Getting away from all of the school activities was hard. My old college roommate, Rick, had invited me to teach at the private high school where he has taught for the past 20 years. It was a special 5-week course during the summer in New Hampshire. Being a part of a faculty was a new experience for me and took me outside my comfort zone. One of the things that made it seem “normal” to me was the opportunity to fish on Turkey Pond. Rick had been talking about it for years during our annual bass fishing trip in Florida and now I would have the opportunity to give it a try.

Turkey Pond is actually a 330+ acre lake located just 3.3 miles from Concord. The shoreline frames the lake with tall white pines and granite boulders. The water is dark but clean. For a Florida boy, it was nice to not have to think about gators roaming around. The local fish population included perch, largemouth bass, pickerel and bull trout.

We had a small window of free time from our hectic faculty schedule but it still felt like we were two kids playing hooky from school. The old red canoe that nobody knew who owned but that Rick has used for years, was sitting on a rack about 100 yards from the lake. In the old days, we may have just carried it to the lake’s edge but being wiser, and maybe a little weaker, we threw it on top of my wife’s car and made the trip a little easier. I am not a small guy but I took my assigned spot at the front of the canoe with little complaining, all the while feeling like I was just one quick unfortunate move away from getting wet.

What an amazingly beautiful setting! The temperature was just right and the wind light and almost cool for July. My Wroxx fishing shirt was perfect. I used an old bait caster with a rubber worm and Rick switched between a spinning reel and fly fishing. There were a few bites but nothing to get us too excited. As always happens, our conversation turned to family and work and things that two old friends want to share. A fishing trip is often more about the conversation than it is about the fish. This outing was no different…until right at the end.

We paddled back to our launch site and decided to try a few more casts before getting out of the water. We cast in the same areas more than once, with neither really wanting to end our fishing trip. Suddenly Rick got a serious look on his face and set the hook on a nice 2-3 pound bass. It was not the monster bass that we had come to expect at Lake Ola in Tangerine, Florida, but it was still a nice bass. It jumped out of the water at least 3 times and had our attention the whole fight. When Rick finally landed it, his smile told the story. We were both happy and excited. Maybe I even felt a little younger, rejuvenated by our time on the lake.

There is something about fishing that is good for the soul. It takes two people and wraps their relationship around a sport that includes some danger and problem solving mixed in with an occasional exciting moment all laced together by sometimes badly needed conversation broken up by some badly needed quiet time. Fishing is the perfect combination to provide all of that.

Thank you, Turkey Pond, for not letting us down.