things in someone else's eyes.

Swing does feel good today as yesterday I took my youngest daughter and the two granddaughters to McDonnell's farm where we had our annual horseback ride. My bottom side will never get used to a saddle. The small girls got to ride pony's in the corral area and spent time with McDonnell feeding them and standing on a bench they also did some brushing. The daughter grabbed me and we took a short ride out in the pasture and along the woods. One of those things that I enjoy doing while I am doing it but pay for it later. The ride was short because we had the grand daughters with, Will have to make sure they come again next summer. I was walking around today with a different stride and the wife keeps referring to me as "Cowboy"

Both boys and I did do the mid season cleaning of the Puddle Humper. We sorted through tackle boxes and did some rearranging. Raincoats and lifejackets were spread out to dry as we did get caught in some rain the other day. The tent on the dock has been taken down and moved back into the yard. The boys used the battery powered jeep and the garden cart to pretend they were on there own camping trip. No girls allowed. They loaded up and they drove around the yard looking for a good place to pitch camp. After passing the same spot three times they finally stop and unloaded. I think the battery on the jeep was getting low. The wife made the comment that they looked just like real grown up men. After watching the boys trying to get the tent up she came off the deck to their aid. She helped put up the tent and spread out their sleeping bags. Even brought them lunch. The grandsons came up on the deck and Steve whispered in my ear " Your right, she did pitch our tent" I just smiled and put my finger up to my lips. " Secret Steve, it's a secret" From Lake Iwanttobethere (67115)

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