FISHING ON LAKE WEST OKOBOJI

The fishing that I remember as a youth is really different from today. Many times my Dad or a group of friends from Milford would go to the cottage of Roy Snorf on Miller Bay. They would secure several rowboats, ave some live bait (Chubs seined the day before from a creek), worms and some fishing gear. Sometimes somebody would have a bamboo pole but many times is all we used was a drop line, sinker and a hook. About five would get in a rowboat and row up in the bay. After reading the "good" spot, drop the anchor and then we started to fish. I recall fishing with Roy and Bernice DePue (Roy was a WWI vet, retired semi-professional baseball player and the local barber) Bernice would instruct me by placing a worm on my hook and dropping it down until the sinker hit the bottom and then pull the bait up until it was about a foot off the sand. She also told me to gig it up and down once in awhile to attract the perch. We would hold the string just over the rail of the rowboat and wait. When we felt a big grab pull up sharp and hopefully hook the fish. Wow! Was that exciting and we spent three or four hours fishing and caught many fish-mostly perch. Sometimes somebody would catch a pike or bass or maybe a bullhead but all in all had lots of fish. I'm speaking of the 1930s.
Towards supper time we would row back to shore, gather up all the fishing gear and fish and walk up to the Snorf Cottage. The fellows would go out back and clean the mess of fish. If you ever have the opportunity to clean fish you will understand why a catch of fish is called a mess. The ladies were not idle and they were cooking, setting the tables and preparing a feast for us. Some of the ladies did not fish and they stayed in the cottage and played bridge. After cleaning the fish they were brought in and the ladies would pan fry them.I can still recall the wonderful smell of those fish being cooked and hear the sizzle and pop. Soon all was ready and we dug in to the scrumptious meal. eating perch required a tactful approach as the fish bones had to be separated but if one was skillful you would grab a hold of the tail, take the fork and slowly peel the part of the fish you wanted to eat  off. W not only had all the fish we wanted but somebody had brought fried chicken, beans, potato salad and later cake. Lemonade was available and many drank coffee. There was never enough tables for all of us to sit down so the kids went outside and sat around a picnic table.

Those were the in the height of the Depression and our parents and friends took their pleasures where they could find them in simple fellowship fish fries and hamburger fries in nearby Gull Point State Park. Gull Point was developed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in 1933.That was another experience that we enjoyed in those troubling years but we as kids never felt poor or left out. It was an exciting time to run the trails, swim and eat What more could a 10  year old boy want??